The Westministenders Hunger Games continues. Hunting for the Opposition.

[RedToothBrush]

THE BREXIT FALLOUT OUT CONTINUES - THREAD EIGHT!

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Each of the parties seem to have a taken a very different style to their leadership contests.

The Tory party have been well documented as doing in the classic style of Hamlet. After the entire Conservative Party have spent two weeks stabbing each in the back and front, May steps forward to take the crown for herself.

But what about the others?

The UKIP leadership contest seems to be in comedy style of Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights. In a strange turn of events, that no one predicted and seem quite absurd, they seem to be changing their rules so their new leader must have been a member for 5 years. The punchline is this rules just about everyone out, apart from Neil Hamilton and Steven Woolfe. As BigChocFrenzy points out, we are expecting Arron Banks to hand out the brown envelopes. We are just waiting for the poorly thought out, and badly booked racist band to turn up and make everyone cringe in horror and distract everyone from UKIP's candidates and their manifestos in the process.

Meanwhile Labour Party decide to do what they thought was Star Wars Panto. After spending a week going “She’s Standing”, “Oh No She’s Not” Angela Eagle is declared the Empire Strikes Back candidate by Diane Abbot. Well if she’s the rebel leader, then who is Darth Vader and the Emperor?

Unfortunately, you’d be forgiven for thinking the performance is starting to look more and more like a re-enactment of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, by the minute:

A battle of wills between two forces locked together in a room with ultimately different and opposing self-interests. This is only resolved when the new leader to the dynamic who sought to upset the institution, and give the others their freedom, is lobotomised and subsequently killed in an act of mercy. His murderer manages to escape the prison to the cheers of those still stuck inside.

The Greens of course are a foreign language film, no one has heard of and no one is really that interested in watching.

The Lib Dems are merely sat in the audience. With Tim Farron heckling.

But where is Gandalf?

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At least some sanity has returned and we now have some leaders. May can now get stuck into the job of handing the nightmare that is Brexit whilst making herself at home at Number 10. Rumours are circulating that it’s been left a bit of a pigsty.

We will follow May, on her new adventures to foreign lands to persuade Merkel and Juncker to hand over a mythical unicorn to the UK. Meanwhile will we continue our own hunt for the opposition, whilst we all consult our dictionaries for the meaning of the word ‘Brexit’ in bafflement in the wake of ‘Brexit means Brexit’.

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Sense of humour compulsory. No experience necessary though

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2682358-The-Westministenders-Media-Baron-Hunger-Games-continues-Is-it-about-to-all-implode?pg=1 Previous thread 7

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-hilary-clinton-latest-poll-us-election-2016-news-three-points-a7132956.html

You know how polls underestimated the Leave vote?
Well that. But with Trump.

swedish - I knew I'd seen someone who thought Gove wasn't useless at Justice, I just couldn't find it! Joshua Rozenberg also finds him more reasonable than Grayling and he has reversed much of what Grayling did.

Michael Crick ‏@MichaelLCrick 32s32 seconds ago
NEC meeting lasting so long, I'm told, because 32 people each insist on speaking twice on each subject!

Interesting what Peston is saying about Osborne.

Seems like TM is planning on getting tough on irresponsible businesses, not exactly GO's M.O. over the past few years, just look at the rumours swirling around HSBC.

It feels like she's about everyone behaving themselves, rather than George's allowance of the City / big business to do what it wants.

www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2016/07/the-early-glimpses-of-mays-policy-agenda-show-a-deep-enthusiasm-for-one-nation-interventionism.html

It was, what, 5 hours between AL standing down yesterday and the 1922 Committee saying 'job done, TM is PM from Wednesday'.

It's now been 4 hours discussing how to vote on a vote to decide whether someone should automatically be on a ballot for a leadership contest.

know how polls underestimated the Leave vote?
Well that. But with Trump

The optimistic interpretation is that the shift reflects the recent focus on the whole FBI/emails thing, which may soon fade in people's memories.

Hilary has also been endorsed by Sanders today, which is a big win.

Still much too close for comfort. Which is also what I said about the referendum...

I am fuming that women NEC members felt it necessary to have a secret ballot due to feeling intimidated. Fuming

iain watson ✔ @iainjwatson
I'm told andy Burnham wanted a further week of talks over Jeremy corbyns future but looks like the majority of the nec want to deal with it
5:34 PM - 12 Jul 2016

Seriously AB?? Another week? The Tories could take over the WORLD in a week!!!

afterlabour.org/2016/07/12/corbyn-and-the-new-political-puritans/

(Link from marina hyde's Twitter feed)

Bloody hell. As if being ashamed to be British weren't enough, it seems I now have to be ashamed of being a member of the Labour party!

Disgusted by Angela Eagle's unsubstantiated accusations that Corbyn/Momentum are responsible for the brick through her window. At least as likely to be an ordinary constituent or member of the Wallasey CLP, who have had a taste of Labour NEC "democracy" before. I hope she has another career lined up.

And as for the NEC, words fail me. Meetings in camera, some members missing or excluded, secret ballots... And they claim it's Corbyn taking us back to the 1970s. Shameful, just shameful. I really don't know what else to say.

Well, not surprised about women members of NEC. I so wanted to respond to NEC members' questions on FB yesterday, but did not want to put my head above the parapet with all the nasty comments and mob mentality around. I am not even sure my views radical either.

MrsLupo - genuine q about the NEC: wouldn't it be normal for the person under discussion not to be part of the decision making? I would expect that tbh.

Mrs Lupo I really think you should read some of the hateful trolling against her. Whatever your political views no one deserves that. And yes I can believe they did that - as I have said there are some SWP/Militant members in Momentum. They are the minority but they are vocal Also the interview from AE constituency defends the accusation of parachuting - I have seen it. In mine. It is awful and it is happening

Please Theresa, can we have a replacement for vile Villiers in Norn Irn?

www.independent.co.uk/news/science/brexit-britain-latest-news-academics-threaten-to-quit-brain-drain-over-racist-xenophobic-eu-a7133316.html
Academics to quit Britain over xenophobia and anti-intellectual feeling.

The new Conservative leader, who will enter Downing Street tomorrow, has addressed party staff urging them to unite and build a platform to "win big" at a future general election

????

He's a member of the NEC, he needs to be allowed to participate. It's the equivalent of not allowing MPs a vote in general elections because they'll only go and vote for themselves. If the NEC wants to change the rules, they can (in principle) do that. Until then they need to abide by them.

I think the blaming of the brick on momentum is against a background of threats and intimidation from people saying they represent momentum.

Obviously I have no idea who threw the brick or what the nature of the threats have been or whether the threats are really from momentum or just common trolls.

However, we are certainly living in an environment where I can believe that somebody would think they had permission to throw a brick at a politician because of their beliefs.

Of course JC doesn't want people to throw bricks. However he is also in a situation where he needs to clearly and strongly oppose any kind of violent activity, including by people who are just tagging along to be violent.

He is still currently leader of the Labour Party and as leader it is his job to manage what is happening, for the benefit of innocent bystanders if no one else.

I'm feeling very conflicted tonight. God knows I think Corbyn is useless and frankly, I've felt like chinning him a few times. I want him to go. But if he won't go, I think he should be on the ballot.

Firstly I think morally, he has a right to defend his record, I for one, am curious to hear what he has to say for himself. Secondly and more pragmatically, because he won't go quietly. The party doesn't need another martyr. It may be expedient in the short term but in the long term it will damage them, massively if not fatally

Unless they have evidence of gross misconduct? I must say I'm now very suspicious of his election. In the same way that I felt Leadsom didn't come from nowhere, I can now see that the whole supposed groundswell of support for him looks very dodgy indeed. I can't understand why I didn't suspect it before.

But suspicions aren't enough. Evidence please otherwise let him make his case. Or suffer the consequences.

Red as I said 'Blacks ,Irish, Dogs'. Bugger I am the first two and I have the last one- what hope do I have? Oh ....two extra passports out if I need to.

Seriously tho I know some of the younger generation who are looking to leave - it's terrible

I'm pretty sure Angela Eagle was excluded from an NEC meeting due to a conflict of interest when she ran for deputy.

That the same has been done for JC is not anti democratic - just standard practice.

There's a lesson for the "activists" here that their tactics of intimidation both online and physically could well be the difference in an open ballot supporting JC's right to contest the leadership and a secret one.

I'm getting a bit with the poor Jeremy brigade. He's repeatedly done more to damage his own credibility than any of the rebels.

Sigh....

Mrs Lupo I really think you should read some of the hateful trolling against her. Whatever your political views no one deserves that. And yes I can believe they did that - as I have said there are some SWP/Militant members in Momentum. They are the minority but they are vocal Also the interview from AE constituency defends the accusation of parachuting - I have seen it. In mine. It is awful and it is happening

I'm sure it's vile, but social media trolling, flaming and threats are not new, and not even exclusive to politics never mind to a particular, newly reviled political faction. And I can quite believe that it was a militant Corbynista who did it, but equally there are lots of other possibilities. She has no proof so she shouldn't be lobbing accusations around as though they're facts and criticising Corbyn for 'not having control' of 'his people'.

I think the conservativehome comments may be my new favourite things, they are like the DT comments used to be. Someone seriously just called Loathsome a political heavyweight, even though only about 6 people had ever heard of her outside her family, prior to the Referendum debates.

Also: "I hope she doesn't put Chris Grayling in charge of anything more than the stationery cupboard"

Kate Godfrey ‏@KateGodfrey_ 16m16 minutes ago
Seriously, if you thought the NEC clocking under eight hours, you don't know the left. We've had raffle committees longer than this.