Westminstenders: Operation Yellowhammer 1q

[RedToothBrush]

Boris Johnson is clearing the decks for a leadership challenge.

I guess that means that the Brexit we get all depends on what George, Michael and Boris decide over lunch and how good Operation Yellowhammer is.

There was a time @Hazardswan when I would be in high dudgeon about that post. Now I'm in the "do what you have to do for you and yours" camp on healthcare.

The EU really should have got the migration issue looked at many years ago, it would have saved a lot of heartache and lives. Interesting comments about being partners in Africa rather than aid donations.

The problem is some of that migration is being driven by the actions of some EU members. Which suggests the UK might be in an interesting dynamic with the EU once it's fucked off. Maybe de Gaulle was right after all

bell the private healthcare suggestion? Yup, with you it's horrible. Hand on heart DP would have died without going private, the GP seemed happy to watch. I think if your in the funded south east (who in some areas have access to cancer treatment in france and supposedly that will continue post brexit) your fine atm. Elsewhere it's time to sell your principles

Bit of meming going on ...

Principles & goals are fine, Hazard, Bellini but imo, look out for yourselves & your family; get private insurance / private treatment if you can afford it

I decided on private insurance in the 1980s, the last time the NHS waiting lists were so bad
< funny, after several years of a Tory PM with economic advisor Minford >

I had to pay for 3 ops for my late mum within a few years : cataracts, knee replacement, foot surgery
Without all of them she would have been waiting in pain and housebound for 2 years+

I also realised I had to sign up when young & healthy, after finding my mum was uninsurable
I've no family to pay for my bills, so I'm glad I made that decision before it was too late

Gosh, what would they have looked like if their side had lost?

Cheering, no doubt, because Leave was supposed to lose, so that Johnson could ride in and replace Cameron.

mrs sorry you've had to fork out already.

Just a note for future reference if any one needs it, if your going private RESEARCH the shit out of what's wrong with you, half work out what you think it is and then find the best EXPERT (yeah them pesky experts again ) specialist. 9/10 the best expert will be London based. Enjoy the travelling for miles while poorly it's a delight

Your NHS GP will usually happily refer you privately to anyone you want, to "put your mind at ease" they won't accept the standard of care is the reason your seeking private care.

That was definitely the aim.

His horrified look the next morning and his reluctance to stand for leader proved that.

He was singing the praises of the EU and immigration as Mayor of London, basically he is a political chameleon, changing his colours to suit the situation.

choc thank heavens you got yourself covered young. Sure your mum appreciated you looking after her so well

You may not even need a referral for some ailments, other than to save time and have a recommended specialist.

Some years ago, I asked a nurse chum if she knew a good eye specialist, she asked her colleagues and gave me a name in Harley St
I just phoned there and made an appointment

They didn't need any referral or even previous exams - did their own

I didn't even have a GP, as I'd just finished a contract abroad

hazard It's another example of how a bit of disposable money / savings gives you choices
and if you're poor, you just have to suck it up and suffer

Same as when she eventually needed a care home and then a nursing home:
the private homes I researched and found were far better - facilities, staff retention & qualifications etc - than the state ones that she would have had on her tiny pension

She had always worked hard, but contrary to popular MN beliefs, that is often not enough

www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/financial-crisis-millennials-hit-hardest-uk-workers-earnings-wages-gdp-ifs-a8533761.html

A concise review of the last 10 years under a Tory government

We should never stop reminding ourselves just what an astonishing decade we have just lived through, and continue to live through,” the IFS said in its report.

“The UK economy has broken record after record, and not generally in a good way: record low earnings growth, record low interest rates, record low productivity growth, record public borrowing followed by record cuts in public spending.

“On the upside employment levels are remarkably high and, in spite of how it may feel, the gap between rich and poor has actually narrowed somewhat, but the gap between old and young has grown and grown. With public debt twice its pre crisis level, economic growth remaining sluggish and the population ageing rapidly there will be no shortage of tough decisions over the coming decade.”

I would add re high level of unemployment that it’s emplomentnwith wages that don’t allow you to actually live on them. The working poor...

With such evaluation of the results of the Tories, how can anyone want to vote for them?

The cost of Brexit (even if we end up with a norvegian style arrangement) is to add to that.

This is very scary. It basically looks like the UK is slowly but surely going down the world ranking to become a Not so developed country afterall.

More on Juncker's keynote speech to the EP:

https://in.reuters.com/article/eu-juncker-highlights/highlights-junckers-state-of-the-union-speech-to-european-parliament-idINKCN1LS14N

“We respect the British decision to leave our Union, even though we continue to regret it deeply.”

“But we also ask the British government to understand that someone who leaves the Union cannot be in the same privileged* position as a member state.*

If you leave the union, you are of course no longer part of our single market, and certainly not only in the parts of it you choose.”

“The European Commission, this Parliament and all other 26 member states will always show loyalty and solidarity with Ireland when it comes to the Irish border.

This is why we want to find a creative solution that prevents a hard border in Northern Ireland.”

Can I just add, my dad has had surgery twice in the last couple of years. All under private health.
In one case, his gallbladder that was ‘fine’ was riddled with infection. He was actually quite poorly.
The second time, the lump that was absolutely nothing turned out cancer. (GP refused to have a biopsy done....)

Due to the work I do, I see plenty of people in need of NHS care. The situation is scary. Very scary. People who have investigation for cancer waiting for the test to be done or the results to be back. Others that need proper treatments are fobbed off and sent back to the GP.
Essential treatments not done.

Atm I agree that a private insurance is essential, esp if you think you might need some care in the future (family, niggles etc)

I lost a dear friend to cancer a few years back:

The NHS kept telling her it was an ovarian cyst, a non-urgent op that could wait.
I kep trying to persuade her to go private - she was pretty well off, but had great faith in the NHS

She waited nearly a year in increasing pain, her stomach blowing up to a huge size, until she was eventually blue-lighted to hospital for an emergency op
That's when they discovered the cancer, far too late

I don't know if early removal would have saved her, but at least the final months might not have been so miserable

George Turner @georgenturner
Oh look - the ERG are proposing that Northern Ireland stays in the single market for agricultural goods.

www.scribd.com/document/388422435/European-Research-Group-plans-for-Irish-border-and-Brexit
European Research Group plans for Irish border and Brexit

bangs head on wall

I've seen kids negotiating dividing a bag of sweets better than this.

lisa o'carroll @lisaocarroll
BREAKING: ERG say Barnier must listen more to people in Northern Ireland. "It is now accepted that the EC has made a major error in taking advice on matters relating to island of Ireland almost solely from Dublin.
"It must seek to learn more from respected voices in N Ireland"

David Allen Green @davidallengreen
Northern Ireland voted against Brexit.

Sam @Sam_Fitzgerald7
Barnier has met every political party in Northern Ireland, multiple times

Though my story isn't anywhere near as awful as some on here - to those of you who've lost or watched/cared for those who've suffered - a private Gynae sorted me out. It was NHS care farmed out to private btw, which though I have many issues with I'm eternally grateful to the Dr who did sort me out. I'd been fobbed off for years by NHS gynaes, tried all the hormonal treatments offered, nothing helped. The private Dr gave me an internal ultrasound, which I'd never had before, found my problem instantly and ranted something about it being awful it hadn't been done as its fairly standard.

In all honesty I wish an NHS gynae had done it years before as it would have saved the NHS a lot of money overall.

Watching the live ERG announcement. Where’s Johnson? Why is he distancing himself from this.

Ian Dunt @IanDunt
You can skip to page 12 of the document by the way - there's nothing of any pertinence before then
Ah there we are, only ever a matter of time. Trusted traders. Question is: How do you know who is a trusted trader? For that you need to do checks, whether electronically or in person. And that means.... wait for it... a border.
This is the Border 2.0 repot which this is based on constantly mentions 'gates' and 'systems'. In other words: a border.
As Paul Mac Flynn, senior economist at the Nevin Economic Research Institute, said: "If [gates] are not a border fortification, I do not know what is."
A reminder. The backstop Britain signed up to guarantees complete invisibilit: no posts, no infrastructure, no guards, no CCTV.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45495960?ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_mchannel=social&ocid=socialflow_twitter&ns_source=twitter
Brexit: Tory MPs say technology key to avoiding hard Irish border

When is a border, not a border? When the BBC do journalism like this.

Labour Whips @labourwhips
Jacob Rees-Mogg and the right wing Tories auctioning off the country live on TV

I’ve been seriously thinking about private health insurance. Unfortunately I think it will be expensive for me due to family history. The NHS as currently operated is a cause for concern.