Westministenders: Money, money, money

[RedToothBrush]

The big developments are that the government have signalled they are prepared to pay more and to involve the ECJ when it comes to citizens rights on condition that we move to talk of trade. But no apparent progress on NI. Which is significant with Ireland threatening to veto.

The EU has not changed its stance at all. Since Day 1.

There is always a worrying omission and lack of commitment to retain the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The bonfire begins.

Talk is of Green still going in a reshuffle, possibly with Gove replacing him as Deputy PM.

Coalition talks in Germany have broken down, and the British have got excited about it, whilst the German response have largely been a slight shrug.

Its been a much quieter week, despite the budget. Thank goodness. There are lots of outstanding issues that are lurking in the background like the Green one though.

The main message coming from the budget, has not been any new policy, but the dreadful economic forecast for the next few years.

[HashiAsLarry]

Thanks rtb

[Holliewantstobehot]

I have always worried about my kids future but now I feel absolutely terrified. How are they going to achieve anything? DS has ASD, is bright but needs a lot of extra help which is becoming increasingly difficult to access due to money. I can't work at the moment because of the amount of help he needs so we are living on benefits. Dd is very clever and wants to be a paediatrician or a research scientist but how she is going to get through her training I don't know especially as I doubt I will be in any position to help her. I can't help but worry with another terrible recession we will all be left behind.

[woman11017]

Thank you red as ever. all. Dark days.

[BigChocFrenzy]

Thanks, red

wrt Germany: in the normal run of things here, where GEs rarely produce 50% for a single oarty, coalition negotiations would have lasted months, with a new govt installed just before Christmas

So, perfectly normal at this time to be "without" a govt (i.e. previous govt continuing smoothly)
If a 2nd GE has to be called, that would indeed raise eyebrows though.

However, the SPD and the FDP might end up with fewer seats, so still possible that one or them, or the Greens, might blink and return to negotiations.
Merkel's problem is that both the SPD and the FDP have suffered electorally after previous coalitions with her party - not as bad as for the UK LibDems, but still causing reluctance by her potential coalition parties

[BigChocFrenzy]

typo: potential coalition partners

[Peregrina]

placemarking

[TheElementsSong]

Thanks RTB!

[ElenaGreco123]

Thanks Red.

[Motheroffourdragons]

Thank you Red yet again.

If I were a royalist, I'd be proposing you for some sort of knighthood/OBE type thing.

Oh well, will have to do

[WifeofDarth]

I'm still reading quietly. Thank you Red and all the regulars.

[lonelyplanetmum]

Place marking really, with a link to a translation of a der Spiegel article.Apologies if it's been posted already.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/anti-brexit-momentum-gaining-in-britain-a-1179590.htmll_ 

Whilst I obvs knew  that many Leavers are prepared to accept significant damage to the economy as a consequence of leaving the massive bloc on our doorstep I didn't know it was as many as 66%.

Interesting that 20 percent of remain voters would be happy to see the departure  end in chaos in order to teach a lesson to the other side. 

With heartfelt thanks to Red as always.

[MangoSplit]

Place marking

[PacAMac]

Thanks RTB

[FfffddOff]

Thank you. Brexshit ad infinitum.

Signing in for my daily updates and fuzzy feelings of solidarity with Westminstenders.

RTB you are a true heroine as are all remain posters on here

[Hasenstein]

There are lots of outstanding issues that are lurking in the background like the Green one though.

Isn't this the week whe the government is supposed to be releasing the sectoral impact reports ? Not sure whether to clear my entire week's schedule to cope with reams of technical material, statistics, prognoses and analyses, or just the odd half an hour for the few scribblings they've managed to cobble together. in the meantime

[prettybird]

These threads help keep me sane even though dh gets bored of me getting annoyed and frustrated over things that we plebs can't change

Shameless place mat king

[SwedishEdith]

Me too, prettybird.

[OlennasWimple]

Thanks as ever, RTB

I don't know if this was posted on the last thread, but this Guardian sketch of the {AC hearing on the UK's borders (and preparations for Brexit) makes depressing reading.

Note: Meg Hillier and Caroline Flint are both ex-HO ministers

[BigChocFrenzy]

John Grace's final paragraph sums it up:

"For once, the civil servants had a clear answer.
They had done absolutely nothing.

In a situation where the government had made no progress and literally anything could happen, the best bet was to hibernate
– the government of idiots, administered by idiots on behalf of a country they took for idiots."

[LurkingHusband]

.

[thecatfromjapan]

I think that (hibernation) is probably an accurate assessment.

I am hearing rumours that businesses which have met with DExEU have found that the detailed impact assessments they themselves had prepared and delivered seemed not to have been read taken fully on board by officials researching the impact of Brexit. This leads me to suspect that the impact assessment papers are not going to be great.

This, of course, should be huge news. Not planning for such a huge challenge is, or should be, utterly shocking - and a clear signal that brakes need to be applied and time for a re-think created.

But I suspect that ideology and mania - and lack of any serious force and will to apply brakes - is still at the wheel of all this.

[QuentinSummers]

Morning. Place mat

[BigChocFrenzy]

Dissidents against Trump face 60 years over broken windows, white supremacists at a riot which murders face ... nothing

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/22/donald-trump-administration-punishing-dissent-protesters

The prosecution then launched a sweeping investigation into the defendants’ lives, demanding vast amounts of online information through secret warrants.
.....
The most recent indictment collectively charged more than 200 people with felony rioting, felony incitement to riot, conspiracy to riot, and five property-damage crimes – all from broken windows.

Each defendant is facing over 60 years in prison.
.....
Compare this crackdown with the government’s response to the pre-planned, armed violence and rioting by white supremacists and private militia groups in Charlottesville, Virginia.

There was no sweeping online dragnet to identify organizers who conspired to plan, promote, and carry out violence in Charlottesville – violence against people, not property.

Nor were all the participants in Charlottesville rounded up and charged with felony conspiracy to commit rioting
– or charged as accessories to Heather Heyer’s murder.

[LurkingHusband]

And that's with a written constitution .....

[IrenetheQuaint]

There's a great book by Ivor Crewe and Anthony King called The Blunders of our Governments. Brexit could form a second volume all by itself.