The Senior Lecturer’s not a democrat then

The country has chosen No Deal. The country chose to Leave the EU. The deal bit was added on by Remainers intent on overturning the referendum result, in the expectation that the Evil Empire would make things so difficult as to lead to the whole thing being called off. Wrong, weren’t they?

But if the country has chosen no deal isn’t that what the country should have?

Not if it diminishes the likelihood of the Senior Lecturer in Political Economy at Islington Technical College from filling his boots when his grants finish.

The electorate didn’t vote to “Leave with a deal”, that wasn’t on the referendum. In the Vote Leave campaign material (“5 Positive Reasons to Vote Leave”) there is mention of trade deals, but this includes with all countries, not just the EU.

With hindsight the Vote Leave material is somewhat blasé in expecting the EU to negotiate in good faith (which I never considered likely), but as with any political manifesto, it strongly emphasises the pro’s over the con’s. The UK Government propaganda leaflet sent out to all UK highlights was similar in regard to the Remain issues, pushing the positive aspects of Remain.

Quite why we should blame the Leave campaign for EU intransigence over the negotiations is beyond me.

Fixed-term Act aside, a GE on Thursday, 31st October, would fill the gap between conference season and the big day quite nicely.

“But if the country has chosen no deal isn’t that what the country should have?”

Of course not, the voters are far too stupid to be able to decide anything as important as that. Unless they happen to vote the way the liberal establishment agree with, then of course its a massive democratic mandate than cannot be denied……………..

I mean the leader of a major party has come out and baldly stated she does not agree with democracy, and would not accept the decision of the electorate to leave even if confirmed by a second referendum FFS. They aren’t exactly hiding their views any more, the question is what will we (the electorate) do about it? Vote out the actual fascists in our midst, regardless of their colour rosette, or blindly follow the rosette like donkeys?

“And absent this current burst of manic enthusiasm, WTF’s changed?”

You have someone at the top who is at least making the right noises, and has nailed his flag to the mast of leaving on the 31st come what may. Which makes a huge difference, given the law of the land says we leave on the 31st Oct unless something else happens. So we now have 2 parts of the power nexus on our side – the existing law, and the Executive who have considerable power to make that law come into force. Yes Parliament can still stymie leaving, but its considerably harder now the Executive are set on doing just that. Not only all that but there’s limited time for there to be any election beforehand, so the chances of the current government being voted out before the 31st is rapidly receding.

I still say there will be a negotiated ‘deal’ with the EU, at the last minute when the reality of us being ready to leave without one dawns on them. Which of course is the strategy that should have been employed from day 1: prepare to leave with no deal, and let the other side stew, and do a deal if a good one is offered.

@Kevin

+1

Remember the little book Cameron Gov’t sent everyone?

– Project Fear Issue One

If you vote Leave it means we leave the single market, customs union, ECJ…. and there will be an instant recession with job losses, tax rises…and WWIII

Voters: OK, thanks for warning us, we don’t care and want to Leave EU now

Either a positive vote to end parliament – which I think requires a two thirds majority – OR a lost vote of no confidence in the government.

Then there can be an election.

PS, Lord Justice Laws in his ingenious judgment in the Thoburn (metric martyr) case, made up something he called ‘constitutional statutes’.

His Ludship’s made-up idea was that some acts of Parliament were more equal than others.

It was all bollocks but, to be fair to him, he had to square an impossible circle.

@John Galt

The composition of the new Cabinet

There has been much misleading comment masquerading as analysis about the nature of the new Cabinet.

There are just two members who voted against the Withdrawal Agreement on all three occasions it came forward, and three who voted against it on two of the three occasions.

There are fourteen who voted Remain plus the Chief Whip.

The big majority of the Cabinet supported Mrs May’s Withdrawal Agreement, and some were particularly vocal in urging others to do so.

Agree. All the Con MPs who voted against May’s Surrender Treaty every time should now be ministers and Owen Patterson back in cabinet.

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Steve Baker rejects Boris Johnson’s offer of his old ‘powerless’ job as Brexit Minister

Boris Johnson’s attempts to lock in the support of hardline Tory Eurosceptics suffered a serious blow last night after one of the most senior Brexiteer MPs angrily turned down a ministerial role.

In the first rift between the new prime minister and the faction that backed him for the leadership, Steve Baker told Mr Johnson that a job in the Brexit department would have left him “powerless”.

Tory Eurosceptics accused Mr Johnson of “binning off” the European Research Group of Brexiteers now that he was in power. They blamed Dominic Cummings, the former head of Vote Leave, who has been appointed the most senior adviser in Downing Street.

Mr Cummings has made little secret of his disdain for some members of the ERG, describing them as a “narcissist delusional subset” and a “metastasising tumour” that needs to be “excised”.

The row highlights the fragility of Mr Johnson’s grip over the Conservative Party and parliament. With a majority of only two his allies believe it is increasingly likely that there will be a general election.

In a warning shot Mr Baker, 48, said on Twitter after rejecting the job that “disaster awaits us” unless Britain left the EU on October 31.

Kit Malthouse, the Home Office minister, nevertheless sought to play down Mr Baker’s reaction, telling Today on BBC Radio 4: “Steve has said he has full confidence in Boris to deliver.”

One Eurosceptic Tory MP said: “Steve has been badly treated, this smacks of poor man-management. Arguably without Steve Baker we would already have signed the withdrawal agreement, we would be trapped in the backstop for ever and Theresa May would still be prime minister. Some people clearly have short memories.”

In his first statement to the Commons as prime minister Mr Johnson offered his vision of post-Brexit Britain, which he said could enter a golden age and become the most prosperous country in Europe.

He also clashed with Brussels after saying that he would start talks on a new deal only if the EU agreed to the abolition of the Irish backstop. He underlined the point later in a call with Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission.

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, told European governments that the demand was unacceptable, implying that the prime minister was bluffing.

In his confidential diplomatic note, leaked almost as soon as it was sent, Mr Barnier said that he would not open any negotiations based on the Brexit terms set out in Mr Johnson’s speech to MPs.

“Johnson has asserted that if an agreement is to be reached it goes by way of eliminating the backstop. This is of course unacceptable and not within the mandate of the European Council,” he wrote, referring to guidelines set by EU leaders.

Mr Baker previously served as a Brexit minister under Theresa May but quit after accusing her of rendering the department a “Potemkin structure” by handing control of Brexit negotiations to the Cabinet Office.

As deputy chairman of the ERG he was one of 28 Eurosceptics, described as Brexit “Spartans”, who refused to back Mrs May’s deal. Mr Johnson and other critics backed the deal the third time that it went to the Commons.

Mr Baker was an early supporter of Mr Johnson and had hoped for a significant role in shaping Brexit. However, Mr Johnson stripped the Brexit department of the no-deal prepar- ations and handed them to Michael Gove in the Cabinet Office. Mr Baker was left waiting for nearly an hour by Mr Johnson before he was told that he was being offered only a return to the Brexit department, which he declined.

Mr Baker said: “With regret, I have turned down a ministerial job. I cannot repeat my experience of powerlessness as a junior Brexit minister with the work done in Cabinet Office.

“I have total confidence in Boris Johnson to take us out of the EU by 31 Oct. Disaster awaits us otherwise.” Another Tory MP said: “This is typical of the way the ERG has been treated. Anybody who is in the ERG has been binned off. Steve has been treated terribly.”

Other allies of Mr Johnson were promoted yesterday. Conor Burns became a junior minister at the Department for International Trade, Kit Malthouse became a Home Office minister and Nigel Adams became a culture minister. More backers of Mr Hunt, including Stephen Hammond and Harriett Baldwin, were sacked.
© Times Newspapers Limited 2019.

New cabinet minister Rishi Sunak tells Sophy Ridge preparations are being made for a no-deal Brexit – and Britain has to be prepared to walk away.

Meanwhile “Liberal” “Democrat” – as in GDR, DPRK

The new leader Jo “Look at my baby” Swinson screeches to Sophy Ridge there’s not a big enough majority in this country for Brexit – and we need to put the issue back to the people. Then ignore them if the people vote Leave again.

Hmm, not much point putting the issue back to the people if their decision Will Be Ignored
…

Er thanks, jgh.

Murphy is the Pub Bore’s Pub Bore.

@jgh July 28, 2019 at 11:36 pm

Apples are not oranges.

What is the Law which states “Laws Can Not Be Revoked/Abolished, only Replaced”?

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@Kevin

+1 Johnson should have offered him a better job (DCMS Sec which he gave to useless Remoaner Nicky Morgan), but Baker shouldn’t have been so petulant.

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@John

Vast majority of EU employees/officials should be in stocks in Molenbeek, Brussels