Westministenders: Reality Bytes

[RedToothBrush]

Tonight the Corbyn and McDonnell Labour Party supported the Tory Party in improving the tax allowance for higher rate tax payers.

Yes you read that right. Did you even blink?

You've been so conditioned into seeing non existant opposition which seems to go against everything the Labour Party stand for that you no longer are shocked.

That's what 2 and a half years of Brexit has done to you.

You no longer care that Boris Johnson got £14,000 from the Saudis a couple of days before the Khashoggi murder. You know longer care that the former Defence Secretary is employed for £75,000 a year to advise a major Saudi Investor.

You are just happy that Trump hasn't started a war with Iran or North Korea yet. And hasn't started a civil war. (Though he's trying hard and next week is his best opportunity to stir it all up). You aren't surprised to hear that predictions are that the Democrats will fail to make gains in the mid terms.

You've suffered the 4657 story about how Therea May is just about to be challenged for the leadership.

You've heard about the squad set up at the Home Office to clear up all the cases the media get their hands on as the latest burning injustice. You are hearing that EU nationals who have been promised they are 'safe' are being subjected to questions about their right to stay. And you just shrug and say, "Yeah well thats the Home Office for you. The Bastards". And you do mean it, but you are so jaded by it all. And you worry that another 12 months from now, you won't even be interested in another story like that, and the press will stop printing them as they no longer interest the reader. What happens to your friends, your family, or even you then? Who is going to care then?

And then you have today.

A day where you hear that Bannon is being investigated by the Senate Intel Committee, Farage has been upgraded to the FBI's Really Naughty List and Banks has (FINALLY) been refered to the NCA. (We were only speculating on the possibility, on the 26th March...)

And you go 'Ooooooooo maybe there is hope'.

Maybe we COULD remain in the EU and avoid Turnip Soup and wiping your arse with leaves because of the national bog roll shortage. Or at least get a decent deal which suits us as a nation. Maybe, just maybe!

And that lasts for about 2 minutes before you log into twitter and the very first thing you see this:

Tom Newton Dunn @tnewtondunn
Excl: David Cameron tells friends he’d like a return to frontline politics, and fancies Foreign Secretary
www.thesun.co.uk/news/7639377/david-cameron-return-to-politics/

And you let out a high pitched screech as if you are were a dying cat as you remember this is 2018, and it just wants to beat the life out of you.

On the plus side, it shows you do still care enough to think 'Don't let that fucking bastard anywhere near power ever, ever again.'.

Ho hum.

Keep on, keeping on. Don't let the bastards win.
Keep caring. It matters.

I suspect the C of E “working clergy” are relatively liberal/lefty/Remain whereas the politicised upper ranks are otherwise. However as I was brought up Catholic, I’m afraid I’m basing my opinions on the works of Anthony Trollope and (latterly) Phil Rickman.

Oops, see I was wrong about the clergy (just read a pp).
However for spooky reads on cold Autumn nights by the fire, recommend Phil Rickman.

Farmers worried that Government has no plans to store lamb carcasses after no deal Brexit
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000112d
Also lack of adequate Environment Plan.

2 comments by Angiicans under the LSE article on the CofE highlight the religious clash,
which we didn't mention but which imo to some extent causes a widespread English cultural divide from the EU
felt even by many non-religious Leavers :
....
"Another point that Christian Leavers often raise is the design of the EP building in Strasbourg being based on “The Tower of Babel”.

I am at pains to point out Biblically this is incorrect, but it is based on the painting by Pieter Bruegel, which depicts a partially complete Tower of Babel."
....
"Many Anglicans and other Protestants view the EU as a Roman Catholic organisation to which we should not belong and that it’s little better than the politic arm of the RC church.

It should be noted that the other northern European countries feel the same way.

All of them have caused problems for the EU an some are not even members.

It’s the cultural conditioning of the reformed faith with a non-executive ministry which is the root cause of Protestant concerns as this has filtered through to our political thinking.

The RC church has executive priests with a military style chain of command.

This has filtered through to their political thinking.It is easily demonstrated by the attitude of many EU leaders like Juncker, Barneir [sic], Verhosstad [sic] and many others past and present."

.

It drives me mad when people don't RTFT but I've not RTFT so could someone please clarify something for me. Is Theresa saying something like

"Dear EU - if you sign the Withdrawal Agreement, I'll agree to keeping all of the UK in the Custom's Union but once the ink is dry and we're out of the EU, I'll pull the NI backdrop the minute my Party tell me to?"

Mother yes I’ll be writing to TM. But now I’m confused - do the letters have to arrive at Downing St on the 9th or the 12th?

Do you have a link for whoever’s organising this?

My Leave supporting Family in law are all from Cumbria (and just over the boarder in Scotland) very strong military influence in the area. My FIL (well educated and highly read) is certain that the EU are completely at fault and generally a bad thing as he believed EU wants all members to have same army, tax systems and that Germany is to blame for all the immigrants.

No I think you’re right Mother. Post the letters to TM on the 9th.
Scientists for EU, amongst other groups, has been promoting it on FB.

(There’s also Write this Wrong - a follow-up to the People’s March. Write to your MP about a People’s Vote.
www.peoples-vote.uk/write_this_wrong

Der Spiegel columnist giving a German view in the Guárdian:

Attitude in Germany is usually surprise that the UK is being so incompetent.
Prestige built up over several decades has been squandered

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/06/britain-foolish-decline-boris-johnson

“Go with God. But go!”
...
The UK is making a spectacular demonstration of how to make a fool of yourself with the entire world looking on.

What was once the most powerful empire on Earth can’t even find its way to the door without tripping over its own feet.

When Theresa May arrives in Brussels with yet another proposal, you can be sure it won’t be worth the paper it’s written 24 hours later.
She either presents ideas that Brussels has long ago rejected,
her plans have been rejected by her own party,
or Boris Johnson tears them to pieces in his newspaper column.

"Another point that Christian Leavers often raise is the design of the EP building in Strasbourg being based on “The Tower of Babel”.

That is the sort of tripe which those of the more fundamentalist persuasion might come out with.

"Many Anglicans and other Protestants view the EU as a Roman Catholic organisation to which we should not belong and that it’s little better than the politic arm of the RC church.

This sounds like people looking for things to find fault. It seems to overlook the fact that Germany was one of the cradles of the Reformation with Martin Luther.

"Two weeks ago May had a chance to present her ideas for an orderly exit to the other 27 EU heads.
She left them confused, and trying to figure out the meaning of her presentation over dinner.

Angela Merkel indicated that she didn’t really understand what May had said, but that she would ask the Brexit chief negotiator Michel Barnier to explain it to her.

I didn’t make that up; Bloomberg reported it."

Peregrina It is big reason why the DUP has always hated the EU - I remember Paisley Snr, decades ago, making remarks about "rule from Rome"

What was once the most powerful empire on Earth can’t even find its way to the door without tripping over its own feet.

Isn't that the way with all fading Empires? Normally though, we are not the ones living through the collapse, we see remains of Roman villas and nice straight Roman roads, but don't know what it was like when that Empire was fading.

For this letter writing campaign - it will be more effective if lukewarm Leave voters send in letters saying that they have changed their minds.

It is big reason why the DUP has always hated the EU

And like the ERG in May's Cabinet, they are vociferous minority which don't even represent the whole of their own country. This does always leave me puzzled with Grease-Mogg, who is a Catholic and like most UK Catholics, it came by way of Ireland.

Christian Leavers

was it just me that saw than and remembered Onward Christian Soldiers from our days of being force-fed the state religion ? along with He who would Valiant be, and of course Lord of the Dance Settee ?

I may not have paid quite as much attention in assembly as I should have ...

By the way, has anyone seen the Tesco thread in AIBU ?

Interesting some people are suspecting Brexit, and the usual Brexiteer shittering of unicorn dung isn't quite as effective.

For myself, I've noticed Sainsburys have reduced choice and range - (although they've never really been that good at stock control since my Saturday job in the 80s)

Ah Onward Christian Soldiers, where Christ 'Leans against the Foe'. I didn't know what a Foe was but we had something which my DM called a lean-to tacked onto our house, so I imagined him leaning against a wall. Should have been leads of course.

As for Gentiles - we had tiles in the bathroom too, so these must just have been especially decorated tiles.

You say Sainsburys aren't as good DGR. Obviously, that is why Woolworths went down the pan - they hadn't continued to benefit from my expertise.

The thread pretty much spells out why it is: tesco won't pay overtime in Nov because of how much they spend on it in Dec.

Though with profits being squeezed everywhere because of the economy slowing down (or just stalling because of Brexit uncertainty) its possibly more acute than usual.

I also wonder about whether Tesco are struggling, like others, to recruit suitable staff and whether they've lost a lot of workers, particularly overnight shift workers over the past year.

As a side note to that, everyone in our social circle is now openly saying they are currently being more prudent than usual and holding off on big purchases until they know what's going to happen. EVERYONE. If that's happening right across our demographic throughout the country then Christmas is going to be shocking for A LOT of companies.

For this letter writing campaign - it will be more effective if lukewarm Leave voters send in letters saying that they have changed their minds.

I agree Peregrina, although I think the organisers are hoping there’ll be so many letters/postcards, it won’t be possible to read them all.

Daily Mail:

Biggest poll conducted since EU referendum finds 54 per cent would now choose to stay in bloc - but most don’t mind if Brexit means Northern Ireland leaving the UK

Survey of 20,000, largest since 2016 referendum, found swing away from Leave

Respondents would now back staying in the EU by 54 per cent to 46 per cent

The findings could help sway the mood of Labour MPs in backing May's Brexit

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6356637/Biggest-poll-conducted-EU-referendum-finds-54-cent-chose-stay-bloc.html

There are a number of law firms, PR firms and private investigators taking huge amounts of money from the Russian government to act as professional intelligence and influence operators on behalf of Russia in the UK

www.cityam.com/268400/putin-critic-bill-browder-slams-prostitution-uk-firms

All that hard work for 3 years, and 'eye roll girl' has cut to the chase.

Eastbourne and Worthing have swung to remain. The former by 8%.
Cheltenham is 60% remain, but also the NE, and Wales.