Westministenders: Oh No Not Another One. Thread that is.

[RedToothBrush]

In this edition of Westministers we play a game of ‘Where are they now?’

In June 2016 our screens were subjected to the sight of a number of particularly vocal MPs who participated in debates and stood on soap boxes to talk about the referendum.

The most noticeable of these for Leave were perhaps Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom, Gisela Stuart, Nigel Farage, Priti Patel and Kate Hoey. For Remain it was David Cameron, George Osborne, Jeremy Corbyn, Ruth Davidson, Sadiq Khan, Nicola Sturgeon, Nick Clegg and Tim Farron.

It is starting to seem that anyone involved in campaigning either for or against Brexit in June 2016 has faced an epic battle for survival. Just how long can they last before being defeated or conceding defeat.

David Cameron’s scalp was the first to go, as he swanned off leaving everyone to clear up his mess.

Boris Johnson, who was keen to stamp his mark and pitch for the leadership by stitching up Cameron, got stitched up by Michael Gove who also lost his own bid for leadership as a result.

Johnson, of course, still lives to fight another day by getting a nice job as Theresa’s whipping boy. He’s occasionally let out by himself, but its Michael Fallon who does the ‘Grown Up Business’. He was said to be one of the last to support an early election. I can’t think why that might be.

Poor old Gove is now confined to a straight-jacket, the back benches where he’s been told to think about what he’s done like a naughty school child and a column in the Times

Andrea Leadsom was sent to a field of cows never to be seen again except to pop up for the odd cameo line shouting about ‘Jam’.

Queen Theresa also dealt with the other Conservative Leader Leave Candidate Mr Liam Fox, by shipping him off to every dodgy corner of the global to get pampered by state hostility.

Stephen Crabb simply crawled back under his rock.

The announcement of the General Election seems to be like the major soap incident episode where half the cast get killed off by a totally unrealistic disaster because their acting contracts weren’t being renewed.

The quitters and abdicators who now have legged it at the sight of a General Election are Gisela ‘Champion of the Brexit Bus’ Stuart and Nigel ‘Too chicken to be defeated for an eighth time and risk losing my nice EU pension’ Farage. George Osborne took the advice of his school teachers and had another career to fall back on when he didn’t become successful in his first choice.

Its rather starting to look like the curse of being a leading Brexiteer is to be made to disappear off the face of the earth or fuck off when the going gets tough. Have you seen Priti Patel lately? Does she even still exist? And Chris Grayling? He was convinced he was going to get chancellor when he supported May in her bid for the leadership.
Instead he got packed off transport and disappeared off the face of the earth much to the annoyance of everyone caught up in the rail strikes.

The only one who is remotely visible seems to be David Davis and is like May’s pet poodle who just tries to please his owner.

It’s almost like the only one still standing or hasn’t been banished is Kate Hoey. And the Lib Dems are trying to work on that one and make her sink beneath the waves, on board her Alan Partridge Titanic once and for all.

Conversely the visible Remainers seem to be – on the face of it - fairing rather better at the moment.

Sadiq Khan is hugely popular and actually does his job rather than fannying about on zip wires. Ruth Davidson is also well respected and apparently has saved Priti Patel’s job from abolition. If the rumours are to be believed bored with scrapping with Nicola, she might be lining herself up for ‘Big Things’ in Westminister. Cameron’s one time love interest, Nick Clegg hasn’t shaken the tarnish of the coalition but he is enjoying a new reputation as the Brexit Soothsayer and some people actually know who Tim Farron is now, which is progress. Nicola Sturgeon is of course riding high and seems to be a permanent thorn in Theresa’s side.

Jeremy ‘I’m a Remainer, honest comrades’ Corbyn is the one who seems to be something of a walking disaster area yet is also thriving with it like a zombie who just keeps going regardless of what you throw at him.

And then of course there is Queen Theresa. The Remainer. Who has crushed everyone in her party. Not just the saboteurs. Even her supposed ally Hammond and BBF Rudd have been thrown under the bus at her wimb when its suited May personally.

The General Election now sets a new scene and opportunity for new characters to emerge. Now the rats have left the ship or been put in their place.

Will May set course to the left or to the right or simply plow on like a bull in a china shop?

Anyway I’m now looking forward to the shocking soap opera moment where your favourite hero or villain gets killed off in a twist you didn’t see coming. Role on June 8th. If only to get pass the upcoming horror of the next six weeks.

I'm in the same position green 😞😡
I'm giving my vote to my 13 year old son - he can do some research and I will vote accordingly

Oh the irony
twitter.com/independent/status/856810634645819393

Is the lib dem candidate a soft brexiteer rather than a brexiteer at all costs? Having said that, rtb question sounds more pertintent.

The LibDem candidates were nearly all selected almost a year ago. The situation would normally have been reviewed after the CC elections, when other candidates might have been chosen. If you think back to the Richmond Park by election the circumstances there were that Sarah Olney wasn't necessarily going to be the candidate, although she was chosen in the end. So when the candidates were chosen, no one would have known whether they were in a Remain or Leave constituency.

We x-posted Badders, makes me wonder if we're in the same constituency! I didn't realise any LD candidates were doing this, will have to investigate further. DH is LD, so poses big problem for him.

I'm glad the Nutty Chicken report cheered you up, loud

I hope your week improves
If politics is depressing you - because the scum are rising to the top -

play the guessing game of what their grotty place in history will be, or to which arse they will be compared

. Cameron ==> Chamberlain
. Farage ==> Oswald Mosely
. Nuttall - not even a footnote in history
. The Fail in the Brexit era ==> a continuation of its 1930s "Hurrah for the Blackshirts"
. Corbyn ==> the Leader who ran away. The WMD who nuked Labour
. Labour ==> ran in all directions, under fallout
. Bojo - the Nasty Clown
. Davies - the Brexit Dunce

• Gove - the Unguided Assassin - who wiped out the leadership of his own party

. May - the Mistake - 3rd rater whom Gove accidentally let in ......

An important reason to vote:

If the next several years go as badly as we fear, the Kids will ask

"What did you do in the Great Brexit DIsaster ?"

" I voted , campaigned and potested. I did my best, but I lost"

is so much better an answer than
"I didn't vote because it was pointless"

"What did you do in the Great Brexit DIsaster ?"
" I voted , campaigned and potested. I did my best, but I lost"

Yes, BigChoc. Dare I make the comparison with 1920s and 30s Germany? Goebbels secretary died recently, and is quoted as saying that people say they would have protested, but they wouldn't have done.

Some did question and some did protest, right from the beginning. So I want to be in that camp and not the ones who allowed disaster to happen by doing nothing.

Feeling powerless i think is one of those things that Tory HQ want you to feel. Resist it. It's actually part of deliberate strategy. As soon as you are aware that you are being targeted to lose faith in your democratic right to vote you should exercise it all the more as a point of principle and to vote for democracy. Which box you tick is less relevant.

I have to say i am a little disappointed over the news that the Tory MPs in Open Britain have decided to leave. This was in part down to Open Britain deciding to target several remain Tories in LD marginals. The Tory MPs were left with little option with suggestions made that Open Britain is just a front for the LDs. Whilst i don't believe this, i do think it really rather undermines the idea of Open Britain and now as a direct result perhaps alienates a few important allies within the Conservatives.

"What did you do in the Great Brexit DIsaster ?"
" I voted , campaigned and potested. I did my best, but I lost"

Me too peregrina, I want my DC and DGC to know I always didn't give up. I may not have been in the front line, but I was always there doing something.

I also want it on record in case I go like my DM and suddenly make a right wing turn when I'm older.

I can only vote in local and EU elections (for now ) but I have always voted. Lots of spoiled ballots though with the options being Tory or UKIP much of the time.

You are right Red, about it being a tactic to make you feel powerless. I have always voted and always will, even in all the local elections etc; my first GE vote was in an overwhelmingly tory constituency back in the 80's, and felt powerless then, but I still voted.

You are right Red, about it being a tactic to make you feel powerless.
In some cases it's counter-productive. It's making us more angry and more active.

It's also worth remembering what happened in Richmond and then in Copeland. Even sizeable majorities can be over-turned, so there might be hope for your constituency greentiger

We leave in times of such flux that not many seats can be considered "safe"

53rdway - that election leaflet will almost definitely have been printed in advance of the GE election and would have been aimed at the council elections

I have a friend who lives in Scone and he has had leaflets in from LibDems, the Conservatives, Labour and the SNP. The first 3 didn't mention local issues, just complained about the SNP and the need to vote against a 2nd independence referendum The only leaflet that didn't mention a referendum and talking about specific local issues was the SNP leaflet.

I live in Glasgow and so far the only leaflets that have been delivered in the locality are from the SNP and both of them only talk about what the SNP plans to do in Glasgow. I can't say what the other parties are saying as I haven't yet just over a week from the elections had any leaflets from any other candidates/parties!

I always vote in any election i can. On many occasions i have voted for a party who stood no chance at all, but i was still proud to put my mark on the slip. Every vote for or against matters. Everyone makes a difference, even if it just letting a minor party know that there is someone out there who cares about the same things they do.

When people say you have to be in power to make a difference i always point out the UKIP enigma. They had one MP. They had no chance of winning in most of the places they have stood and yet without them brexit would not have happened. They have completely changed the political landscape without ever coming within a million miles of power. Often just the existence of a party demonstrates a public view in a particular direction and can change the policies of those that are in power. Every vote is a nudge in the right direction and reminds the party in power that things can change.

Voting is something i feel very strongly about and i have been known to get rather furious with people who don't turn up and at least write "none of the above" on their bit of paper. When i was a child my parents would always take me with them to vote and it was drummed into me how much people had fought for the right to vote and how important it is. I have taken dd with me to every vote since she has been born and talked to her about voting and how important it is. She is 5 and loves a good vote.

I heard a Labour spokesman this morning on BBC Breakfast (didn't catch who it was but it wasn't Starner he had a beard - might have been the Shadow Minister rather than Secretary of State for Brexit) who was talking some twaddle about post Brexit, we would still have access to the Single Market (like India) but that we wouldn't have access to the Internal Market . And that they were still working out ways to minimise the impact of losing access to the Internal Market.

If that's the quality of Starmer's underlings, then we're stuffed but we knew that already

Andrew Tyrie stepping down. I'm definitely not a tory but I still think this is a very sad loss of an excellent backbench MP.

twitter.com/independent/status/856848230264582145

Me since 2010;

Andrea Leasdom has finally stirred herself into action.
The Toxic Air Scandal

to use the rules about purdah, which don't affect public health emergencies, to delay a report about environmental pollution.

Those of you who still believe that the Tories will look after the environment, as well as being concerned about death rates due to rising pollution, please tell me what evidence you have for your belief.

I have lived where local people have campaigned, marched and protested long and hard for a meaningful vote, have gone to prison and now face intimidation, discrimination and violent reprisals for continuing to protest and campaign, and I have visited places where excited people want to talk to anyone who will listen about their enthusiasm for their newfound democratic rights, especially to vote and to speak as freely as we do on here, and the hopes it has given them for their future. I will never take that right, and in a global context, privilege for granted. I will also continue to campaign against those who seek to exploit and subvert our democratic process with lies and manipulation to further their own agenda. In both places those campaigning and involving themselves in the political processes understood it was also a responsibility to not just vote but also to develop and use your critical faculties to ensure you make an informed decision. In both cases those people are really puzzled and shocked at what has happened in the UK in recent months, a country they looked to as a model for democracy and stable government.