Westminsterenders: The Ersatz ImitationThread

[OlennasWimple]

I am no RedToothBrush, so I'm not going to try to emulate her exception OP style.

Here, though, in the interests of carrying on our conversations about WTF is going on with Brexit and the weird political world we find ourselves in right now, is a sort of continuation thread

(Hurry back Red, we need you!)

It really is about values - and the ones they want are those of 1950 But the thing is that those who grew up with those values are now pushing 70 at the youngest. For sure there is a right wing for the young too, DDs have encountered homophobia and worse misogyny than I ever did, along with the snowflake rhetoric to any attempts to counter it but it is a tiny minority and the more liberal norms do assert themselves.

DD had a kipper in one of her seminars, she actually found his BO more offensive and threatening than his views......

Expose many people under 35 to Imperial units of measurement and their brains go into meltdown. No criticism meant, they are just not used to them.
I once made a Year 8 Maths group cry by making them do "Mr Scrooge's Christmas Sums" in pounds, shillings and pence as a Christmas fun lesson. Feel a bit bad about it in retrospect.

On the Irish passports thread, posted (seriously):

"It's disloyal. I hope the first thing the UK does is discount dual citizenship. That will show them."

They really don't want anyone escaping the misery

Similar sentiment elsewhere regarding highly-qualified scientists etc leaving: "We only want people loyal to the UK." Utterly creepy, and naturally accepted without a single criticism by other Leavers.

ah bigchoc its like being in the 70s and 80s again

Ugh, it's exactly that sort of sentiment that would drive me out of Britain if I was a young scientist. When you have ample opportunity to go elsewhere, why would you stay in a country full of petty-minded jingoists with an economy that's on its way down? Wish I'd left when I had the chance, tbh.

Whatwouldrondo
prettybird Not my DDs either. However one of DDs friends from her International School is now working in the UN having studied International Relations at Georgetown where she was taught by Madeline Albright.
What a small world we live in. DD2 has just graduated from Gtown with a BSc in International Political Economy. Did Albright's course, spent a semester at UCL...

She has managed to get a job, and will stay at that for a few years, then do either a masters in finance or a law degree (a postgrad qualification in the US) because jobs in the UN (and the World Bank and IMF as far as DD understands) require a postgrad degree.

Where is the Irish passports thread??

math Enjoy:
https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/amiibeingunreasonable/3003574-To-think-its-cheeky-to-apply-for-an-Irish-passport-because-of-brexit?msgid=71110940

Thank you!

(paywall) May to rebuff Irish with customs border demand

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/may-to-rebuff-irish-with-customs-border-demand-qbjd78b0r

In a further sign of division between London and Dublin,
the government is expected to rule out demands by the Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar,
for ministers to consider alternatives to their current approach to the border.

Mr Varadkar has publicly called for Theresa May to consider staying in the EU customs union after Brexit
and Simon Coveney, the foreign minister, has privately urged the London government to consider a new customs border in the Irish Sea
to maintain free movement across Ireland itself.

< no chance. Arlene extracted promises, not just 1.5 billion >

A formal position paper to be published next week by the government is understood to state, however,
that
ministers are sticking with their current plan for a “light touch” customs border using technology and spot checks to police the flow of goods between the two countries.
< light touch / technology - expect another glorious govt IT success >

This will irritate both Dublin and Brussels,
who have called for substantial progress to be made on Irish issues surrounding Brexit
before negotiations move on to talks about trade and future customs arrangements for the rest of the UK.

The stance will also be seen in the Republic
as an attempt to use Northern Ireland as a bargaining chip to obtain a better overall deal for the rest of the UK.

< what, England exploiting Ireland ? Never ! >
....

A separate paper on a potential future customs arrangement with the EU will also be published next week.
They are the first of up to a dozen UK position papers to be produced by the government over the next two months,
before a crucial European Council summit in October.

< and the Tory party conference - which these papers are currently being written for >
.....
Work on writing the papers is understood to have begun only a few weeks ago
with many ministers, including the prime minister, having to comment and contribute while on holiday.

< wtf has the govt been DOING up to now - writing down Dacre / Murdoch's wishlist orders ? >

Despite a desire among EU negotiators for detailed proposals,
insiders say that those completed so far do little more than flesh out existing positions.
Part of this, insiders suggest, is deliberate

< Baldrick / DD's cunning plan - wait until the cliff edge and the E27 are bound to give in. Oh yes >

but it also reflects genuine divisions within the cabinet over the best approach to the talks.

Similar sentiment elsewhere regarding highly-qualified scientists etc leaving: "We only want people loyal to the UK." Utterly creepy, and naturally accepted without a single criticism by other Leavers.

This is the same attitude you get to doctors and nurses leaving the NHS to work abroad. There was serious talk of making it part of the study contract that they had to work in the UK for a certain amount of time to stop the brain drain. I find it scary that when people are finding a situation so awful they feel they have to uproot their entire lives to get out people's response is to try and force them to stay rather than take a look at what the issues are that make them feel they have to leave.

(paywall) Cap on borrowing cut the budget for Grenfell refurbishment

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/cap-on-borrowing-cut-the-budget-for-grenfell-refurbishment-tdzjlvhrx

Kensington and Chelsea council limited the budget for its refurbishment of Grenfell Tower after the government imposed a controversial borrowing cap, according to council papers.

The council allowed £9.7 million for the renovation in 2014, during which combustible insulation was fitted to the exterior of the 24-storey tower.

Its accounts expose the financial pressures resulting from caps imposed on local authorities in 2012 by the coalition.

The cap meant that the council had only £11.4 million of borrowing capacity
and because of this it could not raise loans to perform maintenance,
despite £100 million of work being needed across the borough.

The documents, first reported by the website Inside Housing, also
reveal that two potential contractors refused to carry out the refurbishment works within the council’s £9.7 million budget.

One contractor, Leadbitter, priced the work at £11.3 million, nearly £2 million more than Rydon, the eventual contractor, was paid.

The papers say that Rydon had submitted “the most economically advantageous tender”.

"Taking back control" seems to require increasing control over anyone else with different aspirations or qualifications

Math It is indeed a small world, especially for a third country kid like DD's friend. I don't want to out but they are mixed race, have lived in several countries, speak five languages, have dual nationality (neither American) and a permanent ID card for a third. They are totally at home and have residency in / with two of the BRIC cultures. They spent more time living between cultures in the years since leaving Georgetown. I can only imagine the response of their family to being labelled citizens of nowhere........ of course a truly global economy would be trying to attract talented young people who are able to truly operate between world cultures in a way those of us grounded in one will never be able to do.

Hmm, isn't it also the case that RBKC has massive reserves so the budget for doing up Grenfell wasn't reliant on its borrowing capacity? The government should be blamed for placing many councils under unworkable austerity by cutting central grants but, in the case of RBKC, the pain could have been quite simply eased.

Morgan Stanley predicts pound-euro parity by early next year.

PERFECT TIME TO JOIN THE EURO THEN!!!

(if Brexit were sane, I'd say this was an insane idea. However leaving the EU could mean joining the Euro for all the sense Brexit makes).

"Taking back control" seems to require increasing control over anyone else with different aspirations or qualifications

YY. Whilst disintegrating like an over-dunked biscuit with regard to literally everything concrete to do with Brexit.

Morgan Stanley predicts pound-euro parity by early next year

July 2015 pound was on 1.41 euro

PERFECT TIME TO JOIN THE EURO THEN!!!

How about International Women's Day Refugee Centres to open in each town to celebrate joining the euro by taking in female refugees and their families.

A C Grayling‏*@acgrayling*
Canada has a law under which 'the knowing publication of false news likely to cause harm to the public interest' is a criminal offence.'

Tim‏*@teslaspigeons*

Quick Google search: Germany also has laws against deliberate or negligent dissemination of false factual claims likely to cause public harm

Franka De Mille‏*@FRANKADEMILLE*
There is a law in France against the spread of false news since 1881.
www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexteArticle.do?idArticle=LEGIARTI000006419726&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006070722

What's In A Name?‏*@someonesill*

That's why Fox news were fefused a license to broadcast in Canada :)

Pretty get your DS to have a look at the PolEcon options at Glasgow. It is one of the best regarded courses in the World, including the US. There is also a lot of flexibility and loads of different options to combine with Maths / science / humanities or Law.

Hmm, isn't it also the case that RBKC has massive reserves so the budget for doing up Grenfell wasn't reliant on its borrowing capacity? The government should be blamed for placing many councils under unworkable austerity by cutting central grants but, in the case of RBKC, the pain could have been quite simply eased.

The use of reserves is a pretty controversial issue in local government. A lot of councils have some money in reserves, which may sound like a lot, but the fact is it can only be used once and with funding cuts there is no real chance of them being built up again. You then have a council that is living hand to mouth with nothing in the savings account should an emergency occur.

For this reason councils are often very, very careful about using reserves. Arguably too careful in this case, but I can understand, in theory, why they were unwilling. Also a lot of councils are already being forced to use their reserves to finance transformation projects in order to make the savings required by Government (leaving them in a very vulnerable position), so they are not really just sitting on loads of cash for the fun of it.

They are the first of up to a dozen UK position papers to be produced by the government over the next two months,
^before a crucial European Council summit in October.

< and the Tory party conference - which these papers are currently being written for >^

Am I alone in being concerned that papers are being produced for the Tory Party conference? The conference that last year gave standing ovations to Theresa's Citizen's of Nowhere and Amber's ---- register of non British workers.

Where does Parliament fit into this? Even with the Brexit hugging Corbyn, they are still the appropriate body to consider the negotiating strategy?

TM really only does Parliamentary democracy when it suits her (a strong mandate) or when she's forced (Supreme Court judgement).

Citizens.......

Charlottesville, one dead( anti racist protestor killed) so far, and this:
@Nigel_Farage 1 hour ago
Cannot believe we're seeing Nazi salutes in 21st century America.