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.

Wonder how many will be tempted out by the money off restaurant meals? Also I find myself thinking, all the support for young workers is all well and good but these folks should be recent leavers of education who should have skills and opportunities coming out of their ears. What about older workers, I think there was some support there. As for the housing market stuff, all that’s going to do is raise prices (again!)

Hahaha

Like fruit picking?

Wonder how many will be tempted out by the money off restaurant meals?

We gave up going out years ago. Too much of a lottery with accesiblity.

Thanks all. I'll let you know if they find anything over the next few weeks. I've cheered up a bit as dd has managed to learn nearly all of her spellings for Y3 and Y4 in the last couple of weeks! I'm still struggling to get her to write much but at least we've caught up there.

It feels a bit like they are doing all they can to force us to get into buildings together atm. I think most on here saw what happened with the care homes scandal (to be honest I am sure there are some homes who treat patients like cattle and were quick to open the doors to new patients from hospital, but then who sets their regulations and checks their qualifications?) with lack of PPE (which I feel should have been provided by the govt in a pandemic), lack of clarity, lack of social care for hospital leavers, lack of testing... It was a shit show. Schools were meant to be next on their "blame game" list but dodged it thanks to unions, now it is pubs and restaurants. Good old tory donors with their calorific additions to our obesity problem win again.

I think I also saw Bozo mention a possible public health campaign about masks! I doubt it will ever happen tbh as they would rather pretend the virus has vanished atm, but somehow it's got through to him that a lot of people don't know how to use them.

Liz Truss has woken up......which I have to say I find a startling development

twitter.com/adambienkov/status/1280890855746912258?s=21

Liz Truss has woken up

Hardly the Kraken rises though.

I believe Liz Truss has finally read a briefing paper by her department would be a better descriptiion.
We know that the civil servants have been telling ministers this since the start
but that ministers stuck their fingers in their ears and yelled Brexit means Brexit

[quote mrslaughan]Liz Truss has woken up......which I have to say I find a startling development

twitter.com/adambienkov/status/1280890855746912258?s=21[/quote]
Risks global reputational damage ?

Quick catch that horse. You know. The one that's gone around the world a few hundred times. Then we'll look into getting that stable door fixed.

Risks global reputational damage ?

Or is this an attempt to pretend it's understated British Wit ? In which case I suggest someone gets their phone sorted. They're clearly not hearing words properly.

And in the category of truth is stranger than fiction
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/08/uk-nominates-liam-fox-world-trade-organization

Love the cat video Big Choc

Sorry to hear that DGR. Actually though that would be another potential job creation scheme, work to make as many places as possible more accessible. We ought to do a lot better on that than we do.

As in, The Disgraced Former Minister, Liam Fox? Will he take his mate with him?

Liam Fox was asked about the WTO job on the radio recently and didn’t want to say anything (I paraphrase) but you could feel the smugness radiating off the speaker. I think I had to check the heating wasn’t on in the car.

Louise
Actually though that would be another potential job creation scheme, work to make as many places as possible more accessible. We ought to do a lot better on that than we do.
It was being done by the Disability Rights Commission
but the 2010 Tory government emasculated it to stop it making a difference.

But the WTO know he's a prat, right, so really all it is is a desperate attempt by Bozo et al to get someone with our interests in WTO before we jump off the cliff. It smacks of desperation. It wasn't any great secret he ballsed up on trade deals under May, was it. He hardly looks well qualified!

Until Trump stops blocking WTO appointments its a non job and he is NOT the right person to get it sorted

I just wonder which other candidates will be put up for the WTO job. I would laugh if whoever it was swept the floor and Fox only got a handful of votes. It might give the Tories a clear idea of just how diminished the UK's status is in the world.

It does make me wonder if Cummings thinks that UK can somehow "take over" WTO and change the rules to help out post Brexit trade. I can see it becoming us shafting the rest of the world, again. Empire strikes back if you will

But if you are a woman who runs a beauty salon you can't open yet. Most salons I should imagine can be more Covid secure than restaurants and pubs.

I still find Brexit mind boggling. Also wondering on the likelihood now of Scottish independence.

And wondering if I can find Scottish people in the family tree.

@LouiseCollins28

Sorry to hear that DGR. Actually though that would be another potential job creation scheme, work to make as many places as possible more accessible. We ought to do a lot better on that than we do.

It's way cheaper to do fuck all and force the disabled to stay indoors where they belong - out of sight out of mind, eh ?

If you think I'm overly cynical, try and take a bus in a wheelchair.

And if that doesn't convince you, look at the indecent haste with which town centres have sealed up car parking. Almost as if they didn't know that for a lot of less able people, a car is the only way to access shops etc.

Fun fact for today. Most ramps in shops were put in to allow wheeled pallets to be moved around without attracting claims for injury from staff. The fact that wheelchairs can use them is an accident. (I know this as I've seen plans for a Costa where the ramp was labelled "pallet ramp" and the space at the top usually blocked until they had a delivery.).

As far as I can divine, the entire concept of the WTO is alien to Trump and Brexiteers (not the voters, the people that fooled them).

In fact I would go as far as to say anathema.

Clearly suggesting appointing someone with the intellectual prowess of Liam Fox is an attempt to wreck it from within.

I don't know DGR, I suspect somewhere in a tiny brain cell inside Bozo's skull his childish ambition to be "King of The World" feels like it might become reality...

On that point DGR I don’t need convincing. I’m sure I under estimate massively how difficult things are in reality, esp for wheelchair users but i’m not unaware of the issues of living with disability.

Fox as WTO head surely ain’t happening?! I thought Osbourne was going for it, must have got that one wrong,