Westminstenders: Stuck in the twilightzone

[RedToothBrush]

Just want to remind everyone if what really matters and what the priority if Theresa May is.

May isn't interested in a new referendum. There is barely time to hold one, and anyone remotely interested in one, isn't named Theresa May. Forget it. Its not happening.

Nor are Brexit talks the most important thing. Whilst Jeremy Corbyn seems finally to be playing with some sort if EEA type solution he's not the one named Theresa May. If she doesn't want one, then it won't happen.

May does seem to favour something along these lines but she has to sell it to her party. If she ends up relying on the support of Labour to push it through against what her party want, then that doesn't end well for her or her party. So Corbyn seeming to squeeze her here isn't necessarily a good thing. It could push her to no deal.

Why?

Cos petty party politics.

THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING, and don't forget this, is the EU withdrawal Bill. As it stands, May has to concentrate her efforts on this. If it doesn't pass by the art 50 deadline then we have legal chaos. May isn't big on the courts, but I'm not sure she would want that situation either. It would be even more unthinkable than queues at Dover coupled with food shortages.

If it doesn't pass, and the Lords will do all they can to delay and obstruct as long as they can, May's only option is to beg for an art 50 extension. Which the EU might not be inclined to give. Which might leave us in a situation where our only option is to revoke a50.

The only predictable thing, is this will be last minute brinkmanship.

All the talk of a second ref is a distraction. Talk of Labour's position at this point, is all about positioning for the next election and not about Brexit at all.

So try to keep your eyes on what really matters and what battles are May's big ones and which are merely side shows.

I wonder who Side Show Bob will turn out to be.

I hope so woman.
Ironically it was the shades of fascism that made me question the status rtb 😂

I agree lonely. The illusion of control can be a very powerful tool especially if wielded by ideologues.

To further my analogy - our hearts are still open to them, but theres a level of damage that has been done which means that returning will have explicit safeguards meaning a relinquishing of supposed sovereignty some conversations are not to be had in front of the dc.

driven that's possibly part of it, they don't like that I refuse to brelieve and I know things. My father is exceptionally shocked by this and wasn't too impressed when my answer to how do I know these things was that I read more than just a tabloid paper .

The final event was because I pointed out that perhaps airing their views about what should happen to people who live lifestyles they don't agree with wasn't appropriate around children.

I think that's very apt hashi.

There's still time to reconsider Brexit, Emmanuel Macron tells May before visit

www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/theres-still-time-to-reconsider-brexit-macron-tells-may-before-visit-a3742556.html

Hashi, you mean they voted to strip you of your EU rights and then THEY cut YOU off for not appreciating it?

But they didn't actually vote for that, did they ? Because they had no idea that being in the EU actually conferred any rights on UK citizens at all. The same way they will have no idea that mobile roaming charges (coming back to a network near you) were abolished because of the EU.

Outside parliament yesterday, lots of people came to chat, most were supporters. One man, who looked ill and cross, and who I could see did not like the EU. He was cross:' We had beaten the 'hun' and we would do so again.' They see EU flags and see an enemy. I was with a man who was charming and nice to him, but and it was a short but not too unpleasant encounter. But that's the narrative we are up against.

Saw Michael Gove too, and I'm sorry to say, I felt the same way about him as the poor man had about the 'hun': it has gone a bit mad.

He was cross:' We had beaten the 'hun' and we would do so again.'

How old did he look? 90 or thereabouts? Because if he was less than that he himself beat absolutely no one in Nazi Germany. If he was of baby boomer age he grew up in a time of prosperity, and ought to learn to put a sock in it.

I'm re-reading Vera Britain's extraordinary 'testament of youth'.

Some passages about the situation 104(!) years ago, really resonate:

'I felt vaguely disturbed and irritated by the tranquility with which elderly xxx appeared to view the prospect of spring-time death for its young men. The city, like the rest of England, was plastered with recruiting posters and dons, clerics etc were doing their best to justify the war and turn it into England holy crusade'.

what should happen to people who live lifestyles they don't agree with wasn't appropriate around children

This hugely concerns me about the toxicity of discourse now round all children and young people.

I don't know much about psychology, but fascism has to be a sign of mental illness. Like racism, it's a sort of regressed development, but now it's been normalised, the toddler memes about trump are no accident.

Peregrina ( the fellow was a nice BAME chap from west Oxford)
No he was probably middle aged like me, but this historically inaccurate jingoistic crap has been the 'cultural diet' in this country for decades.

the fellow was a nice BAME chap from west Oxford fellow at the rally, he was lib dem,(ex labour) I wondered if he was from your manor.

Oh, just found this, pre ref leave material:

Material like that should be actionable* leading to a fine or something Woman.*

It is outrageously misleading. I wish we did have significant ongoing EU military support given our military funding and personnel have been slashed back massively.

It also links back to my point yesterday that EU scare stories like this are music to some Leavers' ears. Yet real reconnaissance (e.g. by Russian ships and planes) is never commented on or seen as a justification for retaining EU support and membership.

Sorry a bold fail there.

He was an anti-EU Lib Dem woman?
There can't be many of those.

No, sorry Hester he was the nice lib dem who was nice to the cross man.
Good thread on fascism.
@llantwit
A (loooong) thread abt Brexit populism and fascism.
Emphatically not a thread saying ppl who voted Brexit are fascists.
But one saying there’s some pretty fascist shit going on in the mainstream, pro-hard-Brexit, right. 1/20
twitter.com/llantwit/status/949803168136945670

Ah thanks woman. Stick. Wrong. End.

This was quite interesting.

The tragedy of Brexit doesn’t concern Britain’s economy but rather its democracy. If the way British democracy comports itself in responding to the referendum doesn’t change, half its population will forever resent the outcome as illegitimate, and add it to their other, growing resentments

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/16/democratic-tragedy-brexit-ancient-greece-citizens-assembly-democracy

Incoming.

@HouseofCommons
House of Commons rejects Amendment 2 to #EUWithdrawalBill by 318 votes to 302.
This amendment would ensure Clause 7 powers are restricted so they are only used for the purposes of the Bill.

The Commons has voted 320 to 301 to reject New Clause 17 to the #EUWithdrawalBill.
This clause ensures that remaining in the EU singlemarket and customs union is formally considered by Parliament before any laws approving the final terms of withdrawal take effect.

The Commons has voted 318 to 301 to reject New Clause 12 to the #EUWithdrawalBill.
This clause would require the Secretary of State to produce a report on the loss of environmental protection as a result of the UK’s exit from the EU and prepare an Environmental Protection Bill.

The Commons has voted 320 to 301 to reject New Clause 11 to the #EUWithdrawalBill.
This clause would have ensured the Government assesses the impact of either an agreement or no deal on the UK economy and regions before a meaningful vote.

The Commons has rejected #EUWithdrawalBill New Clause 6 by 322 votes to 298.
The clause would have required Ministers to place a summary of legal advice received relating to Article 50 in the public domain.

A vote to jump off the cliff then, no impact reports.

St Mawgan used to have US airforce personnel stationed there if I remember correctly.

US Navy according to Wikipedia. Not at all foreign.

Juncker on #Brexit:
-"We are not throwing out the British, we want them to stay. And if they want to, they should be able to.

-"Be it as it may, once the British have left under Article 50 there is still Article 49 which allows a return to membership and I would like that."

twitter.com/twitter/statuses/953690398714679296

What makes me really really angry but not surprised is that the 13 Tory MPs for Scottish constituencies are voting against the best interests of their constituents.

I know that we've seen the evidence of this across the board since and before the Referendum, but it just strikes closer to home. And I was already feeling raw because Fluffy the Secretary of State for Scotland was complaining about Nicola being "too negative" and "assuming the worst" rather than sunlit uplands of unicorns and honey when she presented the impact reports on Monday of the three different Brexit scenarios on Scotland .....at least the Scottish Government has done some unlike the UK Government which probably wouldn't like the official answers

Mundell's job is to represent Scotland's interests but there again, he isn't even a full Cabinet Minister

I don't know much about psychology, but fascism has to be a sign of mental illness

No, it really isn't. Some people are just arseholes. This is not a sign of mental health issues. Mental illness is, as it says, an illness, it is not a label for people who hold views or do things you don't agree with, however awful those things may be. I don't mean to sound harsh, but it is this sort of association that leads to stigma against people who suffer from genuine mental health problems, most of whom are really perfectly nice people.

This is not a sign of mental health issues
Sorry bigly You're quite right: .

Not sure that they’re going to be the most transparent or meticulous investigators

Facebook is finally investigating whether Russia interfered with the Brexit vote

www.businessinsider.fr/uk/facebook-investigating-whether-russia-interfered-with-brexit-2018-1/

LSE analysis indicates
Brexit (and Trump) appealed especially to white working-class men who feel society no longer values them

I suspect to elderly white mc men too, who have also suffered a drop in status

We keep coming back to this observation:
"When you are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression"

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2017/12/14/brexit-appealed-to-white-working-class-men-who-feel-society-no-longer-values-them/

"When you are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression"
yes, especially when equality means not just raising others to your level but lowering yourself to theirs, equal pay for example.
"They will not replace us" ... remember? They will, and it hurts.