Westministenders: A week in politics is a long time....

[RedToothBrush]

Lost track of politics in the last week or so?

Someone asked how do I keep on top of this? I’ve struggled this week there is so much going on.

Brexit seems to be on a bit of a back burner and we have become utterly swamped in mud and sleaze and corruption allegations

So here is a summary of the last week:

1. Government defeated over the impact reports due to an ancient parliamentary protocol. They must release papers to the public though this is likely to be heavily redacted.
2. Currently we are holding talks about talks with the EU. Instead of speeding up talks. They are annoyed at us for this.
3. Baroness Anelay, the minister responsible for getting the Repel Bill through the Lords, quit citing an injury caused by jumping out of a helicopter several years ago. She was the second person to quit this role. Lord Bridges quit saying it was impossible task.
4. Michael Gove has joined the Brexit Cabinet, which now has a majority of Leavers.
5. There is currently no one employed at the Brexit department for strategic planning.
6. Brexit Bill likely to face even more opposition in the face of Williamson’s self promotion. More Remainers who have been loyal to May talking of joining the Rebel Forces.
7. The has been a threat to rig the Lords to pass the Repel Bill according to Lord Adonis
8. Clegg, Adonis and Clarke went to see Barnier. Farage got jealous.
9. Talks for Stormont broke down. No direct rule but not home rule. Who is ruling is a mystery, but the same can be said in England at present. DUP are not getting their dosh.
10. FTA may not be possible on lines UK want as it would be better than Canada and South Korea and that’s not legally allowed. The real problem for the UK is services.
11. EHCR related issues – prisoner voting rights and letter to Romanian which brings into question whether the EHCR is deliberately being flouted.
12. Clause in the data protection bill which allows it to be ignored ‘cos immigration’.
13. The Electoral Commission are being sued for allowing over spending by Vote Leave
14. Arron Banks is being investigated by the Electoral Commission over how he donated to political causes
15. UKIP whistleblowers reported donations they thought were odd and not declared but only just has come to light
16. Arron Banks is winding up a charity under investigation by the Charities Commission
17. Arron Banks paid for Kate Hoey to go to Washington DC.
18. Lord Ashcroft apparently exposed by the Bermuda hack, like Robert Mercer
19. Steve Baker reported for taking money from the mysterious donor to the DUP
20. Priti Patel breaks ministerial code with an undisclosed trip to Israel with lobbyist. May says she has done nothing wrong, despite it being clear breech of the rules.
21. Michael Fallon quit over multiple incidents
22. Damien Green embroiled in accusation over Kate Maltby. Also having a fight with former counter terrorism copper who he has history with over ‘extreme porn’ found on his computer during a raid. Copper previously said he had been set up in the paper but dropped the accusation. Green is denying everything
23. Charlie Elphicke has had the whip removed and case has been referred to police. Says he has done nothing wrong and isn’t even aware of what he has been accused of.
24. Steven Crabb under investigation for sexting. Has apologised.
25. Michael Garnier under investigation for dildo buying. Has apologised
26. Daniel Kawcyznski allegedly tried to set up dates with aides and wealthy friends
27. Dan Poulter reported by fellow tory MP Andrew Bridgen for allegedly putting hands up skirts. Whips told in 2010.
28. Chris Pincher alleged pound shop Weinstein who attempted to untuck the shirt of former Olympic rower and tory activist Alex Story.
29. Gavin Barwell former whip and May’s special adviser. Broke special advisor code by tweeting politically controversial things. Is accused of being complicit in hiding the bodies and not taking action.
30. Gavin Williamson gave himself a promotion and pissed everyone off. As former whip knows all the dirt but is vulnerable as a result of that, as he didn’t report or discipline offenders.
31. ‘The Lift Lunger’ – as yet unnamed Tory MP said to have ‘attacked’ Labour MP in taxi. Date rape drugs possibly involved.
32. Boris Johnson, Alok Sharma and Tobias Ellwood all named as having contact with the mysterious Maltese professor named in the Papadopoulos indictment.
33. Farage makes anti-Semitic remarks on LBC. That’s Farage, a person of interest to the FBI.
34. Three indictments in USA for Trump Russia. Which implicate a whole load of people by association.
35. Some stuff is going on in Saudi Arabia which should have half an eye kept on it.
36. Jared O’Mara, Clive Lewis, Ivan Lewis and Kelvin Hopkins on the Labour Shit List. Also a rape allegation against a Labour activist which was shut down by a senior Labour figure

This week the Repel Bill and the Budget. Plus no doubt, lots more scandal.

I cannot see how the NI situation can be resolved without some kind of constitutional reform in the UK. But then it can't just be restricted to Ireland.

The UK could just withdraw from the GFA - job done. And if the rest of the world holds it's nose and refuses to engage with the UK (what's the point if we don't uphold our treaty obligations ?) then the Brexiteers can bang on about how they need to show imagination.

gfa treaty not re scotland, wales, england. rights of singular non british citizenship only applies separately to NI. uk has co-guarantor of rights in ni wrt gfa only in only one part of uk.

ni is different.

I did also like Barnier's response in French of course to the question from the German Press Association about whether the EU was expecting a formal confirmation from the UK within the next 2 weeks in order to go to the next phase at the Summit in December.

"Ma réponse est Oui"

....and left it at that.

Some NI folk I know in another forum say they feel like NI will be the Brexit stopper, and that the DUP are being set up as the patsys

Is there an appetite from some Tories to lump Brexit with the DUP and dump both for a generation ? If so, it does underscore the problem with the "your enemy is my enemy so we're friends" sort or non-logic which passes for policy these days.

Yes I know the GFA does not hold any bearing over the rest of the UK BUT to hand out special privilege to NI on account of there being no sensible other way to resolve the issues will not sit well with many other people in the UK, unfortunately.

Traitors. How dare they stand in the way of THE WILL OF (some) PEOPLE ?

Remember: we are all behind Brexit now.

Russian influence on the media just discussed (briefly) on Jeremy Vine's Radio 2 programme. Inspired by the news that Alex Salmond is presenting a news show in Russia (!), and supported by a clip of Steven Seagal (who apparently now has Russian citizenship) bemoaning the influence of the EU...

Today is a very odd day

Can someone explain what Gerry Adams meant when he said "Finally, the threat, the danger to the Good Friday Agreement could be averted if the Good Friday Agreement was incorporated in full as a protocol in the withdrawal agreement.” (Here)

Steven Seagal is the latest to be accused in the Hollywood sex scandals.
Birds of a feather flock together against the eu?

Mother - I used to be able to watch BBC iPlayer using a VPN but now it automatically bounces anyone using a VPN in case they are doing so to pretend to be in the UK. I want an international BBC licence, I'd be very happy to pay for one.

I can listen to the radio online though

oleana I think he's referring to the threat of a hard border to the gfa and the suggestion that keeping ni within the single market enshrining the gfa into it's protocols would avert the UK killing it. However I also suspect that enshrining the gfa into eu protocols makes a united Ireland an easier proposition, which he would of course like.

Apologies olennas. Not sure what I was typing but it wasn't your username

with demographic recovery of the very people partition was designed to ringfence against and carve a more british or british identity majority state out of the island, leaving the eu and reneging on the gfa will just foment conditions and excuses and reasons for trouble. there are not the same relative populations in an area which was carefully drawn to imaginatively create and partition an area to construct a 30% minority and 70% majority.

Polarisation will be gift to SF. DUP as well. middle ground wiped out. lots of unionism middle ground kinda gone already. dup don't care about stormont, chickenfeed when ruling from westminster. they're back on top like the good old days. partisan tory gov't. obviousness of this another gift to SF.

the eu was a wonderful blanket over the divides in ni. nats felt a more neutral and honest broker was on board protecting rights. funding all over brought money where most needed. the blur of partition not restrictive. all island economy in many sectors easy peasy and spread the benefits all round. with gfa, you could be irish without discrimination and loss of rights. maybe unionists think old state will return. but many unionists like the normalcy of now too. but dup will be whipping up fervour of britishness and oddly their founder used to rail how they'll defend it with arms. you know like vigilante terrorists whose actions they supposedly abhor. british army did help in this type of action before. they allegedly have connections with the uda already. sf maybe think it is a win either way. more misery may make those quite happy with the status quo fall behind a course for a united ireland in long run. they also know/think time and demographics are on their side. there are terrorists to worry about here too. these are occupied on both sides with ordinary crime. drugs etc. ni industry has declined under uk.

and it was hardly discussed in gb.

i'll blame undeveloped themes and all mistakes on my one fingie typing. also only my thoughts. many influences, tangents and spanners in the works can effect different outcomes.

cail hope your recovery goes well

I am not saying that scotland should be ignored.

even from an eu perspective ni is a special case. part of gfa negotiations and ni's citizens have automatic right to irish citizenship hence will retain right to eu citizenship. Also circles to be squared on the first three discussion issues.

oh gosh, thanks. it was ge but not a sinister issue. oh brought me deli lunch, goodies and flowers. type of recovery one can enjoy.

NHS amazing. staff were humbling. probably working to the bone without anywhere near full complement of staff. there was a wait as prior patient to me had extra difficult spinal issue. you can't measure this type of work like industry.

they want it gone, roll back like before wars.

don't mean to bombard the thread, but my nerve block is still working (24 hours) so i'll post

there were of course different reasons for a no vote in ni. amongst them, both unionists and nationalists unhappy with the blurring of partition and identity. for the opposite reasons.

no impetus for ui if all working defacto without hard fault lines for republicans. people co existing without discrimination or having recourse to more honest neutral ecj if so. brussels funding prevented partisan distribution. gfa brought ireland as a guarantor. and you could be recognised as irish. people not unhappy enough. pull the rug out on that and it will be regained again as a united ireland.

and the undifferentiation of eu citizenship, customs unions and single market put down the drawbridge on the border for unionists/loyalists. maybe some of them even believed johnson when he said they could receive even more money in funding after brexit.

dup will stymie sea border. mind you the cons don't mind throwing people under the bus when they are done with them.

This is where brexit is going to fall down. (Hopefully). Months ago we were told the car industry would get special concessions. NI will need some kind of individual deal. Port of Grimsby want concessions, if they get it why not Cornwall? If the car industry why not others. If NI why not Scotland, Wales or even greater London. Where does it stop? Will we have a postcode lottery brexit? The whole thing is getting ridiculous.

I'm more and more convinced that the Tories and may are desperate to get brexit through because they know labour will be dealing with the fallout
Mar 2019 : brexit
Apr 2019 : Tory govt collapses
May 2019 : Labour form a govt and have to deal with all the shit
Sound plausible?

Hollie, yes, I've thought all along that it would end (well, limp on for years) in some sort of giant Fudgit scenario. There are just too many loopholes/hitches/circles that can't be squared, but of course at the same time the politicians are all too chicken-shit to stand up and say 'I hold my hands up, it can't be done, let's all just forget it.'

The tragedy is that it will cause a slow and long-term bleed of money/jobs/talent/community spirit out of the UK, which will take a long time to recover from it, if it ever does.

I totally agree that Cameron should face criminal charges WRT N.I.

This is where brexit is going to fall down.

I keep hoping something will bring it down, but May ploughs on relentlessly appeasing her right wing head bangers, now dressed up as 'the will of the people'.