Westministenders: The Return of Parliamentary Sleaze?

[RedToothBrush]

Brexit is quietly going round and round in ever decreasing circles.

The story is that the European parliament will not agree to a transition period beyond 1st January 2020.

The third minister responsible for getting the Repel Bill through the Lords has quit. There are now nearly 400 amendments. It is scheduled for 6 days parliamentary time in the Commons from this coming week. With another 2 possible the following week. Rather bravely AFTER the budget. Bored with May, CVs are being submitted for the position of Chancellor.

Interest Rates are looking likely to rise next week too with the message being 'this is as good as it gets'.

Another team of MPs has gone to the EU to see if they can check up on May and her team. This is unlikely to work as Nicola Sturgeon came across a brick wall.

And then there are the many many distractions from it all.

Catalonia has declared independence, which will consume EU time and energy.

There are rumours that the first prosecution in Trump Russia will be Monday (Guess who is currently in the US. Yep, the gurning one). And there are increasing muttering about Russia over here, with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg being called to respond to a Select Committee investigation into Fake News.

And then there's the sleaze. Jared O'Mara seems to be the first in the queue. There are rumours more will be outed in several parties. Suggestions include May's right hand man Damien Green who was previously named in 2008. And the Tory Whips have a 'sleaze list' which suggests they know whats going on, but have done nothing.

This morning we have Gove making ill advised jokes about Weinstein in this political climate. With Neil Kinnock laughing heartily in response.

Anything that happens will be political to discredit opponents not because there is a change of attitude towards the treatment of women. We know this, because of who is leading the charge on this. The skeletons are being dusted off out the cupboard rather than exposed for the first time in dramatic fashion.

Things, could take a very unexpected turn against this background.

Don't bet against it.

Werrity-sniffer Fox
Proper lols

Oh and btw Jason Isaacs is gorgeous!

And having said that, I suspect Jacob Rees-Mogg's heart on sleeve, religiously-inspired conservatism is part of his disguise, his schtick, if you will. I don't think he is representative of RC opinion in the UK on Brexit or much else either.

Is The Express having a change of heart about Brexit?

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.express.co.uk/news/politics/873842/Brexit-news-trade-deal-EU-David-Davis/amp

Did the Express get bought?

Yes it did.

Less of a change of mind and more of a change of ownership.

Still it is not exactly news that we do a lot of our trade with the EU [facepalm]

Has the Mirror bought the Express yet?

Sorry to say but Jacob Rees-Mogg does represent a large anti Pope Francis section of the RCs. This article in the Guardian was superb but very restrained:

The war against Pope Francis
www.theguardian.com/news/2017/oct/27/the-war-against-pope-francis

Richard Desmond, owner of the Express titles, is in talks to sell them to the Trinity Mirror group but, afaik, no deal has been done yet. It's hard to believe that notoriously stubborn (and controlling) Desmond has changed his mind but maybe one of his editors decided to slip it through while he was away.

The Express has long been the source of all my dfs bile, along with the sun. I wonder if his head will implode at them taking differing stances now

Talking of which though, I've had df and mil starting spouting nonsense about poppies. It makes me really grit my teeth. There's been a massive politicisation of them I feel in the last few years and it doesn't sit easily with me. Is this our version of kneeling for the anthem apparently means disrespecting the troops and questions your americanness, if you don't display a poppy then your card is marked for not being patriotic enough? Happened at the football last year. Sorry random rant I know.

nonsense about poppies
Poppies leads to Help for Heroes leads to jingoistic BBC diet for last 7 years leads to you know what:
.www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-37575508
Although Help for Heroes has sought to publicly distance itself from far right groups.

Most civilised countries provide sufficient public service resources to pay for rehabilitation, commemoration and retirement of those brave enough to fight in armed forces.

Hashi Thanks for reminding me. Off to buy 3 poppies. Basically I will keep them in my bag in case DFIL or DMIL ask about it. In fairness, they have enough on their plate, so I'd rather wear a poppy than upset them.

Today is All Souls Day, so this us when (even a former) Catholic remembers loved ones.

Fake news on sexual harassment.
yougov.co.uk/news/2017/11/01/sexual-harassment-how-genders-and-generations-see-/

Compare and Contrast with red's post of 10.58 of @seanjonesqc
on Sexual Offences law.

It's as if there are no Race and Sexual Equalities Legislation.

White poppies for peace?

That's my feeling too driven they should be a great symbol which has been hijacked.

I'm going to donate this year as always but I don't think I'll wear one. Even though I have a lovely sparkly one from them I bought a few years back as a saver to the plastic waste!

Cornflower is France's remembrance flower.; worn on lapels.
Not sure about Belgium.

I had noticed some on the US and UK hard right were Catholics, but that article was an eye-opener as to their power & influence in the Catholic church
Bannon invited to address the Vatican
US cardinal Burke saying he's prepared to issue a formal declaration that the pope was a heretic if he would not answer questions to Burke’s satisfaction

I hope nothing happens to the pope;
he's made very dangerous enemies in the hard right, especially in the US, who have infiltrated the church

His analysis of capitalism is spot on:

"“Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world.
This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system.
Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting.”"

Paul Brand‏ @PaulBrandITV
BREAKING: Colleague outside No 10 thinks Damian Green may have just gone inside. Doesn’t necessarily mean anything of course, he’s PM’s No 2

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/wetherspoon-pubs-to-print-no-deal-brexit-manifesto-on-beermats-a3673786.html

Bargain pub chain JD Wetherspoon is set to share its own Brexit
“manifesto” on beermats in hundreds of pubs across the UK.

The popular chain claims food prices will be slashed if the Government cuts import taxes on food from outside the EU and accepts a “no deal” Brexit.

The message also calls for the rights of European citizens living in the
UK to be protected.

The pub chain's boss has claimed there has been a campaign co-ordinated by Brussels to “dupe” Britons into paying more for meals.

Chairman and Brexiteer Tim Martin said: "There has been a co-ordinated campaign to dupe the public. Parliament has the power to reduce food prices at a stroke in March 2019.

Anyone going near no 10 is either a resignation or a job interview now.

Not actually doing your job.

Parliament has the power to reduce food prices at a stroke in March 2019.

Oh my life.

How does this man run a profit making business?

While the Tory party entertains us with its trousers at half-mast....
Tick tock, tick TOCK

(paywall) David Davis attempts to calm those Brexit jitters

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/31/breezy-david-davis-attempts-calm-brexit-jitters/
.....
Leaving the EU without a deal, the Brexit Secretary insisted to a House of Lords committee this afternoon, was “improbable”.
At the very least, he said confidently, we should expect to secure “a basic deal”.

....^what, wondered their Lordships, might “a basic deal” consist of?
Mr Davis looked philosophical. ^
“I think of it,” he said, “as a deal without the bits we really want.”
^....
“The withdrawal agreement,” he told the Lords, “will probably favour the [European] Union in terms of things like money.”
....
Would he agree, asked Baroness Suttie, a Lib Dem peer, that no deal would be especially damaging to Northern Ireland?

Mr Davis said nothing for a strikingly long time.^
“That detailed analysis,” he said at last, “I don’t really want to enter into here.”
....
As I’ve said before, the Government is only keeping its economic analyses secret because they’re so dazzling that, if the Europeans read them, they’d fly into a jealous rage, and plot to scupper everything.
Mr Davis was simply taking care not to give the game away.

One man who doesn’t share the Brexit Secretary’s optimism is Alastair Darling, now Lord Darling.
Today the former Labour chancellor was also asked by the committee for his thoughts.

“We don’t seem to know where we’re going,” he lamented.
“It’s like walking through a snowstorm: you could go over a cliff, or down a crevasse…
I just ask myself time and time again: why are we doing this to ourselves?”

John Grace re Boris explaining Brexit to the HoC Foreign Affairs committee

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/01/jet-set-boris-flying-buttress-brexit-plan-brought-to-ground

“So after 16 months we are no clearer what we want from the EU,” said a bewildered Gapes.
“If we don’t know what we want, how is the rest of the EU supposed to?”

It soon emerged that next to no Brexit preparations had been made after the referendum either.
....
“Let me put it another way ...” Boris bumbled.
Here was the thing. Sometimes it was far better to negotiate without a plan.
If we went to Brussels with a list of things we wanted, the EU wouldn’t like it at all.
They would think we were a pushy “demandeuse”.

So 6the best plan was to have no plan.6
That way the EU would eventually come to telepathically realise they need us more than we need them.