Westminstenders: What the winds bring

[RedToothBrush]

The next few weeks are crucial. Eu talks, covid handling, the US election and any other unexpected events (its nearly November, lets face it will probably be the weather).

It feels a little like the car crash in slow motion is about to hit the wall of reality. I guess that just means all there is left to do is to brace for impact.

PMK with thanks to RTB and everyone else.

The GOP have no shame (Supreme Court)
The Tories have no shame (FSM)

But at least the Kazakh tourist board have a sense of humour
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/27/very-nice-kazakhstan-adopts-borats-catchphrase-in-new-tourism-campaign-sacha-baron-cohen

While in China the situation is well under control.

I agree that the corruption is gobsmacking. Taking advantage of a pandemic to divert huge sums of public money to your friends and financial backers, knowingly increasing deaths by buying PPE from companies that have never made it, getting tracking done by an amateur, etc, surely has to be classed as evil.

While in China the situation is well under control.
(a) So they say and anybody who contradicts Xi is in trouble
(b) A total lack of human rights makes enforcement easier.
We have no idea how many Uighurs have had it as they are in prison camps

While in China the situation is well under control.

Is that ironic? I can't tell these days.

@Greektome

While in China the situation is well under control.

Lets aspire to being China.

I suppose at least everyone on these threads could contribute to problems with shortages of transplant organs.

Pmk

The number bandied about for this NRG - 40 - seems interesting.

40 being half of 80 in real maths (no idea what Tory maths makes it).

And 80 being Boris highly publicised majority.

I wonder if a cabal of 40 new Northern Tory MPs have suddenly realised that as a bloc they have their knees on the neck of the government ? And if that were to be the case, what they would use that power for ? Obviously self-serving aggrandisement - goes without saying. But what else ? Insist on a Northern Tory or two in the cabinet ?

Unintended consequences - doncha love 'em ?

40 being half of 80 in real maths (no idea what Tory maths makes it).

That depends on what they need it to be...

Lurking as always as nothing useful to contribute, but very grateful to red and the regular posters. Missing @BigChoc though and I hope she comes back

PMK thanks Red

Pmk. Having pointless MN arguments with people still wanking over Corbyn. The cat has a better idea.

@DGRossetti

The number bandied about for this NRG - 40 - seems interesting.

40 being half of 80 in real maths (no idea what Tory maths makes it).

And 80 being Boris highly publicised majority.

I wonder if a cabal of 40 new Northern Tory MPs have suddenly realised that as a bloc they have their knees on the neck of the government ? And if that were to be the case, what they would use that power for ? Obviously self-serving aggrandisement - goes without saying. But what else ? Insist on a Northern Tory or two in the cabinet ?

Unintended consequences - doncha love 'em ?

You mean like the ERG and May?

@Whenwillow

Lurking as always as nothing useful to contribute, but very grateful to red and the regular posters. Missing *@BigChoc* though and I hope she comes back

PMK & as above

Thanks for thread, things are very serious in hospitals in my part of Yorkshire, will write more when I can find some headspace.

Sending love squid

Road hauliers must be running out of hoops to jump through

www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-road-haulage-permits-ecmt-permits-2021/international-road-haulage-permits-ecmt-permits-2021

It's all very different from loading the wagons and hauling out.

PMK. Thanks Red et al

@Jason118

Road hauliers must be running out of hoops to jump through

www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-road-haulage-permits-ecmt-permits-2021/international-road-haulage-permits-ecmt-permits-2021

It's all very different from loading the wagons and hauling out.

Just had a flick. I wonder how many hauliers actually have the staff that can answer those questions (and the time to waste filling in speculative forms) from 2nd November ?

My guess is not many.

@Jason118

Road hauliers must be running out of hoops to jump through

www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-road-haulage-permits-ecmt-permits-2021/international-road-haulage-permits-ecmt-permits-2021

It's all very different from loading the wagons and hauling out.

Oh, this caught my eye ...

Some countries restrict the number and type of ECMT permits that can be used in their territory. Austria, Greece, Italy, Hungary and Russia all limit the number of permits that can be used. Only Euro VI permits can be used in Austria.

Presumably now the UK is a 3rd country, it will have to deal with different rules and regs throughout the EU27.

That'll be fun.

I'm trying to think of an easier way a driver could find themselves arrested by accident if the paperwork the office have done isn't up to snuff. Especially with Austria probably having a teutonic obsession with accuracy, and Italy and Greece have a more laissez faire attitude to paperwork (certain if my experiences with Italian forms is anything to go by).

Still, it's what we wanted. It's what we voted for.

@Jason118

Road hauliers must be running out of hoops to jump through

www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-road-haulage-permits-ecmt-permits-2021/international-road-haulage-permits-ecmt-permits-2021

It's all very different from loading the wagons and hauling out.

Wow. I would be seriously stockpiling if I lived in the UK after reading that.

You might need ECMT permits for some journeys to or through the EU from 1 January 2021. You should apply for these in case they’re needed. This page will be updated if anything changes.

That is a total mess. You might need one so spend time and money trying to get one just in case. It's not like hauliers have anything better to be doing. And if you do need one, there are no guarantees you will get one : To distinguish between the permits, each permit you have applied for will be given a random score. This will be combined with the score for your application based on the other criteria to give an overall score for each individual permit. This means you may receive all, some or none of the permits you applied for.

It's all as clear as mud. The page is full of phrases like "is likely to be". Small hauliers are unlikely to get permits as we will prioritise applications from hauliers who make the most international journeys. Mind you, it doesn't stop them charging a non-refundable application fee.

They are "confident" they will sort out something for journeys between Ireland and NI:

These journeys are not counted as international journeys because, even in the absence of a Free Trade Agreement, we are confident of putting in place other arrangements to allow the carriage of goods between Northern Ireland and Ireland without the need for an ECMT permit.

Maybe Boris has assured them he will comply with the WA and NI protocol after all.

I am so tired of all of this. On the plus side I think I managed to get a face to face doctors appointment today. I think he finally read my online form. And as I am going in for a blood test they said I could have an examination as well. Not too bad- it has taken less than two months in the end.

As for Belgium's covid numbers- they are frightening there. Is there any particular reason?

I am so tired of all of it. Nobody really knows what is going on, and I am just working on getting ready for Christmas and a stockpile for January, there is nothing else that can be done.

www.politico.eu/article/post-brexit-britain-no-longer-europes-center-of-gravity-for-us

LONDON — Britain is no longer Europe’s “center of gravity” in the eyes of America — and particularly if Joe Biden is elected president next month — according to former senior diplomat and cross-bench peer Peter Ricketts.

After 40 years defending Britain’s interests in the world, Ricketts offered a sobering interpretation of the impact Brexit is having on the U.K.’s international standing.

“When Biden looks towards Europe, he will see Paris and Berlin more as the center of gravity of what’s really important for America in Europe, both economically and in security terms, and Britain will be seen rather as an outlier, rather outside the mainstream of Europe,” he said.

(contd)

Looking at what the hauliers need to do, I noticed this:

Application fee
When applying for annual ECMT permits, there is a non-refundable application fee of £10 per permit. If you are allocated and accept a permit, you will need to pay an additional issuing fee of £123 per permit.

So even if you don't get one, you have to have paid for the privilege of asking for one I know it's not a large amount of money in the grand scheme of things, but still....