Westminstenders: The beginning of the dictatorship and the end of Boris?

[RedToothBrush]

Brexit is being fought in the UK media and parliament on the premise that the EU is being difficult and obstructive.

The fallacy can not be understated.

What the UK fails to understand is the right of the EU to put their own interests before the UKs. It doesn't under that our demands cannot be met even if the EU wanted to for practical and legal reasons - not political ones because our understanding of the situation and law is so poor.

The net result is the slippage of the next phase of Brexit talks being pushed to Christmas by the EU due to lack of progress by the UK. Barnier is open to more regular and intense talks but this is bad news for the UK with the a50 clock ticking.

The main stumbling block is NI a with Barnier warning not to use the border as a way to test EU resolve. Brexit always about the NI border. The UK have never provided a solution to the EU that does not produce a hard border. The idea being pushed by the UK will create one despite claiming it won't. The reality is the only viable solutions are either staying in the single market and customs union or NI being granted special status and being different to the rest of the country. The former is opposed by the government, the later opposed by the DUP.

The DUP are getting a taste of their own medicine. They have been warned that Assembly Members might have pay frozen and if they don't reform Stormont they won't get their Billion Pound Booty. Plus Ian Paisley Jr just found a new scandal for the party.

May is trying to channel Venezuela by getting rid of democracy when it suits. The Great Repel Bill (aka as the Withdrawal Bill) faces it's challenge. The much feared Henry VIII in clause 9 are not only facing criticism from Remainers but also from the secretive crackpots of Tory Bastard Club (aka ERG). The TBC want hard cliff edge Brexit. May seems to support given her goodwill burning interference at the Home Office which seeks to discriminate against all foreigners and make them sign a register. The visa system and how it will attract much needed staff for the NHS makes the mind boggle.

The Repel Bill also could end the possibility of transition due to clause 6 which requires us to leave the ECJ. Given the May's ambition to make EU citizens display their stars in job applications this is totally unable to the EU. If it passes the chances of transition drop dramatically. Bye bye Smooth and Orderly.

Then there is the May-Bot paradox: the one were she gives a friendly speech to the EU and a nasty on to the Swivel Eyed Loon gathering. As if neither will be reported to the other audience.

On top of this May is attempting the Parliament Rigging Act as she has a 'majority Government'. Yep I know, this is the general election version of 'will of the people'. The Rigging Act seeks to stack parliamentary committees with Tory majorities so they can stop any bill they don't like getting anywhere need the main chamber this limiting the power of opposition to irrelevant. Sadly I think this one will get through due to maths of the HoC atm.

We shouldn't forget the role of the HoL though and the lack of a majority government (why do you think May is saying majority government? It's down to the Sewell convention and trying to make the case it applies when the argument is it doesn't for a minority government).

The other development is the rumours that Boris is for the boot. And Rees-Mogg might get a promotion.

Oh Fuck Off JRM

and yes, there's another swear word uttered on MN fully justified yes, I know it's not our normal articulacy

Dyson the patriotic Malaysian: "It'll hurt the EU more than the UK"

We need to correct LIES especially from the uberwealthy who plan to shear the UK like sheep, but won't spare the skin

Only 2% of the EU GDP comes from trade with the UK.

In contrast, 15% of the UK GDP comes from trade with the EU,
with £240bn out of total £550bn UK exports going to the EU.

Also consider the % of non-EU trade the UK is likely to lose when it is no longer party to the 900+ FTAs, MRAs and trade agreements that the EU has with those countries.

As well as all the full FTAs, the EU has 953 bilateral agreements - e.g. MRAs (Mutual Recognition Agreements) and is party to 267 multilateral agreements.

The Uk loses all of these in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The UK imports 40% of its food, difficult to replace,
whereas the E27 can easily replace UK food imports.

Plus (from Borderlex)
http://www.borderlex.eu/comment-its-time-to-face-up-to-the-prospect-of-brexit-armageddon/

+Weeks and months of lockdown at ports in Dover, Calais, Antwerp, or Rotterdam

+Rotting food products waiting for certification or approval for exports

+Hundreds of thousands of cross border business contracts disrupted and in limbo

+A massive surge in unemployment as business lay off personnel

+UK and EU courts clogged with cases brought by businesses and citizens against violations of their rights

+Massive capital flight, a further plunge of the pound, possibly financial crisis

I knew a Belgian at work who had had to reliquish her Belgian citizenship when taking up UK citizenship, but that was a few years ago.

I know there's a rule of cock-up over conspiracy, but maybe we need to remember that no Home Secretary has pushed as hard as Theresa May to try to make people stateless.

Luckily - so far - IIRC the UN has squashed that. However, if I were relying on acquired UK citizenship to keep me in the UK, I would be very worried.

Once again, those of use who know our history will know what taking away peoples citizenship allows.

(Makes note to self to invest industrial chemical firms)

Where is the nice, tolerant, open United Kingdom into all this?

I'm thinking more and more that it never, in fact, existed

I see that GBP has gone up a full 1% on the back of implied forthcoming interest rate rise from BoE to help combat Brexit-induced inflation.

Hello mortgage and loan rate hikes for a country drowning in debt.

2 things dh and i have done since A50 was invoked;
renegotiated our mortgage rate (5 yr fix) on a very good rate (0.99%)
Bought me a new car. I think the UK car industry is going to implode so we decided to grit our teeth and buy now. I kept the last one 11 years so hopefully can do the same with this one!!
Just trying to save as much as poss now
Pretty scared about the future though

Where is the nice, tolerant, open United Kingdom into all this?

According to our esteemed Brexit-voting compatriots, it's still here and in fact, better than ever. Just as long as everybody agrees, with big smiles on their faces, how marvellous Brexit is, how wonderful and noble and eternally wise the Great British People are (except Remoaners), how well things are going, and how anything that isn't going well is the fault of foreigners.

BigChoc, your post of 12:10 just took me aback a little. It took me aback because some of the benefits of membership can be outlined with such a short post. Benefits not shown when Farage and his ilk just talked about the 10 billion going out and tallying reimbursements. Manifold benefits. Not even taking into account the opportunities with project participation across the 28 countries. How the UK benefit(ted) from being a privileged gateway to another 27 countres and half a billion people.

Where was/is the clear and balanced information on the British news media? The entire referendum consisted of saying the UK gives 10 billion to Brussels and only gets a small bit in rebate. You would think the UK wasn't even party to decision making. How dreadful the EU is at negotiating trade deals (deals the UK now want to grandfather).

Sigh.

Regarding public sector pay, we have a role at work that is underrecuited in industry. Because this role is in demand, the gap between the pay you get in public vs private sector is £10-15,000 per annum. So what happens is that we have to take inexperienced staff, train them up, and then watch them leave two years later as they can't resist the pay offered by industry. We have much better flexible working and family friendly policies than the local pharma companies, but that doesn't compete with ridiculous imbalance in wages.

@JeremyCliffe
I fear my fellow Brits don't get how they look. At home Farage is mocked. But to continental Europeans he seems to represent modern Britain.

Yep.

bolshy that is basically the story of IT roles where I worked (local gov), particularly Dev roles. Unfortunately even the flexible working policies are not really competing with private tech firms these days. They are increasingly being forced to rely on contractors who cost a fortune and don't know the business well enough.

We had the same when I worked in the Inland Revenue - we'd get people trained up and then off they'd go to a private firm. This was in London and the South East.

In the north, west and Wales, such jobs were a very good number and people stayed in post for years. So to get a promotion to the next grade, an ambitious person would volunteer for a post in the south-east, get trained at that grade, find they couldn't manage financially......etc.

So, "James Murdoch has issued a stark warning to the government not to turn its back on 21st Century Fox’s bid for Sky as the UK prepares to leave the European Union, claiming Brexit makes it more important than ever that the country attracts investment."

So, the Brexit they said would be wonderful, has now put the UK in a somewhat precarious situation.

Divide and conquer. These predators love a sitting duck.

From

www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2017/sep/14/brexit-talks-are-not-going-in-the-way-we-might-hope-says-former-bank-of-england-chief-politics-live

That Dyson statement is beyond belief. All these hypocrites. They won't even stand by what they said before. unprincipled liars IMO.

@nickreeves
This proposal is by tax haven based 'charity' Legatum

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-41232991 …
www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=86556 …
#Brexit #StopBrexit #Remain

Legatum: meet the new boss.

Another of the Legatum Institute directors is Toby Baxendale. He is also on its board of trustees. As to other interests, he was director, alongside co-director Steve Baker, of the now defunct Leadsom4Leader, a limited company set up to support Andrea Leadsom's Conservative Party leadership bid.

Baxendale is also co-founder, again with Steve Baker, of the Cobden Centre, "a home for Austrian School economics in the UK". He also set up the Hayek Visiting Fellowship at the London School of Economics. He has been a significant donor to the Conservative Party.

From that article, the article Baker.

Like rancid turd that will not flush away.

Steve fucking Baker.

Matthew Elliott who Andrew Tyrie exposed as having no respect for the instruments of Parliament.

Was/is there a cabal working away for a coup all along?

bolshy I've worked in places with similar issues, though some were private sector too. In fact I'm somewhat guilty of it myself, however not due to wanted increased pay or benefits but it was the only chance of progressing in my career. I've flip flopped between private and public, but there are a couple of places I'd have loved to have stayed at were there a chance of progression.

My dh was at his company since he started working many many years ago, being one of the lucky few who managed to get promoted within until he hit the highest he'd get to (next level up they only recruited people with certain experience which he couldn't get at his level). Left about 3 years back in a sideways move but one with progression options (one promotion has already come off).

Both dh and my old companies often blame the wages though even when they're told explicitly it's about progression. A bit like BEIS trying to find out why they're leaking staff without wanting the obvious answer

Oh yes. Steve Baker. Isn't it interesting these guys don't just want to leave the EU. Baker has said the EU needs to be wholly torn down. Does it even matter what the peoples of the other 27 countries want?

The Richard North article is a bit chilling, isn't it?

I feel the vultures are circling for the NHS.

Both dh and my old companies often blame the wages though even when they're told explicitly it's about progression.

If ever there was a demonstration of the paucity of innovation in British business, it's the fact that all employees - and employers - seem to be able to do about employment is think primarily - if not exclusively in monetary terms.

When I moved to the Midlands, 20+years ago, all the agencies insisted I give them exact cutoffs for roles. When I said that it's not just the salary (1980s interview technique 101) I got a blank look. When I explained that having to travel 60 miles a day (which I actually did for 2 years) every day for a week @ £40,000 was the (then) equivalent of walking to work for £25,000 I still got a blank look.

We've always done things this way; therefore this is the way we always do things.

Back in the 90s, a friend was a nurse, and had received very specialist training to work in an area which was very niche. She had her first child and (no right to flexible working then) was given her shift rota on return, and that was that. She left nursing, never to return.

Our first official Bregretter? A lot of you saw this one coming...

Oliver Norgrove: I worked for Vote Leave, but I now realise Britain must stay in the single market

Some of the rhetoric surrounding the issue is quite staggering. Brussels is not “trying to bully the British people” in negotiations. The EU is a rules-based organisation and thus its negotiators need to uphold the integrity of the single market. They are not able to replicate its trading terms outside of full participation, even for the sake of a smooth transition. David Davis thinks Britain can emulate European Economic Area (EEA) participation without formal membership. This is a fantasy and arrogantly overlooks the legal realities of treaty withdrawal.

I'm currently doing some family history research and stumbled upon a character in DH's family. He was a Reverend, in Rutland and Gloucestershire, who had studied at and was a fellow at Cambridge.

It turns out that he was a controversial figure and wrote some stuff that ruffled a few feathers which he had to justify to the college.

Upon trying to investigate further, though I am yet to find an original, I have found a review of one of his works.

It turns out he wrote about the long lasting safety of the British state and wanted to inspire people to their 'true interest' and to find zeal for their liberties. He spoke of 'true patriotism' and was rather scathing of politicians and their false patriotism.

This is from 1759 and related to the Seven Years War which was currently raging.

The review describes chapter 7:
The ill consequence of ridicule which have a more extensive influence on society, is the subject of the seventh chapter. Now these are - the prejudice it does to truth, and the reason of things, making the one appear like falsehood, and the other like folly - the contempt that is hereby brought on the person and authority of men - and an utter incompatibility with zeal to the state.

It gets better. I've also found that he wrote another earlier dissertation about how trade and civil liberty support and assist each other in 1756.

The war was regarded as a consequence of a diplomatic realignment driven by politicians which had upset the balance of power within Europe.

I'm really quite stunned at the striking similarities about what he seems to have written about and feared... and the more worrying part about it being a prelude to war.

The idea that we are doomed to repeat history feels rather close to home! Pretty depressing really.