Westminstenders: The English Gentleman and Martial Law

[RedToothBrush]

Ahead of Tuesday's vote, let's have a quick look at the week's developments.

The Cooper-Boles Amendment seems to be in trouble. The amendment is designed to force government to extend A50 if the WA fails to pass parliament in order to prevent No Deal.

It's in trouble in several ways.

After lots of loud noises from Labour about supporting it, they have made no formal move to. Thus there is no requirement for Labour MPs to vote for it. The noise was just for Remain ears whilst trying to keep leavers on board.

The amendment is struggling for numbers; many of the former Labour MPs are extremely unreliable at votes and haven't turned up even for important ones of late. In addition to this, Tory rebels are backing away from it out of fear from a backlash from their grassroots who believe they are trying to stop Brexit. There was talk of up to 20 ministers resigning to back it, including Amber Rudd, yet as Sunday has dawned there's no sign yet and its usually the day for such political statements. Though there is time yet.

And finally there is the prospect of Murrison II. Now also backed by 1922 heavyweights Graham Brady and Damien Green this seeks to remove the backstop from the WA on our side.

Except the EU has said that this would not be the WA if it does not contain the backstop. And they would not ratify it.

Yet rumours are May is close to a majority to get the WA through with Murrison II.

There has been much speculation over what would happen to the Irish border in a no deal with Farage sticking his oar in saying "nothing". Whilst Barnier states that there would, but the Irish government are avoiding the subject. We have now had the comment that it would mean the return of Irish soldiers to the border...

We could have a looming situation where parliament passes Murrison II AND Cooper-Boles. But Cooper-Boles deemed invalid cos the WA has been passed by Parliament but in effect isn't worth the paper (or goat skin) it's written on. Thus no deal could still happen by 'accident'.

There's been talk of Murrison II not being picked by Bercow, and how this would provoke a walkout by government. It seems that since he's done it once it would be difficult to ignore.

And whilst all this is going on we now have the mainstream newspapers saying that there are plans for martial law, 'forward purchasing' of food, fuel and ammunition. Talk of travel bans and property seizure. And just general plans for the collapse of free society and the supply of basic essentials for continuous of life. And many ERG MPs are tweeting things which seem to be rather fond and happy with the idea.

Do not forget: What happens when May is gone? Who replaces her, and what are their views on liberal society and freedom. Cos that all looks rather 'troubling' in an authoritarian state kind of way. What power would they wield?

Just what are we sleep walking into?

Trussell trust are a political lobbying group so I'm not sure about the radio silence tbh.

Sigh.

Guess whose oven just tripped the electrics and is now smoking???

For fucks actual sake.

particularly because I'm quite fat and a very slow runner

Shh don't tell them that! As for me, I am old so will taste tough.

NDAs not working anymore?
No-deal Brexit 'to leave shelves empty' warn retailers www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47028748

You're right @Peregrina

I'm going to invest in t-shirts that say "I might be fat but I run ultra-marathons" in case of no deal.

Don't ask how I know, but don't drink too much human blood. It induces vomiting. You need to cook it somehow.

The FUCKING COMMENTS on the BBC no deal food retailers letter though

@DGRossetti

Black pudding, obvs.

Inches away from DGRossetti and reaches for the garlic

NDAs not working anymore?

NDAs can prevent a company disclosing what they have discussed with government. I suspect they can't be used to prevent a company undertaking activities needed for day to day business (or rather I'd bet the government refused to underwrite any losses as a result of not being able to disclose everyday operation details).

I wonder if the NDAs had a time limit too ? I can't see a court being too impressed with a permanent NDA ...

Sincere apologies for the shouty swearing. I don't know how much more I can take of the imbeciles

icannotremember, you touch on the dark side of all this. There are lots of thoughts racing around people's heads which are not being spoken. This concerns me, as they are things that people would never have 3 years ago. If things do go full on dsytopian then there are real dangers in there that relate to neighbours turning in on each other.

James Patrick has gone the furthest of anyone I've seen in making open comment about how far he would go, to protect his 7 year old diabetic daughter.

When people talk about diaries to see how the fabric of society has changed when in the process of an authoritarian take over, its exactly THAT which they are referring to. Its also a feature of a decent into a civil war too.

I hope these comments do not start to become more common and more open. I see a lot of posters who are bitter about no deal say things about hoping that those who voted for it suffer first. Thats not good. And certainly no better than traitor talk.

Inches away from DGRossetti and reaches for the garlic

OK, it was a plot element in a Law & Order:Criminal Intent a while back

I read a lot of true crime particularly about serial killers.

Apparently humans taste of pork. HTH everyone's recipe planning.

I would make an excellent replacement for belly pork.

I may just barricade myself into the house and hope that my DH (who is a personal trainer and eats 1kg of protein a day) doesn't turn against me. I might make him live in the garage just in case.

It's an odd thing.

Even where I live which is pretty much average in every regard - violence is becoming more mainstream, more accepted, more suggested??

From comments on social media about setting up vigilante groups (no I'm not kidding) to one of the staff at the gp surgery being assaulted last week. There is now a security guard.

The threatening and actual use of physical violence seems to be "ok" now...

From comments on social media about setting up vigilante groups (no I'm not kidding) to one of the staff at the gp surgery being assaulted last week. There is now a security guard.

We've talked about the setting up of private police and security being the Brexit opportunity business to be investing in before...

I just had to challenge myself on this front this morning from this thread!

First thought to Destiel's comment on dealing with unprecedented demand at food banks: I'm sure people will all pull together, if it comes to this I'll donate more food and take some mornings off work (at my own cost as self employed) to help out at local food banks

Second thought: But...these might be people who were demographically more likely to vote to leave so maybe just...fuck them and leave them to it

Third thought: Jesus. That was not a nice thought to have, I need to get a grip.

So yeah...I can see how people can turn against each other

If things do go full on dsytopian then there are real dangers in there that relate to neighbours turning in on each other

More certainty than danger. My DH is Polish. I am scared that in a chaotic no deal situation I will have to try to force him to stay at home as he will be a very easy target for the anger of leavers who will not understand why the sunlit uplands they were promised are instead a dystopian swamp. And I have no intention of sharing anything I have managed to store with a single one of them. Do I hope they suffer first/ most if things get as disastrous as I fear? No, not really. But I can't say I will have as much sympathy for them as for those of us who didn't vote for and cheerlead this shit. And I'll be damned if I will help any of them.

Comment from the BBC article on the food letter:

^Food supplies coming through the checking jams should be prioritised for Remain voting areas.

Brexiters voted to leave. With power comes responsibility - the burden of their responsibility needs to be shouldered by them, not by others. Democracy can't survive if this is not the case.^

We live in a Leave voting area, although I'd hope it goes without saying that our household voted Remain. DS was 6 months old when the vote was held... yet he deserves to be short of food, because of where we live and how our neighbours voted, apparently.

These sorts of divisions are the thing that scare me. They are so ripe for exploitation by extremists of either side.

That reminds me: I need to get my broad beans started in old loo roll tubes so that they can get planted along the sides of my potato bed once I've repaired the wood at one end of it (broad beans are semi-hardy, so can cope with some frost and will come away nice and quickly, hopefully for an early crop in the Hungry Months). I'll do extra and some peas and runner beans ready for the legume bed - but it is still being trenched with vegetable waste from our kitchen.

I need to put some fleece down on the asparagus bed to encourage that to come away early.

Still have kale, brussels, Savoy cabbage and green cabbage (that were supposed to be romanesco cauliflowers in the brassica bed.

This is where I give my prepper advice about neighbours.

1. A useful neighbour is still a useful neighbour even if they voted Leave.
2. Don't tell your neighbour about your stash and indeed nod in agreement when they whine about food supply problems. Until you are certain they can be trusted and have something useful to offer you. Peace of mind and community harmony is a good thing, by the way.

We've had a lot of small gangs of men coming into our village over the past few months in the early hours of the morning checking car/van doors and looking around the outside of people's homes. Stealing things from anything they find open. They've been caught multiple times on CCTV (reasonably wealthy Home Counties village).

Can't get the police to patrol due to cuts (our 'local' police station is about 40mins drive away now as all the 5 or 6 others that were closer have been closed).

There has been talk on the village FB page of all chipping in for private patrols and/or residents patrolling on shifts. I can see gated communities becoming more of a thing in the UK in the next few years if policing isn't invested in...

@Spudlet , I also live in a leave voting area. Keep your head down and try and get on with your neighbours is my advice. As well as having at least a 3 day stash of food at home as I have suggested on other threads. A stash That you don't tell anyone about.

Can I ask this again because nobody has responded when I've asked before, but it's just bugging me.

How can May bring the WA back for another vote without significant changes when it lost by such a huge number last time? Isn't there a rule that you can't put the same thing forward twice or has she made changes I've missed?

Sorry umpteen but your ^^ made me