British politics

[aphronesis]

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/09/26/time-to-wake-up-the-neoliberal-order-is-dying/

 

[Robert5091]

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon aka Tommy Robinson - don't believe the hype, he's just a f*****ng [bleep]hole.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...empt-leeds-judge-grooming-gangs-a8556426.html

...he was handed a three-month suspended sentence for trying to film defendants inside the court during jury deliberations, after being told to stop and warned filming was against the law.

Judge Heather Norton said at the time: “This contempt hearing is not about free speech…it is about justice, and it is about ensuring that a trial can be carried out justly and fairly.”
...
Robinson characterises himself as an “independent reporter”, but the Court of Appeal found that his interest in both the Canterbury and Leeds trials was “ethnicity or religion of the defendants”.

 

[Robert5091]

The circus has started -
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ic-minorities-labour-youth-vote-a8562011.html

The Tories could "go out of business" unless the party comes up with a convincing offer to woo young voters and ethnic minority voters, Conservative MPs have said.
...
The Harborough MP said the party would "go out of business" if it did not expand beyond its older, white voters and lamented the lack of a "strong policy offer" for young people.

His concerns were echoed by Mr Freeman, a party moderniser who came up with the Big Tent Ideas festival, which was dubbed "Tory Glastonbury".

Mr Freeman said Conservative ranks were too full of "middle-aged white men" and lacked vision to speak to the younger generation.

 

[python]

^^that's a lot of spacious political rhetoric at best or more factually it was a fear mongering on the basis of little...it's like those who predict the end of Britain if it does not get a deal with the eu THEY want.

young blood, wider cultural/ethnic representation are all fair issues, but these allusions to the end of conservatism in the land that begot it (in the political/historical terms of western civilization) , as i said, was cheap..

now that i think of it, i feel it may do the uk good if a hard brexit DOES take place. then, the adventurists that enabled it, will look back analytically to sort out the british conservative tendencies, the younger folks votes that largely opposed it, the scottish and irish pro-eu sentiments that also opposed the exit fueled by significant numbers of the younger hands...

imo modern britain is a tad seriously confused when it calls corbyn antisemitic while other simeegly intelligent brits see an idiot like boris in the pm seat...that's apar with those in the us voting for trump, the aberrant politician...time to shake off the cheap rhetoric and engage the typical british ability to reflect and do the right thing at the right moments of history...

 

[Robert5091]

Popcorn ready?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...nning-through-wheat-field?srnd=premium-europe

Bizarre photo stunt shows Johnson mocking May ahead of rally - Johnson due to address Conservative Party on Brexit Tuesday

Boris Johnson, the publicity-hungry former foreign secretary, was photographed running through what looked like a field of crops outside his countryside home Monday.

It was an act that seemed to openly mock Prime Minister Theresa May, who once admitted trampling a wheat field was the naughtiest thing she had ever done.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ader-theresa-may-leadership-bid-a8564131.html

Boris Johnson will make on overt pitch for the backing of Tory members on Tuesday, demanding the party get back to “conservative instincts” instead of trying to ape Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn.

The former foreign secretary will say the party should focus on tax cuts, homes and law and order as he courts members who would vote in any future leadership contest.

In a sign that he is trying to appeal to a broad range of the party following comments that offended many people about Muslim women wearing burqas and niqabs, he will seek to position himself as a “one nation” Tory.

His speech on the fringe of the Conservative conference in Birmingham will be seen as the latest step towards an expected challenge to Theresa May in the coming months.

 

[Robert5091]

Deranged woman in another reality speaks!
https://www.theguardian.com/politic...ch-ambasts-labour-as-she-calls-for-tory-unity
Corbyn - boo! Labour Party - boo!

“A decade after the financial crash, people need to know that the austerity it led to is over an that their hard work has paid off.”

You've never had it so good!

“There must be no return to the uncontrolled borrowing of the past. ...

May announced she would scrap the cap on how much local authorities can borrow to build new social housing ...

pour an extra £20bn into the NHS ...

Corbyn - boo! Labour Party - boo!

 

[Robert5091]

If we do it really quickly, no one will notice ... brilliant plan worthy of Blackadder's sidekick Baldrick.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...t-deal-through-parliament?srnd=premium-europe

Prime Minister Theresa May’s officials are drawing up plans to rush her Brexit deal through Parliament in an attempt to head off a rebellion from her own party, according to people familiar with the matter.

May’s team want the final withdrawal agreement ratified by lawmakers within two weeks of signing the terms of the divorce in Brussels. Under that timetable, members of Parliament would vote on whether to accept or reject the divorce treaty by the beginning of December, the people said. May’s office declined to comment.

Or the Maggie Thatcher "nanny approach" of "do what I say or it'll be worse."

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...e-eu-summit-chequers-conference-a8567816.html

Time is running out for Ms May to break the deadlock with Brussels ahead of the European Council summit on October 17, which the EU has described as the "moment of truth" for a Brexit deal.

The prime minister is reportedly beginning a frantic diplomatic push with European leaders, after telling Tory activists in Birmingham that they risked ending up with "no Brexit at all" if they could not unite.

 

[Robert5091]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45746837

Dutch security services say they expelled four Russians over a cyber attack plot targeting the global chemical weapons watchdog.

The operation by Russia's GRU military intelligence allegedly targeted the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague in April.

The OPCW has been probing the chemical attack on a Russian ex-spy in the UK.

The allegations are part of an organised push-back against alleged Russian cyber attacks around the world.

A joint statement from British Prime Minister Theresa May and her Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte said the alleged plot demonstrated "the GRU's disregard for global values and rules that keep us all safe".

 

[Robert5091]

Another cunning plan ... get Labour to vote for her plan! Genius ...
https://www.theguardian.com/politic...or-centre-ground-with-appeal-to-labour-voters

Writing exclusively in today’s Observer the prime minister says that if people who have previously backed Labour look again at her government’s programme, including pledges to increase house building and manage markets where necessary, they will find that it is not driven by ideology, but by beliefs and values that the vast majority could support.

 

[python]

i am kinda following the brexit daily iterations with one eye open...

the latest very confusing statements from the opposing sides indicate to me the 2 sides have a draft version more or less acceptable to both. the 2 key issues being the irish border and the common market. i cant see any serious british politician neglecting the potential for the uk disintegration if undue rigidity is pursued....the public media bickering imo is about the british electorate and the uk political brass being convinced in the tentative version.... under this scenario, i cant see the eu playing the hard ball they now are doing as we get closer and closer to march...a no deal is detrimental to many in europe, particularly the german business community, and i assume they WILL BE INTERESTED IN STRENGTHENING THE Theresa MAY POSITION. my reckoning is that the french, inversely, are interested in seeing the british as weak as possible at the end of the day...not russia, as the uk media want everyone to think...not that vlad will cry if the brits come out short...but, that is another set of his potential problems even HE does not know yet how to deal with...like the no look back new strategic union btwn the us and the uk.

 

[Robert5091]

Wednesday's the day -
https://www.theguardian.com/politic...a-may-domestic-vulnerability-talks-knife-edge

The Brexit negotiations are on a knife-edge as Theresa May’s domestic vulnerability over the Irish border threatens to kill off hopes of an October deal, with the Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, forced to make a dash to Brussels to seek more time from the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier.

Days before the crunch leaders’ summit at which the EU has demanded “maximum progress” be made to allow the talks to develop, Raab made the unexpected flying visit.

He is understood to have told Barnier during a meeting that lasted just over an hour that the volatility of politics at home meant that a plan to strike an agreement on Monday on the backstop solution for avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland was not possible.

meanwhile the Tory rebels plot ...

The former Brexit secretary David Davis appealed on Sunday to the cabinet to “exert its collective authority” to kill off May’s plans, with as many as nine ministers said to be considering their positions.
Brexiter cabinet members have called a meeting to be chaired by the Commons leader, Andrea Leadsom, to discuss their next move on Monday.

and May's "you've never had it so good" ...
https://www.theguardian.com/busines...-crash-economists-ey-item-club-no-deal-brexit

The British economy is heading for its worst year in almost a decade amid the growing risks from no-deal Brexit, according to a leading economic forecaster.

After official figures revealed zero growth in GDP in August, the EY Item Club said the economy would struggle to recover in the final months of the year owing to the increasing likelihood of Britain crashing out of the EU in less than six months’ time.

 

[Robert5091]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...u-talks-deal-conservatives-raab-a8584201.html

David Davis has told Tory MPs they should trigger a leadership contest to topple Theresa May unless she drops her Brexit plan this week, The Independent can reveal.

The former Brexit secretary wants the prime minister to be presented with an ultimatum that her party will seek to remove her if she refuses to budge before Wednesday’s crunch EU summit.

If she stands firm, Tory MPs will immediately trigger a leadership contest by sending in the required 48 letters calling for a vote of confidence in her, he is warning ministers.

 

[Robert5091]

"Death stare" ?! :lol:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...theresa-may-s-brexit-plan?srnd=premium-europe

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May lost control over the warring factions within her government as the Cabinet descended into open conflict over her Brexit plans at an angry meeting on Tuesday.

According to people familiar with the matter, seven senior pro-Brexit ministers spoke out against a proposal that could allow the U.K. to stay inside the European Union’s tariff regime indefinitely.

May was said to have reacted angrily to the intervention during the meeting with what was described as her trademark “death stare.” Then other ministers launched a counter attack and warned that the U.K. will crash out of the EU with no deal unless she is able to compromise.

May lurching from crisis to crisis has been the defining narrative of her time in office. What’s changed is that the prime minister does seem to have reached the point where as the end of Brexit nears, it’s increasingly apparent her biggest struggle is at home rather than in Brussels.

“May is in her most perilous position to date domestically,” said Eurasia Group Managing Director Mujtaba Rahman. There is “intense speculation that euroskeptic MPs will soon force a vote of confidence in her as Tory leader.”

 

[Robert5091]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...fall-buying-votes-for-may?srnd=premium-europe

Government forecasters handed Philip Hammond a large bag of cash last month. He decided to spend it buying votes for Theresa May.

In the very short term, the U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer was winning lawmakers’ support to get his budget through, after Brexiters in the Conservative Party and its Northern Ireland allies had talked about using it to protest the prime minister’s strategy for leaving the European Union.

They will find that harder now, while Hammond will also be hoping to have got their backing for whatever deal May brings back from Brussels.

Yet there are two other possible votes -- on unknown timescales -- looming over the government: A Tory challenge to May’s leadership, and a snap election. In both cases, the chancellor will have hoped his decision to spend every pound available on voter-friendly measures will be good for his boss.
...
The giveaway nature of the budget didn’t escape lawmakers. At a closed-doors meeting with Tories on Monday evening, Hammond was asked if this was a pre-election Budget. He dodged the question.

 

[Robert5091]

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-46219495

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab resigns

Shailesh Vara quit as minister of state for Northern Ireland,

Time to order popcorn by bulk, I think.

 

[Robert5091]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/live...ter-raab-resigns-joid6899?srnd=premium-europe
Moves afoot to oust Mrs May.

 

[Robert5091]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...e-letter-1922-committee-deal-eu-a8635166.html

Chief backbench Eurosceptic Jacob Rees-Mogg has submitted a letter of no confidence in the prime minister, taking Theresa May’s leadership closer to the brink of collapse.

Mr Rees-Mogg, who chairs the Brexit backing European Research Group (ERG), said he was specifically choosing to make his letter public in a sign that he wants other colleagues to consider following his lead.

It came at the end of meeting of the ERG in which others, though not all, called for further letters of no confidence to be sent in – prominent Eurosceptic Steve Baker emerged from the room demanding a new party leader.

Under Tory rules, once 48 letters are handed in to the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee there must be a vote of no confidence in the party leader.

In a statement after the meeting, Mr Rees Mogg denied he was instigating a coup, saying: “It’s using the proper procedures of the Conservative party when the policy that has come forward does not meet our promises to our voters.

Seems like Boris Johnson's desire to take over the leadership will be tempered by the fact he would be left with the "s**t sandwich" of a job of negotiating Brexit. The fun outcome might be Johnson losing out to a Remain Tory (or 2nd referendum willing) and more chaos will follow. Keep the popcorn handy.

 

[King Boonen]

It's only fun when it's someone else's country going down the pan...

 

[Robert5091]

It's only fun when it's someone else's country going down the pan...

In which case -

(I'm lucky, I'm still a citizen but not resident )

 

[ferryman]

The contempt shown to Scotland in these 'negotiations' is staggering. No voice from the Scottish government involved at all in the talks, despite submitting a full paper of our concerns. OK, we are part of the UK but for goodness sake, 100 mentions of NI in the draft, 60 of Gibralta, zero of Scotland and our fisheries and oil. Don't know about Wales. See ya England, fuckin hope so anyway!!

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

While I have much sympathy with the cause of Scottish independence, Scotland (or Wales) has no more distinctive status in the EU negotiations than Suffolk( or Warwickshire). Their geographical position means that there are specific issues for Northern Ireland and Gibraltar.

 

[Unchained]

Armchair..I listen to hours of news at work..on a couple of stations there is an ad that says to think about relocating to Northern Ireland..because of the great workforce.. location for access to Europe..
In many interviews I have seen and listened to..people from the UK describe themselves as British..not European..is that common or just a fluke that people interviewed would day that..?
I think most Americans..(just guessing) think that English,Scottish and Irish are all equally European..on par w Spanish,French,Germans..Italians..ect..

 

[King Boonen]

Re:

Armchair..I listen to hours of news at work..on a couple of stations there is an ad that says to think about relocating to Northern Ireland..because of the great workforce.. location for access to Europe..
In many interviews I have seen and listened to..people from the UK describe themselves as British..not European..is that common or just a fluke that people interviewed would day that..?
I think most Americans..(just guessing) think that English,Scottish and Irish are all equally European..on par w Spanish,French,Germans..Italians..ect..

People from the UK are British and European, our nationality is British. You're unlikely to hear a French/Italian/German/Belarusian/Croatian etc. person describe themselves as European unless you specifically ask them.

Or do you mean they actually say they're not European but British?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Re: Re:

Armchair..I listen to hours of news at work..on a couple of stations there is an ad that says to think about relocating to Northern Ireland..because of the great workforce.. location for access to Europe..
In many interviews I have seen and listened to..people from the UK describe themselves as British..not European..is that common or just a fluke that people interviewed would day that..?
I think most Americans..(just guessing) think that English,Scottish and Irish are all equally European..on par w Spanish,French,Germans..Italians..ect..

People from the UK are British and European, our nationality is British. You're unlikely to hear a French/Italian/German/Belarusian/Croatian etc. person describe themselves as European unless you specifically ask them.

Or do you mean they actually say they're not European but British?

Not totally true. Since the Good Friday Agreement, people from Britain are British and European, and people from Northern Irieland are (in the absence of an adjectival form of UK) British and/or Irish and European. Obviously, many people "from" the UK also have other national (or continental) identities, which might or might not be in addition to British/Irish.

 

[Merckx index]

I’m not a fan of Brexit—if I were British, I definitely would have voted to remain—but watching the hearings, I’ve really come to admire Theresa May. She’s such a refreshing contrast to our own idiot leader. She isn’t crazy or paranoid or narcissistic, doesn’t insult her critics, doesn’t complain that the media are unfair, doesn’t tell constant lies or reverse her positions every minute. Trump supporters I know claim he has balls, but May has far more balls than he does. Everything is falling apart around her, her own cabinet and party are abandoning her, but she continues to fight for the plan, to answer every critic as best as she can. The ship may be going down, but she’s going down with it.