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.

The cross-party group, which includes around a dozen Tory backbenchers and former Conservative ministers, has calculated privately that, if the expected number of pro-Brexit Labour MPs back the government, they will probably need 11 Conservative MPs to vote with them to inflict a defeat. One MP closely involved in the cross-party moves said: “We already have very close to that number and there could be more.”

Another senior MP said Tories with seats in Scotland in which there had been strong support for Remain before the Brexit referendum were coming under heavy pressure from constituents to vote for any amendment that would prevent a hard Brexit.

Ten Conservative MPs have put their name to an amendment, tabled by the Conservative former attorney general Dominic Grieve, which calls for the final withdrawal deal to be approved through a separate statute, which would mean MPs would get the vote they seek.

'^Ireland will not be ignored' on post-Brexit border question
Chuka Umunna, the Labour co-chair of the cross-party group on EU relations, said he believed enough Tory MPs would stand firm.

There is a Rubicon to be crossed – to put country before party and career – and I sense that more and more Conservatives are prepared to do it,” he said. “They believe they have been led up the garden path before and won’t make that mistake again. They will not be bullied by a prime minister who dances to the tune of the hard right in their party

Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, has accused May of ignoring concerns across all parties and in the country about the withdrawal bill. He said the government could be heading for defeat on up to 13 amendments tabled by Tory rebels.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/11/theresa-may-faces-defeat-mp-demanding-vote-on-brexit-deal?CMP=twt_gu

We shall see........

Brexit, trump and russia the link:
www.byline.com/column/67/article/1936

As you say, 'we shall see'. Precious few Tories have rebelled so far. Maybe they will if they think their seats are at risk.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/11/theresa-may-faces-revolt-universal-credit-mps-prepare-vote-reducing/amp/
Theresa May faces revolt over Universal Credit as MPs prepare to vote on reducing wait times

Mail on Sunday

Sunday Times.

40 Tory MPs have agreed to sign a letter of no confidence in May....

Will that mean a Tory Leadership election? If so, bring it on. What will Boris Johnson do this time? Will he find someone to stab him in the back again so that he doesn't have to put up for the Leadership?

www.itv.com/news/2017-11-11/johnson-and-gove-reportedly-penned-secret-letter-to-pm-giving-her-brexit-instructions/
Johnson and Gove reportedly penned secret letter to PM giving her Brexit instructions

A secret letter from Boris Johnson and Michael Gove giving Theresa May apparent instructions on how to run Brexit has reportedly been leaked.

and

A senior Government source told the newspaper the Foreign Secretary and Environment Secretary had conducted a "soft coup" and described Mrs May as "their Downing Street hostage".

and

The leaked letter, titled EU Exit - Next Steps, is marked "For your and Gavin's eyes only", a reference to the PM's chief of staff Gavin Barwell.

So who leaked it. And why...

Will that mean a Tory Leadership election?

48 is the magic number.

I expect next week to be drama filled.

Johnson probably leaked it himself, so that he can claim that Remainer MPs are trying to sabotage him.

The cynic in me says that this is just the leaders of the Leaver camp and the super-rich pushing the Russian angle, so that when the ordinary Leaver realises that they have been conned, they will hold their hands up and say "Not us, Guv - it was that Putin you need to blame".

Part of me doesn't disagree.

What I find interesting though is why Boris Johnson lied about having met Misfud when it's pretty clear he did. Why not just say he did?

If it's all about a Russian bogie man when Boris isn't looking like he'll be caught in it, rather than able to claim innocence. British security services are thought to have known about the professor for a very long time - since before the referendum.

All the stuff about Boris this week makes me raise my eyebrows. How does he still have a job?

Why was Boris so shut out by Patel (and potentially May) over the Israel vote?

I've heard he could still loose his job over Nazanin if her sentence is extended.

And now we have this stuff about a soft coup in the cabinet and holding May hostage. And 40MPs wiling to trigger a leadership contest.

I don't know what to make of it all yet. All roads repeatedly turn back to Boris ATM though in one way or another.

Only thing I am sure of is there's trouble brewing and it's coming to a head probably sooner rather than later by the look of it.

If Gove and Johnson have indeed staged a soft coup, why would they want a leadership contest now? They are in control without getting the blame?

If they leaked to claim a remainer plot, it has to be because they fear something too.

Possibly his sacking. If May's side leaked it, they did it to throw Johnson under the bus and take him down too and to minimise his chances of becoming PM.

It's definitely house of cards stuff.

All of this is as bad in its own way as the Brexit chant of 'traitors' when faced with reasonable criticism of Brexit and predictions of how the economy will tank.

JJ Patrick is trying really hard to sell a (not very good) book, Woman.

This is just ridiculous www.byline.com/column/67/article/1777 'Jacob Rees-Mogg is emerging as the new face of Russian political interference in the UK...'

'Kekistan'???

The outpourings of JJ Patrick are all so breathless it's hard to know where to start on them. It looks as if he googled names and threw in every single hit he got up to a cutoff of about 3,000, randomly.

While everyone looks east and says 'hiss, boo', Robert Mercer, Declan Ganley, the Koch brothers and the Chandler brothers sit on their yachts laughing at how easily the populace can be led. They have been laughing for many years, well before the arrival of Trump and well before Brexit.

Citizens United remains the single most potent threat to American and western democracy, along with the existence of tax havens where the filthy rich can keep their money safe from prying eyes while using it to finance whatever political outcome they set their hearts on. We have returned to the political dynamics of the Gilded Age. We did this to ourselves.

What I find interesting though is why Boris Johnson lied about having met Misfud when it's pretty clear he did. Why not just say he did?

Because all brown skinned people are insignificant and instantly forgettable to him?
CF his involvement in the Nazanin case.

Also noticing UK political twitter is very quiet tonight.

Usually there are a whole load of political journalists busy tweeting around 9.30 to about 11.30 because of the Sunday newspapers.

Perhaps that's because the last week has been so busy and some might be on holiday (though I've seen many of the usual suspects about earlier today) or taking a breather after a busy week. Or because parliament has had a few days off (not that it's been at all quiet)

Or they are working.

JJ Patrick is trying really hard to sell a (not very good) book, Woman.

That I very much agree on!

The American money is as bad as Russian money. Facebook isn't Russian. It's still foreign money messing with democracy for profit. I personally think that's the rub and the shared interest. Corruption.

It's not about destabilising but for money and power for the sake of money and power. Democracy gets in the way of that.

Because all brown skinned people are insignificant and instantly forgettable to him? CF his involvement in the Nazanin case.

no, not just that. he has to leave a sting or insult. i think he just loves lighting a tinderbox and leaving a problem for people. very nasty man, imo.

Mike Hind‏**@MikeH**_PR

1. OK, I’m going to say it.

The foreign dark money for Brexit was American. Mark my words.

1. This is why Banks & Wigmore are so gleeful about the Russia angle.

When the truth emerges they’ll justifiably say everyone was WRONG

1. It came from Mercer. Ultimately. It’s all about creating the conditions for disaster capitalism. That’s what Cambridge Analytica is for.

1. Sure, it works for Putin & his fellow kleptocrats & they’re doubtless involved too. Because they’re all in it for the money & control.

1. But when it’s all untangled the Balkanization of everywhere will turn out to have been an extremist capitalist conspiracy.

1. This is why putting all your eggs in a Russia basket is unwise. It will help them claim exoneration when it turns out to be more complex.

1. And that’s why they troll you about Russia. It’s also why the Russian embassy has such fun with this. Because they know how this works

1. It’s an alliance of kleptocrats & disaster capitalists. Their nationalities are secondary to the objective. Divide, rule & accumulate.

1. Just a thought. It’ll stand or fall on what emerges, so not really worth debating. Let’s just see how it plays out.

ends

10. Let’s continue now, with these subsequent thoughts. Following some of the protestations attracted by this thread

1. There seems to be an obsession with the ‘😱FOREIGN INTERFERENCE😱’ angle. But that kind of misses the point.

Try this thought experiment.

1. Imagine I (still a UK citizen) sabotaged the country in some way, for reasons of ego & personal enrichment.

And I had help from people.

1. Say my co-conspirators & backers were, say, Singaporeans, Americans, Belorussians, Canadians, Chinese etc.

And say I was caught at it.

1. I would totally LOVE it when people cried ‘😱FOREIGN INTERFERENCE😱’.

All that distraction from ME would be a gift that just kept giving.

1. We’re in an age where the headline is the story. The era of grazing on fragmented factoids. When it’s all about feeling over facts.

1. If the headline is constantly

‘😱FOREIGN INTERFERENCE😱’

That is, by definition, the story people
hear.

A spectacular miss-kick.

1. LeaveEU had good data. They KNEW they’d won at 10pm on 23/6/16. When Farage ‘conceded’.

www.thesun.co.uk/news/2036447/nigel-farages-ally-made-10000-shorting-the-pound-after-ukip-leader-wrongly-conceded-defeat-on-eu-referendum-night/ … Foreign interference eh 🙄

1. Some people will do brilliantly out of Brexit. Geopolitical & economic re-shaping for the hell of it. Masters of a really cool game.

1. Kleptocrat Putin’s geopolitical ambitions are served too, of course.

If I’m the villain of the piece, focusing on that works for me 🤗

10. If I was snubbed & responded by wreaking havoc, because I could, would you focus on

‘😱FOREIGN INTERFERENCE😱’

www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2016/10/arron-banks-man-who-bought-brexit

11. But but but but but but but but...

Trump-Russia, Manafort, Papadopoulos, WikiLeaks, hacking etc etc.

Yes. WE KNOW ALL THAT!

12. As the agent of chaos I love all that distraction, especially because it’s true.

It makes the story bigger & different than me.

Phew.

13. Let me spell this out again.

This. Is. Not. Binary.

It is not about it being about foreign interference or not foreign interference.

14. It’s about what domestic actors did and continue to do.

Stop giving them a free pass by making it all about

‘😱FOREIGN INTERFERENCE😱’

15. Finally, before saying ‘but but but but we know there’s a Russia angle’ please show me where I’ve ever said there isn’t 😉

The point should be (and I would agree with this) that it wasn't just the Russians who tried to rig the Trump / Brexit / French / German / Catalonian ref. votes. But, there is clear and incontrovertible evidence that the Russians did interfere. For instance, in addition to Byline Media (who are highly respected according to journalist friends), there is the FBI probe evidence in the US, this article in Wired (www.wired.co.uk/article/brexit-russia-influence-twitter-bots-internet-research-agency),
and several peer-reviewed academic papers too (see, for instance, this project: comprop.oii.ox.ac.uk).

It's ok to look into other claims of other types of interference, while simultaneously pursuing the claims of Russian interference. I feel there is some muddying of the waters going on.

www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/thousands-fascists-march-warsaw-171111052813155.html

Sorry haven't read full thread , just wondered what peoples thoughts were on this ?

I have a suspicion that it doesn't really matter what comes out , people seem to almost expect that the filthy rich will act in an amoral way , that Russia continues to be an enemy of the West , there will be a lot of shoulder shrugging and people will still believe that their vote was based on irrefutable fact .

Yip. That’s exactly what the far-right blowhards on my twitter feed are saying.

I feel there is some muddying of the waters going on

Which is part of the deal too.

Foreign powers interfering in democratic processes is or was wrong.
J Patrick is a bit feverish, and he doesn't write like Martha Gelhorn, but what he posts tends to be in the mainstream press a few months later.

Sad that the turnaround wasn't a bit quicker, otherwise we could be saving ourselves a lot of heartache.

What's being enabled here and elsewhere is innate and external and it is relevant.

I suppose the good thing is, we're getting a taste of what colonial predecessors have done for a few centuries.