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.

Re Dyson's products: I noticed at the weekend at Tebay North services, that where there used to be 2 Airblade hand dryers in the Ladies, there is now only one Dyson, with a new Mitsubishi hand dryer beside it.

I'd like to think that as a family owned business, it was a conscious decision not to replace with another Dyson but I'm probably over reading it

Goodness me, is Dyson yet another Brexiteer who turned out to not be a True BeLeaver after persuading the cultists to drink the KoolAid? Colour me astonished.

It just came up on my news feed that LBC had a phone in today on how brexit will affect the building trade. They had a plasterer on the line who was all for brexit. Except someone recognised his number. He was an ex Downing Street Advisor. Sneaky sneaky.

I suddenly had the thought to Google mumsnet and ukip....surprise, surprise, a thread from 2014 from a daughter of a Ukip candidate.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2089516-My-Dad-stood-as-a-UKIP-candidate

Another daughter of a Ukip man on the thread as well.

Get your shocked face ready for more bad eggs

I agree with all your points Somerville. However none of them really addressed the points I made wrt to politics and trade. Other than the issue of DUP hypocrisy of being happy to have some difference with the rUK when they fancy it. Which is absolutely true.

It’s indisputable that they chose to vote Leave. However they didn’t choose the WA, nobody did. And they don’t.

While there already exist differences between NI and rUK, the fact is that the WA introduces major new differences that change the whole balance of the political and trading relationship between NI and U.K. I can see why they feel it will drive a wedge between NI and rUK and arguably puts NI on a closer footing tradewise with Ireland.

Ultimately it doesn’t matter what other people think of the DUP’s position wrt the WA backstop. If they feel it’s justifed and the Loyalist paramilitaries agree - then surely that has the potential to trigger Loyalist violence in NI. That is the issue on which this discussion started.

Except someone recognised his number. He was an ex Downing Street Advisor.

I noticed at the weekend at Tebay North services

Sorry to lower the tone, but at first glance, I found myself thinking Tebag North.

I'll get my coat.

For those who are interested, MNHQ are trying to explain themselves on the thread on Site Stuff

They had a plasterer on the line who was all for brexit. Except someone recognised his number. He was an ex Downing Street Advisor. Sneaky sneaky.

FFS

If I was trying to indulge in such odious behaviour I'd withhold my number to be on the safe side. So many thickos.

It just came up on my news feed that LBC had a phone in today on how brexit will affect the building trade. They had a plasterer on the line who was all for brexit. Except someone recognised his number. He was an ex Downing Street Advisor. Sneaky sneaky

Not all that sneaky. How hard would it be to borrow an interns phone.

I listen to a lot of LBC. So many angry leavers on today. I’m never buying a Dyson again, stupidly overpriced anyway.

DRG don’t be mean to Tebay services. Finest services in Britain that one. You can get Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding there (or you could last time I went there).

So L BC is flooded with "angry Leavers" ?

I guess the Remainers are at work then ?

I'm having mixed feelings of dread and a bit relieved about the ferry cancellations. One hand yup okay spreading the meds out across the ports good but then ok...what if we want to leave? I don't want to be unable to leave the country.

It's all feeling like it'll be a lockdown.

Ta1kinPeace - I think one of the real reasons and the excuse that they didn't give is that they had an inexperienced moderator for whom the more senior members of MNHQ are now trying to cover

I think that would also explain the unjustified deletions of Hazardswan's posts at the weekend

It's all feeling like it'll be a lockdown.

When I flew to Nairobi, in December 1993 we had to go via Kigali on Sabena (because Air France were on strike ).

When the plane (a 747) touched down, it was surrounded by soldiers in jeeps, all packing rifles. One person got off, and the soldiers remained around the plane until it had turned around to take off again.

It was a horribly surreal and frightening experience - given extra gravity by what kicked off in Rwanda a few weeks after

When my DF did his (Italian) national service, they had to man roadblock and checkpoints.

{They had a plasterer on the line who was all for brexit. Except someone recognised his number. He was an ex Downing Street Advisor}
I am reading that like the gags on Morcambe and Wide when they had the likes of Andre Previn, I used to be a,,,,amd now a,,,

I used to be a Downing street advisor now I'm a plasterer.

pretty I wasn't surprised, a little sad because I don't want the message to ever be you cant talk about this to women who, through no fault of their own, find or found themselves in a bad situation with men who give the impression that they are on a higher/more powerful platform in society. I expected a little more from mumsnet in that regard.

But tbf I also said certain members of an approved political party appear to like wife swapping so that's a bit scandalous and silly. However I think I did frame it in the context that it almost seemed to be a competition over who has the most submissive wife which is serious...and sad.

DG that all sounds reassuring....also once again DG you sound like you've had an interesting life.

once again DG you sound like you've had an interesting life

Who hasn't, in their own way ? If you keep your eyes open.

(in is "alimony tour", John Cleese mentions that his Mother who was born in 1899 witnessed: the first world war, the rise of fascism, the second world war, the dropping of the A bomb, the cold war, Suez, the swinging 60s, Mrs Thatcher coming to power and being deposed ... without having noticed any of it ... )

In my interesting life, I saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of apartheid, and peace in Northern Ireland. All things that I had expected to outlive me when I was 14.

We are all angels, you know.

When will it be decided which of the
suggested amendments by various MPs will be chosen?

.

prettybird
I think that my asking the question has raised it on their radar
it will be interesting to see how threads are treated over the coming weeks

Ta1kinPeace Indeed

I've come along for a nosey on the back of the Site Stuff thread

Thanks Red

I’m not really arsed if this thread appears in current topics but I’d be grateful if it would at least appear on my Brexit forum or my ‘I’m on’ or ‘I’m watching’. It’s not currently appearing on any of these.