Westministenders: Another Thread, another Shit Show. Its Trump Week

[RedToothBrush]

That is all.

{You can't just airbrush out 50% of the population.}
Part of the great British heritage is being at the forefront of exterminations.
Shooting and starvation of native Americans because they opposed the trains.
Shooting native Australians for 'sport'.
I am not saying that others have not done similar, but we all have blood on our hands.

Shooting and starvation of native Americans because they opposed the trains.

To be fair, most of the atrocities against the first nation people of America were really the actions of Americans after independence. Britain for it's part allowed asylum in Canada.

I'd recommend "Bury My heart at Wounded Knee", but someone will just shout "fake news", and I'm not in the mood today.

I would forgive Theresa May all her mistakes and pig-headedness if she copied Hugh Grant's PM
and told Trump what she thought of him and his nasty policies !

stripeychina 💐
Sorry to hear things are getting worse for you

American Ambassador Woody Johnson’s comment to Andrew Marrr* on Sunday that healthcare would need to be on the table in any future trade talks
only served to make agreeing a fully-fledged deal all the more difficult.

That the US will drive a hard bargain in any future negotiation with the UK should come as no surprise.
Only the EU, and perhaps China, have the economic heft to negotiate on near-level terms with the Americans,
hence why Trump & US oligarchs want to destroy the EU and even they struggle.

The US’s objectives for its negotiation with the UK were published in February and with the caveat that they were largely produced for a domestic American audience, shorn of all notion of compromise — are strikingly ambitious in their demands.

For example: alongside normal talk of tariff and quota removal,

the UK must jettison food hygiene rules that currently restrict US exports of beef, pork, chicken and dairy;

rules stipulating which products qualify for tariff-free treatment under the agreements must specifically incentivise production on US territory;

and the agreement should include a mechanism allowing for the US to take appropriate action if the UK negotiates an agreement with a “non-market economy” (see: China).

oops

www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2019/06/uk-has-much-fear-us-trade-agreement

....
"US demands regarding reimbursement regimes for pharmaceuticals and medical devices give greater cause for thought.

The US has long taken issuee* with the fact that the NHS’s approach to drug procurement

• where it makes its own assessment as to the fair value of the drugs it buys - pulls down prices worldwide. ..... due to the NHS’s global significance and market power, the incentives for the US to push the UK harder are more pronounced."

....." The UK is not the end-game for the US.
Its ultimate ambition is to open up the bigger EU market.

For the UK to move to a more American approach would set a regional precedent,

grant the US a regulatory foothold in the EU’s backyard
and push back against the EU’s increasingly global regulatory hegemony.

The NHS in Scotland is, and always has been, separate to the NHS in England.

However, given that the Withdrawal Act allows for Westminster to legislate without the consent of the Scottish Government (it assumes consent is given, even if consent is explicitly not given ), it is very definitely not safe in the hands of the WM Government.... especially given that the Trade talks are to be kept secret for 5 years

Voting in person in challenging if you are currently abroad but entitled to a vote.
Our postal vote system worked smoothly but I don't think it was overwhelmed with postal vote applications from overseas.

Voting in person in challenging if you are currently abroad but entitled to a vote.

Looks for nearest brick wall ...

Our postal vote system worked smoothly but I don't think it was overwhelmed with postal vote applications from overseas.

My disdain for postal voting is because once those ballot papers have disappeared behind the letterbox of number 23 down the road, you have no control or checks on who is filling them out. If, as it's is slowly emerging, votes are worthless, then that's OK. However if votes are as precious as some believe then surely they are worth protecting at all costs ?

Maybe at a general election level, it's less of a potential issue. But in a local election where only a few hundred votes are cast to start with, the ability to fill in other peoples votes starts looking very attractive. And that's before you consider that there are some less integrated communities where women could be coerced into giving their ballot to an elder.

Yep, DG imo we need to cut right back on postal votes within the UK, so that

• as before John Prescott & co started tinkering -

they are at proven need, e.g. being housebound, or having moved house, not merely for convenience

Thousands of women are likely being denied the right to choose how to vote, but instead being forced to give their choice to a man who claims authority over them

and of course, in some constituencies, this might even significantly affect the vote outcome

btw, Brits in Europe until now have at least had more rights to vote than expat Brits further afield who have been absent 15+ years:

. we can choose to vote for the EP in our E27 host country's elections

. we can also vote in our host's local council elections, regional state elections, mayor etc

Yep, DG imo we need to cut right back on postal votes within the UK, so that - as before John Prescott & co started tinkering - they are at proven need, e.g. being housebound, or having moved house, not merely for convenience

Not sure I'd go that far.

For a country that has developed a bureaucracy obsessed to the point of fetish with numbers, surely there could be a sort of overall attempt to keep postal votes to less than % ?

As I said, I think the default should be to turn up in person. I don't say that lightly, as DW has accessibility issues. But if voting is as important as people are wanting to claim in the #deniedmyvote case, then it's important enough to put a bit of effort into ?

Given that elections are relatively rare - one vote every 3 years ? - I don't think it's a massive ask for the sake of democracy. People are willing to shell out tens of thousands of pounds in taxes to the government with nary a whimper, yet a trip to a polling booth is too onerous ?

After personal voting, then proxies are a possibility too.

Prescott was an excellent example of that dreaded phenomenon ... a boss with ideas. Someone who feels they need to "do something", even if everything is working well. We're straying into that beloved management tool the four quarters ... Prescott inhabited the "working/must change" quarter. There's also "not working/won't change", "working/won't change" and "not working/must change" quarters. If you know any post graduate mathematicians, they'll tell you that only 2 of the 4 quarters are positive, which is why things only seem to work half the time.

But if voting is as important as people are wanting to claim in the #deniedmyvote case, then it's important enough to put a bit of effort into

This is a very dishonest line of argument I am afraid to say. The #deniedmyvote people are overwhelmingly

(a) people who were not postal voting; they were EU citizens mainly attempting, honestly, to vote in person

(b) the British in Europe for whom postal voting may be the only option

Given that elections are relatively rare - one vote every 3 years ? - I don't think it's a massive ask for the sake of democracy. People are willing to shell out tens of thousands of pounds in taxes to the government with nary a whimper, yet a trip to a polling booth is too onerous ?

Also, this sort of argument is what drives campaigns to restrict voting in Republican-controlled states in the USA; you don't actually take people's votes away (that would be illegal). But you make it progressively harder for some people to exercise their right to vote, by putting a series of barriers in the way that disproportionately discourage groups of people who you think vote the "wrong" way.

NHS turns to Mumsnet to fill nurse vacancies

I have a good friend who would like to progress her career from being a maternity care assistant to a nurse.

However she financially can not afford to. Especially since they cut bursaries. She has two kids.

Linking up with Mumsnet suggests that the government a) think it should be primarily women who go into nursing b) they aren't motivated to go into nursing c) have magic free child care which allows them to work shifts

Seriously.

As for Trump's vulgar visit. I find it truly loathsome he's here for D Day anniversary and to pick the bones of the NHS at the same time. The NHS was essentially part of the post war settlement whereby the public desired the state to look after them after years of hardship and suffering. The event and the real purpose of Trump's visit are not lost on me.

I hope he rots in hell.

No I have nothing civil to say about a man who believes in social darwinism and is an unashamed white supremist. He is the face of a modern fascist. And everything about this visit is appeasement to that. Just watch the BBC.

I fear the tide of public support for Trump will turn in this country too. Especially if he goes off piste and is seen with Johnson or Farage. Its a publicity stunt for his vision of the world.

What Melania wore was crass. There are thousands of D Day soldiers who will be spinning.

{by putting a series of barriers in the way that disproportionately discourage groups of people who you think vote the "wrong" way.}

Surely you can't mean messing things up so that UK citizens in Europe who are likely* to vote to remain have a bit of a problem?

*There are some who have relatively few braincells though.

I agree with every word you said in that post Red.

I'd have thought that proxy votes would have been even more open to manipulation by controlling partners/family than postal votes

Led By Donkeys have been busy!

red
Ditto

What did Mrs Trump wear that was so awful? (I haven't seen photos.)

Saw John Harris in the Guardian was being thoughtful today, talking about the deep divide in British society: www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/03/britain-remainers-no-deal-brexit-tribal-war?CMP=share_btn_tw

I think the recent spike in “no deal” Brexit from what we’re once generic Leavers is a misbegotten belief that it is possible to get out with one crashing leap, and hey, presto, it’s over, job done. They are sick of it, as we are all.
The sad truth is that no matter which way we go, hard, soft, Norway, CU, etc, etc, we are talking years and years. When I say this to most ( remainers are all I know) their faces fall. No one wants to hear it, but it’s the truth. Revoke would stop it.
Anyone who thinks we would get some fine deal from the US is seriously gazing thru their glass naval (eg, head up ass) Look how capriciously they have behaved with Mexico, Canada, and using tariffs to armtwist international politics. Disgraceful. We should really be working towards full on E.U. cooperation, not the reverse.

Postal voting requires signature and date of birth verification. More onerous than in person voting. It also increases turnout, which can only be a good thing.

I remember politicians "selflessly" volunteering to drive my GPs to the polling station. They felt absolutely no guilt about accepting the offer and then voting for "the other lot". A postal vote would have been a much more empowering option.