Westminstenders: What hangs in the balance?

[RedToothBrush]

Yellow Hammer (and Black Swan if it exists) and other documents the government itself has produced are our truths and our evidence.

I look to Thomas Jefferson quotes in trying to defend liberal democracy.

His most famous of quotes is

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration states, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness….”

Self evident truths. These are the bedrock of democracy.

There are many more quotes from Jefferson which talk about the shining beacon of truth and the threats to liberty from falsehoods and those who tell them.

He argued that when the power of the state is used to avoid scrutiny we should be worried and afraid. As a leader he should never be afraid of the truth, because the truth always exists and you can only merely hide it before it makes itself apparent anyway.

“The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.”

Today I feel the need to dust off old Jefferson for my own sanity and to remind myself of what matters. Jefferson helps me focus on dangers and how you fight back. It always comes back to exposure to the truth - how do you work to expose this (and the role of journalism in this)

Seek the truth. Talk the truth. Even if that means being self critical and humble in admitting your mistakes and errors.

It is not your identity as Leaver, Remainer, Tory, Labour, LDer, SNPer, woman, man, English, Northern Irish, Scottish, Welsh or European right now.

These identities are harming us, by making us look at the wrong thing rather than see the real danger facing us. They divide us whilst they conquer us.

What you should be focusing on NOW is your commitment to democracy in the face of someone in power actively and explicity saying the rule of law does not matter and the courts are wrong. That is advocating mob rule.

Johnson stood and said threats to MPs were humbug. And refused to moderate his language despite so many (mainly female) MPs saying the threats they received were extremely serious (remembering we've even had a prosecution for a plot to kill Rosie Cooper as well as other successful prosecutions for threats to MPs)

This is where we are at.

Focus on it.

No Deal Brexit and the future of liberal democracy in this country are indivisible and inseparable. They are entwined by the rule of law.

Brexit is NOT in of itself a threat to liberal democracy. It is HOW we leave that is.

I wish this was being said and emphasised concisely and cleanly.

I don't get the timescales. In the unlikely event that a deal passes the EU summit on 19th, and the equally unlikely event that it subsequently passes a meaningful vote in parliament, will it really pass all the stages for it be passed as a Bill (ie the extra work required after the meaningful vote) Don't we need that otherwise we will still no deal.

Would the gov still no deal on 31 Oct even if a meaningful vote has passed but the Bill had not yet been agreed?

I'd follow The Good Law Project Jo Maugham on twitter for informed updates on the various dirty possible machinations of our PM.
I feel reassured when I read of his, Cherry's And ThatGinaMiller's presence.

The 'Wilding of the world' is quite apt about what is being tried on.

Yes. It is a systematic attack on sovereignty, specifically on checks and balances.
In my view, growing global inequalities (And by that I mean the billionaire class versus the rest) are creating an oligarchy which is clashing with the very concept of state. They see it as a set of rules, of constraints that should not apply to them. State sovereignty v global oligarchy is the problem.
The irony is that leavers see it but have been conned into aiming for the wrong enemy.
The EU is the European states' best chance, not the enemy itself.

Thanks DGR needed a smile today and that did it.

Am picking up developments on a GNU - that SNP are open to Corbyn being temp PM. That BJ cannot be trusted to NOT behave illegally, and remove that possibility well before it becomes crucial.

Thanks Mr Pan, I need to sign up to Twitter I think!

needed a smile today and that did it.

All together now ...

Been on several of the marches, Louise. Always calm, good-natured and friendly. Never seen any great police presence or trouble.

The march a few days after PC Keith Palmer was murdered by a terrorist, marchers were leaving flowers in his memory and chatting to the police at the site. Very respectful and I think the police appreciated it.

The worst I’ve seen was once when police kettled some Leave protestors in Plmt Sq, the evening after a pro-EU protest had ended. The police had it well under control.

Essentially the QCs/barristers on twitter are saying 'no' it isn't possible for govt to usurp the law, but they ALL say 'it's opinion'. They are barristers.

It's up to politicians in HoCs to ensure Johnson doesn't trash the country and then remove the levers of balances and control. End of democracy.

Thanks DGR I'll have it stuck in my ear the whole weekend now

Have any Westministenders been on the "Peoples Vote" marches please? The coverage I've seen suggests these have been basically wholly or at least overwhelming majority pro "Remain" marches. Is that right?

I have been on all, bar the not very well advertised one in June or July this year. There were one or two people who said they'd voted Leave but had now changed their minds, but otherwise, who can say? It has to be assumed that those waving EU flags and wearing t-shirts emblazoned with yellow stars (me and thousands of others) were for Remain. But quite a lot were sporting People's Vote placards, so we don't know how they voted.

All perfectly peaceful, which is more than the 100 or so that Farage managed to get to turn out can say for themselves.

How long will it be before Cabinet Ministers / Tories get fed up with Cummings and demand his removal, like they did to TMay about Nick Timothy?

1. Whip up feelings with invective about “betrayal” etc and let the right wing media run with it.
2. Let it be known that mass rioting and dangerous civil unrest is expected if we don’t leave on 31 Oct, come what may.
3. Invoke the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to suspend Benn/Burt on the basis that it is a necessary step to address an emergency.

Wholly illegitimate, but I wouldn’t put it past them.

Am picking up developments on a GNU - that SNP are open to Corbyn being temp PM. That BJ cannot be trusted to NOT behave illegally, and remove that possibility well before it becomes crucial.

As per yesterday, I wonder how much of the LibDems "never Corbyn" might be a smokescreen, lulling some quarters into a false sense of security ? Especially since SCOTUK restated the powers of the PM, and Corbyn isn't a one-man government. (Unlike the way Boris is acting).

For various reasons, I can't see there being riots - not everyone is as moronic or unobservant as the shouty ones. Who clearly have not been paying attention these past 8 years ... I know, people who shout more than listen fail to spot things. Who'd have thunk it ?

The trouble is you don’t need actual riots, or even planned riots - the Govt can just say it has intelligence of the threat etc.

like they did to TMay about Nick Timothy?

Timothy had managed to cost her a small but workable majority. That is really what did for him and May. Otherwise, she could have gone full steam ahead for her hard Brexit, although she would still have had the ERG to contend with. At least it would have been obvious then that these were thwarting the WA.

Interesting that in the midst of this, the BBC news site head picture is of the unelected Cummings.

I think I've missed the Brexit propaganda post for schools? Could someone link?

Cumming is a wind up merchant; you can see at the end of that clip he does his apparently typical "I don't even know who you are!" to incite anger. He is the one who hasn't had vetting. He is the one the public didn't vote for. He is the one no one knows what objectives he has and he is the one no one in the entire country, much less Brexiteers would recognise on the street. What an ego! Imagine having to parent with that - I'd sleep with an eye open!

Let it be known that mass rioting and dangerous civil unrest is expected if we don’t leave on 31 Oct

Doesn't anybody remember the enormous pro-Brexit protests in March to ensure our definite departure on the 29th, in which the overwhelming strength of the populations feelings would be demonstrated and major roads, stations and ports were going to be blockaded and the "entire country brought to a standstill"?

That.

Dominic Cummings reminds me of a Guaranga monk. I wonder if he wakes up in the morning, looks at himself in the morning and says to himself "be happy!"

The arse.

Oh cross-post smiletho!

Wasn't there supposed to be a blockade of the motorways too? Which on the M5 was one bloke in an HGV driving up and down wondering where the rest were and going home, or a half dozen in Portsmouth trying to blockade the Brittany Ferry.

@LarkDescending

That's my reading of it too, but I don't think it will happen that way, mainly because the anti-no-deal cause has got considerably better lawyers than the government right now.