Westministenders: Back to School

[RedToothBrush]

No, I'm not referring to the start of a new parliamentary season, I'm referring to the number of politicians who need to literally go back to school. Its embarassing, and worrying.

Anyway, here is a slightly lengthy, end summer news round up for you.

The Brexit Headlines
It seems to be Cabinet Office policy to push for the Chequers Deal or for No Deal Even though Macron has very firm, plainly and clearly said "non" in no uncertain terms. Its significant because its come from the official Brexit Department and not from a sweating Dominic Raab at Dexeu.

He has however delivered the first batch of the Brexit Untechnical Papers which are supposed to advise what to do in the event of No Deal. In reality this is a PR exercise, which makes the assumption that some sort of minimual deal will have been done, rather than no deal at all, combined with a very practical plan for 'a wing and a prayer'. Which is a bit of an issue if we decide that we really are going to stick to the line that its Chequers or no deal.

These untechnical papers are ludicarious shallow, which some having the audaciency to say "plan for the news rules, but we haven't actually decided what the news rules are and we'll get back to you as soon as we've made them up". The completely skirt the entire subject of NI, saying merely, more or less "oh that one will just work itself out". Despite the untechnical papers don't include the crucial aviation one, which apparently was held back because it was regarded as 'too shambolic' which is quite the statement, if you've read any of them. Nor do they include details of the contract for hundreds of portaloos to line our motorways so that lorry drivers can still take a pee whilst they are stuck in queues for days. They might starve and no one else will have any food because all the lorries are stuck, but hell they'll be no exposure on the M20 to offend you.

Its not quite as bleak as it sounds though. The Chequers Deal is a vision of our future relationship with the EU. Its not the Withdrawal Deal. And the Withdrawal Deal (and backstop) is the thing that needs to be done in Oct / Nov. Which then will lead on to talks about the Chequers Deal. You can't talk about Chequers without having ALREADY agreed the Withdrawal. Which is very important to keep in mind as its continuely being lost in the media coverage. Could it be that all the sudden noise from the Cabinet Office, is an attempt to distract in the short term to protect the Withdrawal phrase?

Also as an alternative to Chequers, Macron is reportedly expected to propose something akin to an 'associate member' style agreement for the UK with a vision for the EU and its allies to form a series of "concentric circles", with Britain closely tied to the 27 "core" EU member states. If this sounds familiar it is. Guy Verhofstadt has been banging on about this as an idea since before Brexit. Its also a plan which has long been muted by Barnier too. It will probably go down like a lead balloon here, but there is a political will in the EU for a deal. There just isn't in the UK.

More generally in UK politics
Jeremy Corbyn has had a nice relaxing summer but after the hard upcoming weeks ahead, I think he'll still be looking forward to his holiday plans for the Autumn Break, when he visits Israel to profess he's still definitely not an anti-semite, because look he's visiting the evil Zion and talking to Jews. He will spend the next few month telling us that No Deal is a Very Bad Idea, whilst also trying to get his MPs to vote in ways that are a Very Bad Idea. Meanwhile the rest of Labour will indulge in a very public slanging match which most normal people have long since stopped caring about in anyway because they are so bored and disappointed in how far heads have been inserted up backsides.

Theresa May, has been in Africa, where she is trying to get trade deals with lots of countries we already have trade deals with through the EU. She's also in the midst of a fight with Spreadsheet Phil who has been busy telling her to butt out of the budget and realising information to undermine the 'No Deal' narrative all week. Oh and trying to persuade beg Mark Carney to stay another year at the BoE cos no one wants his job. Rees-Smug has been up to his usual English Gentleman Act where he replicates the MPs of the Victorian Era who were into fucking those from the colonies whilst stripping them for asserts, with impecable manners. Boris Johnson is looking for his next photo op where he can look zany and drop a headline grabbing offensive comment. If it winds May up, so much the better. The Tory Creche outing to Birmingham looks like its going to be a scream.

I should say something about the LDs here, so here's a tumbleweed for you.

Back to Brexit
The fishing wars have started. Michael Gove has yet to be sighted in a souwester though (give it time). The Scallop Wars are an insight into why we need a relationship with the EU. It turns out that the French are pissed because we've been using these big fuck off ships which dredge the sea bed and are a ecological disaster and haven't observed a break for a 'breeding season' this year, whilst the French are forced to do so by law. We had been observing an informal agreement where we stick to the same rules, but for some reason this year, some bright spark though it was a bad idea for us to do so. So the French have got a bit shirty in response. Gove is spitting the dummy and saying we will do something. The reality? Well what exactly can we do apart from go to the EU and use the EU courts apart from patrolling the seas with a lot of customs boats and officials we don't have? Cod Wars III here we come!

We've also announced plans for brand new white whale money pit satellite to circle solely over the UK. We aren't in need of coverage for the rest of the world, so we aren't going to waste money on flying over anywhere else who isn't prepared to help contribute financially to its construction. It is going under the draft name of 'Heliocentre'

In other news
If none of this cheers your spirits, then great news; Good Old Nige is making a come back!!! He's dead excited because he's planning his first big Nazi Leave means Leave rally in Bolton where he act out his childhood Hitler fantasy. It'll a cost you a fiver to get in. He's also bored and worried about his income, as he's now considering getting pasted in the London Mayoral Election for the publicity. So soon his face will be back on your TV boxes for Questiontime. Are you all so happy.

I rather suspect the Greens won't be objecting and will be only too happy they aren't getting the publicity they deserve as the 4th biggest party at the moment...

So the Summer is over and normal service is resuming. I hope you have enjoyed the rest and this post brings you a little up to speed. We have Party Conferences to look forward to in the upcoming weeks. Won't that be a joy to behold? And the resumption of shooting ourselves in the face in EU talks.

Oh and don't forget that Trump fellow too. Its all starting to look a bit tasty over there ahead of the November elections. What happens there in the next couple of months might be very important to what happens over here.

Who is excited?!

I am just dancing to the sound of the South African Beats.

David lammy has faced so much hate and racism and still he has continued to do his job.

Those tweets were so full of data about exactly how much better off the UK is going to be when it leaves.

Here's a lovely migrant 'yellow hammer' birdsong.
www.british-birdsongs.uk/yellowhammer/
Here is the gov's 'yellow hammer' plan.
Departments have to fund out of their own budgets. They are being told to reprioritise. They're modelling it on crises like 'foot and mouth' .

This is just for aviation:

Now for the 1,000 other aspects of running a modern economy & transport systems ...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6137259/Britain-draws-27-different-pacts-protect-flights-theres-no-Brexit-deal.html

Britain draws up 27 different pacts to protect flights if there's no Brexit deal^^
as new government papers will accept possibility UK planes WON'T be able to take off and land on the continent

< afaik, Failing Grayling won't succeed at obtaining his 27 separate deals though, because flights etc are exclusively an EU competence, not for individual member states >

Early in the btl comments below that Heil article is a claim that this is

a declaration of war and that Berlin should immediately be carpet-bombed

Brexit Ultras are batshit, but it's a shock to see some are homicidaal warmongers too.
Also, bomb Berlin - still the delusion that it is Germany orchestrating this all and the rEU merely its satellite

Report coming out now in the form of fucking tweets, apparently.
@faisalislam
The Civil Contingencies Secretariat - the Government’s emergency planning department created in 2001 for floods/ terror/ foot & mouth - has been invoked for No Deal planning “Operation Yellowhammer” acc to document snapped by Steve Back @PoliticalPics

/2 The Civil Contingencies Secratariat held a two day meeting last week to discuss plans/ assumptions - and then there was a further meeting this week on how to mitigate impacts of No Deal Brexit

/3 The Treasury internal document appears to show some doubts about what will happen to “aviation and rail access to the EU” if there is a No Deal Brexit- reaffirming “the need for consistent planning assumptions across plans”

What does that even mean? You can tell this stuff is written by 32 yr olds, on work placement schemes.

Indie have similar story to woman's post,
with screenshot of “Operation Yellowhammer”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/operation-yellowhammer-brexit-photo-eu-rail-access-nodeal-secret-paper-latest-document-a8525506.html

A secret Treasury document has raised questions about “rail access to the EU” after a no-deal Brexit.
...
It warns that government departments will have to make cuts to prepare for crashing out of the EU, saying:
“Their first call should be internal reprioritisation.”

Yellowhammer is also slang for an Ignorant, obviously mentally defective person born of an incestuous relationship.

But hey what do I know ... I'm not allowed to defend myself against meaningless sound bites.

Slopes off...sulking.

Unfortunately, those negotiating the GFA assumed that both the UK and RoI would always remain members of the EU

Unfortunately ? Or Presciently ?

rail access to the EU
Brexit Iron Curtain.

@faisalislam
/4 sharpened writing up on this now
“Remind departments of the need to consider the financial ro[bustness?? ] of commercial firms that play a role in their [No Deal Brexit] contingency plans” — that one, if my inference on missing word is right is v big - ref to ports? Freight?

Surely the Yellowhammer document is a waste of paper. All it needs to say is 'run around like headless chickens' and clear up the mess after the civil war?

DG "unfortunately" because they didn't write in any contingencies to the GFA, to handle this eventulity.

Brexiters - and to be fair probably 70% of England at least - would happily dump NI to get a Brexit deal

However, the GFA could be a useful excuse / figleaf for the govt to climb down at the last moment and sign the WA, then go for EEA / EFTA ...
e.g. "noble Britain has to sacrifice her dreams because of the Irish"

@BigChocFrenzy - but it wouldn't be "for the Irish ". It would be for the UK. And everyone in NI AND GB that has suffered because of terrorism. I live in NW England. We know plenty about IRA terrorism here.

Incidentally, the GFA was flagged as the main reason Camerons bollocks British bill of Rights was doomed to fail. There were several articles at the time noting that the ECHR/HRA had been baked into so much legislation and underpinned all UK treaties that to rip it out would take years. It was generally agreed then that this was another case of all talk and all talk again.

Currently, all the focus is on the GFA, but as a non lawyer, I wonder how many subsequent international agreements have been predicated upon the UK being members of the ECHR ?

"noble Britain has to sacrifice her dreams because of the Irish"
In fairness at least thats a more positive tone than that usual betrayal by the Irish narrative that hits the media quite often. The Irish of course being the usual conflation between NI Brits, NI Irish, NI dual (etc) and ROI Irish. Because that always helps relations

I live in NW England. We know plenty about IRA terrorism here.

I think you'd be safe in the future. It took far too long, and too many lives, but the IRA knows exactly where to hit the UK [government]. And it's not innocent people.

Time was - one bomb in the city was enough to end decades of bloodshed. In this brave, new 'fuck business' 'let's keep fom for goods but not services' world we're living in is there anything the IRA (or anyone) could target that would affect the UK gov?

So they assassinate TM? BJ just shakes their hand and takes over .. and then MG and then JRM.
Unless the IRA can actually blow up their actual money - there isn't anything this shower care enough about to effect change.

So they assassinate TM?

Can't see that. The only good thing about the New World Order (same as the Old World Order - thanks Pete !) is we know is about money and what (and who) money can buy. All else is gewgaws.

It took one bomb threatening the money machine that is the City of London, and there was a peace treaty 5 years later. Meanwhile, the families of the victims of the Birmingham pub bombers are still waiting for the truth.

Res ipsa loquitur

@StevePeers
Indeed, if the ERG is gearing up, with its friends in the xenophobic parts of the press, to argue that one "benefit" of 'no deal Brexit' is to screw over @The3Million and blame the EU for whatever happens to @BritishInEurope, everyone has to be ready to respond to their vileness

Farage's threat to deport the 3 million looks like it is ERG policy.

docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/fc5611_cb15b5bc1cd34cd0af41deae5e4e330e.pdf
Mogg letter^

This is what the anti Jewish folks have done today. Nice. Particularly for Jewish school kids getting the bus.

bellini My point is that is how such a get out could be presented,
not that it had any basis in fact - particularly the "nobility" of this choice

That letter from Mogg makes me feel sick that he is from the same country as me (UK).

My understanding of "fuck business" is that it referred to those plebs - even the CEOs - of businesses who actually manufacture and / or transport goods,

not to the clean-handed upper crust who make money by moving it around mysteriously.
Not to people like Boris, JRM and pals.

I expect a few strategically placed bombs, insurance costs of £ several hundred million each, would drive the UK govt to the negotiating table, just as it did in the 1990s.

Cynical but true:
Without the IRA's City of London bombs, there probably wouldn't have been a GFA
Major financial institutions were threatening to pull out from the City, which would have destroyed it as a major world financial centre

Hardliners like Norman Tebbitt, the Tory righwing - and the DUP - would have insisted the IRA could be militarily defeated and that the UK govt should never negotiate with SInn Fein, release priosners etc.

Well, the above still do insist this - and hence want to cancel the GFA -
but the majority of Tory MPs and almost all MPs of other parties back then demanded peace, rather than lose the City's world financial status

Coming soon to the UK after US trials ... Protesting to be illegal ?

Whenever I think the British hard right and Brexit Ultras can sink no lower ...