Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Brexit

Westministenders: Theresa's Common People

986 replies

RedToothBrush · 18/05/2017 13:50

She came from Oxfordshire she had a thirst for knowledge
She studied geography at Saint Hugh's College
That's where politics
Caught her eye

She told them that her husband was loaded
The press barons said "In that case have a rum and coca-cola"
She said "Fine"
And in thirty seconds time she said

I want to look like common people
I want to do whatever common people do
I want to eat like common people
I want to sleep like common people
Like you

Well what else could Fiona and Nick do
They said "We'll see what we can do"

They took her to a supermarket
I don't know why
But they had to start it somewhere
So it started there
They said pretend you've got no money
She just laughed and said
"Oh you're so funny"
They smiled "Yeah”
Well we can't see anyone else smiling in here

Are you sure you want to live like common people
You want to see whatever common people see
You want to eat like common people
You want to sleep like common people
Like me

But she didn't understand
She just smiled and held Trump’s hand

Order that benefits get the chop
Tell them all to get a job
Promise to bring back the grammar school
Pretend you don’t think them a fool
But still you'll never get it right
'Cause when you're laid in bed at night
Watching the news talking about building the wall
All have to do is call your mates to fake it all

You'll never live like common people
You'll never do whatever common people do
You'll never fail like common people
You'll never watch your life slide out of view
Whilst you blame it all on the EU
Because that’s all you can do

Sing along with the common people
Sing along and it might just get Brexit through
Laugh along with the common people
Laugh about leaving the EU

It’s the most stupid thing that you will do
Because you think that it is cool
You’ll call them a ‘lying foreigner’
But don’t say we didn’t warn you
You’ll regret saying we are better off out
'Cause everybody hates a benefits tourist

It doesn’t matter if you can’t do the math
With all those pockets that you grease
You’ll win the vote in Bath

You will never understand
How it feels to live your life
With no meaning or control
And with nowhere left to go
You are amazed that they exist
And wish they were all white
So you tell ‘The Big Lie’

Get THE flat above THE shop
Cut your hair and get THE job
Trick some mugs and hire some fool
Pretend you are not really cruel
But still you'll never get it right
Instead you're plotting late at night
About which ‘cockroach’ will take the fall
All have to do is call your mates to fake it all
Yeah

You'll never live like common people
You'll never do what common people do
You'll never fail like common people
You'll never watch your life slide out of view
As we plan to leave the EU
Because there's nothing else left to do

But ‘moan’ about how we don’t want to leave the EU.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
30
Kaija · 21/05/2017 22:51

"From the fuckwit Tory chinless wonder
Very annoyed no labour or lib dem leaflets yet..."

I noticed that, while the Lib Dem leaflets were all delivered by volunteers and we haven mr had any Labour ones yet, our Tory leaflets came via the postman. Clearly lots of money sloshing around there.

ElenaGreco123 · 21/05/2017 22:51

At the moment all leaflets are aimed at postal voters, because their votes will start to drop next week (?). So if you are not a postal voter, you are not priority.
As a result, in our household only DH had a Labour leaflet which I have delivered.

Downloaded the Who targets me Chrome extension. Literally no one targets us. Labour supporters in a safe Labour seat.

Kaija · 21/05/2017 22:52

Surprised to hear that Tooting is close. Very much hope it doesn't go Tory.

whatwouldrondo · 21/05/2017 23:48

In a Tory Libdem marginal, current tally of leaflets is Tory 2, Libdem 5 (I delivered all of them to nearby roads) . One of the Tory 2 is their Freepost letter (Royal Mail delivers one for each major party) the badly targeted letter from strong and stable, really strong and stable, Theresa, local candidate not mentioned, The (Tory) Council announced on Friday postal votes going out for delivery yesterday, cue a lot of people working through the night to get hand addressed letters from our candidate delivered.....

We have a strong Libdem candidate locally. I am waiting for this to be some clever Tory strategy, it was last time. Multiple appearances from Cabinet ministers, phone calls from "researchers" (I must still be on their lists of sad people who will not tell them they are too busy ), money flowing to the constituency. Nothing on the ground...... .

HesterThrale · 22/05/2017 06:35

Last thing I'll say about school dinners:
In my experience, they are better quality and more healthy than they used to be. Schools, apart from some academies (bizarrely), are bound by government standards:

www.gov.uk/school-meals-healthy-eating-standards

www.schoolfoodplan.com/the-plan/

It's the Jamie Oliver legacy. And he's not happy.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-39969155

The fact is, some children will bring healthy packed lunches, and some really won't.

BigChocFrenzy · 22/05/2017 07:08

EU expect early breakdown of talks

Positions of both sides seem to have hardened, at least publicly.
They can't even agree on when trade will be discussed.

DD warned Britain will walk away from Brexit talks unless Brussels drops de­mands.
EU govts will sign off today on probably even tougher terms

The EU will continue with 27 members instead of 28 and without the 0.7% UK GDP as contributions.
The UK will start with no trade deals with any country in the world and not yet approved by WTO
The clock to automatic Brexit is ticking ....

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/davis-warns-britain-will-quit-talks-if-eu-demands-100bn-h9cqqtsxc

[DD to S Times] "Negotiations would be plunged into “crisis” from the off because the EU refused to discuss a trade deal until Britain agreed to pay up."

In a warning shot at Brussels, Davis said the other member states would have to shift their position if they wanted to see progress

Davis said Eurocrats had “axes to grind” and accused the other member states of posturing, incoherence and failing to tell the truth.
< Hmm listen to who's talking ! >

He made clear the UK was prepared to walk out if the other 27 member states did not moderate their demands.
“We don’t need to just look like we can walk away, we need to be able to walk away. Under the circumstances, if that was necessary, we would be in a position to do it.”

His uncompromising stance sparked warnings from a senior EU negotiator that
the chances of Britain crashing out of the EU without a new deal were now “over 50%”.

Davis spoke out as the other 27 countries prepare to sign off on a legally binding negotiating position tomorrow.

Senior EU sources say their position has hardened
“For the first time in living memory there is a complete consensus"

The other nations will also demand every EU citizen who has lived in the UK should get full rights to live and work here and claim benefits.
Davis rejected this out of hand.
“How on earth would you manage such an exercise?”

A senior Brussels negotiator predicted that
when Davis scrutinised the EU’s demands he would walk out of his first meeting with the EU point man, Michel Barnier.

"Which is dangerous, because once you walk away, you need a major concession to come back to the table and we are simply not able to provide any.”

Asked whether he would storm out of the meeting, Davis said: “Wait and see.”

He added that the talks would be “fairly turbulent” and that

Britain would reject the blueprint for the talks that the EU will lay out tomorrow,

under which the exit bill, the issue of EU citizens’ rights and the border between Northern Ireland and the republic would have to be resolved before there was any discussion of trade."

Eeeeeowwwfftz · 22/05/2017 07:13

I am privy to one of the local campaigns and can also vouch for the fact that postal voters are being targeted today - in this case I think with "handwritten" letters. I don't think you can infer much from your own experienced as it seems campaigns are quite tailored these days.

We never seem to get anyone knocking on our door - even though I also know the times that canvassers are out in our area. Maybe we have them short shrift too often.

Peregrina · 22/05/2017 07:32

Maybe we have them short shrift too often.

Almost certainly - their databases will have been marked accordingly.

Peregrina · 22/05/2017 07:33

BTW - the letters aren't handwritten, but for at least one party, the envelopes certainly are.

RedToothBrush · 22/05/2017 07:44

New survation telephone poll post manifesto for GMB have
Cons 43 (-5)
Lab 34 (+5)

Published last night.

We haven't received our LD or Labour Freepost yet. That's why I'm not happy. I know they are out with the Royal Mail and other people started getting them on Wednesday!

Of course we have the Tory one.

If I don't get mine calls will be made...

OP posts:
RedToothBrush · 22/05/2017 07:55

Jo Maugham QC @ JolyonMaugham
Will the Remain voting, no snap election holding, no NICs u-turning, strong and stable Theresa May wibble on social care?

He yes she has something of an issue. Trouble is there is still a couple of weeks to go. I'm not sure the dementia tax thing can rumble on that long. Plus in some ways it actually works to May's advantage.

OP posts:
RedToothBrush · 22/05/2017 07:59

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/don-t-believe-tory-claims-there-will-be-no-hard-border-1.3090898?mode=amp
Don’t believe Tory claims there will be no hard Border
Idea that EU will make special case for North over customs control is far-fetched

The former UK cabinet minster Owen Patterson, a committed Brexiter, told the BBC the Border would be like the one between the United States and Canada, with electronic customs clearance taking place so physical border checks are not needed. That is true for big transborder firms such as the big three auto makers, whose assembly and component plants are on both side of the Great Lakes.

But as anyone who has waited in line in a car to cross from the US into Canada or vice versa can testify, the border checks are real. The EU and Switzerland also have border and customs control posts, as do Sweden and Norway – the latter outside the EU customs union, while Sweden is a full EU member. According to the Norwegian embassy in London, there are staffed border posts and regular checks to ensure nothing comes into Norway that avoids the duties and tariffs required by law. Queues to cross from Norway into Sweden are the norm.

OP posts:
RedToothBrush · 22/05/2017 08:08

www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/a-lesson-on-the-dangers-of-patriotism-from-a-pacifist-of-the-first-world-war-a7741166.html
A timely warning on the dangers of patriotism from the First World War
A 1915 morality play by Vernon Lee makes a powerful critique of jingoist groupthink

The new version challenged the patriotic sentiment that had dominated public discourse during the conflict. Her commentary questioned those who extolled the benefits of collective thinking and the denial of individual resistance in the face of war.

In this later edition, Lee emphasised that the coupling of “patriotism” with a sense of national unity was especially problematic. She noted how patriotic sentiment depends on segregation and antagonism, on “being in” or “not being in”, as she put it. She added that patriotism is influenced by “group-emotion”, a feeling which, while it may bring nations a sense of unity and permanence, is at its most dangerous when it manifests itself in a rigid definition of what being patriotic means.

As a cosmopolitan thinker, Lee believed in the value of European unity and in highlighting those cultural similarities and exchanges that enrich human experience.

OP posts:
RedToothBrush · 22/05/2017 08:11

Oh dear. May's dementia tax might not even work....

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/c5145dd8-3e69-11e7-a09b-a4ae022938a6
Social care crisis threatens to scupper Theresa May’s reforms
Homeowners are denied deferred payments

Theresa May’s plans to overhaul social care could be wrecked by poorly performing local authorities, amid further signs that Labour is closing the gap with the Conservatives.

Research suggested that people in some parts of the country were struggling to exercise their legal right to defer residential care payments until after their death, with some authorities making it difficult or impossible to strike a deal.

Freedom of information responses from 140 councils revealed a disparity in how they offered residents going into care homes the legal right to delay payments, which was introduced in April 2015.

Dear oh dear. Will she admit the role of equity firms in her plan during an election? I think not.

OP posts:
RedToothBrush · 22/05/2017 08:33

Kevin Schofield @polhomeeditor
No ministers on morning broadcast round, it seems. Trying to avoid questions on Dementia Tax?

I'm imagining them locked up in a room with an ongoing crisis meeting.

The way they have dealt with difficult questions so far has been by answering strong and stable lots which doesn't work in this case. Or by controlling the media and simply avoiding questions. Again I'm not convinced that's going to work, as it's coming up on doorsteps. Or virtual doorsteps. To every Tory activist.

Interesting to see.

Brace yourself for the smoke and mirrors deflection and distraction. It's coming. It'll have to be a big one.

OP posts:
BluePeppers · 22/05/2017 08:44

I have to laugh at the idea that the UK could be in charge of the agenda and decide how the talks will happen.
I am sure that the EU has some leeway in their negociations. That's what the EU does (best?) - finding a common ground between very different POV.
But thinking that they are going to backdown on what has always being a critical point is madness.

They are NOT going to back down on talks about eu citizens and payments of pensions (because really that IS making sense to have the EU paying pensions for the uk when they Uk isn't oart of the eu anymore and isn't paying anything in the pot....Hmm).
Just as they are not going to back down on the FOM. Or the borders.

What we see though is both sides having stated what they wanted since the start, both positions being incompatible with each other and both making a huge show that they will not backdown.

RedToothBrush · 22/05/2017 08:54

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/21/no-time-waste-brexit-talks-will-start-just-11-days-election/
'No time to waste' as Brexit talks will start just 11 days after the election, says Theresa May

^Britain has “no time to waste” in Brexit talks, Theresa May will warn as she says formal negotiations about leaving the European Union will start just 11 days after the election.

The Prime Minister will tell supporters in Wales - which voted overwhelmingly to leave the European Union at the referendum – not to risk letting Jeremy Corbyn lead these talks.

On her first visit to Wales of the official election campaign, Mrs May will stress that she will not take support from Welsh voters “for granted” as she seeks to win a Tory landslide on June 8.

Remember journalists. Lots of people want to talk policy. Not personality. Let's see how well you do.

I wonder if you journalists will talk about how the Election has taken up so much of that precious time seeing as that's the agenda she's trying to set for the day.

Guardian seem to be asking the question as you'd expect.

Claire Phipps @ Claire_Phipps
Theresa May warns there's "no time for a new govt to find its way" before Brexit talks, as if she didn't pick timing

Sam Jordison @samjordison
It's almost as if she called a general election knowing it wasn't in the national interest

Both of the above guardian writers.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/22/the-snap-may-brexit-corbyn-tuition-fees?CMP=share_btn_tw
The Snap: May cranks up Brexit pressure as Corbyn speeds up end to tuition fees

It's what the broadcast media will do that's worth watching.

OP posts:
Motheroffourdragons · 22/05/2017 09:06

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ on behalf of the poster.

Kaija · 22/05/2017 09:09

I'm fairly sure they know they are unbeatable at this point. I don't think a u-turn or a "softening" of policy will make any dent.

RedToothBrush · 22/05/2017 09:14

Back in Brussels

EU Council Press @EUCouncilPress
#GAC Article 50 meeting TODAY
Background brief - t.co/wB1S9FJTzp
Agenda - www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/gac/2017/05/22/
#Brexit negotiating directive

The set of negotiating directives to be adopted by ministers on 22 May 2017 is intended for the first phase of the negotiations. These directives are therefore expected to prioritise some matters which at this stage have been identified as necessary for an orderly withdrawal of the UK.

They will cover among others:
• citizens' rights
• the financial settlement
• the situation of Ireland

The negotiating directives may be amended and supplemented as necessary during the negotiations, in particular to reflect the European Council guidelines as they evolve.

Finally, the Council will adopt a decision to establish an ad hoc working party that will assist the Council and Coreper in all matters relating to the UK's withdrawal from the Union.

David Allen Green @davidallengreen
And remember, at this crucial preparatory moment in the Brexit process, May has chosen to have the distraction of a general election.
This is one moment ministers and civil servants should be giving the Brexit process their full and undivided attention.

Unless if course they are planning to walk out of talks. And strong and stable really does mean bugger all as we enter chaotic brexit.

(My phone is now auto suggesting Brexit when I type chaotic... I am turning into an anti-Maybot without realising!)

Perhaps if Theresa wants to bring the agenda back to Brexit we should ask lots of questions about the Irish border and British and EU citizen rights that we have had bollocks answers over. What happens to those if we have no deal?

OP posts:
RedToothBrush · 22/05/2017 09:15

I don't disagree Kaija. A smaller majority will change some of the dynamics of government though.

OP posts:
Motheroffourdragons · 22/05/2017 09:15

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ on behalf of the poster.

Eeeeeowwwfftz · 22/05/2017 09:16

Yup. Doesn't matter how shitty their manifesto is, all they need to do is keep going "IRA" at Corbyn and job done.

Motheroffourdragons · 22/05/2017 09:18

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ on behalf of the poster.

Kaija · 22/05/2017 09:19

I read a Conservative Home article yesterday which included the telling line that if we don't get a good deal from the EU we will not be able to fund the NHS or social care. Meanwhile we have Davis repeating "no deal is better than a bad deal", and increasing rumours that the government has no intention of negotiating, but is in fact preparing to walk away.

In this context, the transfer of social care costs to individuals looks wholly inevitable, and the timing calculated according to when the Tories can most afford to take the hit.