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.

Don't worry @lonelyplanetmum - the posh boys have our best interests at heart as always. That's why people believed and voted for Brexit.

I think the UK is seen as more 'American facing' and was never totally committed to the EU project, or at least not as prepared to knuckle down and join in wholeheartedly, as many of the more northern EU countries at least seem to have done.
I think there have been reports of Russian attempts to 'attack' European countries but I imagine that UK with it's 'special' relationship with the USA is a bigger prize and possibly a bit easier to pick off as it is not quite fully in either major camp.

The trade body (Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders ) said that the government's "red lines" on Brexit and "conflicting messages" were working "directly against the interests of the U.K.

Yup so that's the car industry, the aviation industry, the CBI and last year's chairman of the City of London corporation all in agreement.

But it's ok because Boris and Grease Smugg knew best.

I had a vague theory many years ago that the UK will become simply a 'time capsule' holiday destination for tourists.
Like the open museums at Bressingham and Morwellham Quay the whole of the UK will become one vast museum with real lifer actors explaining how things used to be.
We can transition from 'a nation of shopkeepers' to 'a nation of historical tourguides'.

Add universities to that list. They have been issuing warnings for months and spending money that should be spent in teaching and research on preparing for Brexit fallout.

Yep

Trading on past glories

I predicted that 2 years ago...

You and I can move to NI woman and I will conduct game of thrones tours 😁

Asked whether the government was aware of the daily bleed of financial services to the rest of the EU, Boleat said: “Not enough, that’s the worry.”

Or worse, are criticised for Project Fear, or "Not getting behind Brexit". If it was such a wonderful thing to do, then Nissan wouldn't have needed a hush-hush meeting, but would have immediately declared investment plans. Others would now be coming forward with provisional plans, whereas the only ones coming forward are the vultures American firms circling around the Health Service and Agriculture.

Similarly our Leaver friends would not need to still be crowing "You lost, we're leaving", but would be able to announce 10,000 jobs relocating from [where-ever], and not telling us that no one said it would be easy, when that was exactly what was said.

Hmmmmm so historical tourism is our best hope to replace financial services etc. I can envisage it actually.

It's a better idea than the government's implicit suggestion of becoming a Singapore anyway. As DH says Singapore operates as a gateway to Asia what are we going to be a gateway to?

So increased historical tourism is our new thing.Who needs other business? I like the idea. I'm a bit worried about the top countries that rely significantly on tourism though.(☀️)

1. Macau

43.9 2 Maldives 41.5 3 British Virgin Islands 30.3 4 Aruba 28.6 5 Seychelles 21.3 6 Anguilla 21.0 7 Bahamas 19.4 8 Vanuatu 18.6 9 Former Netherland Antillies 17.0 10 Antigua and Barbuda

I think that is crux - we have shown ourselves up as ridiculous on the world stage, this government are abysmal. Whatever happens in the end, it will take us a very long time to get over it.

So as people who voted against this and in my case obsesses about the absurdity every day. What do you do? How do you move on? Do you try to move on? Do you keep pushing for change when it is too late?

Perhaps the significant part of " you lost get over it" is the need to work on getting over it?

The UK sold the family silver years ago (not that it was obtained in the best of ways) so unless it is stashed under the sofa at No10.....
In a way it is reputation and confidence that are lost as much, possibly more than money.
Interesting that Harley Davidson has been criticised by that nice Mr Trump for their suggestions they are looking at increasing manufacturing outside the USA. Beginning to make the 'A team's' hair brained plans look good.

All this is still a long way from those 2016 speeches May gave. Remember when she basically said they need our defence skills, and embarrassingly juxtaposed defence cooperation with our leaving dues? Rather shabbily she ( or Nick Timothy) tried to threaten to be uncooperative on defence if we didn’t get what we wanted overall.

The problem is that threat has backfired, as the EU has reviewed it's data sharing protocols, and realised they can actually do without the UK. So now roles are reversed, and the UK is begging to continue to be a member of the club.

Seriously, how long do people think this government can limp on and what will break it?

.

"Mind you, you can't help wondering why these business did just not say these things as loudly as possible in the run up to the referendum"

They did, but it was dismissed as "project fear".

You know, during the referendum debate the paid shills really did well across all the different media sites. Same phrases, same style book kept to, same approach to other posters, mass reporting them for infractions whilst never seeming to get punished themselves. It really was a masterstroke, any undecided could have been easily swayed.

I heard them. Loud and bloody clear. If you didn't you were an idiot. A well meaning idiot who has done their best but messed up our children's future. Maybe our grandkids will sort something.

But in parallel I guess remainers need to work on inner acceptance that the damage is already done in terms of wisdom, reputation, trustworthiness and economics.

To be fair, it's not Remainers who need to accept that the damage has been done. Leavers are the ones who are saying that everybody still KnowsWhoWeAre, respects our greatness and are queuing up to do the bestest deals with us. And that other countries are scrambling to leave the EU, in awe of our buccaneering brilliant leadership.

The problem is with the economic predictions is that they were made on a specific scenario, which didn't occur.

All the "the economists were wrong" crowd seem to be doing is to dismiss those predictions despite the fact that the conditions were not met.

If the unholy alliance with the dup, the grenfell disaster, the lost majority at the GE, the crisis in the nhs, the windrush scandal, the pandering to the erg, the power grab in parliament hasn't done for them...nothing will.

The rebels that don't rebel

The erg who want to sell the UK to the highest bidder

Has there EVER been a more apathetic parliament in the Uks history? We are sleepwalking into disaster.

There is no opposition.

How can it be true parliamentary democracy without an effective opposition??

We have a parliament full of people who only care for their own career/wealth/progression in the party...

Mimsy bastard quisling FUCKS
😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡

Sorry. Feeling a bit ranty...

I think the issue with business isn't so much that they could or should have warned that a leave vote would mean they would leave the UK, but that varying scenarios effect that decision. Cu or sm or both would probably work with smaller impact, but no deal just won't for a lot of then. They've always had powerful lobby groups so there was probably an assumption that in the event of a leave vote they could use that to ensure essentially a soft brexit.

"Mind you, you can't help wondering why these business did just not say these things as loudly as possible in the run up to the referendum"

They did, but it was dismissed as "project fear".

Nissan certainly warned people, but they preferred to either take no notice or believe the lie on the bus about money for the NHS. And of course, the stock response, that 'they' won't let it happen, and that the rest of the EU need us more than we need them. How and why people in places like Sunderland, Cornwall etc., having suffered years of being ignored by Westminster, now thought that Westminster would look after their interests is beyond me.

Oh yes, the Faisal Islam documentary that went to Sunderland where the people interviewed said that Nissan would never get another workforce like the one in Sunderland.

Hate to break it to you, but its not true.