Westministenders: May's Turd Way covered in Donald's Glittery Tickertape from his Parade

[RedToothBrush]

Where next?

Auditions for chief turd polisher to Mrs May are in full action, whilst those who don't believe in the turd, wade about knee deep in their own shit, still searching for that illusive plan for Brexit which doesn't stink to high heaven of crap.

After the dual resignation of Davis and Johnson, amongst the stench there is an air of uncertainity and expectation of all hell breaking loose.

In the last 48 hours we have been told that

1. May is more secure having crushed the brexiteers,
2. May about to be ousted by a no confidence vote, triggering a leadership election,
3. The Tory Party are about to split,
4. Brexiteers are in disarray fighting amongst themselves,
5. We will remain in the EU,
6. We get an EEA deal,
7. We will get no deal,
8. A People's vote is inevitable and
9. There will be a General Election.

Which only serves to merely highlight just how little of a clue ANYONE has about what happens next.

What bothers me now, is that Johnson seems not to have surfaced yet and there are rumours that Gove has gone to ground, whilst Donald Trump is practically on the plane and is stirring the pot praising Johnson.

Instead we seem to have a series of junior ministers and Tory HQ figures quitting in a long drawn out coordinated toy throwing out of the pram exercise, to try and get what hard brexiteers want.

If I had to hazard a guess at the general silence from key figures, I might be tempted to say that someone is going to use Trump's visit to throw a political grenade and actively invite him to endorse them.

That might sound ridiculous given that the public hates Trump, but that loses sight of the fact that the people who will vote for the next leader of the Tory Party are overwhelming authoritarian leaning and likely to be those who like Trump and would be impressed by such a move.

I note this tweet today from the wise Sarah Kendzior:

Sarah Kendzior @sarahkendzior
"There are parallels to past authoritarianism, but what's happening with Trump, in the digital age, is new and transnational. The president's loyalty is not necessarily to a state but to foreign leaders and multinational criminal alliances. The state is just something to sell."

It is clear that others in the parliamentary party will be very alarmed at the prospect. There were Tory MPs who were openly tweeted how please that disgusting Johnson had gone and are no fans of Trump.

May still seems to think that she can get her plan through and approved by the EU in its current form. The White Paper is due on Thursday.

Much speculation is that it will be significant if she fails to produce this on time, as she will have capitulated to the Brexiteers. And this will lead to the EU just giving up on us anyway.

She also announced to the Cabinet today, that preparations for No Deal were to be stepped up significantly.

We still are left wondering who, she is stitching up; the Brexiteers whose heads are currently exploding or the friends she keeps closest to her (friends? or ideological enemies).

The problem is that there just no other viable way forward at the moment, as the country is divided, both Labour and the Conservatives are divided and are more interested in their own future than that of the party and there are far too many ambitious 'celebrity MPs' who want to make their mark. No one gives a shit about ordinary workers or business. Plus there is the divine observation that DGRossetti made at the end of the last thread: The biggest obstacle to Brexit has been Brexiteers

The grab for post-Brexit power shows the whole of Westminister up as the cess pit of self interest it is, with Boris Johnson merely its biggest figure head.

Wait until the GFA officially has its head put on the chopping block awaiting its fate. Perhaps we can flog NI to Donald and get a Brexit Dividend afterall.

I must admit to finding it hard to have a view that is altogether different to this:
James Patrick @J_amesp
There is no way back from all of this. The next seven days simply decide how badly - on a scale of fucked to smouldering crater - it is going to end.

One final predictation, which I am DAMN certain of: Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday are all going to be grim for political watching if you are into democratic values and principles. It will be a 4 day sales pitch for Brand Trump in all its All American Overblown Horror that Brits tend to find utterly distasteful. Expect the red carpet of full of turd glitter to be rolled out for Donald Trump Show. Expect May to embarass herself in her fawning all over him, as if she's star struck. Expect that hideously cringeworthy photo thats totally inevitable.

Politics is going to get worse. It may never get better.

(But yay football gets to cover it all up... Come on England!)

.

Ready with the Beeswax and the Marigolds. 🐝 Thanks Red.

I can’t stand football (or any sport) so that’s not a distraction for me. Hope England win though as it would make dh very very happy.

I don’t know how I feel about a people’s vote. Part of me feels optimistic but then I remember that some people will pick anything over remaining in the EU or a soft Brexit.

Quite literally pick

1. remain in the EU
2. jump into a pit of poinsonous snakes

Loads would pick 2, that’s how much they hate the EU.

Place marking.

In the same way that the current England squad could teach the previous 'celebrity' generation of footballers how co-operation leads to wins, maybe the next generation of politicians will learn the lesson.

Best result for me for the footie would be England get to the final, but become runners up. Worst result coming last in the play off for third place.

someone is going to use Trump's visit to throw a political grenade and actively invite him to endorse them yes.
Laughing boy Patrick sums it up. Thanks Red.

Loads would pick 2, that’s how much they hate the EU.

Because they have had about 30 years of poison from the Heil, Express and Torygraph. Really, the vast majority couldn't care less, except they don't like immigrants, especially those who live in communities where there aren't any.

.

Thanks to Red for spanning both the heat and the snow with her insightful threads.

I read "After the dual resignation of Davis and Johnson, "

As

The dull resignation of Davis and Johnson,

and so it is!

Thanks red

I spat my drink out at Andrew Adonis' reply

@Peston
Brexiter Tory MPs warn me that May’s Chequers plan could lead to break up of Conservative Party

@Andrew_Adonis
How sad

Placemarking. Thank you for the new thread. Feeling pretty despairing about all our futures right now.

Joe Pike @joepike
EXCL: In his first interview since being readmitted to the Labour Party, Sheffield Hallam MP Jared O’Mara tells me:
-He has attempted suicide 3 times in the 9 months since being suspended by Labour over racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments. /1
-He has also developed an anxiety disorder which has left him at points ‘scared to leave the house’.
-Apologises ‘unreservedly’ to his constituents who he says he has ‘let down’. -Opens up for the first time about his autism: ‘I can’t read faces or read body language’. /2
-Admits in his early twenties he was an online ‘troll’, and that his actions ‘came from a place of self-loathing, weakness and insecurity.’
-Says he has clinical depression which has given him the compassion to help others. /3
-Argues his disabilities shouldn’t preclude him from being an MP: ‘disabled people deserve a voice in the corridors of power’.
-Asks for forgiveness from his constituents and the country. /4
-O’Mara says he’s ‘absolutely not’ going to stand down.
-After 13 months in parliament, he will finally make his maiden speech later this month. More on @itvcalendar at 6pm. /5

I'm sure his constituents, especially ones who needed an MP in the last 13 months will be very understand and will instantly vote for him at the next general election without question, and with complete sympathy for his situation.

There are other ways to influence politics which are available to people who can not fully commit to the lives of other people through no fault of their own.

This list of excuses, just don't cut it, when so much is at stake for anyone in that constituency who might really need help. He put himself before his constituents.

The state of this....

Robert Peston @Peston 1 minute ago
I've never seen PM press conference where PM tells hacks they can only ask questions of her, and not her fellow podium member, Chancellor Merkel. Do you think it was @theresa_may not wanting to hear what Merkel thinks of events in UK or Merkel too polite to say what she thinks

This made me laugh

freedom.press/news/reality-and-espionage-act/
Reality and the Espionage Act

Winner’s only crime, literally, was to share information with journalists and the American people about a foreign government’s attempt to hack U.S. voting systems. State election boards reportedly appreciated Winner’s leak, which gave them the information needed to investigate Russian hacking attempts and better secure their electronic voting infrastructure.

But the federal government treated Winner as though she were a spy. Federal prosecutors charged her with violating an anti-espionage statute that is more than a century old, while arguing that she had to remain detained without bail until trial because she had no loyalty to the United States.

Her name is Reality Winner. The irony.

ConstantlyCold have Ladbrokes got a book open on that?

Patrick Wintour @patrickwintour
At Balkans summit Angela Merkel raised her eyebrows and gave out a thin smile when told by Theresa May she was not to answer questions from the British press, and only take a solitary question from a German reporter. One summit issue was media freedom in the Balkans.

Laura Kuenssberg @bbclaurak
You may well not have heard of them but it's warning from disgruntled Tories that they are capable of continuing to inflict damage on the PM unless she changes tack
Caulfield was a Leaver, who represents a Remain Seat, Bradley is a Remainer in a strongly Leave constituency
One more thought, remember, remember the PM doesn't have a majority, so however senior or junior, anyone who quits is another rebel - threat to block legislation over many miserable months prob more dangerous than threat of confidence vote

Place marking

Place mat king.
I’m going from being certain that we are heading to a no deal Brexit and I’ll have to leave the country at the end of March 19 to thinking everything will just disappear and we will end up with very very soft Brexit or even no Brexit at all.

Anyone has a cristal ball by any chance?

Lucy Fisher @ los_fisher
Interesting that Matt Hancock, the new health secretary, received a £5k donation in 2015 from a director of private companies in the health sector.

Expect the left will leap on this.

Here is donor Gurdev S Dadral's entry on Companies House:
t.co/mS3S3YXshA

Is there anyone in the government who hasn't done something a bit shady ? Anyone at all ?

Lewis Goodall @lewis_goodall
Brexiteer opinion isn’t homogenous. spoke to one utterly despondent Leaver MP after the 22. He said he could have sold the Chequers proposals to his constituents- but now BJ and DD had destroyed any hope of that. Now all any of them will think is that they represent betrayal.

J.P Morgan speaking out about brexit (in Italy - but it's been reported here)

www.ft.com/content/af41135c-8436-11e8-96dd-fa565ec55929

Conflating the football and the 'brexit': perfectly safe.

Henry Smith MP@HenrySmithUK
Received this invite to watch tomorrow’s England-Croatia World Cup semi-final in 10 Downing Street. Seeing as the Prime Minister isn’t bringing Brexit home I’m concerned attending would be a bad omen for football coming home...I’ll pass.

, lots of it please.

Thanks, red & Lindt