Westminstenders: Pragmatism versus Purity

[RedToothBrush]

There is one question for the HoC in the next week and that's will you persue pragmatism or purity?

May looks as if she is being sidelined after a backbench withdrawal of support, the DUPs withdrawal of support and an omminous silence eminenating from the Cabinet.

Her speech on Thursday where she pitted the people against parliament has been her last mistake. She's now a danger to the country's stability and the safety of MPs.

The priority for the week is to pass the SI to change the UK exit date from 29th March to the EU's new terms.

After that, with May's deal stuffed due to lack of support and a Bercow ruling it looks like we are facing some sort of indicative free vote. This seems to be being supported by ministers in government regardless of leave or remain.

The prospect of a Tory Leader Election contest looms. It remains to seen if that can happen in the next three weeks with so much else at stake. But this is the Tory party.

The penny seems to be finally dropping about the reality of leaving the EU and how we leave the EU. A week before we were due to go. The incompetence of Parliament is laid bare in all its glorious full scale.

Me too oybbk crashed on sofa with throbbing feet!

edition.cnn.com/uk/live-news/brexit-london-march-gbr-intl/index.html

Organizers claim that 1 million people took to the streets of the British capital today. CNN has not been able to verify this figure and London's Metropolitan Police are not commenting on crowd estimates.

Why are the police not commenting, I wonder?

I can't make out who it is on the poster

I believe David Cameron is the colossal tit. (If I'm wrong about the poster, it was still good to get that sentence off my chest. ).

Unofficially the Police were saying closer to 2 million. Apparently they don't do official estimates any more!

Yes I heard something about police no longer give estimates, I wonder why.

doIreallyneedto Cameron is the Colossal Tit! (amongst many, I know)

Pmk

According to either the state broadcaster or Sky news (can't remember which), the police no longer comment on the size of crowds as the numbers have become so politicised

I also suspect that there is a secondary (but probably just as important ) issue that they can't acknowledge how many were in the crowd on case they'd "policed" for more or less than were actually the case

I remember that being explained re the anti-war march. I know what "25,000" looks/feels like - I've run the London Marathon, which has defined number. I know that there were more than 25,000 on the anti-war march in Glasgow: we were still queuing to leave Glasgow Green (with it still full behind us) when the assembly area/car park in front of the SECC, 2.5 miles away had already filled up (and a solid mass of people filling the wide roads between the two locations) . Yet the police said that there were only 25,000 on the march Someone wrote in to The Herald to point out that the police had manned for 25,000. Ergo, there were only 25,000 however many were really there there

Why are the police not commenting, I wonder?

Who cares ? You can work it out from the overtime ....

It felt way way bigger than the Iraq march.

I'm also loving the #countmetoo hashtag - that's made me well up this evening.

Good to show the EU that a lot of Brits don't want this Brexshit
Both the march and the petition getting good coverage in Germany:

https://www.dw.com/en/brexit-major-rally-in-london-for-second-peoples-vote/a-48037045

https://www.dw.com/en/stop-brexit-millions-sign-petition-to-british-government/a-48023457

The march was amazing. We were round the edges most of the time. Got about as far as Whitehall and heard some speeches on the big screen but boys were flagging by then.

Toothbrushes were there! I didn't see any others but I did have about 5 people ask me about them

Late PMK

And a few more

Someone’s gone to a lot of effort here!

Tim Shipman @shippersunbound
🚨 BREAKING: A full blown cabinet coup is under way tonight to remove Theresa May as prime minister 🚨

I have spoken to 11 cabinet ministers today who want the prime minister to resign. They will confront her at cabinet on Monday

Cabinet coup plotters want to install an interim leader to deliver Brexit. There is good support for David Lidington but others pushing Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt

IMPORTANT: Sajid Javid the Home Secretary is prepared to back Lidington if the other main leadership contenders stand aside but he wouldn’t back Gove or Hunt

Jeremy Hunt does not back Lidington because he thinks he will do a deal with Labour for permanent membership of a customs union

Michael Gove has been secretly building a leadership campaign team and is willing to become acting prime minister if his colleagues want him. He’s sceptical that Lidington can come up with an acceptable Brexit policy

Despite disagreements over the succession pretty well everyone agrees the PM should go, which should at least ensure that she agrees to name a date

Cabinet ministers have turned on May in a spectacular fashion today saying the last week shows her judgment has “gone haywire”. One said she was “erratic” and can’t be trusted

May’s chief whip Julian Smith believes she has no prospect of getting her deal through or landing Boris Johnson or Jacob Rees-Mogg unless she agrees to stand down

May’s husband Philip is still urging her to fight on and the PM has not yet agreed to go but senior aides say he should take a leaf out of Denis Thatcher’s book and urge her to walk away

May’s u-turns last week destroyed her brand for being steady and reliable. Her genius for 2yrs was to persuade MPs she was on their side. Now no one thinks she is on their side

Cabinet minister: “The end is nigh. She will be gone in 10 days.”

Oh makes me feel a bit ill - intense

Is there hope for a better outcome as a result

Steve Baker MP @ stevenbakerhw
I’m advised @michaelgove would also go for Customs Union plus single market with Labour votes

Problems with that:
t.co/rWH3LFy0BX

Next.

Oh good, the Tories doing more in-fighting is going to make it all better. Prats

The one thing you can rely on with the Tories is their delight in stabbing each other in the back.

As for her possible successors I would like someone who will actually work with cross party groups on a solution to this epic clusterfuck.

No idea who that would be, though.

Lidington? Grey suit. John major type??
The Saj? Deluded!
Bojo? He is a joke to his party.
Gove? Tainted by the leave campaign and would be a disaster for NI...

I guess if she goes is pushed then that could mean the EU would give us a longer extension?

Sigh.

The mail on sunday

The plotters Rudd and hammond
The blockers Leadsom and williamson

Jeez I’m exhausted! And my legs are killing me! But we had an incredible day.

Well that's one way of knocking the March news off the front pages!

Torygraph.
Liddington with Gove as chancellor