Westminstenders: One Pepperoni Pizza Please. And a Milkshake To Go.

[RedToothBrush]

On the Eve of the EU Elections that we never met to happen, and we don't know what the next hour next mind day might bring.

Farage is enjoying the theatre of milkshakes. It means he gets attention and gets to play the victim. And avoid talking about his dodgy friends and even dodgier financing. The Brexit Party are polling so highly its possible he could be PM. And boy does he know it. The temptation is there and its too much to resist.

May has refused to resign so far tonight after a day of asking her to. The 1922 Committee refused to change the rules to help oust her - possibly because they don't want the next PM to be beset with challenges to the leadership at the drop of a hat. Graham Brady is seeing her on Friday... The ERG are not happy bunnies.

May is still apparently planning to plough on with the WAB with a referendum possibly attached. Though this remains to be seen.

Meanwhile Leadsom has just quit the Cabinet. She was one of the Brexit 'Pizza Club'. Rumours are this might be the Cabinet withdrawing support for her. Though Gove has said he doesn't intend to resign (tonight at least).

Rumour is that May's senior staff have abandoned her to let her make the decision to go. And rumours are that when Leadsom rang May to tell her she was leaving cabinet, May didn't tell her senior staff. This comes two weeks after rumours where that Phillip May was at the point of telling her it was time to resign. The rumours of course may be just that, rumours but it's hard to see how or why anyone would tell her to carry on now.

And so tomorrow. Who would vote for this utter shower of shit? Even if you were the most loyal of Tories?

The thing tomorrow is to get the remain vote out. It doesn't matter ultimately what people vote for. Every vote cast for remain keeps the Brexit Party popular vote down. Even if it doesn't win seats. And that is psychologically important.

Tomorrow make sure EVERYONE you know who is anti brexit party votes. More so if they are a Remainer voting for a Remain party, but also if they are solid Labour or the rarest of things, a true blue.

It MATTERS. Narratives will be set.

If you are not sure if you are registered to vote, please TRY ANYWAY. The worst case is you are turned away and have lost 20 mins of your life. But you might also be able to vote and that might change the course of events.

Talk to people tomorrow. Remind them. Make sure it's about preventing a hard right foothold. Apathy will destroy our futures. Being fed up of politicians so refusing to vote is actively shooting yourself in the face.

Who am I voting for?

Still no idea. But I will vote.

It looks like a cock-up caused by the late notice 'hurry up and wait' attitude of HMG, but that's no excuse.

Loads of EU expats seem to have switched their votes from birth-country to UK residence, and have been disfranchised as a result.

Off to the ECJ, big fine, add it to your bill before leaving.

That provisional Dutch exit poll is good, right?

*Awaits insider Dutch knowledge

Public inquiry. Legal action. Fun.

Which I hope would compromise Farage's expected win.

Has May successfully done anything in the last 3 years, without her government fucking it up?

Genuine question.

Danny Kemp @ dannyctkemp
Could the populist wave be more of a ripple? Dutch EU elections surprise gives EU vice president Timmermans' Labour most seats, on five, exit poll says. Rutte's VVD on four. Disappointing showing for Thierry Baudet's Forum for Democracy on three, same as GroenLinks

Paul Waugh @paulwaugh
Lots of Labour supporters and members voting Green today. Irony is that many of JC's staff/advisers are ex Green voters/members who remember getting bans/criticism for their party allegiance. Wonder if they'll be more lenient to their fellow Labour members in coming days?

Robert Peston@peston
I expect the PM @theresa_may tomorrow to agree with Tory MPs' shop steward Sir Graham Brady that the contest to select a new leader will start on 10 June - to preserve her dignity during Trump's state visit. In a minute or two I will publish a blog with more details

Europe Elects @
Netherlands: Ipsos final exit poll shows record low of voter support for Geert Wilders’ right-wing PVV party (ENF/EAPN) in European elections.

2006: creation of the party
2009: 17.0%
2014: 13.3%
2019: 4.1%

#EP2019 #EuropeseVerkiezingen #NederlandKiest #ExitPoll

what about that other far right nationalist party?

Whenever I see Tom Newton Dunn I think of Joan Hunter Dunn

Furnish’d and burnish’d by Aldershot sun

Alberto Nardelli@albertonardelli
#EP2019 — Final Netherlands exit poll:

PvdA (Labour) 5 seats
VVD (liberals) 4
CDA (Christian Democrats) 4
GL (GreenLeft) 3
FvD (far-right nationalists) 3
D66 (liberals) 2
CU-SGP (conservatives) 2
PVV (Wilders) 1
SP (socialist party) 1

I have a recording somewhere of John Betjemann reaction that.

The speed of a swallow, the grace of a boy.

These were DS socks today ( very visible as he had 80s Wham style rolled up jeans). I said I hoped they weren’t indicative of his voting choice. He was horrified at the thought.

My dad often recites that poem Tatiana!

Tom Newton Dunn’s father is the Lib Dem candidate for the East Midlands.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/theresa-set-finally-quit-avoid-16191553.amp?__twitter_impression=true
Theresa May set to finally quit to avoid humiliation of being kicked out
May's closest allies claim she now accepts she's become a stumbling block to delivering Brexit

Theresa May is finally set to announce her departure from No 10 today to avoid the humiliation of being kicked out by her own party.

The Prime Minister spent Friday night holed up with husband Philip in her constituency home after her Brexit plans hit the wall.

She faced a stark choice between stepping down graciously or a brutal no confidence vote among Tory MPs to force her out.

But Mrs May’s closest allies claimed she now accepted that she had become a stumbling block to delivering on the referendum

Article written for publication in tomorrows newspaper... (no resignation tonight to avoid confusion)

LOL about the UKIP socks

In Germany too despite all the froth, the AfD stay around the 12% level

Over the last few years, it's really been the rise of the Greens that's been remarkable, to around 18%, about the same archslevel as the SPD.

The AfD are the anti-Greens - shocking smear campain against that teenage climate change campaigner
All the far right fiercely oppose environmental measures - probably because they get so much money & support from US billionaires with oil interests.

The Austrian far-right leader was recently caught on video basically accepting bribes from a mysterious Russian businessman

katya adler@BBCkatyaadler

Remember the EU-wide domino effect once predicted to follow the #Brexit vote?

As polls open for #EuropeanElections there’s barely a peep about Frexit, Dexit or Italexit.

Europe’s voters have been scared off by political chaos in the UK


Theresa May set to finally quit to avoid humiliation of being kicked out

Isn't this like Lucy promising not to move the football for Charlie Brown?

On a separate note - a question about exit polls. So UK law says exit polls cannot be published while people are still voting (ie until sunday). BUT, other countries have different laws hence the publication of the Dutch exit polls. So, is it possible for UK exit polls to be published abroad?

Tick Tock 🤦🏻‍♀️

David Allen Greenn@davidallengreen*

Just as UK wasted valuable months after making the Article 50 notification having a needless general election, UK will waste crucial time leading up to the 31 October Brexit date having a Tory leadership context.

Nothing useful will be done

This is all so depressingly stupid.

Duncan Robinson @ duncanrobinson
Centre left bouncing back. Dutch Labour smashing it in the Netherlands.

Centre left bouncing back. Dutch Labour smashing it in the Netherlands.

I guess Brexit is working for some...

I was in Norway last week (Constitution Day really is a Big Thing in Norway) and found it interesting that (some) Norwegians were convinced that the right wing were on the rise in the EU and the Netherlands would be the next to go.

On the basis of those exit polls, it seems not.

clarke I doubt if any pollsters would want their results published by someone else in another country

Also, they would then obviously be read and circulated widely in the UK, making a mockery of the law and probably landing the polling firm in trouble

Andrew Byrne@aqbyrne (ST Brussels)

Here’s hoping the UK’s Brexit no-deal planning is better than its EP poll day planning


any pollsters would want their results published by someone else in another country

Surely that depends who is running the polls? But I guess they aren't of much interest outside of the UK so who would bother funding them.

I agree it would make a mockery of the law, but I'm generally of the opinion that with the growth of internet and social media reporting restrictions are becoming increasingly pointless.

It seems odd/stupid that UK media can run the Dutch exit polls but not UK ones.

Think a few people here will be pissed at this one too.

Phillippa Wiseman @ phillywiseman
So my polling station is completely inaccessible. Thought we were past the point of excluding disabled people from voting?! @ElectoralCommUK