Westminstenders: The wrong homework

[HashiAsLarry]

I'm no rtb but I'll give it a shot, though her efforts deserve much more than me.

The August negotiation round has, well, fizzled out in much the same way as any other. It's taken over a year to get to written position papers and there's still no clue as to a direction from the UK government.

Japan, meanwhile, is about to sign off on a deal with the EU. A deal we want to copy.

@faisalislam
^but if post brexit britain's trade deal with third biggest economy in world is to be based on Brussels' deal, what about rest? TTIP? Canada?
...when PM signs off statements like this on primacy of EU-third party deals, one wonders how temporary the temporary customs union will be^

The NHS is now launching a drive to recruit foreign GPs, like the ones that have left thanks to Brexit. It's a good job they'll be £350m a week better off now. Oh hang on...

Thanks lala, will crib off that!

Alan Travis‏ @ alantravis40

David Davis brands the House of Lords "a strong Remainer body" - there'll be trouble ahead.

David Davis brands the House of Lords "a strong Remainer body" - there'll be trouble ahead.

I am beginning to suspect that the reasons the Tories like to keep the house of lords unelected are not simply ideological or just so they can give their mates peerages. It is also so they can shout about how an unelected body are standing in the way of the will of the people when the lord's dares to actually do its job and check the excesses of the party in power.

I was looking at some text messages between me and my friends from election night. In one I sent it said: "According to Sky, David Davis wonders if Brexit is now doable ." It shocks me that he acknowledged that then but also that there is now no acknowledgment of that. I wish someone would dig out that news clip and clog the internet with it.

That poll about not enough people writing to their MPs about BRexit made me realise that I haven't corresponded with mine on this.

I have written twice to my MP since June - not a squeak. I also wrote to the local Labour party committee - again radio silence.

I'm not impressed (not is the site www.writetothem.com/ which tracks correspondence).

I did vote Labour, but may not next time.

@PainInTheEar

If you do write to your MP, use www.writetothem.com/. It adds transparency to the process, and you let the world know what your MP is up to (or, as in my case, not).

Daft Dave and his "blue sky", "imaginative" solutions to all the (many) problems of Brexit. The correct adjective is "fantasy".

All the more so when he expects the EU to come up with these "imaginative and flexible" solutions. No, matey, the UK, apparently, has decided to leave the EU and the current UK government has decided to leave the single market and the customs union. The responsibility for sorting out the resulting mess lies very firmly this side of the Channel. You Brexit, you fix it.

Lurking Despite being disappointed on his stance on pretty much all issues, I can't fault my (Tory) MP for not responding. He's got back to me on three occasions over the past few months but thanks for the link - I'll go through writetothem as transparency is always welcome.

I can't fault my (Tory) MP for not responding.

I hate to admit it, but Gisela Stuart (my MPs predecessor) was also very good at replying - 5 times over 7 years. (In fact if I had a grumble it would be that my emailed question would sometimes get a 3 page letter on 120gsm HoC paper).

So the current incumbent - Preet Gill - is not earning any brownie points at the moment .

Another difference between Corbyn surviving the Parliamentary Party's Rebellion and May perhaps not being able to do so, is that Corbyn hadn't been in a position to call an unnecessary election and squander a majority. He could afford to sit it out.

My (also Tory) MP is a Remainer and is excellent on writing back. I've had a proper response every time I have written to him, not a generic one but one which genuinely addressed the points I raised.

My mp has been accurately described as 'being to the right of Attilla the Hun'. I haven't bothered writing as there's little point.
Wondering if I should write to a different but sort of local Mp instead.

There has never been a group supporting May and thinking out policies, e.g. as for Cameron or MrsT.
She never had the normal network of a PM, hence her over-reliance on 2 backroom advisers.

She was always "the submarine" and she just surfaced to sneak into No.10 without anyone knowing her very well, or testing her

We had the extraordinary situation of someone becoming PM without any real base of support within her party:

• the MPs chose her without enthusiasm, as she was the least bad of a batshit bunch of candidates
• the party members would probably have voted for Loathsome, if she hadn't had to step aside after some particularly stupid statements

I suspect the reason May is so determinedly hardline Brexit is that she made deals with hardline Tory Brexiters - and maybe even with Murdoch & Dacre - as the price of becoming PM

Of course, an additional reason is her longtime attitude to immigrants:
the Home Office during her years was always very hostile to immigrants and she hated the ECJ as a constraint on her power

Place marking

My (was) Remainer Tory MP (in a Remain constituency) has responded twice to 3 or 4 letters. But they are just full-on party line so there's no point in writing to her. Lots of "believe" stuff. I guess she's worked out I don't vote for her so she believes she has nothing to gain from replying in any other way to me.

It is worth writing to your MPs regardless of whether they reply/agree with you. I'm sure that the amount of Remainers writing to their Labour MPs, for example, has helped to steer them onto a course which could result in a very soft/no Brexit. Before the election, something like 2/3 of Tory MPs were believed to be Remain-supporting - they need to know that their Remain-supporting constituents haven't changed their minds and that it is worth having the courage of their convictions. The Brexit Ultras need to know, at the very least, that there are very good reasons why some/many of their constituents don't agree with them. As LH recommends, use Write To Them which tracks their response rate and doesn't look good if they don't reply or send a pro-forma letter (there is an option to tick if they reply but don't really address your issues, iirc).

My MP is Philip Davies. If you write to him with anything other than local issues or support, you receive an offensive reply in which he calls you a Marxist activist or some such. So no, I won't be writing to him. He's a vile individual with which I would rather not have discourse.

I wrote to my prospective labour candidate a few weeks ago telling them why I voted the way I did in the last election and how disappointed I was with their stance post election. I did get a response.
I will write to my very useless tory mp whose father is a substantial tory donor

Should have said "whom" but he's barely human

Bolshybookworm You've seen this a modest antidote? twitter.com/manwhohasitall

Mr Davies should be careful - his majority was halved in the last election...

You beat me to it lala!

www.electionpolling.co.uk/battleground/targets/labour

Marginal tories, obviously who are the main targets. I think it's a 3.4% swing needed. Aiming at 30 more seats, needing 70?

Bolshy and labour put on 12% in June. I'd get a party planned for his crashing out in the next election.

That should read 'Labour put on 12%, Bolshy in PD's constituency, in June'

Do people know about this? It's next Saturday.

peoplesmarch4eu.org/

(Hope the link works)

Yes surabaya I'm definitely going.
The one in March was great but but didn't get enough publicity. We need to show the government we're not happy.

Thanks for the link woman

We've all been given a bit of hope by the neighbouring constituency (keighley and ilkley) turning red. He still has quite a big majority though, even though it's halved. I darent get my hopes up tbh.