Westminstenders: In the Brexit Lane

[RedToothBrush]

I honestly couldn't think of a better starter to the thread than simply just this tweet

Robert Peston @ peston
We’ve got an official opposition tearing itself apart over antisemitism, the founder of the EDL running rings around the judiciary and a government negotiating a Brexit plan that its own MPs and ministers tell me is dead. When will we pull ourselves together, as a nation?

But don't worry, your blue passport will get you an extra special long wait at passport control. And no deal could lead to continued freedom of movement anyway. Something for everyone in there.

They’ve been talking about Grandparents (by which they mean Grandmothers, of course) providing childcare for years, ever since Michael Howard propsed to fast track grandmothers into childminding.

To be fair, I don't think there's much between the Telegraph highlighting it will be women doing post-Brexit caring and giving up paid employment and East Susse, in their austerity-caused avoid-bankruptcy proposals saying 'we' will all need to 'work together' to provide elderly care (because the Council can only include the most basic care as part of their offer).

The 'we' is entirely euphemistic. It will be women, primarily, providing this unpaid care.

The 'giving up jobs' thing is truly concerning. Most families now rely completely on two wage-earning adults. Most households do. Rents and mortgages are sky-high for that demographic.

Providing care will mean households choosing between housing and food.

'Providing care' will actually drive people into poverty.

That is probably even more of an issue than the inept sexism of the headline. And, as I said, it pretty much only makes explicit what is behind EAst Sussex council's euphemism.

It's crazy.

They’ve been talking about Grandparents (by which they mean Grandmothers, of course) providing childcare for years

Rather missing the point that people are going to have to work longer before retiring.

It's all coming home to roost.

Heard Gisela Stewart on the radio recently, too. She was asked about the Vote Leave campaign and who decided to continue after Jo Cox was murdered. She took no responsibility. Evaded and equivocated. And then continued to derail to talk about the remain campaigns. Someone made the decision in that group. A shower of deceitful, despicable snakes in my personal opinion. They make me sick.

Here are the head honchos from vote leave. Gisela Stuart (chairman), Matthew Elliott (CEO), Dominic Cummings, Michael Gove and Boris Johnson.

What do you mean DS Rossetti? Isn't it a well known fact that the EU are simply dreadful at negotiating trade agreements? A fact issued by Leave campaigners before and after the referendum. That is why every country in Europe is so much worse off in comparison to the rest of the world. We will see the shining example of how to do a trade deal from Foxy Liam (the disgraced former defence secretary and alleged Werrity sniffer). Indeed Foxy Liam said he will have 40 trade deals ready to sign the day after Brexit. So, we will see the fruits of such amazing declarations next April. I am convinced of this as, I for one know, they are not lying deceitful sh*ts who don't give two hoots about wrecking a country and carelessly gambling away the livelihoods of it's population. I reckon none of them at all, not even Steve Baker, receive dodgy funding or are in cahoots with any Fascists.

And have a biccie.

Oh and the head honchos of Leave never made any decisions about anything they are quizzed about in the organisation they led. They must have met regularly to decide what to have for Lunch.

Blimey, I know Sky News has been head & shoulders above some other MSM outlets when it comes to actually acknowledging that there might be some challenges in the UK's Brexit plans, but this is the bluntest commentary I've seen:

news.sky.com/story/europe-really-doesnt-need-us-as-much-as-we-need-them-11462776

And it's bang on, IMO. There are genuinely a lot of people in this country who think UK is a peer to the EU, rather than a peer to France or to Germany. The EU is a peer to the US and China, not the UK. Failure to recognise this is at the root of all our Brexit problems.

They must have met regularly to decide what to have for Lunch.

Well they certainly didn't meet to plan what they would do if they won...

I too am old enough to remember the 70s and just the 60s.

I was a young teenager in the mid 70s. I can remember huddling in candle light around the gas oven in the kitchen for heat during the rolling power cuts (although we had recently put in gas Central heating, it used an electric pump). I can remember the 3 day week (as a school pupil I liked that one ). I can remember rubbish piling up on the streets. Coming from a politically aware family, I can even remember the shame of the UK going to the IMF for an emergency bailout and the devaluation of sterling. I can remember restricted amounts of holiday spending money due to exchange controls.

Some "Golden Age"

We even emigrated as a result of all the ills of the UK, plus the Oil Crisis, and went to NZ. NZ was pissed off at the "whinging Poms" because we were entering the Common Market and were going to be restricting exports to the UK of NZ dairy and meat (even though a transition was negotiated).

But having recently had some conversations with friends (who were dairy farmers) I made from that time who were over here a few months ago, they said that the UK joining the Common Market was the best thing that ever happened to the NZ dairy industry. They were forced to modernise and look for new markets - and now have growing and thriving markets in China and Japan.

BOOM.

(Sorry, that BOOM was for Red's one liner.)

On the subject of women in the workforce... not only does this leave women more vulnerable financially, the 50s world of housewives no longer exists and being a sahm without a community around you is a very lonely existence. My mil is old school and grew up around the same girls who then went on to raise families at about the same time as her. She doesn't get this debate because she liked her lifestyle (until fil left her for a younger model that is). MN is full of isolated and financially abused women. I will never support such a leap backwards for my daughters.

They’ve been talking about Grandparents (by which they mean Grandmothers, of course) providing childcare for years, ever since Michael Howard propsed to fast track grandmothers into childminding.

A lot of us already do this regularly, as DH and I have found out this last year. When we take delightful GS out, we find many of the other people pushing pushchairs are grey haired like us. Now the could be Dads on second marriages, but I don't think they all are. Grandad is very good in our GS's case. Grandad also has an elderly mother to keep an eye on.

We are still in our 60s so are still relatively young retired. I pity my own DCs who are going to have to work until 68 or more. Who will look after their children's children?

they said that the UK joining the Common Market was the best thing that ever happened to the NZ dairy industry. They were forced to modernise and look for new markets - and now have growing and thriving markets in China and Japan.

Yes, but there are two key differences:

• there were transition arrangements. As far as I know, they didn't have politicians talking hot air for two years, and only in the last few months try to get down to the business of negotiating.

• they found markets nearer home. We are turning our back on markets on the doorstep, in the vain hope that we can resurrect markets 10,000 miles away.

I had my babies in the early seventies and I don't share the view of unremitting doom and gloom. It was a bit tricky in the coal strike with a young baby and only a coal fire for heating but the other things, the various shortages, the three day week etc did not all happen at the same time. It didn't fefine the whole decade.
On the positive side was the excitement of being in the Women's Movement, of real local political activism, of people working together to change things. It didn't feel as politically lazy and cynical an age as this one does to me.
I guess it depends entirely where you were and what your personal experience was. It certainly wasn't grey. All those floral caftans and smocks we wore. 😀

NZ also benefited eventually from China's decision to grow its economy. This coincidence was very fortuitous for NZ and Oz.

...define not fefine. Bloody stylus.

You are highlighting that people are resilient EmilyAlice and I agree, and I expect that this is what those Leavers who say that we managed before the EU/EEC are driving at. In the past though, the resilience has been born of necessity like Wars, or famine. Then a lot of people didn't survive, or were forced to flee/emigrate. This is very much self inflicted because of wealthy men in the Tory party having a spat, and then dragging the rest of us in.

BTW I agree about the flowery caftans. I still have a flowery tapestry coat in my wardrobe, bought from Kensington market in 1971. Kept for the DC's dressing up when I outgrew the hippy phase, and then forgotten about until right now.

Speaking of flowery caftans...

Jim Waterson @jimwaterson
Meanwhile, at Wilderness Festival.

@DGRossetti

Can I cope you trade post? Do you have an easy read link and source for it? I can't copy the table for some reason.

I loved my embroidered smocks and floaty pinafores!
I am not sure we were that much more resilient though Peregrina (I am a bit of a wuss really), I just don't think the gloom was relentless. When I listened to my Mum talking about being bombed and grabbing my sister to get out of the way of planes coming over in the Battle of Britain; that feels like resilience.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jacob-rees-mogg-home-vandals-london-brexit-new-york-visit-a8479246.html
Jacob Rees-Mogg's home gets spray-painted by vandals while he visits New York

Protestors wrote 'posh scum' on patio and stuck a pink dildo on his wife’s car

I suspect that the end game will be euthanasia for the elderly infirm.

It wasn't relentless and indeed, we came back to the UK after 2 years in NZ as mum & dad missed the cosmopolitan UK especially having got used to the UK in the 10 years since they left SA (I, however, having sulked for a year when we went because I'd left my friends, made a great new circle of friends and then sulked for another year now 15, so even better at it when we came back as I'd left my friends.... - but that's a whole different story )

But the point is, it wasn't a golden age. We were having to fight for women's rights, for equal pay, for equal pay for equivalent work, for safe working hours, for holidays.... All of which are now at risk in the bonfire of regulations

I do remember flowery Laura Ashley clothes . My mum was a particular fan of Clothkits clothes for both her and me, plus a lot of Liberty print material for clothes for both of us (she was a very good seamstress). I have fond memories of Liberty print tiered gathered skirts, worn with broderie anglaise petticoats peeping out underneath

Loved Clothkits!

(But not enough to sacrifice the country and the economy to a right wing cabal though.)