Westministenders: Teetering on the edge

[RedToothBrush]

12 weeks to go.

There is rising confidence in the Extreme Brexiteer camp as well as open comments about how they can deliberately force through No Deal. Remember No Deal is the default. Every political crisis that takes up time makes no deal more likely and the ERG can just be obstructive to facilitate a political crisis. Parliament DO NOT have the ultimate power to stop Brexit - unless the government effectively allow an option to do so. And there is no sign May will let this ever happen. No Deal takes us back to pre-industrial revolution Britain in many social and economic ways. Which will please Jacob Rees-Mogg no end.

No Deal prep is now costing us a fortune - and is no where near sufficient in its scope. Won't someone think of all the extra that could have been put into the NHS.

Parliament returns next week. I hope you have enjoyed your Christmas break. What will happen in 2019 no one knows; the only certainity is turbulance and lurching from crisis to crisis. If we don't get hit by Brexit, maybe it will be the US shutdown crisis or the collaspe in the Chinese economy that will get us. Economists are nervous and thats generally not a good thing for the average person on the street.

Time to get in the euros, stock up on the tomatoes, invest in books and otherwise batten down the hatches financially whilst we await the coming storm in the hope that the forecasters are as good as Michael Fish in 1987.

You know things can get worse because you have family history! You know where your ancestors were for the last century! You also have the education to be able to understand that and the time to keep it up. Do you not see how fortunate that makes you? There is a tendency in Britain for the middle classes to see themselves as ordinary. Thatcher, the grocer's daughter is described as ordinary, as is Theresa May the vicar's daughter. So was Kate Middleton, fgs. From my background, that is the middle classes. Some of the problem is that Britain is just too large, and none of us fully appreciate how many levels there are beneath us. We use 'lower, middle, upper', but that cannot begin to describe how many levels there are in this hierarchy. Then you can chuck in feminism as well and things do get very complicated very quickly.

Ah yes, those useful six tests. Thank goodness your MP has a handle on things.
I got similar from mine.

Oh dear, I'm actually quite upset at seeing posters I respect make devisive statements. We should all stay united in our values and aims, which is that we all want the welfare state and parliamentary democracy to survive the current upheavals. On top of everything else, there is currently a nasty anti women narrative that likes to put the blame on us. I don't think that's leclerc intention but it's very easy to slip into that blame game in that toxic climate.
FWIW I had my first child in my teens. It was not easy. You wouldn't believe the contempt I had to face for my choice. I had to climb the ladder from a very low point. That birth almost killed me incidentally. I wasn't given painkillers after an emergency C section and told my difficulties breastfeeding were down to me being too precious. Lost 4 stones in 3 weeks and severe pnd. And then of course the constant assumption from everyone I would amount to nothing.
That's not even a particularly extreme example, I know of others having had it much worse.

Thank you Cat the rant continues now with slurs on me , distortions of facts , ignoring of evidence etc but it’s the “stand by Corbyns back whatever that bothers me . As Bigly I think said, no one should above criticism..

Watching the amusing and fascinating Kenn Dodd biopic shown over Christmas, reminded me of how individualistic Liverpool and it's folk are. Which simple leaves me slightly baffled that any Labour supporters from that neck of the woods could countenance their party voting with the Tories. Over anything.

For me, that's one of the weirder things about Brexit.

Dc born prem used a 'billyblanket' to sort out jaundice. Great for a day or so until it was taken for an even more 'prem' baby as they only had one unit.
I was eating at the hospital 'canteen' and the food was quite decent.
DW received the same meals after it it had been on a heated trolley for 2 hours by which time it was getting pretty grim.
Lack of basic humanity is another thread running through all of this.
A former colleague went to work as a maintenance technician at a 'private' hospital in Brum and his comment was that although the private hospital had nice carpets and flowers etc, it was a lot of 'show' and the Xray and other hi tech equipment was not up to NHS standards (25 years ago).

Oh dear, I'm actually quite upset at seeing posters I respect make devisive statements.

Calm down ! Calm down !

Hopefully we're all wearing our "it's the internet" glasses ? Where nuance and inflection are absent ....

I also know of many others who have life far worse than I ever have. I support remain. But pretending the divisions don't exist won't help anyone, or so I think. If you say that pointing them out is itself divisive, what're your ideas for dealing with them?

I always have my internet glasses to hand... . No one ever knows everything about anyone anyway.

I always have my internet glasses to hand...

Mine are nearly 35 years old

LeClerc if you were SAHD all those years, then you did get shafted not being designated the RP
I expect your OH took over for a couple of years before the breakup ?

Generally women fare worse than men after divorce and in times of economic recession and NHS cutbacks, ditto People of Colour compared to white Brits

However, such generalisations can overlook a great deal of pain for the minority of untypical cases, in which the supposedly more "privileged" suffer as much or more

What is the point of this lorry business? Come no-deal, will lorries be swanning merrily up and down between Ramsgate and Dover? Perhaps they should have held some mock customs inspections as that's what will actually cause the delays.

I was only referring to one particular comment about women.
There are severe divisions in our society indeed and women are still not treated as equals in my opinion so I think that's why we all need to focus on important values that are under threat. Sorry, perhaps my post was too unclear or i misread . I'm sleep deprived at the moment too...

@DGRossetti - Liverpool voted Remain. Regardless of any Corbynite fuckwittery.

Tick Tock: 81 days to Brexit

If the WA is signed, the EU would - in their own interests - grant an A50 extension to pass the additional necessary legislation,
but if No Deal happens, we are screwed even worse by some prepping being blocked.

Only Revoke enables us to "Take back control"

Sam Coates Times@SamCoatesTimes

Commons legislation

Aside from the Withdrawal and Implementation Bill (WAIB), the fate of two bills worry ministers more than any other

1. The trade bill (needed for trade in no deal)
2. The finance bill (needed by Autumn to fund government activity)

Watch these two closest...
......
Adam Bienkovv@AdamBienkov*

Theresa May’s spokesman asked what legislation needs to pass through parliament before Brexit day,replies:

The Trade Bill,
Agriculture Bill,
Fisheries Bill,
Healthcare Bill,
Immigration Bill,
Financial services Bill.

Oh, and the Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill.

Apparently in addition to ferries not existing, Ramsgate itself does not have the facilities to deal with them anyway, or so someone says www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46774054 . Corruption or incompetence? Jury out.

I did hear that Ramsgate needs dredging, and a Dutch company have got the contract.

metro.co.uk/2019/01/03/dutch-firm-dredges-ramsgate-port-prepare-no-deal-brexit-8304916/

So much for "we can do it" .

DG I am continually shocked by the discrimination & disadvantage that those with disabilities suffer
Without you to fight for her, your DW - and your son - would suffer so much more
So at least you know you have made a major difference to your family.

Horrible for your DW to be given the impression that she was considered unworthy of DC
Eugenics in action ... and likely to get much worse with No Deal and the consequently fewer resources

DangermousesSidekick

Not just Ramsgate but Plymouth too, it hasn't the road infrastructure or port facilities to handle 100s of extra lorries, Milbay is in the city centre and in the heart of new build flats as part of a regeneration project.
It has one customs checkpoint and 3 passport booths, with no room to expand, it can take 1.5 to 2 hours to empty a full ferry in the summer now.

Good grief. Whichever side of the fences you're on, one thing is for sure: the UK is not prepared for this and needs more time. So much has been run down.

....however, i believe all of this is political theater, there is no real intention to actually use these Ports.
Immingham perhaps is the one that makes perfect sense regardless of brexit.

The New extension to the port of Liverpool (Liverpool 2) has capacity for more containers than its currently handling. However:

Peel Ports announced in July 2017 that it was proceeding with the expansion and that planning work had started to bring the remaining three Megamax and ten CRMG cranes to the port. The work also involves the installation of additional reefer points to allow the port to handle a greater quantity of refrigerated containers. The expansion is estimated to be completed in 2019.

An upgrade to the Canada Dock Branch was announced in May 2016 that would allow up to forty eight trains a day to visit the port. Upgrade of the line is expected to be complete by 2019. Consideration is also being given for improved road access to the terminal, from the M57 motorway junction at Switch Island, in order to ease the expected HGV congestion.

Note the word 'considering'.

www.independent.co.uk/voices/no-deal-brexit-theresa-may-chris-grayling-m20-fake-traffic-jam-a8715351.html

And here's the Tom Peck article. I hope he enjoyed his MickyD's while writing it.

Thatcher's father employed staff and was an Alderman, so was something of a big cheese in the town and a Vicar would have had status in the community. The Middletons have made money, so I suppose are nouveau riche. All of these may be middle class, but not quite in the ordinary run even of the middle classes.

It particularly irks me when people try to claim that Thatcher came from a working class background - she happened to have passed the scholarship for her grammar school, but if she hadn't Alderman Roberts would have paid to send her there.

Bellini that Article is hilarious. That woman in the fiat will be famous before the day is out!