The Westministenders Hunger Games continues. Boris still trying not to be outmanoevered.

[RedToothBrush]

Clearly Boris didn't get the memo, on when to quit the power games, even after Gove schooled him in the dark arts of the Tory Leadership....

So the Tory Smackdown rolls on whilst Corbyn STILL clings on. UKIP has now entered the race to make a challenge for who can make the biggest leadership contest shambles.

In The Blue Corner
May strikes fear into the hearts of EU citizens as she counts her bargaining chips.
Gove strikes fear into the hearts of humans, with his Martian twitch.
Loathsom strikes fear in the hearts of Britains by talking about babies brains.
Crabb strikes fear into the hearts of Torys by suggesting a plan that Corbyn might like. (and that beard doesn't help).
And Fox.
Well he just turned up.

Johnson is still waiting in the wings to stab Gove. He'd quite fancy a seat at the cabinet table too.
Osborne has gone quite again and we wait with baited breathe to see if he is the 'Charlie off Casualty' of the Tory Party (y'know whatever happens he somehow survives like a cockroach).

In The Red Corner
Corbyn apologies. So we know he's getting a bit desperate.
Will the Unions figure out something else to do other than sit with their head in hands.
Angela Eagle is still doing jellyfish impressions and hasn't found that backbone.
We STILL don't know who the fuck Owen Smith is?
Will Bliar's chicken's finally come home to roost?
The Cult of Momentum, rumbles on. We aren't quite sure who they actually vote for, but they seem to like their Dear Leader.
When will this country next have an opposition party?

Its kinda getting boring guys, we need some action now. End the Chicken Coup! The Tories are definitely out doing in the high drama stakes.

In the Purple Corner
Farage has gone! Hurrah. We hope only that he stays under that rock.
(Don't count on it. They'll wheel him out when they need publicity)
Will Leadsom be elected leader? Oh sorry, wrong party. I was getting confused for a second there.
Will they throw the cuckoo Carswell out? [:)]
Will they be able to find a less offensive leader than Farage who can unite them in their common goal of errrr..... yeah. That.
How long before one of their candidates has to apologise for something?

And I suppose I should ask, when will a50 be triggered....? And by whom?

All these questions and more.
Sense of humour compulsory. No experience necessary though

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2670552-Has-Boris-been-outmanoeuvred?pg=1 Previous thread 1

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2672388-Has-Boris-been-outmanoevered-Will-someone-please-tell-me-who-is-in-charge Previous thread 2

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/a2673982-Have-Boris-and-Jeremy-been-stabbed-in-the-back-Please-can-we-have-some-leaders Previous thread 3

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2675432-Boris-outmaneovered-Et-tu-Gove-Corbyn-The-Westministenders-Hunger-Games-Continues? Previous thread 4

I worry that AL is just saying what she thinks people want to hear. Either that or she's not got a complete grasp on things. I don't fully trust TM either though. Sigh. Don't even get me started on Gove.

Don't blame you, BigChoc. I cannot go anywhere, all my relatives going back at least 5 generations were English, and born here.

— Sam Coates Times (@SamCoatesTimes)
July 7, 2016
Bumped into Tory MP who switched from Leadsom to May this morning following "freaky" procession after her speech and fears of UKIP entryism

I think it's both Ginger - she'll say whatever she needs to, and I doubt very much she understands the consequences.

In a normal situation, I can't think of any time when I would see Theresa May as a good choice. Sadly, I'm not sure we are going to see normal for a good few years.

Was this much paranoia and nationalist crap always under the surface ?

I think what has also been very influential has been the rhetoric of prosperity and aspiration that has dominated politics since, well, probably since Thatcher but certainly since Blair. As a society, we have been encouraged to define our quality of life in terms of material success, at the expense of, for example, family life, community cohesion, leisure time, good health, etc. Concomitantly, there have been social changes like an expectation of longer working hours and centralisation of work infrastructures, such that people travel further to get to work, spend less time at home, exist in the bubble of their cars at lot of the time, interact in a meaningful way with each other less, etc.

All this would have been problematic enough, except that recession followed, infrastructure got dialed back, safety nets got removed, rewards for labour were reduced in real terms, and people started to feel threatened. When people feel threatened in terms of resources and quality of life, they get mean and defensive and unwilling to share, and they look around to see whose needs are threatening theirs the most, and, whether those people are the cause of the scarcity or not, they get the blame. In this situation, the problem is more the elites and the bankers than the immigrants, but logic is an early casualty in times of threat.

I think there is also an underlying problem with the British people's post-imperial relationship to 'the rest of the world', which has probably contributed to that toxic mix too.

I actually wonder if Loathsome is a bit dim. Probably because she has a puppet masters hand up her arse. From what the glorious Hush Puppy wearing Ken (my old man crush) said she didn't care either way if we went in or out. This is just a chance of getting the big prize

Don't like TM but I have a feeling she would do the job to help the country (even if it is in a Rightwing/ wrong way) rather than just to be PM

I actually wonder if Loathsome will decide the big prize no longer seems so appealing now she's had a taste of being manipulated by puppet masters. It's a proper faustian pact, and not for everyone. In her shoes, I think I would take the roll over and die option after the second round today, rather than selling my soul to Arron Banks.

So is there an official number of votes above which they just crown TM and we can all move on with our lives? and if there's no set number, then who gets to decide?

I personally think many in the UK (government especially) are for some daft reason trying to incorporate a lot of US things - working hours, medical insurance, and such. The grass is NOT greener, people!! That way lies madness!

I can't decide whether Gove or AL would be preferable to be running against TM, to be honest. They're both a dreadful option. Even TM is a dreadful option.

Water being given to those locked out on parliamentary terrace
Posted at
13:43
Due to a police incident In Parliament, there is no access to peers car park until further notice.

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Matt Chorley ✔ @MattChorley
Water now passed out on the terrace for those locked out by chemical incident. When should we be worried? "When you start turning green"
1:40 PM - 7 Jul 2016

Report of 'chemical incident' in Parliament
Times journalist tweets...
Posted at
13:40
Follow
Matt Chorley ✔ @MattChorley
Parts of Parliament being shut off while police investigate a "chemical incident". Windows being closed and people locked out on terrace
1:21 PM - 7 Jul 2016
9 9 Retweets likes
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Matt Chorley ✔ @MattChorley
"Chemical incident" in parliament underway for almost an hour. Investigating a white powder.
1:24 PM - 7 Jul 2016

There's some sort of evacuation going on in the Houses of Parliament due to an incident with some 'white powder' at the moment:
Matt Chorley ‏@MattChorley 25m 25 minutes ago
Parts of Parliament being shut off while police investigate a "chemical incident". Windows being closed and people locked out on terrace
"Chemical incident" in parliament underway for almost an hour. Investigating a white powder.
Matt Chorley ‏@MattChorley 6m 6 minutes ago
Water now passed out on the terrace for those locked out by chemical incident. When should we be worried? "When you start turning green"

Matt Chorley ‏@MattChorley 1m1 minute ago
Parliament in lockdown. Letter to a peer being analysed by police over white powder in envelope.

Congratulation BigChoc. We may well follow you at some point. DS is a budding scientist and entitled to a German passport. We have a lot of hoops to jump through to get that yet though and the London Embassy say they are swamped with enquiries.

GingerIvy I think they would be saying that she might have hypos which might temporarily impair judgement as is insulin dependent. Other than that I have no idea. I am genuinely questioning myself whether I could possibly have heard that correctly earlier.

Investigating a white powder.

There's a George Osborne joke in there somewhere, but it's probably too soon...
fingers crossed it's nothing bad.

Conservative MP calls for move beyond 'Leavers' and Remainers'

BBC News Channel
Posted at
13:29
Damian Green
BBC
Conservative MP Damian Green tells the BBC that his party should not continue to "define itself in terms of Leavers and Remainers".

Otherwise, he cautions, the Conservative Party's split on Europe will not be healed.

The next leader should be the best person to negotiate with the EU and capable of performing all the other duties of a prime minister, he argues.

He says that Theresa May, who he supports and who once backed Remain, accepts the result of the referendum.

That's right. Surely you can unite under a "let's get back to crushing the poor and vulnerable people" banner, eh?

Sugar if she hasn't had an issue with her current job, it's unlikely it would wash for the job of PM.

Leadsom said she did not like the gay marriage law. She would prefer to offer equality by letting heterosexual people have civil partnerships, she said.

If heterosexuals can have both marriage and civil partnerships, but gay people can only have civil partnerships, then it's not equality.

Re Paranoia and nationalistic crap

I think it has always been there. But more subtle and MrsLupo is right. I think as a country we are more than a little lost

However, I would say that if we look at the younger generation they are less homophobic, less racist, more welcoming of other cultures and I think less available mentally to propaganda. They will be harder to control than any other generation. We've done something right. We just need to nurture them and help them guide us. I actually think they are far wiser in so many ways. I am just worried about what sh*t we are going to leave them with

If it has been said then it is absolutely ridiculous, I genuinely think I must have misheard but I had no idea she had diabetes until watching the news and it really did sound like that.

If heterosexuals can have both marriage and civil partnerships, but gay people can only have civil partnerships, then it's not equality.

If gay couples can have both marriage and civil partnerships, but heterosexual couples can only have marriage, then that's not equality either, though, is it?

Sorry, Chalala, I am probably going way off topic, but this is a real red flag issue for me.

Thank you all for such an insightful thread.
And for MrsLupo for your post at 13.34: looking at why this has happened:
As a society, we have been encouraged to define our quality of life in terms of material success..

We have have unwittingly allowed our core values to be dictated by commerce, unrepresentative media moguls and the promotion of a thoughtless and vapid adoration of 'celebrity values' that offer nothing to individuals. I have never felt as despairing as I have done since this result (and that's after 6 decades of life's ups and downs). The thoughtful and intelligent views on here restore my faith a bit. And then I read more about our political leaders.....
Anyway, thank you.

If gay couples can have both marriage and civil partnerships, but heterosexual couples can only have marriage, then that's not equality either, though, is it?

Sure, I'm all in favour of giving all the options to everyone!