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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?

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RedToothBrush · 04/05/2017 23:12

From Newstatemen live feed:

22:48: Depressing news froma well-placed Liberal Democrat source. They think the Tories have swept the board and that they and Labour are both in for a disappointing night. They still expect some gains but not the bounty they hoped for.

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RedToothBrush · 04/05/2017 23:14

Results are starting to come in.

First up.

Britain Elects‏*@britainelects*
Labour HOLD Queensferry (Flintshire).

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OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon · 04/05/2017 23:14

I was telling at the polling station for two hours and the conservative teller and both candidates said it had been very quiet. The very tentative numbers for the turnout for our ward, excluding postal votes, was estimated at 14%.

The massively crude and early data at the lib dems was that they had taken the seat from the tories. It is poor quality data, which the person who calculated it was very keen to impress.

As a completely anecdotal aside, the two Tory tellers and one candidate were pretty obnoxious; one teller in particular was a real idiot, being lewd and leering over a young woman, saying he'd worked with Germans and they were all smug (not individuals, they were fine, but as a group they were insufferable Hmm) and generally not being enjoyable to pass two very long hours with.

I didn't particular connect with the lib dem candidate but he wasn't an arse, which is apparently a desirable criteria rather than an essential one these days.

HesterThrale · 04/05/2017 23:15

Sorry posted too soon.

'The word Conservative appeared in only tiny letters on the adverts, which were focussed on the Prime Minister...'

A high-stakes strategy. If voters are being asked to invest belief in HER and then she does something weird or off-putting during the campaign, it could cost them votes.

www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/general-election-2017-tories-step-up-drive-into-labour-heartlands-as-voters-turn-out-for-local-a3530321.html

BigChocFrenzy · 04/05/2017 23:23

It's why she is so protected from both voters and journalists
She has a tin ear wrt voters who aren't comfy Home counties mc and would doubtless let out some clangers if allowed to talk to anyone not of the faithful

Cailleach1 · 04/05/2017 23:27

DD on QT said that after the dinner at downing street, the Commission issued further briefings saying that the UK would have to pay 100billion and a line was crossed where the Commission was trying to bully the British people. Gov't wouldn't allow the British people to be bullied.

Was there a briefing from the Commission on a definite number? I thought there was the methodology to be agreed on. And then see what was legally binding. If it is legally binding is it 'bullying'? I thought there were articles by the Financial times etc? Not a statement from the Commission. Is this the Con's cover story for their incompetence and delusion?

DD is saying a very good deal for the British people. If the EU say they want a very good deal for EU, are they then bullying by not putting the UK first?

Cailleach1 · 04/05/2017 23:33

Mmm. DD is saying they are aiming to secure a very good deal for the British people on what they voted on. Taking back control of borders and laws and a comprehensive FTA. To protect all businesses, not just some. How many FTA's are they going to have and who are they with? Are you bullying the British people if you don't agree to a cherrypicking FTA? He says they are very lucky to have a 'bloody difficult woman'. OK. So, she said they were influencing the election and making threats. What were they?

TheElementsSong · 04/05/2017 23:33

If the EU say they want a very good deal for EU, are they then bullying by not putting the UK first?

It's one of those irregular verbs (or adjectives).

Whatever UK Brexiters say/do is brave, strong, stable, etc. Whatever anybody else says/does is bullying, punishment, etc.

BigChocFrenzy · 04/05/2017 23:36

Controversial view of the future?

"May’s bellicose approach to Brexit is calculated to appeal to a growing cohort of over-65s"

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/04/theresa-may-brexit-grey-power-new-battle-of-britain

"The quickest way to understand what May is doing is often to imagine how it sounds to a much older person, because that’s where the centre of politics is moving.

Britain is ageing, and the older it gets, the further to the right it’s shifting" Hmm
< many exceptions, e.g. Peregrina, LH and I, other old bods here ... >

YouGov calculates that for every 10 years older people get, their likelihood of voting Tory rises 8% – which helps explain why fewer than one in five people aged 65 to 75 (and fewer than one in 10 over-75s) identify as Labour.

Anyone who doesn’t grasp why that matters has forgotten the lesson from Brexit:

grey power is amplified by older people’s greater propensity to vote

Adjusting for this habit, one analysis for the charity Age UK predicts that over half of parliamentary seats might have a “grey majority” (more than half of those voting being over 55) by 2025."

Cailleach1 · 04/05/2017 23:39

Where is the Commission briefing bullying the British people, I wonder? And the demand for definite amounts of money? So they don't even need to tot it up. It is already done? I hope they exist because a less generous person might regard this as bald faced lying to cover themselves and pretend they are coming to the defence of the British people if they don't exist?

TheElementsSong · 04/05/2017 23:41

Is it just me, or are there a rash of posts/threads recently, all about the nasty bully EU being big meanies to poor widdle helpless us?

All we want is the bloody moon on a stick, only good outcomes without any costs, everybody on the planet to roll over to facilitate our every desire, the suspension of the laws of physics...

RedToothBrush · 04/05/2017 23:42

Britain Elects‏*@britainelects*

Independent GAIN Rhosnesni (Wrexham) from Labour.
Independent GAIN Gwersyllt (Wrexham) from Labour.
Labour HOLD Shotton East (Wrexham).
Independent GAIN Gwersllyt North (Wrexham) from Labour.

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woman12345 · 04/05/2017 23:49

Is this JC's last stand?

Cailleach1 · 04/05/2017 23:51

The Con's are trying to outdo UKIP. They are using the EU as an election crutch. Oh my God. Davis still talking about India and other parts of the world. What about the visas?

First sensible sentence of the evening from DD. How we do outside the EU is down to us. Don't you wish they would bloody well take ownership of that. They are already getting ready to blame any blips on the EU, though. May's speech was that some want us to fail.

Could you imagine being at that dinner with DD and TM?

RedToothBrush · 04/05/2017 23:52

Election Data‏*@election*_data
Labour won with 72% of the vote in 2012:
Independent GAIN Gwersllyt North (Wrexham) from Labour
In 2012 Labour were on 72%. Tonight it was 28%. Numerically pleasing:
Independent GAIN Gwersllyt North (Wrexham) from Labour

Britain Elects‏**@britainelects**

Labour HOLD Shotton East (Flintshire).

Conservative WIN Bedworth North (Warwickshire).
Notional gain from Labour. Boundary changes.

New Statesman:
23:32:Good question: are Labour and the Liberal Democrats just playing down expectations by saying the Tories are doing better than they expected? Well, mebbe. But usually when that happens, the two parties pick different things (not deliberately, you understand). That both are citing the same cause suggests it may well be true. And it's not just the leadership saying it. I'm hearing the same glum noises from activists in the country.

Britain Elects‏**@britainelects**
Liberal Democrat GAIN Caldicot Castle (Monmouthshire) from Labour.

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RedToothBrush · 04/05/2017 23:55

Could you imagine being at that dinner with DD and TM?

In fairness I'm not sure I'd like to be at dinner with Juncker given his reputation for drink either.

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Cailleach1 · 05/05/2017 00:05

Probably not. Mind you I'd probably take refuge in drink. The thing with Junker is he seems to start kissing any head around him. And not just one peck. All that double kissing.

RedToothBrush · 05/05/2017 00:14

Cailleach1 don't go there.

We've already had George Osborne on these threads. (Mind you... I wonder if he tried to get one over Trump and his hand holding).

We don't need to think about Juncker. Tonight is probably going to be traumatic enough.

Britain Elects‏*@britainelects*
Differential turnout reported in West Midlands (mayoral area): high in Tory areas, low in Labour.

Wake me up when its all over.... (that's me done until the morning.Let me know what year I've woken up in. 1953? 1975?)

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optionalrationale · 05/05/2017 04:50

RedToothBrush
"Wake me up when its all over.... (that's me done until the morning.Let me know what year I've woken up in. 1953? 1975?)"

A new dawn. Is it not?

RedToothBrush · 05/05/2017 05:43

So far, the results are worse than bad. We are doomed.

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RedToothBrush · 05/05/2017 06:03

Lisa Duffy saying it's not a disaster for ukip. They've lost every single one of their seats so far.

Struggling to find positives really. Labour percentage share isn't as bad as it might have been. LDs apparently have gained 4% vote share. The trouble is, it's all about the UKIP collapse meaning huge gains for the Cons. The LDs have lost seats and are net negative so far. They hoped for 100 wins. Predictions were for at least 80 gains and Cons have already exceeded expectations.

It's dire. We are so screwed.

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mathanxiety · 05/05/2017 06:10

So it's the Greater UKIP Party now.

unicornsIlovethem · 05/05/2017 06:32

There was a comment earlier about the inadequacy of current politicians.

I agree they are, and I think a huge reason for that is the press. If you think every misdemeanour you and your family have ever done will be remembered and recorded and served up when it's most embarrassing, why would you put yourself through that?

Unless you either have a hugely strong party conviction, unshakeable arrogance or blandness with not a single parking ticket.

RedToothBrush · 05/05/2017 06:47

It's also financially and socially difficult for people with families. Why do it if you are a young successful professional with no money in the family to back you up? Better jobs elsewhere with out the cost to quality of life. Well there was. Maybe MP will look more when there are no more.

Way we are headed is full on facism. A no deal Brexit with food shortages will be breeding ground for it like post ww1 Germany, especially with tone of May.

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BiglyBadgers · 05/05/2017 07:07

Morning all. I have to say it all seems depressingly as expected really. The only positive I can see is that it could have been worse. I am struggling to find joy in the complete collapse of UKIP when the fact is I suspect the UKIP voters just see the conservatives as a more competent equivalent. At least we won't have them floating about the Council being irritating anymore I guess. Lib Dems have gained a couple of seats here, but not as many as I would have liked and the UKIP collapse means the conservatives have an increased majority on the county council now.

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