Westminstenders: Don't Panic!

[RedToothBrush]

It's official

Brexit is like an episode of Dads Army with the government, being Captain Mainwaring's trusty band of elite forces doing battle against the evil Mr Barnier.

Yesterday Parliament gave back control to the executive as it surrendered parliamentary sovereignty to Janus faced May. Grieve, it has to be said, truly did look like a broken man as he gave his speech in the commons. Not that we should have too much sympathy. After all he did just put party before country.

So where are we now? The ERG are happy. They have successfully bullied enough until everyone else gave up and folded. They now have no incentive to compromise, as they know that no one can stand up to them. They want no deal, and it's no deal they will force.

The EU are thoroughly fed up and it's difficult to see them do anything but cut us loose saying Brexit means Brexit, this is what you wanted. They have stepped up planning for no deal and their plans were already much more advanced than ours.

We go into the next round of talks with a solution to the Irish Border looking further away than ever. Not helped by the fact that brexit nationalism is restricted to England alone, with many being happy to let NI be sunk into the Irish sea and the favour the rebuilding of Hadrian's wall in order to keep out the foreigners.

It's hard to resist simply sitting down wailing "we doomed". But try to resist and keep saying, you are against this crap. If only so history books don't just say we all agreed to this clusterfuck.

Here have a fluffy bunny to help comfort you.

There used to be a common saying in the '80's that technicians would get training at the BBC then go and work for the independents for twice the money. Not like that now however.
There is a lot of US 'doublespeak', doing one and saying another. The BBC Sahara report (frightening) was saying the serious money going into the military in that region but being standoffish with the darling PM of May.

UK ships, their officers etc would need valid licences, just like planes and pilots. And truck drivers.
None of which would be valid after Brexit.
Hence, insurance won't cover them and Uk transport would be hammered - the Freight Transport Association has made several statements warning about this and the total lack of useful govt advice or planning.

Ports check imports, which they can do according to Uk rules;
they don't certify exports;
that's done elsewhere, umpteen places, depending on the type of goods.
None of them valid after Brexit until the UK has a deal to enable this.

What ports could do in a Brexit emergency, is to certify that lorries are empty, so that they can go straight to EU ports without being checked there, to bring back food imports asap and avoid logjams at ether end.
Even that might require swapping drivers briefly at the EU end, as UK truck drivers would not have valid licences there.

The proposed transition period would have continued the UK's authority to certify goods, as well as licences for people
However, even that looks in jeopardy over the NI border issue

We must hope that the EU choose to have a transition period for their own prepping, as well as to give the UK a chance to come to its senses and ditch the red lines

• the EU has said the Uk could negotiate during a transition, if there is one.

Yes I’ve seen Maugham’s case.

Christ on a bike. Everything’s falling apart.

red iirc, back in the late 1980s, some US companies in the UK stated in their contracts that employees would have to repay any training if they left of their own accord.
The training was compulsory and amounted to £1,000s
That was people at quite low level, trapped for years in jobs with mediocre pay.

I thought that practice has long been outlawed - except for very expensive specialised training - either under Major or early Blair

It isn't unusual or oppressive for high level employees, if companies pay for higher degrees
e.g. someone I knew in Germany said his (German) firm paid for him to do a 1-year Master's in the US in a very specialised tech field that would really help his work in the company.
With his living allowance & accommodation, it cost the firm 100k, so he had to first sign an agreement that he would stay at least 3 years afterwards.

Reasonable at that level, but horrendous if applied to low-paid employees

So with a no deal crash out ALL transport to/from the UK would have to be by military vessels at least until some certification was completed for ship/air? I am presuming military could do this as it would be classed as an 'emergency' and have a form of exemption.

On the plus side; every chance things will go crazy in the US before they do in the UK...

BigChoc, a 'job for life' will take on new meaning. Except this time you will be effectively owned for life...

www.thesun.co.uk/news/6613499/a-million-new-houses-should-be-built-just-for-workers-under-40-to-unlock-home-ownership-for-generation-rent-urges-theresa-mays-former-adviser/
A million new houses should be built just for workers under 40 to unlock home ownership for Generation Rent, urges Theresa May’s former adviser

Ex-No10 policy guru-turned-Tory MP Neil O’Brien is calling on the PM to carry out the radical action in a bid to fix the housing market for young people

54321 I'm sure that all UK civil transport would be covered by the emergency 90-day WTO to which I referred earlier - which could be extended at need -
BUT
only as regards importing essential supplies like food & medicines

Exports would be buggered - but as they would be uncertified for months, noone would take them anyway
and people wouldn't be able to fly on their hols, or on business

Mother It is totally different saying "no jobs for life"
to being owned for life

which is what would result if low-paid employees - which includes most young people starting out - can only change jobs if they first repay their employer 1000s for training

and if Uk airports, planes, ships, pilots etc are not certified,
NO amount of money will overcome that.
Those are legal requirements.

e.g. if you don't have a valid driving licence, no amount of money you carry can make you legally allowed to drive.
You have to find someone who does have a licence and pay them (if they are not family or a good friend)

Goods and people would have to be trans-shipped to carriers of other nations and then transported by them

except for those imports counted as emergency

There was a programme on radio 4 a while ago about non compete clauses in contracts in the US. Basically you can't work for another company in the same field for a set amount of time after you leave, anything between months and years. It was meant to stop you taking up to date technical knowledge with you to a competitor and was meant for highly paid technical jobs.

But they have spread to the point where subway workers and hairdressers are being asked to sign them. It essentially stops you from leaving as you can then only work in a completely separate field. So employers can treat employees like shit and they can't leave without either not working for a long period of time or changing career.

Mother Don't downplay either

As I posted, there is a great difference between professionals repaying specified training that gives them a nationally / internationally recognised professional qualification and sets them up for a well-paid career that they chose
vs
a low-level employee who is trapped for several years, because of inflated prices for training that is not transferrable and not a recognised qualification.
In the case of imported live-in servants, they may be trapped for life

In the latter case, it is often Mickey-Mouse training, specifically to tie them to the employer
so that they cannot change to a new hairdressing salon etc if their pay is rubbish

Rebranded Slavery after a nice PR job.

In a situation where you boss sexually harasses you? Suck it up or pay up.

We have employers who are already putting devices on employees to ensure they are working 'to their full capacity'. Couple that with having training to work in their warehouse, and then being tied in with that.

Your job moves from Manchester to Cardiff. You move or you pay up. Got a partner in a similar contract who can't move? Tough shit. Move or pay up. Can't afford to move? Tough shit. You go or you pay up.

Its sinister.

I'd meant to post this last week about the different ways that the SNP could become a disruptive force at Westminster - effectively run a legal guerrilla operation. Parnell did a similar thing a century ago during the struggle for Irish independence.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16295852.WaystheSNPcouldconductaquotguerrillacampaignquottoinflictmajordamageontheTorygovernment/

I wonder if the talk about the SNP voting against the 3rd runway at Heathrow is the beginning of this process.