Westministenders: The Zombie PM

[RedToothBrush]

Back from the dead, May carries on whilst the vultures circle.

She had tried to out smart her rivals by running of to the palace to tell the queen she could form a government before they could act.

Definitely she stood and pretended nothing had changed. Except everything had. The wrath of her party was unleashed and there was open revolt. She has been summoned to appear before men in grey suits tomorrow at 5pm to hear their verdict.

How do she decide to make amends and reach out to moderate Tories? By sleeping with the DUP. And appointing Gove to her Cabinet.

How long will this last? How long can it last?

@BigChoc It could be...or it could also be a shot across the bows. If the Scottish Conservatives go against May in any given vote then that cancels out the benefits of the any 'alliance' with the DUP. They could, potentially, cause a lot of trouble, if minded to.

Props to your Granddaughter @Sostenuto :)

The Head of Greater Manchester Police has called a meeting with Andy Burnham and all the City's MPs to discuss how cuts are putting pressure on the force and their ability to cope. There were EDL protests at the weekend which included violence and smoke bombs thrown at the police.

Yes, sectarianism is still an issue in Scotland. More so in the West.

I believe some high profile paramilitaries have resettled over here.

to Sostenueto's poet granddaughter.

flippinada
More on the West coast yes, but in Edinburgh too.
Still rife in echelons of power, less overt however.
See the Faculty of Advocates, for example.
Donald Findlay, anyone? (thought not!)

@JamieRoss7
Ruth Davidson on her meeting with May. Says she's certain the PM will put the "country’s economic future first" in Brexit negotiations.

Translation: Ruth's been bought.

And tories are too desperate to dump May. Presumably they've seen the same numbers we have.

I'm a bit nonplussed by the 1922 Committee stuff. Some reports saying she gave a great performance and got a standing ovation. Very very odd, but then I guess they want a leadership contest on top of everything else.

Apparently the Queen already had to cancel an event to free up Monday for the State Opening of Parliament.

Yes Worship, over here too. Am English (been here 20 years), have lived in Glasgow and Edinburgh. I think most English folk have no concept of what an issue it is up here. I certainly didn't.

they don't* want a leadership contest...

According to @LordAshcroft poll 35-44s voted LAB 50%-CON 30%. That’s not kids, thats mortgages, car-owning, kids at school, mid-career.

Also the age when you start having to deal with parents needing health and social care. My mother died of cancer 2 years ago and though my dad is sprightly we are already have chats about him moving closer and finances when he does need care.

Basically that is the age most hit by the shower of shit that was the Tory manifesto. Not surprised they rejected it to be honest.

Its all a bit 'I have a cunning plan...' isn't it?

Where's baldrick when you need him?

He's still trying to get his head round the fact that he didn't actually win, ClashCity

www.itv.com/news/2017-06-12/is-a-state-visit-for-trump-likely-this-year/
Trump to May: I'm not coming on state visit unless I'm welcome in the UK
(this is new today after the denial yesterday)

Donald Trump has told Theresa May a number of times in recent months that he doesn't want to come on the planned state visit to the UK if there are going to be protests.

The US President - in several phone calls with the prime minister - has made it clear he only wanted to do overseas visits in countries where he can be certain he'll receive a warm welcome.

and

And ITV News understands Mr Trump has been telling Mrs May since March that he is reluctant to press ahead with the visit.

Transcripts of the phone calls - including Mr Trump's comments to Mrs May about the state visit - were circulated afterwards.

Copies were sent to the Foreign Office, the British Embassy in Washington DC as well as to staff in Downing Street.

and

That will be humiliating for Theresa May but also highly embarrassing for the Queen - who extended the invitation to the White House on the advice of the Foreign Office.

No date was given for the visit - but the prime minister did promise that it would take place "this year".

Now officials in Downing Street and Buckingham Palace are struggling to work out what do.

They must decide by the end of July whether to offer the state visit to another world leader - or whether to completely tear up the plans.

There is a list of leaders who have requested a state visit - but, as one source put it to me, they'd have to agree to "take Mr Trump's sloppy seconds".

And this is why they are denying there is a problem... because May is still tying to desperately persuade Trump to come and he isn't having any of it.

In the meantime she's embarrassed the Queen over the issue and put her into a difficult situation.

Something tells me relations between No 10 and the Palace are somewhat strained at the moment. I note this article has come from the Royal Correspondent too. Not a political one.

The Tories didnt win either..they lost their majority.

Is "somewhat strained" a polite euphemism for completely fucked?

Who'd have thought it.

May is now probably more offensive to her maj than Corby

Gosh. Who knew Trump was such a sensitive snowflake?

Trump just doesn't want to be seen with a

But yeah he has a fragile ego and doesn't do dissent.

Jeremy Cliffe‏*@JeremyCliffe*
Interrogating my serial underestimation of Corbyn's electability, I have hit on a thought: it mostly stems from a misreading of Brexit.
1) The referendum felt like a measure of the youth-turnout ceiling. But in practice it was a ceiling-raiser, ie a moment of politicisation.
2) The Brexit vote was not (as I thought) a “free kick” for voters fed up with the cuts but too cautious to switch party allegiances. In fact it was proof of a deeper anti-cuts shift that probably began c.2014 but was not fully developed by the time of the 2015 election.
3) Corbyn’s weak anti-Brexit efforts seemed like a measure of his national campaigning abilities. Turns out he just couldn’t be arsed.
4) I saw the Brexit debate as an intensifier of the cosmopolitan/non-cosmopolitan cultural divide. Really it was a passive expression of it. So Corbyn’s woolly Brexit stance did not stop him from tapping a metro-progressive cultural identity newly enlivened by May’s illiberalism.
5) I saw Brexit as the ultimate confirmation of the political power of the right-wing tabloids. It seems I greatly overestimated that power. More thinking to be done, but I’m increasingly sure that the commentariat’s errors on Corbyn are bound up with erroneous readings of Brexit.

Nick Cohen‏*@NickCohen4*
Also Jeremy on your new Britain analysis May is an extremist to millions of people

Will Jennings‏*@drjennings*
One other big and widespread misreading of Brexit was that it was simply about immigration.

Government assumption were largely based that it was the immigration stuff from UKIP a lot of the problem. Its interesting (and perhaps worrying) that Farage has been much more pro-Labour of late...

One other big and widespread misreading of Brexit was that it was simply about immigration

Completely agree. I think it's been majorly overstated, partly by May herself.

3) Corbyn’s weak anti-Brexit efforts seemed like a measure of his national campaigning abilities. Turns out he just couldn’t be arsed.

Or that he's essentially a Lexiter.