Westminstenders: Penny dropping time

[RedToothBrush]

Johnson already seems to be hinting at protections for workers rights and the environment that he promised are to be dropped.

Along with enshrining Brexit in law to the end of Dec 2020 thus creating another Brexit no deal date. This time without any safety net in parliament.

"won't Johnson be more liberal than he suggested" they cry

About that...

No alignment with EU standards.

On another thread posters saw the arrival of cheaper toasters that fit sliced English bread as a Brexit bonus.

I guess imported toasters might become cheaper for individuals if there are reduced safety standards (depending on tariffs).

On the other hand there's a greater public cost if the fire risk increases.

Farage is a busted flush.

I disagree- whatever Brexit * we get it won't be Brexity enough.

That's not my Brexit it's too fluffy. That's not my Brexit it's too soft etc...

Still plenty of room for Faragism.

( *And astonishingly we still don't know after one referendum, two elections and three years.)

On another thread posters saw the arrival of cheaper toasters that fit sliced English bread as a Brexit bonus

Funny, I thought the EU just wanted to make appliances require less energy and make them more durable and repairable, rather than decree slot size?

Cheaper Toasters?

They cost seven quid in Argos.

It's like Mogg's "cheaper clothing and footwear." When was the last time he was in Primark, or is that a silly question.

Funny, I thought the EU just wanted to make appliances require less energy and make them more durable and repairable, rather than decree slot size

Don't get me started on that. The sheer ignorance about the EU regulations on energy efficiency

It just shows either the politician's lack of science understanding or the general public's lack of science understanding.

This could be an interesting article re shape of things to come...

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-deal-latest-chlorinated-chicken-us-trade-deal-trump-a9255761.html

It just shows either the politician's lack of science understanding or the general public's lack of science understanding

Lightbulbs and vacuum cleaners spring to mind.

And after all, who actually wants to save a couple of hundred quid a year due to increased energy efficiency?

www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/feb/28/eu-inefficient-toasters-ban-delayed-avoid-pro-brexit-press-attack

Matthew Goodwin @goodwinMJ

Centre-left at latest election

UK Labour
Lowest seats since 1935

Austria
Lowest since 1945

Germany
2nd lowest since 1949

France
Lowest ever

Italy
Lowest ever

Netherlands
Lowest ever

Sweden
Lowest since 1908

Finland
2nd lowest since 1962

Maybe it's not just about Brexit?

Interesting. Feels like it could possibly be about a breakdown in the need for mutual co-operation and support in society. Also, perhaps that society doesn't need the workers as much as it did before. Automation and globalisation?
Very depressing, whatever it is.

Steven Swinford@steven_swinford
Times long read:

* Ministers braced for 'Valentine's Day Massacre' as Dominic Cummings plots overhaul of Whitehall

* MOJ could be disbanded with prisons and probation folded into Home Office

* Ministers say Cummings' 'unchecked' power is 'dangerous'

Officials are increasingly nervous about the scale of the Dom Cummings' overhaul of Whitehall:

'Everyone is talking about eating or being eaten. You definitely want to be the eater and not the eatee'

Reforms being considered:

* Home Office takes prisons and probation, borders & immigration become new department

* MOJ disbanded, Lord Chancellor role restored

* Foreign Office takes in Dfid

* New economic 'super-ministry' taking in bits of Beis, DCMS, possibly trade

www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/dominic-cummings-whitehall-in-fear-of-valentines-massacre-wb27gdwsj
Dominic Cummings: Whitehall in fear of ‘Valentine’s massacre’

Nice analysis RTB. In the social media age, remind me, who has the most money, the right or the left?

That Matthew Goodwin analysis is decidedly selective. It only really takes in traditional centre left parties and ignores the rise of green parties which are taking traditional centre left voters.

It also ignores centre left governments in Spain, Portugal, Italy and arguably (by British left/right standards) in France.

Are we even going to know what kind of Brexit we are going to have? Are we going to even know what will happen with the trade deals? Aren't they going to keep it all under wraps with the ban on talking about Brexit after January? And parliamentary scrutiny?

Because they don't want us worrying our pretty little heads about it. And, if things are all shit after the end of the year, we can be bamboozled into thinking that it's due to something else? Or have I misunderstood?

It's partly because the centre-right accepts, then claims ownership of the centre-left's sucessful reforms.

It's the decline of a large industrial workforce and the growth of the middle-layers.

And it's generations who don't remember the hungry years and take it all for granted.

Nineteenth-Century British politics were the Tories, the party of land, versus the Liberals the party of industry. In the 20th century, it was the Conservatives the party of property versus Labour the party of, well, labour. Today, increasingly 21st century politics are about the Conservatives the party of work and self-reliance versus Labour the party of benefits.

And yet, the weirdest thing, is in the midst of this right-wing coup, the UK has the "gayest parliament in the world" ?

There's something more fundamental at work here ... the socio-political equivalent of dark matter and dark energy. Something as yet unknown and unseen.

I was amused by the local radio bigging up the solstice today, going as far as to speak to a[n independent ?] pagan priestess (my knowledge of such things means I may be typing ignorantly and it should be priest regardless ....). Something which is certainly new since I were a lad. Which led me to wonder how much longer Europe has been pagan than Christian. A good 2:1 - possibly 3:1 ratio in the pagan favour.

Well the tory party was always as camp as Butlins, but back in the days of Bob Boothby, Norman St John Stevas etc they kept quiet about it.

Official homophobia was a policy driven by fear of the consequences of being first to stand against it. The current madness is the continued hostility to medicinal cannabis.

The increasing acceptance of homosexuality in the West (with exceptions in some former Eastern bloc countries) is a general phenomena that the right can't do much about, much as some would like to try.
Instead of wasting their energies on such issues (which, indeed, are positive for them insofar as many gay Tories don't necessarily need to hide any longer) they can claim to have been on the right side. Meanwhile, they can focus on immigration and decimating the welfare state.

FFS.
"phenomenon", that should read.
Just one will do.

Aren't they going to keep it all under wraps with the ban on talking about Brexit after January?

I thought it's just a ban on using the word 'Brexit' after January, the trade deal can be talked about freely.

The current madness is the continued hostility to medicinal cannabis

Madness is really just a point of view. If you are a massive pharmaceutical company, and you've seen the headlines about reductions in prescription medication use in jurisdictions where cannabis is legal, you'd say it's jolly good sense.

However, cannabis, like the EU, (and a hell of a lot of things) is another subject where the people who know fuck all about fuck all have the strongest opinions and the least facts.

As soon as a doctor starts blathering on about "needing more data", I realise he's probably borrowed a white coat from a butcher. If we haven't gathered enough data in 6,000 years, we probably never will.

(mysteriously, we "know" that genetically modified crops are 100% safe after 30 years ....)

the trade deal can be talked about freely

But you’re not allowed to call it “a deal” because the WA is “the deal” and after 31/1 Johnson can claim that Brexit Is Done and We Have Left With A Deal.

I don't think anyone mentioned 'cheaper' toasters on the other thread. Nor even EU-blaming really.

But just as a little experiment , see if your normal Hovis Best of Both slice will fit in your £7 Argos toaster, that is if you can plug it into your nearest socket without an extension cable, coz the lead is so short because it's been chopped and modified with a Uk plug somewhere between China and the UK.

Anyway, just injecting a bit of dry humour into the proceedings.

(@BigChocFrenzy
Could I PM you with a quick query that is German, not Brexit, related?)

Please ignore, everyone else...

The decline of homophobia in Western Europe is also assisted by the reduced credibility of the RC Church when it comes to protecting the young from abuse.

Putin is using homophobia along with the restoration of wife beating (so long as you don't leave scars) as official policy backed by the Russian Orthodox mob, who really are Putin fanboys since he gave them their churches back.