Westminstenders: Distract and divert. Just close your eyes.

[RedToothBrush]

This morning Jeremy Hunt declared that, 'With vision on both sides we can find a way through that has the support of Parliament and also works for the EU'

Of course this is 18th February 2019 and the UK has yet to demostrate they understand the problem, much less have the vision to solve it. And we leave the EU next month.

It needs to be stressed at this point: DON'T FORGET TO FOCUS ON WHAT REALLY MATTERS

Everything else is a tactic to make you close your eyes and miss what is really going on. Everything. Brexit looks increasingly like a hypnotist making their subject do ever increasing acts of ridiculousness on stage. Except I do not know if the public or the politicians are that poor sod. It is the magician who uses tricks of slight of hand to make you look the wrong way, whilst they makes all the big moves out of your vision.

There are so many stories that are coming out to try and make you miss what the government are failing to do. Stay focused. We can't ignore all these stories, but understand whether they are really important to the end game too.

A labour split, a march on the 23rd March, talk of a PV, the Brady amendment, the Malthouse Compromise, Cooper-Boles halting no deal?

No we need more than that.

The time for fantasies are gone. Its time to face reality and be pragmatic. The only thing that matters is the approaching cliff. Which we will go over not on the 29th March but in the next couple of weeks. We might not realise the ground disappearing beneath our feet at first. Our momentum as we go forward will carry for a short while before gravity kicks in.

But we can not defy the laws of physics and suddenly be able to fly because we develop magic superhuman powers of vision.

And no one will come to save us either.

Our national humilation will be total, if we don't acknowledge what is coming and stop.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/3492426-Westministenders-Abbreviation
Brexit Abbreviation Thread

That moment when Gove becomes your ally

Lisa O'carroll @ lisaocarroll
Michael Gove vows to uphold food standards after Brexit - suggests tariff regime will protect farmers competitive advantage post Brexit (does this mean no to zero tariffs)

amp.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/19/michael-gove-vows-to-uphold-food-standards-after-brexit?CMP=share_btn_tw&__twitter_impression=true
Michael Gove vows to uphold food standards after Brexit
Environment secretary’s pledge follows fears over imports of chlorinated chicken

This, of course, would make Liam very unhappy and screw that US trade deal.

I have appointment with dietician next week. I have put on 1 kilo in the last month which is surprising considering I eat less than ever. It must be all those corners of biscuits I keep eating. no idea how a dietician is going to help me (a) keep food down (b) cure my aversion of having enzymes put all over food which actually burns my mouth if I miss mixing in thoroughly. (C) complete aversion to eating anything remotely healthy.

I'm sure we all take Gove's "vows" seriously

It's so scary that a a high-level commission hasn't been put together yet. We need regulators for every sector in a matter of weeks!

PMK

Gove's pledges aren't worth the oxygen. He's been snuggling up to Trump and co. for years.

Pmk

Jim Pickard@pickardje
Splits are emerging in the pro-EU faction in May’s government, with Philip Hammond coming under criticism for his “spineless” approach to Brexit.

Some pro-European ministers fault Hammond for refusing to threaten to resign to avert no-deal scenario.

amp.ft.com/content/323e78c4-3082-11e9-ba00-0251022932c8?__twitter_impression=true

Steven Swinford @steven_swinford
Good story from @PickardJE this morning on fissures emerging among Remain ministers.

Philip Hammond facing criticism over his 'spineless' approach to Brexit.

The Chancellor wasn't among the four Cabinet ministers who went to meet PM yesterday over no-deal Brexit

I'm sure we all take Gove's "vows" seriously

Well quite

I've had a sudden over anxious thought.
dd intends to leave much of her belongings in her room at university over the easter break and come back on the train with the bare minimum.

What if things get really bad? What if university terms have to be postponed? Things won't get that bad will they?

My rational side says we won't get to that level of disruption, but that tiny what if voice suddenly got very loud.

Oybbk, honest answer is that we honestly don't know. It could be fine. It could be worse than we fear. It could be a bang event or a long drawn out hiss of an event. The governments diplomatic stance is important in that respect. It could also be fine in many places but for others there be pockets of flash points.

It really does depend on how much can get through from the EU without disruption. Particularly with reference to food, fuel and medicine.

Not fuel.

The wonderful thing about Tiggers is .... ????

I just saw about your cat Pretty. I'm sorry :(

Sorry about your cat Pretty - I hope s/he surprises you and recovers as animals sometimes do.

That's true Dragons.
I think we will organise dh going to pick her up so that she can at least have the things she would miss at home.

If we were to worry about every scenario we'd go quite mad, so I need to do what I can to mitigate things then file the rest of my thoughts under 'Sometimes the unforeseeable happens'.

If we were to worry about every scenario we'd go quite mad, so I need to do what I can to mitigate things then file the rest of my thoughts under 'Sometimes the unforeseeable happens'.

My philosophy is do what you can to set your mind at rest if you have the means to do it. Then get on with things. Mainly as you can't do anymore anyway.

My point is to eliminate the 'if only I'd done that' feeling as much as you can about the things that are really nagging away at you and then see everything else as fated beyond your control.

There is only so much you can do.

We have someone coming for a second viewing on the house at the weekend. I don't know whether to be happy or terrified. I think I'd be happier if things were a month on.

...Tiggers are wonderful things!

PMK.

Some more subtext to Brexit - countries want their history back. The irony of us "taking control" continues.

Robert Peston@peston
A Tory MP reminds me that it was in Swindon in 2015 that his party launched a manifesto that pledged to hold a referendum to settle the Europe issue once and for all. “I think we have settled Swindon once and for all”, he says. “Not much else”. #Honda

The same for my student DC, dragons and kitten. I must say I'd actually felt relief that 29th March is in the middle of Uni hols, and if there are immediate food supply problems, at least they'll be at home. By the start of summer term (Easter), perhaps we'll know a bit more about what's happening. (This all sounds a bit silly and over-anxious; I'd not admit it to anyone else.)

Sos my gut feeling is that the 7 did the right thing for the right reasons. They want to be transparent and go with their strongly-held beliefs. Yes, it is very late in the day. They gave it 5 months chance since the Labour conference decision to go for a Ref if all else fails, but now it seems the leadership don't really want that...

David Allen Green has just retweeted the following with the comment:

Once can fairly infer from this step that no reneogtiation is being considered.

Not necessarily, but.

Steve Peers @stevepeers

Withdrawal agreement and political declaration published in today's EU Official Journal. Note that they squished the withdrawal agreement into a mere 185 pages.