Westminstenders: Red Squirrels are British. Groundhogs are not.

[RedToothBrush]

Well the good news is we haven't got a GE yet, and it looks unlike one will be called this week. Purely because we haven't got a crisis point looming this week.

May has officially confirmed plan A is plan B. But says she will try and get more on the backstop whilst working with the DUP. Barnier and Ireland have said 'no'

We now prepare for the Meaningful Vote II.

And a week of speculation about amendments.

Here's a quick summary of likely ones:
Guardian Article on possible amendments

I think the Labour one will struggle to gain Tory support. The big thing about it is leans the party line firmly towards a customs union.

The Grieve one is handicapped by talk of a minority of 300 taking control of Parliament. Otherwise it might have support.

The two most interesting are:

The Benn 'Indicative Vote' as its reflective of the Brexit Select Committee recommendations.

The Cooper-Boles Block No Deal amendment which is cross party and seeks to place a final date on May passing her deal by 26th Feb, after which Parliament will take control. This I believe is being supported by Labour as a whole.

Bercow of course gets to say which amendments are debated and voted on but Benn and Cooper-Boles have broad support so are unlikely to be ignored by him. The two together seem to compliment each other.

The rest of this week is likely to be lobbying on this but otherwise fairly calm. Though someone is bound to throw a few curveball in there with leaks.

The only other thing to watch out for is talk of up to 40 ministers quitting if they are not allowed a free vote on some sort of indicative vote motion. This seems to be being lead by Amber Rudd. But I don't expect this to come to a head until the weekend at the earliest.

In other words, we have a couple of days of calm before the storm. Expect it to ramp up again at the weekend in craziness.

www.independent.co.uk/voices/brexit-theresa-may-leave-voters-remain-eu-referendum-campaign-deal-a8740526.html
The British public still have no idea what they voted for with Brexit – it’s not elitist to admit it

Inviting a largely uninformed public to make a judgement on something as unfathomably complex as EU membership was akin to asking a six-year-old to perform brain surgery – with a crayon

By Otto English

BigChocFrenzy - colour me shocked

It's pathetic the way the MSM jump on, build up and extrapolate from individual comments

90% of behaviour is irrational and only 10% rational. That goes for thinking too. As I've always said its nothing to do with education. When emotions are involved decisions will be irrational 90% of the time.

Apologies if this was covered on the last thread, but Brittany Ferries is cancelling bookings for after March 29th in case they have to bring over food and medicines in the event of shortages

Dont' panic! A No deal Brexit will be absolutely fine!!

We’ll have people in NI arguing over whether they’re a corpulent dad or corpulent lad.

The state of this:

From Yesterday:

Esther Webber @estwebber
Excl: Chief whip is blocking the introduction of proxy voting for new parents while the big Brexit votes continue, according to multiple sources
www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/chief-whip-blamed-for-proxy-vote-delay-sqq6zwb6r

Proxy voting plans are "ready to go" but Julian Smith is said to be reluctant to make the changes while facing a set of highly sensitive votes on the Brexit deal and its handling in parlt

Because we don't know when parliamentary Brexit process will end, this is effectively an indefinite delay to changes which would help avoid the kinds of scenes we saw last week with Tulip Siddiq voting in a wheelchair

.@TulipSiddiq, who as of last night was still in hospital following the birth of her son, tells me: “It’s high time that parliament modernised to allow MPs to truly represent the people that they are elected to serve"

Then 5 hrs ago:

Esther Webber @estwebber
The Speaker has granted @joswinson an urgent question on obstacles to proxy voting following this story, expected c. 1pm

Then after she did that at 1pm, she got this response from the government:

Esther Webber @estwebber
*New: Commons leader Andrea Leadsom announces MPs will be asked to approve a proxy voting pilot for new parents on Mon 28 Jan

This seems a perfect illusion of why the Speaker is currently very important and the depths that the government will try to stoop if they are not challenged.

Steven Swinford @Steven_Swinford
Cabinet latest:

There was a backlash against calls by Remain ministers for free vote on Cooper amendment that could take no deal off table

Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Chris Grayling, Liz Truss & Michael Gove warned it would be 'abdicating collective responsibility'

I'm not sure if it's been covered so apols if I'm repeating, but have you seen Daniel Kawczynski's tweet? It's raised a few eyebrows!

'Any attempts by Remainer MPs to delay or obstruct #Brexit must be opposed. Today I have formally asked Polish Government to veto any motions by EU to allow extension of Article 50. We are leaving 11pm on March 29th as promised @StandUp4Brexit'

Irony is dead.
Treason is alive.

Thank you prettybird.

Dyson to move company HQ to Singapore
www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jan/22/dyson-to-move-company-hq-to-singapore?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

Dyson to move company HQ to Singapore

Any chance he could take Tim Martin with him ? That's if Dyson will pay his workers enough to afford a 'spoons.

Dyson can fuck off and then fuck off some more.

People who push for Brexit are morally obliged to stay here and put their money where their mouth is.

Like our bloody 'friends ' who leafleted and pushed for Brexit then emigrated to Sydney as " the UK is going down the tubes - and there's nothing for our kids here".

How dare they.

www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/brexit-no-deal-ferries-portsmouth-poole-plymouth-brittany-department-for-transport-a8740131.html
Brexit: Thousands of cross-Channel ferry journeys cancelled because of no-deal plans

‘The initiative is good news for Brittany Ferries, as it offers some stability and certainty in uncertain times,’ said the French shipping firm

Thousands of cross-Channel ferry passengers have had their journey plans disrupted by the government’s no-deal Brexit contingency planning.

Around 10,000 travellers who had booked with Brittany Ferries between 29 March and mid-May have been told their original sailings have been cancelled and that they have been rebooked on different departures.

Affected passengers were told by email that their original sailing had been cancelled “by the government’s initiatives to create additional ferry capacity for the transportation of critical goods (such as medicines) across the Channel”.

The French company is one of three firms appointed by the Department for Transport (DfT) to provide additional ferry capacity if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal. The move is designed to relieve the pressure on short-sea crossings from Dover.

Oh dear.

I get an attack of the rages every time I see Dyson on the TV advertising his (pretty shite quite frankly!) hoovers.

Somerville I have said since Dec that if there is no sign of an alternative option by late Feb / early March - and if No Deal remains the default - then I want the HoC to vote for the WA.

No Deal would be an certain disaster from Brexit Day
The WA at least gives time for something better

It at least gives the possibility to negotiate a Norway+ type of deal with SM + CA etc
in which case little would change in our daily lives

• I don't care if the UK loses its MEPs etc, because they were mostly a batshit far right shower that I'm ashamed of.

If we don't negotiate a deal in transition ...

Unless the UK withdraws from the WA treaty - and becomes an international pariah - then the backstop rules out a race to the bottom FTA with the USA.
(I put the chance of risking pariah status at below 10%)

The backstop would then be activated and make the Uk stay aligned with the EU
Trade wouldn't be completely frictionless, but it should be enough to ensure supplies of meds & food, probably most JIT manufacturing too.
Yes, it would raise prices and costs, so we'd lose some business gradually, but we'd have time to adapt.
It's the sudden Year Zero of No Deal on 29 March, or 1 July, that is a killer

The WA also safeguards the NI border:
imo, we are morally obliged not to let this outbreak of English (& Loyalist) nationalism devastate innocent Ireland, whom we have hurt for 8 centuries.
For once, face up to our responsibilities there !

Worst case is that the WA turns out like this 2 years later

• but at worst, the EU at least will have built up their customs infrastructure to cope with our goods as 3rd country

If we end up with No Deal and British people end up short of essential meds and even food, I will include Remain Ultras in the blame for playing chicken too long

I don't care about anyone proving they were right or not givin up their dreams;
I care mostly about avoiding devastated lives and maybe even deaths - in England, NI, Scotland, Wales

Cameron gambled with the country and lost
There comes a time to stop gambling for such stakes and do damage limitation
For me, that time is only weeks away.
I'm fed up with people putting party or Remain or Leave first.
First safeguard food & meds, then jobs & daily lives.

I'm almost willing my heavy and difficult to manoeuvre Dyson to break down, so that I can buy a cordless Shark

People already on the breadline have no "luxuries" or discretionary spending to cut
They can't prep with a store cupboard, like most folk can here

They will be dependent on this godawful govt to keep food & meds & all the other essentials running
AND to somehow avoid massive price rises, even though Sterling would crash with No Deal

No Deal would be a killer
For the economy and for some of the most vulnerable

Hopefully the flood of emails going out about disrupted journeys etc will start the hornets nest buzzing, because as of yesterday, it seems 80% of MN genuinely haven't heard of Brexit (the lack of mention of Brexit in travel and house selling threads, for example).

Thank you for that analysis BCF. I entirely agree that there is probably a bit of time yet to try for something better, but that no-deal on 29th March is the killer as you put it. Literally, quite a big killer across these islands, I fear.

Dyson, the Moral Vacuum

Dyson told ministers after A50 invocation:

''Don't be trying to get a deal with the EU, walk away, they'll come to you''.

< still waiting >

No Deal would be a killer For the economy and for some of the most vulnerable

Which - as always will be the disabled, women and children.

Yep.
Your DW has you
So many have noone to help them navigate the sytem and survive

Would describing Dyson with a very long list of sweary words be against the spirit of MN?

I'll just use two factual descriptors: he's a hypocritical twat

Your DW has you

I come with a host of my own problems. But at least I was able to pass on Italian citizenship. And the knowledge that it must really piss off leve cheerleader MiL (we're NC for over 5 years now) keeps a small flame burning.

Would describing Dyson with a very long list of sweary words be against the spirit of MN?

I dunno. But a lively web-wide debate might cause all sorts of words to pop up should someone need to Google "Dyson ..."

"Dyson .."

"Why do Dysons suck so much ...?"
"Is James Dyson full of shit ... ?"
"Why did James Dyson support Leaving the EU, but not invest in the UK ..."
"Who cuts James Dysons hair ... ?"
"Will Dysons work after Brexit ....?"
"Are Dysons any good ... ?"

I'm sure you get the idea

I HATE dysons. They break after five mins and cost loads.