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.

So what? Focus on a few 10's of thousands of the old, vulnerable ones as they're potentially expensive and easier targets. Surely not?

To partly answer my own question, why this focus on the past? I think it comes down to short termism and party first in the next election. Coming up with a new long term strategy ( if one is needed) doesn't have as much ballot box cache as a few deportations.

It's all just so beyond expletive.

lonely I struggle to contain my rage at it all. They knew. They bloody well knew this would impact this way. $%&&@&@&**@$%

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-43880320

On the one hand this is awful. It affects children.

On the other hand bloody Brexit capital- what do they expect.

Note thought the B.B.C. reported it! The Beeb is not saying the most significant factor leading to potential hospital closure is weather related, as they have alleged regarding the retail slump.

Dobby - I'm not prone to conspiracy type theories but you don't suppose on Windrush, Rudd etc there's a sort of double bluff?

A sort of message to the UKIP type voter? So this. Is this what you really wanted?

Sorry if Boston children's hospital posted before, I only just saw it.

lonely Part of me would love to think that, but I genuinely think this is just sheer heartlessness. Like the reversal of the Dubs amendment. Which still makes me swear. I'm going to dig out my Fuck the Tories necklace on Thursday. Maybe it will repeat the charm of not giving them the majority they wanted!

My friend's DH has a simple

" Don't vote Tory" T shirt ready!

So why is the focus backwards rather than forwards. Am I missing something?

No I don't think you are but on the other hand looking backward and reflecting on how our immigration policy isn't working because the home office are a bunch of idiots and are getting rid of people who have contributed and is turning away people who are needed starts to change the immigration narrative from 'useless people coming over here and taking all our jobs' to 'look we really need these people'.

The whole system is in need of reform regardless of the outcome Brexit tbh. People like @simoncox have repeatedly said the system isn't fit for purpose, its complex contradictory and unfair.

It rather puts pay to the idea that we are slack on immigration too. And of course it all fits neatly into the fear of the 3 million and what their fate might be. If we got windrush wrong how can we possibly process every EU citizen here in the way May would like (we can't. Its impossible).

I get a sense, and I could be wrong on this, we are being prepared by the media for the continuation of free movement of people as a political necessity. The tone and language and public sympathy towards immigrants has started to change somewhat.

Instead its the home office being vilified not immigrants.

The looking backwards isn't really looking backward. Its reflecting on what future immigration should look like in a subconscious way without actually saying it.

I don't know, but the idea of 'Open Britain' so heavily championed by Boris Johnson, doesn't look close to reality. And it amuses me that its his wife Amelia Gentleman who has done much to expose our hostile nature and 'Closed Britain'. And perhaps therein lies something... what are her politics? Is she like the rest of the Johnson clan who are strong remainers?

OR another take

If you were team Johnson and still had your eyes on becoming PM or ensuring Brexit the way you wanted it, how do you do you dislodge May? Her time in the home office is her Achilles Heel. Rudd also being pro remain is a nice scalp to upset the remain / leave cabinet balance.

I don't know. I do find it curious that out of all the people who could have pursued the story it happens to be Johnson's wife. I am not a great believer in political coincidence.

Why was she draw to this story?

Boris is married to Marina Wheeler. I just googled & she wrote a piece advocating hard Brexit for sovereignty reasons: www.spectator.co.uk/2017/09/the-european-court-of-justices-thirst-for-ever-more-power/

Amelia Gentleman is married to Jo Johnson. He was on the remain side of the divide.

Arh, sorry.

But interesting none the less.

Delurking just to say how much I like Amelia Gentleman.

She is the journalist that started covering the Windrush story six months ago.

I get a sense, and I could be wrong on this, we are being prepared by the media for the continuation of free movement of people as a political necessity. The tone and language and public sympathy towards immigrants has started to change somewhat.

Red I think you are right that there's been a shift in public sympathy. What worries me is it's like a floppy barometer. It only takes one terrorist attempt by one non white or accented person, or one illegal migrant pictured exiting a lorry at Dover.

The second this happens every single immigrant over the decades from Albert Thompson to future Nobel prize winning refugee 10 year olds will be vilified.

Also why would the press change tack? As s result of direction on high? Just because they can?

Amelia Gentleman seems likeable despite the weird choice of marrying into the ( immigrant) Johnson family and becoming Pfeffel's sister in law.

There's definitely an odd Johnson family/ journalist immigration thing going on there. I can't imagine chat at their family gatherings. If Rudd were to go ( seems unlikely from the tweet) then Jojo could move to the Home Office just to make it weirder.

Also on a flippant note after 35 years ABBA announced yesterday that they have recorded new tracks for the first time in 35 years.

Of the two new songs one is titled "I Still Have Faith in You."

Let's hope 'I still have faith in EU' is a hit. Good old Abba - wheeling themselves out when things get critical. Music and European solidarity. Could things be looking up?

Youngest DD , without having heard the new track, is singing

🎼 " I still have faith in EU". It's a pretty realistic Abba type refrain too!

She also asked:

Can they still sing?
Will they wear cat suits?
Will they wear blue cat suits with stars?

Worried conversations in our house have brainwashed DD.

I'm sure you've seen this but.... what part of Leave did they not understand?!
Actually I think there are deliberate inaccuracies in this designed to inflame, but I was also interested in this subheading:

Britain will be affected if the government gets its wish to leave the customs union.

Suddenly it's the government's wish and NOT the people's. And also IF they get their wish rather than WHEN.

Language is so important.

Ah so the Daily Mail was one of the primary protagonists using vile propaganda to push to end free movement.

Then free movement ends. It becomes paid movement. This should be a cause for a celebratory front page headline surely " Victory at last" ?

So why is the focus backwards rather than forwards. Am I missing something?

You are assuming that discourse on immigration is based on rationality and concern for facts on the part of all participants. It is not.

The discourse is partly fueled by spite, blame, and the desire for revenge. It is informed by 'othering' that has never really been challenged, and by nationalism that has never really been challenged.

The feelings that coalesce on the topic of immigration are always going to be backwards looking therefore.

Whatever about the Windrush debacle and who is being thrown under the bus, Amber Rudd is the minister responsible for the denial of visas to the Indian doctors who thought they were going to be working for the NHS this time next week (or whenever)

This circus has no doubt not gone unnoticed in places abroad that produce a lot of English speaking doctors.

Well Math at least the doctorphobia at the Home office isn't just colour based. It's been going on for a while.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/aug/04/us-surgeon-may-be-forced-to-quit-uk-because-of-visa-nightmare

Perhaps some of the 10000's of new Brexit civil servants that have been recruited could be seconded to liaise between the NHS and home office to help with joined up thinking.

Now we apparently don't like those forrin EU doctors perhaps there could be a list of the forrin ones we do like?

That Mail headline is a lie

I think it would only be noteworthy if it wasn't ...

Clarity for business ? Fuck off.

www.theregister.co.uk/2018/04/27/uk_european_patent_court/

Britain has finally signed up to Europe's unified patent court (UPC) – a long-planned simplification of the continent's patent system – but big questions still remain thanks to Brexit and a federal court challenge in Germany.

"The Minister for Intellectual Property, Sam Gyimah MP, has today confirmed that the UK has ratified the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA)," the UK government said in a formal announcement.

Soon after, the ratification appeared on the European Union's treaty webpage, confirming that it is a done deal.

But despite the UK government noting that "our ratification brings the international court one step closer to reality," the truth is that thanks to the UK's planned exit from the European Union, things are much messier than they appear.

While the UK is signing the treaty as a member of the European Union, by the time the UPC is up and running, it will almost certainly not be a member of said union, if Brexit is allowed to run its course. In other words, the UK has backed a court system that, come next year, may or may not have any jurisdiction over the country.

(contd)

Then free movement ends. It becomes paid movement. This should be a cause for a celebratory front page headline surely " Victory at last" ?

I think a fair proportion of Daily Mail Readers and Leavers meant that free movement to the UK for forriners should stop, but the rights of British people to flow freely all over the bloody universe should continue untrammelled because Don't They Know Who We Are.

Amelia Gentleman @ ameliagentleman
Exciting waiting at Lunar House - immigration HQ - as Albert Thompson (who now he's no longer in hiding in own country, wants to use actual name Sylvester Marshall) met staff who took 2 hours to rule he wasn't an illegal - after 9 yrs of hell #windrush

amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/27/windrush-cancer-victim-has-uk-residency-status-confirmed?CMP=share_btn_tw&__twitter_impression=true
Windrush cancer patient has UK residency status confirmed
Man previously referred to as Albert Thompson receives written notice of right to remain