Brexit Arms - Out with the old and in with the new

[time4chocolate]

It’s time again for another Brexit Arms thread to see us into Christmas and beyond.

Well what a week it’s been!!

Boris has now completed his first week and he’s been busy. New conservatives have been sworn in, the Queens Speech yesterday shows promise (aware that the proof of the (Xmas) pudding is in the eating) and Boris’ Deal is going to be voted on today with the results being around 3pm I believe.

Meanwhile, on the other side all four wheels have definitely fallen off the red bus and were very nearly joined by a garden gate and a car door. Oh dear!!

Anyway, I have added a few more Christmas decs to the pub and popped the fairy back on the tree (it took a nasty tumble)

We are now good to go.
Cheers all 🍷🍷

Ps. If anyone wants to volunteer for outside catering that would be👍🏻

Thank you devereaux, will follow the link.

I've got the entire house too dusty.

Starting with ironing, then first layer of rubbish, then second then rest of Dec's up and finally I can start to properly clean.

Hospitality, yes... Imagine how much harder the chores would be if scrooge had made it into no 10.

How about thanks for dissecting that ft piece.

During my research I delved into many areas but now only cursory glance at the guardian.

Nearly every head line and piece bar the very few are extremely biased and left wing. But more than anything I just find they omit details!

No knowledge of defence matters. Mine lies in what the Americans so accurately term Homeland Security but we know as "protecting the public".

Just picking up on time4's post earlier, this is from today's Times:

"The frontrunner in the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn has appointed a self-proclaimed Stalinist to organise her campaign for the leadership. Rebecca Long Bailey, the shadow business secretary, has turned to Alex Halligan, who was instrumental in Mr Corbyn’s successful leadership campaign in 2015.

Her move is understood to have infuriated the shadow chancellor John McDonnell. Mr McDonnell expressed concern; Mr Halligan attempted to confront him. Now the shadow chancellor, who had been expected to back Ms Long Bailey, 40, is understood to have made a “conscious decision to have no involvement in the leadership election” even though she is widely seen as his protégée."

For perhaps the umpteenth time, I really really would like Labour to get its act together, find a direction and a narrative that would provide us with something approaching a credible and functioning Opposition. This in-fighting between various strands of the far-Left is simply mind-numbing.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, even Tony Blair admitted that Brexit will now happen.

Just caught up with end of old thread and this new one!

I'm also doing pre-Christmas cleaning and sorting out. And finishing off some knitting - sadly not Corbyn tree toppers! Going out this afternoon to admire local decorations and have a snifter or two at the pub. Then maybe some mulled wine later

Did anyone listen to "The Week In Westminster" on R4 this morning? Very interesting, they interviewed Michael Heseltine and Tony Blair for their post-election thoughts, and had a piece on Dominic Cummings.

The frontrunner in the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn has appointed a self-proclaimed Stalinist to organise her campaign for the leadership.

I don’t think I’m alone in finding the ‘Stalinist’ aspect frightening. Sometime ago I asked a couple Of mn Labour supporters including BertrandRussell what they thought of John McDonnell standing in front of a banner depicting Mao and Stalin - two of the greatest mass murderers in history.
Bertrand replied that she thought it was ‘a bit silly’.
Can you imagine the uproar if a Tory MP stood in front of a banner depicting Hitler?

I find this blind spot amongst Labour supporters really weird.

she thought it was ‘a bit silly’.

And yet I'm pretty sure she was the one who was shocked & dismayed at the use of 'jackboot' because it was (in her view) 'problematic'

🤷🏻‍♀️

(I might be misremembering obvs, but pretty certain I'm not)

Just checked, I'm not misremembering

Singing I too am pretty desperate for the Labour party to get themselves in gear. I've always thought Jezza is a bit of a puppet, and I suspect he is not hurrying away because Momentum want time to select his successor. Len McCluskey probably pulling strings but flies under the radar so can easily sacrifice Corbyn without sacrificing the mission (soz if that sounds too dramatic?). And most of us would just prefer someone more centrist (I like the look of Lisa Nandy for instance) who actually stands a reasonable chance of being elected one day and therefore keeping the Tories honest.

There’s an irony that Dom Cummings is an issue for many on the left / remainers.

But Len McCluskey, Seamus Milne etc having involvement and influence on the Labour Party and now this Stanlist dude helping RBL is completely fine and not an issue what so ever. Nope, nothing wrong with any of it for labour, but the tories shouldn’t have any advisers

Yes, I also think he's been given orders to stand fast until relieved, Megan.

It's a very selective blind spot, Dapple.

Been thinking about John McDonnell backing away from his protégée. Hmm. I've always thought he was a whole lot brighter and shrewder than Jezza - it was always McDonnell I feared, of the two. I'm wondering now if he knows his support for RLB is...let me think of the right word now, ah yes!..."problematic" (thanks, Bertrand) and is beating a diplomatic retreat. For the moment anyway.

In other news, from the Daily Express:

"Nicola Sturgeon has been condemned for sending correspondence out telling journalists how she wants them to interview and interrogate Boris Johnson’s Tory Party. Reporters north and south of the Scottish border hit back at a flurry of emails they received from the SNP telling them how to interview the Conservative Party. The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) also snapped back and told the SNP that “journalists don’t need advice on how to do their jobs from political parties”.

Journalists also flocked to Twitter to slap down the call. The emails came from SNP spin doctors who issued advice one how to ensure journalists across the nation collude to get the Tories “tied in knots” over their opposition to a second go at a Scottish independence referendum..."

Wee Nippy still hasn't quite got the hang of this whole "role of a free press in upholding democracy" thing, has she?

Ah yes, Holly, Dominic Cummings keeps committing the cardinal sin of being right. That hurts so much more than Being Right. Which he's not, by the way. He's much more statist and interventionist than the Thatcherites would like but for now, they're minding their Ps and Qs and staying within the broad church.

Dusty and dapple

That posters reaction to those two things really sums up the far left.
Infact most of the political posts do from that poster. Knowing people like that are in the party really put me off labour. Because so many of them are like that.

Has anyone seen the film...

':the death of stalin

It's very amusing. Its a black comedy.

I have!

It's very current...!! 😉😂

Evening All - Pint of Best and whatever bar snacks are going please.

I do find Dominic Cummins a very interesting character indeed - I'm sure most of his qualities are pretty much unknowns; and I was rather intrigued by his 'cameo' piece in LK's recent Chronology of Brexit documentary - I could be wrong, but I think he gave them 'the finger' and they all burst out laughing when he left the room.

I think we should be told.

Anybody?

Has anyone seen the film...

'the death of stalin'

😉🍷

Hello all, a Saturday night cocktail for me.

Just when you thought Labour couldn't get any worse, the heir apparent hires a Stalinist. Oh dear this isn't going to end well for them. Is ChangeUK still open for defectors.

Did anyone see the new MPs mobbing Boris yesterday for his autograph, pretty awesome really.

And today he is out in Estonia serving our brave troops xmas dinner to a rapturous reception. He is really getting stuff done. Can anyone imagine Corbyn or RLB doing that?

Makes you proud to be British again, for the first time in years!

And today he is out in Estonia serving our brave troops xmas dinner to a rapturous reception.

I didn't know that, Walking. Thoroughly approve. In fact, it warms my heart. He lifts people's spirits and that's something that Jezza could never do.

Is ChangeUK still open for defectors.

Sadly no, "it's passed on! This party is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! It's a dead party!"

Dusty . Corbynism has "also passed on. It's no more!....". Thank God!

Corbynism has "also passed on. It's no more!....". Thank God!

Isnt that a bit premature? I thought Corbyn was staying in power so he could organise the baton to be passed to RLB. Who is planning to build on Corbyns success in winning the argument at the recent general election.

RIP changeUK, it was so successful in its time. 😂🤣😂🤣😅🤣😆

Brilliant dusty 😁

It's fabulous isn't it. And yes very current 😁

I watched some of it but I didn’t really get the humour. However I appreciate I’m in a minority as it’s had good reviews.

2 pints of water please

Just back from lunch and may have overdone it...

I’ll just lie on a pile of coats for a bit before I catch up

Isnt that a bit premature?

I meant as far as the electorate is concerned, it's dead, Walking, but you do have a point where the PLP is concerned

Even Keir Starmer, supposedly moderate, wants to "build on Corbyn's radicalism" and "not oversteer" away from it.

Why change a winning formula?

Nicola Sturgeon has been condemned for sending correspondence out telling journalists how she wants them to interview and interrogate Boris Johnson’s Tory Party. Reporters north and south of the Scottish border hit back at a flurry of emails

Doens't surprise me - the SNP and the Left in general have authoritarian tendencies when it comes to the press, far more than the Tories. When the SNP lost the Indyref, Alex Salmon barred certain newspapers from the press conference - the Times, Telegraph and the Daily Mail if I remember correctly. In fairness to the Guardian, they chose to boycott it in protest.

Corbyn and co hate the media so much I wouldn't be surprised if they clamped down on freedom of speech if they had got into power.

Free speech is precious and our press has come under a lot of pressure in recent years with Leveson and privacy laws. Even Nick Clegg's dearest wish was to muzzle the newspapers.

Autumn, don't know whether you need black coffee or something to settle your stomach but both are available.

It must have been a cracking lunch!