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

The only reason I assess the chances of No Deal at 90%, instead of 99.99%, is that I have witnessed beneficial political shocks as well as negative ones.

The British constitution has been honed over centuries to avoid such shocks. Or, to put it another way, when was the last time the British parliament underwent such a political shock ? If I had to name one (like a flawed YouGov survey) I would probably think of the Lloyd-George budget spat where he dared the establishment to ignore the manifesto of an elected government.

Over a century ago.

PMK

I found myself idly wondering recently how the UK could ever become a republic when every MP is required to swear an oath of allegiance to her madge

Really?

Loyalty is not what it once was.

No, it almost certainly won't save us from Brexit or the godawful aftermath

However, I'm very glad to have moderate voices rejecting the old toxic party politics and putting forward new ideas

Not forming a new party gives each MP the freedom to be fully independent in their views & actions

The old politics got us into this disaster, but it's no use expecting for a saviour on a white unicorn to rescue us
We're in for hard times and a very long slog back, but at least this new grouping may be an opportunity for fresh idea to develop

The alternative to working to make the future better, is basically curling up to die as a modern developed economy

They need at least another 20 MPs within days though, if they want to influence the Brexit debate
Otherwise, as red says, they may not be called to speak in the HoC and their amendments may not be called either

I expect atm they are using MPs allowances & research facilities, but will be asking for private donations

Everytime I see the Tories get high and mighty about anti-Semitism in the labour party I am once again astounded by the gall. There is an amazing amount of hypocrisy coddled in this statement. I am almost in awe.

This is from the Guardian live feed:

Here is the Conservative party’s response, via chairman Brandon Lewis, to this morning’s events:

The resignations and speeches today confirm in former Labour MPs’ own words, that the Labour Party has changed irreversibly under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.

Labour has become the Jeremy Corbyn Party – failing to take action on everything from tackling anti-Jewish racism to keeping our country safe.

We must never let him do to our country what he is doing to the Labour party today.

DG The 10% chance of avoiding No Deal is dependent on existing MPs putting the country first,
finding their ovaries & balls and - big shock - passing a binding amendment against the wishes of the govt or otherwise convincing the govt not to let No Deal happen

So far, I see no signs of this and my 10% dwindles to 0.1% once we get into March without this happening.

I totally disagree with those who say that May / the Tories would never let No Deal happen
Of course they would

Info about the march, especially for first time demonstrators is being posted here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/3510056-Put-it-to-the-People-March-23rd-March

PMK

So I am on hold to the AA, who I have my car insurance with. They are currently issuing green cards for travel in Europe, but only until the end of May, despite their insurance cover giving you 90 days cover in Europe.

Thank you Red. Brexit still hangs menacingly over us - especially "No deal" but I am heartened by the fact that a small group of Labour MPs have taken the plunge - I pray that others will follow their example. We desperately need a better way in politics, but the voting system is undeniably rigged against them.

I guess also that given their position taken by their local parties, some at least of the seven may have felt they had nothing to lose. There are many sensible pragmatic MPs in the H of C - if only they would stand together and all put the country ahead of their party.

* •BBC news site manages to have no mention of Brexit in it's 13 above-the-fold stories ....*

*•Just seven- not seventy only seven. Come on moderate Tories join them.
*
Fxxxing Regal Squid Kelim.

PMK. Hate Monday’s as up until now by the time Friday gets here nothing has changed for the better. I fired off several emails yesterday to Tory MPs thanking them for speaking out about Brexit. I think at a time when the narrative pushed from some quarters is Treason and there are wankers wondering around with pictures of gallows and captions of hang traitors then the easy path is to say nothing so fair play to those that do speak up.

I'm remembering why I dont watch BBC politics

goes to lie down with a cold flannel on forehead

So, who are the moderate tories likely to jump boat?

Sarah Wollaston - seems likely
What is Jo Johnson doing these days?
I guess it would be bad form for the speaker to jump, but will he allow them floor time?

Tony Connelly @tconnellyRTE
Irish foreign min @simoncoveney rules out any "keyhole surgery" to the Withdrawal Agreement, and says Ireland will not accept any unilateral exit clause to the Irish backstop or an expiry date.

" We will not be steamrolled in this process."

Mr Coveney accused some in Westminster of trying to replace the backstop with "alternative arrangements" when those arrangements had not yet been tested. “That is a very unreasonable ask,” he said.

The Irish say what they've been saying for years.

Again.

There will be no Tories joining ' the 7'. They really do put their party first especially if labour splits even more because everyone wants to be on the winning side. The only thing ' the 7' has done is to ensure another decade of a Tory government as they intend to destroy the labour party bit by bit. That's their 10 year policy. Twats that they are. Hopefully in a couple of weeks people won't even remember their names. Pfffft!

Returning to the FlyBMI collapse, I was puzzled that they cited "a spike in carbon costs" as one of the factors

R North yesterday pointed out something I hadn't noticed, which explains this:

( http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=87150 )

The EU back in December realised there was a high risk the WA would not pass, so
to safeguard their ETS (Emissions Trading System) they suspended all UK participation in the ETS from 1 January 2019 !!

This increases costs for all UK airlines - so they have to raise prices / cut profits / go bust

The UK would only be allowed to participate again if it passes the WA ( or revokes)

I wonder if we have been suspended from any other systems already
and also how many other systems, which we never really thought about wrt Brexit, we will lose after No Deal

Rowena Kay @rowena_kay
If Luciana Berger was an employee she'd be claiming constructive dismissal and race/religious discrimation.

And she'd wipe the floor with her employer.

Someone give me the counter argument...

They are not "twats" if they have come to believe that Labour has become so toxic under Corbyn that they cannot stay in the party

Of course Labour loyalists will never accept this,
however, this Brexit mess happened because almost all MPs in both parties put party or profit before country

Putting down people who are putting principles before party,
is putting down the first MPs trying to find another way, over the next decades

We must break out of this toxic cycle of incompetent, broken-down zombie parties taking turns to rule / ruin us

Of course loyalty to Corbyn was more important than e.g. rooting out the anti-semitism, sexism and bullying culture, which is eating away at the Labour party

I'm glad those MPs broke away, even if they are too few to make a difference:

the alternative would have been staying in the party and staying part of the problem.

Sorry Sos but I fundamentally disagree with you. I admire them for having had the courage of their convictions.

I think you are the one who is brainwashed and blinkered in your support of a Labour Party that is doing nothing effective to stop the Brexit that you claim that you don't want

I find it really really hard to believe that Labour is any more anti-semitic and sexist than the Tory party. I suspect the Dave Spart style of Labourite is not averse to bullying. I am not sure whether the Tories bully so overtly - if you look at people like Rees-Smogg they just do it by sneering put downs, but it undermines people just the same.

^Of course Labour loyalists will never accept this,
however, this Brexit mess happened because almost all MPs in both parties put party or profit before country^

Now my politics are for the most part pretty well to the left, more so than many on this thread. I probably wouldn't vote for any of these 7 on anything apart from brexit (though some of them I don't know well so who knows maybe they are secret lefties). But it is Corbyn's brexit policies that are going to allow the Tory party to win another election, not these guys leaving the party they no longer feel represents their views.

I support the majority of the labour manifesto, there is little in it that is particularly far left to be honest, but the brexit policy has been a disaster. I am glad to see some MPs finally doing what they said they would do and making a stand even if I might not agree with all their politics.

What happens next remains to be seen. It could turn out to be a damp squib and they will slip into obscurity to disappear at the next GE or it could be the start of something bigger. We'll just have to wait and see how it plays out.

Exactly, Red (re LB's "constructive dismissal"). I don't have a huge amount of sympathy for MPs, but people do tend to forget that they are in a very precarious situation employment wise, and don't enjoy many of the basic protections that most of us get at work

I'm assuming that The Magnificent Seven are expecting others from across the House to join them soon - surely they will have sounded out friends and allies in advance?