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.

PMK

Not RTFT, still busy unpacking boxes, but I received an email yesterday asking for my availability to count votes in the EP Elections 'in the event that they do go ahead.' Of course I put Yes, so the wheels are turning!

Cottonwood

Nutty don't suppose you could c&p that AA Gill article could you? I think it's behind a pay wall thank you

Great article. Tip to get around paywalls, from a previous thread, that worked for me for the FT but not the ST, is to Google the exact headline.

TheABC apparently Francois hates this photo (so I try to use it often).

PMK, grateful thanks to Red & everyone else.

@GroovieGazelloo - Betty Rocks. As she always has.

Yy Betty, just watched that clip she really does talk a lot of sense.

The universe carries on giving

Todays Dilbert:

May has 24 hours to come up with a credible Brexit plan to get an extension.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-delay-theresa-may-article-50-eu-extension-barnier-a8861256.html

for today's Dilbert DGR

It would be constitutionally improper for the Queen to intervene over Brexit

The monarchy cannot intervene in politics, no matter how severe the economic & social effects, no matter the effect on international relations

I would only expect / wish a monarch to intervene in the extreme case of saving us from dictatorship

• in the recognised international meaning, not because you don't like May / Tories-

e.g. the military trying to overthow government / Parliament - the monarch is the one person who might be able to stop this -
or a government unilaterally cancelling elections & extending its term of office / arresting the opposition, torturing / murdering opponents, outlawing the expression of opposition views, gas chambers ...

Having the monarchy as an ultimate safeguard is important, imo, especially after the series of polls suggesting many people would vote for a dictatorship.

I wonder if there's some thought to allow a "free vote" on a PV, which will be rigged to not pass ?

May has 24 hours to come up with a credible Brexit plan to get an extension

We're screwed then basically.
She's had more than two years and hasn't managed it, how's it going to happen in the next 24 hours?

The monarchy cannot intervene in politics, no matter how severe the economic & social effects, no matter the effect on international relations

to me contradicts:

I would only expect / wish a monarch to intervene in the extreme case of saving us from dictatorship^

Bearing in mind very few dictators - if any - ever get elected by putting "I'm a dictator" on the manifesto.

Sorry, I think when alls quietened down, there's a case to be made for getting rid of the Monarch - or at least the pretence they are in any way able to do anything constitutionally anymore.

I'm still a weak Republican ... it remains to be seen if there's a similar mood politically.

This isn't a personal dig at her Madge who has played her hand over the years flawlessly. It's a belief that the system is broken and I'd rather have a president than a Lord Protector.

Peston says we are going to be offered a short extension into June or July.

June or July. Gives me time to buy a few more bales of toilet paper from Home Bargains I suppose

Yesterday Peston was suggesting TM would revoke!

I've stopped listening to him.

DG The monarch could stop a military coup against say a Labour govt - plenty of plots in the 1960s which fizzled out

Of course an elected governement can suddenly turn into a genuine dictatorship
That's the kind that would be most difficult to shift and where I'd wish the monrch to intervene

If President and government are both elected, they might well be of the same political persuasion

I know Ireland has more independent presidents, but with our highly polarised society, I'd expect an elected president on a party basis

Yesterday Peston was suggesting TM would revoke!

I didn't get that. He just said her language ("My deal, or no Brexit") had shifted to suggest revoke wasn't now off the table. Possibly because "no deal" has ceased to be a threat to some recalcitrant ERGers.

All of which said, it's hard not to get a sense that the ERG are in the descendant now. They didn't get their "informal" no confidence vote yesterday, did they ?

To clarify:
I'd expect the monarch to intervene if a sitting govt becomes a dictatorship,
or if the military try to overthrow a democratic government whose policies they dislike

I find Pestons frame of mind perplexing at the moment. On the one hand I sort of expect more impartial journalism on the other he is a human being who through his job is more embroukrdvabd more knowledgeable than most of us.

PMK

That should say “embroiled and” sorry posted too quickly

DG The monarch could stop a military coup against say a Labour govt - plenty of plots in the 1960s which fizzled out

Could, "could", could, could ...

I know Ireland has more independent presidents, but with our highly polarised society, I'd expect an elected president on a party basis

Only if you devise it that way to start with. I'm sure it's not beyond the whit of man to devise a less partisan system. If they wanted to.

The problem is we really need to have an idea of what a head of state does - beyond being somewhere to keep a crown during a coronation. And of all the peoples in the world - particularly the English speaking ones - the English are probably the least politically educated and aware in the world. As current events are proving in spades bit which 2010 threw into sharp relief.

To be fair to Peston, I was also thinking the chances of May Revoking have increased

• but from about 2% to 5%, maybe even to 10% on a good day.

She has already failed in her aim to keep the Tories together and their Brexiters have gone Full Metal Jacket Batshit, using vicious, violent language against her and anyone else who thwarts their dream

So she might think that delaying Brexit and talking to Corbyn has already sent her party into such fury, that things won't get much worse if she Revokes.

That's different to say a year ago, when she might believe she was just about keeping them together as a party