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 lived in Boston as an FE student almost 25 years ago. It was a miserable, run-down, deprived and racist place even then. There were international students at the college and they had an awful time of it.

The general level of aggression was like nothing I've ever experienced elsewhere

I totally believed that Dunmore East story, it's where DH is from and Mil and FIL still live there.
I can't work out if they would have been delighted or pissed off at the news!

Thread is full of coincidences tonight... I leved near Boston growing up, went to the further Ed college, was a shit hole.
Also now live in Kent... Worked near Dover, in children's homes, for years after graduating. Also, mostly, a shit hole. People live to have others to blame for them living in a shithole.

I wonder why?

Left behind population?

Older population?

Lack of opportunity?

Completely agree NoWordForFluffy, there is definitely a lot of immigration in Lincolnshire. I stayed in Spalding for a few weeks and had to take taxis back and forth to the train station there. The drivers, both natives and EU immigrants, all said that the employment situation was really bad there. There were jobs in picking and processing fruit and veg and some sort of flower factory I think? But wages were poor and immigrants lived in terrible conditions packed into shared housing where rents were very low. It was pretty depressing - there just didn't seem to be any decent employers around.

The briefing room on radio 4 last night was very interesting on remain and leave psyches.

Off to try and get medicine phobic DS to take his inhaler and his antibiotics.

I like The Munster Express's style Youcantscareme for sure.

@NicolaSturgeon
My open letter to every EU national living in Scotland as @scotgov sets out practical support to help you stay here. This is your home, you are welcome here, we value your contribution and we want you to stay. #StayinScotland

Many Happy Returns Prettybird Have a lovely day.

Lovely letter from NS

She has gone up massively in my estimation ever since the day after the ref, when she publically told EU immigrants in Scotland that they were welcome

Ivan Rogers interview on C4 News: What happens next - extension, No Deal ...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-fv7HMD3n8U#

The DUP doesn't speak on behalf of Northern Ireland.

I'm going to stress this time and time and time and time again

(in remembrance of the way the DUP speak).

I love that poster Talkinpeace

It has had many loves and likes on my Facebook. And several shares.

As a US citizen, would it be that hard for Meghan to acquire Canadian citizenship, and then Harry through marriage.
It would make Canada very high profile to have the British / English King’s second son as GG.

Sorry wrong thread!

Totally lost the thread of the thread again after an early school pick up.

Regarding Boston I read on one of the LSE research papers that the was some evidence of immigration driving local wages down around Boston in Lincolnshire and one other place - but looking at the country as a whole EU migration increases wages and reduced unemployment because those arriving to work spend money of food, accommodation, and entertainment too. Hence the absolute fact that EU migrants do contribute more to the exchequer than native borns.

The unfortunate fact is that an isolated disadvantage in one U.K. area like Boston doesn't cancel out the overall benefit of unrestricted access to a market on our doorstep worth $18.8 trillion -but it's up to the domestic government to ameliorate any negative impact.

( By the way the Gove inspired Maths and dyslexia insights were high level- I'm going to read them all again later. I'm just telling DD her number comprehension is excellent and that her ( rubbish) rote learning abilities are just Gove's idea and not essential anyway.)

I don't know whether this has been mentioned as I've not had time to read the whole thread, but I'm just delurking to mention that France has a new Secretary of State for European Affairs, as Loiseau, who was Minister for Eur Affairs, had to stand down because she is running for election at the EP.

The new one is a very young, very Catholic woman, fairly to the right of Macron's party, reputed as rather inflexible and described by some as knowing v little about European affairs.
The portfolio has been downgraded, and Europe has been declared to be more the remit of the Foreign Affairs Minister and the President, rather than someone responsible for, you know, European Affairs.

I can't believe this is entirely a coincidence, and I don't think it's a good sign...

But I think that's true for many leave voting areas with far less immigration than Boston...

Austerity is what caused Brexit.

I don't disagree with this.

It's your earlier post stating this which I disagree with:
Look at lincoln/boston/skegness/Cornwall/Wales....very low or no immigration.

20% of a small town can't be said to be low.

East Anglia is terrible for racism. Coincidentally (or not, actually) there's a vast number of farms which rely on immigrant labour to harvest the produce.

The unfortunate fact is that an isolated disadvantage in one U.K. area like Boston doesn't cancel out the overall benefit of unrestricted access to a market on our doorstep worth $18.8 trillion -but it's up to the domestic government to ameliorate any negative impact.

I don't disagree with this either. But what the curiosity of Boston illustrates is why the locals felt compelled to vote leave, whether we agree with them or not.

"Britain has had the same foreign policy objective for at least the last 500 years: to create a disunited Europe. ... Now that we are inside, we can make a complete pigs' breakfast of the whole thing."

The Yes Minister take on the JRM strategy. According to the German who posted this Germany is already blocking all 3 of his targets in the face of Macron's ambition.

I remember reading this article when it was published - the 'us and them' mentality it mentions was alive and kicking well before EU immigration. I was on the receiving end as someone from 20 miles inland. It's an interesting read

www.google.nl/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/boston-how-a-lincolnshire-town-became-the-most-divided-place-in-england-a6838041.html%3famp

If you read the article, there's one of the lowest levels of unemployment but also some of the lowest standards of living. The ratio of people working but also qualifying for benefits is really high.

This is the reason that the locals voted leave in such a huge number, because in their eyes the problem is immigration driving locals wages down, causing the standard of living to be really poor.

I lived in the Fens as a very small child in the 1950s and even then I remember (or maybe remember what my parents said), and the area then was extremely poor - areas with no mains drainage and villages with no electricity. Whatever the cause was, it was not immigration because there wasn't any. It was very much an area which had been left behind.

We always knew that "Yes, (Prime) Minister" was uncomfortably close to the truth (I believe that Maggie Thatcher loved it for that very reason), but who'd have thunk that we'd be living the more extreme episodes for real!

It's not so funny when it's real

Timetable (updated for next week)

Monday - Yvette's Bill of Parliament to supposedly stop 'No Deal'
Then it goes to the Queen
Tuesday - Order in Council to organise EP elections (must be
completed)
Teresa May to go to Brussels
Wednesday - EU27 Council meeting to decide our future
(Extension/no extsn)
Friday - Possible No Deal Brexit Day

Thanks BigChoc - updated. I like to see the plan even if I can't do anything.

Ha! Was having a nice day today away from brexit. Went to have a waxing treatment. The lovely young girl got me to do a relaxation breathing technique at the beginning and then massaged my shoulders before starting the treatment. I was nearly dozing off at the end of that when she suddenly said "so what do you think about the brexit situation?" Bang went my chilled mood!!! Turned out she had been too young to vote and wanted there to be a PV to have her say on her future. I was very impressed and pleased.

20 miles land inwards, I mean. Coming from the fens was fine, vaguely foreign but acceptabley so.

royal assent
noun
assent of the sovereign to a Bill which has been passed by Parliament, and which thus becomes an Act of Parliament. Royal assent by the sovereign (in person or through commissioners of the Crown) is required before a Bill (or a Measure passed by the General Synod of the Church of England) can come into force as law, but it has not been withheld since 1707.

I posted a screenshot if this but no one replied. Does this bill actually need royal assent?