Westminstenders: Welcome to 2019

[RedToothBrush]

Welcome to 2019.

Bit of a different thread starter; instead of me speculating what are your predictions for the coming year politically? Will be interesting to see how people are viewing things right now.

How is Brexit going to play out?

Who is going to be framed as the scapegoat for whatever scenario you think likely?

What are going to be the biggest political issues that the media / politicians push (as opposed to what the real issues are)?

What is going to be the most shocking thing that will happen either here or abroad?

What will happen with Trump?

Who will be the next Tory leader and when?

Whats on the cards for the various political parties in general?

Returning to the Venice Tourist Tax (or whatever) ... of course if that starts being repeated across the globe, it's another clear barrier between those that afford it and those that cannot. With those that cannot falling further behind in life opportunities for the future. All smuggled in under the guise of environmentalism.

I am convinced there really exist organisations whose job is to devise ways to sell policies that hurt peoples self interest under another guise.

The land-grab of civil liberties "because" terrorism is probably the gold standard. Allied with Paedosteria (as evinced on this very site).

I will be told I am ridiculous by people who probably have never heard of Goebbels, let alone know what his day job was.

{Goebbels}
Aren't his children known as Gibblets?

Over Xmas I had a LinkedIn "congratulate ex-colleague on work anniversary" email, which I decided to action today. Only when I clicked the link, it had disappeared .... because they've just been made redundant from the (French Owned) company they've been with for 8 years. The whole office is closing. Apparently a couple of people have been kept on to manage the shutdown because they have EU passports so are guaranteed to be able to travel to the Head Office in Paris.

In South Africa, the cost of going into the National Parks (like the Kruger) is significantly more if you are a foreigner than if you are a South African. It us still ridiculously good value though . I think it is only right that the tourists should help the conservation activities.

Iirc, Kenya was the same (21 years years since I was there)

The MEP (a UKIP-per, ex-Tory) was Roger Helmer, who also asked, 'Would he have shown an Argentinian flag during the Falklands war?'

Did anyone ask him whether we were part of a Union with Argentina, or in some sort of alliance with the country? I would imagine, the answer is No, he wasn't asked and No, we never were. They seem to forget that we are part of the EU, that if we don't like the rules the EU makes, it's because we haven't bothered to pull our weight. No one seems bothered about the people who voted Remain, we are all either citizens of nowhere, or apparently non-resident here, according to one poster.

Re tourism - the same differential in price for tourists and residents can also be seen in India.

In fact the more I read about Roger Helmer, the more annoyed I am. The EU is paying your salary chum. Are you going to refuse it, because you don't agree with the organisation? No, of course not.

The hypocrisy of prominent leavers never ceases to astound. When they are not busy moving their money into France, Germany or Ireland, they are busy getting Irish or German passports.

Peregrina, and even more to the point, I think, I bet no one asked him to explain his comparing Brexit negotiations to a war...

www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/foster-will-hold-may-to-legally-binding-changes-to-deal-1.3745349?mode=amp

More of the same really.

Did Helmer whinge about the Queen opening Parliament in a blue hat with yellow flowers?

Aren't his children known as Gibblets?

Sadly he murdered his children - six of them . Got a doctor to give them poison in milk. The eldest suspected what was happening, but calmed the younger ones before taking it herself.

It was one of the more unbearable scenes in Downfall.

That was an actual MP, Andrew Bridgen

Ah yes, the Andrew Bridgen that thought he was entitled to an Irish passport just because he was English

It does not do to leave a Dragon out of your plans if you happen to live near one ....

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-46733174

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the people of Taiwan to accept it "must and will be" reunited with China.

In a speech marking 40 years since the start of improving ties, he reiterated Beijing's call for peaceful unification on a one-country-two-systems basis.

However, he also warned that China reserved the right to use force.

(contd).

Rosetti
China reaffirms that statement every year though

Buteo, indeed, that shining example of intellect

BCF Were your ILs hoping for a sermon on "Hate your neighbour ?"
Quite.

They also think it is wrong to offer social housing in nice developments. Despite some of our family being on benefits.

China reaffirms that statement every year though

As with financial services and political parties, past behaviour is no prediction of future events ....

With a piece I read this morning about the amount the government is paying to private landlords to provide 'social housing' it gets more obvious that things aren't going to improve without something drastic happening.

The thing is, if the UK government is prepared to renege on a deal with the EU, why would it worry about any legal frippery from Arlene ? Something I am sure is now being pointed out to her by the more hotheaded people she knows ...

Are the DUP pursuing a sunk costs (although admittedly not their costs) policy ?

Following all the WW2 chat, Hitler casually signing a non-aggression pact with Stalin springs t mind ....

That’s the Andrew Bridgen who thinks English people are entitled to Irish passports?
I think “think” is the wrong word to describe his mental processes.

Sorry, Xpost with Buteo

Would he have shown an Argentinian flag during the Falklands war?'

How utterly vile! We're not at war! Wanker!

TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) have published the contract for Seaborne Ltd:

https://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:575971-2018:TEXT:EN:HTML&tabId=1

IV.1.1)
Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union in the cases listed below
• Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority and in accordance with the strict conditions stated in the directive

Explanation:

A situation of extreme urgency exists in the context of UK-EU roll-on-roll-off ferry capacity by virtue of the UK leaving the EU on 29.3.2019
and the prospect that this exit may be on a no-deal basis.

This extreme urgency arises from a combination of events, and the anticipated response to those events of a range of entities, including:

1) The possibility of severe congestion at and around UK ports from 29.3.2019, caused by increased border checks by European Union Member States, and consequently a significant reduction in capacity at ports on the short straits. It is anticipated that this could, without further intervention to secure additional ferry capacity, cause delivery of critical goods to be delayed and cause significant wider disruption to the UK economy and to the road network in Kent;

2) The significant lead times that are required to source additional ferry capacity which require action to be taken several months in advance of the capacity being required to be delivered and

3) Unexpected and unforeseeable limitations on the extent to which the market has to date been able to respond to these circumstances by putting in place contingency plans to deal with this scenario.

IV.1.3)
Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
IV.1.6)
Information about electronic auction
IV.1.8)
Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: yes

I was driving home last night and caught this programme on R4 in which Adrian Chiles met up with several leave voters in the West Midlands he had interviewed for Panorama in the run-up to the referendum. Except for the first person, every single one of them said that they would no longer vote leave or object if leaving were abandoned because (a) they had now met a nice man from Poland and realised immigrants weren't all bad (b) it wasn't fair on young people (c) it had been badly handled (d) they didn't realise it would affect their daughter's job at Land Rover. It was striking how everyone was distancing themselves from Leave and talking down their part in the Leave victory.

It was striking how everyone was distancing themselves from Leave and talking down their part in the Leave victory.

And predicted.