Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[Richard Hakluyt]

A bit of light relief, re a Brexit party parliamentary candidate :

"Last week the party confirmed that Jill Hughes, the candidate for the Batley and Spen constituency in West Yorkshire, was to stand down after claims emerged that she believes she comes from the distant star Sirius and that governments across the world were in cahoots with aliens."



https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/05/boxing-clever-nigel-farage-takes-aim-at-leave-voters-in-labour-seats

[Josquius]

I wonder why they kicked her out. Thats not too far off the beliefs of many brexit supporters.

German paper reports that the government is holding back the report on the investigation into Russian influence on the Brexit campaign and the 2017 election?

Yep. Successfully it seems.
This implies the finger is overwhelmingly pointed at them.

[Tamas]

I suspect the Tories think what I think they thought in 2017: their opponents are repellent to a lot of people, so they are the default choice. Remaining an obscure choice thus actually helps them, because the more details the electorate learns about their positions, the more details could prompt them NOT to vote Tory.

[Sheilbh]

While I am aware it is an advert for Boodles jewellers I am surprised that the Telegraph was quite so tone deaf as to allow an advert including the name of a famous gentleman's club to appear on the same front page as the Tory leader's opening broadside of his election campaign. Given Johnson's background, of course.

Also. You're running a campaign as a Tory party that depends on winning Labour leaver voters. And you launch it with an article in the Telegraph(!), with a negative piece attacking Labour(!), in defence of the poor profit makers(!!!). It just doesn't seem very well thought through.

Andrew Neil interview with Nadhim Zahawi a bit of a car-crash too. Pointed out what Stalin did to the Kulaks and the peasants, and said it's absurd. Asked if Corbyn is really going to raise taxes or have the wealthy shot, Zahawi response was "I don't know"

Plus a cabinet minister has had to resign after it turned out he'd lied about knowing that an aide of his had, in the words of the judge, "sabotaged" a rape trial in which he was a defence witness.

As I say they could turn this round. I'm not sure how much all these early fuck-ups will matter. But none of this indicates a well-run, competent campaign and I wonder how much of it is because the PM and lots of people he's promoted are lazy chancers ("the more one reads about the report").

Meanwhile in Labour, I'm weirdly furious at Tom Watson. He stopped a lot of Labour MPs from leaving the party with Luciana Berger, he put together that social democratic group within the PLP to help defend "mainstream Labour" and now he stepping down as deputy and as an MP. If nothing else it feels pretty seismic, like the moderates have now lost the Labour Party - it's not like the 80s anymore.

[mongers]

While I am aware it is an advert for Boodles jewellers I am surprised that the Telegraph was quite so tone deaf as to allow an advert including the name of a famous gentleman's club to appear on the same front page as the Tory leader's opening broadside of his election campaign. Given Johnson's background, of course.

Also. You're running a campaign as a Tory party that depends on winning Labour leaver voters. And you launch it with an article in the Telegraph(!), with a negative piece attacking Labour(!), in defence of the poor profit makers(!!!). It just doesn't seem very well thought through.

Andrew Neil interview with Nadhim Zahawi a bit of a car-crash too. Pointed out what Stalin did to the Kulaks and the peasants, and said it's absurd. Asked if Corbyn is really going to raise taxes or have the wealthy shot, Zahawi response was "I don't know"

Plus a cabinet minister has had to resign after it turned out he'd lied about knowing that an aide of his had, in the words of the judge, "sabotaged" a rape trial in which he was a defence witness.

As I say they could turn this round. I'm not sure how much all these early fuck-ups will matter. But none of this indicates a well-run, competent campaign and I wonder how much of it is because the PM and lots of people he's promoted are lazy chancers ("the more one reads about the report").

Meanwhile in Labour, I'm weirdly furious at Tom Watson. He stopped a lot of Labour MPs from leaving the party with Luciana Berger, he put together that social democratic group within the PLP to help defend "mainstream Labour" and now he stepping down as deputy and as an MP. If nothing else it feels pretty seismic, like the moderates have now lost the Labour Party - it's not like the 80s anymore.

Maybe he thinks there's a live to be had outside of politics?

Oh and Corbyn's going to lead labour to an historic defeat?

[celedhring]

So, with the new extension UK will remain a member under the new EU Commission, and this means that a British Commissioner must be appointed. Von Der Leyen has requested Johnson to submit candidates, which I guess he's won't be inclined to do.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/06/brexit-has-made-britains-problems-worse-says-juncker

[Agelastus]

So, with the new extension UK will remain a member under the new EU Commission, and this means that a British Commissioner must be appointed. Von Der Leyen has requested Johnson to submit candidates, which I guess he's won't be inclined to do.

Even if he does, I thought the jobs had already been re-organised for 27 and not 28 commissioners; will our commissioner just sit around drawing pay for two months doing nothing?

The logical thing to do woukd be just to extend our current commissioner's term by two months or however long is needed. But your article says that the Commission president wants us to nominate a woman. I can see it being quite hard getting a suitable candidate to volunteer for what should be a 2 month job instead of the normal 5 years.

Of course, the article also said that the government has said we will "meet our legal obligations" so we will just have to see who Johnson comes up with.

[Sheilbh]

Apropos of nothing but was I the only person who read the headline:
"John Bercow: Brexit is UK's biggest mistake since second world war"
And thought it made him sound like a Nazi sympathiser?

[Malthus]

Apropos of nothing but was I the only person who read the headline:
"John Bercow: Brexit is UK's biggest mistake since second world war"
And thought it made him sound like a Nazi sympathiser?

Took me a second ...

[celedhring]

Apropos of nothing but was I the only person who read the headline:
"John Bercow: Brexit is UK's biggest mistake since second world war"
And thought it made him sound like a Nazi sympathiser?

I spent a good five minutes thinking about which British mistake in WWII was worse than Brexit. Tobruk? Dieppe? Pretty much everything involving the BEF?

Or maybe Market-Garden? Since that probably was the last British mistake in WWII, and thus the last one to possibly surpass Brexit?

[Razgovory]

Apropos of nothing but was I the only person who read the headline:
"John Bercow: Brexit is UK's biggest mistake since second world war"
And thought it made him sound like a Nazi sympathiser?

I spent a good five minutes thinking about which British mistake in WWII was worse than Brexit. Tobruk? Dieppe? Pretty much everything involving the BEF?

Or maybe Market-Garden? Since that probably was the last British mistake in WWII, and thus the last one to possibly surpass Brexit?

Singapore.

[Valmy]

Considering all the gaffs and blunders the British have made since WWII that is quite statement.

[Richard Hakluyt]

I suppose he meant that it is an even bigger mistake than Suez?

[Admiral Yi]

I suppose he meant that it is an even bigger mistake than Suez?

Damn, just had that thought.

[Josquius]

It's fair to say brexit is a bigger mistake than suez.
Suez sped up the decline but the direction of travel was fairly set.
Brexit takes what was previously a new upwards trajectory and completely flips it.

Apropos of nothing but was I the only person who read the headline:
"John Bercow: Brexit is UK's biggest mistake since second world war"
And thought it made him sound like a Nazi sympathiser?

Yeah, I've seen some comments around this. It's being misreported and might give people that impression. Including many who may not bother to think about it and laugh it off.

Actual quote was:

I don't think it helps the UK. Brexit is the biggest mistake of this country after the war. I respect PM Johnson but Brexit doesn't help us. It's better to be part of the power bloc