Westminstenders: Showdown

[RedToothBrush]

Big week ahead.

Johnson has until Tuesday Afternoon to get his shit together for the EU.

He thinks it can be down, but still lots to do in that time.

This week we have the Queen's Speech too, which is going to be misused as a party political broadcast.

Remember if the government can't pass the QS, there's a crisis that gets generated as a direct result. Sticking in proposals that any liberal or leftie will struggle with, is deliberately provoking a crisis of that nature. A proposal of that type would have to be anti democratic in nature, like... Ermmm... Voter ID. Hell, well what do you know.

Johnson is still after his election because as it stands he's a passenger stuck in the runaway train of his own creation.

Talk of a deal breakthrough is still overstated too. The DUP and many of the usual ERG suspects have poured water on the idea. And many on the opposition benches are pushing hard on a confirmary ref being needed for a deal - they don't have the numbers yet, but talk is that they are close. We also have loyalist military making threats about an Irish Sea Border solution.

Time for Project Shit Meets Fan.

BadBad
Catch a bit of BBC2 - Ed Balls driving model boats just now was FAB

Internment camp!? Looks like DC and BJ watched Years and Years too.

Who are the Internment camps for??

Who are they for ?
Should be the headline in every paper

Sorry, should have said I can’t read the photos in Reds posts properly.

Years and Years keeps popping into my head too - particularly the IQ test to vote. I have long wondered if this ref hasn't been to show how Joe Public shouldn't be entrusted with "important" decisions and to stop the poorest from having a voice (under the guise of giving them one, natch). Internment camps for refugees immigrants really isn't too far off the prisons they keep them in now. If we have a massive influx after ND Brexit I think this is likely - see Trump and 'kids in cages' for the Prologue here.

flouncy it's more worrying when the easy days before the wankstain ref happened seem like a dream They feel very far off now and almost impossible to reinstate somehow.

Interesting thread from Peter Foster on twitter. A deal with NI only backstop is not dead

twitter.com/pmdfoster/status/1183854055942246401?s=21

So. #Brexit latest. Some signs of increased optimism from 24 hours ago - tho caution urged.

Tl;dr: 'hybrid' landing zone is close for Northern Ireland/Customs, but issues remain on the future declaration (which bears on NI arrangement)
1/Thread

Also apparently Cabinet has been moved to Wed, possibly in the hope of having some agreement to update on?

Listening my mind is now boggling at Ed Balls driving model boats. It conjures up a picture of him being miniaturised to be able to get behind the wheel?!?!? I must know more!

Wonder when we'll hear from the IOPC over the Arcuri allegations?

Newsnight suggesting that opposition parties might bring a bill forward to attach a PV to any proposed deal, and a Tory (don’t know which one) suggesting that the Government might chose not to bring forward a money resolution to enable a PV in that case.

Emily Maitlis on Newsnight is on fire tonight ;-) she’s unpicking any politician that sites in front of her, regardless of their party...

Sounds so overly complicated to me. And so unnecessary.

What we will end up with is a fudge that means we are not in the EU, but we actually are abiding by its rules for trade and GFA etc. Otherwise we are totally fkd. And everyone knows it now.

I often wonder how many millions/billions has been spent on the preparations and who got the contracts for all that publicity. It was not all Civil Servants you can bet on it.

I remain hopeful, hopefully.

.

Following. Thank you all.

No other journalist has followed up that internment story as far as I can see - and it's a week old

I'd have expected it to be headline news, but I suppose there is too little information

However, refusing to confirm or deny internment should be a headline in itself

Did I miss that somewhere ?

These are my exact thoughts, but given the actual wording of the FOI, I thought it worth posting here as it's something that SHOULD be being followed up by a journalist.

As for it being 6 days old, that's not an indication that it's not a story, just that the tweet might not necessarily have come to the attention of journalists being its not getting enough retweets in the right echo chamber.

It concerns me for both these reasons.

Laura Kuenssberg @bbclaurak
Interesting - Cabinet this week has been moved to Wednesday so there is more time to give them fuller update on Brexit state of play ... could read the runes in plenty of different ways - Number 10 being genuinely tight lipped

Paul Waugh@paulwaugh
Monday night is PLP night. And safe to say some MPs were very unimpressed by tonight's presentation on how ready Labour is for a snap election.
m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/plp-labour-mps-election-not-ready_uk_5da4ef87e4b01c76560b6d6a?f9c
Labour MPs Warn Party Is ‘Nowhere Near Ready’ For Election After PLP Briefing
One critic asked election coordinators: “What colour is the sky on your planet?”

Honestly why is anyone surprised by this. The Labour Party have been slow and reactionary on just about every key subject in the last two years. Opposition leadership has come from back benches not the Labour Front Bench. Piss up and Brewery spring to mind.

Seeing talk that Extinction Rebellion have had right to protest ended by police tonight on twitter

Sian Berry @sianberry
The Met appears to have extended its Section 14 order against protests to all of London, not just the whole city except Trafalgar Square. How can they justify this? Why has the GLA not kept the square (that they run) open for @XRLondon as before? @MayorofLondon @metpoliceuk?

We all have a right to peaceful protest - a blanket ban across a whole city would not respect that right in any way. The Public Order Act is meant to be used in a balanced, proportionate way, and this is not that at all.

More on the serious disorder the Act is supposed to be used for.

Jan Doerfel Chambers @chambersofJD
Section 14(1) of the Public Order Act 1986 provides:
(1)If the senior police officer, having regard to the time or place at which& the circumstances in which any public assembly is being held .. reasonably believes that—

(a)it may result in serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community, or

(b)the purpose of the persons organising it is the intimidation of others with a view to compelling..

..them not to do an act they have a right to do, or to do an act they have a right not to do,he may give directions imposing on the persons organising or taking part in the assembly such conditions as...

.....to the place at which the assembly may be (or continue to be) held, its maximum duration, or the maximum number of persons who may constitute it, as appear to him necessary to prevent....

....such disorder, damage, disruption or intimidation." This means the police have to show a reasonable belief in "serious public disorder","serious property damage" or 'serious disruption to the life of the community'' or that the purpose is serious intimidation by theORGANISERS

....(not just people present there). Sitting peacefully at Trafalgar Square (which we observed) does not justify a reasonable belief that this would occur

Lots to unpack here...

news.met.police.uk/news/arrests-in-connection-with-extinction-rebellion-protests-383815
The Mets Explanation

Simon Wilks @SHGWilks
The Met website justifies it thus: “These conditions have been imposed due to the continued breaches of the section 14 condition". "Disruption in London’s financial district" seems to have been the final straw. Presumably for reasons.

I keep thinking of Years and Years too. How did the writers of that foresee all of this?

Emily Maitlis is the best journalist/presenter I have ever seen. Newsnight (imo) is only worth watching when she's presenting - I love the way she drills into people with her eyes insisting on getting the truth out of them. Yet she's always so kind and polite. She was quite rightly tough on everyone tonight - although it worries me that even she seemed left confused and struggling to piece any of this chaos together.

PMHamster. Thanks RTB DGR and Bigchoc and all the posters.

I keep thinking of Years and Years too. How did the writers of that foresee all of this?

Match political trends to historical precedent. Just need a bit of imagination combined with education and understanding of how humans are shits.

I can't sleep. At 5pm I was counting the time until bedtime and was in bed and very sleepy at 8. When I try to doze off my brain runs a kaleidoscope at Mach speed and I can't settle. Normally reading on here sends me sleepy after a while but no joy tonight. I've enjoyed reading the many butter threads though and now want to go out and buy different butters and proper slice your own doorstops freshly baked bread. We might be going to Waitrose tomorrow so I can see comforting hot buttered toast and tea in my future.

I feel a bit lost actually. Anxious about what's going to happen this month and in the future generally. The uncertainty is the worst thing for me.

The hamster is too cute 🐹 lurpak.