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Brexit

Westministenders: Up Shit Creek without Wifi.

999 replies

RedToothBrush · 29/04/2017 22:12

Theresa May is being held hostage.

There is mounting evidence that all is not as it seems at CCHQ. It makes you don your tin foil hat and ask who is in charge.

Theresa May was a Remainer. She suddenly abandoned that when she became leader. Her proclamation of what would follow next seems directly at odds with her actions. This is not her fault. This is her plea for help and way of telling the outside world that she is a prisoner of Brexit.

At first it seemed like perhaps she had been locked up with Brexiteers for too long. She seemed to be developing a survival strategy which seemed totally irrational to outsiders. The signs of intimidation everywhere though. Instead of criticising those who did this, May joined in with them or was complicit in her silence.

Things are now taking a sinister turn. After repeatedly saying ‘No Election’, May crumbled and called one. She has now not been seen in public since. Instead she is being wheeled out at closed events to the party faithful. They are being dressed as mixing with the people but they are no such thing. The plebs in attendance are set to ‘mute’ or locked out completely.

Behold the coming of the May-Bot. She seeks to ‘prevent tourism’ in Wales. She now no longer knows which town she is currently in. (Much less have a plan for Brexit). She accuses an organisation set up to use its numbers to get better deals, of doing what it is supposed to, except she calls this ‘ganging up’.

May is not transported in a bus. Oh no. Instead she travels by the Bond Villian’s choice of transport; the helicopter.

More worrying still is the mantra ‘Strong and Stable’ repeated as many times as possible. It is almost as if, if she says it enough she might start believing it. She certainly has got her party members brainwashed and acting as if they were Zombies. Who needs ‘Spice’ when you are a Conservative? They ‘Believe’…

The ploy is to hoodwink people into voting for May instead of the Tories. CCHQ have removed Conservative branding from literature and campaigning in the North. The party are still too toxic, but May apparently scores well especially against Corbyn. Ironically however negatively I think of Corbyn he does display something May increasingly seems incapable of: humanity.

Many people might think of May as some sort of dictator figure. Its true. Every vote for her strengthens her hand. But not for Brexit negotiations. Mainly because Brexit is without merit or reward. Not unless you hold power. This is part 2 of the grab for it.

This is May’s power paradox. SHE is not powerful. She isn’t persuasive. She isn’t a healer of divides. She relies on authoritarian measures to get her way. This isn’t a sign of her personal power, but a sign of her personal weakness. She is sly and sneaky in her methods rather than compelling others to come along with her. They are doing so more because they dislike the alternative in Corbyn less.

She is not stable. She has lurched from one drama to the next, and has repeatedly been forced to back down from what she wanted. Nothing says ‘stability’ and ‘good leadership’ like appointing Boris Johnson Foreign Secretary. The lady is not so much for turning and leading, but is already staggering around dizzy whilst blindfolded playing pin the tail on the donkey. And Christ she’s got a lot of them in her Government. Including the numpty who decided to do a live event and broadcast it in an area with no wi-fi. Mind you, that is soon to be the entire country. Or what’s left of it.

She had said she had a mandate for Brexit and did not need this to be approved by the country as she was getting on with the job. This is why we are having a General Election to give her a mandate…

Not only that, but there is a lurking question here that should not be forgotten. Who is pulling May’s strings and making her dance as her actions are not natural? Every puppet show has puppet masters behind the scenes of the stage, hiding in the shadows.

They will dispense with their toy once she has outlived her usefulness like every good baddie.

Is she the one we should be most fearful of?

Hold on tight this is going to be a very bumpy ride over the next two years. Just how many casualties will be sacrificed on the altar of Brexit?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
23
HashiAsLarry · 04/05/2017 07:32

Interesting how they share scripts.
Nothing like showing how different you are to everyone else by using the exact same bullshit arguments Grin

There seem to be a few of us around.
I'll be out leafleting too when we're ready to go round this way. It'll be the first time there'll be anything other than Tory leaflets before elections out around here. Well there were UKIP ones but they posted them on the Friday after Thursday polling.

RedToothBrush · 04/05/2017 07:59

Michael Deacon @ Michaels racing
Does anyone seriously believe the EU are thinking, "Leak a bit of gossip to a German paper, Corbyn landslide. After all, it's a tight race"

It's funny how no one commented on the call to arms the day before an election too.

There's another point that people miss. May does fear Corbyn. She fears the Lib Dems. She talks about Labour, SNP and UKIP but for the most part there is an omission in what she says. Talking about the Lib Dems means they are a credible threat. This is why the Tim Farron shaped hole.

So many times is not about what you say, it's about what you don't say and for Theresa May this is true of just about everything.

You know how for the first two weeks of Trump you woke up going 'whats he done now?', I woke up thinking 'oh god what May going to do today?'. Then I remembered it was the local elections and breathed a sigh of relief that today should be quiet before realising that only means tomorrow is going to be a shit storm.

So we are at Trump alert British style.

If the LDs do well tonight it could shift the goal posts. People might see them as a real alternative if Labour's collapse starts to be measurable. Corbyn's point about the polls starts to fall apart. The one to watch out for is West of England mayoralty. (Due at 5am).

If Labour lose Doncaster, or the Conservatives lose Peterborough or Cambridge then that's unexpected and in the realm of odd things happening.

May will not be able to ignore the yellow problem. Tory Tanks will appear if the LDs do better than expected.

Tonight doesn't look like an all nighter though, looking at the timetable. Spin starts at 10pm but then there's not much until Welsh results start coming in at 2 - 3 am. There's a number of councils due over night at 3 - 4am but lots more at not due until tomorrow morning onwards.

More here:
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/03/what-time-will-2017-local-election-results-be-announced-general-election-mayoral
What time will Thursday's 2017 local election results be announced?

And here:
www.newstatesman.com/politics/elections/2017/04/what-look-out-2017-local-elections-4-may
What to look out for in the 2017 local elections on 4 May

Enjoy today's relative peace whilst it lasts.

OP posts:
Badders123 · 04/05/2017 08:10

Idea for new Tory poster...

Westministenders: Up Shit Creek without Wifi.
RedToothBrush · 04/05/2017 08:12

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/general-election-2017-quiz-can-10351842
General election 2017 quiz: Can YOU guess where Theresa May is in Britain at these identical Tory rallies?

Invasion of the May-bots.

OP posts:
BigChocFrenzy · 04/05/2017 08:18

"Theresa May has just delivered a remarkable speech – that is, to say, a speech that were it delivered by anyone other than the Prime Minister anywhere other than the steps of Downing Street, it would likely result in the police gently asking them if everything was quite alright."

The challenge for May is not beating Labour – it’s getting the best Brexit deal after the election.

It wouldn’t hurt if she started to take that latter part a little more seriously. "

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/june2017/2017/05/theresa-mays-speech-might-win-her-election-it-could-cost-britain

mathanxiety · 04/05/2017 08:19

People! Please don't spoil your votes.

A vote not cast for a party opposing the Tories is a meaningless gesture. Swallow hard and vote for whoever has a chance of coming close to gaining a seat for any party that is not Tory or any position that is not Leave/Hard Brexit.

Eeeeeowwwfftz · 04/05/2017 08:24

I don't think I've ever experience an election during an election campaign before. The press seems quiet about the GE today - is there a rule about all campaigning ceasing when the polls are open, even if it's for a different election?

Here are my predictions for the local elections.

  1. Turnout will be low.
  2. The results will barely correlate with anything.
  3. That won't stop the politicians or the pundits claiming that they do.
BiglyBadgers · 04/05/2017 08:29

As it is basically the same parties in the GE as the local elections it follows that reporting campaigning for the GE could be seen as campaigning for the local elections. This hasn't really happened before with them so close together, but not on the same day. My local council is fretting about purdah periods after the local elections as they are not sure what it will be OK for them to say regarding the new councillors, so it's not just the media struggling with this. I imagine that the media will play is safe for the day. It is a tricky one for everyone though.

mathanxiety · 04/05/2017 08:42

^May has always put "having a fight" above "making effective decisions & policies". She fears the end of fighting. 38/
May will always be looking for a fight. To distract us from the importang things she's doing - or failing to do. We must remember this. 39/^
When May attacks democratic instits & human rights we shd oppose. But smartly: always thinking how to avoid helping her distract. End. 40/40
[RTB's Simon Cox post]

What she is doing in this election is calculated and formulaic. She is pushing all the buttons of the smug and self satisfied. The politics of affect is a perfect description for this approach.

She is a pure demagogue, and not even slightly stupid, or unwell. She is not at all interested in democracy. Nor is she interested in Brexit, per se. She wants what comes afterwards.

ElenaGreco123 · 04/05/2017 08:44

Just voted. There was no queue, but a steady stream of people going to work and voting on the way. Last time the officials told me that more than 1/3 are postal voters.

In our area Tynemouth might go blue we fear.

RedToothBrush · 04/05/2017 09:03

Simon Cox‏*@SimonFRCox*
How can we oppose May without adding to her distracting pose as a fighter? Some thoughts... 1/n
Dont let May determine parameters of debate. Talk abt what she doesnt want discussed: zero hours, NHS, fair £ for all schools, food banks 2/
Contest May's frame for the fight. Try and avoid taking the oppositional position she wants us to take. 3/
Call May out on how her plans to deliver X wont work - even if we dont want her to deliver X. Eg on migration, liberals opposed cap but 4/
seemed afraid to say "she cant even meet it". I understand fear that sharpening debate on how to deliver will improve delivery. But not 5/
discussing how May struggles to deliver her autocratic promises is missing key opportunity to engage w public. This failure has left many 6/
thinking "controlling migration is easy. We just need Gov to take control / build a wall ..." see my piece
www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/07/07/the-migration-control-fantasy
IMO informing debate abt how hard it wd be to deliver May's "control" helps thoughtful voters question those aims & if May is realistic 8/
May's gravitas seems often a veneer. Challenge Cons on how their policy will deliver & they have bluster & aggro. Like Trump & Le Pen. 9/
By increasing risk of disastrous Brexit, May has strengthened popular wish for a fighter. By harming country, she's keeping her job 10/
How to weaken May strategy of labels: "unreasonable" foreigners (pursuing their interests) & "disloyal" opposition (disagreeing w/ her) 11/
May draws on centuries of racist imperialism & nationalism : when only Englishmen were honest & true. 12/
We can draw on better British self-images. That other peoples have their legitimate interests : and for EU27 cohesion is legit 12/
That honest debate & transparency of decision-making are democratic - and apply to UK Gov on Brexit. 13/
That UK was right to entrust decision to seek to leave EU to a referendum.
For same reason, we have right to referendum on final deal 14/
To hold on to power, May needs British ppl scared & angry at foreign & disloyal enemies she fights. She doesnt want consensual solutions 15/
Britain has other values: blunt - but pragmatic. Passionate - but concerned w/ facts. Resolving conflict - not fighting eternally. End 16/16

Anna Page‏*@AnnaCPage*

Which of course is nonsense, she is not fighting for us, she is fighting to try impress us.

OP posts:
prettybird · 04/05/2017 09:12

In Scotland it will be difficult/impossible to make any predictions based on the results except for Glasgow because of the STV voting system.

This is despite the media/Labour/the Conservatives/the LibDems trying to make the local elections about independence, over which the councils have no control, barring proving whether or not particular "colour" administrations are "competent" (although even that is debatable as the STV system makes coalitions the norm rather than the exception). 2 of the 4 pages of the Conservative leaflet I had delivered were given over to opposing independence and only a couple of sentences about what the Conservative candidate would do (he'll be the only one on the council so there will be limits to what he can achieve). should be grateful he did even mention local issues: friends in other areas got leaflets that didn't mention local issues at all. Labour and LibDem leaflets were the same (not that we had any delivered at all but I've seen examples online). Hmm The Green (who delivered a personalised letter to ds as a first time 16 year old voter) and both SNP leaflets which I delivered to myself, plus the two SNP letter which were posted all describe in detail what their local plans are and don't mention independence once. So who is it who is obsessed? Confused

The local elections shouldn't be about the EU/Brexit. They should be about local issues.

I'll second mathanxiety about making sure to vote and not just spoil it. Even if all you do is vote Green in a safe Tory seat and you know they don't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning, at least you're adding to their national percentage and increasing the amount of coverage that they are required to have.

MsHooliesCardigan · 04/05/2017 09:29

Is there a mechanism in the uk like in the US for removing someone who clearly isn't compos mentis from office? I know we don't have a written Constitution.
There was a point made in one of those links that, if TM really believes the EU are interfering in the GE, that makes her dangerously paranoid. If she doesn't believe it, she's saying if to stir up Patriotic anti EU feelings for short term gain. Either way, she's seriously pissing off the other EU members.
I do think there is a serious possibility that she's actually losing the plot under the pressure which is why her campaign has been so incredibly srage managed and scripted. If she had to take questions from ordinary voters, I can see her coming out with something completely bizarre which would make people realise that the lights are on but nobody's home.
What would happen if she started sprouting serious delusions like claiming to be the Queen of Switzerland or the resurrection of Mary Magdalene? I presume someone would have to act.

missmoon · 04/05/2017 09:36

"Is there a mechanism in the uk like in the US for removing someone who clearly isn't compos mentis from office?"

In terms of the PM, there would be a vote of no confidence in the Commons, and new elections. Not sure if there is any way of removing an MP or a councillor, unless they are convicted or a crime?

RedToothBrush · 04/05/2017 09:44

David Allen Green‏*@davidallengreen*

  1. Here is the tale of Theresa and Abu.
  2. Once upon a time Theresa was Home Secretary.
One day she had to deal with a request from Jordan for Abu's deportation.
  1. She was not the first Home Secretary to have to deal with this request. But there was a problem.
  2. The was the prospect that the evidence to be used against Abu in Jordan had been obtained by torture.
  3. And if so, it was not lawfully open to the UK under ECHR to deport anybody if there was prospect of torture-gained evidence being used.
  4. So what did Theresa do?
She huffed and puffed at the courts, spending huge amounts of public money.
  1. Click here and see how many QCs she instructed for one appeal.
One QC. Two QCs. Three QCs. Yes, three QCs.
  1. Those in the media who rail against "fat cat lawyers" didn't mind the government instructing three QCs at public expense, in this case.
  2. But Theresa still lost that case. She lost every appeal, however much taxpayers' money she threw at the case.
10. And the reason she lost was, well, because torture is absolutely wrong, and no one should be deported to face torture-based evidence. 11. Having lost in her attempt at shouting at the courts, Theresa tried a new tactic. She shouted at Europe. 12. It was seriously suggested that the UK "temporarily" leave the ECHR - see www.theguardian.com/law/2013/apr/24/european-rights-convention-abu-qatada 13. This idea did not get far, because it was laughed at by a Lord Chancellor called Kenneth. 14. But Theresa had got the tabloids in a frenzy at this case - she had shouted at the courts and at Europe, but none of it had worked. 15. And so Theresa quietly did a sensible deal with Jordan where they agreed never to use torture-based evidence. 16. You would say this was a Good Thing, as it meant there would be no torture-based evidence used in Jordan again. 17. But Theresa did not want to talk about it. Instead she made out she had deported him "despite" ECHR rather than in compliance with it. 18. So despite huffing and puffing and exciting the tabloids and threatening suspension and appealing, she did what the ECHR required anyway 19. Theresa ended up doing a sensible deal on Abu, contrary to the expectations and demands of the press, but then pretended she hadn't. 20. In turn, Abu in Jordan was cleared, as the supposed serious (torture-based) evidence against him was no longer admissible. 21. And Theresa got another job where she shouted at courts and at Europe, getting press into a frenzy, and then she.... (to be continued).
OP posts:
Cailleach1 · 04/05/2017 09:45

Adler couldn't find the office and says it encapsulates the EU. One of the daftest things I have ever heard. I don't think you could get softer reporting. There is a road near me where the houses skip a number. The missing number was quoted on a planning application for the location of a phone mast. A little knock on a door of one of the houses with the number below or above revealed it was like harry potter's platform. The fact the applicant stated the incorrect number says more about their efforts.

If Adler went to the restaurant and discovered they only served pie with cream, would she pronounce this was indicative of the rigidity of the institutions of the EU.

Badders123 · 04/05/2017 09:55

Voted.
Didn't see a soul under 70
Sigh

Cailleach1 · 04/05/2017 09:56

That is sobering. Opaque. Should Dacre be included on May's election leaflets? Vote for one and get the other running the country too. Who pulls whose strings?

No wonder she is going nuts about a press she isn't in bed with. Can't be part of the spin control.

Cailleach1 · 04/05/2017 09:57

Badders, the busiest times maybe be after work or college.

TheElementsSong · 04/05/2017 09:59

If Adler went to the restaurant and discovered they only served pie with cream, would she pronounce this was indicative of the rigidity of the institutions of the EU.

Grin

I used to work in a building that had a bewildering floor-numbering system, because it had been cobbled together from several buildings of varying ages. It was in the UK though. If only I'd realised it was all a nefarious plot of the EuroConspirators!

PattyPenguin · 04/05/2017 10:01

What time did you vote Badders? Depending on the time, a lot of people younger than 65 might well be at work / at school or college / taking kids to nursery or school.

I normally vote after work, around 6.30 - 7.00 pm, and everyone I see going in and out of the polling station at that time are evidently working age.

Badders123 · 04/05/2017 10:02

That's true...
I voted at 9.40

Badders123 · 04/05/2017 10:03
Eeeeeowwwfftz · 04/05/2017 10:16

Metaphor?

Callmecordelia · 04/05/2017 10:26

I just voted too. Not even the Conservative teller could work up any enthusiasm for Theresa May. He was as appalled by her speech as I was.

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