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UK’s May seeks compromise with Labour in EU divorce deal

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LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May sought a compromise Monday with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn in hopes of securing his backing for a divorce deal with the European Union.

The political manoeuvring comes amid strong signs that uncertainty over Brexit is already clamping down on Britain’s economic growth.

Taking a cordial tone, May suggested further talks with the Labour Party leadership even as she said she did not see the advantage of permanent membership in the EU’s customs union, a key demand Corbyn is seeking in exchange for backing her troubled Brexit bill in Parliament.

Justice Minister Rory Stewart told the BBC that differences between the two parties aren’t as great as some suggest, but said the Conservative government can’t accept Corbyn’s customs union demand because it would prevent Britain from negotiating trade deals with other countries. He said May’s agreement would achieve most of Corbyn’s goals without preventing independent trade deals.

“I agree that the longer this goes on, the more risky it gets, obviously,” Stewart said. “But, the solution to this has to be to get Jeremy Corbyn, or the Labour Party, or indeed Parliament as a whole, to come behind a deal.”

Time pressure is mounting. Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, but lawmakers in Parliament have emphatically rejected May’s divorce deal, raising the prospect of a no-deal exit from the bloc unless more parliamentary support is found.

EU leaders have turned down May’s plea to renegotiate parts of the legally binding Brexit withdrawal bill, making the no-deal outcome more likely even though both sides believe it would harm their economies.

May is to give a statement to Parliament on Tuesday, a day earlier than planned. Downing Street said that would give Parliament a few days to consider her remarks.

Lawmakers may be unnerved by the latest round of financial data, which showed Monday that Britain’s economy slowed last year to its weakest growth rate since the global financial crisis.

The Office for National Statistics said the British economy grew by a quarterly rate of only 0.2 per cent during the fourth quarter, down from the 0.6 per cent uptick recorded in the previous three-month period.

In the fourth quarter, British business investment fell 1.4 per cent for the fourth straight quarterly decline — the first time that has happened since the 2008 financial crisis.

With less than 50 days to go to Brexit day on March 29, British firms still have no idea what the country’s new trading relationship with the EU will look like, so they’re taking a safety-first approach.

Although Britain’s Treasury chief Philip Hammond argued the British economy remains “fundamentally strong” and is “enjoying the longest unbroken quarterly growth streak” among the Group of Seven industrialized countries, he conceded that Brexit unease was taking its toll.

“There is no doubt that our economy is being overshadowed by the uncertainty created by the Brexit process,” he told Sky News. “I’m afraid this has gone on longer than we would have liked.”

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Pan Pylas contributed from London.

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Follow AP’s full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit

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Border Patrol Agent Lashes Out At Biden-Harris Admin, Calling Job ‘Migrant Concierge Service’ Amid Border Crisis

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Mariane Angela

The border agent stated he is prepared to risk his career to bring attention to what he views as grave mismanagement and potential dangers posed by current border policies.

A Border Patrol agent criticized the recent changes in his role under the Biden-Harris administration, condemning it as transforming into a “migrant concierge service,” according to The New York Post Friday.

Zachary Apotheker, who joined the force in 2020, voiced his frustration over the shift in his duties under the Biden administration from intercepting drug traffickers and apprehending illegal entrants to what he now sees as aiding migrant entry, in an interview with the NYP. Apotheker highlighted concerns about security and vetting under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, noting that over 8 million migrants have crossed the southern border since January 2021, including members of the Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua.

“I don’t want to bring people into the country. That’s not what I signed up to do,” Apotheker told NYP. Apotheker’s distress is further compounded by over 1.7 million illegal migrants who have evaded capture since Jan. 2021, as he shared encounters with victims of migrant-committed crimes, naming individuals and emphasizing the personal toll on him.

“I’m an apolitical person and I just want to do my job and protect this country,” the agent said, the NYP reported. “When I see people from another country coming here, getting resources beyond what the American citizen can get, that’s where I have to draw the line. And then they’re going out and committing crimes and we’re still not removing them and American citizens are being killed, women are being raped.”

Apotheker and multiple Border Patrol sources have raised concerns to the NYP about the inadequate documentation for unaccompanied migrant children under 14, including missing biometric data, complicating their safe relocation to families or sponsors in the U.S. He highlighted a backlog in the immigration system, noting that 291,000 migrant children have been released in the U.S. without court dates, with an additional 32,000 failing to appear for their scheduled hearings.

The border agent stated he is prepared to risk his career to bring attention to what he views as grave mismanagement and potential dangers posed by current border policies. “However bad you think it is now, it’s only going to be worse,” he warned.

The White House and Border Patrol did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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Rumored deal with Bloc Quebec party could keep Trudeau Liberals in power, stave off election

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

“The federal government does not have a mandate to bargain with Quebec separatists at the expense of Alberta, the West and the rest of the country”

The possibility of an early Canadian election may not come to fruition after Bloc Québécois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet hinted that an alliance between the separatist party and the Liberals under Justin Trudeau could become a reality.

Rumors began to swirl that a Bloc-Liberal deal could happen after Bloc House leader Alain Therrien said Sunday that the party’s “objectives remain the same, but the means to get there will be much easier.”

“We will negotiate and seek gains for Quebec … our balance of power has improved, that’s for sure,” he said, as reported by the Canadian Press.

Therrien made the comments in light of the possibility of a federal election taking place before fall 2025 after New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh pulled his official support for Trudeau’s Liberals last week.

Late last month, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre called on Singh to pull his support for Trudeau’s Liberals so that an election could be held.

Therrien also noted that the NDP pulling its support of the Trudeau Liberals has created a “window of opportunity” that his party may exploit. The Canadian Press reported that a person close to the Bloc party said directly that the NDP had in essence handed the party the balance of power.

As it stands now, the Bloc has 32 seats to the NDP’s 24, which is more than enough to prop up the Liberals, who have 154 seats.

As for Blanchet, he told the media on Monday that he was feeling “good” about his party’s newfound power. He then took a shot at Poilievre, saying he is more or less like Trudeau. “There are plenty of issues on which (Poilievre’s) in the same position as Justin Trudeau,” Blanchet said.

“Show us that you’re different, Justin Trudeau, apart from being against abortion, then we’ll see what you have to offer,” he said.

While most Conservative MPs are pro-life, Poilievre supports abortion and has a poor track record when it comes to life and family issues, with Campaign Life Coalition having given him a “red light” rating.

News of a possible Bloc-Liberal deal to keep Trudeau in power drew the immediate ire of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

“The federal government does not have a mandate to bargain with Quebec separatists at the expense of Alberta, the West and the rest of the country,” she wrote Monday on X. “If the Liberals go down this path, we need an election to be called immediately.”

On Tuesday, Blanchet responded to Smith’s comments to reporters by saying he found her remarks “funny,” adding that “Canadians are suddenly very interested in us.”

As for Trudeau, his woes continue to mount. LifeSiteNews recently reported how national elections campaign director for Canada’s federal Liberal Party announced he was stepping down because, according to sources close to the party, he does not think Trudeau can win a fourth consecutive election.

Recent polls show that the Conservatives under Poilievre would win a majority government in a landslide in an election held today. Singh’s NDP and Trudeau’s Liberals would lose a massive number of seats.

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