Westminstenders: Summer Season

[RedToothBrush]

No its not the weather making your brain rot and stop thinking.

Thats just Brexit.

may be sorted by May i guess,

I don't think May has sorted anything, really.

frankiestein401 No HS2 and no cricket. This brexitty stuff isn't all doom and gloom.

^Tom Watson demands answers about alleged Russian Brexit plot
Labour’s deputy leader asks if National Crime Agency is investigating whether referendum was ‘stolen^
www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/27/tom-watson-demands-answers-about-alleged-russian-brexit-plot
It must be embarrassing being a Jeremy Corbyn.

I doubt if the Uk will ever have a genuine enquiry - like Mueller - into Russian influence in UK politics - both major parties would be horribly embarassed, as well as the media.

The Russians have their hooks probably more into the Tories & their donors than into Labour - they have always done well in turning the UK upper class into traitors

Our checks & balances are much weaker than the US and we have too little investigative reporting, even from the centre & left.

Some Tories have sold out to the Atlantic Bridge lot,
some to the Russians
some to both
... no wonder they can't agree on how to Brexit: they have too many masters to please

@ChrisLeslieMP
NEW: Ministers trying to railroad key #Brexit Bill through Lords IN ONE DAY next Tuesday using arcane parliamentary trick
Taxation (Cross border trade) Bill should be amended, eg, to ensure a Customs Union. Hope Labour frontbench @johnmcdonnellMP will insist on committee stage?

Here’s what Government are up to: they know Lords aren’t convinced re #Brexit plans so they’ve tried to stuff loads of legislation in what they badge as ‘tax’ Bill. But Mr Speaker in Commons declines to certify it as ‘Money Bill’. So now no statutory bar to Lords amendments But..

...Ministers inserted ancient “aids & supplies” prayer at top of this Taxation Bill. Trying to frighten off Lords & abusing this convention - the Bill contains non-tax #Brexit matters. Thankfully there’s precedent for Lords to ignore this. Hopefully they will amend it - crucial!

Some Tories have sold out to the Atlantic Bridge lot
some to the Russians
some to both
... no wonder they can't agree on how to Brexit: they have too many masters to please

You forgot the 'Britannia Unchained' group (Kwasi Kwarteng, Priti Patel, Dominic Raab, Chris Skidmore and Elizabeth Truss) who want free trade, no consumer or workers rights and 'Singapore-on-Thames'
and the disaster capitalists (Rees-Mogg, Redwood etc) who appear to want to trash the UK economy and pick the carcass clean.

Russia is an enormous distraction and distraction is a great danger because it prevents us from seeing the real motivation of those who want Brexit at any cost. It prevents us from addressing the rifts in society that the Brexit vote exposed.

The idea that there is some malign force out there making voters and MPs do things that are irrational and unreasonable is the stuff of science fiction. Truth is always a lot simpler and a lot closer to home.

Russia is an enormous distraction
Remind me who is the 45th?

This lot of MPs remind me of school camp when after 'lights out' there would be an hour or more of traipsing to the toilet, farting competitions, spooky faces with torches and pillow fights, followed by being sick having eaten 4 bars of chocolate.
Surely there must be an ancient statute whereby this can all be settled by sword fight to the death within parliament, or on the green outside?
If 'democracy' is a system where you can tell lies to get votes, spend ages arguing the toss over the votes, then leaving it to a couple of MPs to actually make their own decision at the end of the day....

Meanwhile good news, Electric shock collars for dogs and cats are to be banned. Can I propose all MPs are fitted with them and the collars are reprogrammed to 'shock' when a lie is told by the wearer. Perhaps a graduated increase in shock voltage depending on either frequency or magnitude of the lie?

mrs and relax!

Sanity and Brexit are strangers.

Enterprise Ireland's detailed advice for businesses:
www.prepareforbrexit.com/
Ian Dunt posted this earlier. It would appear to be gov policy.

and definitely not sane, sorry Mrs8

Ignorantly I hadnt thought to much about republic Ireland's businesses and how they'd be impacted but its looking like they're going to be more prepared then we are.

Is there a UK version of the prepareforbrexit Irish website? The company I work for would find it really useful.

Meanwhile, it seems that £350 million a week is going to Africa ..

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45325701

Morning all!
While musing on Mrs May's visit to Africa and her 'pledges' as outlined on the cover of the I newspaper I made a quick diversion and came up with this handy quote.
{So little done, so much to do.}
This, according to Wiki was from Mr Cecil Rhodes, around 120 years ago.
Having messed up in Africa 'big time' in the past are we seriously thinking of 'buying' our way back into their favours in a 'race' against the EU and China?

Our PM has reassured us that crashing out “won’t be the end of the world.”

Well, that’s a bit of a come down from the Sunlit Uplands, but if “not as bad as the apocalypse” is what Leavers knew they were voting for, who am I to argue?

Brilliant video clip. I wonder if the bit of the white cliffs of Dover have fallen into the sea yet?
With the 'Africa news' the Monty Python parrot sketch came to mind.

At this rate I am wondering even the apocalypse may be setting the sights a bit high.

Sam Lowe @ sammarclowe
A reminder for the coming few days:

- the EU already has an FTA with South Africa
- the 34 least developed African countries already benefit from tariff & quota free access to EU
- nearly all other African countries benefit from preferential access to EU via EPAs/GSP

South Africa has previously indicated it is prepared to use the existing agreement with the EU as a template for a post-Brexit UK-South Africa agreement, but it will seek some renegotiation.

Harry Cole @ mrharrycole
Theresa May has been dancing with South African school kids. Keep an eye out for the footage.

God this week sounds fabulous already.

I see that Theresa May wants the UK to become the G7's biggest investor in Africa by 2022. A worthy aim no doubt, but not likely to be a vote winner with her Leaver friends who already think we spend too much on overseas aid.

At this rate I am wondering even the apocalypse may be setting the sights a bit high.

It’s a conveniently low bar. So long as we don’t end up with an Agents Of SHIELD-style shattered planet, Brexit will still be called a success.

With my crap 'business acumen' even I can see that the UK attempting to undercut existing EU trade deals with various African countries is not a good plan, especially if you factor in the suggestion of throwing massive wads of UK money at it, in a hope that in maybe 10 (you name a point in the future) years time Africans will have sufficient money themselves to buy products from the UK.
And doing this in competition with China who are already funding massive infrastructure projects.
You also have the factor of the UKs colonial past 'helping' things along.
Maybe Mrs May should invite important business heads from various African countries on a tour of Northern (or South Western) Britain and travel by train to show how good we are. I am sure older members will be able to recognise the Victorian infrastructure.