Westminster: Brexit is the hard right's weapon of mass distraction

[BigChocFrenzy]

The fervour and divisions over Brexit have suspended normal party politics.

The staggering incompetence & unsuitability of Corbyn as a leader, together with the resulting impotence of Labour has removed the normal checks & balances in UK politics.
There is a vaccum where the Official Opposition should be, so Theresa May is under pressure only from her right.

I fear Thereas May and the Tory rightwing are taking advantage of Brexit to complete the destruction of the post-WW2 social contract and the welfare state.

Meanwhile, the constraints of civilised discourse have been loosened and those with racist or social Darwinist views now feel free to spout their poison openly.

Putin is pouring petrol on all the fires and Arron Banks is lurking < sinister emoticons required >

Zoe Williams:
"Behind a smokescreen of bogus patriotism, ideologically driven cuts to the NHS and all our public services are unpicking the bonds of nationhood"

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/05/brexit-theresa-may-falklands-war-nhs-cuts

"We should be marching against the crisis in adult social care, the closure of care homes, the systematic exploitation of carers, the £4.6bn cut from social care budgets this decade.
We should be .... asking:

“What exactly is the plan, if we’ve decided we can no longer afford to care for the elderly and the disabled?
What do we do with them instead?”

"We should be marching against cuts in education funding"

"Every morning we wake up to someone on the radio explaining, despairingly, that you can’t fix the hospital bed crisis until social care is fixed, and you can’t fix that until council tax brings in more, and it can’t bring in more because wages are too low."

"But when everything breaks at the same time, that is not a coincidence: it is a plan.

As surely as Margaret Thatcher had an economic plan on employment, rights, industry and wages,
this century’s Conservatives have a plan on public services, which is to smash them beyond all recognition."

Sinn Fein are in a very strong position. The majority in NI are opposed to Brexit, SF support is growing, DUP are in disarray. NI is reliant on EU funding and SF will look as defending this whilst gov wants to pull the plug.

Well tbf they were always going to walk out sf are headcases. They know it only helps them walking out and sayING the government are being unreasonable.

Same with Nikki sturgeon. Ask for the impossible and then blame the british for being unreasonable.

Same old same.old.

Shame really.

Is it a wee bit Malthusian bigchoc?

The crumbiest of political philosophers and religious twits seem to be getting air time atm.

In fact, you could say, May is handing big wins to SF and the SNP.

Sinn Fein are defending the majority in NI who oppose Brexit

SNP are defending the majority in Scotland who oppose Brexit.

Its called will of the people or something?

Probably wants rid to be fair... hopefully not.

The brexit hopes of some of union destruction. Sadly more likely to kill our union rather than the one they hoped though.

And was it in Belfast that seats went from DUP to SF which seems pretty extraordinary.
My hope is the young generation don't have the prejudices of the old, everywhere.

The majority in scotland want to be in the uk and in the eu.

Almost half of the people who wanted brexit are in support of an independent scotland.

The SNP are representing fewer than you think.

Leaked tape reveals Surrey Council tax deal.

I wonder who leaked it? It doesn't look good, does it? Doesn't the Chancellor have a Surrey seat?

Sinn Fein and the snp are opposition parties that are actually representing their constituents who overwhelmingly voted remain.

The brexit hopes of some of union destruction. Sadly more likely to kill our union rather than the one they hoped though.

Agree 100%

my experience is that they often feel the Irish are the 'right type of immigrants'

Wasn't always the case. My family are Irish (in UK) and suffered terrible abuse decades ago. Muslims today are getting the same abuse that the Irish suffered historically.

What people are seemingly forgetting with that quote above is that it was during a time fathers/sons were coming back from Northern Ireland in a body bag. And that is not withstanding the bombing campaign on the UK mainland

It would understandable that tensions would be running high against a another minority during those times?

You can make comparisons to the same type of grief experienced by countless UK families who have suffered loss thorough the recent conflicts in the Middle East- Of course there will be distaste again another minority which rightly or wrongly are perceived to behind it?

Racism is never ok

Peregrina Hammond is Runnymede and Weybridge, does that overlap?
Dodgy council payments, dodgy election expenses, not looking good is it?

It would understandable that tensions would be running high against a another minority during those times?

Its very easy, lazy and prejudiced to blame minority groups though isn't it? The vast majority of Irish people were not in the IRA. The vast majority of muslims are not in ISIS. I'd say that was fairly obvious to those not blinded by hate.

It is also arrogant to exonerate British involvement in foreign affairs for not causing problems down the line. Bloody Sunday led to a massive IRA recruitment drive. Bombing Iraq and Afghanistan is not going to win many friends in that region.

What people are seemingly forgetting with that quote above is that it was during a time fathers/sons were coming back from Northern Ireland in a body bag. And that is not withstanding the bombing campaign on the UK mainland

No, some of us are old enough to remember what it was like before The Troubles in Ireland and before the bombing campaigns in the UK. With signs in rented rooms in London with 'No blacks, No Irish'.

Nice try though Redpoll. BTW do try to sort your quotes out.

Going back to the article earlier about Jim Sillars and whether that showed a change in SNP approach: he is a has been former deputy leader of the SNP who hasn't been part of the leadership team for 25 years

He does not speak for the SNP - although he may speak for a few members. In the same way that not all Tories are Leavers or all Labour are Remainers .....or all Brexiteers racists

Yes redpoll I agree.

There was certainly fear in the uk of Irish people "phobia" in the 70s and 80s in england. That quickly dissappeared when they were no longer frightened their dad's would go to work in London and not come home again.

Racism is fear, whether we like it or not. Sometimes it stays and sometimes it goes.

I am sure that the same is rooted in ireland towards british people and due to the longstanding conflict it is hardly surprising.

It is never ok though...

It would understandable that tensions would be running high against a another minority during those times?

This is an interesting and shall we say ... revealing ... thesis.

Many Muslims don't come from the Middle East; how do you explain discrimination against them?

What about abuse directed against Polish or German people (example here: www.standard.co.uk/news/london/polish-girl-8-abused-by-classmates-and-german-cars-vandalised-in-london-in-vile-outpouring-of-hate-a3283641.html).

Perhaps you think we should still be punishing Germans for being on the wrong side of a war that ended over 70 years ago; however, the last time I recall the UK going into battle with the Polish, they were fighting on the same side. Perhaps you can come up with some examples of Polish terrorism that would excuse or explain racism towards Polish people in the UK?

Because to me your post looks like a pretty good example of "I'm not racist but" dirty washing getting a good old airing in public.

Also betrays the ignorance that the attitude shown towards the Irish in a bundle when most of the perpetrators of violence and bombing were Brits against other Brits.

Redpoll read some history, do.

There was open discrimination against Irish people in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s to my knowledge. I've no doubt there was discrimiation before then.

The Troubles didn't begin until 1968. Discrimination long predated your "body bags".

and Brits against Irish too.

red
Sersly r u ok hun?

I don't think redpoll is a leaver so don't panic guys