Westministenders: Danger of "accidental" Brexit (whoops !) ?

[BigChocFrenzy]

i.e. Brexit without a deal - NOT intentionally so - due to UK govt incompetence and mutual UK/EU misunderstandings

The govt is proceeding from abysmal ignorance on a Brexit journey which may blunder into disaster.

Prominent Leave campaigner Richard North:

"The UK Government's narrative seems to rest on the belief that the EU will cave in under pressure, and is thus giving every sign that it is prepared to push negotiations to the wire.

If, on the other hand, the EU are determined not to budge, especially as, with their own White Paper on "The Future of Europe" triggering internal discussions unrelated to Brexit, they are not necessarily fully focused on the "British problem".

As a result, we could end up with an "accidental Brexit",
where the UK negotiators overplay their hand, ending up in the UK leaving without an agreement, forcing it to rely on WTO rules.

Most likely, it will take very little to convince the EU that Mrs May is bluffing – as the effect of the WTO option is likely to be disastrous for the UK economy.

We could thus have each side misreading each other, making the accidental Brexit all the more likely."

www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=86395

It will be like back in the 70s when pasta was a posh "continental" treat and a large fraction of the population were fooled into believing it grew on trees

Kiss those out of season foods goodbye.Turnip liberation for grootbrexitknop.

Thank god I took to gin when beer got ruled out for me

I wonder what the parents of young children will do when pesto is no longer available ?

I'm all right, Jill
I'm almost teetotal and I hate beer, lager etc
I'm in Germany
I enjoy the bestest bigly vice: Lindt choc < guards her choc cellar, looks around suspiciously >

I'll swap you lindt bar for patriotic turnip pie bigchoc?
Great news on google btw, the breitbart boycott may have helped.

Not big salad fans here so the February shortages completely passed us by - funny thing is our local supermarkets are still loss leading on the salad veg as they are somewhat of a novelty product of largely decorative value in these parts.

I used to have a veg box supplier when DC were small which has fostered their unwavering love of cabbage and brussel sprouts.

Will no one think of the quinoa?

I love German lager bit don't like chocolate - any chance if a post-Brexit trade, bigchoc?!!

There is a lunchtime TV programme here in France that mixes seasonal / regional recipes with the weather forecast. We have had lots of heavy turnip dishes (including one with lambs' testicles) up until now but today, on the first day of spring, we were given chicken with spring vegetables.
Maybe we will have to send food parcels?

British eating habits are pretty much the worst in EU. We love out of season and convenience food most. I'm guessing change in diet won't harm us. Provided you can afford it, the rising cost of gas and electric and have skills to support it. Otherwise some people are going to starve.

EmilyAlice thanks, it may come to that.

Otherwise some people are going to starve.
This is the funny bit of food prices/ shortages, but I suspect it won't stay very funny. Ask Greece. And there are already some very hungry poor people in this island.

I am pleased to see EU stepping in now. Protecting EU nationals on their priority list, and court case for non payment. Being a parochial island nation has proved frightening. It's a relief to remember there is still an EU constitution, laws and righteous anger at May's idiotic behaviour, and the embarrassment that has been uk EU negotiations under tory rule.

The march on Saturday could be really big. Last chance before A50 to show TM that many people disagree with her.

www.uniteforeurope.co.uk/

www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/21/goldman-sachs-staff-london-brexit-frankfurt-paris

Goldman Sachs to move hundreds of staff out of London due to Brexit

Anyone subscribe to the FT? I want to know what This article says. Heading is Over-optimistic ministers manipulate the Brexit debate

So the new angle of attack is to remind the EU that the debt of Germany was cancelled in 1953 (yep that's more than 60 years ago...)

Perhaps also to bear in mind that back in 1953 there was a thing called the London Debt Agreement, where Germany - for all its malfeasance during the Second World War and its unprovoked aggression - found that in 1953, in circumstances which were quite remarkable, that we remitted one half of all German debt.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-european-union-bill-50-billion-sir-bill-cash-european-scrunity-committee-german-ww2-debt-a7642186.html

So let's remind everyone how awful Germany is, that we actually still haven't moved in from that (everyone else in the EU has - that was one of the ideas behind the EU, to avoid another war and resentment building again). And that the UK gave up some of its debts.
It reminds me of the position that Greece took.
It didn't work though. Oops...

If we were talking about people rather than countries, this would be a clear personal attack, and one well below the waist too...

Plectrum The FT article is about the 3 Brexit dunces. How they randomly promise something like retaining access to the Single market, then having to explain why this is not going to happen, but e.g. bilateral trade deals will be good. When that does not happen, they extol the virtues of WTO and crashing out of the single market as if that was the plan all along. They basically normalise a more and more extreme version of Brexit.

Plectrum: If you Google the article title, you'll get a link that will enable you to read the whole thing. I don't understand why that works but it does.

On channel 4 news tonight there's a far right youth organisation in France called Generation Identitaire, more gruesomely extreme than FN and with affiliated groups across Europe. Aiming at and popular with 18-24 year olds. Secretive website, and limited online presence apart from FB, one to watch, sadly.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloc_identitaire

So far anti racist groups have run great and successful campaigns against Generation Identitaire in France.

Any one heard of them?

AnnieKenney thanks, that worked. There is an art to the gradual normalisation of previously extreme ideas. Good article.

Thanks, I'll go & find the full thing & come back later.