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 He has been replaced by the Head of the infamous Arch-Brexit Whatsapp group.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

Red I don't think any blame can be with Lilly. She is a local and the figures have been said from a lot of sources so who knows what is being said on the street. These are people holding pictures of their loved ones

This is the authorities

They have been shouting 'it's not 70' some are saying as high as 300

Why don't they do something

Nick clegg on one Tory view of social house

Owen Jones on whether this is a pivotal moment

Heartbreaking scenes at Kensington Town Hall on BBC News.

People forcing their way into the council offices and the police trying to evict them.

People feel very angry and understandably so. The residents have no trust in the authorities, and there has been a huge lack of understanding. communication and leadership from RBKC and the government. However, I'm concerned the people may lose public support the government and press seem to be itching to blame the community. Such a difficult situation.

I really don't think Lily Allen saying what she did was in anyway helpful. Because of her social status what she says is different to when other people say it. That's not right, but she knows that and used it as she had a platform others don't because of that. It shows a lack of responsibility imo. She could have challenged the anger in a much better way. She's not totally naïve and she is more media savvy than most. I don't have a lot of respect for it, even with all the anger and emotion flying around.

Surprising, that's actually practical:
shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said:

" it is the responsibility of government to provide solutions.

The government must now as a matter of urgency lift the housing revenue account borrowing cap to free councils to undertake the urgent retrofitting work required on all existing housing stock found not to meet required safety standards.

Councils must also be given the power, as Labour’s housing manifesto pledges to do, to borrow to invest in council housing on the scale necessary to allow all those living in homes deemed to be unsafe to be properly rehoused."

Ok Red I understand but I guess I think she's marmite for most young people too. But I get what you say

Akala is very influential - they listen to him.

Patronising use of the word they from me. I meant the younger people.

Best I didn't take your post as horrible I just didn't know it had been used. But he is very upset

Its stirred things up, and Allen's involvement has the potential to spread it past the local area. Its dangerous.

Squawkbox has been pushing this d-notice shit and Allen adds legitimacy to the idea of a conspiracy rather than incompetence. The incompetence is bad enough.

May's invisibility and distance doesn't help either. Nor does the councillor who made up the stuff about the sprinklers. Its just dreadful.

They think there's a d notice? And she's saying that? Apologies that is awful and incendiary I wasn't aware

Lily Allen is one of those filling the vacuum left at the top
If May and the govt had taken a grip from the beginning, none of these other voices would have been significant

They left vulnerable people without official help or imformation

If the govt leaves a vacuum, then expect it to be filled

Also, imo there should be a practice in disasters that very quickly at least the number of missing and the number of dead are estimated separately, including the unidentifiable, not leave it for weeks and months.
Of course the numbers will move from one column to the other, but relatives often want to know the rough numbers, even if it may be months before all IDs

The worst bit is that due to the high temperatures of the fire meaning it was like a cremation there may be nothing left. Not even DNA. Only serving to make it all so much worse.

The council offices surely have records of who pays council tax on each flat? Then from the known people in hospital, someone could ask those who escaped to identify themselves and from that make a rough list of who is likely not to have escaped. Can that be too difficult? It won't account for people visiting the flats, but would be a good start.

Where are Theresa May and Amber Rudd, just to name two, except their presence might inflame the situation.?

Yes Red. They are meant to have this in place. DR and emergency planning. Especially when we have terrorist threats on going. They don't have enough staff I fear. Due to cuts

The problem with govts that try to control all information, to cover up, to suppress, is that conspiracy theories spread like wildfire

A less secretive society wouldn't have such a problem, but the UK is probably the most secretive of all the democracies.

The council offices surely have records of who pays council tax on each flat? Then from the known people in hospital, someone could ask those who escaped to identify themselves and from that make a rough list of who is likely not to have escaped. Can that be too difficult? It won't account for people visiting the flats, but would be a good start

It took nearly 2 decades to identify the last victim of the 1987 Kings Cross fire

They may never find the true total as some people are transient.

But they could issue a list of missing assumed dead. They do know who has been reported missing. They might not know who is actually safe. As they haven't co ordinated this properly

Returning to Brexit (?)

An interesting story which is one of those one which starts to join dots ?

Looks like the EU is gearing up to hit Google with a $1 billion fine.

Ignoring the ins and outs of the actual case, there are quiet suggestions that all the big tech firms that are supposed to flock to post-Brexit-blighty are starting to wonder what the point of investing in the UK is, if the UK has no influence in the EU anymore.

It's worth remembering, quite a few non-EU firms have invested (and were planning to invest) in the UK because the UK had influence in the EU - certainly to moderate some of the more extreme proposals.

www.theregister.co.uk/2017/06/16/eu_google_antitrust_probes/

Squawkbox and some other left wing sources have jumped on the comments from Lily Allen suggesting there is a D-notice. Which has obviously gone viral.

There ARE lots of people trying to dispel this on twitter, but that's difficult to cut through as they are often from 'establishment' media or figures.

I've not mentioned it on MN even though I've seen it kicking off gradually during the day for this reason. It wouldn't have been helpful.

Mirror and Politics.co.uk are saying no D notice

What idiot would think there was. It's incompetence not conspiracy
You are right. She is an arse

The problem with govts that try to control all information, to cover up, to suppress, is that conspiracy theories spread like wildfire

I've had a memory of an episode of "Yes Minister" where a rumour is being discussed. Someone advises Hacker to ignore it, until it's been officially denied - at which point they'll know it's true.

It took nearly 2 decades to identify the last victim of the 1987 Kings Cross fire
True, but by definition people were mobile and could have come from anywhere in the world in a Cosmopolitan city like London.

These people lived in the flats so they will have paid council tax, electricity bills, been registered with Doctors, children will have had school places - there should be enough information, locally available to start compiling lists, especially now with computerised systems.

Someone advises Hacker to ignore it, until it's been officially denied - at which point they'll know it's true.

With Theresa May's U turns this could be true. I bet she is rueing the day she went walking in North Wales and changed her mind.
Was it Macmillan who said that a week was a long time in politics, and events, dear boy, events?

Was it Macmillan who said that a week was a long time in politics, and events, dear boy, events?

Without Wiki-ing, I think both were Wilson.

Macmillan was "White heat of technology ..."

Downing St at 5:45 on a Friday, after a near riot, make a statement that should have been made YESTERDAY.

May is clueless.

Now image Chaotic Brexit with no prep for queues at the border...

This is a REAL possibility. The government have not grasped this.