Westminstenders: It's like a bloody aviary

[RedToothBrush]

From Flamingos to Yellowhammer and Black Swans.

The Tory Remainer is now a Dodo. Instead the party in inhabited by disaster capitalist Vultures. Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile, has been labelled by the right wing press as a Chicken. The SNP would very much like Boris Johnson to be a Jailbird. The LDs are keen to sing like Canaries about the contents of BlackSwan. The Br

And the Tower of London is starting to get very jumpy about the whereabouts and location of its Ravens.

I would not, however, advise eating urban wild pigeons if things get desperate, from what I know of their health.

Last 5 mins of the Mash Report were quite on the money ...

I still think Cameron taking a swipe at Johnson is a bad thing.
People really dislike Cameron- it's better if he's defending Johnson then the public tar them with the same brush.

I thought of a small positive aside - the press including the BBC are, at last, reporting negative stuff about both the govt and Brexit. That's a shift.

This is the crux of Cameron's defence, and why he doesn't regret holding the EU referendum:
one was inevitable, as the nation was split, he says.

It wasn't though.
Before, polls proved most voters didn't really give a stuff.
They only polarised once the campaign invited them to.

And

Am actually loving that CumFace told reporters to "get out of London" and "talk to people who are not rich remainers" only to send BoZo up North for the journo's to witness him be heckled everywhere he goes by people on the street

See I think Cameron and Cummings are both right but fundamentally misunderstand issues.

The country WAS split and divided on a number of level and fronts but two privately educated white men are never going to fully understand it.

Cameron put the split down to the EU and didn't see the 'left behind' backlash coming because he had no idea on austerity work in practice properly.

Cummings whilst he is from Durham went to Durham School. So his understanding of the North of England only is half formed and doesn't properly get it. He certainly doesn't get the cultural traditions even if he understands the grievances.

The clashes of the two worlds are not as simplistic as some make out.

The idea that Johnson wasn't going to get a hard time in Rochdale or Doncaster is to fundamentally misunderstand the problem Cameron faced in 2016. The arrogant belief that Johnson somehow rose above that by force of personality really treats the North with a lot of contempt.

Nation has always been split Brexit just gave it a side on to which to hang its hat

It will be interesting to see what happens next week in the courts.

Was the Queen told the reason why Parliament was being prorogued?
Or was she just told that this was what Johnson wanted?
If Johnson wanted to prorogue Parliament, is it his right to ask for it. even if the reason was not as claimed?
If the reason was false, is it still legal to prorogue Parliament?

I can imagine the headlines being "It was legal to prorogue Parliament" - and the judgement being complex legalese but basically saying "Johnson's reasons for proroguing were false, he misled the Queen, but it was still his legal right to ask for proroguation"

And he gets away with it legally, if not morally.

Lewis Goodall@lewisgoodall

It seems odd that David Cameron was so surpised that the referendum turned into a Tory psychodrama
given it was, erm, a means to defuse a Tory psychodrama.

Contrast this with Wilson:
he knew the 75 referendum would be a Labour psychodrama and acted accordingly.

Cameron thought he could have a ref without any bloodlust.
It was naive.

Truth is it would have finished him (and changed Tory party) even if he'd won it narrowly.

Overall though interview seems candid and honest.

For any politician but especially for a Conservative,
the consequences of fundamentally destabilising your state (which whatever your view of Brexit has undoubtedly taken place)
must be a hell of a thing to live with.
< 🎻 >

Is it just me, but are NO DEAL leavers kinda quiet right now?

Waiting for next Tuesday's ruling in Supreme Court maybe.

Either way, Parliament doesn't want No Deal. So if Johnson goes against that, we are toast. But he won't.

He could resign on 19 October, to avoid having to ask for an extension

That would put the pressure back onto the Rebel Alliance,
to choose a new PM - and have him / her appointed by HMQ in time to request an extension

They would only have a few days to get their act together and compromise on the PM

It might all be up to them

Cameron re a second referendum:

“I don’t think you can rule it out because we’re stuck.”
.....
“I’m not saying one will happen or should happen.
I’m just saying that you can’t rule things out right now because you’ve got to find some way of unblocking the blockage.

“I think there are certain things you shouldn’t do to unblock the blockage.
I think proroguing parliament – pretending it doesn’t exist – I think that would be a bad thing.”
< it's happened, so condemn it you gutless twat >

This made me smile slightly

So whenever I worry I’m in a Mumsnet echo chamber I pool over to my footy char website for a reality check and I can report BJ is a on there too

I'm quiet because I'm holding my countenance, for now, just waiting to see what unfolds next. But as I'm here....

My main thought for now, although it's probably as irrelevant as anyone else's thoughts, is that given all the 'variables', a GE could well produce a 'landslide' for the Alliance Party in NI. Now that would solve a few 'troubles' in one go.

this might be interesting to attend/watch via livestream.

was talking to a friend today who is a vehement remainers, but has always voted Tory. Leave is going to fuck his business. He now cannot stand the Tories. He hates Corbyn- with a passion BUT said he will vote labour in the next election as in his view "Corbyn May fuck us for a few years, but leave will screw us forever"This is a massive move. I had been thinking that I may vote Labour for exactly that reason...It's an interesting movement, and there can't just be two of us.

No there ain't just 2 of you. One nation Tory here, may go to LibDem but if had to vote Labour in order to be tactical, I think I could. BIG LEAP FOR ME.
However my ideal world would be a centre right situation, Ken Clarke, Rory Stewart. Hate Corbyn and all he stands for but hate Boris and Cummongs and Rees Mogg and that lot even more.

Faisal Islam tweeting about bank forecasts for possible GE. Growth 1.5-2% higher under a Corbyn win.

No real surprises there ... Actually, I'm surprised it's not higher.

twitter.com/faisalislam/status/1172618039109574656?s=21

Alliance in NI have picked up a lot of support, mostly it seems from former Unionist Remainers

I'd love to see a non-Sectarian party win the most votes there, but sadly I think that won't be next GE

The DUP are likely to lose at least 1 seat though

Due to demographics, the Nationalists are expected to continue to increase their votes over the next decade, until they finally outvote the Unionists
If the Alliance have a signiificant non-sectarian block by then, it will ease the transition and the future

Today 21:44 BigChocFrenzy

*He could resign on 19 October, to avoid having to ask for an extension^

^That would put the pressure back onto the Rebel Alliance,
to choose a new PM - and have him / her appointed by HMQ in time to request an extension^

They would only have a few days to get their act together and compromise on the PM

That sounds a very likely tactic, yes. Hopefully the nobile officium case will offer a solution. It could, couldn't it?

sorry for the state of that quote BigChoc! Got distracted

mrslaughlan I don't think I've spelled your name right, sorry. As i understand it, all Labour MPs go through a process regularly of being "reselected" rather than it being an automatic thing that they just get to run again because they are already MPs. I think it's meant to be more democratic or something. Keir Starmer was reselected a couple of days ago.

calyx that is great. I love jimll paint it at the best of times

Cameron said ' some people may blame him' for Brexit. SOME??? At least half the country you pig abusing Eton twat!

Can Johnson just resign? At the moment, although a majority, they are still the party of Government.

Yes, I'm pretty sure he can

And then another time consuming Tory party Leadership election...... by which time the opposition parties would have held a VoNC....