Westministenders: Can you tell your Rs from Elbows?

[RedToothBrush]

This week Mark Sedwill has resigned (or was he pushed?) and David Frost (chief brexit lead) was appointed National Security Adviser in a move that enraged Theresa May. The former prime minister felt that his appointment was unprofessional and that was a political appointment not an independent one and that he lacked experience. Of course in terms of national security we still haven't had that report on Russia and I don't believe The Intelligence and Security Committee has yet been named (not sat since Johnson was appointed as PM).

We have passed the deadline for extending transition and we have now apparently said that negotiations on the end of transition will finish at the end of September.

The bill ending Free movement of people has been signed, amongst much fanfare by the Conservatives saying they have delivered on the Referendum promise. However we might have up to 3million Hong Kongers who we are willing to allow into the country which might not go down too well with those who were unhappy with 'unrestricted EU immigration'.

We also have the demonstration of utter incompetence, outsourcing and lack of coordination and communication from central government and local government in the covid-19 crisis. A national scandal that isn't being properly reported by the press and leave you with the very large question of who is this government serving? If its contract with Deloittes over testing didn't require them to report positive tests to Public Health England, what was the point in the testing? How can this be consistent with 'The Government’s new approach to biosecurity will bring together the UK’s world-leading epidemiological expertise and fuse it with the best analytical capability from across Government in an integrated approach.' and will provide real time analysis and assessment of infection outbreaks at a community level, to enable rapid intervention before outbreaks grow.?

The growing feeling that Brexit is being exploited by this government for personal interests and those of big business at the expense of the general public is one which was feared and grows harder to argue against by the day.

In other news, Seumas Milne has left his job at Labour HQ.
OOh, that has cheered me up

So, farewell then Seumas Milne

@HoneysuckIejasmine

This meat packing plant business is enough to make me go veggie. Grim.

I did wonder if these viruses coming from animals would have this effect on some. Going veggie is better for the planet and better for everyone if, ultimately, fewer people eat meat and fewer people are needed to pack it.

On a happier note, my lovely garden design guy has picked up two more big jobs in my town because people have seen mine and spread the work. He's Portuguese, lockdown has hit him hard, but he's coming out of it. And of course it's lovely to see a fellow EU immigrant doing well.

Nick Cohenn@NickCohen4*

Just been talking to @leicesterliz who says

Leicester not given virus info because Hancock signed testing contract with Deloitte and did not include the instruction to pass data on to the local authorities who could actually use it.

< Hancock trying to out-Grayling the rest of the Cabinet ? >

Could I put in a 'Corbyn would be worse' here please? If Corbyn had signed a Contract with Deloittes who then had no instruction to do anything useful with the data like pass it on to people who could use it, We Would Never Have Heard The Last Of It. The Press and the Tories would have been screaming their heads off, but now, not a peep out of them.

Don't forget Tories and Murdoch - it's a virus, it doesn't know that you have money and think yourselves Important. Also don't forget that the Grim Reaper has all our names on his list - he will come for you sooner or later.

PMK.

Places are being offered to HK citizens by Johnson et al knowing they're unlikely to take it up. Any HK citizens with money will go to Vancouver, another beautiful harbour city with strong Chinese roots / culture / presence (due to indentured labour from china building the Canadian railroad). This is what happened in 1997, but when China left HK alone (at that time), many went back to HK saying people in Vancouver did not work hard enough in their opinion. They'll likely return now. It's the poorer citizens who'll be left behind. Rest assured anyone thinking they might take up the offer will still have to pay £2k+ for the pleasure of becoming a UK citizen.

Also, Mockers has not been on the threads for a while... you there Mockers? You okay? Missing your succinct and ironic humour / turn of phrase

Cummings and Johnson have already had the virus, as has Hancock. They probably don't care who ends up with it now they think they're immune.

I question whether Cummings did have the virus.

That BJ lie didn't last long ...

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/01/data-that-could-stop-new-covid-19-waves-in-england-being-withheld-say-councils

Rochdale borough council, which has one of the highest levels of new infections in England after Leicester,
told the Guardian the borough had not received any community testing results – known as pillar-two tests.

The council leader, Steve Rumbelow, warned the data showing who had tested positive outside of healthcare settings was essential
“to ensure that Rochdale does not get to where Leicester is now.”

That appeared to contradict the prime minister’s claim in parliament
that all test results – community testing in pillar two and NHS testing in pillar one –
“have been shared not just with Leicester but with all authorities across the country”.

I can't help but noticing that many of those places are the old Red Wall of Labour seats. I wonder how their new Tory MPs are explaining Government policy to them?

Every day brings more despair with this incompetent bumbling Tory government. So looking forward to the No Deal Brexit as we begin 2021. Because 2020 has gone so well 😬

Peregrina- but often have labour lead councils. Some one did an analysis- and labour areas were worse hit - now whether that's because of demographics, who knows - but I think you can certianly see that BJ is very condescending towards those areas.

With regards to the HK citizens moving here - also a lot in Auckland which is another place they may choose to try and move too - the wealthy ones anyway.
The poor or middle class ones won't be able to afford the fees. We have a really good income - but our fees to organise visas, indefinite leave to remain (which isn't actually indefinite and has to be renewed every 3 years now) and finally citizenship were crippling. And that's as a wife and children if a UK citizen. It's not simple and it's far from what anyone would describe affordable.
And I can't believe they won't encounter the "hostile environment" - I most certainly did.

China is not happy about Johnson's offer! Now there is a surprise! Raab admits we can't do anything about it. It sounds as though Johnson's offer was yet another piece of his flim-flam.

Yet another example of the “one rule for us, another for the plebs.”

And The Guardian now reporting on the Schrödinger checks on goods travelling from Britain to NI that will simultaneously be required by HMRC and don’t exist (according to Gove and Johnson).

amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jul/02/first-details-emerge-of-system-for-checks-on-goods-crossing-irish-sea?__twitter_impression=true

I wonder if Greece will start checking passports of all immigrants to filter out the UK citizens ? Presumably UK citizens will be using the "non EU" passport route soon ?

Johnson Snr and the like will team up with the right wing press to publicise these stunts. The attitude is "you won't keep us out of Europe if we want to go" and the Leave-voting useful idiots will cheer them on.

Thick, the lot of them. There are degrees of thickness, of course. Just like there's relative wealth. And the thickest are too thick to see it. They shout, swear and punch to compensate.

Let that little rant be my PMK. Nice to see the squirrel count on the last thread dwindled towards the end 😁

Johnson Snr and the like will team up with the right wing press to publicise these stunts. The attitude is "you won't keep us out of Europe if we want to go" and the Leave-voting useful idiots will cheer them on.

Which will only serve to confirm the view a lot of Europeans already have about troublesome Brits, and reduce their value as guests. Along with the sinking pound, of course.

Let's see how far we can travel as the typhoid Boris' of the world.

PMK thanks again.

For those that have been following the RS Archer thread about his Brexit voting neighbours with their holiday home in France who didn't realise that Brexit would impact on their plans to retire to France and think that this is Brussels' fault: the "idiot son" is now en route to France (having told his boss it's a family emergency) and has a meeting arranged with the local mayor to "sort things" tomorrow at 10. RS Archer will be acting as translator

https://twitter.com/archer_rs/status/1277505330885386240?s=21

www.electoral-reform.org.uk/labour-now-backs-proportional-representation-for-executive-elections-next-stop-pr-for-westminster/
Labour now backs proportional representation for executive elections.

The Labour Party has scrapped First Past the Post voting for its National Executive Committee elections, meaning constituency representatives will now be elected using the gold standard of PR: the Single Transferable Vote.

The ERS campaigned for the move alongside Fair Internal Labour Elections, Open Labour and activists from across the party. Labour already uses preferential voting to pick its leader and select candidates.

This is a major step forward for member democracy and fair results, and the ERS were proud to back the campaign. Labour has now firmly rejected the Westminster-style winner-takes-all system for its internal elections.

With PR, every vote counts equally, and all voters are heard. That means this could go a long way to reducing toxic, hyper-factionalism, in turn helping to build a more united, cooperative organisation.

Interesting move.

[quote prettybird]For those that have been following the RS Archer thread about his Brexit voting neighbours with their holiday home in France who didn't realise that Brexit would impact on their plans to retire to France and think that this is Brussels' fault: the "idiot son" is now en route to France (having told his boss it's a family emergency) and has a meeting arranged with the local mayor to "sort things" tomorrow at 10. RS Archer will be acting as translator

[[https://twitter.com/archer_rs/status/1277505330885386240?s=21]][/quote]
I want the sons meeting with Farage captured for posterity.

As with everything these days, it'll come at an unexpected time, from an unexpected quarter. But it will happen. A brexiteer will meet Farage or Gove or Boris or one of the gladhanding Brexiteers and confront them with the broken promises before a camera. Remember Tony Blairs being handbagged by a lady outside a hospital ?

I'd pay to see that ... (which suggests one of the reasons it's inevitable ) while I guess Farage and chums would pay a lot for it not to happen. All of a sudden capitalism doesn't look quite so good, eh ?

That twitter thread is comedy gold.