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

May would definitely have beaten Leadsom but it would have been better for the whole country if there had been more Tory MPs in the race and not just barging each other off the track. Feel like allowing May to become MP unopposed deprived the Tories of a proper debate about the kind of Brexit they wanted, and it deprived the public of the opportunity to see that debate and understand it for themselves.

Instead, May was allowed to bluster and shapeshift for years and we can see how well that's turned out.

If Leadsom hadn't pulled out, May would have actually had to campaign for the job, and we all know what a wonderful campaigner is. Mind you, with Leadsom as PM, we probably would have had a no-deal brexit six months ago and we'd all be on our last can of stockpiled baked beans

third meaningful vote confirmed for next week

what could possibly go wrong

xp(s) At the time I was delighted that Johnson & Gove stabbed each other in the back and neither of them ran, but it might even be that they'd have been a little more moderate with the red lines.

Then again, they might not have been. Too hard to predict such self-serving wildcards. I reserve the right to be very annoyed with whatever they do in the next leadership race.

A debate among Tory candidates (or, better still, some kind of cross-party exercise and/or public consultation) would've been very good, yes, if there was any way it could have been a real debate and not just a competition for who could bellow loudest while saying least. Maybe there were a few weeks of opportunity before we entered the bellowing and flags stage.

Am I meant to have stockpiled six months of beans? Oh. Oh dear. Hope the neighbours feel generous.

Oh no, you went on This Week and they didn't talk about your boring book, well boo bloody hoo. So selfish. Perhaps you'd like to make way for someone who actually respects current affairs. A person who will go on TV and will be happy to speak about literally, absolutely anything.

— Simon Hedges (@Orwell_Fan) March 22, 2019

No doubt someone will screenshot this with the caption "having a normal one ", well I am having a normal one actually. I'm one of the few people having a normal one left.

— Simon Hedges (@Orwell_Fan) March 22, 2019

Anyway I'm pretty sure he went on This Week largely so he could have a viral Twitter thread about how stupid it was.

― Matt DC, Friday, March 22, 2019 11:30 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think this is both a) completely true and b) good for him.

Maybe a good idea if you're invited on a tv show to have some sort of idea about the nature of the show? He's not Bobby Gillespie after all. Or is he?

we are all, in a very real sense, bobby gillespie

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D2NtMvBX0AAVnxJ.jpg

In defence of him he's not a Brit, I wouldn't expect a British writer shilling a book in Germany to have detailed knowledge of the content of German political shows. Main point he's making is how shallow and disengaged the British media is compared to other countries, so maybe expected a higher level of engagement based on his experience elsewhere.

thats a fair point and i wouldnt discount what he was saying

pointing out his sullenness is additional content

Agreed with Dan, even though his "experience elsewhere" contains a disastrous, highly publicised tweeted about encounter w/ Tucker Carlson (US loon) a couple of weeks ago. He knew it could come to this and use it to prove his point. Which is ok because the "shallow and disengaged media" is def true - though the same can be said about Dutch media.

Don't think the "elsewhere" he was referring to includes the US, tbf.

The petition's cleared 3 million, which I was not expecting.

how many of those are in the UK

18

uncharacteristic lack of discipline from SNP MPs

The big drivers for why the EU's 27 leaders came up with their new formula for determining when and whether we Brexit are:

EU leaders had - and have - zero confidence that the Prime Minister will win her meaningful vote next week, and they quite rationally decided it was unreasonable for them to determine in conditions of extreme pressure in seven days whether we we are falling out at 11pm on the Friday.

Many EU leaders are utterly fed up with how our Brexit mess is infecting their domestic political debates and derailing their attempts to forge an agenda to address the huge challenges faced by the EU. "They increasingly see Brexit as poisoning the EU and European nations" said a participant in the talks. "They want rid of it".
They did not dare set 22 May as the new default Brexit day, for fear that if the UK exited with no deal as late at that, elections for the European Parliament which begin the following day would be utterly overshadowed and skewed by the anticipated first-day no-deal chaos.

Significant numbers of EU leaders are admitting privately that the time has come to "cut the UK loose", that the prolonged Brexit uncertainty is damaging both their nations and the EU, and that therefore a no-deal Brexit on 12 April may be the best of assorted bad options.

If they don't, won't or can't, we will be leaving without a deal on 12 April. And truthfully, based on what you might call behavioural evidence on the current generation of MPs, I am retaining my prediction that we will be leaving without a deal, probably in 21 days.

https://www.itv.com/news/2019-03-22/eu-leaders-want-rid-of-brexit-poison/?fbclid=IwAR1KpEG-npWefxnFIEKHIKxVDZjMBIyvmaHFeco21GHTB-dzLlFDWBN_fHo

Understand Number 10 now seriously considering indicative votes on Brexit next week. Government source tells me there could be 7 options: PM deal, revocation, second ref, deal + customs union, deal + customs + single market, FTA or no deal

— Kate McCann (@KateEMcCann) March 22, 2019

Hedges really is pitch perfect

b-b-but i thought brexit meant brexit - a red, white and blue brexit, in fact - so why do we need indicative votes

If next week's vote ends up being the exact same deal May has proposed, with maybe a few insignificant tweaks, do you guys reckon MPs should vote for or against it? I know May has been using the threat of No Deal all along but now it seems she kinda has the EU backing her on this...

vote against obviously

don't listen to me though, I can't process any of this any more

jed_'s link reminded me of this, which is as the kids say a mood.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/03/21/why-europe-should-reject-theresa-mays-brexit-extension-macron-tusk-parliament-eu-uk

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/theresa-may-is-finished-and-the-eu-knows-it-1.3835083

this is assault

oof

The bankruptcy of May’s overseas enterprise has been coming since the day she set up shop in No 10. The squandering of credibility started almost at once, with the appointment of Boris Johnson as foreign secretary in 2016. Only someone with a tin ear for European sensibilities would have given the top diplomat job to a man known on the continent as a rogue peddler of anti-Brussels propaganda.

Then there was the early negotiating period, during which EU leaders thought May’s robotic, inscrutable manner concealed a deep, strategic intelligence. They came to realise that there was no mask. The inanity – the reciting of “Brexit means Brexit” even in private meetings – was not the cover story for a secret plan. It was the plan.

The point of no return was the summit in Salzburg last September. May was invited to make the case for what was left of her “Chequers plan” to European heads of government. It was late. They were tired. There were other difficult matters to

And instead of speaking candidly, persuasively, passionately or even just coherently, the British prime minister read mechanically from a text that was, in substance, no different from an op-ed article already published under her name in a German newspaper that morning. It was embarrassing and insulting.

Many European diplomats say that was the moment when Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and others realised they were dealing with someone out of her depth, unable to perform at the level required for the job that needed doing.

That's the whole thing in a nutshell. How did she ever last 1000 days?

because for about 700 of them ppl presumed there was something behind the robot

because she’s the plug that’s holding back the tide of all of the internal divisions within the conservative party

"Then there was the early negotiating period, during which EU leaders thought May’s robotic, inscrutable manner concealed a deep, strategic intelligence. They came to realise that there was no mask. The inanity – the reciting of “Brexit means Brexit” even in private meetings – was not the cover story for a secret plan. It was the plan."

This is the "Cunning? No, merely Baldrick-style ffs" realisation.

may robotically repeating 'brexit means brexit' over and over during negotiations with the eu is kinda lol but mostly sad

she's such a weird fuckin' creature

she's got a 2:1 geography degree but often seems like she doesn't know where the fuck she is.

well i mean 2:1 isnt fuckin great either

lol I thought meant : nuff brainy twofer oner!

dying

Is this true - ? https://t.co/6w5GFoUUP4

— A C Grayling #FBPE #PeoplesVote &/or #Revoke50 (@acgrayling) March 22, 2019

huge if true

lol, should have bofa-ed AC in reply!

the '&/or' is also extremely good shit

a c grayling is a national treasure

not quite the worst grayling

It Appears That Chuka Umunna Is Being Funded By One Of The Tories' Biggest Donors — https://www.buzzfeed.com/solomonhughes/chuka-umunna-jeremy-isaacs

good scoop

but he ... never mind!

lmao what a shocker

BuzzFeed News asked Umunna’s office about taking support from the former Conservative donor. They did not address Isaacs' donation directly or confirm that it was the man in question, but did emphasise their commitment to transparency over donations.

A spokesperson said all donations to MPs “will be declared in the right and proper way” on the MPs register. In addition they said that while they legally did not have to declare donations to The Independent Group, because it is not yet a political party, they “will voluntarily publish the names and amounts of any donations totalling £7500 in a year” . They also said that the Independent Group had “received many small donations” through their website.

'we are fully committed to being 100% transparent, one calendar year from today'

well i for one am etc etc

it is not yet a political party,

then fucking resign your seats and stand again when it is, you utter cunts

ain't no party like an Indie party cos an Indie party don't declare it's financial supporters