Westministenders: The Art of the Deal

[RedToothBrush]

Well Trump seems to have put his foot in it.

Not that this should come as a surprise. For all the talk of closer ties with the US that was never going to happen. All that was need was for Trump to over step once too many.

By chance (?) Barnier also raised questions about our commitment to working with the EU on security.

Its almost as if we are being asked to choose whom we look to for security.

Meanwhile it sounds like the divorce bill is sorted - though this may not be as settled as that, if it comes with conditions. The deal might also be backtracked on, seeing as that appears to be the done thing presently.

Talks on Ireland are stalemated with Ireland threating to veto. No sign of a breakthrough here yet.

Talks on EU citz rights are reportedly going backwards (again) rather than going forward.

All of this is theatre for a British audience though, with the UK agreeing to everything. Because they gave again their cards when a50 was triggered.

The crunch is coming on whether we move to stage two before Christmas. We have no time to lose.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42249854?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_politics&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central
Impact assessments of Brexit on the UK 'don't exist'

Sam Coates Times‏ @SamCoatesTimes
Not. A. Good. Look.

Anushka Asthana‏*@GuardianAnushka*
He previously said of PM: “She’ll know summary outcomes of them. She won’t nec have read every single one, they are in excruciating detail.”

Sam Coates Times‏ @SamCoatesTimes
A Whitehall source points out it looks increasingly likely some ministers have lied or misled Parliament and could be held in contempt of Parliament for their past comments

Faisal Islam‏
@faisalislam
Corbyn: In July Fox said EU negotiations “easiest in the world” - still the case?
PM: Negotiations are in progress and v good progress has been made

Corbyn quotes Tory donor, Charlie Mullins of Pimlico Plumbers: “PM is weak, & her incompetence is harming the UK”... and then narrates his account of the negotiation problem... without real question...r

PM says “we will ensure there is no hard border, we’ll do that while protecting the constitutional integrity of the UK”.
Labour MPs shout “how?”
PM replies it will be dealt with in second phase

“There were no 58 sectoral impact assessments” says the PM today... but Davis said she had read some of them in October...?

PM stresses “nothing agreed until everything is agreed” says the only hard border is down the middle of the Labour Party on the single market

Corbyn: “this Government is not fit for the future, if they cant negotiate a deal, would it not be better off they just got out of the way”

PM brandishes a leaflet where a candidate did claim that Labour would cancel student debt

Important bit of PMQs: PM says Irish border will be dealt with by the second phase EU-UK discussion - can only mean sufficient regulatory alignment across UK with EU for there to be no border

SNP’s Blackford channelling Norman Lamont says this week shows the PM is “in office but not in power”

Peter Bone seems to betray some doubts about the state of Brexit, asks PM if UK is really on course to leave superstate, offers to accompany her in negotiations...

DUP’s Jim Shannon in silence asks for assurance that nothing will be done that creates any barrier, constitutionally, political & economic between GB and NI

PM replies to the DUP there are already areas of cross border cooperation eg in energy - but EU & Ireland says there are dozens of areas, which were mapped out in September

PM says she will contact President Trump to express concern about the Jerusalem embassy move

PM: UK position that Jerusalem is shared capital in two state solution “has not changed”

Rees-Mogg asks PM “when she goes to Brussels will she apply a coat of red paint to her red lines, because they are beginning to look a bit pink?”. Blue on Blue.

Laura Kuenssberg‏ @bbclaurak
Mogg - ‘will the PM apply a new coat of paint to her red lines as on Monday they seemed rather pink’
Bernard Jenkin third Brexiteer to push PM on whether she’s giving away too much in negotiations
Remember how well organised the Brexiteers are ... IDS last night, Bone, Mogg, Jenkin today - more organised than the govt?

Sam Coates Times‏ @SamCoatesTimes
Co-ordinated pressure from Brexiteers in this PMQ demanding that there isn’t partial or sectoral post Brexit alignment with the EU, after hints of such on Monday.
Peter Bone, Bernard Jenkin and Jacob Rees Mogg all putting public pressure on Theresa May.

Nick Eardley‏ @nickeardleybbc
Speaker says he'll study comments from Brexit committee this morning. SNP want contempt of parliament proceedings against Brexit secretary.

Chuka Umunna now raising another point of order on the same subject quoting Davis's statements in the committee and in the chamber.

Suggesting that Davis misled.

Remember how well organised the Brexiteers are ... IDS last night, Bone, Mogg, Jenkin today - more organised than the govt?

My cats are more bloody organised than the Government. This is surely setting the bar high.

What a week, and it's only Wednesday!

MPs accused of Contempt of Parliament may be suspended or expelled. They may also be committed to the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, although this practice has not been used since Charles Bradlaugh was detained in 1880. Strangers (those who are not members of the House) may be committed to prison during the life of the Parliament. The House of Lords has the power to fine as well as to order imprisonment for a term of years.

I think I am right in saying that if Davis is found in contempt of Parliament it goes to the Lords who could fine him or imprison him.

This might also explain Davis's sudden absence in Brussels if there is a realisation that he is in deep shit. It also explains why he might be prepared to resign over porn. Cos he's in deep shit.

This might or might not protect Ollie Robbins who were moved to No 10 after disagreements with Davis. Knives have been out for him over the wording of the Irish border stuff.

May would not need to throw Davis under the bus or sack him this way. And it would greatly undermine Brexiteers in general. Except Davis did try and protect himself by saying that May had seen the reports and the detail of them. And she didn't challenge that account.

There really are only two options when it comes to Davis lieing to parliament. Either the impact assessments don't exist in which case he lied when he said they were done, or the do exist and he is lieing know he is saying they haven't been done.

The only other third option is that they have them locked in a box with a pair of scissors, meaning they both exist and don't exist at the same time. Schrödinger's assessments?

So Mr Bone and Ms Foster now think they should represent the UK at the negotiations, with TM as a gagged hostage between them?

Shows that we should be bloody careful about asking elected representatives to be absolutely consistent and ideologically pure at all times. Being flexible, responsive and changing your mind ought to be a badge of honour in a politician and they need to start saying that, or we will only ever been represented by people who are at some ideological extreme and have never negotiated or compromised in their lives. Like 2 year olds.

Sam Coates Times‏ @SamCoatesTimes
Theresa May’s Spox on Philip Hammond and the military planes: “There’s an administrative discussion that’s being resolved and it hasn’t reached us”
May aide: “The particular issue that is being played out on the front page of The Times has not reached Number 10”

I would find it very hard to believe that not only did Davis lie consistently to May about the existence of the reports, but that at no point has she asked to see them in full or in part. Either she is in this shit unto her eyeballs with Davis or she has shown a spectacular lack of interest in the factors surrounding brexit. Neither look good.

Ian Austin has just put forward the Sanctions ( Human Rights Abuse and Corruption ) Bill under the 10 minute rule bill. It had cross party support. In what he talked about, much of it was related to Russian money.

Worth keeping an eye on.

Sylvia Hermon - the only non DUP northern Ireland MP in parliament is currently speaking on the EU Withdrawal Bill. Saying about how the GFA has been treated and the powers that the Bill tries to give the government over it.

She is not a happy bunny.

Yes he's lied one way or the other. Meanwhile Nazanin Zahari-Ratcliffe faces court and an increased prison sentence in the next few days. Davis and Johnson are both unfit for office.

Will post this speech later when it appears on Hansard. Its good. She is a unionist but thinks this EU Withdrawal Bill on the GFA is total bullshit.

She is doing a good job of shaming the government imo...

She sounds close to tears.

I think the impact assessments really do exist too, but DD/TM know that they are much more damaging than a possible 'contempt of parliament!

So either there has been no study of the impact of Brexit on the U.K. and the current government is going there totally blind whilst telling everyone they know they are going (aka contempt).
Or there are some studies but they are so bad that they don’t want anyone to know because how can they defend taking the country to the slaughter house?

Can it really be worse than that?

I wish we had been listening to NI much more.
And remembered that NI is NOT just the DUP.
The fact that there are no Sinn Fein MP at Westminster doesn’t help either.

David Allen Green‏
@davidallengreen

The @DExEUgov September FoI response to @SeemaMalhotra1 confirmed that analyses did exist.

"I can confirm that the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) holds the information you have requested."

If they did not, FoI non-disclosure letter could not have said this.

This Freedom of Information non-disclosure reply from @DExEUgov was false if the analyses did not exist.

The reply confirmed they did exist.

There is no credible way @DExEUgov did not know this was false.

/1

And not only did @DExEUgov say the analyses existed but that the information was so substantial that three separate FoI exemptions apply.

And that for each exemption the public interest test was for non-disclosure.

/2

That the FoI responses were allowed to go out on this false basis must mean that there was by that date a systemic policy in place at @DExEUgov to knowingly mislead MPs and public as to the number and quality of the sector reports.

No other explanation matches the evidence.

/3

This problem therefore is more serious than Davis blustering at parliamentary hearings.

This was a strategic communications decision.

ends/

The fact that there are no Sinn Fein MP at Westminster doesn’t help either.
Christ, I know.

I've gone on about this upthread, but honestly I want to drag them all there by the scruffs of their necks.

Anna Soubry now speaking. Her tone is difficult. She just spoke of hitting a crunch point where people had to be brave and do what was in the best interests of the country not party.

For all her hot air, this does seem stronger than anything she has said previously.

The crunch point is coming. Will be interesting to see if we walk out of EU talks before or after the crunch.

And guess what Conservative HQ is tweeting about right now? Labour misleading students over student loans... seriously.

What the hell is going on with these people? Have they all been kidnapped and replaced by particularly incompetent aliens? Has someone labotomised the whole of the Tory party? Has someone just pressed the conservatives self destruct button?

Really, I just can't get my head around just how incapable they are being.