Westministenders: Slow News Fake News

[RedToothBrush]

Things have been slow whilst we are in proroguation, ahead of next weeks Queen's Speech and the EU summit.

We've been in full spin mode, from the likes of the far right and an unnamed source at No.10.

People seem to be waking up to the reality that its highly unlikely we will get a deal now, unless something significant. And No.10 has worked out the NI problem. FINALLY.

Anyway, if you have a little time this week and you are interested in the history of where technology change and fake news meet and how where we are now is merely things repeating themselves, Ian Hislop's Fake News: A True History, is essential viewing.
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00095hv/ian-hislops-fake-news-a-true-history

I really feel strongly this is stuff that should be being taught in schools somehow as its what protects us from extremism.

God she makes me sick. She’s absolutely vile

Tweet by James O’Brien

When challenged by Marr, I bet she continued smirking.

Patel and McVey are manifestations of what happens when a party is so desperate not to look so white, male, southern and posh.

Like James Cleverly who definitely isn't

Listening

Beeb forecast is cloudy with sunny intervals. Better than the political forecast, which is largely thick cloud.

Callousness everywhere, including at the Nobel Committee:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/12/a-nobel-prize-that-dishonours-the-victims-of-genocide-peter-handke

So, the highest award in literature goes to a write who denies the existence of concentration camps
that it was my accursed honour to find in Bosnia in 1992,

who lauded Slobodan Milošević,
mastermind of the hurricane of violence of which they were part,

and contests the massacre at Srebrenica in 1995.

Peter Handke is an apologist for genocide within living memory, at the heart of Europe.

He says one thing, while earth across the Balkans gives up its mass graves.
While Handke proffers his views, the bones are facts.

The ever excellent Dateline London.
Vatican reform, Brexit, Trump.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0009h5t

Trump/Syria, I meant to say.

Oh shitballs - the Fail Brexit countdown ticker is back...

Forecast for next weekend is currently on the edge - at the moment it looks like we may scrape away with it between weather fronts,
I'll update the protest thread as we go through the week.

Ian Blackford has just announced at the SNP Conference that the SNP will be voting against the Queen's Speech (no surprise there ) and that they are going to put forward a VoNC and challenging the Swinson and Corbyn to join them so that we can have a GE.

Not sure how that fits with ensuring that the UK also gets its extension to avoid a No Deal Brexit - unless they are assuming that the Scottish Courts will allow the officium nobile to get the required letter, according to the will of Parliament, sent to the EU requesting the extension.

Hasenstein

Did he say when they're going for a VoNC? I'm assuming he means after we - hopefully - get an extension, by whichever means we get it? I thought that was always the plan?

No-deal Brexit will wreck Tories’ reputation as party of business, says Lidington

😂😂 What reputation, did you say ?

www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/12/no-deal-brexit-wreck-tories-reputation-party-of-business

....typical of a politician , he didn't make it clear. He made it sound like they were going to do it this week

He was also absolutely explicit that they were still intending to go for a legal route to independence - and will be campaigning in the (imminent) GE explicitly on demanding the right to hold Indyref2 soon - and that Plan B (holding an unofficial referendum or even declaring UDI) are not viable routes, as they're exactly what the Unionists would like us to do: to settle for 2nd best.

Corbyn cautions against public vote on Johnson's Brexit deal

He doesn't want the Leave choice to be a Tory WA

www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/13/jeremy-corbyn-rejects-idea-public-vote-boris-johnson-brexit-deal-second-referendum

Labour leader says he would prefer to fight election before any second referendum is held

Mind you, there is no "Johnson deal" yet - if we do have a PV, the Leave option might still need to be May's WA

May's WA with a 'kick it into the long grass' PD could be considered 'remain, although not as beneficial to the UK as a proper revoke/remain.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/13/firms-ignoring-climate-crisis-bankrupt-mark-carney-bank-england-governor

Companies and industries that are not moving towards zero-carbon emissions will be punished by investors and go bankrupt,
the governor of the Bank of Englandd^ has warned.

Mark Carneyy^ also told the Guardian it was possible that the global transition needed to tackle the climate crisis could result in an abrupt financial collapse.

He said the longer action to reverse emissions was delayed, the more the risk of collapse would grow

This twitter thread from Jo Maugham is about why even if a Meaningful vote passes there could still be No Deal. It's a scenario that's occured to me before but I've not seen it discussed in the media or on this thread.

Jo Maugham on twitter

"If the House of Commons were to approve a withdrawal agreement on 19 October, and there was no extension, we would have No Deal on 31 October. Here's why.
THREAD.
Approving a withdrawal agreement in the Commons by 19 October is not sufficient to enable that withdrawal agreement to be ratified in Parliament or the EU. But it does mean that the PM has no obligation to apply for an extension.
The flaw in the Benn Act
There is a flaw in the European Union (Withdrawal) (No.2) Act 2019 (the “Benn Act”) and, if MPs want to avoid us leaving without a deal, they may need to take counter-measures. The flaw…
waitingfortax.com/2019/09/15/the-flaw-in-the-benn-act/
To ratify the withdrawal agreement a number of further steps have to be taken on the UK side. If they are not taken the agreement can't be ratified.

These steps are set out in section 13 of the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
First, both the withdrawal agreement and the framework for the future relationship have to be laid before the Commons and agreed. These documents will together be many hundreds of pages long. As matters stand, they do not even exist.

Commons has neither seen nor debated either.

Second, the House of Lords can take up to five sitting days to debatw the withdrawal agreement and framework.

I am not an expert on procedure in the Lords but my understand is that this debate cannot be guillotined.

Third, we need a whole new Act of Parliament to implement the Withdrawal Agreement. That Act would also need to pass the Commons and the Lords.

The Institute for Government says this type of bill usually takes 10-40 sitting days.
The Withdrawal Agreement Bill
The UK needs a bill to implement the EU withdrawal agreement.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/withdrawal-agreement-bill#chart_1551882469

Difficult or impossible to see how all of those steps on the UK side can be taken in the period from Sunday 20th October to the 31st of October.

But that is not all.
There are also legal preconditions to the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement under EU law, Article 50.

The first is that it also needs to be approved by the European Parliament, which will act on the advice of its Constitutional Affairs Committee.

Remember, the Constitutional Affairs Committee has not even seen the Withdrawal Agreement and so is in no position to advise on this agreement of many hundreds of pages.

The second EU law requirement is that the European Council also has to approve the agreement.

Standing back, even if you assume there is no secret deal done between the Government and the Hard Right of the so-called Conservative Party to support the Withdrawal Agreement in return for No Deal, these steps can't sensibly happen between 20 October and 31 October.
Standing further back, an MP who votes for any withdrawal agreement on 19 October is handing to the Prime Minister a free choice between either (1) breaking his promise and asking for an extension or (2) delivering No Deal and leaving on 31 October.

Don't be that MP.

ENDS.

With all the rumblings from the various parties over the weekend, it seems quite clear that none of them will be voting for it!

Any questions for the lovely Alyn Smith? The fringe event is about "Scotland's Place in Europe".

I seriously doubt there will be a deal to vote on by Saturday. Barnier is getting in first shot at the blame game.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/13/barnier-warns-brexit-talks-have-been-difficult-amid-pessimism-over-deal

Michel Barnier has warned EU ambassadors that the latest negotiations with Boris Johnson’s government have been “difficult”, with it appearing increasingly unlikely that agreement can be found by the time of an EU summit later this week.

After a weekend of intensive talks in Brussels, the EU’s chief negotiator offered a downbeat assessment of the chances of settling the major differences that remain between the two sides.

Speaking to diplomats representing the EU27 on Sunday evening, in a restricted session due to recent leaks, Barnier is said to have spoken of his disappointment at the lack of progress according to EU sources.

“A lot of work remains to be done,” an official statement from the commission said.

Juncker is saying the EU should give an extension, to give time for all this