To think that Teresa May's speech this evening was an absolute fucking disgrace?

[Livingtothefull]

'You, the public, have had enough.
“You’re tired of the infighting, you’re tired of the political games and the arcane procedural rows, tired of MPs talking about nothing else but Brexit when you have real concerns about our children’s schools, our National Health Service, knife crime'.

“You want this stage of the Brexit process to be over and done with. I agree. I am on your side. ”

So: 'You’re tired of all the shit that my party and my government have caused eg through years of cuts to the health and police services. It's not my fault that Brexit has been so appallingly badly handled, I'm only the Prime Minister and it's everyone else's fault. So why not just let me have my way and things will all get better? I am a mindreader and presume to know what you want, even though I display zero empathy in my public utterances, and I know you all want Brexit (even though only a small proportion of the electorate actually voted for it, 3 years ago)'.

We’re finished as a country if this is the best we can do, it is just heartbreaking that our country has been brought to this. I cant believe that this woman is in a position of such power and represents our country.

I don't WANT you on my side, just get away from me.

Ohhh, I've been wondering about Nick Timothy too. And I hadn't even seen the Telegraph article.

That performance screamed 'trying to be presidential and to forge an alliance between No 10 and the people to pile pressure on MPs'. Only the speech was shit (seriously, who the hell wrote it? I know schoolchildren with a better grasp of rhetoric), and the delivery was shitter. So all it has done is to piss off the MPs and to leave everyone in the country saying 'meh'.

The EU has just denied any extension beyond 22 May. We are now in a 'this deal or no deal' situation I think.

Fuckers have disabled the live feature which showed signatures being added to the petition in real time. This is after the petition site was 'down for maintenance'.

“Also I thought her speech last night was decent. Said what a lot of people are thinking / saying.”

She’s the Prime Minister! She’s the head of the executive and she’s attacking the legislature. She can’t do that.

Actually, she can - recent years have seen a big concentration of power at No 10 and this is the result. The fixed-term parliament act, yet another glorious legacy of David Cameron (worst PM this country has ever had?), is not helping the situation.

Her speech was really just a pompous bollocking to everyone for not doing what she says. What a let-down, I was waiting for it on the news. all the journos were getting excited, I was sure she was going to do something substantial or at least flounce off finally.

"And that is what I am determined to do."

Yaaaawwn you've already said that a million times.

Her speech was really just a pompous bollocking to everyone for not doing what she says

They deserved a pompous (and public) bollocking IMO.

“Her speech was really just a pompous bollocking to everyone for not doing what she says

They deserved a pompous (and public) bollocking IMO.”

But that’s not how our parliamentary democracy works.

The email I sent to TM

Dear Mrs May ,

I am writing to you personally to inform you that you do not speak for me at all.
I was so angry about the way you used the word “you “ last night because you are 100% wrong in assuming you know what I think.

Your actions are certainly not in my name.

And then you have the nerve to blame Parliament and the Speaker for where we are now. How dare you, when you have refused to allow a mechanism to reach a consensus, delayed votes and even been found in contempt of Parliament yourself.

Your letter to the EU yesterday was appalling. You were advised very clearly by the EU and your own advisors what was needed - a clear justification and legally sound date , you ignored this. You also ignored the result of the extension vote by parliament last week, but still have the cheek to blame our MPs in your speech last night.

I have now decided to attend the march on Saturday. Yesterday was the last straw for me.

It is your leadership and your leadership alone which has got us into this mess.

Own it!

She's not a 12th-century divine monarch, she's a leader of a supposedly democratic country with a parliament that exists to vote on policy in the country's best interests, and it's her job to work with that parliament.

She is coming across like she gets to dictate everything and be cross if everyone won't obey her. That's a massive misunderstanding (or ignoring) of how parliament - and our entire voting system - works.

She reminds me of one of those parents who serve up a rejected breakfast at lunch and dinner, and possibly the following morning, believing that a child will thus be compelled to eat it. Completely oblivious to noticing that its become less desirable each time it appears.

Have stopped following it all.

This government don't represent me any more. I cannot muster enough respect for them as functioning adults to even bother to listen to the latest bleatings.

What this has shown, above all, is the frightening extent to which our government (largely thanks to the class and private school system in this country) is made up of people who are simply not up to the job of government. Third-class intellects. Third-class thinkers. Third-class understanding of history. Little to no experience or understanding of the complexity of the wider society they are supposedly representing. There IS no government that I can see at the moment - no leaders with ability, empathy, intelligence - they are missing.

I can't see much point to following current affairs (ie Brexit) at this point. I personally don't think it will happen, because it's impossible to implement. In the meantime, I'm finding that I simply don't make time now to listen to these speeches, these latest twists - and it's because I've ceased to believe that any of it means anything in reality. It's like losing interest in a soap opera that's jumped the shark

What Teresa May says this week and next is of no interest to any of us, really. The only thin we need to know is that a. it won't make a difference to the EU either, b. she'll be saying something different the week after anyway and c. nothing she says has any integrity - she doesn't think we should leave either and we all know it.

I honestly think that she, like many others, are simply letting this shitshow unfold as far as possible in order to underline just how impossible 'Brexit' is. Things will drag on, we won't leave but by the time that becomes obvious they're all hoping that everyone will be so confused and distracted by all the shitstorm they will just accept it, Teresa will retire and just deal with going down in history as the biggest disaster since Suez, the end.

The EU has just denied any extension beyond 22 May. No surprise as the EU Parl elections are very shortly thereafter.

I don’t understand how May can criticise our MPs, blame them for not delivering Brexit , yet at the same time expect them to vote on her deal next week.

I don’t understand how May can criticise our MPs, blame them for not delivering Brexit , yet at the same time expect them to vote on her deal next week.

I know, right?!

mummymeister frumpety I respect your right to disagree with me. what I cant understand is this constant questioning, which you are also doing, of how "intelligent" voters were. that is irrelevant. we are all given the vote
You have really misrepresented what frumpety said. (Your comment reminds me of that dick Francois trying to twist Will Self's words to his own ends and hoping non-one would notice). Frumpety's argument is that the population was not informed in 2016, not that Leave voters are unintelligent.

Fizzy- I agree with your post

FizzyGreenWater

Brexit is way beyond Suez, which was a joint Anglo French initiative, sticking their noses into an Arab/Israeli conflict that upset the Americans and was soon forgotten.

This is more akin to the 30s where the UK almost sided with Nazi Germany before finally coming to its senses, when an equally weak PM stepped down and a natural leader stepped forward.... the difference is now, no such potential PM is anywhere in sight.

Fizzy

I can't see much point to following current affairs (ie Brexit) at this point. I personally don't think it will happen, because it's impossible to implement

Brexit will happen regardless, are you not aware that it’s just that the default is we leave without a deal,

....and it seems that will be next Friday given what the EU are likely to say this afternoon.

Good, Fizzy.

She has a brass neck and a hard face. And a very dark soul.

The EU leaders actually haven’t ruled out a long extension (because it hasn’t been asked for).

A shortish extension has been asked for, and they are saying if you want a short extension you need to (a) have the deal already agreed (because you won’t have time to get anything else off the ground) and (b) leave sharpish, before the European elections.

If she had asked for a long enough extension that we would have participated in those elections and the subsequent European Parliament (and in the meantime explored options domestically) that would have been a quite different proposition, and is not the one they are responding to.

jasjas - yes, agree totally. Suez used as a shorthand for total meltdown that goes down in history, but your analogy is far more incisive.

2bees -

Brexit will happen regardless, are you not aware that it’s just that the default is we leave without a deal

Yes, I'm aware. You are technically absolutely right. I also know that the EU don't want us to leave any more than anyone with two brain cells this side of the Channel wants us to leave. So I am going to wait and see.

My prediction is that there will be an 11th hour extension of some kind, precisely because behind all the closed doors everyone will be in agreement that no deal leaving is suicide for all. And yes, I'm completely aware that technically it can't be allowed because blah. My whole point is that all the way through this situation, every single element has been presented to the public as 'this must happen' 'this option definitely can't happen' and then, oopsy, look, suddenly it's possible after all and everything has changed! That's the nub of what I've said above. I'm no longer interested. It will be what it will be and right now I personally believe we will not actually end up leaving. I could well be wrong. But following the progression of this through what we laughingly still call our 'government' seems right now simply to be a waste of my time. And I am too bitter and feel too disenfranchised be the illegality of the whole referendum process to dignify this shitstorm by reading any more of the nonsense.

Yes, somewhere in this process the grown ups have to step in.

It is impossible to think of a way in which TM could have made a worse job of the negotiations. From the start with her red lines and sacking her most experienced negotiator she hasn't put a foot right. Can anyone identify anything she has done right?

As for the 'just leave and get it over with camp' - whether we leave with the withdrawal deal or without we then have a decade of negotiations with the EU to get a trade deal. The only way this clusterf*ck can be stopped is with a revoke of article 50.