Westministenders: Its Really Not Getting Any Better Is It?

[RedToothBrush]

We are STILL on collision course for no deal.

Christmas is here, and whilst we might appreciate the respite from Brexit News, its really a luxury we can't afford.

The meaningful vote is scheduled for January.

Chaos is scheduled for shortly after.

I wish you all a happy and enjoyable Christmas.

Poland is usually a UK ally in the EU, but may be pissed off now:

Sam Coates Times@SamCoatesTimes

More concern at Theresa May’s new migration system

Jakub Krupaa@JakubKrupa*

Poland's largest newspaper of record @gazeta_wyborcza:

Brexit will hit many Poles − under the new immigration system presented on Wednesday they will be more likely to be abused or exploited when working in the UK, warns @MaciasCzarnecki

At this point, focussing on whether or not JC referred to TM as a stupid woman is clearly the priority

There's a bigger point underlying the furore over what JC is alleged to have said.

Parliament is essentially self-regulating, and relies on convention and custom to get business done in a more or less orderly fashion. Recently the Government has been found (repeatedly) in contempt of Parliament in how it has taken forward Brexit. It's never been more important that the customary checks and balances of the Executive's power are being used to their fullest extent. So for the Leader of the Opposition himself to engage in unparliamentary conduct....well, stupid doesn't even begin to come close.

(And that's without unpicking the misogynistic undertones to the comment)

Ciaran Jenkins@C4Ciaran

Conservative Research Council - chaired by former Scottish Tory Vice Chair - broke electoral law by not reporting its £435,000 Brexit donation to DUP
and has been fined by Electoral Commission.

< Brexit, the DUP and dodgy donations again >

Member745520
Thank you.
Having watched an episode I am not sure if I feel better or worse now.

Jo Maugham QC Retweeted Rachel Salvidge@RachSalv

"A senior civil servant working inside the Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) wrote to me earlier of what they are calling D1ND (Day One No Deal):

* “however bad it looks from the outside it is a thousand times worse from the inside.”*

D1ND is a thousand times worse than it seems shocker. Everyone with even an iota of common sense knows that is the case.

Olennas exceptbthat you haven’t had the same furror about contempt of Parliament than you’ve had about JC. And how bad this is in a democracy relying in the good will and customs of the MPs.

I mean even in France you are getting info about JC saying ‘stupid woman’.

But so little about the fact nearly no one actually turned up to discuss No Deal preparations....
Or very little about the white paper in immigration and how our ministers seem to think that less than £30k is a low skill, low wage job (let’s forget that the average wage is about £25k) etc...

So YY about the importance of the customs to keep the HoC and the democracy working. As long as it applies to everything including the really important stuff. Not just little details. Because that comment IS a detail compare to the repeated contempt to the Parliament from the government

If JC had had anything useful to contribute to the situation , I would almost feel sorry for him. But he hasn't. He's done his characteristic stunt of sitting and watching on beatifically or making pointless interventions. So something mildly interesting happens in Corbyn world and the press jump on it. Tough shit, mate.

Peston
@itvpeston
@AmberRuddHR
says that although it isn’t her first option, she can see a situation where there would be a plausible argument for a People’s Vote. #Peston

mobile.twitter.com/itvpeston/status/1075490705873596417

Beth Rigby
@BethRigby
@AmberRuddHR
said it as a backbencher, huge that she is saying it now as a senior cabinet figure. And directly contradicts May’s My Deal or No Deal narrative. No 10 will be furious

Pretty sure No10 have been directing Amber Rudd's comments over the last week. There is a 2 pronged attack. 1) scare Hard Leavers with threat of 2nd Ref / No Brexit 2) scare Soubry and co with threat of Hard Brexit

Hope is both factions will "compromise" on WA. Pretty sure Beth Rigby and co are well aware of the strategy so Sky News acting as the Tory Govt propaganda machine as per.

Respectable businessman with a < gasp > Muslim-sounding name who knows the Labour candidate:
Kippers looking for votes in a GE campaign ==> call him a paedo

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/ex-bristol-ukip-chairman-must-2345314.amp?twitterr_impression=true

A^ "completely innocent" businessman has won £40,000 damages from the former chairman of the Bristol UKIP branch over a tweet which falsely accused him of child grooming.^
Zahir Monir, 39, of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, brought libel proceedings at London's High Court against Steve Wood, who was also the UKIP candidate for Bristol South at the May 2015 general election.

Mr Monir sued over a Tweet posted on the Bristol UKIP Twitter account — three days before the General Election on May 4, 2015.
....
It featured a photo of Mr Monir and another individual standing either side of Labour MP Sarah Champion, with the statement:
"Sarah Champion labour candidate for Rotherham stood with 2 suspended child grooming taxi drivers DO NOT VOTE LABOUR".

howabout I don't think May is directing ministers according to a cunning plan

• she has never been in control of her Cabinet

Her ministers are all running in random circles saying different things, i.e. in blue-arsed fly mode

The run up to No Deal is squeaky bum time for Tories

A different view of the EU No Deal contingency plans

Robert Pestonn@Peston*

This is surely the story of today:

the EU Commission's decision to take steps that would only minimally reduce the economic and lifestyle shocks of a no-deal Brexit.

Has something happened that has prevented it leading the news?
And who is to blame if so?

Are these Brexiters outside the HoC giving Nazi salutes ? 😳

After 2.5 years of one peaceful harmless Remainer standing behind everyone being interviewed,
Brexiters suddenly twigged that standing outside Parliament could get themselves on the telly.

Problem is those Brexit demonstrators are thugs:
they've been continually harassing MPs & journalists with racist calls, insults and threats

Look like Nazi salutes to me. I'm not liking the way any of this is headed. I can't see the extreme right getting anything except more powerful as a result of any kind of Brexit. When people have nothing to lose they do extreme things.

Between the signs and the Nazi salutes is there no way for these two to be done under either hate speech or disturbing the peace?

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Sorry, not a particularly erudite post there.

I was wondering today about the House of Lords - all the focus has been on the way MPs would vote in the meaningful vote, but surely this is something that then has to go through the House of Lords too? Presumably it won't there either? Or they could put through amendments that would have to go back to the Commons?

Or is what we're talking about different in some way?

@BigChocFrenzy

I do worry a little bit about the safety of Steve Bray with the far right about.

@BigChocFrenzy

Do you have a link to the newspaper that picture is from?

kenn me too

From Twitter:

"Migs (@mfemigs):
I am a trained lip reader, and can categorically state that Jeremy Corbyn actually said "Stop murdering homeless people, pensioners and the poor with your policies designed to appease the fascists in your party" #PMQs"

kenn It was from a retweet by Ian Dunt:

mobile.twitter.com/IanDunt
mobile.twitter.com/MikeStuchbery_/status/1075448896791474176

The "cunning" Brexiter plan - Prits Patel's - to bully Ireland, must have finally bit the dust:

An Irish minister was asked on C4 news if Ireland faced a food shortage after a No Deal Brexit.

He replied that Ireland, population 4.8 million, produced enough food to feed 35 million

He didn't add that the UK, population 65 million, produces only half of its own food and it imports 30% from the EU:

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201719/ldselect/ldeucom/129/12904.htm

btw, I often hear that the Uk imports 30% of its food
WRONG: that's just what it imports from the EU

Now think what happens if ports are logjammed ....