Westministers: May Shares the Cake

[RedToothBrush]

May's Speech Abbreviated:

We still have nfi how we are going to do this. EU this is your fault. You sort it out. We are too lazy, workshy and fighting like high school children to work it out ourselves. Be our whipping boy.

I support democracy as long as I get to do whatever I like
I support human rights as long as I can ignore them when I like.
I support the rule of law except when it doesn't suit my agenda.

Waffle waffle.

"Creative", "Dynamic" PR for my Premiership.

Waffle waffle

We really need policing cooperation, PLEASE keep it with us. I know I threatened to withdraw this, but I'm sorry, I was wrong and a bit of a dick about this.

Gets to the point FINALLY.

"2 year transition period"

(With another time bomb lock which is still too short for IT departments. Nothing to do with the next general election, honest).

RULE BRITANNIA!

Polite Applause.

www.standard.co.uk/business/carney-sounds-alarm-on-30bn-uk-debt-bubble-a3642716.html
Bank of England governor Carney sounds alarm on £30bn UK debt bubble

“Lenders overall are placing too much weight on the recent performance of consumer lending in benign conditions as an indicator of underlying credit quality,” it said. “As a result, they have been underestimating the losses they could incur in a downturn.”

The committee, chaired by Bank Governor Mark Carney, brought forward the consumer lending results of its stress tests, which will be published on November 28.

and

The FPC’s [Financial Policy Committee] latest comments come after a stark warning from the Bank’s executive director for financial stability Alex Brazier, who said in July that he saw “classic signs” that lenders may be underestimating risks.

This isn't really getting the coverage it perhaps should. This is rumbling in a way that reminds me of 2006/7.

So sorry that MrsLH & others are being socially excluded

Social exclusion can be mitigated by social media, it's more the physical. Like the new builds we went to see where the car park was covered in pea-shingle. Which meant at least they had a reason for not having a disabled parking space. My instinct was to just leave, but MrsLH was bullish, so I started by going into the office, and asking the sales person to come and sit in the car. Eventually some burly men carried MrsLHs chair into the sales office and removed the unnecessary fence which prevented wheelchair access.

Needless to say we wouldn't have bought anyway.

I would name and shame Redrow but others Bovis Crest Nicholson Barrett were pretty similar.

Not one of the salespersons saw any irony in the sales spiel description of "lifetime living"

Can you walk ? Next time you go shopping, start to look at the thoughtless ignorant everyday designs that make life difficult for the less able. I have two special subjects lined up for my Mastermind appearance: the lives of the Pre-Raphaelites, and UK goods lifts 1965-2016.

Even if it weren't for family history, MrsLH and I would be pro-EU in recognition of the fact that a lot of equality legislation has been driven by the EU. As our blue badge scheme shows. I'm guessing we can kiss goodbye to that when we leave. People do know it's an EU-wide document, don't they ? Works anywhere.

I guess you don't miss what you never knew you had .

LH and MrsLH

Interesting summary of May's speech in the FT www.ft.com/content/9dd0e21e-9f80-11e7-8cd4-932067fbf946 - Theresa May in Florence: FT commentators on the Brexit speech

Wolfgang Munchau:

"
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www.ft.com/content/9dd0e21e-9f80-11e7-8cd4-932067fbf946

What Mrs May really wants is an association agreement. There is a strong political case for such an association agreement, also from an EU perspective. But I fear that the idea is time-inconsistent. I have no doubt that the EU will ultimately have to shrink into a deeply integrated eurozone. Member states that choose not to participate in the euro will eventually end up in a similar position as the UK. But this is not going to happen within the next two or three years. The EU is only just starting to talk about institutional reform. The re-definition of its various external relationships will be part of that. But this type of change usually takes five to 10 years. It will not happen in time for Brexit.

The best outcome for the UK will therefore be a deep FTA, and this will only happen if the UK moderates its plan for a new immigration regime. If that regime is anywhere near to what the Home Office has recently proposed, the EU will not be able to offer an economic partnership that goes much beyond that with Canada. There is no way that the EU will agree freedom of movement for aeroplanes, for example, but not for passengers.

The big question is, how will the UK’s political system react once the realisation has sunk in about how little the EU will ultimately offer? The transitional period would still buy the UK some time to prepare for the eventual hard break. Time is good. Businesses need to prepare. But then again there is no reason not to do this right now. And ask yourself: is it politically smart to risk a cliff-edge a year before the next election?"

TheElementsSong

Thanks, but we are better off than many.

Especially with our free chocolate (currently being saved up for an afternoon ). 3 small squares, so that's half of one between us, so we both get a sample.

Oh, and speaking of G&Bs, what idiot decided on the layout of their 90g bar into 9 unequal pieces. Guaranteed to send the divorce rate soaring.

The transitional period would still buy the UK some time to prepare for the eventual hard break. Time is good. Businesses need to prepare.

Though of course the preparation might well consist of moving operations to another country. (Unless those operations supply a purely UK market and don't rely on imports of parts and supplies from the EU, and how many of those are there?)

Don't forget how David Davis was opposed to ID cards.

I asked the question last year (on these forums) if Leavers would accept ID cards as the price of Brexit and got a unanimous "yes"

You know how May went to Florence. Well, it may have been to say something more significant and she was hobbled at the last hurdle. However, in light of what she did say, it just seems to have been an exercise in a jaunty overinflated view of how other countries view the Tories obsessions and machinations.

I was in one of the 2004 accession countries recently. Brexit was zilch on their horizon. Also recently met some people from various countries who work and reside in the UK. People renewing documents (to confirm their entitlement to remain) said their was a much more argumentative attitude from officials. Right to remain and related docs not disputed, but just making it more of a palaver and much more unpleasant when in contact with officials.

I don't think they meant simply officious officials.

It is an extension rather than a transition as the Tories mean it. Not a trade deal at the end.

I'm curious as to how anyone could believe the EU will remain unchanged during any transitional deal ...

The UK has enough problems trying to hit stationary targets. Let alone a steadily advancing one.

So in 2021, we can party like it's 2019 ....

Next time I need to provide ID, I'll use my non-UK passport, and report back. Be interesting to see how it goes down with HR/payroll ...

There, there, there was. Not their was.

ID cards on the continent are v cheap & easy to get.

Also, back before 2004 - when E27 citizens needed to register - I just went to the local town hall with my passport and 2 photos. It took 10 mins and cost about 10 Euros.
I just needed to return every 5 years to get it stamped and extended, 2 minutes work
It was a simple paper Ausweis / Permission to Remain, no biometrics except photo

Maybe the new ID I'll probably need post-Brexit will be biometric ? I doubt if it'll be €300 !

DD was opposed to ID cards for British citizens, NOT for foreigners

• afaik, with calls for registration etc, he plans to make ID mandatory for E27 visitors or residents in the UK

Mr and Mrs LH Two close friends used wheelchairs. It certainly opens your eyes, not just the lack of provision but also the patronising / head tilting / downright reductive attitude of other people towards people in wheelchairs. Both had very caustic tongues though, nobody was left with the illusion they must be mentally disabled as well as physically, even if they were such attitudes should be unacceptable.

For your special subject one was a work colleague, in the 80s her only means of accessing our office and the canteen from her car space was indeed a goods lift with head room of four feet and old metal gates that you had to struggle to open and close, so she could not sit straight and if you accompanied her you had to sit on the floor...... I could go up against you with my special subject of pubs and theatres with wheelchair access, not many to memorise. One theatre told us that they had wheelchair access, we negotiated a labyrinthine set of passageways to arrive at a flight of ten stairs into the auditorium, turned out the "access" was to have two burly ushers carry her down, since she had brittle bones that was not access at all....

ID cards on the continent are v cheap & easy to get.

Of course. Euro-efficiency at it's best. Well, by that I mean (a) there's no attempt to use them as a wonder-card (shifts those tough stains; reaches those hard to reach immigrants; opens doors ..) and (b) there's a long history of them.

Trust the Home Office UK to not only gold-plate the entire exercise, but also try to crowbar other features into ID cards, along with that damned database.

A few years ago, when working in a seasonal business, I was involved in one of the directors pet projects - data cleansing. They were concerned that our data was only around 95% accurate (this was a customer base of about 3,500,000). My boss and I carefully noted that 95% was actually quite good, and any effort to increase it would probably be out of all proportion to the gains.

(I'm sure some know where this is going ...)

So, all summer, the call centre agents were making calls, and updating details. After 6 weeks, we managed to hit 97%.

Come Christmas, down to 91%.

This was about the time the government was telling us that the database would be perfect.

Just for lolz, I've finally located the story which made me chuckle about ID cards. It noted that under the (scrapped) UK ID card laws, once you had an ID card, it was impossible to opt-out ever again.

www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/02/id_death/

I read an article somewhere which pointed out that having signed up for a UKID card, the hapless Meg Hillier could have been obliged to keep her details up to date (under threat of £1,000 fine) for the rest of her life.

Annoyingly the coalition scrapped the scheme for the entire country. Although for my money, they should have scrapped it for everyone who didn't have one. If you were stupid enough to buy into it ... well, you got what you wanted.

(Is my recollection about no refunds being issued correct too ?)

Breaking: America has declared war on North Korea*. North Korea vows to shoot down American plans.

(*according to North Korea.)

Woo and indeed hoo.

We have a war apparently.

Trump will of course react calmly and diplomatically and will in no way go utterly nuts if North Korea do in fact manage to shoot a plane down.

General upside I guess is Brexit might not happen before the end of the world.

I could go up against you with my special subject of pubs and theatres with wheelchair access

We saw (the excellent) Jeremy Hardy last night at the (equally excellent) Artrix in Bromsgrove. One of the best venues in the country IMHO. Pisses all over the poncy West End theatres. Here's just one reason ... you can look inside before visiting.

That and it's an 11 minute drive from ours ...

Susie Boniface aka "Fleet Street Fox" is a long time fav journo of mine. I offer you this totally justified character assassination as evidence as to why she is deserving of the accolade.

It is complete with expenses scandal, failure to disclose a financial interest, lack of concept of what 'hardship' is and hatred of women in general.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/worlds-most-appalling-ex-husband-11233099
Is this the world's most appalling ex-husband? Meet Tory MP Andrew Bridgen
Think of a hobgoblin, stick a blue rosette on it, and you have the Member for North East Leicestershire

This sounds like a placard for the3million rally but this is actually the Home Office meeting one of our key demands following a private meeting with senior officials.

We thought we ought to make it public as the news will bring some relief among EU citizens and it would bind the Home Office to the policy in the future.

They agreed we could issue this following statement:

“Some clarifications were made during a meeting between the Home Office and the3million regarding some false information circulating around the future criteria required for all of us after Brexit to obtain the documentation providing evidence of our rights.

The Home Office has confirmed in accordance with the Policy Paper (of 26th June 2017) and subsequent negotiations with the Commission on Citizens’ Rights its position that EU citizens:

^* Will not have to prove CSI

• Will not have to meet an income threshold
• Will not have to submit finger prints
• Will not be issued with an ID card^

The Home Office has repeated that they are focusing on designing a completely new system that will easily allow EU citizens currently living in the UK to obtain documentation.”

Please note that the new rules will not apply to the current PR application process and the3million is reserving judgement on any future process until we are satisfied by the outcome of the negotiations on #citizens rights.

Instead, the3million is asking the Government to urgently issue public anti-discrimination guidelines for employers, landlords, public services and industries considering the current level of discrimination we uncovered recently.

On today 3millions FB page.
Please please let it be true.
Not just because it would make things so much easier.
But because it's the government back-pedalling and that is in itself just as important.

Danny Kemp‏ @dannyctkemp
Breaking - @AFP Brussels - Davis says Brexit bill settlement 'can only be done in context of... our new deep & special partnership with EU'

Hugh Bennett‏*@HughRBennett*
David Davis throws down challenge to EU: "The UK is laying out concrete proposals. There are no excuses for standing in the way of progress"

Reuters UK‏ @ReutersUK
Too early to say if UK has made sufficient progress in Brexit talks - Irish PM

Andrew Lilico‏*@andrew*_lilico

Retweets Reuters
Well. You've got ~5 1/2 weeks left to decide if you want a deal. Then we'll have to start actively preparing for no deal. Clock's ticking.

So we are going for the No Deal option we should have started planning already. Minus the 2 year transition which the EU can and will just say, "er no cos you want us to not police OUR borders".

Susie Boniface aka "Fleet Street Fox"

Immediate picture in my head ...

Can someone link me to the concrete proposal for the Irish border?

Oh I GET IT. Concrete proposal means concrete border.