Westministenders: Transition

[RedToothBrush]

Last thread opener, it was all about the government buzz word being shown to listen at every opportunity.

Now transition is creeping in as people realise that no we can't just do a settlement, arrange a new trade deal with the EU and have a whole host of other deals in place in two years.

Who'd have thought.

We will be getting Brexit because we give in to threats of terrorism. Not quite getting how that takes back control.

But Brexit will be good. It will be glorious. And in the long term we will be better off for it.

Er ok.

I have noticed more than usual anti-Irish comments online over the last few months.
I suspect Brexiters are irritated by the Irish for getting in the way of their Brexit dream

The Irish are the EU enemy, terrorists or Labour allies.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-40634152

This is Laura K on the Cabinet. Deserves posting here. It makes the Cabinet sound like Malory Towers:

With rumour swirling, gossip in the air about the cabinet, it is hard to work out what is really going on. Since Mrs May didn't really win the prize she was expecting, ministers have become an unruly lot. Tomorrow, they're all going to get a telling off (with apologies to the truth).

Why is she so cross?

David wants her job, although he says that he doesn't and isn't thinking about it, it's only his friends getting excited.

Boris wants the job too, although he says he doesn't want it yet, and guess what, it's only his friends getting a bit excited.

This excitement sometimes involves those friends saying rude things about the other one.

Neither of them, nor any of their friends, want Philip to get the job.

Some of Philip's friends want him to get the job, but maybe he's not so sure. What he really wants is to stay in charge of the money, whoever has the big job.

Philip doesn't trust or like Michael very much.

Neither, really, does Theresa like Michael very much. But lots of people think he is clever and he likes Brexit.

So does Boris, who used to like Michael a lot.

Then Michael was really mean to Boris and it hurt his feelings a lot. They'll probably never go to each other's houses again for dinner but they may not quite feel like poisoning the other's dinner.

Then there's Liam, who also likes Brexit a lot.

He likes running for the big job. He says he doesn't want that opportunity to come up, but if it does, he might well have another go because he likes doing it so much.

There's also Andrea, who smiles a lot and likes Brexit, a lot. She didn't really enjoy going for the big job last time, but if it happens again, the chance to run again might make her smile, a lot.

Then there's the newer gang, like Priti, who also likes Brexit and might like to try for the big job one day.

So might Sajid, who doesn't really like Brexit that much, but might want to join in the big race too.

And don't forget Amber, who Philip and David are apparently trying to get into their gang - but it's tricky because she doesn't like Brexit and could also fancy having a go at the top post too one day, although she'd probably need to make a few more friends in her home town.

And there's Patrick, who didn't like Brexit either. No one really wants to be friends with him at the moment. He was meant to be in charge of trying to win the big prize but that didn't quite go according to plan.

Then there are Greg, Karen, Justine, Michael number two, David number two, Jeremy,David number three, Alun and yes, David number four.

^None of them really like Brexit very much.
Most of them (apart from David number three) would also like Philip (remember him?) to write some bigger cheques for their departments.^

But he isn't really in the mood to do that, remember. He wants to stay in charge of the money, whoever has the big job.

Then there is James, who also didn't like the idea of Brexit but has an almost even harder project in Belfast.

There are also Liz and Brandon. She used to have to worry about cheese, he now has to worry about immigration.

Neither of them really liked Brexit either but are, you guessed it "getting on with the job".

And Chris, who really loves the idea of Brexit and is in charge of trains. He says he doesn't want Philip or Boris or David (number one) to be making trouble.

There's also Natalie, who has to explain to another lot who get to wear red velvet cloaks (honest) what all of the above are trying to achieve. (That's a good question)

Then there is Damien, who really didn't like the idea of Brexit but who is really important because Theresa isn't cross with him.

In fact, she trusts him and my goodness, that doesn't happen very often.

Last of course there is Theresa who, while being cross with this lot, is probably still cross with herself, and most likely peeved with Nick and Fi, but that's another story.

The public might well think they all must try much harder.

What do you think the chances of Damien doing the dirty on May are?

The uk haven't even left the eu yet and it's back to the Irish being the enemy. It's almost as if that wasn't predictable. No wait, we called that one before the ref.

For a racism that doesn't apparently exist, it's strange it has its own term. Hibernophobia.

Ian Dunt @ iandunt
First May gets cold feet and sends Davis to Brexit talks. Then Davis turns up without notes and leaves an hour so later.

Did anyone mention this btw:

uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-toyota-exclusive-idUKKBN19Z1VG?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social
Exclusive: Toyota made UK investment decision after Brexit reassurances - sources

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government helped to secure a more than 240-million ($310 million) pound investment from Toyota in its English plant with a letter reassuring the Japanese carmaker over post-Brexit trading arrangements, two sources told Reuters.

Toyota said on March 16 it would install its new car platform at its Burnaston plant. One source, who is familiar with the letter, said that Toyota delayed the decision due by the end of December while it weighed up a number of factors including Brexit.

The business ministry has confirmed the existence of a letter but refused to release it.

Legal ramifications if there is a letter

Exclusive: Toyota made UK investment decision after Brexit reassurances - sources

It would be fittingly appropriate if Toyota just stopped the deal, and challenged HMG to sue them .....

Ian Dunt @ Iandunt
David Davis calls on "both sides" to "get down to business". They've been waiting for us during your pointless self-defeating election Dave.
Gap between the prepared, focused, realistic EU team and the vacuous and emotionally incontinent British team is so embarrassing.
Much of the EU presentation is PR. Behind that facade there are real differences of interest & belief. But managed to keep them under wraps.
In comparison, our team have similar ideas and interests - that of the Tory hard right.
But they have prepared nothing, sabotaged their own project and then fallen into internecine warfare.
Fucking shambles really. Dreadful people.

Charles Cross @ charlescross01
I bet you haven't met any of them so how do you know they're dreadful? Likewise, nobody knows the content of Davis's briefing pack so your entire thread is as emotionally incontinent as your accusation of our ministers.

Ian Dunt @ iandunt
This is an example of a wonderful genre of Brexit rhetoric: the Epistemological argument. Basically the argument goes - you can't know.
Usually it's that you can't know any event in future. Or that no-one has ever done this before, so impossible to know how it works out.
Or, as in this case, we can't know because we don;t have access to Davis' briefcase.
It's different from the Michael Gove 'enough of experts' line, but has the same heart: a lack of interest in evidence.
No-one absolutely knows anything. But evidence, ie on what trade deals are like, lets you reach conclusions, ie on how long they take.
This is very basic, I know. But this stuff comes up so often it has to be said...
Evidence and reason are useful and they can help you assess the likelihood of something happening in the future.
Tomorrow we will be covering why you should look both ways before crossing the road.

www.buzzfeed.com/alexspence/heres-all-the-press-leaks-that-have-pushed-theresa-may-to?utm_term=.guyz37zVM#.jvd58A596
Theresa May's Cabinet Have Been At War For Three Days And Now She's Pleading For Unity
Tory ministers and their allies have been undermining each other in the political media

Pleading for unity? Is that a Tory Unicorn request?

Alain deal Bottom @ alaindebotton
David Davis makes it a point of honour never to read briefings/ EU position papers. Details apparently hinder clarity.
Mesmerisingly scary.

Rule of war: know your enemy.

Conclusion. We either aren't at war despite the suggestions we are, or we are mind boggling bad at it.

It shows that he doesn't know jack shit, when it's nicely laid out by the EU for public consumption. I guess this means anyone who does read it finds out what the UK is going to do before Davis because we have fuck all options.

I never said it didn't have it's downsides Lurking, but if my extensive reading of post-apocalyptic literature has taught me anything it is that when it comes to the compete breakdown of civilization you gotta just take the rough with the smooth. Besides as a member of a cannibalistic raiding party I wouldn't expect to live the 10-13 years average kuru incubation period. Also enslavement is such a faff. They all need feeding and housing and stuff, and that's before they start revolting. One minute your happily forcing them down mines and the next thing you know you wake up with your head in a guillotine.

David Davis makes it a point of honour never to read briefings/ EU position papers. Details apparently hinder clarity.

Oh dear...i just don't know what to say...

"The uk haven't even left the eu yet and it's back to the Irish being the enemy"

The good news is because of a large bloc called the EU, Ireland is not quite so vulnerable (still very vulnerable). I still wonder why Westminster were furious and was trying to throw it's weight around about the bit where NI, if majority chooses to join a United Ireland as provided for in a democratic vote in the GFA, would have no trouble with immediate EU membership. If it all came to happen it would have nothing to do with them. They would be non EU and NI would have democratically voted to be non-UK. It is called planning for a possible eventuality and has no bearing unless those other things come to pass.

How they like being able to turn the screw. Or make sure there are obstacles in the way of others. I think saboteurs is used for the wrong folks.

Also enslavement is such a faff. They all need feeding and housing and stuff, and that's before they start revolting. One minute your happily forcing them down mines and the next thing you know you wake up with your head in a guillotine.

The ancien regime didn't have Love Island, Brexit and boxsets ....

The good news is because of a large bloc called the EU, Ireland is not quite so vulnerable (still very vulnerable).

One of my repeated points is that (unfortunately for the UK) Brexit is an existential test for the EU. Especially regarding EU citizens rights.

If nothing else, the EU has to emerge from Brexit in such a way that the 450,000,000 people who are (generally) happy with the EU not only have their rights protected, but see and know they have had their rights protected.

It's been a bit slow to develop, which is entirely due to the UK delegation arguing over how many bottles they want of still/sparkling water at the table. But I believe it will.

So far - without anything concrete to go on - the r27 have been remarkably stoic (those that care, that is). Probably because the only "threat" they can see is to the UK.

It's hard to believe - a year on - that the UK can decry the value of being a member of a united Europe, whilst simultaneously extolling the benefits of being in a united Kingdom. Hard, but sadly, not impossible.

David Davis makes it a point of honour never to read briefings/ EU position papers. Details apparently hinder clarity

how is this man the favourite to be the next PM. His incompetence is breathtaking.

Theresa May's Cabinet Have Been At War For Three Days And Now She's Pleading For Unity

I'm sure I heard Michael Hesiltine saying she can't sack anyone because she has completely lost authority. If she was removed and a new leader put in place they would have the same issues.

Define Irish?

When struggling with basic concepts, Wikipedia isn't a bad place to start

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_people

Define Irish?

I thought it was all about self-identity, these days ?

Or to put another way, who is anyone to tell someone they aren't Irish/Indian/African ... ?

www.thenational.scot/comment/15412594.Wee_Ginger_Dug__Theresa_May___s_Brexit_tears_cannot_hide_Tory_incompetence/

apolos, but CBA to format nicely

THERESA May has admitted that she shed a wee tear on election night when the exit poll was released and it became clear that she had thrown away her party’s majority and sunk her career. Quite a lot of us watching shed tears too, laughing hysterically can do that to you.
The revelation that Theresa is capable of a semblance of humanoid emotion has been hailed as the greatest breakthrough in artificial intelligence since Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov at chess, although it’s not entirely obvious why anyone is supposed to think more highly of Theresa May now that she’s allowed the public to know that she’s competent at self-pity. She’s not competent with much else, certainly not empathy. Theresa studied human as a second language, but failed her GSCE. She really ought to do some soul-searching, but it’s unlikely that she’d find one.

It would be a bit more impressive if Theresa May had shed a tear for the victims of the Grenfell tragedy, the families that her immigration policies have divided, or the disabled people living in isolation because her government has taken away their transport and slashed their finances. She’s not sorry she tried to destroy a functioning opposition and take supreme power for herself by the mindless repetition of meaningless soundbites while running roughshod over what passes for a constitution in this country – she’s sorry the public didn’t allow her to get away with it. However since the only thing that Theresa May displays emotion about is the destruction of her own career by her own arrogance and stupidity, it’s likely that the public will remain resolutely unendeared to her. People will still follow her, but only out of morbid curiosity.

This week, Theresa’s government unveiled another chapter in its arrogant stupidity with the publication of the Repeal Bill. It used to be called the Great Repeal Bill but then Theresa lost her majority and the Government decided that it wasn’t a good look to make a big show of acting like a despot. Instead they’re acting like despots but released the news about Theresa’s tear in the hope that no-one would notice the power grab. The Bill gives the Government the power to make and enact laws without bothering to consult with the elected representatives of the people. Not that this is new, it’s what they’ve been doing to Scotland for years. The only novelty is that now they’re going to do it to England as well.

There’s still no plan for Brexit, other than a power grab for the British Government and a resolute refusal to face up to the reality that there’s no such thing as a good Brexit deal. The EU is running out of patience, having neither the time nor the crayons to explain the real consequences of Brexit to David Davis. David is like one of those idiot savants, only without the savant part.
Meanwhile Scotland Secretary David Mundell, the voice of the UK Cabinet in Scotland, is trying to argue that Brexit will be great for Scotland, and that ripping Scotland out of the EU against its will while trashing the devolution settlement and ignoring the Scottish Parliament is a Scottish process too. It’s going to be a bonanza for Scottish powers, he said, confusing government with a 1960s TV Western. Which is an easy mistake to make considering the number of out-of-date cowboys there are in the British Government.

Contrary to popular belief, Fluffy Mundell does have a purpose in government – it’s to serve as a warning to others. David isn’t the most clued-up politician on the planet, but he must be amongst the most invincible. After all, what you don’t know can’t hurt you, and he knows practically nothing. David Mundell thinks a friend with benefits means having a pal who’s claiming jobseeker’s allowance, and that’s why he doesn’t have any, because Tories won’t associate with poor people. But to be fair he does have a point about Brexit. Brexit belongs to Scotland too. It’s every bit as Scottish as Mary Queen of Scots, both ended up being tragically executed.

The biggest threat to our society, our security, and our stability is our own government in Westminster. Well, I say “our own government”, it is in fact a government composed of a party Scotland didn’t vote for, in alliance with a party Scotland can’t vote for, implementing a policy that Scotland voted against, and giving itself the power to legislate without bothering to get parliamentary approval. Despite telling us that Scotland and the other devolved administrations were going to be fully involved and consulted in the Brexit process, it turns out that the Conservatives meant it in the exact same way that their friends in the DUP consult gay organisations when deciding to block equal marriage in Northern Ireland. The British Government has set itself up as the all-powerful arbiter of what devolution means, and Scotland isn’t going to be consulted.

The devolution settlement is quite clear: everything that is not specifically reserved to Westminster is a devolved power. When Westminster refuses to allow devolved powers to be transferred automatically from Brussels to the devolved administrations, that’s a power grab, and a power grab which is being undertaken without any consultation with Edinburgh or Cardiff. Scotland and Wales can’t block or veto Brexit, but they can certainly make it difficult for the Tories. They wouldn’t be serving the best interests of Scotland and Wales if they didn’t. Holyrood will refuse to consent to the Repeal Bill. Theresa May can grab the powers, but she’ll only be able to do so at the expense of provoking a constitutional crisis. For a minority government that’s no joke. This Repeal Bill will only make the repeal of the Act of Union come about that bit sooner. And that is the only thing to come out of this entire sorry mess that is to be welcomed.

Isn't this a graph and a half?

@britainelects
Theresa May started the Brexit negotiations with public support, but now more voters disapprove than approve.
(data via @OpiniumResearch)

Precisely Lurking.

The National peddling the politics of petty Nationalism as per.

Further to the revelation that DD doesn't read briefings/EU position documents (), has anyone linked to Dominic Cummings's claims that DD is as "thick as mince"? (Dominic Cummings really doesn't seem very happy to be on the winning side, does he?)

newsthump.com/2017/01/06/iceberg-insists-it-can-thrive-on-its-own-after-winning-referendum-to-leave-antarctica/