Westminstenders: Stuck in the Middle With TIGGERS

[RedToothBrush]

Well I don't know how we got here tonight.
We've got the feeling that something ain't right.
We're so scared as we leave the EU
And we're wondering how we'll get out of this stew

Antisemites to the left of me!
Dog Whistles to the right!
Here I am stuck in the middle whilst we leave the EU.

'Cause I'm stuck in the middle whilst we leave the EU.
And I'm wondering what it is we should do.
It's so hard to keep this smile from my face.
Losing control and running all over the place.

Clowns to the left of me!
Jokers to the right!
Here I am stuck in the middle whilst we leave the EU.

When you started off with rights
And you're starting to wonder if thats for life.
And all the politicians come crawling
Slap you on the back and say
Please . . .
Please . . .
Vote Leave and back EU Withdrawal

But we see it makes no sense at all.

Best to keep your money offshore
Than to visit the bookstore

Deniers to the left of me!
Islamaphobes to the right!
Here I am stuck in the middle with you.

Its finally happened. FINALLY.

MPs have seen that their leaders have lost the plot and are hell bent on destruction and politicial ideology ahead of practicality and will justify the unjustifable in the face of democracy and they have jumped ship.

Enter stage left and stage right: The TIGGERS - members of The Independent Group.

Will there be more. Hard to say no. It seems almost certain there will be more.

Will it make a difference? Difficult to call, but these MPs would be driven out sooner or later. Such is our accelerating politicial polarisation and narrowing of views. This is their last stand. They have nothing left to lose on a personal level.

Whether you agree with the TIGGERS or still look to the other parties for policy, I do think that the emergence of the TIGGERS marks a feeling of optimism and much needed hope for many many Remainers / Moderates, even if it ultimately does fizzle out.

A reflection from 2017: People voted for Corbyn because they were looking for Hope. When he's failed to deliver that, its led to disillusionment and he can not pull the same trick again at a future GE. This makes that doubly so. People are STILL very much looking for that hope. If Brexit does go tits up in a big fashion, then what happens? To what direction do people look? I'm sure there will be the bitterest of recriminations, but... hope is a big deal. We need something...

Tick tick tick. 37 days til Brexit.

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

Gove - one of the faces of the leave campaign - has a nerve trying to blame Hammond - a remainer.

Pretty sure that Gove and Boris and the rest of them should have known how to sort all the problems, and exactly what prep was needed, before they told everyone to vote for the incredibly stupid thing.

twitter.com/giles_fraser/status/1098896087425912832

Everything was so much better in the past according to Giles Fraser. Especially when women were the chattels who picked up after everyone. My take.

To coin a phrase , those that promoted Brexit without even the sketch of a plan have a special place in hell

And speaking of which, this old cartoon still applies, only 5 weeks from Brexit Day

And it is Remainers who created this rubbish deal for men. And the universe.

I don't think the ERGer who wants no deal is JRM.

Well I do think he wants no deal, but I don't think he would say that out loud. He's of the 'we would like a deal but if we don't get one it's all fine' camp.

I think it's Andrea Jenkyns as she's the only one stupid enough to say out loud she wants no deal. Either her or Mark Francois. A lot of the rest are thinking it, but they won't say it.

Pesky women (and pesky men who were supportive of those women and pesky enlightened men) actually not wanting to keep white middle and upper class men (aka their right and proper lords and masters) in the lifestyle to which they were accustomed they deserved

There was an ERG member on Sky news yesterday (can't remember who it was, but it wasn't one of the usual suspects) who, when it was put to him that the ERG were at the extreme right of the Conservative party and not representative, denied this and said categorically, "No, we are the party now"

Meanwhile Irish government publishes legislation to cope with no deal Brexit

To be fair, lack of mobile signal and/or broadband connectivity can be solved with appropriate investment
That is a no then.

Is Giles Fraser serious in that tweet?

I have noticed over the last couple of days, my local radio station BBC London have started to mention ERG a lot in the news bulletins.
Whereas previously they have never been mentioned🤔

I think he is absolutely serious in that article. I remember I eventually used to have to turn over when he came on thought for the day. And I used to really like 'thought for the day'. Eventually, I couldn't put radio 4 on at all; but anon.

Prettybird
Having stood on the top of a jungled mountain in Dominica (the tiny small island) and had 3g able to check Facebook

but been in Romsey in Hampshire unable to send an SMS

I know that the Uk's infrastructure is dysfunctional

Tops of mountains are fine - it's the valleys and hollows that are the problem

Caveat: I'm not an engineer. I was just involved in the commercial overview of the project and the relationships/coordination between the telcos.

pretty
Nope, the valleys had wired phone relays
the peaks were the hard bit, especially on an actively volcanic island

Giles Fraser is just another misogynistic lump and that article is trash. Middle class white man telling women where their place in society should be.

Anti-freedom of movement and yet has............an ex wife who's Swedish and a much younger (quelle surprise!) wife who's Israeli? Run along, Giles, you utter melt.

But I agree: the UK infrastructure is dysfunctional. The investment is only put in when the telcos are forced to under their commitments when they bid for mobile wavelengths. So they get away with (and I can't remember the exact percentages) 80% geographical coverage and 90% mobile coverage. I think those percentages are higher now - but they still leave big holes in rural areas. And capacity is never sufficient, so even if there is technically coverage, it may not be sufficient.

If the telcos don't see a business case and don't need to do it, then they won't . And the government doesn't like interfering in "market forces" to force them

And the government doesn't like interfering in "market forces" to force them

Except when it's their mates ....

or weapons
to be dropped on the people of yemen

At the risk of derailing into a discussion of telecoms (although it is peripherally relevant to Brexit ) part of the problem in the UK is the insistence that private companies do all the work and the government can't or won't interfere or subsidise. In Iceland they were much more proactive - and couldn't understand how constrained we were in the UK with planning permission, transit rights and digging trenches rather than sort of automated mole type tunnelling machines.

I was involved in a number of projects across Scotland to improve infrastructure (a while ago now ) - but it was never straight forward and easily thwarted by interfering Westminster politicians, who weren't interested in experts (sound familiar? ) and how telecoms actually worked.

The lawyer and technical bods I worked with at the time are still in the industry and have been trying to work working with government bodies who don't have a fucking clue about the implications of Brexit on telecoms

DGR - except when it's their mates

Quite

twitter.com/politicsjoe_uk/status/1098537821240000512?s=21

Very funny. But also

Please let this be true. Please!

www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/marcus-ball-lodges-papers-against-boris-johnson-1-5903840

I’ve missed a lot lately so apologies if this has already been discussed/shared.

Scary reading - pharmacists will be allowed to ration/change drugs - basically overrule a GP’s prescription.

www.pharmacy.biz/regulation-introducing-serious-shortage-protocol-tabled/?fbclid=IwAR3bwyn8hQe0GtoOfRg3isCvvgmADMC0sjewZgLBIKLjwN1ub1SYT6RGJWc

Similar relating to the NHS.

www.hsj.co.uk/policy-and-regulation/health-leaders-call-on-prime-minister-to-prevent-no-deal-brexit/7024495.article

I expect TM is hoping that Meghan will have her baby in the next three weeks or so. Let that take up the front pages for a bit.