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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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PattyPenguin · 05/05/2017 10:02

Cailleach I don't think the Government has any intention of replacing any rugs.

That will be left to The Market.

Not that they would have any choice, anyway. The tax base is going to collapse even further (it's already collapsing due to, amongst other things, off-shoring profits and disguised employment) and there won't be any money for infrastructure projects.

Even Amazon may now struggle to get new roads built especially for them free of charge (see Ffordd Amazon and associated infrastructure near Swansea).

Unless of course they go for that proven disaster, PFI.

GrommitsEarsHurt · 05/05/2017 10:02

Peregrina - I would, but a) I lack confidence and b) I'm disabled and can't really get out at the moment. Do you know where to find out how to organise stuff? I don't know if permission is needed?

Peregrina · 05/05/2017 10:03

Last seat decided with a straw draw! Really. lib Dem win denies Conservatives majority.

I bet we will see Tories on threads/facebook getting arsy about this. In fact, when there is a tie, the rules as to how to resolve it are clearly laid down.

RedToothBrush · 05/05/2017 10:03

Britain Elects‏*@britainelects*

Tories denied a majority on Northumberland County Council by one seat - by the draw of a straw.

Coalition of chaos hits Northumberland County Council. Awesome!

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TempsPerdu · 05/05/2017 10:05

It's completely exasperating Grommit. The Women's March earlier this year was amazing, but it took an obvious 'bogey man' figure like Trump to galvanise people into acting. The Brexit situation and the UK's shift to the right is much more nebulous and complex, and because TM is a supposedly strong woman I think people struggle to see her as the threat she is. My friends (several of them Oxbridge postgrads) moan about school cuts and the state of the NHS but somehow seem to see these issues as separate from politics. I just don't get it! Sad

RedToothBrush · 05/05/2017 10:08

Just had a rant on the Post-Natal thread. I need to read up on what else has been said on the thread. Maternity care in the UK is just one long string of political bollocks rather than much to do with healthcare.

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Peregrina · 05/05/2017 10:09

I think it depends on what you want to do Grommit. For marches and things you usually need permission. If you want to get involved in local politics they are usually happy to have people to do clerical work, e.g. stuffing envelopes - tedious, but it all helps and can be done in your own home.

TempsPerdu · 05/05/2017 10:13

I think that for many women, it's not so much apathy but a lack of confidence.

I do think there's something in this. And Red is spot on with the childcare thing - DP and I are quite unusual in that our childcare duties are genuinely shared. Most of my friends' households are much more traditional, and their partners much less hands on, meaning that my friends are preoccupied with day-to-day stuff and have much less 'head time' for things like current affairs. I'm slowly coming to realise that, despite what we were told at school and university, gender politics haven't progressed anywhere near as much as I'd like to think!

prettybird · 05/05/2017 10:16

Is it too late to set up the Purple Party? Wink

After all, the Amazing Mrs Pritchard managed it by channelling woman power! Grin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TheAmazingMrs_Pritchard?wprov=sfii1

I'm only half joking.

RebelAllianceUK · 05/05/2017 10:16

I have just found the "electoralcalculus" site and wanted to share with my fellow political data fans Grin. You can input your postcode and get breakdown per constituency not just of GE and council voting history, but of demographic data taken from census etc., referendum data etc.

it paints a really interesting picture (for me) of the relative pulls between generic political affiliation vs internationalism vs education vs affluence etc....all compared to the national average.

Here's a link where I used the postcode for 10 Downing St, but you can replace any post code in the box at the top.

www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/cgi-bin/seatdetails.py?postcode=SW1A+2AA

missmoon · 05/05/2017 10:20

Thanks Rebel, that website is amazing!

whatwouldrondo · 05/05/2017 10:46

I am a bit Hmm about that website for my constituency. It appears to have factored in the 2015 result and the demographics to a larger extent than the fact that it is a 70% remain seat that was Libdem up until 2015. Plus it is a very popular candidate locally, he is very being very well received on every doorstep. A film crew that followed him could not find anyone that did not support him whilst they struggled to find anyone to film the Conservative candidate who did support her. In the end the bloke they filmed huffed at every word she said Grin It may not go Libdem, perhaps for the reasons factored in on the website but it is bound to be closer than it was in 2015 if only because the referendum has changed things.

HashiAsLarry · 05/05/2017 10:51

ron
Similarly the data for here. Whilst its been a massive Tory stronghold the votes for Lib Dem/Lab were pretty consistent too until 2015, when all lost votes seemingly to UKIP I know it isn't that straightforward.
Given the collapse of UKIP, our BlueKIP MP and the issues here, I'd say its going to be far closer to 2010 and previous too.

Peregrina · 05/05/2017 10:53

It may not go Libdem, perhaps for the reasons factored in on the website but it is bound to be closer than it was in 2015 if only because the referendum has changed things.

Ron - I would say the same for my seat too. DH went to the verification last night and said that one ward, which the website predicted to be Tory, seemed to have LibDem votes piling up. My own ward looked close, and was LibDem before, so the Tories might squeak it, but not by the margin suggested.

RedToothBrush · 05/05/2017 10:55

I have used and abused the electoral calculus website...

It has some flaws in my opinion. Its based on the 2011 census. In some areas the data will be very out of date. Think gentrification (and the reverse due to the consequences of gentrification).

My area has changed a great deal since 2011. There are streets locally which come out very high for nationalism, but I know them well - and know how they have changed and how they are changing. Strangely these streets have a very high level of house sales...

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woman12345 · 05/05/2017 10:56

Another for another thread, I know, but housework is political.
sociologytwynham.com/2008/07/09/gender-power-in-the-family/

Greenham happened because feminist men took on ancillary work. Work is work. Paid or unpaid. And if the lazy entitled fuckers won't do it, we organise creches.

woman12345 · 05/05/2017 10:58

And Red is spot on with the childcare thing ^ post was related to that one.

RedToothBrush · 05/05/2017 10:58

Also the data is not quite street by street, but on small clusters of postcodes by the census. Its not necessary a true reflection of a street. Not to mention its averaged so one right wing looney in a batch of 30 house might have an affect.

On the whole though, I'd say it was probably fairly reflective - to a point.

Just bare in mind where it does fall down.

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RedToothBrush · 05/05/2017 11:02

Oh and my constituency I'd say was not dissimilar. Generally moderate and centrist with much local LD activism and local representation.

Unfortunately I think that the Labour / Conservative at generals still dominates and the LDs will struggle to battle their way against that.

Its ironic. On paper, the LDs currently fit the Constituency best. The websites estimate is for 8% at the general.

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prettybird · 05/05/2017 11:06

Just been reminded that our fabulous new Party couldn't be called the Purple Party having been subjected to the sight of UKIP rosettes on the BBC

The Lilac Party? The Pink Party? The White Party? Wink

OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon · 05/05/2017 11:09

I witnessed one man at the polling station yesterday berate the conservative teller, saying that they should have put up a remain candidate, particularly as our constituency had a majority of remain voters. As they hadn't, he was going to have to vote for someone else but he was quite angry about it.

OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon · 05/05/2017 11:11

That was for the general election

HashiAsLarry · 05/05/2017 11:13

pretty I'm not sure the white party is good given the mood of the nation right now Wink

woman12345 · 05/05/2017 11:16

The White Party?
It'd be a laugh putting up candidates for one, though and watching the alt right vote in feminists.Grin
It's happened before.

prettybird · 05/05/2017 11:22

I was just posting up different colours for a laugh. We need something to laugh about at the moment!

I did consider "polka dot" Grin