Westminstenders: Adrift at Sea

[RedToothBrush]

After May lost the Meaningful Vote last night by a long way she has lost control of the agenda. She managed to persuade just 40 out of the 116 she needed to support here.

This leaves us all adrift with nothing apparent to a solution.

May announced that tonight's vote will be to stop No Deal. She has announced that it will be a free vote and she herself intends to vote against No Deal. This looks set to be blocked but the amendments that go with it are more important. Particularly the Spelman / Dromey amendment which is pitched to stop no deal completely (it doesn't) which is more about trying to kill off a Meaningful Vote III instead.

Tomorrow's vote is perhaps more important though. Its about an extension to a50. We NEED an extension. However the length of the extension is yet to be argued as is the purpose of the extension.

This is also against whispers that the Italian Far Right group has been lobbied by Leave.EU and Farage has directly asked Eurospectics in the EP to veto any extension. Whether this would happen remains to be seen but it certainly raises questions over an extension is even now possible. This was always a probable action; Banks & Farage have for 3 years aggitated to cause maximum problems for the government. Its also true that they only have power due to this dynamic of being a hostile force.

With No Deal so catastophic that Hammond today made the point in his Spring Budget that, if he feels there's almost nothing he'd feel able to do to mitigate the effects of what he sees as the car crash of no deal, this leaves one option on the table. Ironically it is possible that the actions of Banks and Co might be more likely to have that effect rather than to stop an extension. The question, however, would then be whether May had the guts to revoke.

We certainly have, at least, reached crunch point. Have we done so too late to make a difference? And will our new found sovereignity be twarted by Brexiteers inviting the interference of foriegn hostile forces to intervene?

OK battery charged and chucking up finished ( for a little bit). Surprised thread not completely full! I thought I couldn't be shocked much more but by gum! What a mess. TM is really really pushing and bullying and in so much contempt of parliament. Even whipping when she said she wouldn't. Those Tories who abstained should be sacked for simply abstaining on such nationally important business. In fact any mp that abstains from any party should lose their jobs. They are not paid to not vote IMO. But of course they didn't want to vote against the whip because they are YELLOW BELLIED DONT WANT TO LOSE THEIR HIGH PAID CUSHY JOBS!!!! ( sorry had to shout)
TM has no humility at all. And how the hell they are going to put amendments on tomorrows A50 vote is beyond me! Agree to a deal by the 20th or I won't apply for an extension. Well thanks for nothing TM and shirking on your promises, your word is nothing! There is no other deal bar the brexit, no brexit, shit turd of your deal. I have nothing but contempt for TM.

Can you persuade the Leaver colleague to wait, so that they get a shiny new GB one? Or mysteriously be nowhere to be seen tomorrow so that she has to find another Leaver.

You're right, pretzels

The 3 Years of Behaving Madly

grinchly, morally you are signing the child's passport. The child has done nothing wrong and has no say in the parents' political views. I'd sign in a heartbeat.

Sorry to hear you upchuck so much, sos 💐

grinchly

I'd refuse. Cite issues wrt concetns about your personal info in EU hands.

But then, I'm a bit of bitch.

Hope you're feeling better now sos

It takes weeks for a passport to arrive nowadays, don’t worry, by then Brexit will be done and dusted and it’ll be a burgundy one :-)))

(Is this the stuff if history books? Will we be able to remember all of these episodes, when our grandkids will ask us, or is it going to be all a jumble of MessyEpisode after another?)

What Theresa May could do, is revoke at the last moment, but then provide a sweetener to the ERG by telling them to go away and produce a costed document showing the advantages of leaving. (Thinking of the Scottish Independence Ref which was supported by proper documentation, even if people did pick holes in it.)

Now since a significant number of Leavers, Johnson and Davis in particular, are lazy so and sos we might be waiting a long time for this document. Rees-Mogg would manage not to contribute - he is quite careful to make sure that he can't be pinned down easily.

I like that plan Peregrina

I’d love to actually see a clear coherent plan for leaving the EU.

Now it seems more is demanded including my own passport details thus a more active part in enabling this kid to have one of the last Eu passports issued.

Yes, but it'll be just as useless as the blue one so doesn't really matter from that pov.

Grinchly I'd do it because imagine the mum's annoyance when they have to look at their child's burgundy EU passport every time they travel for the next ten years. In fact I would brightly tell your colleague how pleased you are that their child will be an EU citizen in passport terms. If they're dependent on you doing it, they'll have to smile bitterly and keep quiet. Asking for your passport no is standard but nothing to worry about.

I can definitely see TM wasting time with the objective of getting No Deal by default. I think that she is far far more of a Leaver than a Remainer.

The Passport Office suggests to counter-signatories that if they don't want to divulge their passport number etc to the applicant that they fill their section in last and take charge of posting it.

As no applicant will normally say Yes to this arrangement, it's a good way of getting out of it.

Its took me an hour and a half to read posts! Oh goodness I do so love this thread!
Thanks for best wishes have took anti sickness tablets. I feel like I'm on a boat on the sea with 20 foot waves at the mo. I won't eat anything tomorrow and I will be fine by next day.
Well what will be the best result for us remainders on tomorrows vote? I would appreciate some feedback please you lovely peeps!

I think he is trying to provoke Republicans and/or discredit the government of Ireland who might be tarred with the same brush as any dissident Republicans who might start bombing, etc.

Agreed, math. And it was particularly provoking, being said less than 24 hours before Bloody Sunday prosecutions (please God) are announced.

Oh yes.
He knows exactly what he's doing

We also need a name for the leavers. Brexiteers makes them sound like swashbuckling pirates and I have to hand it to them, calling us remoaners is a pretty good low-level insult. And sadly sound bites do matter. But I can't think of a good one.

Talking about Shakespearean names for what's happening....

Brexit also inspired a revival of Cymbeline, as a production in the year of the European Union referendum was altered to reflect the effect of the vote. Set in a near future, an isolationist stance has caused a barrenness to the play’s nation which is embroiled in conflict with nearby powers. The vision sounds not unlike some of the predications of a Britain without its European allies.

Now, the Bard’s plays, which feature treacherous plotters against a leader, uncomfortably reflect the Tories’ plans of ousting Theresa May. The politicians could easily be several versions of Richard III, who repellently carved his way to the crown, Macbeth and his wife bloodily scheming in The Scottish Play, or Iago, manipulating those around him in Othello.

And more on Shakespeare connections to brexit...
In the summer of 2016, Rupert Goold planned his Richard III at London’s Almeida theatre, where the villain of the play was to be modelled on Boris Johnson, as the director felt that both were “physically strange and yet sexually predatory, inherently comic, outside the rules, of questionable motives, ultimately ambitious”.

In the end, Ralph Fiennes was cast as the vulgar king, and the person who the character most closely parallels is Michael Gove, the actor said. Richard III “suddenly…became full of a pertinence that perhaps it hadn’t had before”, Fiennes commented, due to the political climate in the UK after Brexit. The similarities between the infightings in the play and within parliament were also drawn attention to by the play’s director: “I weirdly feel now, having MPs come to see the production that, without being pretentious about it, potentially the arts have the ability to offer an example as well as respond. It is our job to offer warnings and inspirations.”

Finally..
Jacques in Shakespeare’s As You Like It proclaims, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.” Over the centuries it seems that the roles of plays have been taken on by different players in reality: Shakespeare’s tyrants are chillingly mirrored by our world leaders, political overthrowings of the modern day are similarly chronicled in the Bard’s plays and the future of the governments are predicated through the medium of texts written centuries ago.....

Well personally I feel like I'm in either a nightmare that never ends or a parallel universe. If we end up with a 2 year extension it may be too long for me so let's hope someone can get a revoke through.

Cooper is one person I view has worked so hard from the backbenchers and has my full admiration. She is becoming a great stateswoman. She does not lack courage when necessary. I look to her to continue to work cross party to show the HoC what cooperation and working together can achieve.
My warning to Parliament is put aside your personal differences and self serving ways to sort the impasse out and save our country and work tirelessly to then make this country a fit place to live in for your children and their children and for all the children to come. For, if you do not you will all forever be known as the cause of the death of a great nation, yes, a great nation still, even with the last 3 years mess. Show the world that this nation is still a world leader, show the world how cooperation and working for the good of its people can prevail to make greatness.

Resting in bed a bit longer this morning, dog will have lots of walks as dd coming to spend the day with me. Am currently having a cuddle with dog, she's like a hot water bottle, only she snores!