Westminstenders: Compromise is a difficult word

[RedToothBrush]

Today the HoC had a water leak. It closed the house for the day. This isn't without consequence; any hope for the opportunity of Indicative Votes on Monday had cold water poured on it.

Meanwhile talks between talks between May and Corbyn were about as productive as you'd imagine. But apparently they had nice tea and biscuits.

The Cooper Bill, the last minute lock on May getting a extension to prevent no deal, has been in the Lords today. I say it's been in the Lords but Tories have filibuster Ed on procedure for over 6 hours to prevent the chance of it passing the house. Tory whips are timetabled until 6am but the opposition benches have vowed to go to 7.30am. So far the votes to ruin the procedure have failed comfortably so the opposition have the number. Its just a question of time.

The trouble is with the Lords not sitting tomorrow that means the bill won't get passed until Monday and there are fears it won't get royal assent until Tuesday.

The bill doesn't prevent accidental no deal but it would be a barrier to May.

It therefore looks like May's gambit with the EU to get an extension is to say her plan is ongoing talks with Labour for a cross party solution. It won't wash.

No deal looks more and more likely.

I hope we do get to vote in any EU election.

My area is a trial for voter id AND they have moved the polling stations to one place which is not very accessible...almost like its deliberate to prevent younger, poorer people from voting, isnt it?

If you are ft carer, disabled, or move house a lot then how do you vote if you haven't sorted out a postal vote?

(The only person I know who uses a postal vote is an electoral teller!)

Snogging I reckon.

Nick Gutteridge @nick_gutteridge
EU ambassadors met today to discuss options for an extension. Germany & Netherlands were open to Tusk idea of year-long delay. But France, Spain & Belgium were 'very hard' & argued May hasn't done enough to justify one. They floated 2 week delay to prepare markets for crash out.

Balance of probabilities still favours 'flextension' of somewhere between 8-12 months when EU27 leaders get together next Weds. But France in particular will demand very concrete political commitments from UK that it won't use a delay to interfere in decisions about EU's future.

Idea of long extension is to pack UK 'off to garden shed' for few months to get head straight & sort out internal political crisis in hope May (or another PM) will be able to come back at end of year with better idea of what it wants. Also takes Brexit off EU agenda for a while.

But France has strong reservations about importing UK's political problems into heart of EU if there's long delay. Its ambassador stressed 'political & legal risk' because 'they might paralyse our institutions', according to diplomatic source. I.e what Rees-Mogg tweeted today.

debating the e-petition, Leaving the EU Mnister has just said they would like to do a Confirmatory Ballot which would include the option of Remain, indeed that theresold be no point in having a PB without Remain as a choice.

So Mays message for the UK is "Let me be clear, nothing has changed" but when she gets to Brussels it will be "Let me be clear, everything has changed"

I cannot describe how impossible it is for me to not to believe that there are vast swathes of people in government who somehow can't conceive of UK news being reported in the EU.

Matt Foster @ mattlpfoster
Source says PM has been asking Labour to support exact same deal as before, argues she's not come forward with any changes on political delcaration.

Would not characterise it as talks collapsing - but ball now in PM's court to compromise.

Well I'm so surprised

NI Border poll:

"both polls" meaning north and south? Yes, they have to happen concurrently.

Theresa May's letter to Donald Tusk - Do we think she means any of it, or has it just been done 'for show'?

I'm beginning to think she's just put her fingers in her ear and is singing 'la la la la la' whilst her communications people draft letters for her that, like a badly poured pint, are all froth and no substance.

Heather Stewart
@GuardianHeather
Labour not walking out of Brexit talks with the government; but waiting to be convinced there's any willingness to shift those legendary red lines.

Not sure I understand that TalkinPaece? The SPaG test is a load of bollocks but the grammar taught since the introduction of the literacy strategy in the nineties is pretty sound (though by no means perfect). We made a pig's ear of it in education in the seventies and eighties, but much better since then. My GCs certainly have a very good grasp of grammar for writing, which is the bit that matters. Grammar for grammar's sake (as taught in the fifties) was never the way to learn.

Theresa May's letter to Donald Tusk - Do we think she means any of it, or has it just been done 'for show'?

Well, as noted, that's 48 hours we're not getting back.

However, she did flush out two more headbangers and has pretty much called the ERGs bluff - I think the JRM tweet that has rung around the internet has aroused more curiosity than he'd like.

Where that leaves us now ... your guess is as good as mine. All I can say is I feel a disturbance in the force ... it is as if 6 million people all cried out at once ....

Aha I've worked out TM's game plan.

She's purposely trying to infuriate the EU so they'll say 'non!' on 11th April and we crash out.

That'll keep the Tory brexiters happy and then she'll probably resign and can retire to the country with Phillip.

And if she can blame Jezza a little, well that'll take the heat off some too.

This tweet from Tom Newton Dunn earlier...

"A big but: PM also announces UK will hold European Parliament elections on May 23 if no exit before then. So, she’s discreetly allowing the EU to impose a much longer flextension than June 30, without the political strength to ask for one herself. Very May-ist."

An extension to EOY would be 3.5 years after the referendum;
most people have some inkling that Brexit is far more complicated than claimed in the ref and that the Leave promises were not deliverable

Hence reasonable to see if opinion has changed - and a PV may actually be neecessary to resolve Brexit, if the HoC is still too timid / chaotic to actually choose an option itself

The result of any PV is uncertain, so Remainers need to accept that Leave may win
If so - this time with a specific Leave deal - then the whole country will have to accept we're leaving

The Times said there was a cabinet rebellion about May talking to Corbyn. I wonder if she asked for the short extension to shut them up while knowing full well that the EU will say a long one. I know a few people are concerned about ERG and other Brexiteers trying to cause trouble but I do think eg Guy V is a bit silly to give any credence to JRM's tweet - it's certainly done the damage though hasn't it. JRM knew what he was doing. Even though it has backfired too, with people saying he finds we do have influence in the EU after all.

Bottom line is the EU does not want us to leave.

Equally they do not want a constantly disruptive element.

But if we have EP elections that gives remainers a chance to express their views (please get out there and do so) and a long extension does increase the chances of us not leaving the EU at all, or deciding a Norway style-ish option will work after all.

I still don't think that the EU will throw us out, which is what it will be doing if it refuses an extension.

Risk of ERG idiots exists but equally we have a few decent politicians too. Chance of more remain/softer Brexit MEPs coming in.

There will a change of personnel - possibly on both sides if we have a GE.

It avoids problems in Ireland (and Gibraltar).

It gives more people a chance to get their 5/8 years residence so they can stay living where they want.

All that said, if they kick us out, they have the upper hand. We will have to go crawling back, and if we apply again for EU membership we will have to accept new conditions of membership. That may be in a few peoples' minds.

But I'm still coming down on the side of an extension.

I hope.

Also three and half to four years after (& with a specific deal)....you would almost have to hold a second vote for the 3 million plus new voters.

Department for International Trade @tradegovuk

Another successful week at DIT:

🚀 Launched the Strategic Trade Advisory Group for trade policy
🍓 Celebrated jam exporters on #NationalPeanutButterAndJellyDay
📢 Announced the Latin America Investors Club
🇺🇸 Showcased UK innovation at the Designing Our Future event in NYC
t.co/KNGVc8Ruxa

This is not a spoof tweet.

The result of any PV is uncertain, so Remainers need to accept that Leave may win. If so - this time with a specific Leave deal - then the whole country will have to accept we're leaving

If the referendum were a cross-party deal versus remain I think the deal would win.

Can we keep can kicking until November 2020? My son is desperate for a vote!

stripy - I’m glad you also had the feeling smug experience!

Well that’s just dandy, we can have jam & no bread.

redtoothbrush OMG. Actually you've just reminded me of a page I saw on LinkedIn earlier on which was something to do with EU exit and had a post on it about businesses preparing for the UK's exit from the EU. It had 114 followers, or thereabouts. How many users does LI have? How many in the UK? How many in the EU?

missclimpson
The article's (and my) bugbear is about the "box ticking" / "labelling" approach rather than the "effective use of" approach.

The result of any PV is uncertain, so Remainers need to accept that Leave may win If so - this time with a specific Leave deal - then the whole country will have to accept we're leaving

Can't prove it here, so will ask for it to be taken on trust, but DW would confirm that prior to 2016 (after Lisbon, actually) I not only wanted a referendum, but did say ".... and if we vote to Leave, we do". But that was assuming it was a clear vote to Leave, and the UK impact was considered. Because the other thing I said to DW at the time (which we agreed on) was that the worst possible outcome would be a stupidly small majority for either side.

At the end of the day, remainers and leavers were shortchanged by that wanker Cameron. And if the name "Cameron" becomes some sort of OED-busting byword for something really distasteful in future, then it's only justice.

Celebrated jam exporters on #NationalPeanutButterAndJellyDay

They'll legally change jam's name to jelly and jelly's to jello if the Americans so wish it.