Westminstenders: Competitive Stupidity

[RedToothBrush]

A week of wondering which MP is going to be the most dumb.

There is stiff competition between parties and remain / leave.

Expect incredible bids of ignorance and incompetence to curl your toes, with a bit of constitutional craziness thrown in for good measure.

Valentine's Day beckons...

... And so does the No Deal Divorce.

And that is to do with Brexit and the EU how, exactly

It's all explained in that 500-page Brexit White Paper that you've forgotten about, DG

It's all explained in that 500-page Brexit White Paper that you've forgotten about, DG

You know I can't discuss that - NDA and all ...

If we are heading for a global recession, it's the worst possible time for the UK to lose all its trade deals with the world and cut itself off from its regional trade bloc

The EU is an economic superpower, which retains all its other trade deals

re Greece:
They can't vote ordering Germany and other countries to give them money.
The German taxpayer in particular said "Nein" after the first few bailouts
The UK, being part of the IMF, also said "No" to more money
That's democracy

Greece was offered the chance to leave the Euro - in fact some German politicians tried to persuade them to do so - but Greece and Greek public opinion strongly support staying in the Euro

As pp have said, quoting Bildzeitung is a credible as quoting the Sun and I'm sure no-one seriously suggests that the Sun is the go-to source for facts.

It might be more advisable to have a look at Die Zeit, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Der Spiegel and numerous other more reputable German- language press sources. You know, just for a bit of balance. Or is one source sufficient for anyone to form a cogent opinion?

I remember an old joke about the plausibility of Bild headlines: "Mord im Fahrradschlauch - Täter entschlüpft durch Ventil". (Roughly "Murder in cycle inner tube - murderer escapes through valve". That's about the level of credence you can attach to anything in Bild. Or the Sun.

Sorry, PrettyBird, x-post - you've already said this.

The only reason the Tory party is tearing itself to pieces atm is because most MPs (dimly) realise how bad No Deal would be for the UK.

Otherwise, they'd long ago have chosen the easiest option for party unity, which is No Deal.

Boris Johnson, when Foreign Secretary, said "Fuck business" when asked about the damage to business
but the Tory Party prides itself on being "the party of business"

That's where the lines are drawn in the Tory Party civil war.

Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England has warned:

A no-deal Brexit could send the pound plunging and trigger a worse recession than the financial crisis

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46377309

• The UK economy could shrink by 8% in 2019
  < that's a Depression, not a recession >

• ^GDP would take until nearly 2024 to return to current level

• Unemployment would rise to 7.5%^

• ^Inflation would rise to 6.6%

• House prices would fall by 30%^
  commercial property prices collapse by 48%.

• The pound could fall by 25%

Veteran Leave campaigner R North (comment #200)

http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=87068#comment-4216339094

"If EU trade collapses and we suffer knock-on effects, < and we don't roll over non-EU deals >
the consequences could be far worse that the BoE indicates

Its basic problem is you cannot model chaos.

And if that is the result of a "no deal" Brexit,
we could end up hoping that Carney's predictions were right."

As pp have said, quoting Bildzeitung is a credible as quoting the Sun

The quoted opinion piece was specially written for - and appeared solely in - the Daily Mail ...

Greece was offered the chance to leave the Euro

Are you sure about that?

Step
Yes, google it!

I couldn't find a google link, so that's why I asked.

Step You need to improve your research skills.

www.theguardian.com/politics/reality-check-with-polly-curtis/2011/nov/03/greece-bankruptcy-eurozone-exit

first page result from highlighting and googling your Greece was offered the chance to leave the Euro . There is loads more out there.

It would be more reliable to listen to what german politicans like Merkel say
and to read the opinion polls showing a large majority against further concessions to the UK

The main problem all along is that the Brexiters have refused to consider economic facts of life,
refused to listen what the EU is telling them
refused to listen to what Japan, USA, Canada etc are telling them

Brexiters have their own invented "News" because they refuse to face reality that doesn't fit their dream.

The rest of the world is looking on in complete bafflement
The UK used to be highly respected, especially in EU countries like Germany, who regarded the UK as a fellow "adult"

Now the UK is a laughing stock to those countries that won't be much affected by a UK crash
and regarded with horror by close neighbours who realise they may be spattered by the fallout

We're still waiting on that link to the 500 page Brexit White Paper which details everything and which we are deliberately ignoring

Angela Merkel (left), the German chancellor, and Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, have issued an ultimatum to Greece to agree the deal or leave, making it clear that they would favour insulating other vulnerable and larger economies such as Italy over throwing everything at saving Greece. Merkel said last night

Oh right, I didn't read this as an offer. My bad.

On the plus side, the Brexit experience, being played out across the world gives other countries a heads up on how to stop such madness when it comes their way.

We're still waiting on that link to the 500 page Brexit White Paper which details everything and which we are deliberately ignoring

Well, if there are any such mythical beast as the genuinely undecided lurker (with a mere weeks to go until B-Day), I'm sure they can draw their own conclusions.

making it clear that they would favour insulating other vulnerable and larger economies such as Italy over throwing everything at saving Greece

Doesn't really bode well for the UKs calling the EUs bluff, does it ?

I do think that exiting the Euro would have been as tricky as exiting the EU.

Luckily Greece was not bound by any relevant peace treaties, so although disruptive it would not have been impossible.

DGR meh, my bank would feel the same if I ran up £300k on a credit card and couldn't pay. Countries are meant to be financially sensible.

{The quoted opinion piece was specially written for - and appeared solely in - the Daily Mail}
My 'go to' paper for RELIABLE FACTS is the Express but I am a bit disappointed that WW3 hasn't started yet, despite the promises, and that there are no space aliens here.*
Mind you a couple of Jehova's Witnesses turned up at lunchtime so who knows.

*I might be lying about this bit.

It's only the UK that has this problem of hanging on to territory it took by force from a member country
and where demographic changes mean the votes there for reunification keep growing

That piece is so completely different to everything mainstream German politicians say and to where German public opinion is.

They must have scoured all Germany to find some mavericks to quote, then got them drunk.

well, if you scoured the whole UK you could find people who firmly believe the earth is flat

The problem is that such unrepresentative stories are what Brexiters read & believe, because they want to
This significantly increases the risk of accidental No Deal because many Tory MPs are convinced the EU will blink at the last moment

Not only do they believe in flat earth, they have an annual convention. www.flatearthconventionuk.co.uk

They must have scoured all Germany to find some mavericks to quote, then got them drunk.

Not at all. Writers write. It's their job. Any writer can be persuaded to write any old crap if the price is right.

As I said upthread - quite seriously - I'd happily pen the most gushing puff piece for Brexit if the price is right. There's a touching naïveté about Brexiteers faith in others probity. Although it does fit in with their pecking order which runs roughly from swarthy foreigners, white foreigners, male foreigners who agrees with me, not you obviously, dogs, women, children

Not only do they believe in flat earth, they have an annual convention.

Presumably in Norfolk ?