Westminstenders: The Last Rites

[RedToothBrush]

After May's disastrous speech to the nation, we've hit the impasse once and for all.

She managed to enrage everyone from Brexiteers to hard Remainers and everyone in between. It was so poorly judged it's difficult to know where to begin. It just feeds the division and anger in our society in all quarters.

It's also massively undermines her appeal to the EU for an extension. If France thought we were a political basket case they were well shot of, and didn't want more social contagion from before 8pm, then they certainly won't have changed their minds since.

May's speech was that of a would be dictator. After next Friday, she effectively has both the justification and the power to act upon those instincts. She has spoken out against parliamentary democracy and consistently disregarded the law.

It's hard to see any outcome but no deal with no extension at this point. We are no waiting on a miracle to save us and that's no more than a forlorn hope. Something we hold on to, until reality presents itself.

The Last Rites of British Democracy have been served this week.

And now we face the wait for what seems now inevitable.

@red

Good point - Corbyn will (and has) sat down with the IRA, Hammas etc. yet heaven for-fend he should engage with someone who actually left the party because they could not agree with him.

Purity of doctrine over all else! How DARE they disagree with the leader and leave his party??!

Putting the petition in context. There are 16,062 petitions on the government website, and it's easy to download them to a spreadsheet. Only 10 have attracted more than 200,000 signatures - see picture.

For this to have attracted so many sigs in such a short time period is totally unprecedented.

What thank you, I’m getting increasingly panicked as was reading about the shortage of BP medication plus my other medication is on the risk list, I have a heart condition & both of these drugs help prevent my heart failure becoming much more problematic, so just a bit scared.

It was staged by May to stem popularity for JC. And people have fallen for it, calling JC a petulant child. Nope, it was an official meeting and TM knew full well that Chuka should not have been there. She offered nothing to those in attendance refusing to budge an inch.
They all came out thinking and saying wtf? So JC having already had a 20 minute one to one meeting was also aware that the whole thing was a waste of time. End of.

Putting the petition in context. There are 16,062 petitions on the government website, and it's easy to download them to a spreadsheet. Only 10 have attracted more than 200,000 signatures - see picture.

You're not looking hard enough.

Helen Lewis @helenlewis
The more I think about Theresa May's statement yesterday, the more sinister I think it was. Imagine Donald Trump saying, effectively, "your elected representatives have betrayed you, only I have your interests at heart". Just because she's boring doesn't mean she isn't reckless.

Beth Rigby @BethRigby

Cabinet source today tells me they now sceptical deal pass (narrow pathway closed). So May’s choice at the end of next week could be No Deal or long extension (watch for Cooper/Boles/Benn #3 - which will pass this time). Source thinks she will bend to her party & go for No Deal

It was staged by May to stem popularity for JC. And people have fallen for it,

Well JC did ....

Is it just me, but looking at Theresa May as she uttered platitudes had a wee talk to journalists as she arrived in Brussels, did she have an extra thick layer of foundation on to try to make her look healthier?

Oh by the way did upu heat about Leadsom so called in charge of dealing with bullying in the HoC actually enter the HoC pacifically for the purpose to shout and point and berate an MP about lgbt in schools? He tried to make a point of order but deputy speaker said she couldnt.

^It was staged by May to stem popularity for JC. And people have fallen for it, calling JC a petulant child. Nope, it was an official meeting and TM knew full well that Chuka should not have been there. She offered nothing to those in attendance refusing to budge an inch.
They all came out thinking and saying wtf? So JC having already had a 20 minute one to one meeting was also aware that the whole thing was a waste of time. End of^

No. It wasn't staged and its beyond me why you think May is capable of such moves after everything.

And even if it WAS staged, you know what Jezza could have bitten his tongue and sat through it instead of playing his part of the petulant child perfectly.

Cos thats the thing that damages him most. Not sitting down for a lecture from May in the same oxygen as Chukka.

Its embarassing and the exact thing that EVERYONE is sick to the back teeth of.

FishesaPlenty - I'm not sure what I've missed.

Website says there are 16,062 petitions in total petition.parliament.uk/petitions?state=all.

I've put them all in a spreadsheet (it has 16,062 rows) and sorted, and those came to the top.

I honestly think she has gone insane.

To put peoples lives at risk in such a way.

Ah, I see - it's just petitions during this current Parliament (ie since 2017)

I've tried 3 times to send my message through the email no 10 site. Each time I click on "send" the page goes blank and I get a message in red saying "please enter a valid message". Has anyone else had this?

Corbyn is a prick.

I voted for him the first time round. More fool me.

I have given him the benefit of the doubt time and time again. But here we are, 8 days away from crash out no deal Brexit, facing our biggest ever peacetime crisis, desperately needing our politicians to work together as grownups for the good of the nation, and he is more focussed on childish grumps. "I'm not playing if he's playing." Fucking hell Jeremy. Grow the fuck up.

I don't want to add to the strain of the petitions website (having signed the petition yesterday morning before May provoked people into signing everyone got on the bandwagon ) but iirc, petitions get scratched when a GE is called. So, for example, all the work that went into the Rape Clause/2 child cap petition, which had got to (I think) over a million (also quite quickly - although not as quickly as this) was for nothing as the petition "died" when the 2017 GE was called

Of course, the Rape Clause/2 Child Cap still went ahead on schedule

It was staged by May to stem popularity for JC. And people have fallen for it, calling JC a petulant child

Bit late but I agree with DGR & Red

If it was staged JC fell for it. He’s utterly useless.

What could this likely mean? Is it worth getting my hopes up?

Thanks to the pp who posted the link to contact the PMs office. I just fired off my angry email (and I copied 'yours in disgust') it would be great if she got absolutely inundated with emails about her speech today.

I'm so glad so many people are finding ways to get to the march. I was getting all tear eyed at the number of posters saying they hadn't been able to go but now they had changed their mind and would find a way.

I'm off to pick up my inhalers (if there are any at the pharmacy) and get in another stockpile in a bit.
I always knew it was going to go down to the wire but - at the same time - I can't quite believe it has gone this close to the wire. And still no movement.
I don't know how anyone could possibly believe we were living in a democracy any more.

Attachment didn't appear... .

Petition will have a million signatures soon. I'm in London on Saturday and now considering popping in on the March. It's not my usual sort of thing to do.

Pickle maybe not but at this stage what do we have but hope? I'll email my MP asking him to support it. He seems to be very much a line toer so unless JC goes for it (ha!) I doubt he will, but it's worth a try.

You can search the archive - these are the biggies for petitions before 2017:

2015-17 parliament
EU Referendum Rules triggering a 2nd EU Referendum : 4,150,262
Prevent Donald Trump from making a State Visit to the United Kingdom. : 1,863,708
Give the Meningitis B vaccine to ALL children, not just newborn babies. : 823,349
Block Donald J Trump from UK entry : 586,930

2010-2015 parliament
all petitions were below 400,000

Gideon Skinner @
Latest @IpsosMORI shows 86% dissatisfied with way govt running the country - only matched in in 40 yrs of polling by Major's govt post Black Wednesday. Meanwhile increasing numbers of the public would blame the UK govt for no deal....
www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/worst-public-satisfaction-ratings-any-government-john-major

Confidence in May to get a good deal for Britain in Brexit negotiations remains low, but confidence in Corbyn to do the same little better.

Support for a delay to Brexit if no agreement by 29th March depends on the timeframe - 48% say they would support a delay of up to 3 months, but only 34% support a delay of up to two years.