Westminstenders: 30 days to save us all!

[RedToothBrush]

It's quite remarkable to watch the British press atm.

It's like it doesn't understand English. Well only if its English spoken by foreigners.

Merkel made the observation that the UK had spent two years looking at the Irish border but had failed to come up with a workable solution, and now Johnson has waltzed in and made statements about how the backstop must go, and only has 30 days in which this can be achieved.

The British press writes this up as Merkel giving the UK a deadline to come up with a new solution.

Which is nonsense. The UK have a deadline to save itself, from itself and that's 31st October. This is a self imposed deadline.

Meanwhile comes out with the Brexiteer smack down that he didn't think the UK wS leaving the EU to regain its sovereignty only to become a vassalage or junior partner to the US.

Both these ideas being the result of leaving the EU have long been key issues. From before the ref. Both have been the UK's to solve in order to get the terms the UK wants from a deal.

The referendum was about choosing to align with the EU or to ditch that and rights and align closely with the US. Then Trump happened and the sell on this got harder, but still essentially the same. And it continues.

And then there was the Irish border. The magic solution to Brexit that doesn't break the GFA. I personally think there isn't one as long as the DUP have their red lines about the Irish sea.

So here we are. More than 3 years after the ref.

Leavers still have no plan. Apart for charge headlong over the cliff. Remains still have their heads wedged up their own backsides and also, after spending months criticising every one else on social media anyway who makes a stand again this bull shit.

Yet the newspapers fail to report what Merkel said or why the UK has this issue in the first place. Its an ongoing exercise in national delusion and self denial.

Hooo will pls stop popping up with xx days? just reminds me of that ERG twat Peter Bone that would always start any interview with xx days until we leave the hated eu.

We aren't children and are well aware of the time scales.

No, I won't.

I'll "pop up" whenever I please, thanks.

No idea you were the westminstenders thread police jajas!

As an adult, if a poster posts something I don't agree with, or like I tend to just...you know...scroll on.

HTH.

"It's nothing to do with whether people like me or not. The priority is to ensure we don't crash out of the EU."

• Jeremy Corbyn

I find the count down useful it helps contextualize the days news.

Different strokes for different folks.

just and JC said that on day 65 yesterday first thing he's said in a while that I agree with tbh.

If you don't like what someone says, let them say it. Argue if you want to. Or ignore. To be honest, we need as much rueful comedy as we can get.

And that is probably the only JC thing I have read for ages that I agree with.

Have I mentioned its 64 days? :)

Ffs.

Johnson telling people different things...deal is achievable, its looking unlikely, no deal a million to 1...getting trumpesque in his speech patterns...but hey, it works, right?

Budget next week.

GE here we come...

I can't see what is wrong with a count down. It's a bit like waiting for an exam result, where you have a mixture of anticipation and dread - you hope you've done well, you may not have done, but it helps to keep things in perspective.

The question is as far as Corbyn goes, who would have the Confidence of the House if Johnson did go to the Queen to try to prorogue to get his No Deal through? There does need to be a clear candidate, which there isn't yet. I hope to God one emerges.

Hooo yes but on what countdown day is the budget next week? Contextualize!

Also when I type you name I say it like an owl, am I suppose to? in my head i dont make owl sounds out loud

You may say it as an owl noise if it pleases you 🦉😊

I quite like/watch with horror the countdown clock on sky news, am I right in thinking that when parliament reconvenes it will be 58 days, fifty eight!!

I remember when the clock started and it was 100 days, by the time they go back virtuality half the time will have gone and we've done, er, nothing!

'Do not waste this time' we've done nothing but so far, there's going to have to be quite some action in those 58 days.

I still think that the EU will shift ever so slightly on the backstop and soften it just a tiny bit, it'll be called something else, everybody will panic at the last minute and vote it through in some sort of 'that'll do deal.'

I also think there will be a GE straight after, BJ will get in with a majority on some sort of 'look at my marvellous deal/sunlit uplands/TM couldn't do it in 3 years, I did it in 3 months' stance.

And then she woke up and it was all a dream...

It does have a grin fascination....

Oh, that had beautiful paragraphs!

I am still hoping that a) the Brexit Party split the Tory vote, so let other parties in and b) that Johnson has left it too late to find a safe Tory seat, so has to fight his current one, and gets defeated.

Brexit party talking about deal with tories afaik

Well....Trump as POTUS, Brexit, BoJo as PM, Patel as Home Secretary.

The next step in this dystopian path has to be No Deal Brexit, de-selection of all the Tories with any human decency, followed by GE leading to a Tory/BXP Government and Farage as Foreign Sec.

I better start practising my Shakespearean fainting as I don't know how to process the idea of Tory/BXP gov. I still don't quite believe Johnson is PM currently and that's old news.

On one of the other threads (I think ), there was a suggestion that it is the word "backstop" that is the problem. If it were referred to as a "safety net" then there might not be so much resistance, as that makes clearer its purpose and temporary nature.

That may be the case for some reasonable people - but as we know, many of those opposed to the EU are not reasonable and in any case, would be opposed to the WA even without the backstop safety net . Viz, Faragit saying only yesterday that the only acceptable way to leave the EU is with No Deal

And anyway, I'm not sure that the WA actually uses the term "backstop"

In my mind backstop always sounded a bit like backside (the thing you want to cover when...etc etc)

Have I mentioned its 64 days?

But how many working days is it? When you take weekends, conference season and the fact the HOC doesn’t sit every Friday into account aren’t we looking at twenty-something?

still think that the EU will shift ever so slightly on the backstop and soften it just a tiny bit, it'll be called something else, everybody will panic at the last minute and vote it through in some sort of 'that'll do deal.'

I'm leaning that way again myself, after weeks of 'we're gonna crash out!' nightmares.

I still don't quite believe Johnson is PM currently and that's old news.

Neither do I, hazard, it's like I'm watching some surreal reality TV show... oh, wait...

Here we go - BBC breaking news...

Government expected to suspend Parliament from mid-September, meaning MPs have limited time to stop no-deal Brexit

Yes crunchy I don't understand love island and think it's bizarre and funny haha it's exactly the same response I have for Johnson.

It's making me feel quite old tbh because traditionally it's older people who say I don't understand the world these days it's moved on without me. I'm in my early 30s and I'm in agreement. Mind you I don't think my lifestyle helps that either it's like me and DP have retired.