Prorogation of Parliament.

[Stuart]

Bang on from Janet Daley:

 

Our arrogant political class holds the British people in open contempt
A few weeks ago even before the latest instalment of this saga at the Supreme Court a member of our family in the North of England rang up to say, with heartbreaking resignation, They don’t care about people like us. There was no question about who she meant by they.
The membership of the group she had in mind is presumably now a bit larger, bringing even the objective authority of the law into contention. I wonder if that smug Remain coalition in Westminster has any idea of the terrible thing it has brought into being and is now with every triumphal move determined to consolidate.
With the help of the credulous (or colluding) broadcast media, confected rage about over-heated parliamentary language took over the news agenda last week. Can anybody seriously believe that this is the big story? Or, more importantly, the most damaging constitutional outrage that is being committed. In a week in which a foaming, shrieking opposition was denouncing the Government as unfit for office but refusing to permit a general election that might replace it. And the legal commitment to accept the result of a referendum was being undermined with desperate, shameless dishonesty (message to Parliament: nobody in the real world believes that all those lawyers scrambling around were simply trying to prevent no deal, and not attempting to block Brexit altogether.)
Mercifully, in the thick of this charade there were some delightful moments. I particularly enjoyed hearing that the shadow Commons leader, Valerie Vaz, had demanded that Geoffrey Cox come to the House to apologise for calling us turkeys. This being Britain, even in the midst of a tragic destruction of public faith in the nation’s institutions, there can be laughter.
So no, I do not think there will be violence in the streets even when the people realise the full consequences of the contempt in which they are held by what they see, quite rightly, as a privileged, arrogant political class. They will not riot or attack the police who they will assume, again rightly, to be blameless. The outcome will be far worse than that because it will not blow itself out in civil disruption which is generally counterproductive (just as the noxious Remain protesters who drown out broadcast interviews are counterproductive). There will instead be despair, disillusionment and alienation between the social classes which will prevail for at least a generation.
Where once a tolerably affectionate form of snobbery was accepted as a part of popular culture, there will now be nothing but ugly distrust and genuine hatred. This is peculiarly sad because it is such a dramatic shift from the view of working class people, which stood until three years ago, as the true heroes of the last world war. The virtually unanimous enthusiasm for the post-war welfare state and housing renewal programmes sprang from the sense that ordinary people had made such enormous sacrifices for the war effort.
The belief that the country owed them a great debt ran through the political consciousness of the second half of the 20th century. But that’s all gone now. What replaces it is open disdain and malignant derision. The worst of this is that the party which was born to defend this class which once carried the hereditary burden of being its official voice has played an indispensable role in its betrayal.
And that (broadcasters please note) was the real big story of the week. Labour and its absurd leader, reduced to a hopeless, incomprehensible puddle in the House, are so inadequate as an Opposition that they must prevent a general election at all cost. In their incoherence and opportunism they have made the country ungovernable, betrayed their own history and abandoned their natural constituency. That’s quite something for the news media to overlook.
Even the endless reporting of that overblown farrago about nasty language got it (probably maliciously) wrong. The divisive bitterness that has become such a feature of public discourse, for which a Greek chorus of female MPs blamed the threats they receive, did not instantly materialise with Boris Johnson’s ascendancy to the Tory leadership. It grew and festered with great alacrity under the premiership of his predecessor.
Please try to remember, through the blizzard of anti-Boris hysteria, that it was during Theresa May’s time in Downing Street, notable for its prissy decorousness and eagerness to compromise in negotiations with the European Union, that this toxic atmosphere took hold. And recall also, when you hear all those Labour MPs complaining about death threats, that the hate-mongering on their party’s side was so ferocious that the BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, needed a bodyguard to accompany her at their last party conference.
The stupendous irony of all this is that the people are being castigated for their anger by those very public figures who refuse to acknowledge the reasons for it. They are traduced, insulted and patronised when they might at least expect (given that their view was the majority one) to be addressed with courtesy. When their frustration grows and takes a vengeful form, that of course justifies even more righteous condemnation.
So they conclude, not unreasonably, that they can’t win. Either they stay quiescent and accept the supercilious judgment of their governing class which did, after all, ask them for their opinion. Or they refuse to accept it and cut up rough. Either they were fools to hold the view they did, or they are wicked for insisting that it be listened to. Any political figure who attempts to speak up on their behalf is a populist (or worse). A political leader who suggests that the only way to lance this hideous boil is to resolve the issue by doing what the country voted for is conspiring with evil.
There could once have been a quite simple solution to this problem: let the people speak in the time-honoured way, by voting in an election. But maybe it’s too late for that. The bitterness has gone too deep. It is quite possible that the contempt and the resentment which have driven the country to the brink will not be forgotten in our lifetimes.

[Blatman]

6 hours ago, DonPeffers said:

Brexit news latest: Campaigners launch bid to ban Boris Johnson from putting deal before MPs"  "Anti-Brexit campaigners are planning to lodge a legal action to ban the Government from putting its proposed Withdrawal Agreement before Parliament as Boris Johnson closes in on a deal."

 

Seems unusual when the campaigners insisted previously that Parliament must sit and be heard??!

 

So the spectre of no deal can be avoided yet those campaigning for removing no deal are trying to prevent the new deal from even making it to the floor? And we thought the EU was un-democratic.

It would be ironic if we stayed in the EU because those who campaign for remain were successful in trampling on democracy only for us to be ruled from afar at the behest of remain.  The remain position is looking increasingly farcical. Expect to see all sorts of desperation from remain and the remain media over the next day or two...

 

[jeff oakley]

Listening to Talk radio this afternoon, it was laughable. Labour said they hadn't fully read the deal but would reject it anyway. The DUP said they would unless there was something they did not know about. The SNP spokesman was even more incredulos saying they wanted to remain and wanted to bring the government down even though they had now just two choices, deal or no deal. When it was pointed out they had refused to bring the government down that was not important. 

 

Dominic Grieve waffled but basically said he would never vote for anything other than remain and the Liberals said the deal should be put to the electorate with remain or no deal or leave with deal, but would really not commit to respecting the result.

 

It is just laughable and sad

[Stuart]

The SNP bang on and on about an unelected Tory leader but want to remain governed by an organisation run by an unelected Council.

[Steve (sdh2903)]

2 hours ago, Stuart said:

The SNP bang on and on about an unelected Tory leader but want to remain governed by an organisation run by an unelected Council.

 

That cretinous sturgeon boils my wee. Shes intolerable. The SNP got massive backing up here as they got a lot done for scotland. However now shes just on the same power trip as Salmond before her. And he was a knob aswell.

 

As much as it pains me to say this. Boris has played a blinder. Hes made the 'non negotiating' EU make concessions and agreed a deal. He's made them say that no extension will be granted. So now hes in a position where if the deal is voted down he can say 'well I got you a deal' you chose no deal (which we know he wants). Or if miraculously they vote it through then the country gets a sensible exit and everyone thinks boris done good. Win win. Genius. Well apart from the hardcore brexiteers who will still think they have been short changed.

[AdamR]

And those who wanted to remain who still think they have been royally shafted

 

Still, agree with you Steve, he's spun it well. Always knew something like this would come about in the end, just wasn't sure exactly how it'd play out. Not looking forward one bit to the fallout of this mess (edit: personal circumstances perhaps more EU-involved than most, hence strong comment).

[jeff oakley]

It is not over yet as there are remaier MP's and supporters trying now to find a legal way to stop him actually presenting this to parliament. 

 

Jeremy Corbyn was interviewed 26 minutes before the details of the deal were released. They knew a deal had been done but he still said this deal is unacceptable and they would vote against it. What an utter contempt for everyone as he has no idea what he wants except not a general election.

 

Boris has played a blinder. If the deal goes through he wins. If they refuse and we leave on a no deal, he wins. If they find a way to stop him and we get a GE he will win that as it will be spun as he was on the side of the democratic will of the people and it is those who refused to vote for his deal who have plunged us into more turmoil, so he will win again.

 

And if we have left, with or without a deal, the Brexit party have no place to go, they cannot rerun leaving with the EU so any vote for them would be wasted, so Boris wins again and people said he was stupid and a buffoon.

[Alan France]

1 hour ago, jeff oakley said:

Boris has played a blinder.

As one of the 160k who voted for him, I have to agree!

[Steve (sdh2903)]

5 hours ago, AdamR said:

Not looking forward one bit to the fallout of this mess (edit: personal circumstances perhaps more EU-involved than most, hence strong comment).

 

Im in the same boat, its already causing pain dealing with a foreign regulator instead of the UK one.

[Nick Algar - Competition Secretary]

Let's just hope this now get's resolved by the end of the month. That's what the country desperately needs, this no-man's land is doing no-one any good. 

 

I've given up guessing what will happen as there have been so many twists and turns pretty much anything could. But agree with the comments that Boris has certainly done well to get a "deal" on the table, that gets rid of the backstop and whilst not perfect seems to be a lot better than he was ever expected to get. 

[Captain Colonial]

If you wrote these last nearly four years as a script or a screenplay or a book, not one publisher or agent would touch it.  This whole thing has been like watching 1,000 clowns have a fight with fresh cow pats.  I can’t wait for it to end but even if they do pass it later today, there’s still going to be years of transition, with more clowns and more cow pats.

[corsechris]

I dunno, reads like a script from Yes, Prime Minister to me. 

[Man On The Clapham Omnibus]

[DonPeffers]

Today  https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/brexit/10170619/what-happens-next-for-brexit-now-oliver-letwins-wrecking-plan-has-succeeded/

"What happens next for Brexit now Oliver Letwin’s wrecking plan has succeeded"

 

"It ruined the PM's chances of passing a deal today and finally getting Britain on course to leave the EU on October 31. 

Sir Oliver's amendment withholds approval of the PM's deal until after Parliament has passed the necessary laws to enact it.

But crucially that will trigger the Brexit-blocking Benn Act, which requires the PM to write a letter to the EU seeking a three-month extension by 11pm."

"If Boris doesn't have a deal signed off by the end of the day, he's forced to go cap in hand to Brussels tonight.

It's unclear exactly what Boris will do next, but he has said he will obey the law at all times.

Today he said he would not "negotiate" an extension - which is slightly different from saying he will not write the letter as the law dictates."

 

"Who is Sir Olvier Letwin?

SIR Oliver first burst on to the Westminster scene as a member of Margaret Thatcher’s policy unit in the 1980s.

It was during his tenure with Mrs Thatcher that he devised one of the most unpopular policies of the decade - the Poll Tax.

The local-tax policy saw angry crowds take to the streets of London and eventually toppled Mrs Thatcher’s administration.

As well as his career gaffes, Sir Oliver is also known for another particularly embarrassing incident in his personal life.

He let two men burgle his home in Kennington, South London, in 2002.

In the early hours he was confronted by strangers who asked if they could use his toilet.

Sir Oliver let them in and they quickly searched his house for valuables before running away with a stash of jewellery and the MP’s wallet.

After that embarrassing mishap, the West Dorset MP worked his way up the ranks to become Shadow Chancellor in 2003.

A trusted David Cameron ally, he later became the-then Prime Minister's “fixer” – after playing a key role in drawing-up the Tories’ 2010 election manifesto.

In 2011, Sir Oliver — by then the PM's chief policy adviser — was photographed dumping top-secret files on terrorism and national security in park bins near Downing Street.

And he helped push through a motion in September which allowed Remainer MPs to take control of the Commons and pass the Brexit-blocking Benn Act."

 

Some career highlights of Sir Oliver underlined above.

 

Interesting times and yet again our 650 MPs have achieved nothing. Why are they not paid on performance?

 

Not good seeing Leadsom, Rees-Mogg and Gove needing a police escort to leave the Houses of Parliament.

 

 

 

 

 

[DonPeffers]

Boris' unsigned letter to EU requesting withdrawal extension as per the Benn Act.  Could the PM have used  the ninja technique of "aburidashi" ?

  10 October 2019  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-49996166   

"A Japanese student of ninja history who handed in a blank paper was given top marks - after her professor realised the essay was written in invisible ink.

Eimi Haga followed the ninja technique of "aburidashi", spending hours soaking and crushing soybeans to make the ink.

The words appeared when her professor heated the paper over his gas stove".

 

Don't tell the EU.