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.

So are the options to have a border in the Irish sea, no deal or norway+? It feels like the eu are spoon feeding/nudging us towards the least disastrous option while waiting for domestic politics to fail to catch up again.

As for foreign languages, I think the British school system is very quirky in its approach. I know several of my peers have only basic French, with maybe a year of Spanish or German. At my own school we were automatically entered for French, regardless of interest or ability. If you wished to carry on with German you had to do it in addition, and due to ridiculous time tabling this meant only being able to do history or geography alongside. Thankfully I can now learn German as an adult on my phone, while clutching my RE GCSE certificate to my bosom.

Awoke early for some reason and noticed this. Lord knows why I keep being bothered about stuff in the Tory graph. Our esteemed leader or her advisers make me soooo angry.

I've always been in two minds about another ref as I don't trust the great British public now.

However what other choice is there to try and minimise the damage? Hundreds of thousands of us including many politicians demonstrated sling for a further vote on the detail- It is not democratic for the prime minister to pontificate unilaterally to shut down that debate and that avenue.

"There will be no compromises on Chequers that are not in our national interest
The coming months will be critical in shaping the future of our country and I am clear about my mission. This government will fulfil the democratic decision of the British people by ensuring that the UK leaves the European Union on 29th March next year – and that as we do so, we build a stronger, more meritocratic Britain that is fit for the future.
At Chequers in July, the government came together around a set of proposals that could break the deadlock on the negotiations and bring a fresh dynamic to the talks. And there are signs over the Summer that this has happened, with real progress in the negotiations"

1. Why write an article for a newspaper at all? Why the Torygraph? Is this letter in other papers? Who is she speaking to? It's like unilateral electioneering when there isn't an election.

1. What is she frightened of? If she believes in Brexit/ Chequers then she should act like a stateswoman and be prepared to put her money where her mouth is. If Chequers is the right thing then defend it by oration,debate and a vote.

1. Chequers isn't accepted by the EU anyway.

1. Britain was far stronger before this mess. What is she on about - a stronger Britain? Are we back to strong and stable? To be strong try and reclaim our position as a leader at the EU table then.

1. What's all this greater meritocracy? Is that replacing democracy? What on Earth has that to do with the EU? Is she saying that she wants more economic power to go to the U.K. elite on the basis of achievement and to make it easier for those who achieve less to fall by the wayside? Also in a meritocracy race should be irrelevant- yet in Britain she seems to support race being very relevant.

I don't want to live in a society whereby the prime minister tries to rule by circumventing parliamentary process. I don't want a country where the government appeals Court cases to try and avoid votes.

Also where has all this issuing of letters, edicts and lectures from the lectern outside number 10. It has echoes of leaders dropping propaganda from aeroplanes... or the virtual equivalent

It's like some tinpot dictatorship. ( Checked the definition- autocratic ruler with little political credibility, but with self-delusions of grandeur.)

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/09/01/will-no-second-referendum-brexit-would-gross-betrayal-democracy/

'Seeking' not ' sling'.

Sorry - just cross about TMs letter aimed at ?? the Conservative readership?

What's this bit about?

"They will also end freedom of movement – and do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Provisions for limited mobility arrangements are commonplace in other trade agreements. In the same way our proposed “framework for mobility” is simply a way of supporting a trading relationship. With our Brexit plan, the era of unfettered access to the UK – and our benefits system – will be over. Britain will finally control its own borders."

"Neither will I give in to those who want to re-open the whole question with a second referendum. In the Summer of 2016, millions came out to have their say. In many cases for the first time in decades, they trusted that their vote would count; that after years of feeling ignored by politics, their voices would be heard.

To ask the question all over again would be a gross betrayal of our democracy – and a betrayal of that trust.

But repaying that trust is about more than a good Brexit deal. It is also about responding to the wider call for change that was at the heart of the Brexit vote.So as we negotiate a bold new partnership with the European Union, we will continue vital work at home to build an economy that works for everyone and a true meritocracy where the chances you have in life no longer depend on who you are or where you come from.
Too often in the Westminster bubble, people forget that for many working people in Britain, life is hard. But I want people to know they can count on this government to act on their side."

I know it's not etiquette to post several times but I want some one to wake up and tell me what this letter is about.

I am now wondering if between the lines it's prepping for BINO concessions on Chequers or a softer Brexit.

DH thinks it's prepping us for an extension of time leading to BINO but I don't see an extension being agreed across all member states.

I think it means "feck knows what will actually happen. We are trying. We do understand people have strong utterly unrealistic expectations and when we get dumped you can't say we didn't try in a lame arsed kind of way".

It's just May giving out meaningless drivel.
No change there.
She is trying, via the Torygraph, to calm her party members & activists - who are mostly batshit Ultras - so they don't hammer her at the party conference next month.

All that matters re a deal is whether she - or possibly her successor as PM - sign the Withdrawal Agreement before time runs out.

That could theoretically happen up to EOY, but by EOM the EU may feel the need to very publically tell their businesses & other organisations to prepare for no deal.
That final prepping would add to the billions already spent by the E27, so it would make no deal 90% certain.

Under A50, to grant an extension:

• the UK govt officially asks for it - the EU can't do this unilaterally
• the 27 EU members would have to agree unanimously - any member can veto it

The EU needs Brexit out of the way, to deal with other urgent issues
They will NOT agree an extension if they think the UK govt will continue its present red lines that block a deal.

Both Leavers and many Remainers think the EU will wait endlessly for the UK - in particular the Tory party - to decide between red lines and a deal.
Wrong.

The EU probably think now that the UK needs to first crash out on 29 March and experience a few months reality check,
before the national unicorm delusions dissolve and a deal can be done.

May holds the title of Prime Minister but her head is still in the Home Office.

In the technical document the German industry leaders sent out several months ago with nearly 10 pages of 'tick list statements and questions' pointing out the areas they need to have looked at WHEN there is a no deal is interesting.
As an afternote almost it suggests that things might not be so bad but prepare anyway and it will be a bonus if it doesn't.
Maybe the letter in the Torygraph is just her bedside notes so she can remember what her plan is supposed to be. All that d/p rancing must be quite tiring.
Has she struck a 'promisery' deal with the African country with the mind to remove white farmer land owners from the land?

Is 'Home Office' another word for sand or is there a more sinister meaning?

She is trying, via the Torygraph, to calm her party members & activists - who are mostly batshit Ultras - so they don't hammer her at the party conference next month.

Ah yes. This makes sense.

After a quick glance through this mornings UK papers it is reinforcing my view that I don't want to go back to Britain despite being British white and having been born and lived there all my life, over 55 years.
This Government, perhaps more than most is destroying the country. Mrs May's 'Hostile environment' is I presume a deterrent to reduce the immigration. It is certainly working.

On another thread, I noticed the most succinct distillation into one single question which is the ultimate moron-trap for Leavers/Brexiteers. (It's effectiveness lies in it's pretty much stopped debate ).

It quite simply to get Leavers to acknowledge that they voted to remove fundamental existing rights from everyone in the UK.

I'm amazed I've not seen it put that plainly myself .

It's a nice line, as it's short - even the most braindead Brexiteer can hear to the end of it. It's true (not that it matters where Brexiteers are concerned). And most of all, it's irrefutable. It also serves as the foundation of the reason that Remainers are still and so angry over the result. It's certainly telling that some Leavers (it slips into these threads at times) can't believe why Remainers haven't "got over it", and when the odd Leaver grasps the reason(s) they finally get why the Brexit split will outlive them. And me. And you. And now they are wondering how to undo that.

If nothing else, I suspect culturally there's every chance that England will become a much more timid nation, politically ? Which again, leads to a nice, supine population.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/theresa-mays-team-discussed-snap-13179791

forgive the tabloid link

May's aides have discussed a snap election if checquers plan gets voted down. First time I've seen it reported as a factual possibility not rumour.

It's fascinating how Brexiteers view Theresa May as a Remainer, whilst I (admittedly using a few more brain cells) think she is a dyed in the wool Brexiteer.

I don't think she's either. My view of her is coloured by the fact that she was 20 in 1976. She was in her early 20s when Thatcher came to power and her mid-20s when the SDP was splitting the left-wing vote/attempting to reclaim the centre (according to your view) and is mainly motivated by the belief above all that the country should avoid Labour governments. I think she is primarily a negative politician who sees her role as blocking the space that otherwise would be taken up by a left-wing prime minister. Her motivation is keeping the Tories in power. Full stop. she will do whatever it appears to take to do that. I should think her own actual positive views could probably be summarised by 'debt is slavery, Church of England, liberty, girl jobs, boy jobs, erm, will this do?'

I think the year people turn around 20 is always significant. I was 20 in 1989. The year the Berlin Wall fell, that Eastern Europe threw off the shackles of dictatorship and joyfully began the road to the EU. My view of the EU is always going to be coloured by that; OF COURSE I'm a remainer.

www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/plymouth-council-first-issue-brexit-1946966

Plymouth City Council has become the first local authority in the UK to issue a legal challenge to the Government over Brexit.

Labour and council leader Tudor Evans is pioneering the use of new legal powers to force the Government to "reveal the truth" about the impact leaving the EU will have on Plymouth.

Councillor Evans is invoking the Sustainable Communities Act to make the Government share what it knows about what Brexit will mean for the city, even if it is considered confidential.

In a letter to James Brokenshire MP Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Councillor Evans invokes the Act to demand: “Immediate receipt by Plymouth City Council of all government departmental information and analysis pertaining to the impacts upon Plymouth’s communities and businesses of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, including any information deemed by the government to be confidential.”

Plymouth is believed to be the first council in the country to use the Act, set up to allow councils to challenge the Government to help the economic, social or environmental well-being of a local area, in this way.

(contd)

I turned 20 in 1973 I lived mostly abroad, because England (in particular) was so horrible.

DG May is neither a Remainer nor a Leaver, merely an opportunist
It is far more obvious in Boris, because he didn't use to bother hiding his ambivalence towards the EU.

Many MPs have no strong preference either way about the EU, merely a strong preference for their own career and for their own party,
so will do whatever best suits those prefs.

More ill-informed and emotional anti-Brexit, anti-democratic whining from remainer losers.

Soros is getting good value from you lot, isn't he?

I really don't know why you bother. We are leaving the EU, now more likely than ever on WTO terms, which will be fine for us if not for the EU.

And if May does manage to foist a BRINO on the country, my advice is stand clear because all hell will break loose.

I spent my 20th birthday alone at uni (hermit Aspie) and 1 minute after midnight I said to myself
"Shit, now I'm old"

That was 1977 and the significant event was Spain holding its first democratic elections since the 1930s, when there was a civil war, after which Franco came to power

This was shortly after democracy returned to Greece and Portugal as well.

So, an encouraging time with the end to 3 fascist dictatorships in Western Europe that had lasted for decades.

Such a shame that many people now have forgotten - or never learned - that some West European countries suffered fascist dictatorship, lasting decades after WW2.

Do schools mention these fascist dictatorships at all; explain the crimes they committed against their own citizens ?
So many people only seem to know history they learned in school; never seem to pick up anything else as general knowledge, to better understand the world about them.

Lost decades of repression, suppression of dissent, of trade unions, long-lasting economic & social damage, all those tortured & murdered by a fascist state
... and now new idiots think fascism will improve the lives of ordinary people like them ;
that it's a good idea to beat down the liberals and abandon human rights; to give power to the super-wealthy hard right.

WTO terms will be far worse for the Uk than the EU,
in the short, medium and long term

No country in the world trades solely on WTO terms.
All other countries are trying to join and create trade blocs, not leave them.

Brexit Ultra JRM claims we will see the advantages of Brexit ... in 50 years time !

There is a damn good reason why the Tories are tearing themselves apart over Brexit, instead of immediately going for WTO
and it's certainly not because more than a handful of Tory MPs give a shit about the EU.:

It's because they fear jumping the UK economy over the cliff will keep them out of power for a generation
and keep Labour in power - outside EU rules, able to nationalise and raise taxes to totally transform the UK in their image.

The rightwing media oligarchs might manage to blame Labour for Brexit somehow, but it will be tricky when the Tories own Brexit.

and keep Labour in power - outside EU rules, able to nationalise and raise taxes to totally transform the UK in their image.

This is why I really, really, really don't trust Corbyn. The Tories think they've been ever so clever by sneaking loads of unprecedented powers onto the statute books, without imagining it may not be them that get to wield them.