Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Brexit

Westminstenders: Oh Look is that a fire in the Italian Capital?

994 replies

RedToothBrush · 14/02/2019 21:20

Next stop: 27th Feb.

Where we will apparently have Cooper-Boles II which apparently will pass but still assumes that
a) the EU will grant us an extension despite our fuckwittery
b) that it will prevent accidental no deal, which it doesn't
c) glosses over the minor point that the only way to 100% prevent no deal is to say you'll revoke if everything else fails

Meanwhile in reality we leave in law on 29th March, despite the rest of the law having zero chance of being ready in time. Withdrawal Agreement and No Deal alike.

All that is actually happening is the Tories and Labour fighting amongst themselves. Corbyn is still pretending that Brexit isn't really that important and hoping it will just go away. May is still trying to compromise with the ERG - whom if you paying attention 18 months ago were obviously were never going to compromise on anything - cos they are fuckwitted swivel eyed loons.

Meanwhile the entire country has no other alternative but to assume no deal and act accordingly.

A deal on the 21st March (as is the planned date of the Meaningful Vote) is simply too late for planners. For them no deal has already happened even if it does never come to pass.

The strategy of brinkmanship has destroyed us. We just don't know it yet.

A Split in the Tory and Labour parties may well make matters even worse going forward with further political polarisation.

Where next for Brexit?

Who knows and does it even matter now? The damage is irreversible and will take at least a generation to heal wounds. Economically it may never be recoverable.

FUKD.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
15
Sostenueto · 16/02/2019 07:57

peregrina at last chemo there was talk of shortages. All are worried. There is a difference being understandably worried especially about meds to outright panic and panic is not what people should be doing because panic is infectious! And real harm can be done when panic sets in.

Mistigri · 16/02/2019 08:02

Why does this Express link make me nervous that we haven't heard about this on mainstream news?

It's kind of non-news which is being puffed up by the usual culprits.

It's not a "trade deal", it's about mutual recognition of basic standards eg good manufacturing practice standards. It means that in areas covered by the mutual recognition agreement, UK-US trade doesn't change.

Remember that the EU and US don't have a free trade agreement, so there is no FTA to roll over.

Peregrina · 16/02/2019 08:06

Yes, I agree that panic can set in, but your post Sostenueto didn't
IMO make a difference between legitimate concern/worry or starting to panic.

And yes, I brought the Nazis in, and there were sterling examples of people who didn't panic, and did what they could to alleviate the situation. But no where near enough of them. In that case, I suspect that there were too many people who were indifferent or didn't question what was happening until it was far too late.

Tonsilss · 16/02/2019 08:07

We shouldn't be afraid to speak out against Brexit. We should, in speaking out, assume that any reasonable person will agree with us. Don't accept no dealerism and remainer blaming as the new normal

LonelyandTiredandLow · 16/02/2019 08:09

Thanks - I think I am just paranoid about the US and regulations changes for us. I saw other papers did cover it...about 18 hours ago! Express must indeed be desperate.

RedToothBrush · 16/02/2019 08:26

Alberto Nardelli @albertonardelli
A European diplomatic source describes today’s meeting between Brexit secretary Steve Barclay and EU27 ambassadors as “completely useless”

Morning!!!

OP posts:
borntobequiet · 16/02/2019 08:27

A view from the 1940s. (I might have posted this before, but a couple of years ago...the only pdf I could find is from a Russian website, sorry)
orwell.ru/library/essays/lion/english/e_eye
What has changed? What remains the same? Where did John Major’s speechwriter steal the bit about old maids hiking to holy communion through the mists of an autumn morning (sometimes rendered as biking)? (It sounded anachronistic when Major said it.)
I’m struck on re-reading by Orwell’s description of the underlying savagery of British society, and its numerous conflicting identities. And when he refers to the fifties, he means the 1850s...

RedToothBrush · 16/02/2019 08:28

Female MPs forced to move house or alter their habits due to threats.

Note, female MPs.

Westminstenders: Oh Look is that a fire in the Italian Capital?
OP posts:
SparklySneakers · 16/02/2019 08:32

Morning all. The extra painkillers ensured my knees weren't waking me but I was still awake for around 2 hours between 3 and 5 Sad am glad it's half term now so I can get up after 7 instead of before.
Just catching up but as ever the feeling of foreboding is present. I can't get my head around parliament allowing this to happen.

BiglyBadgers · 16/02/2019 08:34

Know that you will cope with whatever happens. Believe in yourself, trust that you and yours will be fine. Things may well be bad but while you have faith that you can cope then nothing is as bad as you think. Humans are very adaptable. People fear change. But at end of the day inner strength will get you all through.

Seriously? I'm very glad for you that you will be fine and have infinite reserves of inner strength. Well done. But people are going to die if medications aren't available and no amount of "inner strength" is going to save them.

I have a chronic and severe mental health condition. The hardest lesson I have had to learn is that sometimes I can't cope and all stiffening my lip is going to do is get me sectioned. So please spare me your thoughts on my adaptability and how I should ignore my emotions.

bellinisurge · 16/02/2019 08:37

Having a positive mental attitude is obviously helpful generally but that won't fix the health obstacles a lot of people face.
I have MS. I do ok. I don't think that just because I am doing ok right now that is the fix for everyone and everything. And I've been through some dark stuff.

QueenOfThorns · 16/02/2019 08:37

Note to self: reading Westminsterenders late at night is not conducive to a good rest Sad

Sosteneuto Flowers

TatianaLarina · 16/02/2019 08:39

Female MPs forced to move house or alter their habits due to threats.

Note, female MPs.

It’s interesting because the tragic case of Jo Cox was correctly framed as terrorism, but I always felt it was as much about misogyny. To put it another way - gender terrorism as well as political terrorism.

BiglyBadgers · 16/02/2019 08:46

Having a positive mental attitude is obviously helpful generally but that won't fix the health obstacles a lot of people face.
I have MS. I do ok. I don't think that just because I am doing ok right now that is the fix for everyone and everything. And I've been through some dark stuff.

Absolutely this. Thank you Bellini for putting it so well and getting what I'm trying to say.

1tisILeClerc · 16/02/2019 08:48

The piece in the Express should be taken with a very large pinch of salt. Spoken by Trump who is causing untold damage to the USA by shouting on about his 'wall'. Someone who doesn't do details.
Stating so many Billions of trade simply makes it look impressive, 'a big number, wow it must be good'. It has to be shown in context of what it actually represents.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 16/02/2019 08:49

It's good to have emotions like anger and fear that mobilise into action, that make us do things like a little prepping, maybe grow some veggies, write to our mps, newspapers and take part in protests and direct action.
But when those emotions overwhelm us, they can paralyse us, make it hard to be effective and exhaust and drain us.

I'm not so sure that most people can just switch off their emotions like Sos says. I think that for many can just create severe issues further down the line, but she is right to say that we also need to face up to things with confidence that somehow we will manage.

To do that we need to replenish ourselves, take part in activities that allow us to forget about things. After all (harking back to a war I definitely wasn't born in!) in WW2, people still had tea dances, went to concerts, children played outside in the rubble.

I say all of this as someone who could take up worrying as an olympic sport. I'm trying to learn not to hide from those emotions and do too much of the taking action stuff, but instead make sure that life has nice bits too, even if those nice bits consist of very simple things like admiring the crocuses that are pushing their way up through the grass in the parks.

Flowers for everyone, remember, we have each other here and that in itself is a powerful thing.

BigChocFrenzy · 16/02/2019 08:49

The MRA is at last significant good news to celebrate 🙂

The sectors it covers are about ⅕ of UK exports to the US,
e.g. pharmaceuticals, telecommunications equipment, tech sector
and of course some key US imports, including some material & components that the UK needs.

Within those sectors, the MRA means that the UK and US can each test for product conformity - that it satisfies the product regulations of the importing country - in their own country,
instead of the delay & expense of having to organise testing in the country to where they are exporting,

Important:
it rolls over some of the existing EU-US agreement
It does NOT cover new sectors, such as the food sector, so don't worry that it means importing US food with lower product standards

It's not an FTA and it may be that WTO tariffs etc would be applied, which currently the EU-US agreements remove.

It follows recent rolling over MRAs with Australia and NZ - more good news on a smaller scale.

Govt press release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-and-usa-agree-to-continue-mutual-recognition-agreement

The agreement will maintain all relevant aspects of the current EU-US MRA when the EU-US agreement ceases to apply to the UK.

It helps facilitate goods trade between the two nations and means UK exporters can continue to ensure goods are compliant with technical regulations before they depart the UK, saving businesses time, money and resources.

American exporters to the UK benefit in the same way.
....
Similar agreements have been signed in recent weeks with Australia and New Zealand

TatianaLarina · 16/02/2019 08:51

A positive mental attitude is fuck all use with ketoacidosis from no insulin.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 16/02/2019 08:53

Flowers Bigly.

BigChocFrenzy · 16/02/2019 08:54

London bankers will need 'chaperones' for EU clients under no-deal Brexit

now for some bad news

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-m-a/london-bankers-will-need-chaperones-for-eu-clients-under-no-deal-brexit-sources-idUSKCN1Q427L

Investment banks have warned M&A teams in Britain
they cannot pitch business to clients in the European Union if there is a no-deal Brexit without an EU “chaperone” sitting in on their meeting
....
Banks including Nomura and Credit Suisse have told dealmakers in London that
in a no-deal Brexit scenario they would have to loop in EU colleagues when talking to customers in continental Europe about specific advisory work and regulated products like loans or bonds.

Even cold-calling of company executives to pitch for new business out of London could raise eyebrows among EU regulators
if Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal.....

“There is a whole bunch of things people have to do in the course of an M&A transaction which require regulation,”

OhYouBadBadKitten · 16/02/2019 08:57

And very unmumsnetty hugs to everyone including Tatiana who is really worried about medication. Its awful, I'm worrying about mine too.

BigChocFrenzy · 16/02/2019 08:58

sos That's a harrowing list of cancers you've been through 💐

BigChocFrenzy · 16/02/2019 09:06

EU sources think No Deal is very likely
e.g.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/15/brexit-deal-voted-through-theresa-may-eu-leaders-brussels

Theresa May will face a wall of resistance when she returns to Brussels next week
as the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnierr^, declared her Brexit strategy had “failed” after another parliamentary defeat inflicted by hardline Eurosceptics.
.....
The mood hardened in Brussels on Friday amid doubts that the prime minister could ever forge any consensus in her warring party,
with Barnier telling diplomats from member states that her strategy could not work.
< mood has been hardening rapidly ever since the massive January vote against the WA >

One EU ambassador has suggested the risk of a no-deal Brexit was as high as 90%
given the prime minister’s intransigence
< they are also very pissed off with her & the Tories >

TatianaLarina · 16/02/2019 09:09

And very unmumsnetty hugs to everyone including Tatiana who is really worried about medication. Its awful, I'm worrying about mine too.

I don’t have it myself but I’m worried about a relative with type 1 who is also vulnerable due to age.

Jericho1 · 16/02/2019 09:10

Dominic Grieve facing no confidence motion in his local party.

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/02/15/purple-momentum-tory-activists-planning-deselection-ambushes/

They are trying to do what the extremists did to labour.

Swipe left for the next trending thread