Westministenders: A LOOOONNNGGGGGGGG Hot Summer

[RedToothBrush]

May has officially demoted Raab and the Brexit Department to just being responsible for practical implimentation in the UK and not negogitions.

This shouldn't be a surprise, its been the case in reality for some time, much to David Davis annoyance.

The official government position now seems to be scare the shit out of everyone about the possibility of No Deal in order to force the EU to make a deal. Jeremy Hunt has been dutifully spelling this out, by talking about an 'accidental' Brexit.

The government are already outsourcing responsibility for this potential eventuality to industy and business by telling them they need to stockpile food in order to keep supply lines going. This WILL mean price rises will start to happen soon. It also means there is no coordinated government plan and if businesses can't afford to do this as its heavily dependant on having sufficient cash flow in reserve to be able to do it, or don't want to, then you, me and everyone else is going to be well and truly on their own. Whilst the public are not being told to stockpile, its hard to justify not doing so, if this is the current government line.

The government has also done a u-turn on when the repeal of the European Communities Act will come into force. They fought hard to have it fixed for 29th March 2019. Thats now been rolled back to Dec 2020. This is fine, but in practice, makes no difference what so ever if we have no deal or the EU refuse to honour a transition deal on the terms the UK want. The ERG will also go nuts at it and try to get May to roll back on it.

Raab has also made a point of saying that if we don't have a deal by October (rather than midnight 29th March 2019) we are going into No Deal land by default.

Parliament has now broken up for the summer, with May surviving, so things are likely to be a little quieter for a few weeks, but come September this is all going to blow up with avengance.

If you think the last few weeks have been a rollercoaster, just wait for the Autumn.

FAKE NEWS !

Interest rates would have to rise post-Brexit if the pound went into freefall - probable

• and Mark Carney's other tactics (as used post-ref) were insufficient- unknown how likely.

Strange article. There have been other recent stories about shops having trouble keeping "summer foods" in stock because of the endless hot-weather, and the CO2 shortage last month manifested itself in some strange ways, but I'm not sure we're actually at the genuine food shortage stage just yet.

Interest rates would have to rise post-Brexit if the pound went into freefall - probable

I am old enough to remember Dennis Healy having to go cap in had to the IMF, who required Labour to impose savage pay freezes. Nary a word about sovereignty then. Especially not "sovereign debt" ....

I wonder if we'll see a FakeApp of Theresa May to the (in)famous "...pound in your pocket ..." speech ?

We've had empty supermarket shelves here this week.

It was the very local supermarket rather than the one further afield. Everyone was panic buying on Sunday for a barbacue.

I suspect people have been shopping in different in locations to normal because of the hot weather. And buying different things to normal.

Strange article. There have been other recent stories about shops having trouble keeping "summer foods" in stock because of the endless hot-weather, and the CO2 shortage last month manifested itself in some strange ways, but I'm not sure we're actually at the genuine food shortage stage just yet.

Not at all. I think I nailed it . Make the first move. Make it questionable, and then all subsequent reportage is FAKE NEWS !

Was no one paying attention when the Trumpster was rehearsing ?

Time to panic is if we see pictures of empty Waitrose shelves

I confess, when I saw the tweet earlier today from Waitrose saying that a hard brexit would mean rises in fruit and veg prices, I thought to myself 'HOW? They are extortionate at Waitrose already!'.

Our Morrisons always has empty shelves. They are not very organised.

From the Buzzfeed expose of Cambian Group's operations www.buzzfeed.com/richholmes/care-price?utm_term=.afgwQ9e2x#.rfRK8RYB7, posted by RTB Thu 26-Jul-18 07:47:37

Cambian was pulling in thousands of taxpayer pounds each month for the children in the home — yet sent staff only a £45 weekly allowance per child for day-to-day needs, Barton said. He was left with a burning question: “Where the hell is the money going?”

According to the Buzzfeed article, Cambian charges an average of £127,000 per child a year, a 9% increase from last year.

www.documentcloud.org/documents/4466337-Final-Results-RNS-London-Stock-Exchange.html#document/p6/a424131
Scroll down to page 6/21, to the highlighted table.

Never believe a Tory who pours scorn on the idea of redistribution of wealth. Redistribution is perfectly fine when it is a case of taxpayers' money lining the pockets of the rich.

(What would Dickens say?)

Waitrose really aren't extortionate. It's just that they don't screw their farmers (and customers) quite so badly as some of the so-called good value supermarkets. They don't have shareholders to please.

^...what could be more American than what happened in this place?

What greater expression of faith in the American experiment than this; what greater form of patriotism is there; than the belief that America is not yet finished, that we are strong enough to be self-critical, that each successive generation can look upon our imperfections and decide that it is in our power to remake this nation to more closely align with our highest ideals?

That’s what America is. Not stock photos or airbrushed history or feeble attempts to define some of us as more American as others. We respect the past, but we don’t pine for it.

But that's airbrushed history right there, and I don't agree with the argument, even if it is President Obama making it.
I can understand the attraction of the narrative, but the need for this narrative, that 'it's all right when it turns out right and God Bless America' - is unhealthy.

Nobody should have to first assure the audience that they are patriots. The climate where a protestor must pander to the discourse of the opposition is a problem in and of itself.

To judge from the entire speech, Obama was not being subversive when he uttered the words, "What could be more American than what happened in this place?".
Edmund Pettis Bridge
On February 18, white segregationists attacked a group of peaceful demonstrators in the town of Marion, Alabama. In the ensuing chaos, an Alabama state trooper fatally shot Jimmie Lee Jackson, a young African-American demonstrator.

In response to Jackson’s death, King and the SCLC planned a massive protest march from Selma to the state capitol of Montgomery, 54 miles away. A group of 600 people, including activists John Lewis and Hosea Williams, set out from Selma on Sunday, March 7.

The marchers didn’t get far before Alabama state troopers wielding whips, nightsticks and tear gas rushed the group at the Edmund Pettis Bridge and beat them back to Selma.

www.history.com/topics/black-history/selma-montgomery-march

“The UK wants to take back control of its money, law, and borders.
We will respect that.
But the EU also wants to keep control of its money, law, and borders.
The UK should respect that.” – Michel Barnier 26/7/2018

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44966969

Link showing the "targeted adverts" by the Leave campaign.

Back in 2016 I was angered by one that contained obvious lies and complained to the Advertising Agency (name?)at the time - the ad came up like a popper the night before the referendum. They came back to me some time after to say that elections and referendums aren't covered by the standards

So if you want to sell baked beans you have to tell the truth. If you don't, we have the tools to make you. On the other hand in politics anything goes

I don't want another referendum and I am ready to believe that cheating, fraud and foreign interference didn't decide the referendum result; I think Brexit will be a disaster but I accept it.

But this news has shocked me. The advert repulsed me at the time because it was such a blatant lie - but the kind that many would believe and be upset at. To see it now in black and white, that these 2 groups broke electoral law with these adverts... I am shocked. And we have no redress.

Sorry if this has been covered before (can't keep up with the thread!) but this made me peak Brexit all over again and I had to share it

I'd shop any day of the week at Bootgs rather than Waitrose cos they don't screw farmers and their produce is still better priced (less so processed food).

I must admit to wondering how Booths would fair in hard brexit/no deal. I believe they source a lot more of their stock from the UK and North West in particular so produce much less food miles. The main reason they've never expanded outside the NW is because they felt they would never get the suppliers to be able to meet demand to a bigger market.

Its the petrol thats the biggest issue for them I guess.

From that BBC article:

A separate group called Veterans for Britain had refused permission for its ads to be passed on, said Facebook.

Surely they shouldn't be allowed to refuse to pass them on to a government inquiry. It also makes me wonder what was in them that they don't want made public knowledge.

Is this an eye opener or what...

www.thesun.co.uk/news/6866987/sun-says-ireland-eu-brexit-politicans/
It starts with the headline:
It’s sad how Irish politicians try to belittle us — our stance won’t change over leaving the EU

...follows that with -
How dare gobby Irish politicians keep belittling Britain? Who do they think they are?

And believe it or not, it manages to sink even lower.

* Read the comments section if you dare. *

Here are the first few:
Jlawsgstring
7 minutes ago
Leo Varadkar is a complete tool and needs to button it, 80 percent of the Irish sea is British and all it takes is to completly blokade Ireland let it pay massive ferry charges to be shipped from serville, and see how it likes it, Its greatest export at one time was peat bog and diddy men......

Lyn Westwood
20 minutes ago
Well don’t forget about ww2,helped Germany lighting the way to Liverpool.

Mr Rog
4 hours ago
the EU is definitely getting desperate, but for the life of me i don't understand the remoaners, assuming they are ones who aren't being paid to collaborate, simply put the EU has been getting a smaller and smaller part of the worlds economy for decades, why would anyone stay other in than fear of change?

Alec McColm
5 hours ago
Only Fenian terrorists in Southern Ireland, and it's very unfortunate that the SAS were not allowed to finish the job of liquidation.

A brief respite from the insanity:
Christoph Neumeister
7 hours ago
For me it seems like contradicting statements in this article.

For Ireland they state that it will be hit hard with no deal. For the UK they state: "Leavers do not fear it, despite the panic Remainers are now deliberately stoking.“

I would expect the UK to be hit as hard as the ROI, especially NI. And that is exactly what the IMF does predict too. (Similar hit on gdp for the UK and Ireland in the case of a no deal.

So as a consequence that means if the sun believes that Ireland will be hit hard the UK will also be hit hard.

And to the statement that the EU must forget its red lines? Why should they forget about the founding principles of the single market or the EU? To help out the British which decided to go it alone, leaving the EU27 with a financial gap? That sound weird.

The UK decided to leave. That is OK. If the UK still wants to participate in some EU bodies or schemes they will have to accept the attached rules and policies. Otherwise it can be a simple FTA like with Canada and some bilateral treaties like with the USA for example.

And it is the UK which can choose from the menu, but which can not change the menu

Depressing:
Mickey Mouse
8 hours ago
Let's go and re-conquer Ireland - then we won't have to worry about a border between South and North!

Geronimo
7 hours ago
You don't have the budget to start a new war, love. You can't afford it!

Believer
3 hours ago
That’s because most of the Eu rely on us to defend it. We patrol the skies of the Irish republic as they have no Air Force, one of the treaties we could possibly leave along with paying for the upkeep of their light houses. We are patrolling the skies of eastern Eu states, we have hundreds of soldiers there also. Basically it boils down to Eu states 1. Not having anything like our armed forces.

2. Will not spend the required money such as Germany at 1.2% gdp and not 2%

3. Eu states are basically pacifists and with out us would offer their backsides to putin.

We have bailed Europe out twice and that debt has still not been repaid, should you need us again I would hope we say no and it will be third time unlucky for you. Maybe time to leave nato and set up with the USA alone as we are the two highest spenders in the organisation.

Lyn Westwood
27 minutes ago
Well 1 bomber should do it.

I look forward to seeing the plan to conquer Ireland.

We haven't got one for Brexit yet, but lets get cracking with the ridiculous slogans and belief cos that's all we'll need.

David Allen Green @ davidallengreen
As part of the stockpiling and rationing planned for the impending Brexit shortages, the government will commandeer breweries to organise on-site drinking sessions.

A minister says "this will be straightforward".

The anti Irish sentiment is building

To be fair, the anti-Everything sentiment is building.

I picture fervent Brexit-supporters as being fuelled by a permanent sense of grievance and rage, and they'll cast about for anything to blame when things don't go their way - and things never can go their way because it's an impossible way.

It's incredible, isn't it? The Empire peaked 100 years ago and has been outright gone for decades. Where is this grievance coming from? Did people really just not notice that the UK is a middling sized, industrialised country in a world where China and India are rising?

Some say 'Brexit will never happen.' Well, how could that be?
'Events dear boy events.'
What 'events' could randomly occur during the next 8 months to unexpectedly throw the Brexit Juggernaut off the road?
Not that I want some of these to happen, but... they could.

1. A really hard winter, where public services are all diverted to preventing disaster/tragedy?
2. The death of an important public figure, political or not?
3. The NHS going into meltdown due to staff (and medicine?) shortages, and people panicking for its future?
4. People becoming unable to plan anything ahead for 2019 (summer holidays, sell their house, change jobs etc).
5. Growing discontent with austerity/job losses/reductions in public services etc. Strikes? (The sort of thing that used to happen before folk seemed to accept anything.)
6. Media barons changing course, deciding that Brexit is not in their favour and running press campaigns against it.
7. Just... realisation. Of how shit and stupid it is. Public backlash against it.

Who knows? Anything and everything could happen. Or maybe... nothing.

Hello everyone. 🙂

Thanks Hester, I needed that. I can go to bed with at least some hope of avoiding a nightmare.