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.

By way of light relief our swivel eyed UKIP loon has left UKIP is too swivel eyed even for UKIP and formed his own party, ENACT, it has a website, reams of ranting policy and everything but only one member and I am using member in both its senses

He, together with the Christian fundamentalist, kill all the homosexuals, put women back in the kitchen churning out babies turns the local websites into something of a bear pit and he even got us into Private Eye last year, an election wouldn't be the same without them...

Spiky btl comments reveal their fear of David Miliband ^

whatwould too swivel eyed even for UKIP?! Did you see the cutting from the previous page?!

We need more details. Just for the entertainment.

Anyway I'm off out.

Here's a new thread;
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2909903-Westministenders-Oh-No-Not-Another-One-Thread-that-is?watched=1

www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/uk-independence-party/news/85292/ukip-considering-not-standing-candidates
Ukip considering not standing candidates against eurosceptics - report

See my previous comment above. This is not good news.

It is not unsurprising though. They have a funding problem.

Some of the swivel eyed UKIPers and Tories make the Monster Raving Loony Party look positively sane. Besides which, they are always civilised and fun at elections.

Now the seat in which Miliband might have a chance would be Maidenhead.

Job done then according to Banks, on tory destruction.

"One senior Ukip source said of the pro-Brexit party’s plans: “It is a bit like the progressive alliance, but it would be entirely unilateral. We know very well we’d get nothing from the Conservatives in return.

“We see ourselves as the watchdogs of Brexit, and that’s the offer we’re making to the public at the election."

'watchdogs'.

Red I am a bit concerned that he will get overexcited if he gets any hits but as he is overexcitedly posting long diatribes on the local website it probably won't make a difference www.barryedwards.info

BigChoc - I believe that analysis did suggest that the "English expat" for want of a better expression did contribute to the No vote and arguably actually swung it to No. I think Edinburgh Uni did a study which showed that the majority of Scots born people voted Yes. (I wouldn't count amongst them , nor would my dad or brother as we were born abroad).

Despite that, the SNP has no plans to change the franchise: it would go against their claims of civic rather than ethnic nationalism.

Plus I know of because I met them when I was out canvassing , EU citizens who were going to vote No because they had been told by Better Together canvassers who'd seen them ahead of us that "they'd be sent home "tomorrow" if they voted Yes"

And I'll disagree with Howabout (again ) about the polls. There was one, ONE poll in advance that suggested a Yes victory (at which point Westminster went into panic mode and Gordon Brown issued his Vow Promise of New Powers for the Scottish Parliament despite not being in a position of power and the government arguably breaking purdah to agree although their argument is that there is no purdah during a referendum ).

"There is always a lot of talk about Corbyn being crap during the ref campaigning and not supporting remain strongly enough, but May was amazingly quiet if I recall. I don't see her as a remainer at all."

Indeed she was, bless her duplicitous, conniving heart

However, she was still a Remainer, however mouse-like, and that condemns her as a traitor to the more rabid in the Leave camp.

Thanks, pretty I thought I'd read that somewhere and Edinburgh Uni rings a bell

face down the Tory Remainers, manufacturing & exporters to walk away with a WTO deal.

She can't just walk away with one though – every member of the WTO has to agree. It is potentially more nightmarish than trying to negotiate with the EU27. This idea of it being the 'default' easy option that May has been pushing is nonsense.

I also can't decide whether a big majority means a softer or harder Brexit. Although I do think she is ultimately a foreigner-hating, power-drunk twat, I also note that she has been making noises recently suggesting a softening on FOM, at least for the duration of a (long) transitional period, or whatever we're meant to call it now. This makes me think that, possibly, she is in fact after a softer Brexit and is hoping to strengthen her hand against the swivel-eyed contingent.

The campaigns section of the website is a particular gem since in my experience of being involved in several, the word led should be replaced by the words ignored or actively excluded, particularly in respect of what is just the branding for the Council's Planning Process!

Anyone else interested in what appears to be going on with the much vaunted trade deal with the USA.

First of all May hints that the NHS and health services could make up part of the deal.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-donald-trump-nhs-us-trade-deal-brexit-torture-a7548156.html

Then Trump has put the EU infront of the UK in the line to ge a trade deal.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trump-puts-eu-ahead-of-britain-in-trade-queue-l7t8zwn7k

So it appears all the arguments about needing to be out of the EU to protect the NHS from TTIP were lies, and that the thing that leavers attacked Obama for has just been done by their hero Trump.

Quite frankly I'm laughing at how many of the promises made by the leave team are appearing to be U turned on.

BigChoc : further to the discussion of the franchise in Indyref, the SNP are still against FPTP even though it currently allows them to be disproportionately represented at Westminster and would prefer a PR system. Who knew: a party that supports a policy that would result in them having fewer MPs?

....but there again, they'd rather not be at WM at all

Danny - I know SNP/Yes supporters who were going to vote Leave because of their fear of TTIP and their belief that only by leaving the EU could we be "saved" from it

I don't know how many times I had to explain that the Conservative Government who had said that TTIP was fit for purpose should be signed as was, and that it was opposition in the rest of the EU that was stopping it - because of their fear for public services (our own government hadn't fought for exemptions for things like Health) and GM/antibiotics/steroind in foods. That with the a Leave vote, we were likely to get TTIP on steroids literally

....hopefully enough times to convince them!

I know Lexiters who voted leave for the same reason.

Seriously, the amount of misinformed votes that went to leave are unbelievable.

"I find myself agreeing with a lot of Matthew Paris says these days
17 year old me is horrified"

I prefer to think that Matthew Paris is agreeing with me.

😂