Westministenders: The bookends to a year of political chaos. Just how far have we come?

[RedToothBrush]

The 15th June 2016.

The Thames was filled with a flotilla of boats in a publicity stunt for the Leave campaign to draw attention to fisheries. Nigel Farage and Kate Hoey in their heads thought they were Leonardo and Kate, but the moment was rather more titanic in nature and could not have been more Alan Partridge if they had tried. Coming up behind was Bob Gedolf in a shameful and cringeworthy display of swearing and abuse that really didn’t help the Remain camp in anyway. Largely unnoticed was a small boat with a family following it all unfold…

The next day things went from fiasco to horror.

Farage unveiled the Dog Whistle Poster and Jo Cox was murdered. And the UK seemed set on its course for 7 days later when the world was turned upside down by the referendum itself.

14th June 2017.

Fast forward 365 days later and another tragedy unfolded. This time of a very different nature but with no less political significance.
Grenfell.

A moment of national shame. A symbol of so many things that had come to pass in the previous twelve months.

The election just the previous week had changed the direction of travel we seemed to be headed and left the Prime Minister exposed and looking wildly out of touch. The Maybot was given one more chance.

And the Maybot seems to be failing the test of her party who had the grace to grant her a second chance.

The Queen dressed in the same shade of blue, May delivered her ‘victory speech’ in, ignored the security threat and visited the ranks of the poor and the forgotten. A deliberate message to May not to forget who she serves? A Queen who feels aggrieved and angry by May’s behaviour? Who knows.

As for Brexit. The government looks lost. Adrift. The ‘Fight of the Summer’ over the EU’s plan for talks sounds out the window despite the denials from the Brexit Department. Hard Brexit is still on the cards. Apparently. But what does anyone believe now? May’s and the Brexiteers domination of the agenda is shattered, its power starting to be questioned.

What next?

This evening the anger is building.

Who knows, what will happen. Some of it might be predictable, but the future is far from certain and we have definitely entered a new era. We just don’t know who will lead it, or what its ambition or what the end goal now is.

What we do know, more acutely than ever is that we are all human and the wise words of Jo Cox about having ‘More in Common’ ring though ever more strongly.

Once again we feel ‘on the brink’.

Personally I don't believe she could hang on for two years.

I'm not an expert on parliamentary process, but is this a way of giving the opposition fewer chances to vote them down? No Queen's Speech next year...

The argument is that it allows for more debate given the humungous amount of changes to UK law that will be needed with Brexit but the danger seems to be that they will be bundled in this Great Repeal thing. Swooshed through in one go with DUP backing for one act but NOT properly debated.

citroen I didn't answer bigchoc's question on whether I get more in terms of council infrastructure from paying more in Scotland. I am not involved in local government and mostly I just expect to pay my council tax and leave the council to get on with it. However all the issues you are highlighting with councillors and the duties of the council sprang to mind yesterday. I am finding it hard to understand the apparent lack of council involvement or preparedness in Kensington. My council is similar size population and I am not unusual in knowing who the people to talk to are because they are visible in the community all the time. I have contacted my councillor a couple of times and in both cases there was a speedy and effective resolution of the issues. My DD did her work placement in the housing department and she is now a walking encyclopaedia on the social housing stock and its management. I think we do get more from paying more but it looks to be the case that the arms length structures and fragmentation identified in the Peston article and others have led to Kensington residents getting even less value for money.

Interesting article on same site quoting Sadiq Khan as thinking about tower block demolitions. This comes back to my initial thought that £10m looked to be too much to be spending on throwing good money after bad. This has been part of the regeneration strategy for Glasgow, although some towers have been refurbished also.

She doesn't deserve to stay on but what's the alternative?

If the Government falls (Q speech voted down), she'll presumably resign and Labour get the opportunity to form a minority government, but their Q speech has also got to get through. Normally, they'd call another election as soon as possible to get a majority government but we are not in normal.

Watching with interest to see if the 2 year Parliament is a precursor to some sort of cross party negotiating team, which I would welcome.

Thanks, howabout

The Mail are speculating that the Libdems are in talks with the Tories pointing to the prospect that the new Leader, likely to be Jo Swindon, will go into coalition with the Tories and DUP.

This reaffirms and vindicates my decision to vote Labour in my Lab-LD marginal constituency. It would be suicide for the LDs to align themselves with the Tories again, particularly when they have no majority and wish to force through highly contentious legislation. I hope the LDs will remember how the electorate punished them in 2015 and steer well clear.

Anyone else disappointed the Keir was still blowing the Brexit trumpet on Marr this morning? I was hoping for a more equivocal statement.

Labour are really reading the public wrong I think.
There is no appetite for brexit Anymore
They just need to have the guts to say it

Corbyn on peston saying the same- they differ from the tories because they'll walk away from a bad deal but are still pursuing tariff free access

I think an outside observer looking in would say voters had the chance to make clear they were against brexit - and as a whole in UK they didn't

Maybe, but only if the outside observer didn't really understand the political situation.

Anecdotal I know but amongst my lefty friends the most noticeable thing about the election was everyone's willingness to vote tactically to get the tories out. Perhaps the last few years have been so awful that people were more prepared to do this.

Also the lib dems come with baggage-the fear that they might go into coalition with the tories again.

I know lots of green supporters, but the greens stood down in some areas advising people to vote Labour instead

Illigitimate If a sentence has the words Daily Mail in it you should instantly disassociate it from any election decisions.....

I am a jc fan but I am disappointed by his position on brexit

Ps does anyone else remember a pulp song where jarvis cocker sang 'I am not Jesus, but I have the same initials'?

Howabout Absolutely - data and engagement is definitely what's missing combined with the relentlessness of public service cuts (and misplaced pride in them). Did it enthuse your dd off to work in public services?!

According to the UN, “Data are the lifeblood of decisionmaking and the raw material for accountability. Without high-quality data providing the right information on the right things at the right time; designing, monitoring and evaluating effective policies becomes almost impossible.”

Many EU countries have far more rigorous approaches to registering citizens and enforcing FOM (based on workers), than the UK and more effective ways of raising property taxes for local distribution. So much has been blamed on EU 'red tape' but in the UK's case, it seems sheer incompetence and refusal to acknolwedge the importance of public services based on needs not costs.

Faisal Islam @faisalislam
Faisal Islam @faisalislam
Mandates. For those on here who say NHS promise didn't matter..Leave-voting retired fireman Gary wants to know why he was "hoodwinked":
Any evidence for clear public mandate to leave customs union? No mention EUref at all. Asked for GE2017 by Cons lost majority. Polls against
... one might argue follows logically from leaving EU, or perhaps you can deduce a mandate from other things said re trade, but not clear
.those proposing this move, have not even published an attempt to justify on econ grounds; despite reasonable concern re manufacturing jobs
..also not clear EU would want us to stay in CU long term... but highly plausible in interim to stop car/aviation supply chain interruption
... but the power here is not with Cabinet ministers or Number 10: Parliament will decide, and I can't see Commons going for this, as it is.

Also the lib dems come with baggage-the fear that they might go into coalition with the tories again.

Yes, this ^ is the point I was clumsily trying to make above.

Several analysts (and mn leavers) said that the brexit vote itself was an anti-govt/anti elites so perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that this followed through in the General election.

Yes LotisBlue I am also perplexed by JC's Brexit stance. Because, looked at simply:
WHO stands to gain from Brexit? Not the people JC wants to champion.

If he's still stymied by the 'will of the people' mantra, he'd better keep his ear close to the ground for changes in that will.

Or is it that he's always been a bit of a Euro-sceptic?

Fucking hell. I never really thought that the bus had much impact, and certainly they would scoff at it at the Brexit Arms, but maybe it did. Those utter scumbags.

I think everyone is cautious at trying to unBrexit. Can't believe the EU would ever trust us again, we would be told to take the euro and Schengen and like it i think, farewell to any rebate. The thought of a resurgence of The Farage Preservation Society is off putting as well.

Hester JC is without doubt a Lexiter. Should have said so from the start.

People absolutely believed what was on that bus

Did anyone else see Hugo Rifkind's response to Jeremy's "Brexit for the many, not the few" tweet? "How about a Brexit for the none?" Can we incorporate that in a thread title somewhere along the line?

Hope there's more people like Gary saying "we didn't know about any of that" rather than pretending they did and saying we should carry on regardless.

Graham Simpson @grahambsi

#Brexit: Almost 50% of EU-27 businesses are in the process of finding replacement suppliers outside UK: EU Reporter t.co/RMi03LJ1X0?amp=1

Seb Dance MEP @SebDance
Prospect of leaving our biggest market already having impact - it's not theoretical. If "benefits" cannot be retained then rethink needed.

BigChoc I will read those comments with caution later.

Lammy was stupendous on Peston. He asked if relief is co ordinated in flood zones why not in K&C? , JC asked if plane delays lead to immediate hotel space being provided, then why not in K&C now?
Did you hear the volunteer who said survivors were being given £10 each?

We've been through this too many times before, to know the reasons.

JC responds with policies. The alt right respond with more and more febrile personal attacks which are a bit 'last year' I think. Things have changed. They've lost.