Westminstenders: Election Special 3

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South Wales is not really Tory

Immaterial. For the purposes of the next 5 years they are.

But then we talk about the Monarch - the Queen won't live forever. It's perfectly possible that she could die within the course of the next Parliament. Now Charlie boy with his propensity to meddle, may not necessarily do things the way Johnson wants.

Again, immaterial. We now know the Monarch has fuck all power. Endof. King Charles will be free to play with his horses and his men. He certainly is an irrelevance to the business of governing England.

I am imagining the delight of project TrumpifyUK when they were handed the surprise result that despite what everyone may have believed when it actually came to the crunch there is no power in the UKs constitution that outranks a PM with parliaments backing.

That's 300 years we'll never get back.

Some things I console myself with - Farage is now finished.

Except he's the new US ambassador.

The DUP were lording it over us in the last Parliament and now they have been sidelined.

Well, true. But then with the jettisoning of Northern Ireland, their reign was only ever going to be temporary. It's starting to look like we were misdirected perfectly.

Once upon a time, Labour needed Scotland for its MPs. I am bizarrely hopeful of Sturgeon's bids failing, Scotland returning to Labour in its droves and giving the Tories a drubbing in the UK again. I know this is unicorns but I would like Scotland to be the saviour of Labour again. Sigh. Those were the days. And unicorns are Scottish...

Boris promised us no IndyRef, which makes it almost inevitable. I don't think there's a place for Scotland in project TrumpifyUK, so tricking them into voting for independence is a master stroke. Obviously Johnsons oven-ready Brexit deal needs to ensure that all the oil gas and fishing around Scotland comes to England as part of the deal.

All of this local western chatter does of course miss talking about the continuing rise of China as a trading and military superpower. There will be a point soon - maybe we've already passed it - where China effectively has a veto on any military actions by anyone in the world. I guess we could call it Pax Sinis. At times I did wonder if it was in place for Gulf War II:This time it's personal. However, I am sure Napoleon features in Chinese military textbooks, the same way Sun Tzu features in Sandhurst and West Point text books.

unicorns are Scottish....

That is a Shetland Pony with a cornetto stuck on its forehead.

Obviously Johnsons oven-ready Brexit deal needs to ensure that all the oil gas and fishing around Scotland comes to England as part of the deal.

The oil and gas will have run out - so no benefit to England. Fishing will be subject to international rules of the sea as to where the limit will be drawn, so will give some of the North Sea basin to the Scots. If the English manage to reclaim the rest, they will overfish it, and that will be the end anyway.

UK waters post Scottish cession would be greatly extended by the retention of Rockall.

You then have the possible offer of Isle of Man/Channel Isles type status to Shetland if they stay with the UK, plus maybe partition with the Tory south of Scotland becoming a province of the UK on NI lines.

It's all going to be such fun.

Although which Tory wants to be seen to be responsible for the break up of the UK?

Well if such a beast exists, Johnson is the poster boy for it. Remember, the dissolution of the Union was a perfectly acceptable price for Brexit. The trick of Scottish independence was always to get the English onside (it goes without saying no one gave a toss what the Scottish people thought). With the SNP doing the heavy lifting, losing Scotland from the Union is really just a bit of paperwork, if it's needed.

If the Labour party do not realise that the UK does not want a radical socialist agenda and pick another Momentum leader they will become an irrelevance before the Brexit process is complete.

If the Labour party do not have new faces on the front bench next week the losers will be subject of non stop ridicule from the Government benches.

Corbyn needs to go and weed his leeks NOW

Make Harriet Harman or Margaret Beckett the interim leader
and move FORWARDS

^Make Harriet Harman or Margaret Beckett the interim leader
and move FORWARDS^

Possibly Harman & Beckett, mother and nana taking control of the unruly nursery via a PLP revolt against Corbyn remaining a minute longer.

Once upon a time, Labour needed Scotland for its MPs Have you any idea how wrong this sounds?

Mockers
They have both done the job in the past, they are both very capable speakers and both would treat Johnson's waffle with the contempt it deserves.

Brexit will happen in a few weeks
Labour needs to ensure that it calls out and opposes the other shit the Tories are planning
Corbyn is not the man to do that.

Look, it's all now moot post election. Let Johnson get on with the 'job'. So looking forward to how he achieves this. Already there is talk of a radical new cabinet and I think he will do this.

Regarding the Labour Party and the new leadership. Take a breather. Sit back and reflect. There is absolutely no need to rush into this. Stop being frightened by headlines that are essentially lead by the right wing press. The Labour Party's new leader should not be a distraction to what the new Government is going to do.

Following on from a link earlier about the Falkland Conflict I watched this video. And what I got from it was this.

To kill someone outright without a thought puts you into the 2% of the male population. However, it's now known that killers can be gleaned from the 98% and that they are extremely effective at doing this. The problem is the after effects. There is no way of reversing this conditioning.

Now, hear me out, I would say that similar has happened within the Labour Party when it comes to Corbyn and Momentum. All those who tirelessly campaigned did so for Corbyn, yet at the door they were told the opposite - Corbyn is the disaster and we're not voting for him. This much is now clear, however, there are still those activists and campaigners who have no way back from their devotion. Like the trained killer, the reversal isn't easy and will probably never happen. It will take a generation, i.e. 10 years for this to reverse.

The scale of delusion that makes him think he can carry on a day longer is positively psychiatric.

The new PLP is missing one or two remainers like Hoey, Flint, Woodcock etc, but little in the way of new Momentum Midwich Cuckoos, and indeed minus the alleged annointed sucessor Pidcock. Those that bit their tongue for four years will have had enough.

Mutiny is in the air.

I've just written to my MP, Tory, reelected and got this as part of the reply.

Parliament has now been dissolved until the General Election. Therefore there are currently no Members of Parliament. Incoming emails to this account may be received and read, however this email address is only being used to respond to urgent constituency case work.

So when does she resume work?

So when does she resume work?

Monday Morning when she'll sign in and be allocated an office. But she still won't be an MP until she swears in at the Speaker's chair.

(Returning MPs get paid for the whole period they weren't MPs, as do defeated ex-Mps who stood, but not those who stood down and did not contest the election.)

Look, it's all now moot post election. Let Johnson get on with the 'job'. So looking forward to how he achieves this. Already there is talk of a radical new cabinet and I think he will do this.

A clever trick would be to piss off the die-hard tories as much as the sore losers ... which is "radical". It would tick a lot of boxes, including letting everyone know who's boss as well as blindsiding the opposition.

From a distance, Johnson is in a very cushy position. He's already starting with a mandate to ignore old-style Tories by claiming he has to prove himself to his new-found northern benefactors. Again, obviously the reality is he couldn't give two shits about them. But it's a handy fig-leaf for all sorts of mischief. Moreover it's something we can all relate to: the need to suck up to new customers at the expense of long term loyal customers.

New members were in Parliament yesterday being shown the ropes - though many had grumbles about when and how they were getting paid.

Placemats
Labour do indeed not need to rush into electing a new permanent leader
but they need an INTERIM leader in place to lead the opposition over the coming weeks.
It CANNOT be Corbyn.

But the membership election process will, rightly, take several months

Yes, it is a bugger if you are a new MP. You don't get paid until next month, and in the meantime you have to stump up for all your train and air fares, hotels and meals and then put in the expense claims which are not going to be looked at until the new year.

It's a bit like being on Universal Credit. (but only a bit.)

Moreover it's something we can all relate to: the need to suck up to new customers at the expense of long term loyal customers.

Oh I agree. I've just had my internet/phone payment greatly reduced. I only have a phone line in order to speak to my mother.

Sorry, but has Corbyn gone?

I can't find this in any of the media.

(I come in peace..)

Watching Alan Johnson on that ITV clip posted earlier is gutting.
He looked & sounded on the verge of angry tears.

I've a lot of respect for him, and for many others who are gutted by what's happened with Labour & I'm genuinely rooting for them not to fuck this up now - to purge momentum & the far left, and to come back strong & holding govt to account.

Lisa Nandy & others have been brutal but on the money in their appraisals & there's definitely scope for something great to rise out of the ashes now.

Even if Brexit had not been a factor I'd have never voted for Corbyn's Labour, but I've voted Labour before & would do so again if & when they offer a credible alternative.

I'm glad that Labour were so badly decimated in this GE. Not in a nasty way, but because it's the only way that the hardliners could be defeated. If it hadn't been so bad, they'd have clung on for dear life for even longer.

Sorry, but has Corbyn gone?

Dead Man Walking, thinks he can stay on til Easter.

Jess said she'd be the one to knife him in the front. Go and get the knife.

The base reality is that no one normal deliberately knifes anyone in the front. It doesn't happen.

If it's Easter next year, then so be it. What's the rush?

Meanwhile, let's place the lens and focus on Johnson.

Does anyone know if a Labour leadership candidate failed to become leader, could they then try for the deputy leader's role ?