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.

It's occurred to me that a lot of people who blithely harp on about life without convenience ("grow your own food!" "pickle things!") have no idea about how labour-intensive that can be when you have to do it, day after day. Theywatched someone else do it (their mother, probably), or had a go on holiday. There really is some sort of massive psychological disconnect going on.

Reality TV ? Where everything is a jape with bantz and lolz ?

people who blithely harp on about life without convenience

Exactly this^^

Ds1 loves the green valley/Victorian/edwardian farm programmes from a few years ago
Its amazing how much time "growing your own" and "preserving" actually took.
As a middle class hobby I'm sure it's enjoyable...having to do it to feed your your? Prob not so much 😔

At the risk of incurring the wrath of Godwin, I have to say that I am waiting for one of the Delusional to tell us that Brexit makes us strong, butter makes us fat.

Gendered work too, all that pickling, and health and child care.

I notice how brexit is gendered.

Reality TV?

I blame the end of 'Play for Today' on the BBC .

When the BBC a stopped educating instead of providing a soma stream, and this awful digital tv started, inactive brains ossified, and critical thinking died.

See, I grew up in a (then) third world country. As a small child, I watched the older people doing a whole lot of this romantic old-school stuff by hand, from scrubbing laundry, to mincing meat with a cleaver, to cooking on charcoal stoves because they had to.

And you know what?

As soon as the opportunity arose, everyone was like, "f**k that shit, bring on the mains electricity and water and safe food and automatic washing machines!"

I am just boggled that some of our fellow citizens are extolling the virtues of more hardship as some sort of national team-building exercise.

LH I'm pretty sure that the majority of the UK were in favour of the Iraq war at the time including me (albeit extremely reluctantly because I believed TB's
speech about WMD and I had a toddler and a newborn and was terrified about anything happening to them).
I simply can't describe how betrayed I felt when the reality began to become apparent.
I think that, domestically, TB was a good PM but he will forever be tainted by Iraq.
I have looked at the food price thread - very amusing.
LH Does Mrs LH ever come on here?

Yes. We had no hot water or electricity when I was small. My mother boiled water and washed clothes by hand in the bath. We were responsible for washing some of our own clothes. We also had to grow some of our food (and you're right about how much effort it takes to produce a fraction of what you eat). I really don't remember it being such fun. I, too, am utterly baffled.

I blame the end of 'Play for Today' on the BBC

Abigails Party ? Dominick Hyde ? The odd play about the Cure For The Common Cold ?

I was there. My late DM was very laid back ....

When we raise the problems that farming / agriculture will face wrt not being able to get the workers, or to export:
"Oh, if those businesses are not viable, the Uk should just import food instead ..."

and when we say the ports may be logjammed:
"oh, we shouldn't import so much food. We should grow our own"

Do Brexiters advocate putting the nation on an extreme diet, minus the 40% of food we import ?
The better off can pay higher prices, but the poorest will be cutting down on essentials.

A couple of posters keep saying to every business where we see problems - manufacturing, financial services, farming, agriculture ....

"oh we don't need that / we'd have a better carbon footprint / we'd help poorer countries ...... "

How does the country earn money to buy the essential imports, like 40% of our food ?

I think that, domestically, TB was a good PM but he will forever be tainted by Iraq.

Maybe that's one reason why it's looking so easy to unpick his legacy. GFA. HRA. If we hear the BoE independence is being questioned it seems fair to paint Brexit as Memorio Damnatio for Blair.

MrsLH gets MN bulletins from me. MS has nobbled her eyesight and mental constitution, so a few minutes on here (or a few seconds on AIBU) would need a weeks rest.

"Here, the speech is so sensitive no one will be drawn on the record. But one former diplomat, familiar with the talks, told me there is a chance for the UK to throw the EU "into disarray" - put forward that "sensible offer" and destroy the unity the 27 other countries have worked so hard to preserve."

It's interesting to note that she will give her speech on 22 September that is 2 days before the German general elections.

I hope don't believe the EU can be thrown into disarray.

Yep.
No indoor loo til i was 13
Or central heating
Lots of washing by hand - not fun with Terry nappies!! - and the bloody twin tub terrified me! It used to move across the kitchen....
It wasn't much fun tbh

I think most people will only really take notice when they try to book their 2019 holidays ....

Richard North has spotted another unintended Brexit disaster in the making:

The UK loses its membership of the Passport Union ....
When the UK leaves the EU, the passports it issues will no longer come under the block EU-certification and will therefore no longer be certified as ICAO compliant.

This means, in effect, they will no longer be recognised anywhere in the world.

http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=86605

Furthermore, since similar administrative issues might arise with other countries – not least the United States – we could find ourselves excluded from other countries for an indefinite period.

Fortunately, every cloud has a silver lining.

In that event, we will not have to worry about international flights from the UK being grounded,
since none of us will have passports that will permit us to travel !

I hope don't believe the EU can be thrown into disarray.
But they might not be able to stifle their laughter.

There are a thousand unintended consequences of Brexit

• the gov will be running around frantically plugging holes for years to come, probably a Labour govt

.....the ONLY silver lining I can see is that the tories will never regain power

The worst outcome for the UK would be if they DO break EU unity:

individual EU countries can't sign trade deals, only the EU membership as a whole
If the EU can't agree, then that definitely means a no deal Brexit ... and no deal for a long time afterwards, either

Or is the planned chaos that they hope to persuade / bribe some countries to leave ?
The UK needs trade with the big rich EU countries - German, France, Netherlands etc - that can buy UK services and manufactured goods.
They aren't going to leave. Probably noone will

I expect a damp squib and a horse laugh from the audience

TM's speech on 22nd Sept? It won't matter - the world is due to end on 23rd, when some of us will be "Enraptured", and the rest of us will be dead. So nothing to worry about.
BTW - I expect to be going about my normal activities on 24th.

Ah, the rapture eh?
Wasn't it supposed to happen last year? and the year before?

I'd love a damp squib .

Brexit is just such a waste of energy. It's not like the UK, Europe and the world have any pressing needs atm, oh no. I will never understand why the UK didn't lead EU policy more actively.

On a personal level I am annoyed that May chose Florence for her presumably awful and presumably small minded speech as DH and I got engaged in Florence and the city has a special meaning to us.

Passports becoming invalid? I bet there are a good few many such agreements which no one has even thought about. But don't worry people it will be the EU making life difficult for us, and somehow the fault of us "Remoaners".

I wonder if the USA will regard us as a special case and accept our documents? They are not noted for being particularly charitable in that quarter. We ought still to be able to travel to Ireland, because despite some Leavers insisting that it's the case, we don't need passports to travel there.

That's correct...just photo ID. BUT some airlines do insist on passports for travel to Ireland I think...