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 don’t think we’ve had boris’ claim that the 350 million pounds a week to be paid to the Eu was underestimated and actually the figure was much higher (apologies if it was posted and I’ve missed it) but Keri starmer is on it

Shadow Brexit Team
@ShadowBrexit
NEW: @Keir_Starmer reports Boris Johnson to statistics watchdog over misleading comments

Poor Priti Patel Sent away with a flea in her ear by The Electoral Commission.

This New Tory Party Vice Chair Suggested Unemployed People Should Have Vasectomies
Rising star Ben Bradley, appointed to help the party appeal to young voters, made the comment in a now-deleted blog post. He has since apologised after being approached by BuzzFeed News.

www.buzzfeed.com/alexspence/this-tory-party-vice-chair-suggested-unemployed-people?utm_term=.faXqq8EMgV#.kikPPpykN4

120 000 dead due to" austerity" (a sixth of those killed in Stalin's Terror)

"One death is a tragedy ... a million is a statistic"

I suspect Tory ranks are filled with people with similar views and neither Bradley nor Toby Young are exceptions. Scottish Tories are filled with them. I find it utterly depressing.

bigly that’s really appalling. I thought I couldn’t be shocked but I find that callous dehumanisation really upsetting

Unemployed People Should Have Vasectomies Full fat you know whats. ukip look like hippies compared to this shower of

No ECHR, nothing we can do.

shower of ***s

Omg! It gets worse, it really does

I was going to post it with some sort of comment, but I just couldn't. This is the person they choose to appeal to the youth vote! FFS.

The US was pushing sterilisation in the 1950s (and more subtly later) but that was focused on low income African Americans

Sterilisation of the poor seems to have returned again as a conservative policy in the US and UK, rather than tackling the widening gap in wealth & income.

How long before Trump orders the US Air Force to spray something nasty from Fort Detrick over Africa

I cannot say I am surprised that the vote went the way it did with regards to retaining rights in UK law . Does anyone have a list of the rights that we have just waved goodbye to ? or can explain the effect it will have on ordinary folk ? Far too despondent to google right now

Given that your most likely to be working class and young if you are unemployed, why aren't they just saying that?

I'm waiting for them to suggest mass sterilisation programmes abroad in return for aid.

Jesus suffering fuck...

Civic organisations warned over the weekend that individual rights to privacy, equality, freedom of expression, fair working conditions, a fair trial, access to a lawyer and the protection of personal data are all in potential jeopardy if the charter is stripped from the UK state book after Brexit, in March 2019.

Oh goody

I note he says "My time in politics has allowed me to mature and I now realise that this language is not appropriate."

So he doesn't see anything wrong with his views, just the language he used to express them.

Sterilisation of the poor Everything's in place, it is already very difficult for poor young women to keep their own babies in this country.

Awaits 'detailed memorandum' from government outlining how we are actually not going to lose these rights , that key elements will be reflected in UK law . Waits for back of fag packet scribbling or a post it note with 'we will promise to keep the bits we like , as long as they fit in with wealthy donors plans and will of course continue to vote in favour of increased wages , pensions , benefits for all MP's '

Looking for the happy news today.
My colleague's wonderful son is a volunteer at the refugee camp in Calais like lots of other young british heroes. Macron is pushing for May to share responsibility for these refugees, otherwise, we know where the border fence will move.
Good item on Channel 4 news about it.
We have some wonderful young people.

I remember going on about Brexit and rights on MN pre-Referendum. How we Remainers were mocked for our concerns.

You know, I keep having hideous flashbacks to pre-Referendum arguments on here. It's traumatic.

Meanwhile, here is Ashcroft's latest polling results

It will probably surprise no-one on this thread that one conclusion to be drawn is that many people have lost interest in the Referendum/Brexit completely. It has faded into the background, like random noise. Sadly, this is something of an impediment to changing minds.

Another conclusion we might draw is that this is a very good reason why you don't leave matters of huge national importance to be decided by an idiotic referendum.

There is something a bit depressing about the fact that people are not motivated to concern themselves about something so hugely important. However, it is quite understandable.

But, given that many people cannot sustain an interest in something so hugely important, and that this is understandable (and known, really) it then becomes actually appalling to then decide something so important on the basis of a referendum undertaken by the same unmotivated, not very interested, people.

Subcontractors lay off staff as Carillion crisis spreads Threat of contagion likened to re-run of banking crisis with potentially 30,000 small businesses in supply chain owed money

www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/16/carillion-subcontractors-laying-off-staff-collapse

The narrative is not that this is brexit, but this is the brexit crash and we're at the start of it.

Firefighters put on standby to serve school dinners after Carillion collapses

Oxfordshire County Council took the astonishing step after the firm, which supplied school meals to 18,000 children in the region, went into liquidation

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/firefighters-put-standby-serve-school-11858743

It will probably surprise no-one on this thread that one conclusion to be drawn is that many people have lost interest in the Referendum/Brexit completely. It has faded into the background, like random noise. Sadly, this is something of an impediment to changing minds

Looking for the bright side. If everyone forgets about it maybe we can just quietly never leave without anyone really noticing. As long as we keep the new passport and put out some blue stamps with marmite and crumpets on everyone will be happy.

A Momentum director has been elected to chair the NEC's disputes panel.

Not only has Christine Shawcroft replaced Anne Black, she has previously been suspended by the Labour Party for supporting a corrupt mayor who went down for electoral fraud.

Now Momentum has effectively taken over the party, what chance do MPs who aren't members going to have?

Tony Robinson isn't happy.

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/01/16/labour-completely-taken-leftist-clique-says-sir-tony-robinson/

psst, cat - I get a Guardian article on teaching children about contemporary art when I click on your link...