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.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-45085514
Call for a ban on people eating dog meat in the UK
From Aug last year

Dr Cameron [Dr Lisa Cameron (SNP) is the chair of the All-party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group] says there has been a rise in the consumption of dog meat in the UK, but two animal welfare organisations that Newsbeat spoke to say that they don't have evidence for this.

The World Dog Alliance says it doesn't know if there are people in the UK who eat dog meat - but still wants it to be made illegal.

Humane Society International told Newsbeat it has "never come across any evidence to suggest that dog meat is being consumed in the UK".

And

Despite there being no evidence that people in the UK eat dogs, Dr Cameron said "the government has to take action to nip it in the bud".

Just. Words.

Just a quick dip in about that Corbyn article in the DM.

I have no time for JC. Useless and limited. No vision. No better then than the preponderance of the House. And the tragedy is he is leading the lack of opposition at the most crucial time in a long time. So worse than useless.

However, if you delved into -most- quite a lot of the ones opposite, you'd find worse things. Compromised. Nasty. Full of mendacity. The DUP are glossed over.

JCB paid Boris Johnson £10,000 three days before he gave a speech at its headquarters last week in which he repeatedly praised the company’s business acumen and innovation, it has emerged.

The payment was disclosed on the new register of MPs’ financial interests, which also shows that JCB – owned by Anthony Bamford, a pro-Brexit Conservative peer and donor – is paying the former Brexit secretary David Davis £60,000 a year as an “external adviser”.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/24/jcb-paid-boris-johnson-10000-three-days-before-speech

Not even a tip of any iceberg. But members of the gov't party (and previous cabinet ministers) in the pocket of big business with an agenda. Goodness knows in whose interests the gov't is running the country.

‘Labour is yet to respond to the letter’ says the BBC at 6am the morning after the letter was publically released 10.30pm the night before.

Catching up...

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should be ready to use military force to support its global interests after Brexit, defence minister Gavin Williamson will say on Monday, adding that the boundaries between peace and war are becoming blurred.

Is this about Northern Ireland?

So it isn't about consent or wishes of the majority any more; now that the demographics are changing. That is why the DUP are on the bandwagon.

Fucking hell, what is the world coming too.

What am I reading! Do I need to think about bringing my rabbit inside? Why am I asking this question in the UK in 2019

Am I the only one who remembered us joking about this a few threads ago? Maybe they think we were serious? My first thought though was that it could stop dodgy meat companies springing up when we have no meat, in about 47 days time.

I see Bojo is supporting a drop in overseas aid and it looks unlikely Hammond will be able to stop austerity despite the rhetoric - two things that I am sure come as no surprise to anyone on this thread!

Do I need to think about bringing my rabbit inside?

Nope. You need to buy another rabbit... #BrexitOpportunities

Glad I'm veggie and don't have pets.

Politics Home @ politicshome
Theresa May's commitment to protecting press freedoms abroad has been thrown into doubt after it emerged the Government is continuing to sell spyware to repressive regimes.

www.politicshome.com/news/uk/foreign-affairs/news/101746/excl-theresa-mays-commitment-press-freedom-questioned-amid

But PoliticsHome has learned the Government has repeatedly granted export licenses for spyware to some of the fiercest oppressors of a free press, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Brunei.

And

"Theresa May insisted last week that this Government is supporting journalists around the world with training, but that will be meaningless if we enable the suppression of journalistic freedom in other ways.

“The Government must urgently confirm that they are not selling equipment to foreign states that will be used to surveil journalists doing their jobs."

Adam Fleming @ adamfleming
UK govt says @SteveBarclay's dinner with @MichelBarnier in Brussels tonight is to "explore whether a way through can be found that's acceptable to both the UK Parliament and the EU." Backstop time limit, exit mechanism or alternative arrangements are on the menu.

I wonder what Barnier thinks is on the menu.

Rtb

Least we haven't lost our sense of humour.... yet

www.independent.co.uk/news/health/alcohol-deaths-council-funding-cuts-drug-addiction-services-austerity-jonathan-ashworth-a8772301.html?amp&__twitter_impression=true
UK facing ‘addiction crisis’ as councils cut funding for treatment services while alcohol-related deaths soar
‘We’re spending money dealing with A&E admissions when we should be trying to tackle the addiction that lands people in hospital in the first place’

Lunacy.

Dogs are better looked after than humans in the UK.

Jericho, the week after the ref I sat on the stairs talking to my parents about how I feared war coming. I felt daft about it for a while after that

I feel daft.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy @ krishgm
May’s letter to Corbyn this afternoon sounds conciliatory in tone but says no to Customs Union and ensures her govt could vote against every piece of workers rights legislation if it wants. But she’s pulling him into the process - he could find himself saving her and her Brexit

If Corbyn is unable to stop his rebel MPs killing another Cooper-style move to avoid No Deal this Thursday there may only be one last chance at the end of this month. Then it might depend on Tory rebels. Big businesses meanwhile will have to take key costly decisions

David Henig @davidheniguk
This May-Corbyn letter may be conciliatory in tone but is unchanged on substance and quite revealing as to the PM's approach to Brexit... starting with finding the alternative arrangements to the backstop, despite having failed to do so for 18 months...

Next paragraph is interesting "the political declaration cannot be legally binding and.... provides for a spectrum of outcomes". That is quite some admission because it renders much of the rest of the letter invalid. Note no substance on Parliamentary consultation

First bullet point is pure cake on having all access to frictionless trade without single market or customs union. The PM still doesn't realise this is undeliverable, and only offered as a framing device by the EU (and non-binding...)

Third bullet point on workers rights is convoluted but ultimately no. Legislate in UK law can obviously be overturned easily, unlike treaty commitments. Again though the nature of the future relationship will ultimately decide

And again on security "we have secured agreement" clashes with the non-binding nature of the Political Declaration.

In summary too close a relationship for the Brexiteers, and too vague for Labour or anyone else (or to be rid of a backstop). Which is why she lost by 230.

Others have pointed out that May has abandoned a commitment to frictionless trade.

This is significant. Business will take that inboard and act accordingly.

It again sounds ominously like covert no deal.

I'm sure in some circles though its still going to be Corbyns fault

Thanks @RedToothBrush

Politicians think we need to enact a post brexit bill to stop people eating their cats and dogs.

Just let that sink in.

Ehhhhhhh. Oh. Whaaaat? No? Yeah? Uhhh.
Think it's sinking in, can't be sure.

Jericho it occurred to me some time ago that the UK is particularly vulnerable because its not self sufficient in food and being on an island that makes it worse than for almost any other nation on earth.

Sanctions on Russia were hard for them but forced greater self sufficiency and was good for domestic food producers.

No Deal Brexit in those terms, does have potential to prepare us better for an isolation situation - if it pushes up self sufficiency.

That would make isolationist British policy definitely look like its resistance preparation.

But talk of tariff free stuff from around the world may make that even worst not better.

I don't know. As I say, I prefer not to think about it too much. It's one for my darkest moments and frankly that is where I am going to selve it for the foreseeable. It doesn't help me to think about it too much.

As a side point though, it wouldnt improve your situation much to move to the EU if that was to happen. You screwed everywhere else.

And just to make you feel even better defence spending on tech isn't good enough in the UK. They don't pay well enough. If they did, DH wouldn't be doing what he does. And yes our banks, NHS etc etc are chronically poorly protected.

But what are you going to do? I can't do anything. So why waste too much energy stressing over it.

Some of our (older) friends look down at DH as just an IT geek. The MN breech and the tech issues that some banks have had does make me reflect on how little good IT staff are valued. In todays world, they are up there with doctors and nurses in essential skills for society. Is that right? Probably not.

It's not ALL Corbyn's fault but he's not without some blame. If he genuinely had all the supporters he claims to have, he could have shared a platform with Cameron to lobby for Remain. He could've said "I hate this tosser. I hate that this is as much a Tory internal squabble as anything else. But I think this is too important to ignore, particularly with all the lies and unicorns flying around. So I am here with Cameron to say vote Remain ". Would that have been so ghastly?
Instead, we aren't even sure which way he voted.
But, No, he isn't the only one who should be blamed for all this.

You see on social media Corbyn being called a Tory Brexit enabler by even attempting to find some common ground with Theresa May. If people on the ardent remain side and the ardent leave side of Brexit are unwilling to compromise we will end up with no deal by default.

Hello, I’m back. Got lost 🤷‍♀️ Thanks Red x

the MOTHER OF ALL SLIDESHOWS explaining the Withdrawal Agreement.
ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/the_withdrawal_agreement_explained.pdf