Westminstenders: Why the Irish Border isn't a Remain/EU Plot

[RedToothBrush]

I hope the events of this week give the ERG the kick up the backside over this that they need.

I doubt it will, but I live in hope. The alternative is too horrid to contemplate.

I'll leave this here instead as a reminder of what choice Brexit was always going to come down to.

Happy Easter everyone.

{They didn't like what they saw about the direction their country was taking, but what on earth did they do about it?}

You only have to look at the situation with the climate change protests at the moment to see that something is seriously wrong.
Several hundred being 'arrested' for raising very important concerns and mostly 'nuisance' value rather than criminal damage. The policy of hate, being rolled out by the government will no doubt see them being entered onto registers with a black mark against them, even if not formally charged. Meanwhile the government, colluding with the opposition are in the process of dismantling the UK. I mean collusion in the way that the mess within the Labour party and elsewhere is not a credible coherent opposition. They are enabling the changes that most decent, forward thinking people don't want.

{Many Leavers seem to regard Brexit as no more difficult than switching an App.}

What is not being appreciated by so many is that the integration with the EU has evolved slowly over the last 40+ years. New legislation has usually be taken from existing and adapted and 'harmonised' so that all across Europe are working to the same rulebook. It wasn't a sudden 'imposition'. It was also done piecemeal, so no massive changes across multiple disciplines. Leaving will be a massive step change hitting everything at once.
Getting into a car and accelerating is 'painless'. Hitting a wall to come to a sudden stop involves considerable pain.

Terrible news from Sri Lanka, sounds like Hunts Easter message yesterday was eerily prescient

I can't help thinking that with climate change and global warming, together with the threat to many species including our own we should be working in close harmony with Europe.

It is in everyone's interest to stay in the EU.

My heart goes out to those in Sri Lanka, so soon after the terrorism in Christchurch.

In both cases island communities worshipping peacefully.

We can rationalise logical and emotional thinkers endlessly, but at the end of the day some people are evil. I guess the predominantly emotional thinkers are more susceptible to being conned by them too.

Terrible about Sri Lanka

Good people voted Nazi to give the political class a kicking.

Good people voted for brexit - those people have since changed their mind. Or they never supported in it the first place and have regretted their protest vote since the morning of the 24th June.

I don't tar all leavers with the same brush.

Just those that still support brexit.

{Or they never supported in it the first place and have regretted their protest vote since the morning of the 24th June. }

Some smokers who have 'quit' then become the most vociferous against it, but this phenomenon does not seem to be happening now.
Either that or the UK governmental system is so heavily 'biassed' towards the 'ruling' party as part of the FPTP system of elections.

Happy Easter everyone! I'm in Paris enjoying the lovely sunshine and had an interesting conversation with a French person saying that Paris is seeing a surge in investment from wealthy people abandoning London for Paris instead for their investments because of Brexit. Says prices of properties in Paris going up as a result. Macron hoping this would boost the French economy would explain the reluctance to give us an extension
Not sure if it's true or not but interesting as something you never hear or read about in the UK!

Yes, those who have changed their minds have mostly stayed quiet. Precious few have come out to say that they regret it and will move heaven and earth to reverse their decision.

A big problem is the longterm English - and it's especially English, certainly not Scottish ! - deference to the upper classes.

They aren't respectful of "experts" because those are nearly all middle class,
who are often despised for being a privileged elite, despite being far less privileged than the ruling class

The thread about a colleague putting his job title and qualification in his Emails was interesting - on the continent this is expected because qualifications are respected,
but in England it raises anger that he is being "superior", with umpteen comments from people about how they would mock / harass him.

Difficult to imagine JRM receiving anything but laughter in e.g. Australia or the US

Loletta There has been quite a property boom in much of Germany, despite the threatened downturn,
but Frankfurt and its commuter belt especially have seen significant rises the last 2-3 years

I didn't think there were enough Brits in Germany, only 120k, to affect prices,
but Frankfurt doesn't have that large a population for its importance, about 659k
So I wonder if Brexit prepping among financial institutions has boosted property.

I know that some firms have reserved a lot of places in international schools in Frankfurt, so that has possibly boosted school fees too.

Could be BCF. Our misfortune is bound to be someone else's luck!

Donald Tusk told us not to waste this time. I see nothing constructive in going round and round in circles of blame and recrimination.

Just checking in to say happy Easter to you all. May your day involve plenty of chocolate and roast potatoes but not necessarily together!

{May your day involve plenty of chocolate and roast potatoes }

Does a bowl of pasta with pesto sauce count?
My kitchen staff are totally incompetent and need sacking.

Donald Tusk told us not to waste this time. I see nothing constructive in going round and round in circles of blame and recrimination.

So where are all the Leavers putting the effort in ? I can't see it myself. Clearly Brexit isn't so important it warrants any work.

Well, TM is clogging her WA to death, doggedly pursuing an 'orderly' Brexit (the 'timely' was dropped when she failed to deliver it on time!). Nobody else is doing much though.

Thousands of Germans died as a result of their opposition to Nazism.

TBF these sort of comparisons make remainers look utterly ridiculous and devoid of any sense of reality.

I know its a quiet week in Brexitland & it is rather hot but please keep it grounded.

Clogging? Flogging, thanks autocorrect!

{So where are all the Leavers putting the effort in ?}

Leavers don't need to do anything, they have already done the hard bit of putting a cross on a bit of paper with a pencil.
Now everybody else has to do all the work so that the unicorns arrive.

{TBF these sort of comparisons make remainers look utterly ridiculous and devoid of any sense of reality.}

I can only presume that was a 'typo' and you mean that 'Leavers' have no sense of reality?

.

The thing is that fascism starts small and grows.

It feeds on a sense of alienation, it doesn't need facts and it will eventually destroy those who ignore the signs.

PMK

Thousands of Germans died as a result of their opposition to Nazism.

Sophie Scholl (who was guillotined by the Nazis) ? The White Rose movement ...

FWIW I suspect leavers who change their minds are worried that if they speak up their social circles wouldn't tolerate them or they would be ridiculed. Easier to nod and smile if in the minority in a social setting.

I suspect I am being tin foil hat here, but is anyone else suspicious that our Govt had public messages about Christian persecution and being fearful of practicing Christianity hours before the Sri Lanken bombings? It does somewhat help their agenda...

I was reading Invisible Women this morning and there was a section about men being war mongerers (UN study showed global murders are 98% perpetuated by men) and how Trump voters common interest centred around the "white vote" - they all voted for the only party that they felt prioritised whites. This is all hand in hand with the war-mongering language and "the more voters were hostile towards women, the more likely they were to vote for Trump". Thought it was relevant and suspect future gender studies will find similar correlations for Brexit.