Westministenders: Wake up and smell the coffee, shit just hit the fan.

[RedToothBrush]

Since the last update 12 days ago:

1. We have had the proposal to give barista visas. If we are giving out visas for this, what aren't we going to give visas for. Its just the announcement of a lot of red tape.
2. EU Banking and the Medicines agency are moving so they can serve the EU. In the EU. As serving them outside the EU is just weird. This is apparently a punishment for leaving the EU.
3. The number of students applying to become nurses has plummeted due to the removal of bursaries. This is as EU nurses leave.
4. The Brexit department published a couple of graphs promoting staying in the EU.
5. Theresa May said we were unified behind the idea of Brexit in her Easter message
6. The environment is being sacrificed for trade.
7. Turkey apparently has voted to become a dictatorship. This was a vote that Erdogan won by a whisper. His executive will not need scrutiny from parliament. Rather the UK referendum which at 0.6% more than the Turkish one is decisive. Donald Trump has congratulated him for it.
8. Trump has been dick swinging about nukes over North Korea. China are telling the children to behave.

And now we have a General Election.
Well if she can get 434 votes in the HoC tomorrow. That's ANOTHER broken promise. I'm sure its nothing but a formality.

What will Labour do? Support it? To get rid of Corbyn? Corbyn has backed the election. Given Corbyn is in charge, I'm not sure I'd have confidence to say that Labour will all vote for it, even with a three line whip. One Labour MP has already said he will not stand for reelection. (Tom Blenkinsop‏) I suspect there will be more.

Tim Farron has given support to the GE though, so it seems likely it will pass as that's a few of the votes that would be needed to block a GE.

(Note here abstentions do not count to the 434 votes needed.)

Trouble is what would happen if they didn't? Would the government collapse anyway? Might take May's head with it, but...

I guess the good news is that Corbyn will be gone by the end of June.

Otherwise the news is shit I fear. We will vote to give power to the executive with no parliamentary scrutiny. This is about getting rid of any opposition even from within her own party.

How will the campaigning go? Here's a clue:

Tim Montgomerie @montie
Tories want the exln to be about Corbyn and May; LibDems want it to be about Brexit; Labour want it to be about ?

then there is this:
fleetstreetfox‏*@fleetstreetfox*
I wonder what'll happen to the SNP. Polls not too chuffed about 2nd indy ref, Labour screwed... could parts of Scotland go blue again?

there will be lots of this about:
Dan Rebellato‏*@DanRebellato*
^Right. If we don’t want a huge Tory majority, we must all hold our nose and vote tactically. This MUST happen. How to organise that?

and the strategy is this:
Laura Kuenssberg‏*@bbclaurak*
Clear from May and hearing IDS that tories will go after idea of Labour Lib Dem coalition as risky

Council officials are now seeking legal advice over the Gorton By-Election that is scheduled for next month.

One more thing: Does this bury the election expenses row that is brewing and involves May's close adviser Nick Timothy?

Oh and the bottom line?
Alberto Nardelli‏ @AlbertoNardelli
Difference size of Tory majority will make to EU27 negotiating position: 0

Sigh.

Elected representatives to do what? To sit and nod, or to speak and argue and seek to confound an agenda whose end is the fatal hobbling of Parliament?

Unfortunately I don't think that would have much effect.

Alistair Carmichael won the challenge against him at the special election court because the judges ruled that even though he admitted he lied, the electorate expect politicians to lie

The only saving grace was that the judges also ruled because he had brought it in himself with his dishonesty that both sides had to pay their own legal fees. His constituents had raised what they needed through crowd funding and even had some left over to give to charity

BigChocFrenzy Thu 20-Apr-17 16:19:59
But if Sinn Fein don't take up their seats, how useful is this - just to show the strength of Remain feeling ?

The unionists seem to prioritise their unionist pact above Brexit views, but maybe liberal unionists would vote for the Alliance, or even the SDLP.

SDLP and SF are both hoping the UUP will come onside and on the other side the DUP are also trying to get the UUP to form a pact. The UUP parted company with the DUP over Brexit, to a large extent, so the broadly nationalist parties are hoping that UUP voters will remain sufficiently alarmed by the prospect of a hard Brexit to vote for an anti-Brexit stance. So SF and the SDLP are making this election about Brexit, while the DUP is (which is what Labour should be doing).

I think it's important to register the strength of anti Brexit feeling. Obv this is what all other parties bar UKIP and the Tories are hoping to do (though Labour seems lost in a little world of its own where Brexit is irrelevant).

"...while the DUP is resorting to its usual 'circle the wagons against the Fenians' stance"

though Labour seems lost in a little world of its own where Brexit is irrelevant

It's one of the weirdest things I've ever seen politically.

Had this been posted yet? Farron does not rule out another coalition with the Tories: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tim-farron-liberal-democrat-leader-coalition-conservatives-tories-refuse-rule-out-a7691221.html
So what does this mean for their opposition to Brexit agenda? He is at the same time ruling out a coalition with Labour. Labour is seemingly happy with Brexit so this really does mean brexit is brexit is whatever the Tories manage to get out of it in the next couple of years. Our, whatever the EU decides would be good enough to give. All a bit grim, really.

rhu the Lib Dem agenda is keeping us in the Single Market, rather than stopping Brexit now. Its possibly too late to stop that now, unless Jolyon Maugham saves us.

Thanks, math I've always hoped the Alliance would catch on more, but that may be unrealistic.
Apart from Silvia Hermon, who has always seemed sensible imo, the Alliance don't seem to have elected anyone of note ?

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe its not too late even without Jolyon Maugham

Guardian: EU parliament welcome back Britain

I got Plaid then Greens in the quiz.
Will have to look into their policies.
Shame they won't put up a candidate this far from Wales!

Labour's disastrous performance over the last year has been staggering and they are now plumbing previously unknown depths of political incompetence.

It's not just a matter of Labour hard left vs centre, or even Corbyn's dodgy friends:
it's the total lack of the normal basic organization expected of any party, the lack of direction and communication about policy.

Labour may drop below 200 seats, even to 170-180

Totally failing to perform the functions of an Official Opposition would be shameful at any time, but
going AWOL while the Uk is going through the most important changes over the 65 years is very hard to forgive.

Maybe Dan Jarvis or Keir Starmer can rescue them after the GE and begin the long climb back to relevance.
Or maybe Labour will finally be replaced as the main opposition party.

Labour have no divine right to votes they don't bother to earn.
Scotland comprehensively rejected Labour as not fit for purpose.
Those Scottish Labour supporters who think it is just a passing phase seem to spend their time slagging off the SNP and waiting for Scotland to "return to its senses". Likely to be a long wait.

Now it looks like whole swathes of England will also dump Labour.

The Tories have free rein to do as they wish for the next 5 years, maybe the next 15 years if Labour don't get their arse in gear.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/20/surrey-labour-progressive-alliance?CMP=share_btn_tw
Surrey Labour could defy national party over progressive alliance

Keep an eye on this one. Local Labour party might work with Greens and LDs to get rid of Jeremy Hunt.

Shame they are not prepared to do this in a few other high profile seats.

I'm not gloating much , Misti

No, seriously I'm more worried about France than the Uk
Dear Spiegel is very downbeat about the extremes in the French election - much worse than May / Corbyn - and the disastrous mess of French politics :

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/french-presidential-election-a-battle-of-left-right-extremes-a-1143745.html

Tonight's events may have a massive affect on the French election.

If France goes down its the end of the EU

Why I’m not standing in the 2017 election: I’m staying in Europe to fight on for Brexit

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/20/not-standing-2017-election-staying-europe-fight-brexit/

< Farage explains why he has to keep his snout in the trough - it's for England and St George ! >

"On the other hand, I am the leader of a group in the European Parliament which gives me a big media platform across the EU. I have a front row seat where it matters most.
If I compare the platform I have in Strasbourg to being a backbench MP, there is frankly no comparison.
The Brexit negotiations will take place in Brussels and the European Parliament will not only have a large impact on them, but a veto on any deal."
< He'll obviously have a great influence on them by yelling childish (drunken ?) insults during Parliament.
UKIP could really scare those Eurocrats by having another drunken punch up >

The EU will miss France a lot more than it would miss the UK.
But the EU would continue

I have serious doubts that the Uk will continue after Brexit:
. Scotland is semi-detached already
. If the NI Troubles return, so will the bombers to tthe City of London - when it's desperately hanging onto the banks.

Farage explains why he has to keep his snout in the trough

Easy to slag off Farage but he earned a lot more money before becoming an MEP.

Easy to slag off Farage

Yes. He makes it very easy.

We can expect more attacks during the 2 rounds of the French election

We may well have attacks too during the buildup to the UK GE

Yes, Farage was a commodities trader, one of the elite he warns us against

Chris Ship @Chrisshipitv
'Tens of thousands is the wrong target' Tory MP @ben4bath tells @itvnews tonight-it should be higher. Just as PM says it's right target 😬

That's the sound of a Tory MP shitting his pants.

Ben Howlett MP for Bath is high on the LD hit list.

Newsnight has just reported that the top twenty Con target seats are yet to select a candidate with some not even started the process with hundreds of applications to sought through.

May really has caught her own party out on their lack of organisation.

We laugh at Farage, but let's remember he is fascist scum.

He has never apologised or admitted he was wrong to praise the 1930s fascist leader Oswald Mosely, or to sing "gas 'em all, gas 'em all" - about Jews:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nigel-farage-fascist-nazi-song-gas-them-all-ukip-brexit-schoolfriend-dulwich-college-a7185236.html

Sounds like May copied Baldrick's clever plan.
So did Corbyn ...
What kind of smokes are our taxes subsidising in those Westminster bars ?

Jim Sciutto @jimsciutto
BREAKING: US authorities have prepared charges to seek the arrest of @WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, US officials tell CNN

Ooo. If only he goes through with his threat to stand in our general election.