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.

There were concerns about the match a month ago following the England v Bulgaria game at Wembley;

"The Bulgarian Football Union has described Gareth Southgate’s racism concerns as “groundless, inappropriate and unnecessary”.

"Speaking in the wake of an ­alleged incident during his England side’s Euro 2020 qualifying win over Bulgaria last weekend, manager Southgate said racist abuse was a “concern” ahead of the return game in Sofia next month."

"Southgate’s words came in the wake of Raheem Sterling being the target of alleged abuse at Wembley last Saturday. It is understood that the 24-year-old was the focus of discriminatory language. A steward heard the individual in the Bulgaria section of the ground and they were ejected from Wembley and handed to the police, but no further action was taken."

www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/09/13/bulgarian-fa-refutes-gareth-southgates-racism-concerns-ahead/

Montenegro (likely to join the EU in 2025) were sanctioned by UEFA earlier this year for racially abusing England players;

www.itv.com/news/2019-04-26/montenegro-will-play-next-match-in-empty-stadium-as-punishment-for-racist-abuse-of-england-players/

Getting out from under the clowns of UEFA and the crooks of FIFA would be one Brexit I'd support.

Anyways, back on sort-of topic, we had clarification this morning from Zac Goldsmith on his principles: He is opposed to the third Heathrow runway, which is why he resigned and lost his seat. But he's back now, so he's OK with being in a govt that backs it.

(Along with a PM who promised to lie down in front of the bulldozers.)

DUP have been trying to stop this book being published, which of course just boosted sales

Something else for them to worry about if there's a GE

Burned: The Inside Story of the 'Cash-for-Ash' Scandal and Northern Ireland's Secretive New Elite

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1785372696/ref=aslii_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1785372696&linkCode=as2&tag=sjamcbride-21&linkId=292fccb360fedc0f8915a351020a64bb

Sam McBride@SJAMcBride

Senior DUP figures including Arlene Foster, her former special adviser Andrew Crawford & the DUP’s most powerful backroom figure, Timothy Johnston,
have threatened legal proceedings over the publication of Burned
......
Since news of the DUP figures' legal threat from was made public yesterday evening,
Burned has soared to 15th on Amazon UK's bestseller list - above David Cameron's and Debbie Harry's memoirs...

Benjamin Hall**@BenjaminHallFNC

U.S. officials tell @FoxNews Turkish artillery units are “intentionally” shelling Kurdish-run prisons in Syria allowing ISIS fighters to escape.

Any indication Kurdish forces have released them is Turkish propaganda.
< and Trump propoganda, to justify abandoning the West's longterm Kurd allies to be slaughtered.
But Fox won't go that far in reporting >

DUP have been trying to stop this book being published, which of course just boosted sales

The Streisland effect

Rebel alliance aware of the gap between passing a WA and implementation legislation. Will close it if they can:

Gauke says he (and likely other ex Tories) will insist on delay even if there’s a deal.

Doesn’t want to but says there’s a risk that we “crash out” if a deal gets through Parliament on Saturday but the legislation - votes on all the detail - proves controversial

Groundhog Day


Tony Connelly@tconnellyRTE

Breaking: the UK will table fresh proposals to break the Brexit deadlock this morning,^ @rtenews^ understands

2/ Two well-placed sources have confirmed that UK negotiators will bring forward a new text when they meet European Commission negotiators in Brussels this morning

3/ It follows a 90 minute meeting between Boris Johnson and DUP leader Arlene Foster, and deputy leader Nigel Dodds in Downing Street last night

4/ It's not clear yet if the proposals are a revised version of the dual customs scheme which the UK proposed following the breakthrough meeting between Leo Varadkar and Boris Johnson last week in Cheshire, or whether they are something much different

5/ The development follows a downbeat assessment by the EU's chief negotiator on Sunday over the dual customs idea, which would see NI stay in the UK's customs territory, but operate the EU's rules and procedures on tariffs

6/ EU sources have said the original NI-only backstop is a much clearer and legally watertight way to resolve the problem of avoiding a customs border on the island of Ireland.

7/ However, the UK and DUP have long rejected the original backstop as the way forward.

David Cameron's and Debbie Harry's memoirs

Were they an item?

(and it was a gas. Soon turned out to be a pain in the ass...)

In the v v unlikely event that a WA is ready for approval Saturday - It'd basically have to be May's WA - it should be possible to include closing the loophole as an integral part of the WA bill

Maybe have the "activation" of the WA suspended until all enabling legislation has passed
If we get an extension, this wouldn't be a problem - except for BJ

Also possible that on Saturday, BJ will just make a general non-binding motion that MPs agree on the basic principles of the proposed WA,
so he knows whether continuing negotiations into more detail, during the humiliation of an extension, could be worth it to him

Mockers

I feel like my head is going to explode after reading about internment camps. Seriously WTF? If we've reached a point where the introduction of concentration camps is even the remotest possibility then we're well and truly fucked.

There are not enough facepalms left for Parliament.

I am away on holiday on Saturday .
It's going to be a pivotal moment in London, either way. Someone, somewhere has to choose what they DO want in the HoC. I am personally coming round to the idea of a warmed over, hashed-up WA (because nothing else is ready), plus a confirmation vote tacked on by the opposition.

I feel like my head is going to explode after reading about internment camps.
maybe we should combine 2 great ideas?
Lock all of the Hoc inside Westminster and like the Vatican, wait for a puff of smoke signifying that a WORKABLE, acceptable to the EU proposal has been unanimously agreed. So that would probably be Mrs May's WA with all 600 odd signatures accepting it. also a comprehensive draft of a PD that can be passed to the EP negotiators, possibly with some conferring while the process unfolds.
Basically they all stay inside until it is done.
While this may appear a silly suggestion by me, it is in effect what will have to happen in the next few months anyway except the 'wreckers' will be hollering insults and delaying things.

It's definitely better than No Deal, but it's much worse than May's WA

Not really - as many people have said a lot of times on here, the WA is about withdrawal. A lot can change in any subsequent negotiations - eg if a miracle occurred and we had a GE and change of government, they might go straight to the EU/EFTA and say we'd like to stay in the EEA/SM/CU. Either we agree something directly with the EU or we persuade Norway to let us back into EFTA. In which case the bonfire of rights can't happen. A revised WA would not prevent that from happening as far as I know having not seen any wording, probably doesn't exist

Better than executing them

Don't give them ideas. I'm surprised Trump hasn't suggested it to the Spanish government, in his infinite wisdom and all that.

If we've reached a point where the introduction of concentration camps is even the remotest possibility then we're well and truly fucked.

It's what the people (17.4 million of them) voted for. When they ticked a box for no plan they were voting for every possible outcome - from the return of the glory days of the empire (only possible in their imaginations) - to civil war and all that would go with it (actually perfectly possible).

That - along with the fact that they are 17.4 million people who think it's perfectly acceptable to vote to remove people's rights against their will - is why I hold them all accountable, and don't buy into the 'good people voting for good reasons and its just the politicians who are crooked' narrative.

They voted for all of this. Every. last. one. of. them.

May's WA limits what the future trade deal can be - which is why the ERG hate it

This proposed WA doesn't
We would have to "hope" for a Labour govt to win a 5-year term and go for a sot Brexit

soft

They voted for all of this. Every. last. one. of. them.

I'm with you on this pretzels especially my FiL.

I don't get it? Another new text put to the European Commission following a 90 minute meeting with DUP in Downing Street last night?

Didn't this happen last time with May? Last minute DUP changes?

But this time why does Johnson bother. He must think he needs them for a majority- but he lost his Tory majority anyway so why curry favour them and not another group like the expelled Tories? Why would he think with them he'll have a majority?

Barnier has set a deadline of midnight tonight:

Nick Gutteridge @nick_gutteridge

Belgian deputy PM Didier Reynders confirms Michel Barnier has set a deadline of midnight for a deal to be done this week: 'If we have an agreement tonight it will be possible to go to the Council and then again to the British parliament. It's not easy, we have some red lines.'

Timeywimey10
The WA as signed by Mrs may, contains within it, practically all options from a very 'hard' out to something that is practically remaining in the EU. The WA part is just the procedure to 'abandon or modify existing legislation and treaties and The PD, as yet unwritten is WHICH legislation and when each piece is either ratified or modified.

one stumbling block being the UK still does not know what it WANTS but has a whole bunch of hooligans saying what it doesn't want.

Tonight??

Yep - tonight.

Seems that the UK still hasn’t submitted a legal text.

More detail:

“Michel Barnier has set Boris Johnson a midnight deadline to concede to EU demands and agree to a customs border in the Irish Sea or be left with nothing to take to the Commons.”

t.co/zU2bvCkro5