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...

Yeah - beetroot in chocolate cake is just wrong.

I had courgette and avocado cake earlier today. I honestly couldn't have told it apart from carrot cake. My friend makes a lovely beetroot chocolate cake and I HATE beetroot.

To go back to Brexit. If Theresa May just walks away from the talks, will she be able to spin it as Brexit means Brexit, and she had made a success of it?

I think the key will be the Tory Conference. I don't think the tone this year will be quite as strident as last year, but I may be wrong there.

Veggies in cakes? Of course! Carrot cake? Beetroot chocolate cake?
Parsnip loaf? And this savoury (bit yummy and great veggie hiding) cauliflower cake?

No No No No

PlacematKing. Thanks, Hashi

I'm expecting the stridency of desperation,
as it becomes increasingly difficult to ignore reality .... but Tories are good at that.

"the EU are punishing / bullying / blackmailing" .... because the UK is Leaving and is not being given the promised cake deal

• promised by Brexiters, not the EU

If your leap to a great new future depends on other people tearing up their current organisation,
that's only even faintly reasonable if those people married you, or gave birth to you, or are your colony.

Sky View: Brexit talks cannot succeed

http://news.sky.com/story/sky-views-brexit-talks-cannot-succeed-11015205

From what we have seen from the three rounds of talks so far, the negotiations cannot succeed.
If they go on as they are, Britain will fall out of the EU without a deal

• something neither side wants (although it would be more damaging to the UK).

And that is because of a mistake Theresa May made on day one of becoming prime minister.

She adopted the language and approach of the Leave campaign, hook, line and sinker
and she failed to prepare the way for the inevitable compromise which would be part of any bespoke deal.

It was the rhetoric of the Leave campaign throughout the referendum that there would be little to no cost as a result of the UK leaving the European Union.

They argued that the EU would give the UK a trade deal equal to that which we enjoy now
with full access to the single market and no customs checks at the border because it would be in the EU's interest to do so.

This could all be done without freedom of movement and with minimal contributions to the EU budget (if any).
< unicorns baking cake for the UK >

I'm afraid much of this was total nonsense.

And Mrs May regurgitated it ad nauseam from the day she became prime minister.

Knope: embrace the veggies! Seriously, how great is it that cake can be part of your 5 a day? Nearly as good as the discovery that alcohol helps your body absorb vitamin c - fruit cocktails? 5 a day sorted :D

It current name is bound to be the saviour of the entire uk economy post 2019. I will single handedly create greatness!

The courgette jam looks good. I'm planning rhubarb and ginger this weekend.

When does the conference season start? Is it next weekend? (Party, not pear!)

Davis was talking cake and eat it and releasing lots of unicorns in the US, claiming that Britain will not have to go cap in hand for trade deals, will be persuading Trump to a free trade agenda for goods and the importance of services , won't be deregulating and allowing in chlorinated chicken but will be reducing the burden on businesses.

Problem was that he had to admit in response to a rep from Fedex ie an expert the trust based electronic customs arrangements they are proposing are pie in the sky and they will end up with a third country system.... So basically lost all credibility before he got on to the rest........

A week old tweet, but very true and probably shows how the tories will get away with it. Shoot the messenger and all that.
twitter.com/mrjamesob/status/772690990486413312
Sorry, can't c&p on this phone.

Sweet potato brownies are good. One of my favourite cakes is pear, parsnip and salted caramel. Neither I've baked btw, so don't have a reliable recipe.

When is the Tory conference? Should be...um...interesting. Has anyone had a go at broccoli or sprout cake? They just strike me as fundamentally wrong.
The Evening Standard is really laying into TM for the second day in a row about her assertion that she will be in power to fight the next GE. It's as though she is completely ignoring the fact that she held a totally unnecessary GE after swearing numerous times that she wouldn't and then lost the Tory majority having been predicted a landslide.
However, I can't imagine anyone trying to succeed her - who would want such a totally poisoned chalice?
The whole thing is beyond farcical I genuinely feel ashamed to be British right now.
My only slight crumb of comfort is that I'm not looking living in America. This still just all feels like a bad dream.

My expectation is that the tone of the Tory Party conference will be even more strident than last year.

It's the metaphor of a tiger being backed into a corner and becoming ever more aggressive.

All the DD/LF/BJ/TM posturing is demonstrating that they are determined to play to party rather than country interests. So they will hang the UK economy out to dry to maintain the charade of party unity.

If they were serious about negotiating, then they would be attempting to make friends around the world, rather than insulting our "friends" and piling our enemies.

Knope , you can't taste the marrow in cake , it just makes it nice and moist , I think the same principle would apply to courgette too ?

Davis was talking cake and eat it and releasing lots of unicorns in the US

But for the UK press. The US really couldn't care at the moment.

One thing that really irritates me is that every morning we are still greeted by 'what the papers say' which this morning was a bilious splurge of jingoistic nonsense from the express etc about the horrid and bullying EU.

In my view, since the June election the BBC needs to recognise what most people were already beginning to grasp - that online voices are overtaking mainstream media in terms of influence, and their voices are predominantly on the left. Enough with 'what the papers say'. It just reinforces biased nonsense. On the day we see the back of the yellow pages, let's bury these other dinosaurs.

I'm going to be honest...i feel far more strongly about vegetables in cake than I do about brexit!

I suppose marrow cake is a bit like pumpkin cake...perhaps we can export them post brexit...

I posted about that earlier today figment. Today on R4 are planning on including online media as well as papers now.

The BBC's Flagship Newspaper Review Is Finally Going To Include Websites
www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/the-bbcs-flagship-newspaper-review-is-finally-going-to?utm_term=.wi8oozN2w4#.loy22zxmOX

Pinning our hopes for a trade deal on the disgraced former Defence Secretary and Werrity-sniffer

< have people really such short policial memories – how did May get away with rehabilitating such a smelly Atlantic Bridge turd ? >

Olenna Spouses from other countries have working lives, it is hard and expensive to fit in work and accommodation to being forced to move between countries for months at a time at the Home offices behest. Whilst an employer might be prepared to move your role to the UK how disruptive will it be to move it for a few months then back to the home country for a few months then back again. Implicit in the Home Offices whole attitude to immigrants is the assumption that they are the lucky ones to be coming here and should therefore be prepared to pay through the nose and jump through every hoop to come here when the reality is that in many cases we are lucky they are coming here bringing not just skills and business activity but supporting family life. Few developed economies treat those who bring skills and experience and / or support the family life of it's citizens in such a way........

how did May get away with rehabilitating such a smelly Atlantic Bridge turd Because if she was going to find three Brexiteers to take on the poisoned chalice the pool of talent was very shallow and filled with sharks.........

Better a bottom feeder than one of the real nasties......