Westminstenders: Throwing Boomerangs

[RedToothBrush]

British politics and media in a nutshell.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boomerang_effect_(psychology)#Political_beliefs

No EU progress, no discussion. Just this. Keep everyone in line by bouncing boomerangs.

Disaster capitalism looms, they just have to get us to the edge of the cliff before the centre reforms. That's it.

If the legal roads to stop Brexit are closed as David Allen Green says, then how do you force the political flood gates to open, especially with both the far left and the far right using micro-aggression against the public to keep the centre ground weak?

Answers on a ballot paper on 3rd May.

Dates for your diary:

Brittany Kaiser (former CA employee) - Commons digital, culture, media and sport committee.
TUESDAY

Nix (the recall) - Commons digital, culture, media and sport committee.
WEDNESDAY

Signed.
Thanks.

Isn't Wednesday 18 April supposes to be another important date for Brexit ?
iirc, the EU negotiators will review progress on Transition Agreement, in particular the NI border

DD making claims again, without EU agreement

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/eu-rejects-david-davis-s-plan-for-tens-of-brexit-negotiating-groups-7c2xxwr9k

The EU is to rebuff David Davis’s plans to establish up to 50 Brexit negotiating groups to start work on a trade and security treaty with the bloc.

The Brexit secretary claimed this week that there would be “about 40 to 50 negotiating strands starting shortly”.

His remarks, at a conference in London,
come after a letter was sent to Whitehall departments calling for officials across government to take part in the next phase of the negotiations.

Senior figures in the European Council and Commission said that Britain had not put forward proposals for such working groups and any attempt to do so be would be rejected.

“There will be no negotiation strands, no ‘hundreds’ of British negotiators.
Trade negotiations will not start properly until after 29 March 2019.
Before that we must get the fundamentals right”

David Allen Green @ davidallengreen
Remember when Brexit was going to be offset by closer ties with the Commonwealth?

amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/15/no-10-refuses-caribbean-request-to-discuss-children-of-windrush?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&__twitter_impression=true
No 10 refuses Caribbean request to discuss children of Windrush
British residents threatened with deportation to countries they left as children and have not returned to since

I believe there is a crucial Commonwealth meeting this week. The next head of the commonwealth isn't decided, and might not necessarily be King Charles...

... and this one looks like its a Theresa May special thats come as a direct directive to the Home Office.

uk.businessinsider.com/cabinet-divide-home-office-pressure-delaying-brexit-immigration-policy-2018-4
A 'huge argument' within Theresa May's government is delaying her decision on post-Brexit immigration for the UK

Windrush-I am missing something here..

Downing Street has rejected a formal diplomatic request to discuss the immigration problems being experienced by some Windrush-generation British residents at this week’s meeting of the Commonwealth heads of government, rebuffing a request from representatives of 12 Caribbean countries for a meeting with the prime minister.

Are the gov just saying:

1. They need more notice to discuss it. or

2.Are they refusing to discuss it altogether? or

3.Is the refusal to discuss basically saying there isn't a problem because the cases that have been reported are errors, and there isn't a big issue overall, so discussing it will make the problem seem bigger than it is?

Surely as we are desperate for trade agreements with anyone at all, it is tactful to at least make a pretence of discussing it.

Civil servants

The business insider piece above mentions home office chaos and the extent to which the Home Office need to use agency staff.I couldn’t remember all the figures so thought I would revisit the cvil servant cost of this fiasco.

In 2018/19 alone, the Gov estimates that the cost of new payroll for just working on Brexit in six government departments will be around £400m.

The Home Office is using around 50% more agency staff per month than in 2015 ( IfG report). It will spend £40 million more on agency staff in 2017/2018 than June 2015- 2016.

Defra has the largest increase in its spending.Almost £100m approved by the Treasury for its EU exit work.

HMRC will need between £300m and £450m for 2018/19 alone, for all the work it isn’t yet doing preparing the border for Brexit.

Autumn Budget- extra £250 million in 2017/18, and a further £3 billion to fund Brexit over the next two years.

Over six departments we have looked at roughly £900 million will be required for work on EU exit in 2018/19.

Between June 2016 and March 2018, Defra expects to fill 1,200 new full time EU exit roles. The Home Office - 1,500 new staff by this September. HMRC is looking to take on between 3,000 and 5,000 by March 2019.

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/cost-of-brexit-what-whitehall-spending-insight-final-vb_1.pdf

Petition petition.parliament.uk/petitions/216539

It's almost unbelievable that they think they can get away with just brushing aside the concerns of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth.

Immigration Minister Caroline Blake's says "We have absolutely no intention of asking anyone to leave " . Not really the whole truth report here

Because 61 yr old Paulette Wilson, who has lived in the UK since 1968, was taken to Yarls Wood, and then to Heathrow to be deported .She used to work in the House of Commons.
Only a last minute intervention by her MP and a charity saved her.
read her story and others

I fear RedToothBrush is right. We need 500,000 signatures (or more) to shame the Government into thinking again.

Downing Street is currently hoping this will 'just go away' and they aren't really sure how to handle this yet (also known as, its the end of the Easter break any every in the PR department is still on holiday apart until tomorrow).

Or no 10 is going shiiittt Theresa is busy dealing with Syria and we HAVE to put out a statement tonight, but Theresa hasn't issued an edict over this yet, and shiiiittt we need to consult the lawyers on this one first hadn't we?

And shhhiitttt, how do we persuade Theresa that her bloody shit hostile environment is bollocks. (I know. Cunning plan here. Let's let this one fester a couple of days so the public can go a bit more nuts over this and force a proper uturn).

Did anyone go to today's People's Vote meeting? I tried to sign up, but too late. It's an interesting and hopeful development.

Why are they creating such a hostile environment? Hope TM & Co's hand wringing about Syria extends to offering refuge to a people who are trying to get away from a country being bombed by a shower of b*stards on all sides. From home and abroad.

From that article, it seems that May "who is the most restrictionist prime minister in living memory when it comes to immigration"
is arrayed against the rest of the cabinet, who are apparently "moderate" wrt immigration

"The prime minister is no rush to have decisive discussions about post-Brexit immigration because "she knows she'd be in a small minority" on the question of how tough immigration controls should be, "

That supports many other sources who say May is genuinely and virulently anti-immigration.
In practice, she is anti-immigrant and anti anyone non-UK living in the country

re Brexit, it makes negotiations very difficult, both with the EU and for trade talks with non-EU countries who are non-white, e.g. India, China

BigChocFrenzy Sat 14-Apr-18 10:22:42
Any effective alliance needs to agree both on core aims and the concrete methods to achieve them

So true, BigChoc,

And all this alliance has in common is spite.

I wonder would they accept a signature from the US on a petition? I would love to sign the one upthread but I don't want to invalidate it in any way.

We sign them as British nationals resident in France math.

The wording is: “I am a British citizen or UK resident”.

I signed and used the pulldown menu to state that I am resident in Germany.
However, you would need to be a British citizen, not just a citizen of the RoI

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-ports-customs-union-u-turn-rotterdam-eu-trade-single-market-theresa-may-david-davis-a8303436.html

Rotterdam is a deep water port, by far the largest & busiest port in Europe.
It is also where goods from many non-EU countries are moved to smaller ships that UK ports can handle

[British Liberal MEP ] “The UK government is not nearly as prepared for Brexit as the Dutch are.
Frankly, it’s embarrassing
British supermarkets rely on zero delays at the border.
Brexit seriously threatens shoppers from getting their food on time at a good price.”

Jaguar Landrover cutting 1,000 UK contractor jobs
Due to Brexit and the diesel issue
Unclear whether the expansion promised last summer will happen unless Brexit terms are known soon and are reasonable for business.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/jaguar-land-rover-jlr-uk-job-cuts-brexit-temp-workers-cars-a8303061.html

In a move too full of metaphor to describe, well known Brexiteer Tim Martin announces Wetherspoons will no longer use social media ...

www.theregister.co.uk/2018/04/16/spoons_closes_social_media_accounts/

(apologies to Jack Nicholson) You can't handle the future !!!

Speech by Commissioner Phil Hogan (RoI) at the Institute of International and European Affairs:
"Renewing our European Vows - Brexit, Ireland & the EU"

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2014-2019/hogan/announcements/speech-commissioner-phil-hogan-institute-international-and-european-affairs-renewing-our-european_en

Value of London flats slashed by Grenfell-style cladding

Home in New Capital Quay, Greenwich, worth £50,000 rather than £475,000, owner told

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/apr/16/value-of-london-flats-slashed-by-grenfell-style-cladding

It is likely that thousands of private homeowners are in Langevin’s situation, with government data showing 301 blocks over 18 metres tall have Grenfell-type cladding,
of which 130 are in the private sector and 13 are hospitals or schools.

Of the public buildings, only seven have had their cladding replaced so far.