Westminstenders: Beano or Bust

[RedToothBrush]

The last week has seemingly been eventful but not in the way that's on the surface.

It's what's going on behind the scenes and the little comments in less high profile speeches that's more telling.

On the one hand the Norths think the May speech is a laying down "an offer" that the EU can not accept, in order to set up a no deal situation.

On the other hand Telegraph Journalist Peter Foster thinks there things going on in Brussels with the EU set to compromise in someway and help May present a deal acceptable to the British. You have to wonder whether the "presentational" stuff is about a deal to essentially be in the EU but not in the EU. A Brexit Existing in A Name Only. Beano.

It's difficult to tell, and it will come down to brinkmanship over timing. For both a deal and for the Repel Bill as the two sides in parliament try to push things to their limit for their own ends.

In this vacuum of uncertainty CBI and their "arch enemies" the TUC have put out a joint statement saying no deal is nuts and will screw every one and the way EU cits have been treated has been dreadful.

As it stands it does look like May is serious about a deal and Davis is also acting in this way. Johnson and Hannan have launched their Institute for Free Trade (at the foreign office breaking ministerial code, but hell there's no consequences these days anyway cos May dare not let Johnson off the Brexit hook) in retaliation to try and retell the Brexit story as always being about free trade rather than racist. Unfortunately leavers seem to have bust that by admitting they are considerably more racist than Remainers by their own admission.

Then there's Trump and Bombardier. Just as Brexiteers are pushing for this closer relationship with the US in trade, despite May personally lobbying Trump he fucks her over slapping 220% tariff on Bombardier and putting the future of 4000 jobs at risk. This was inevitable as Trump fucks everyone for his own gain. The US won't ride to the aid of the British capitalists. They'll just eat them alive.

This week sees an important vote by the European Parliament on Brexit red lines. One of the votes states that the UK has to either stay in the customs union and internal market or NI has to have a special arrangement and stay in the customs union and the internal market in order to protect the EUs border integrity. Neither is compatible with what the Cons and the DUP have said they want.

It's also the Tory Party conference.May's big speech, in which she must throw red meat to the swivel eyed loons on right, is on Weds. There are of course, no debates at ConParty because, well, they can't behave like good little children without supervision. Instead the conference is to, erm... yeah we'll find out next week.

"What role did Brexit play in Monarch’s failure?
Monarch had been struggling for years. It was kept aloft in 2014 through pay cuts and redundancies when taken over by the investment firm Greybull Capital, but the EU referendum and associated fall in the pound was a hammer blow. The decline in sterling left Monarch paying £50m a year more for its fuel and aircraft – airlines’ biggest costs, paid for in the international market in dollars. Sterling has fallen 10% against dollar since the referendum and more than 12% against the euro. Monarch had also placed an order for Boeing 737 Max planes worth more than $3bn, again to be paid for in dollars.
More broadly, British holidaymakers were deterred from travelling by the weak pound and fares fell. Uncertainty around Brexit, including fundamental questions over whether British carriers will still have the right to operate freely in Europe, is said to have deterred potential buyers from rescuing Monarch."
(Guardian 2017-10-02)

Thanks Leavers. I won't be listening to you when I am told "We're leaving, suck it up". Thanks for costing me time and money, messing up people's jobs and future and still whinging about "Remoaners" needing to get behind Brexit. No, you lot need to get your arses in gear and get things sorted. I can't tell you how angry I feel right now.

Sorted out new flight bookings now.
Now got to get a car park refund because flying from a different airport and get the cost of the tickets back via the Credit Card company.

Jessica Elgot‏*@jessicaelgot*

The chancellor of the exchequer's speech has so far been almost entirely dedicated to attacking Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.

Lurking - but we're not adults . We're too wee/too poor/subsidy junkies/not genetically programmed yes that was said /too stupid/dependent on the largesse of England/Westminster to be independent. (Perm any combination of those choices )

FWIW - I do respect those that want to stay part of the UK because they feel British just not any of the above reasons

Laura Kuenssberg‏*@bbclaurak*
Average age of tory party is apparently 71

Just to point this out again. And that the average life expectancy is 78. For the average Tory party member to be 71, that would suggest that under 50s have really abandoned the party completely.

How long does it take for the party to totally collapse in that context?

Average age of tory party is apparently 71

I guess that's the danger of being one of Europes oldest political parties ...

When I did my speed awareness course, I noted with amusement that my presence had reduced the average age of attendee (24 of us) from 68 to 63

Not as good as a recent lifeguarding course I did, where I was as old than the three youngest candidates put together (16,17 and 17)

Matthew Holehouse‏*@mattholehouse*
Steve Baker says US could lose interest in UK trade deal if transition is longer than 2 yrs.

I thought Trump already had.

What role did Brexit play in Monarch’s failure?

Be interesting to see how much Brexiteers can lean on the "experts" to try and divert attention.

I suspect a lot of analysts are starting to realise that unless they are honest about Brexit - and fuck the Tory party - they will simply lose their reputation. I'm still predicting a slow rolling tide of bad news.

Isabel Hardman‏*@IsabelHardman*

Davidson on Tories being in bed with DUP. "I'm not entirely sure Arlene Foster would be comfortable about being in bed with me."

Robert Hutton‏*@RobDotHutton*
Steve Baker on the pound: "The pound did reset, but it has also been coming back recently."

Trump may well still be interested in a deal - but only if it ensures "America First" and is essentially TTIP on steroids.

You know, the feared TTIP that was the reason that some people voted to leave the EU even though the UK was pushing for it and it was the other EU countries that were expressing concern about it

£141,000 plus expenses is not enough for someone with Boris' family commitments to live on

We should be seeing a dramatic rise in the NMW and benefits then - or does it only apply to him?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-ministers-salary-not-enough-a7976641.html

Grace dent on bojo and his struggles
twitter.com/Independent/status/914820206513524737

Glad yours is sorted Peregrina I can get a refund too. Hope all those trying to get home are ok.

Good luck to all those trying to get ref ds/new flights sorted
Dh and I flew on monarch 18 years ago for out honeymoon 😔

@mrjamesob
James O'Brien Retweeted Emily Ashton
Liam Fox reckons Monarch customers need to be 'more upbeat' about the airline's future.

It's a massive blow to Luton 2750 jobs to go. 56% Leave vote in Luton.

Turkeys voting for xmas springs to mind again
Dh is US atm so dc will need lots of calming after news of mass shooting 😔😔 those poor people 😔😔

LOOK A REAL BREXIT OPPORTUNITY!!!

www.farminguk.com/news/British-farmers-will-be-able-to-sell-more-pigs-ears-after-Brexit-Gove-states_47545.html
British farmers will be able to sell more pigs' ears after Brexit, Gove states

No this not a joke.

“There are some cuts of the animal that are hugely popular with the British consumer, others a little less. But some of those cuts are hugely popular elsewhere, say, for example, pigs’ ears are a delicacy in China.”

He said Britain has not been “as successful as we might have been at selling pigs’ ears to China [because] EU rules dictate that pigs, like all livestock, have ear tags.”

“Unpierced pigs’ ears are worth more. We will have a fair, competitive advantage – we can sell more pigs’ ears to China and that means there can be more bacon and pork and ham from the other joints of the animal that are popularly sold here.

“So by selling more sows’ ears to China we can buy more silk purses for British farmers.”

Hope Badders junior and DH are OK. 30 years ago, we'd have had to wait to see it on the 6 o clock news, and British media used to have much stricter rules on the level of graphic violence they show.

Mine are older, but for the last 10 years particularly I have been so conflicted about what they see on digital media, purporting to be news.
The footage of mainly male Spanish state security, committing the most gruesome and apparently gratuitous acts of violence on women and disabled protestors particularly, looks like more normalisation of gendered violence. (side issue I know)

There's another good headline in there red with Gove and pigs' ears.

It was really hard a couple of years ago when all those planes came down in a short time...
Awful

Interesting thread. How much of Lexit is possible in the EU? How much of Lexit is impossible even outside the EU?

It rather leaves Lexit lying in the dust begging for life.

Best for Britain @ bestforbritain
Thread investigating 'Lexit' claims: Could a future Labour gov enact the radical economic reforms of the 2017 manifesto within the EU? 1/
For reference: Voters largely back Labour’s nationalisation plans and economic reforms. 2/
3/ But some Labour/left voices have recently argued that EU is a barrier to Corbyn’s radical economic programme.
4/ New legal assessment of EU state aid laws from @Renewal: “EU law is no barrier to Labour’s economic programme”
renewal.org.uk/blog/eu-law-is-no-barrier-to-labours-economic-programme
EU law is no barrier to Labour’s economic programme
5/ Lexiteers in particular fear EU State Aid law would restrict ability to enact Labour’s 2017 economic programme.
6/ But these laws are also part of the WTO legal framework. AND also of the EU’s negotiating brief for any trade agreement with the UK.
7/ But @Renewal’s report finds that the State Aid rules in question do not pose a problem for Labour’s economic programme more broadly.
8/ Of the economic measures set out in Labour’s 2017 manifesto, most [17] will not fall within the scope of the State Aid rules.
9/ Of those that could, 7 are likely to fall within block exemptions to the State Aid rules.
10/ Only 2 on which EC likely would need to be notified: state investment bank/regional banks and state-owned regional energy suppliers.
11/ “It is likely that both could be structured to be cleared,” advises Report.
12/ Labour’s planned regional investment banks have already had their purpose - providing investment to SMEs - approved by the EU.
13/ In addition, state-owned regional energy suppliers would likely be able to operate profitably without breaching State Aid law.
14/ “EU rules not intended to promote neo-liberalism, but the kind of ‘social market’ economy associated with GER, NL, and Scandinavia.”
15/ “There are over 800 companies with state ownership in the EU and the relative lack of state ownership in the UK is unusual.”
16/ The UK would have to more than triple its level of state aid in order to match level of German aid as proportion of GDP.
17/ “European policymakers would regard content of Labour’s programme as what any self-respecting European administration should be doing.”
18/ In sum, EU rules do not “provide any obvious barrier to the implementation of the measures contained in Labour’s manifesto.”

There's a reason we eartag animals. So we can trace them if there's an outbreak of disease. (I might have once done this for a living). So I hope there's a plan in place to replace the eartag. Taking that one far too seriously.

I pointed out to my Brexit voting sister today that it was just as well she has bought her new german dishwasher now before the prices go up. Quite enjoyed that.

The Tory Party Conference. The 'ohmygod is that really real' gift that just keeps giving:

Adam Beinkov @ adambeinkov
Tory MP tells unemployed Brits to 'get on your bike' and work on farms with 'gorgeous EU women' #cpc17

uk.businessinsider.com/tory-mp-tells-unemployed-brits-to-get-on-your-bike-and-work-on-farms-with-gorgeous-eu-women-2017-10
Tory MP tells unemployed Brits to 'get on your bike' and work on farms with 'gorgeous EU women'

As I say. It just keeps giving:

Jessica Eglot @ JessicaEglot
Rees-Mogg says the Uk should admire the 3m EU citizens who came to UK. "brave to leave your home, unable to speak the language..."
Suspect many EU citizens would take issue with the idea that they came to UK on a wing and a prayer, unable to speak English

Especially those from ROI

Alex Wickham @ wikiguido
At the @JacobReesMogg @LeaveMnsLeave event they've had to call in the police to deal with the queues