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

[RedToothBrush]

Dutch right
Challenging the legitimacy and democracy of the EU. Wants the EU to go. Calls for junckers resignation so that liquidation can take place.

Another Dutch. (I think)
Criticised her countryman as being like Mr Farage. Ashamed to hear such things. How will you deal with things on your own.

[All the Eurosceptics seem to be out in force today!]

[DoinItFine]

Czechzit!

Love it

Just the name. Not the movement.

[howabout]

Loving all the detailed updates Red

I dug out my old Uni textbook to show the kids it was written by Anton Muscatelli. It was newly published when I was a student 30 years ago. It contains a technical critique of Neo-Classical economics which runs counter to the austerity narrative. Hence my bemusement that anyone reputable has ever accepted austerity economics in a deflationary environment.

Crabb now on board with common sense and JC and JMD recommendation to grow and invest our way out of the deficit.

Listened to AL leadership speech on youtube this morning. She made a lot of references to capital investment for the future and upskilling. She also talked about tackling income inequality and social inequality. This is the context she placed deficit reduction in and is very much a growth agenda.

I assume the ref to "Babies frontal cortex" is an attempt to rubbish her assertion that inequality has to be tackled from birth in terms of social justice and economics. Not likely to be popular with those in support of welfare cuts for families and education cuts.

[RedToothBrush]

French Centre Right
All EU institutions have fallen short in preparing for Brexit. It was suggested but to no avail. We are not dealing with issues, which affects our friends. Feelings are running high. [Saying the situation is ridiculous]. Talking about the British Civil servants in EU. We have certain responsibilities, which we should not wait for London for.

Slovenian Socialist
There is no way back. We are afraid of the referendum wave spreading. We know that this is our fault as the issues which lead to uk leaving are still there. Need to look at set up of EU. Right of vote for EU elections should be 16 for everyone to get them onboard with the idea.

Belgian conservative
EU linked with crisis. People have not woken up to this still. They are still going on about federalism and taxes. They need to listen.

[DoinItFine]

I'm very suspicious of the reports re: the baby brains comment.

A lot of them seemed to come down to "woman blathering on about babies. She cray cray."

I still haven't heard what point she was trying to make about attachment. It might have been a good one.

The way Leadsom is being portrayed as a silly little woman is really misogynistic. Made easier by the fact that she is standing against another woman who has been anointed as the sensible Mammy who will do a good job with the tidy up.

[RedToothBrush]

Irish Left
The message is for you all not just the british. And you mr juncker. Look at how the irish were blackmailed and bullied into debt.

Look at what they did to Greece. undo this union. Listen for a change mr juncker.

(I think there are about half a dozen pro-Europes in the house today from the way this has gone. Outnumbered at least 2 to 1 by eurosceptics.

Now an Italian Eurosceptic.
Suggesting that juncker wants the UK to go under as a warning to others.
Some say less Europe, some say more. We say different, with juncker going being the first change.

Austrian Right
Saying this is not an advisory vote. It must be accepted. Revenge has no place in this. we need to discuss on a bi-lateral bias. More at stake than eu and juncker.

[RedToothBrush]

Spanish centre right.
We need to show that the EU is not beaucratic in negititions. it needs to be quick or it plays into fears.
The council did not speak to the British people in this. In any divorce there is blame on two sides.

We need to make sure the UK is the last to leave not the first. we need to build Europe with a heart.

[Chalalala]

I don't think anyone has really explained the attachment theory point. It hasn't come up in any of the reports I've seen, anyway.

I agree that there is a nasty undercurrent of "silly woman rambling on about babies", but I would feel more sympathy for Leadsom if she hadn't repeatedly patronised all women with her "as a mum" nonsense.

[Nightofthetentacle]

Can I also thank Red for this thread as you are making the European Council sound interesting, accessible and relevant. Something to think on, that.

I find Leadsom petrifying but fair point that she might be being cast as blithering wifie.

[RedToothBrush]

UUP
now is not the time for recrimination. The truth is that neither London nor Brussels had a plan. We stand by Brexit difficult as it is. Mr Tusk you have a very big responsibility. Mr Juncker you are part of the problem. IT was a mistake to sent mr Cameron back after negotitions about the EU before the referendum with one arm tied behind his back.

[QueenLaBeefah]

But you could interpret her talking about babies as an attempt to highlight that Theresa May doesn't have kids.

[Chalalala]

What I'm getting from your reports Red, is a cross-party consensus about Juncker

No one likes poor Jean-Claude

I still don't understand how he got elected tbh

[RedToothBrush]

Danish Left
Companies use the EU to reduce conditions of workers. We need to work together. We need to listen to the people.

Romanian Right.
The two institutions we hold dear have been held up to ridicule. I hope this is the last time you fail to listen to what all the political parties are saying. The EU is going through an identity crisis. The EU do not have a plan that will bring the countries of Europe together.

[DoinItFine]

Fucking UUP.

Supporting a Brexit that will destroy NI and that NI voted against.

Night - council summits don't take place in public.

This is the European Parliament :)

[howabout]

Or then again you could interpret TM discussing her lack of children with the DM as more dog whistle to those who believe only childless women can be expected to be taken seriously in the workplace.

[missmoon]

I don't think criticising Leadsom for the baby talk is misogynistic at all, I would feel equally disturbed if a man had discussed attachment parenting at a hustings to be the next PM at a time of unprecedented crisis. It shows very poor judgement. Also, agree with the person above who said this was possibly a dig at the fact that Teresa May doesn't have children, which shouldn't be relevant or discussed in any case.

[citroenpresse]

Mark Rutte, Dutch President interviewed yesterday (I am based in the Netherlands) on Nigel Farage:

‘This man thinks he has played a great game, as though it isn’t about the interests of 65m people,’ said Rutte. ‘I think it’s terrible.’

[RedToothBrush]

Portugese socialist
The way to deal with uk was clearly laid out. We are here today to discuss further the future of the EU. We can not go back to national borders. We need to address challenges of refugees. We need to use trade to combat unemployment. We need the EU with national parliament. We need to define roadmap.

Dutch right
Popularism is being blamed. This shows that people here are blind. Next time have your summit in your convent and shut yourselves away.

Spanish liberal
like to agree with leave means leave from mr Schultz. Need to support the idea of Europe that came out of WWII and even before. (holds up something from 1933, which looks slightly dubious to me!)

[QueenLaBeefah]

I thought TM talking to the DAily Mail was more an apology that she hadn't fulfilled her true purpose which was to have children. (The daily mail hates any woman with a decent job and no kids - not as much as it hates single mums with no jobs)

[RedToothBrush]

??? Missed who from.
Referendum was mainly about British issues, but is a mistake to say it was only about that and not Europe. The management of immigration shows there is an imbalance of power in the union.

French socialist
We need to look at the budgetry impact of the UK leaving. We need to look at various sceanrios as part of that. Don't need a50 to start doing that.

[Chalalala]

I agree, in the context of the article trying to show her "soft" side I think it was more dog whistling towards those who believe that career-minded childless women are scary unnatural creatures

[InShockReally]

Actually if it is about "the way babies brains are shaped from birth" then she's absolutely right, that does have an impact on someone's growth as a biological fact. I wonder if that was one small comment in a more sensible speech, and has been dismissed because "er, babies." (A bit like premature birth and miscarriage are under-funded areas of research because they're seen as icky women's issues when actually they shape a lot of lives!)

[Peregrina]

Spain wasn't in WW2 having had a civil war. However, the wounds from that war are still unhealed in Spain, so perhaps that is what the Spanish Liberal is really getting at.

[howabout]

I'm confused Queen I'm a SAHM with 3 kids and I'm pretty sure the DM hates me too. Let's face it. It is a misogynistic rag.

[RedToothBrush]

I'm going to park it there unless I hear anything more that's of particular interest (mainly as I have no idea if its due to go on all day). I think that's given a good spread of thought and what's going on anyway.

Its interesting to see different international views though. I don't feel we have really heard these voices in the UK at all.