Top tip: Can't decide whether to vote for Farage's old party or his new one?
Just put a cross next to both and show Remainers how determined you are to leave the EU. #Simples
Thursday, 23 May 2019
WAB Omnishambles
Government Wednesday: We'll publish the WAB tomorrow.
Government Thursday: We'll publish the WAB in June. Possibly.
Government Wednesday: We'll hold a vote on the WAB in early June.
Government Thursday: We're not holding a vote in early June.
Government Thursday: We'll publish the WAB in June. Possibly.
Government Wednesday: We'll hold a vote on the WAB in early June.
Government Thursday: We're not holding a vote in early June.
Wednesday, 22 May 2019
Paprika Pustule Visit
If Maybot does quit/is forced out who receives the Mango Mussolini?
Would he really want to be hosted/have discussions with either a somebody who's no longer in office or an acting PM? It would be a waste of everybody's time.
And given his think skin he could see holding discussions with an ex-leader/an acting leader/the tea boy as an insult.
Would he really want to be hosted/have discussions with either a somebody who's no longer in office or an acting PM? It would be a waste of everybody's time.
And given his think skin he could see holding discussions with an ex-leader/an acting leader/the tea boy as an insult.
The dying days of Maybot's premiership
I know this has been predicted before.
I know she's ignored defeats that would have finished off a great leader (or at least on with a passing acquaintance with any morals or ethics) but this feel different.
The furious reaction to her 1/4 baked plan seems to have provoked the party to being her time in Number 10 to a halt & do it soon.
As the Guardian noted on her statement to the house: "May did not even have the usual phalanx of senior cabinet support on the front bench. Power seems to be ebbing away from her rapidly."
A selection of tweets tells the story & events seem to be moving fast.
I know she's ignored defeats that would have finished off a great leader (or at least on with a passing acquaintance with any morals or ethics) but this feel different.
The furious reaction to her 1/4 baked plan seems to have provoked the party to being her time in Number 10 to a halt & do it soon.
As the Guardian noted on her statement to the house: "May did not even have the usual phalanx of senior cabinet support on the front bench. Power seems to be ebbing away from her rapidly."
A selection of tweets tells the story & events seem to be moving fast.
British Steel
British Steel could fall into administration as soon as today, putting 5,000 jobs directly at risk and endangering tens of thousands more in the supply chain (not to mention all the jobs that depend on the jobs in the supply chain).
British Steel has blamed Brexit for the squeeze on its finances. Union sources said British Steel had lost 25% of orders at its Scunthorpe plant because of Brexit uncertainty.
The plunge in the value of Sterling following the referendum has made the raw materials far more expensive. Adding to that EU buyers would have to pay tariffs of 20% on British Steel’s products if the UK left without a deal.
Steel contracts are typically agreed well in advance of the product being delivered. As things stand, the UK is due to leave at the end of October and the terms of that separation are not known, though in the absence of a deal being agreed, the default position if a 'no-deal' crash-out Brexit (unless the next PM can get an extension).
That is the inevitable. default position that is imposed by Article 50 activation.
This means British Steel’s overseas customers don’t know what tariffs will apply to steel they buy from the company. Adding to the problem in overcapacity in Europe and China dumping cheap steel onto the market. Not only does this lower the price but buyers thinking about buying from us have to factor in the fact that the product might be 20% more expensive in a few months time.
That's probably OK if you're buying some sheets to forma roof for your shed. Not so good if you're buying tons of the stuff to form the frame of a building or to build a warship.
Sources close to the company say orders from customers in the EU and further afield have dried up as a result of all these factors.
*Update 10.45 - British Steel has been placed into insolvency*
British Steel has blamed Brexit for the squeeze on its finances. Union sources said British Steel had lost 25% of orders at its Scunthorpe plant because of Brexit uncertainty.
The plunge in the value of Sterling following the referendum has made the raw materials far more expensive. Adding to that EU buyers would have to pay tariffs of 20% on British Steel’s products if the UK left without a deal.
Steel contracts are typically agreed well in advance of the product being delivered. As things stand, the UK is due to leave at the end of October and the terms of that separation are not known, though in the absence of a deal being agreed, the default position if a 'no-deal' crash-out Brexit (unless the next PM can get an extension).
That is the inevitable. default position that is imposed by Article 50 activation.
This means British Steel’s overseas customers don’t know what tariffs will apply to steel they buy from the company. Adding to the problem in overcapacity in Europe and China dumping cheap steel onto the market. Not only does this lower the price but buyers thinking about buying from us have to factor in the fact that the product might be 20% more expensive in a few months time.
That's probably OK if you're buying some sheets to forma roof for your shed. Not so good if you're buying tons of the stuff to form the frame of a building or to build a warship.
Sources close to the company say orders from customers in the EU and further afield have dried up as a result of all these factors.
*Update 10.45 - British Steel has been placed into insolvency*
Tuesday, 21 May 2019
More it's not to do with Brexit ...honest!
Jamies Italian restaurant chain has fallen into administration.
British Steel is begging for a £30m loan from the government (weeks after a £120m loan) and Thomas Cook is in deep debt too.
But none of the above is to do with Brexit obviously.
The fact that the pound sank after the vote (and is still weak) making raw materials more expensive to import plus people cutting back on spending is purely co-incidental.
British Steel is begging for a £30m loan from the government (weeks after a £120m loan) and Thomas Cook is in deep debt too.
But none of the above is to do with Brexit obviously.
The fact that the pound sank after the vote (and is still weak) making raw materials more expensive to import plus people cutting back on spending is purely co-incidental.
The price of incompetence
Thought for the day: it's been estimated Failing Grayling has cost the country the best part of £3 billion.
Or, to put it another way, the UK would have been £2 billion better off by paying him £1 billion to stay at home & mow the lawn before sloping off to the pub for the afternoon.
Monday, 20 May 2019
Friday, 17 May 2019
Killing Labour
There's a story in the Evening Standard (and elsewhere) saying that May & Corbyn have cooked up a deal to push through Brexit but deny any possibility of a 2nd/confirmatory referendum by holding a vote on that the week before holding a series of 'indicative votes' until one emerges as the deal.
I'm in no doubt that if Labour does, collaborate with the Tories that'll be the end of any hope that they'll form a government in the near future!
Facilitating the Tory agenda nearly wiped out the Lib Dems and it will decimate the Labour numbers at the next election.
Remainers wont forget or forgive Corbyn the Quisling.
The young, who nearly propelled him into government 2 years ago, will never forget or forgive. Indeed they might well conclude that he's just another lying politician.
Activists and members could all decided to leave the party & without people pounding the streets Labour will be in real trouble..
And this will mean that the Toxic Tories (probably under Johnson) will be in power for another 10 years with the 'bonfire of red tape' wiping out any protections for maternity/paternity pay, holidays or environmental protection.
And that's before he does a deal with the Trump to sell off the NHS in return for poisoned chicken.
It might also lead to the break-up of the NHS as the Scots conclude that they're better off as an independent nation instead of being fucked by bonking Boris.
Standard story
I'm in no doubt that if Labour does, collaborate with the Tories that'll be the end of any hope that they'll form a government in the near future!
Facilitating the Tory agenda nearly wiped out the Lib Dems and it will decimate the Labour numbers at the next election.
Remainers wont forget or forgive Corbyn the Quisling.
The young, who nearly propelled him into government 2 years ago, will never forget or forgive. Indeed they might well conclude that he's just another lying politician.
Activists and members could all decided to leave the party & without people pounding the streets Labour will be in real trouble..
And this will mean that the Toxic Tories (probably under Johnson) will be in power for another 10 years with the 'bonfire of red tape' wiping out any protections for maternity/paternity pay, holidays or environmental protection.
And that's before he does a deal with the Trump to sell off the NHS in return for poisoned chicken.
It might also lead to the break-up of the NHS as the Scots conclude that they're better off as an independent nation instead of being fucked by bonking Boris.
Standard story
Monday, 13 May 2019
Doris Day
Doris Day has died at the age of 97.
Here's an obituary from the LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-doris-day-dead-20190513-story.html
Here's an obituary from the LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-doris-day-dead-20190513-story.html
Honda: It's not because of Brexit ... Honest!
Honda has confirmed plans to close its Swindon manufacturing plant which employs around 3,500 people at the end of 2021 but says it is consulting with Business Secretary Greg Clark to "mitigate the impact of the decision on the wider community"
Friday, 3 May 2019
Deathlist 2019 - Updated 03/05
- Dianne Oxberry
- Dick Miller
- Windsor Davies
- Jeremy Hardy
- Albert Finney
- Gordon Banks
- Karl Lagerfeld
- Peter Tork
- Keith Flint
- Luke Perry
- Magenta Devine
- Charlie Whiting
- Scott Walker
- Mary Warnock
- Keith Flint
- Scott Walker
- Rex Garrod
- Tommy Smith
- Lyra McKee
- Peter Mayhew
- Doris Day
- Niki Lauda
- Paul Darrow
Thursday, 2 May 2019
Failing Grayling v Private Pike
Imagine being so shit that you get fired on the same day that the DoT admits that the boss has spaffed another £50m of tax-payers money up the side of a ferry. 
And Failing Grayling is taking questions in the House starting at 09.30 ... Should be entertaining.
[It wasn't - he chose to let his junior ministers field the incoming flak]
And Failing Grayling is taking questions in the House starting at 09.30 ... Should be entertaining.
[It wasn't - he chose to let his junior ministers field the incoming flak]
Gone part 2
While everybody was trying to absorb the ramifications of Private Pike's dismissal news broke on Fiona Onasanya.
After being caught speeding the MP for Peterborough concocted a ludicrous cock & bull story about it being driven by somebody else who was in Russia at the time.
The jury & the judge didn't believe it and handed down a custodial sentence for perverting the course of justice (she should have taken the points and/or driving ban)
On release under licence (after a month inside) Onasanya became the 1st ever MP to vote while wearing a tag.
She also released a video in which she compared herself to Jesus (another well-known speeding liar).
She made history again when she became the 1st MP to lose their seat under the new recall law.
Under recall petitions law 10% of the electorate must sign for it to be enacted. 27.64% signed the petition!
John Bercow, announced in the House of Commons on Wednesday night that the petition had been successful. “Fiona Onasanya is no longer the member for Peterborough and the seat is accordingly vacant,” he told the Commons.
Onasanya's probelems aren't over either. Not only will she lose her parliamentary salary, expenses & pension payments, she is still to face a misconduct tribunal, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has confirmed, which could mean that she could no longer practise in law.
Interestingly another recall petition is coming too: Chris Davies, the Conservative MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, will face a recall petition on 9 May after pleading guilty to submitting a false expenses claim.
After being caught speeding the MP for Peterborough concocted a ludicrous cock & bull story about it being driven by somebody else who was in Russia at the time.
The jury & the judge didn't believe it and handed down a custodial sentence for perverting the course of justice (she should have taken the points and/or driving ban)
On release under licence (after a month inside) Onasanya became the 1st ever MP to vote while wearing a tag.
She also released a video in which she compared herself to Jesus (another well-known speeding liar).
She made history again when she became the 1st MP to lose their seat under the new recall law.
Under recall petitions law 10% of the electorate must sign for it to be enacted. 27.64% signed the petition!
John Bercow, announced in the House of Commons on Wednesday night that the petition had been successful. “Fiona Onasanya is no longer the member for Peterborough and the seat is accordingly vacant,” he told the Commons.
Onasanya's probelems aren't over either. Not only will she lose her parliamentary salary, expenses & pension payments, she is still to face a misconduct tribunal, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has confirmed, which could mean that she could no longer practise in law.
Interestingly another recall petition is coming too: Chris Davies, the Conservative MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, will face a recall petition on 9 May after pleading guilty to submitting a false expenses claim.
Gone part 1
In news that broke late on 01/05 Gavin "Private Pike" Williamson was fired as Defence Secretary!
He met May in her Commons Office at 17.00 and was told that the evidence pointed to him and was told to resign or be sacked. Protesting his innocence he refused to resign and was summarily dismissed.
In a letter after firing him, Theresa May told Williamson he had failed to fully co-operate with the Huawei leak investigation, which found “compelling evidence suggesting your responsibility for the unauthorised disclosure. No other, credible version of events to explain this leak has been identified.”
I had posted about this likelihood Huawei Leak
Williamson maintains his innocence (swearing on the lives of his children at one point). He claimed that Sir Mark Sedwill was behind his dismissal (much as he blamed his civil servants for the leak previously).
Politicians across the board have called for him to be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act.
Interestingly Williamson himself said he'd welcome a formal investigation as he was sure it would clear him. He won't get that opportunity as May's spokesgonk said she considers the matter 'closed'.
While Williamsom retreats to the back benches, presumably to plot his next move and/or revenge, Penny Morduant was promoted and becomes the 1st female Defence Secretary (and thew 1st reservist to hold the post).
A profile of her: Penny Morduant
She's an ardent Brexiteer who was once censured by Cameron for claiming that we didn't have a veto on Turkey joining the EU.
Replacing Moruant at International development is the likeable and comparatively sane former diplomat Rory Stewart.
He met May in her Commons Office at 17.00 and was told that the evidence pointed to him and was told to resign or be sacked. Protesting his innocence he refused to resign and was summarily dismissed.
In a letter after firing him, Theresa May told Williamson he had failed to fully co-operate with the Huawei leak investigation, which found “compelling evidence suggesting your responsibility for the unauthorised disclosure. No other, credible version of events to explain this leak has been identified.”
I had posted about this likelihood Huawei Leak
Williamson maintains his innocence (swearing on the lives of his children at one point). He claimed that Sir Mark Sedwill was behind his dismissal (much as he blamed his civil servants for the leak previously).
Politicians across the board have called for him to be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act.
Interestingly Williamson himself said he'd welcome a formal investigation as he was sure it would clear him. He won't get that opportunity as May's spokesgonk said she considers the matter 'closed'.
While Williamsom retreats to the back benches, presumably to plot his next move and/or revenge, Penny Morduant was promoted and becomes the 1st female Defence Secretary (and thew 1st reservist to hold the post).
A profile of her: Penny Morduant
She's an ardent Brexiteer who was once censured by Cameron for claiming that we didn't have a veto on Turkey joining the EU.
Replacing Moruant at International development is the likeable and comparatively sane former diplomat Rory Stewart.
Wednesday, 1 May 2019
Corbyn has just screwed the pooch!
After a marathon session of the NEC, Labour has come out in favour of a fudge in their EU election manifesto. So far, so normal.
But, they also didn't come out decisively in favour of a new vote. Instead Corbyn & his allies argued that it'll only happen if 12 impossible things occur first.
In short, the Labour Party is now not only a party of Brexit (as much of the Tories are) but is against many of its own members & voters.
It's fair to say that this hasn't gone down well!
It will annoy activists (who may not bother campaigning for the EU elections).
It's causing people to leave the party in disgust.
It will certainly annoy voters who thought that the party was against Brexit.
The young in particular will regard Corbyn as just another liar and could punish the party at the 2 polls this month accordingly.
The very fact that the Labour Party is now pro-Brexit & for denial of free movement is a very stupid place to be (and opponents will make hay with the fact).
If there is an general election this brainless decision could cause a wipe-out of Labour MPs.
It's probable that the young who propelled Corbyn to the cusp of power in 2017 will turn their back on him next time. Ditto 'Remainers' like Lou & I.
The knobheads at the top of the party have just ensured that they will never be in power for the foreseeable future!
Perhaps that just where they want to be ....
Just a handful of tweets demonstrating the disgust:
But, they also didn't come out decisively in favour of a new vote. Instead Corbyn & his allies argued that it'll only happen if 12 impossible things occur first.
In short, the Labour Party is now not only a party of Brexit (as much of the Tories are) but is against many of its own members & voters.
It's fair to say that this hasn't gone down well!
It will annoy activists (who may not bother campaigning for the EU elections).
It's causing people to leave the party in disgust.
It will certainly annoy voters who thought that the party was against Brexit.
The young in particular will regard Corbyn as just another liar and could punish the party at the 2 polls this month accordingly.
The very fact that the Labour Party is now pro-Brexit & for denial of free movement is a very stupid place to be (and opponents will make hay with the fact).
If there is an general election this brainless decision could cause a wipe-out of Labour MPs.
It's probable that the young who propelled Corbyn to the cusp of power in 2017 will turn their back on him next time. Ditto 'Remainers' like Lou & I.
The knobheads at the top of the party have just ensured that they will never be in power for the foreseeable future!
Perhaps that just where they want to be ....
Just a handful of tweets demonstrating the disgust:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)