Westminstenders: The gall of the french

[RedToothBrush]

We are full steam ahead with European Parliamentary Elections! Something that seemed unthinkable a few weeks ago.

May still remains adament that they will not happen, but the die has been cast.

May is off to beg Macron and Merkel to back an extension but the French are already stating they want assurances we won't screw thing up for everyone else.

May still is pushing for a deal with Corbyn and a Not a compromise.

Still there is no sign of a breakthrough either for an extension nor over a cross party deal. It drags on, but at least no one has mentioned the WA for ten minutes.

We might yet be in Europe for another Eurovision. Psychologically this feels important.

The ERG are not happy.

Wow keeping up with these threads is hard. I’m another who needs a brexit break now and again - it can really get me down when I think about it too much. I’m in a very leave area and there’s a huge no deal is the only way forward thought here 😢
I agree the revoke and lead message just won’t happen - we have no respect from Europe to lead! ‘Revoke, remain, reform’ is a sound bite that needs making into a reality.
I’m still confused if the eu elections have been legalised or not?

A bit away from Brexit but this:-
A person has now been employed to change nappies in a West Midlands school. These are 5 year old children. Also
Many children cannot communicate or hold a pencil at 5 years old. WTF is going on in our society! I want these kind of issues to be prominent in our minds and dealt with not endless brexit!

I remember Ivan Rogers being one of the few sane people who saw the benefit of not triggering A50. When they all ignored him was when I realised we were going to make a massive mess of a situation we had potential for some control over.

I’m still confused if the eu elections have been legalised or not

Yes I believe the Order in Council has been laid.

Thought this link was useful list of UK MEP's as you can order them on attendance, questions etc. I'm going to sound naive here but how are the scores worked out? Farage scores mid-range despite low everything attendance and questions seemingly just by his multitude of unconstructive speeches (bore off!).

OK, am answering my own Q - just noted the "method" button at the top! method for MEP scores

Great news about MEP elections - that definitely makes me more optimistic.

Can we find candidates yet or will it be when everything has gone through if it does?

I don't like the remain and lead message either. What we need to do is remain and learn. We aren't fit to lead a thing at the moment.

Leadsom unwilling to talk today she abstained yesterday.

I think it will be more of a fizzle than a chant as this article's interview ends - definitely a change in the media since Osborne...

Wait4nothing - all parties are scrambling to find MEPs to stand. I emailed my MEPs (south west & Gib) and asked the remainers to stand again. They are all standing again. No idea about the UKIP or Tory (and not asking either). I used www.writetothem.com/

Today is the 21st anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/IE%20GB_980410_Northern%20Ireland%20Agreement.pdf

I think the SNP and LibDems both pointed out a while ago that it was only sensible to be selecting their MEP candidates (and were doing so)

So at least they're prepared (And hell mend the blinkered "main" parties , now scrabbling to find both candidates and campaign funds)

Remain and Lead' message is extremely UK-centric

Doesn't part of the domestic message have to be U.K. centric for some of the market here?

We don't have to wholly mean it.
Although to be fair my Polish friends always say smaller European countries always really envied the EU role and gravitas we had - past tense. They envied us being one of the big boys ( or girls).

Can anyone tell me how to find out if my MEPs are leavers or remainers?

(SE & I don't need help with Farage!).

In Nov, I asked to be put on the electoral roll for the EP elections. I have been in France for many moons, but arrived in an overseas département in the mid-90s and at the time wasn't allowed to vote at all. (At least that's what they told me and I believed them.)
Having moved, and been deprived of voting rights in the referendum in 2016, I decided to get my act together.
It was refused due to Brexit.
Other people in different constituencies were enrolled but told they'd be struck off when the date of Brexit was certain. They haven't yet.
I'm really cross now as I've missed the deadline to be on the roll for voting in the EP elections. If the UK takes part, I've been deprived again of voting rights...

Auld you have to google them each and research.
www.europarl.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/en/your-meps/uk_meps/south_east_region.html

Catherine Bearder (Libdem) is remain and lovely

With the benefit of hindsight, the Europeans should not have pushed Theresa May to trigger A50 as early as possible. The prime minister threw herself into negotiations with Brussels too quickly, without having forged a national consensus on the type of Brexit that her country wanted.

I disagree profoundly. There was never a chance of forging a "national consensus". That's why we are where we are. Nothing to do with Remainers being difficult, or obstinate and everything to do with the two extreme ends of "Brexit" itself are mutually exclusive. Again why we are here. The JRM/ERG "vision" of Brexit is so extreme that it pushes the Leavers that naively thought the UK would remain in the SM and CU into Remain. By the same token, the soft Brexit many Leavers thought they were getting is complete anathema to the ERG factions.

A century wouldn't have been long enough to get a consensus.

The one thing triggering A50 so quickly did do (and may well be get cited as the key moment) is force Leaves empty no-plan hand such that people are seeing the Emperors New Clothes.

@magimedi - look at twitter - usually you can tell!

people are seeing the Emperors New Clothes.

Not before time, but is it too late?

Sostenueto Some of them will never be toilet trained, communicate or hold a pencil.

Specialist school places are hard to find and often run by charities or private, so they’re expensive for the council: they prefer children to remain in mainstream education with support. Some parents also want their children in mainstream education, believing it’s better for them.
Hence the headlines.

pesty & lonely*. Am doing research right now.

Agree re Catherine Bearder.

SO...if Brexit doesn't happen and we've suffered global humiliation, lost lovely workers and friends abroad, lost business, lost power within EU, broken democracy etc for nothing...what will this period in history be called? Because it isn't Brexit (that still requires a definition) - maybe we could call the last 3 years The Brexit Blip? Or National Humility Period?

Magi you have Richard Ashworth en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Ashworth sacked by the Torys for not being an extremist. His is a conservative with a small c. Wonder if her will stand again as an independent?

Far too sensible for TM to endorse.

The Prime Minister is “delusional” to believe that there is any realistic chance to revise or to “reopen” the Withdrawal Agreement over the Northern Ireland backstop, despite repeated warnings by the EU that there was no chance of this taking place.

Richard Ashworth MEP for South East England reacting to the so called Graham Brady vote in Parliament on Tuesday 29 January said:
“All this does is more “kicking the can down the road”. Legislating against ‘no deal’ is like making rules that there will be no gravity if you fall out of a tree.”

“The Prime Minister going back to Brussels to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement is pure time wasting. The issue is the same today, as it was two years ago; either you are in the customs union (in which case there are no borders), or you are out of it (and you have borders, friction and all the associated costs and delays).”
“Leavers are still deluding themselves that you can have benefits of customs union, but not have to abide by the rules and can still make our own independent trade deals around the world. If EU won’t agree to that (why would it?), then, by definition, you have a ‘no deal’ Brexit on March 29th anyway”.

So the bottom line is the Torys have been throwing moderate MEPs out of the party and embracing the ERGers in the HoC. Plus threats of violence from the brown JD sport shirt brigade to anyone who disagrees. No wonder Europe is taking the line of keep your friends close and your enemies closer. They know where this is likely to go.