Westministenders: Crisis, which crisis ?

[BigChocFrenzy]

Main crises facing the government:

. Negotiating a Brexit deal with the EU
. Coronoavirus
. Floods
. Allegations of some ministers - and Cummings - bullying civil servants
. More trouble threatened from Turkey / Syria

Unfortunately with all these parallel crises, we have a workshy lying arse as PM
and the worst collection yet of incompetents in Cabinet
who seem to have decided on a strategy of bullying their civil servants to avoid hearing any facts that don't fit with current Tory party ideology

Said it twice already but:

Coronavirus means a transition extension.

I am 100% sure about this. Chancellors budget is already put of date ... a 30% drop in the oil price out of date.

Ah ragged I love Dimitry. I like people who do dull jobs with a sense of humour.

I especially liked how people didn't get that it was (mostly) a joke and his responses ("my stupid doggo chart").

Perhaps boys are being realistic in accepting their role as primary breadwinner in the family when the children arrive.
Understanding their need for a good professional qualification to underpin quality of life.
We don't know what questions led up to this revelation.
Just a passing thought.

Off to work ... we had a force majeure on Friday and now a blood bath in the markets.

BCF re booked events, bookings will collapse. We have a big event coming up (launch of a report that I write) and I am 99% sure it will be cancelled, but if it isn't I will be using my droit de retraite under French employment law.

Yes, appreciate surveys can be skewed depending on the questions, and the need for a headline. Hopefully it’s not as bad as it seems. But also wanted to flag up to @Sacredcauses that men don’t have to, and aren’t always, the main breadwinner in a family. We’ve not gone back in time yet!

Why would boys "accept their role as primary breadwinner"? What sort of handmaid's tale bollocks is this?

Jesus fucking Christ ... why do we bother having an international women's day?

PawFives: Fully understood, and completely accept your point.

Sacredcauses
Many of my female friends are the main breadwinners. All the other mums I know are working either because they have to or because they want to achieve their own financial independence. Your view is completely outdated.

Bloody hell - we're in 2020 and still going on about males being the breadwinner? When my husband was alive, we earned the same. All the way. Now I am the sole breadwinner. My DDs know they should never depend on a partner financially.

Songs:
Oh please !
Being outdated doesn't automatically make it Wrong.

Perhaps boys are being realistic in accepting their role as primary breadwinner in the family when the children arrive.

This is why we still need IWD.

I always assumed that I would continue to work after I had kids and fortunately was brought up by parents who didn't teach me to assume the Menz were supposed to be the primary breadwinner.

And I married someone who didn't think that either. Sometimes he earned more than me, sometimes I earned more than him. Sometimes I was earning while he wasn't. Sometimes he was earning while I wasn't. It was joint house income so it didn't matter.

sacred Perhaps boys are being realistic in accepting their role as primary breadwinner in the family when the children arrive.

Do you really believe this? All of my friends bar one are the main breadwinner, and a couple are on their own because their husband left them with the children. The latter is quite common and a good reason why women should prepare themselves to be a significant earner.

I think on this occasion being outdated is wrong, and unhelpful.

You must have known this’d be a controversial view.

There was a UN study this week about the place if women
Worldwide, 90% of people (and yes that includes women) have a negative biais towards women. 50% of men think it’s ok to hit women.
Of course , this includes ever country and therefore some culture here women don’t get any equality what so ever.
But it shows how much there is still to do.

FWIW, I’m sure I have tried to patent my dcs to see women as equal but more importantly to show them how done reactions are actually discriminatory. They are teenagers and I already know I have failed. Neither the dcs nor dh are even remotely aware of the difference in behaviour toward each other vs towards me. And that’s despite pointing out differences etc....
Saying that we have achieve equality is a dream imo. (A bit like brexit )

@Mistigri, I agree. There will be a delay with brexit due to the virus.

I wonder if Cummings and his ‘superforecasters’ managed to predict this virus?

If not, then they’re not very ‘super’. If they did, then we’re woefully underprepared.

Coronavirus means a transition extension.

Alternatively, it's the perfect excuse for crashing into no-deal. Bear in mind Brexiteers do not think that anything should delay Brexit. Even on this thread there's one poster that felt making it "the law" that no extensions can be requested was a Good Thing. You can imagine the howls of outrage from Brexiteers if this flap was allowed to extend the transition. "What excuse next ?" they would argue. With some of the fruitloops suggesting that Remainers deliberately engineered COVID just to delay Brexit.

Does no one recall we fell through the looking glass 23rd June 2016 ? Nothing will ever be the same.

I predict not only no extension, but a doubling down on leaving anything that starts with an "E" just in case.

I wonder if Cummings and his ‘superforecasters’ managed to predict this virus?

I put a line in a BCP for alien invasion once.

There will be a delay with brexit due to the virus.

Nah, why would there? After the Brave Brexitannian Patriots have finished freaking out over loo rolls/pasta/hand sanitisers, they will magically re-acquire the doughty BlitzSpirit and with brave dignity volunteer to eat grass (or A.N.Other fantastical hardship meant to demonstrate their Faith) for their longed-for No Deal Brexit.

Also, the only way to delay is to repeal the law that says you can't.

Bearing in mind there was talk of a "backbench revolt" (not going to happen, mind you, but that's for a different thread) then there is the very real possibilty that the government finds itself unable to request the extension anyway.

Nesrine Malik's guardian article is depressing if true;

"The coronavirus outbreak too has fallen victim to the obsession with blocking anything EU-related, no matter whether it could cost lives. Downing Street is now locked in a row with the Department of Health over access to the EU pandemic early warning system. No 10 is allegedly preventing the department from attending meetings with EU officials to coordinate a response to the crisis. The reason for this reckless politicisation of a medical emergency is that it would risk giving the EU leverage in negotiations. Strengthening Britain’s position against the EU will happen literally over our dead bodies."

In other news, hostile at source it seems.
BBC News - DWP says it is 'shocked' by its own disability tribunal record
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51756783

It's "Black Monday"

www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/stock-markets-ftse-100-oil-prices-coronavirus-black-monday-a4382156.html

Now if I recall rightly, the crash of 08 was all the fault of the govt. of the day. So how about this one?

....any comment from the editor of the Evening Standard?

TBH a lot of the stock market volatility is caused by algorithmic trading.
I am trying to pay as little attention to it as possible as hopefully sensible humans are awaiting the opportunity to snap up bargains in the next few months.

Yep, looks likely, Una
The Guardian story is based on an earlier Telegraph report which I posted

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/03/01/downing-street-department-health-locked-row-access-eu-pandemic/

The Telegraph still seem to have close links to BJ, their former columnist. hence often seem to have an inside track

That Evening Standard article is actually quite instructive and helpful, even if it made me cross. If this Coronavirus threat is as bad as it is claimed to be (I remain sceptical at this stage) then why is the Chancellor wasting his time listening to special pleading from the hospitality industry in London 2 days out from his budget? How is that "Levelling Up?"