The Westminster Arms

Wrt to Labour leadership, does that mean now that RW-D, Lisa Nandy & Static are officially through to final round

Not yet, Dusty. Each one needs three affiliates including two trade unions or 33 CLPs, totalling at least 5% of the membership.

Lisa Nandy is through - she is backed by GMB, NUM and Chinese For Labour. She also has a number of CLPs on board.

Keir Starmer is through - he has Unison and one affiliate plus 21 CLPs.

RLB has Unite but no other affiliates and only about 6 CLPs. More to be done, then.

William Hague...

Do you know, Limer, I think you are on to something there.

He was an antidote to John "Back to Basics" Major but he was never going to set the world alight.

I still think the next leader of the Labour Party is fairly irrelevant. It's the one after that who will really matter. The only relevance of this contest is that the identity of the winner will determine how long the Labour Party will repair itself. If at all.

Yes indeed - WAB all getting signed off - I think it's just the EP next Weds then all sigs in order and we proceed onwards; mindful that there will be transitions, negotiations and deals to start/negs/to start get on with.

I've brought in a good pile of logs, built up the fire and cleaned the beer lines for the weekend.

I'll see you all on the 'other side of the 31st Jan', if not before; chances are I'll be sleeping the sleep of the relieved so bong, bang, bing, party away - all good with me.

Definitely a glass of fizz please.
BoJo has done it.
A toast to Boris.

And a warmed up sausage butty please.

It's official!

The withdrawal agreement has been ratified - signed by Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen.

A week today and we're on to the next phase...

"the far left's Theresa May. They know, in their hearts, that she's just not up to it but she's their safety candidate".

Very true, reminds me of when William Hague became Conservative leader in 1997.

Well well well, Caroline Nokes is my good friend's MP. That might come in useful.

So Unite has swung its might behind RLB's nomination.

She has been described as "the far left's Theresa May. They know, in their hearts, that she's just not up to it but she's their safety candidate".

Someone over on FWR has just posted this, a which answers my question.

Thank you, MrsSnippy, I'm interested.

I need to read through the full list but in terms of Caroline Nokes, I am not reassured. Let's just say I hope she takes the time to become much more informed than she did in her last ministerial post. It's not a "nice to have on your CV" post.

Just call out as and when you need more sustenance

Thanks Snippy. I was looking for it on Conservative Home website but you beat me to it.

Someone over on FWR has just posted this, a which answers my question.
In case anyone else is interested:
www.parliament.uk/business/news/2020/january/select-committee-chair-election-nominations-2020/commons-committee-chair-elections-2020/#jump-link-26

Ooh Dusty you groupie you!

Thanks for breakfast Singing, I remain confined to the fainting couch by the fire so just keep lobbing a sausage at me if I seem to be fading

I have a question, for those who may know these things; when will the select committees start getting going again; will we have to wait for reshuffle do we think?

Professor Bercow joins Royal Holloway

Morning all and morning Dusty.
Thanks again for the breakfast. Delicious as usual.
Sorry you missed Dom Raab yesterday when he came in to help fit the new coffee machine and put the surrounding shelves up. He left his number behind the bar in case you needed to contact him.

When dh was seconded to the EU Military Staff, the Director of the EUMS was David Leakey who went on to be Black Rod. Being a stalwart Army Officer who has seen combat in trying situations, it was perturbing to read his account of Bercow attempting to bully him. Takes a lot for an ex Lt Gen to feel he has to speak out publicly in the press, as these things would normally be dealt with behind closed doors, and they manifestly weren't.

Berk-ow - is it likely he will be found guilty? Does he have any supporters other than JC?

Margaret Beckett, clearly.

In October 2018, when asked on the BBC's PM programme whether Mr Bercow should stand down as Speaker when the allegations first emerged (including the use of NDAs to silence the alleged victims), she responded:

"Abuse is terrible, it shouldn't happen, it should be stopped, behaviour should change anyway - whether the Speaker goes or not.
^
"But yes, if it comes to it, the constitutional future of this country - the most difficult decision we’ve made not just since the war but... possibly for hundreds of years - yes, it trumps bad behaviour.”^

This was at a time when Phillip Green was being ripped to shreds for bullying, abuse and using NDAs to silence his victims. Makes me wonder what else Margaret Beckett might have considered tolerable in the quest to stop Brexit.

I rather think Lord Lisvane's detailed dossier - and as former Clerk of the House, he would know precisely how to put one together - will be causing more than just Mr Bercow some anxiety.

And the NDAs, which involved using taxpayers' money, will be a matter of record.

Morning all.

10 more weeks of Jezza at the despatch box? Right at the time when an effective opposition is urgently required. The labour back benchers must be tearing their hair out with frustration.

Did anyone see ET on QT last night. She appeared to have recovered from her pasting from Andrew Neil enough to continue with her usual spiel of we should have had a second referendum rather than GE, that's why LP failed so spectacularly. OK then, keep on living the dream ET. Sarah Baxter from the Times calmly put her straight.

Berk-ow - is it likely he will be found guilty? Does he have any supporters other than JC?

Thanks for breakfast Lily. I've got some other establishments to inspect today and I'm nicely set up for the journey.

Morning, all, and morning, Dusty,

It may be chilly and foggy out there but it's warm and bright here in the Westminster Arms.

No round-up of what might be happening in Parliament today. After all, it's Friday. The Labour leadership race plods on, of course. We still have ten glorious weeks of Jezza's mastery of PMQs to behold: nothing much happens until 3 April apart from the sight of what remains of any authority he might have left draining away. What a contrast with Conservative Party rules: nominations opened on 10 June 2019 and concluded six weeks later on 23 July. There's a reason why the Conservative Party is the oldest and most successful political party in the world. It doesn't hang about when change is needed.

Till then, there are other distractions such as Mr Bercow's chickens coming home to roost. He complains that Lord Lisvane, the former Clerk who submitted a detailed dossier of Mr Bercow's delightful alleged behaviour, should have raised the matter at the time. Seasoned observers note that at the time, there was no process that would allow the Clerk to raise these concerns and the only one who could have ruled otherwise was...Mr Speaker himself.

You might wonder why I am so keen to be polite and refer to Mr Bercow as Mr Bercow.

Well, titles are so important, aren't they?

The sausage butties went down a treat the other day so the LL got on to the Lincolnshire suppliers and they've delivered a fresh batch. The complimentary breakfast tray awaits. Please help yourselves.

As a bonus, here is a cartoon from the Spectator. The caption didn't copy but it was "It's a booster seat for John Bercow".

Kettle's on ☕️☕️☕️

Copper

If I had been the spokesperson at No. 10, I would have reminded Mr Bercow, "If we went only by precedent, manifestly nothing would ever change".

But then I'd probably get sacked for saying it while grinning like a Cheshire Cat and dancing a little jig of pure delight.

He's complained in the times

Love a Camel Valley fizz Scary but we are going very local for our 31st Jan bottle with Furleigh fizz from literally ‘up the road’.

I know Singing, I luffs him, he makes me laugh a lot!