Westminstenders: The Mask is Slipping

[RedToothBrush]

This week has seen the department of the Chancellor who launched a 50p piece, the serious contemplation of a tin pot bridge, the rebirth of eugenics as a subject for cabinet, the announcement of the end of the BBC as we know it, the cabinet chanting after the PM in a way Orwell would be proud of, suppression of a report into trade deals which dares to mention the effect of distance and geography, worrying signs of an ever growing rift with Europe over negotiations for a deal, an appointment which starts to make our membership of the ECHR look very dodgy and there have been rather a lot of floods which so far seemed to have escaped the attention of those in London busy in their own swamp.

It's becoming apparent very quickly just how Trump like our new government are and how they want the UK to emulate the very worst aspects of America.

We are falling fast and its not looking like it will be pretty.

All we need is a major global issue to test our national resilience and the incompetence will truly be laid bare for us all to see... But not necessarily speak of. Such us the way it works.

Brexit Britain is not a nice looking prospect.

There are the new seat boundaries and reduced HoC, which I've seen estimted would give the Tories a 24 seat advantage compared to the 2019 GE

Then there are many seats that suffered de-industrialisation, where some seats Labour lost saw the 18-24 population dropping by 20% as they moved to cities for better prospects

• where Labour just piled up more votes that didn't count -

while the 60+ population rose by about the same 20%
Age demographics are a problem there for Labour to overcome
What policies do they have to win back the retired voters, other than to compete with the Tories in offering them bigger bribes pensions & transport freebies

A big problem that any Opposition has, with a big govt majority, is that they don't have the power to do pass laws, budget etc or even to influence these

They can only use the time to remake their party into a fit state and make themselves look like a feasible alternative government

• at the moment, Labour just look a chaotic disaster area Starmer has a hell of a lot to do and it may be at least the 3rd leader after him who actually takes Labour into govt

How Rishi Sunak can give his budget a boost

If the new chancellor wants to make his mark he should start by sorting out the skills shortage and offer workers an incentive

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/00a9e632-50ec-11ea-b4ee-385bb4c8d255?shareToken=8bd8eb977fcb200053d648161568508a

I think we all agree upskilling is a good thing regardless of Brexit. But Clare Foges says a simple £5k targeted learning account available to over 24s will do it. She seems to think this quite a radical proposal. While I sit here wondering if anyone, ever, will address the damage done by the gutting of FE.

Both the EU and the Brexiters think they have the upper hand in negotiations
There is posturing on both sides

It looks lose-lose, but with the UK losing much more

That 5k sounds an excellent idea, especially without any means-testing hassle etc

It obviously won't grant every ambition for everyone, e.g. won't go anywhere near a 3-year academic degree,
but a lot of people would benefit if they could afford to do a course of a few months and would love the opportunity

It could even stretch to a Master's for someone whose qualifications need upgrading

I am sure I read over the weekend, ?BBC News website, that a significant number of skills based qualifications will no longer be recognised so the training courses will probably not continue. No point offering cash for training that the FE sector can no longer afford to deliver as WhatKaty says, or if delivered, the 'trainee' gets no recognised qualification.

The courses and qualifications available would obviously need to be reviewed
and improved if need be

If this scheme ever started, the course reviews would have to continue, to increase what is available if supply exceeds demand,
or to modify them in the light of student feedback

My 90%-forgotten French is nowhere near good enough for idiom or subtleties
Any good French speakers ?

The French Foreign Minister said:

"Je pense que sur les questions commerciales ou sur le dispositif de relations futures, que l'on va engager, on va s'étriper pas mal. Mais ça fait partie de la négociation, chacun va défendre ses intérêts"

I was looking for reactions to this and I spotted on RNorth's blog that someone btl has criticised the translation of the much quoted "rip each other apart" as being too literal
He claimed a translation truer to the meaning would be:

"I think that about trade questions, or about future relations Framework, which we are going to start debating, we're going to have rather tough discussions. But it's part of the negotiation, everybody is defending his interests"

Can anyone here comment on the translation of the original ?

I hope the FO is providing the PM and the Cabinet with an accurate, idiomatic translation of any foreign language comments

It would be a fitting - but disastrous - outcome to Brexit, if the UK eventually flounces without a deal because of Google Translate failings

You can bet your bottom dollar that any "bonus" for education for people in work will be in the form of a voucher that can only be redeemed for an approved course offered by a ToryDonor.

I remain deeply unimpressed, not to say uninterested.

The Boundary review will be put on hold - because several of the seats that would merge used to be in the red wall

The decimation of City and Guilds qualifications has been atrociously done
and learning accounts would just be abused by the likes of Tesco in the way that placements were

"Je pense que sur les questions commerciales ou sur le dispositif de relations futures, que l'on va engager, on va s'étriper pas mal. Mais ça fait partie de la négociation, chacun va défendre ses intérêts"

With regard to the commercial issues or the blueprint for the future relationship, on which talks are going to start, I think we are going to rip each other apart (literally: "rip each other's guts out"). But that's part of negotiations, each side will defend its own interests.

Sorry BCF for the lack of formatting, on phone at gym!

an appointment which starts to make our membership of the ECHR look very dodgy

Can someone explain this to me, I don't know anything about it? thanks

I thought the same re the Boundary Review LQ - and also voter ID. Fine for the Tories when it was only hitting northern Labour seats - not so good when it's going to hit the Red Wall seats.

The problem with a lot of European languages and English is we've nicked a lot their words over the years and think we know what they mean.

"Democracy" being the first

Surely £5k "Learning Accounts" will merely have the effect that the providers of courses will increase their cost by circa £5k per student? Like the Universities did when the "opportunity" to raise tuition fees was given them.

Agree BCF with a very weakened and distracted Labour Party there’s no opposition. Why on earth did the6 agree to an election?

• they

Agree BCF with a very weakened and distracted Labour Party there’s no opposition. Why on earth did the6 agree to an election?

I think the semantics of using the word "agree" and "Labour Party" in the same sentence don't make sense anymore. Almost oxymoronic, in fact.

I agree, why on earth did they agree to an election? It will go down in history as one of the most stupid mistakes all the Opposition parties made.

A bit like those Germans who thought they would be able to control Hitler, and were very quickly disabused of that notion.

I like Google translate’s version of “Je pense que sur les questions commerciales ou sur le dispositif de relations futures, que l'on va engager, on va s'étriper pas mal. Mais ça fait partie de la négociation, chacun va défendre ses intérêts“

I think that on the commercial questions or on the device of future relations, which we are going to engage, we are going to get pretty drunk. But it's part of the negotiation, everyone will defend their interests

*I was looking for reactions to this and I spotted on RNorth's blog that someone btl has criticised the translation of the much quoted "rip each other apart" as being too literal
He claimed a translation truer to the meaning would be:

"I think that about trade questions, or about future relations Framework, which we are going to start debating, we're going to have rather tough discussions. But it's part of the negotiation, everybody is defending his interests"

Can anyone here comment on the translation of the original *

Bit of a lurker and long-time fan of these threads. I asked my French colleague re the translation and he said that the use of that phrase in French is less dramatic than the literal translation implies. He said akin to "tough talks".

The only translation Larousse gives for"s'étriper" is "to tear each other to pieces".

It's described as "familier" meaning "colloquial, informal", which chimes with the use of the adverbial phrase "pas mal" meaning, in this context, "quite a lot, a fair bit".

Larousse is about as standard as you get in dictionaries.

Other sources also give the meaning "to be at each other's throats".

To be at each other’s throats in a good translation imo. I wouldn’t have translated it as ‘tough talks’.

Re the bbc, my issue is that no fee means that tax payers/the population has lost their voice with what happens. The only stakeholders will be the government, aka a door wide open fur them to use it for propaganda with no counterbalance.

Yes, s'étriper is quite commonly used in French. It does mean arguing strongly but it's a bit more humorous than the English translation suggests. Friends can 's'étriper' over something but still be friends iyswim.