"oh you don't get me I'm the end of the union": lol brexit is how we're all gonna die

Yes, and they want her to own any long extension

in any extended membership, Britain should, “in a spirit of loyal cooperation”, commit to “constructive abstention” on key issues, such as the EU’s long-term budget and filling top EU posts after the May election.

Kipper MEPs all about the spirit of loyal cooperation iirc

on the other hand they are quite into not turning up, but perhaps not if they have new orders from B*nn*n's pan-European far-right collective

someone wake me up if anyone devises a way to make a Tory govt do something in the interests of the country and not just in the interests of having a Tory govt next week/next year/forever

you’re gonna be asleep for a long time, best cancel any plans for the next hundred years or so

luckily I have been avoiding making all plans after next Friday

people try to make me commit to things in April and it's like, hmm, well, I guess if we are not foraging for rats in a post-apocalyptic wasteland we could pencil that work meeting in, maybe

(Narrator's voice): They were foraging for rats in a post-apocalyptic wasteland

sometimes in a game of chess your opponent can enter into a losing position about 50 moves out.

in those scenarios they don’t always resign but can instead play on in the hope that you will blunder the position and a draw/win might inadvertently emerge out of the murk.

I assume that is what may is doing here - unfortunately she is up against a very capable opposition who have played the position v accurately throughout

thus ends v laboured analogy

luckily I have been avoiding making all plans after next Friday

Shit. As things stand we're leaving the EU *next week*. For some reason that only just hit home.

I assume that is what may is doing here - unfortunately she is up against a very capable opposition who have played the position v accurately throughout

This works except that the house they are playing in has been on fire the whole they've been playing, and then burns down and they all die.

There are reports from French outlets that Macron will oppose any extension but idk how credible they are.

When do they all meet to thrash this out anyway?

Live on Sky Box Office, pay per view, Saturday night

It looks like this is being taken out of the Prime Minister's hands. Emanuel Macron of France has said enough is enough, he will oppose any extension of Article 50 in Council tomorrow: https://t.co/oq6BhU2ZmJ

— Paul Sweeney MP (@PaulJSweeney) March 20, 2019

I like your thinking!

oh man please do it

Perhaps being betrayed by Papa is the push that the FBPE crew needs to get on board with leaving.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D2Ga3RWWkAAPNMU.jpg

idk, those fbpe folk are not very mercurial/changeable types, it often seems.

French officials say Macron will accept a Brexit delay if it is in order for May to hold "general elections or a new referendum," but will veto any request merely to prolong current uncertainty. https://t.co/G4JxrW39sR

— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) March 20, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDKO6XYXioc

If only someone could have warned us that this was likely to be the result. The nameless author of the Government's motion last Wednesday, for example.

Blessing in disguise for the Tories. It was dem bad Frenchies who had de gaulle to kick us out, it wasn't our own many, many wrongdoings.

This is no blessing

There are rumours the PM will give a speech outside Number 10 tonight. Unconfirmed.

— Joe Watts (@JoeWatts_) March 20, 2019

very likely will be.

not getting my hopes up for the 8th time

murder-suicide or gtfo

LBI otm - some people (possibly including May) have been itching for no deal but need the figleaf of claiming that they tried to get a deal through so blame someone else when you're broke and there's no food in the supermarket - if it can be blamed on the French it's a century of Christmases all at once for them

of course our press has never liked an easy headline about showing the apocryphal longbowman's fingers to silly French people and their silly surnames and will be subjecting all such claims to the highest levels of scrutiny oh wait

Perhaps being betrayed by Papa is the push that the FBPE crew needs to get on board with leaving.

So sweet.

No10 source texts: "Cancel your dinner."

— Patrick Maguire (@patrickkmaguire) March 20, 2019

food shortages already?

Humble pie, sour grapes etc

no shortage of brexit-beef bourguignon.

something called showden, its going to be fried apparently

What was the reasoning behind asking for an extension to june 30th instead of may 23rd? That just seems to have pissed off the EU even more, and why?

The EU Parliament doesn’t reconvene with new intake until July so the current MEPs serve until then.

30th was as long as a “short” extension could be - as EU parliament sits 1 july

gives her max latitude to keep trying to peel off intransigents in support of her deal

Donald Tusk says he got the letter from Theresa May today.

He spoke to her just now, he says.

In the light of his consultations, he says a short, extension will be possible.

But it will be conditional on a positive vote on the withdrawal agreement in the Commons.

He says, if there is a positive vote in the Commons next week, the extension can be finalised using a written procedure.

But, if needed, he will call a summit next week.

snap

That's about as clearly defined a cliff edge as she could ever ask for

How's them No Deal odds looking?

this means long extension is the only way, right? and France reportedly refusing even that without the promise of a GE or ref2

is peston ok

So will this EU heavy-handedness convince a load of EU-hating Brexiteer MPs to vote for the deal? Because I think the answer is no.

But it is a proper cliff edge; I wonder if it makes Labour types terrified of No Deal fall in line for the good of the land

I wouldn't think so, since presumably yous could always rejoin on the same terms as Moldova or whatever

labour should hold the line. there are a number of other options within the government’s gift

force them to take the pain.

Paddy Power has suspended betting on an election but that may well be because there is no situation they won’t hijack for attention.

I suspect it all comes down to what May would do if her deal was defeated, and whether she's prepared to tell us beforehand.

https://www.oddschecker.com/politics/british-politics/year-of-next-general-election
that 6/4 on 2019 election has well and truly been eaten up!