Westminstenders: The Brexit Apprentice

[RedToothBrush]

Theresa May is increasing looking like she is running an episode of the Apprentice with two teams trying to compete in their plan for Brexit. Complete with the obligatory reprehensible contestants.

On one side we have Team Creationists intent on hard Brexit and on the other we have Team Sensibles desperate to get a softer deal.
May herself has been held hostage by seasoned expert negotiators the DUP. Once No 10 has reported the deal was done, only for the DUP to say it wasn’t. Then it said, it would be settled today. But the DUP disagreed and said ‘the weekend’. Now its 'next week'.

Meanwhile the Queen has been messed about with a scapegoat over when her Queen’s Speech will be. It’s likely to be a week on Monday.
Meanwhile the Brexit department is also in chaos.

The Number two in the department was sacked and replaced by a Remainer, and the number three quit amongst reports that he no longer thought Brexit was achievable and that there was no way that the Great Repeal Act could pass through the Lords. He has been replaced by the Head of the infamous Arch-Brexit Whatsapp group.

Oh and Gove got hired. Nuff said on that one.

After some slight back tracking from David Davis, Hard Brexit is still on in all its glory. Negotiations are going ahead next week. Well that’s what we are saying. The EU, on the other hand, don’t won’t to go ahead until we have an officially sworn in government. Which seems pretty fair enough.

Tune in to find out which Team wins this week’ The Brexit Apprentice

everthibkyouvebeenconned whoops, thanks for posting about the July 1st one.

It may be that this single act of corporate murder has killed more people in the UK than any single terrorist attack

The Herald certainly did, at nearly 200 dead

Let's put the same energy and resources into stopping corporate murder as we do against terrorists

And of course the difficulty of identifying people.

The police have already said they might not be able to identify all the victims.

I know Red. It's just horror piled on horror.

Exactly what I heard that too and also read that police are also breaking protocol to inform desperate relatives. These poor people are going from hospital to hospital wtf

Why aren't proper processes in place? Who the he'll is running this shitshow? I am confused that May has solutions for terrorism apparently but none for helping our people in our capital during a major incident...oh sorry she's too busy bending over for the DUP and holding our democracy hostage

As for Kensington and Chelsea Tory majority... gggrrrrrrrr

whatwouldrondo I remember there was funding in the 1980s for disaster planning.

Can't help comparing different responses of the authorities to disasters in different locations in London, a few miles apart, in the last few months.

There are clearly not enough police and officials to deal humanely and efficiently with the survivors and bereaved in Kensington. Firemen were brought in from Surrey.

It feels like we need the United Nations or the Red Cross to step in.

woman the red cross is there...but is working under direction of council as per protocol

My city's council, crap as it is in some things, does have emergency planning officers and quite a lot of information on its website about contingency plans for a major fire or a building collapse, not just a major transport accident or terrorist attack.

Do London boroughs not have anything similar?

There was a major exercise in London early last year, based on the scenario of a tower block collapsing into the Tube. What exactly did they learn from that?

I suspect that central government is being hands off re Grenfell because it is technically wholly a local government / London mayor issue unless they decide to declare it a major incident and get involved or are asked to help. And why is it important to be clear which borough Grenfell is actually in, as that council should be leading the incident management.

As an aside, please can we keep this thread civil? I know feelings are running high at the moment, but one reason I spend time on these threads is the relative serenity compared to the various parallel threads in AIBU and _chat. Thank you

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/15/long-builder-chain-for-grenfell-a-safety-and-accountability-issue?CMP=twt_gu
Multiple design and building firms at Grenfell Tower raises oversight concerns
Experts warn of impact of multiple contractors, reduced council oversight, disparate build teams and privatisation

Also why the chances of prosecution might be smaller why they should be. How do you prove who is the one group / company who is to blame?

What the hell has happened to this country ?

I also feel sorry for Khan. London has to keep the rest of the UK going so boosting his budget for services in London is tough. Even perfectly sensible proposals such as a 5% tourist tax (which visitors are used to paying in other cities anyway) get attacked. But the way council taxes are constructed surely MUST change. Property taxes are common enough in Europe - we pay that in NL. An annual fee, in line with current market values, based on a notional rental value. The basement builders would be paying an appropriate contribution even if it was empty.

That's a home-owners tax ON TOP of the equivalent of council tax for services etc (which is calculated around whatever the property value is).

twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/875346228392976384

This is what a prime minister looks like and what he should be doing, its time she got out now it really is

I guess the enquiry will have to unpivk everything however it's highly likely that 80% of causes will be established reasonably quickly. It's validating and fully evidencing the causes that takes the time

High level findings surely could be established this year. With further recommendations to review certain areas in full detail with a view to criminal or civil prosecutions thereby passing off full evidencing to those processes

We can't have a drawn out legalese process

In 2017 Southwark Council pleaded guilty to four charges concerning breaches to safety regulations. It was fined £270,000, reduced from £400,000 because it had pleaded guilty, plus £300,000 costs. The council expressed "sincere regret for the failures that were present in the building".[15]

The above result of the Lakanal fire , which I believe was downgraded from a public enquiry . The fire that claimed six lives happened in 2009

I hope that the very very public enquiry into Grenfell isn't allowed to go the same way

But the way council taxes are constructed surely MUST change

Tory councils in this country pride themselves not on the range and efficacy of their provision, but on their low council tax. Ours is among the lowest in the country, and you don't get owt for nowt.

We need to explain clearly to everyone that you only get the public services - and the safety standard regs - that you pay for

We can't get European levels of services if we vote for a US-style race to the bottom on taxes and cost-cutting
and especially tax cuts for the rich - the Tories always prioritise these at the expense of everything else;

I certainly haven't been a Corbyn fan, but atm he is the only one really offering a clear alternative and pulling back the Overton window from the hard right position where it's been stuck for too long

You know I think this will be different. It bloody has to be. I will keep hope it is

Yes, all about costs not needs. London has ENORMOUS wealth. Empty housing, owners of 7 bedroom mansions paying the same council tax as much smaller properties. This is not right.

I don't now if Corbyn has exactly the answers (yet) but he's certainly asking the right questions.

How do you prove who is the one group / company who is to blame

I think the legalese is the 'controlling mind'. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_manslaughter_in_English_law And I'm sure it's no accident that liability is fudged, through a patchwork of companies. But it's got to be pursued. It's reckless negligence, I think.

And a full fat HSE and Fire Safety departments funded to the hilt.

There's flood plain building which is worrying on green belt and these high rises in the cities. Needs to stop. Alongside the toxic housing market propelling this. Property taxation could well be an answer.

Our Tory Council prided itself on freezing council taxes for years and years. A couple of years ago, when they were consulting on the last bunch of cuts, council staff put in a question asking if people would accept an increase in council tax in order to reduce the scale of cuts. A majority of respondents said that they would pay increased council tax to protect core council services, yet they councillors still decided to freeze council tax that year!

Maybe this is the turning point for London. The property as capital investment scenario is hottest in London. It needs to make a muchbigger contribution to social housing and services.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/15/crime-grenfell-tower-burning-homes-police-fire
This was a monstrous crime – there must be arrests after Grenfell Tower David Lammy
Most of the victims are people of colour/non white. The atmosphere today, reminds me of the New Cross Fire. For which no one was charged. But 13 died. All black British.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Cross_house_fire