Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[The Brain]

I'm not a huge fan of formal titles during a session.

[Josquius]

Edit: Also the DfE press office decided to release this photo of Gavin Williamson in his office with what appears to be a whip on his desk. Which is a choice

"Bring back the cane!!!" is a usual populist moan of those who went to school long after caning was abolished

[Richard Hakluyt]

I thought I was going to hate this government more than I do. In fact I'm just stunned by their mediocrity and lack of nous. They are a bunch of wankers who should be running a provincial insurance office not the country. Grayling needs to look to his laurels, there is stiff competition out there.

[Sheilbh]

I thought I was going to hate this government more than I do. In fact I'm just stunned by their mediocrity and lack of nous. They are a bunch of wankers who should be running a provincial insurance office not the country. Grayling needs to look to his laurels, there is stiff competition out there.

My favourite line on this is that any Cabinet reshuffle has to be standardised to bring the distribution of competence in line with the average over the last 3 years. So, regrettably, someone has to be Chris Grayling.

[Sheilbh]

So it looks like Ireland may be following in the same route - why is no-one noticing what is happening in neighbouring countries and reacting? Everyone is like "yes but our algorithm is fine because it will be unfair in a different way".

Sinn Fein are calling for the government to publish the details of how they're planning to calculate the "artificial" leaving cert grading.

[Tamas]

And let's not forget, this very same government will be managing a no deal Brexit in just a few months.

[garbon]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-53809439

PC Andrew Harper: Widow Lissie Harper 'wants real justice'

Lissie Harper, 29, said people had been "outraged" after jurors cleared three men of murdering her husband following a trial at the Old Bailey in July.

She has launched a campaign for killers of emergency workers to face mandatory life sentences.

PC Harper's killers had been accused of murder but were convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

PC Harper, 28, suffered catastrophic injuries when he was dragged behind a getaway car driven by Henry Long in Berkshire last August.

Mrs Harper told the BBC she had received "many messages from people who are outraged" since the verdicts and sentences were handed down.

She said her experience at the Old Bailey, which included reading a victim impact statement, and the "disappointing" trial result, had inspired her campaign.

Speaking in the witness box was "one of the hardest things", she added.

"I had the defendants on my left not really caring what I was saying but I felt it important to speak directly to the judge and tell him what they'd taken from us," she said.

"We had the sense that, although it was going to be an awful and long journey, at the end of it we might at least get some justice for Andrew.

"So at the end of it, to not get any real justice is heartbreaking."

The trial heard how PC Harper had responded to reports of a quad bike theft with a colleague hours after their shift had ended.

As he attempted to apprehend one suspect, his feet became entangled in a rope trailing behind a getaway car which led to him being dragged to his death.

Mrs Harper said it "wasn't until I was looking at them [the defendants] in the eye, that I felt the disgrace and just how unfair it is".

"They knew what they had taken away and the effect that it's had on so many people," she said.

"They could hear my words so if, even on the outside, they may not show any sort of remorse I hope that in some way they feel the guilt inside they should feel."

...

They had the widow on BBC Breakfast this morning speaking about the need for this law and then asked some policing group what support was needed to make this happen.

[Josquius]

And let's not forget, this very same government will be managing a no deal Brexit in just a few months.

https://comb.io/txbesb

[Richard Hakluyt]

And let's not forget, this very same government will be managing a no deal Brexit in just a few months.

We will see; it would not surprise me at all if the current government caved in to the EU and tried to blame Corbyn for it 

[Tamas]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-53809439


They had the widow on BBC Breakfast this morning speaking about the need for this law and then asked some policing group what support was needed to make this happen.

IDK why the BBC need to get so cheap as to get behind this.

I feel sorry for the officer and the widow obviously, and the people who killed him sound like absolute scumbags whose lifelong lockup would be a great societal benefit, but I do think manslaughter was the correct sentence, since they didn't intend to kill the guy, they intended to run away from him.

[Tamas]

And let's not forget, this very same government will be managing a no deal Brexit in just a few months.

We will see; it would not surprise me at all if the current government caved in to the EU and tried to blame Corbyn for it 

True.  What a shitshow. It's almost as if giving a historical majority to the clown of the Tory party so he can fill the government only with people who are absolutely no threat to his power was a bad idea.

[Sheilbh]

"Papers any better today?"
"Well there's only one with a cartoon of you as a clown so far, that's a positive".

I don't know if the Star was ever particularly pro-government, but they've really taken a turn.



Brexit is still a distant concern - Gavin Williamson is in charge of England re-opening schools in the next fortnight

[crazy canuck]

One of the reasons being a federal politician in Canada is a pretty easy gig.  All the close to home contentious issues - education, healthcare etc. are provincial jurisdiction.

[Zanza]

Brexit is still a distant concern - Gavin Williamson is in charge of England re-opening schools in the next fortnight

When that fortnight is over, there is about eight weeks left for an agreement between UK and EU. Very unlikely by now.

Maybe a thin FTA on goods, if the UK accepts some limited level playing field terms. Which is unlikely with Cummings in place. The EU might present an oven-ready deal towards the end and over Johnson to take it or leave it.

But most likely nothing on services (financial, other professional, transport), no equivalence, no mutual recognition, no participation in any institution, no governance framework for arbitrationetc. Britain will be very sovereign, but also cut off from the continent.

[Sheilbh]

When that fortnight is over, there is about eight weeks left for an agreement between UK and EU. Very unlikely by now.

Yeah - but one has the potential to restart a pandemic and kill people (plus even on economics alone the damage of another strict lockdown is miles beyond the worst case scenario for Brexit). I suppose my point is there are lots of challenges of competence around this pandemic before we get to Brexit which is very much a second order issue in comparison.

Maybe a thin FTA on goods, if the UK accepts some limited level playing field terms. Which is unlikely with Cummings in place. The EU might present an oven-ready deal towards the end and over Johnson to take it or leave it.

But most likely nothing on services (financial, other professional, transport), no equivalence, no mutual recognition, no participation in any institution, no governance framework for arbitrationetc. Britain will be very sovereign, but also cut off from the continent.

Yeah - agreed. I really think it's unlikely that Johnson would take an "oven-ready" deal if it included any sort of dynamic alignment/level playing field or anything on fisheries.

It's worth noting that none of Theresa May's proposal or ideas around a future relationship ever included services. That's been off the table for the last 3 years. It's one of the striking and interesting points that even though it's the biggest sector of the UK economic from the start it seems like different governments have felt it would either take too much alignment to be worth it, or that trying to preserve jobs in manufacturing, maybe agriculture etc was a higher priority.

I don't think there was ever much of a debate about that decision which is kind of weird.