All part of the negotiations. The EU is playing hardball so the UK is doing the same. I expect a deal but the Gov is preparing for No-Deal, just in case. Quite right too.

Jenifer (Zarknorph) said:

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson lashed out at the European Union on Monday as he won initial approval for a plan to breach the Brexit treaty, saying the move was needed because the bloc had refused to take a "revolver off the table" in trade talks.

I was surprised the bill passed so easily.  The next stage is to discuss amendments to the bill and vote on them. The bill has passed its first hurdle but the House of Lords will vote it down when it gets to them. The step after that is  for the House of Commons to vote again and if they do, the Lords can't veto it. 

Your system sounds as screwed up as ours.

"Your system sounds as screwed up as ours."

It's coronavirus on top of Brexit. The Gov is run off its feet.

Just when you think that things cannot get worse for the Brexiteers!

If there's a deal with the EU, then NI isn't a problem. 

If there isn't a deal and the EU seeks to split NI off from the rest of the UK then there will be a problem. 

I hope it isn't necessary, but the integrity of the UK comes first. We can always reverse our policy towards China. 

Jenifer (Zarknorph) said:

"The European Union and Britain said on Friday there were still substantial differences over a Brexit trade deal as the EU chief negotiator prepared to travel to London in a last-ditch attempt to avoid a tumultuous finale to the five-year Brexit crisis."

We've asked for the same deal the EU gave Canada. That's what they offered before the negotiations began. One sticking point is fishing. As an independent state we want to control who fishes in our waters. The EU has said that if we restrict EU fishing in UK waters, they will refuse to let us sell the fish in EU markets. The second area is government subsidy. EU countries have clever mechanisms to subsidise struggling industries but they don't want us to do the same. The third area involves EU Courts making decisions on any agreement. We believe our own courts should do that. None of these 'problems' is insoluble and I expect a compromise deal at the last minute.