Is this a fair summary of where we are at from a slow learner - me!
1. A majority of those who purport to understand the economics of the situation feel that it would be a disaster for the UK economy to end up without access to the Single Market. In particular because of the importance of the SM to our services industry which is the most successful and key part of our economy.
2. To maintain access to the single market means we have to maintain agreement to freedom of movement of EU people and that EU laws remain supreme.
So no control over immigration and no regaining of sovereignty if we maintain access to the Single Market. Unless we manage to carve out some sort of "special deal"? Which appears extremely unlikely to be achievable.
It's too early to tell, just 4 days after the result.
I think it's also important to differentiate between tariff-free access to the Single Market and what the normal non-EU Johnny Foreigner enjoys. Countries do sell into Europe without either an FTA or EU membership.
Quite so, Mr. M. One needs only look round the products in one's own home to see that being a member of the Single Market is no bar to selling into it. However, some on here seem to be fixated by it.
That's what pulling me to Team Boris - not something I expected to ever say.
If I was a tory MP that would be my price for support. What are you doing with Michael Gove? I'd like to see him as chancellor, with Leadsom first sec to treasury. Very strong team.
If Boris has sensible and stable people around him, his faults can be forgiven. And faults he certainly has.
If Team Boris does it - this would be my line-up
Gove - Chancellor Leadsom - First Sec Treasury Raab - Justice Sec Villiers - FSec Priti - Home Eustice - Defra IDS - Defence Fox - Health
Olive branches to Remainers
Hunt or Hammond - beefed up DTI May - DWP Greening - DCMS AN Other - DifD
I'd like to see Gisela and Hoey offered formal roles on the Brexit team negotiations.
So far as Grayling is concerned he should be kicked upstairs, downstairs, pretty much everywhere really.
I would have Osborne instead of Villiers as F Sec and I doubt if May would accept DWP. IDS is surely finished and she might well take Defence. I would leave Hunt at Health but then I am not a Fox fan either.
I'd keep May as Home Sec and Osborne as Foreign Sec as you say. I don't rate Patel. I'm not sure about Defence, but I don't think IDS is the right choice. Would love to see Gisela get something.
She's still Labour, right?
As Nick Palmer was saying, Stuart is traditional Labour left in everything apart from EU membership and fox hunting. Although the Tory hard-right have adopted her as a pet, they'd probably harrumph mightily if they bothered to discover her views on anything else.
Just seen Farage speaking at the EU Parliament. Shameful, utterly shameful.
The MP for Clacton should resign the whip.
What's he said now ?
He just insulted a load of MEPs to their faces. Stuff like "you've never had a proper job, never done a days work in your lives".
Even when we're out of the EU, he still represents Britain abroad. He makes us look like complete arseholes.
No wonder they're glad to see the back of us.
You do realise the European Parliament also has French quasi-fascists, Hungarian crypto-fascists, Greek full-on Fascists, numbers of demented German Trots, "Swedish democrats", True Finns, the Austrian Far Right, Italian Ur-Fascists, Geert Wilders' nastier friends, and Daniel Cohn Bendit (I'll let you Google).
The idea the clownish but sometimes quite perceptive Farage marks us out as uniquely unpleasant is quaint. But wrong.
Don't forget the smattering of other-worldy Greens who think humanity is a blight on the planet.
I realised this morning it is very likely to be May.
Why?
1. Emotions. A needy, anxious nation will want a sensible, comforting mother figure. May wins.
2. Economics. It is likely that peak post-Brexit chaos will be unfurling as the vote is held. Holidaymakers will be coming home with forex sticker shock. Home owners will be staring in dismay at house prices. Unemployment might be edging up, or shooting up. A recession is very possible.
In those probable circumstances Boris will get the blame, he just will (especially as he has written articles predicting that there would be NO Brexit chaos)
May wins.
The only means by which he can win is if he is right, the markets calm down, recession is averted, London banks don't start moving to the EU. But I don't see how that can happen, because no one is triggering Article 50 until October earliest. So the economic uncertainty is BOUND to continue.
May wins.
I'd imagine that's the calculation. But we weren't meant to win the referendum either.
And she is just so dull. Humour is a very important weapon to a politician. Both Cameron and Boris use it very effectively in the House of Commons and elsewhere. Theresa, not so much.
That's what pulling me to Team Boris - not something I expected to ever say.
If I was a tory MP that would be my price for support. What are you doing with Michael Gove? I'd like to see him as chancellor, with Leadsom first sec to treasury. Very strong team.
If Boris has sensible and stable people around him, his faults can be forgiven. And faults he certainly has.
If Team Boris does it - this would be my line-up
Gove - Chancellor Leadsom - First Sec Treasury Raab - Justice Sec Villiers - FSec Priti - Home Eustice - Defra IDS - Defence Fox - Health
Olive branches to Remainers
Hunt or Hammond - beefed up DTI May - DWP Greening - DCMS AN Other - DifD
I'd like to see Gisela and Hoey offered formal roles on the Brexit team negotiations.
So far as Grayling is concerned he should be kicked upstairs, downstairs, pretty much everywhere really.
I would have Osborne instead of Villiers as F Sec and I doubt if May would accept DWP. IDS is surely finished and she might well take Defence. I would leave Hunt at Health but then I am not a Fox fan either.
Osborne, I think, has to retire from the front bench along with Cameron. I agree about May though no reason, apart from the cash, that she should accept such a demotion. So perhaps she should also go to spend more time with whatever she does in private life. She has had a jolly good innings.
DfID, I'd like to see abolished as a department and its functions and, reduced, budget subsumed into the FCO, with a chunk of the cash going to the MoD. DCMS should have its budget slashed and perhaps go back to the Home office from which it was spawned.
Osborne remains the most talented politician in the country. Any leader would want not only access to his skills, experience and judgement but also to have him in the tent rather than out of it.
I can see the argument for reducing the number of departments but DfID should, for me, be given the specific target of reducing immigration by funding in theatre support, such as we currently have around Syria, wherever possible.
I'd agree re DfiD.
I'm very ambivalent about Osborne. He's been good on sly tactics and awful on execution far too many times.
That's why I suggested we give him an ambassadorial role - he'd be good at that/keep him busy and away from Westminster.
Is this a fair summary of where we are at from my a slow learner - me!
1. A majority of those who purport to understand the economics of the situation feel that it would be a disaster for the UK economy to end up without access to the Single Market. In particular because of the importance of the SM to our services industry which is the most successful and key part of our economy.
2. To maintain access to the single market means we have to maintain agreement to freedom of movement of EU people and that EU laws remain supreme.
So no control over immigration and no regaining of sovereignty if we maintain access to the Single Market. Unless we manage to carve out some sort of "special deal"? Which appears extremely unlikely to be achievable.
Depends what happens when everybody's had their holidays in July/August and they get down to serious talking behind closed doors and not grandstanding for photo ops as they all are now.
Freedom of movement I would hope could be watered down to "freedom to work/stay if you've got a job offer and or could support yourself in country X to say 80% of national average wage. No benefits other than health and anything contributory like pension". I'd vote for that with free trade in a flash. Question is how grandstanding are all parties going to be about what "freedom of movement" can actually mean.
I think it was Cameron's complete failure to get anything approaching this that dis for him. At present the Continentals are probably feeling too sore to look at watering down much but we'll see in a bit where we are all at. At least the negotiation will be taken seriously this time and not be an "essay crisis".
There's a very tricky political calculation to be performed. There's obviously a faction that would like to punish the UK in order to quell any further trouble. The issue is that if this is combined with the standard rhetoric of 'More Europe', they're simply storing up even more trouble further down the line. Denying the UK a referendum over Lisbon was a contributory factor to the UK's decision for Brexit.
Unsurprisingly, we've tended to dwell on the issues that Brexit raises for us as a country. However, I do think the European exam question is much, much harder and has the potential to do Europe even greater harm in the future.
That's what pulling me to Team Boris - not something I expected to ever say.
If I was a tory MP that would be my price for support. What are you doing with Michael Gove? I'd like to see him as chancellor, with Leadsom first sec to treasury. Very strong team.
If Boris has sensible and stable people around him, his faults can be forgiven. And faults he certainly has.
If Team Boris does it - this would be my line-up
Gove - Chancellor Leadsom - First Sec Treasury Raab - Justice Sec Villiers - FSec Priti - Home Eustice - Defra IDS - Defence Fox - Health
Olive branches to Remainers
Hunt or Hammond - beefed up DTI May - DWP Greening - DCMS AN Other - DifD
I'd like to see Gisela and Hoey offered formal roles on the Brexit team negotiations.
So far as Grayling is concerned he should be kicked upstairs, downstairs, pretty much everywhere really.
I would have Osborne instead of Villiers as F Sec and I doubt if May would accept DWP. IDS is surely finished and she might well take Defence. I would leave Hunt at Health but then I am not a Fox fan either.
Osborne, I think, has to retire from the front bench along with Cameron. I agree about May though no reason, apart from the cash, that she should accept such a demotion. So perhaps she should also go to spend more time with whatever she does in private life. She has had a jolly good innings.
DfID, I'd like to see abolished as a department and its functions and, reduced, budget subsumed into the FCO, with a chunk of the cash going to the MoD. DCMS should have its budget slashed and perhaps go back to the Home office from which it was spawned.
Osborne remains the most talented politician in the country. Any leader would want not only access to his skills, experience and judgement but also to have him in the tent rather than out of it.
I can see the argument for reducing the number of departments but DfID should, for me, be given the specific target of reducing immigration by funding in theatre support, such as we currently have around Syria, wherever possible.
Osborne is the most talented politician in the country? On what basis do you come to that judgement, Mr. L? He has just lost the most important election in the country for forty years.
Just seen Farage speaking at the EU Parliament. Shameful, utterly shameful.
The MP for Clacton should resign the whip.
What's he said now ?
He just insulted a load of MEPs to their faces. Stuff like "you've never had a proper job, never done a days work in your lives".
Even when we're out of the EU, he still represents Britain abroad. He makes us look like complete arseholes.
No wonder they're glad to see the back of us.
You do realise the European Parliament also has French quasi-fascists, Hungarian crypto-fascists, Greek full-on Fascists, numbers of demented German Trots, "Swedish democrats", True Finns, the Austrian Far Right, Italian Ur-Fascists, Geert Wilders' nastier friends, and Daniel Cohn Bendit (I'll let you Google).
The idea the clownish but sometimes quite perceptive Farage marks us out as uniquely unpleasant is quaint. But wrong.
I don't care about the French (etc) looking like arseholes. I do care about our reputation. Farage was rude without being clever. No subtlety. As I say, an embarrassment.
I agree with the smaller point. He should have taken the opportunity to be magnanimous, with just tiny hints of gloating, and some better jokes. Would have been more annoying for the Federalists.
Instead he was boorish and gave them a chance to be boorish back, making the European Parliament look as ridiculous as ever. Perhaps that was Farage's subtle, underlying intention..
I realised this morning it is very likely to be May.
Why?
1. Emotions. A needy, anxious nation will want a sensible, comforting mother figure. May wins.
2. Economics. It is likely that peak post-Brexit chaos will be unfurling as the vote is held. Holidaymakers will be coming home with forex sticker shock. Home owners will be staring in dismay at house prices. Unemployment might be edging up, or shooting up. A recession is very possible.
In those probable circumstances Boris will get the blame, he just will (especially as he has written articles predicting that there would be NO Brexit chaos)
May wins.
The only means by which he can win is if he is right, the markets calm down, recession is averted, London banks don't start moving to the EU. But I don't see how that can happen, because no one is triggering Article 50 until October earliest. So the economic uncertainty is BOUND to continue.
May wins.
Oh bollocks, I'm green on May, but this has given me pause for thought.
Just seen Farage speaking at the EU Parliament. Shameful, utterly shameful.
The MP for Clacton should resign the whip.
What's he said now ?
He just insulted a load of MEPs to their faces. Stuff like "you've never had a proper job, never done a days work in your lives".
Even when we're out of the EU, he still represents Britain abroad. He makes us look like complete arseholes.
No wonder they're glad to see the back of us.
You do realise the European Parliament also has French quasi-fascists, Hungarian crypto-fascists, Greek full-on Fascists, numbers of demented German Trots, "Swedish democrats", True Finns, the Austrian Far Right, Italian Ur-Fascists, Geert Wilders' nastier friends, and Daniel Cohn Bendit (I'll let you Google).
The idea the clownish but sometimes quite perceptive Farage marks us out as uniquely unpleasant is quaint. But wrong.
I don't care about the French (etc) looking like arseholes. I do care about our reputation. Farage was rude without being clever. No subtlety. As I say, an embarrassment.
I agree with the smaller point. He should have taken the opportunity to be magnanimous, with just tiny hints of gloating, and some better jokes. Would have been more annoying for the Federalists.
Instead he was boorish and gave them a chance to be boorish back, making the European Parliament look as ridiculous as ever. Perhaps that was Farage's subtle, underlying intention..
He does subtle?
Subtle is when he does 4 pints, 2 bottles of wine and two whiskeys as part of a light lunch...
That's what pulling me to Team Boris - not something I expected to ever say.
If I was a tory MP that would be my price for support. What are you doing with Michael Gove? I'd like to see him as chancellor, with Leadsom first sec to treasury. Very strong team.
If Boris has sensible and stable people around him, his faults can be forgiven. And faults he certainly has.
If Team Boris does it - this would be my line-up
Gove - Chancellor Leadsom - First Sec Treasury Raab - Justice Sec Villiers - FSec Priti - Home Eustice - Defra IDS - Defence Fox - Health
Olive branches to Remainers
Hunt or Hammond - beefed up DTI May - DWP Greening - DCMS AN Other - DifD
I'd like to see Gisela and Hoey offered formal roles on the Brexit team negotiations.
So far as Grayling is concerned he should be kicked upstairs, downstairs, pretty much everywhere really.
I would have Osborne instead of Villiers as F Sec and I doubt if May would accept DWP. IDS is surely finished and she might well take Defence. I would leave Hunt at Health but then I am not a Fox fan either.
I'd keep May as Home Sec and Osborne as Foreign Sec as you say. I don't rate Patel. I'm not sure about Defence, but I don't think IDS is the right choice. Would love to see Gisela get something.
I don't think Gisela will leave Labour but if she wanted a job on the negotiating team for Europe it is surely hers.
A GOAT, would she want to do that from the Lords as a cross bencher or on-loan from Labour? Hoey deserves credit too - perhaps dealing with the relationship with Ireland during Brexit negotiations?
Is this a fair summary of where we are at from a slow learner - me!
1. A majority of those who purport to understand the economics of the situation feel that it would be a disaster for the UK economy to end up without access to the Single Market. In particular because of the importance of the SM to our services industry which is the most successful and key part of our economy.
2. To maintain access to the single market means we have to maintain agreement to freedom of movement of EU people and that EU laws remain supreme.
So no control over immigration and no regaining of sovereignty if we maintain access to the Single Market. Unless we manage to carve out some sort of "special deal"? Which appears extremely unlikely to be achievable.
Broadly that's right, except that we'd still get some regaining of sovereignty (environment, agriculture, fisheries, for example).
That's what pulling me to Team Boris - not something I expected to ever say.
If I was a tory MP that would be my price for support. What are you doing with Michael Gove? I'd like to see him as chancellor, with Leadsom first sec to treasury. Very strong team.
If Boris has sensible and stable people around him, his faults can be forgiven. And faults he certainly has.
If Team Boris does it - this would be my line-up
Gove - Chancellor Leadsom - First Sec Treasury Raab - Justice Sec Villiers - FSec Priti - Home Eustice - Defra IDS - Defence Fox - Health
Olive branches to Remainers
Hunt or Hammond - beefed up DTI May - DWP Greening - DCMS AN Other - DifD
I'd like to see Gisela and Hoey offered formal roles on the Brexit team negotiations.
So far as Grayling is concerned he should be kicked upstairs, downstairs, pretty much everywhere really.
I would have Osborne instead of Villiers as F Sec and I doubt if May would accept DWP. IDS is surely finished and she might well take Defence. I would leave Hunt at Health but then I am not a Fox fan either.
I'd keep May as Home Sec and Osborne as Foreign Sec as you say. I don't rate Patel. I'm not sure about Defence, but I don't think IDS is the right choice. Would love to see Gisela get something.
She's still Labour, right?
As Nick Palmer was saying, Stuart is traditional Labour left in everything apart from EU membership and fox hunting. Although the Tory hard-right have adopted her as a pet, they'd probably harrumph mightily if they bothered to discover her views on anything else.
Come now, I don't just endorse someone without checking their history. She's a standard authoritarian Blairite. If anything, she's a bit right wing for me. ID cards indeed. She also voted against investigating the Iraq war.
Other than that, she's palatable. I don't expect her to cross the floor, but she might relish getting stuck into the nuts and bolts of Brexit.
Gove as DPM & a less demanding brief so he can support Boris more. Party Chairman maybe? Leadsom as Chancellor. Redwood Chief Secretary to the Treasury (imagine having a competent Treasury team!). Davis - Home Sec. LORD Longworth - Trade and Industry Sec. Duncan-Smith - special project to implement universal credit - giving him a cabinet post just paints a target on his back for the angry. There's virtually no cabinet post that I can't see getting sneers of derision from the commentariat. Gisella Stuart - Europe Sec. (preferably 'on loan' from Labour rather than as some sort of 'coup') Teresa May - Foreign Sec. Julian Lewis & LORD (General Sir Mike) Jackson - Defence
By the way, I understand DFID actually doesn't spend the bulk of it's budget any more, it's been disbursed to other departments.
Redwood and competent - LOL - rather early to be on the juice?
Redwood is crap at presentation, which has damaged his career. But he's extremely strong on economics. Therefore he shouldn't be Chancellor, but is criminally wasted without a supporting role. Osborne is an economic pygmie by comparison.
Asking Mervyn to help out wouldn't go amiss either.
The Conservative Party has to choose between shafting Hartlepool over ' Immigration ' or shafting the City of London over the Financial Service Passport. It'll shaft Hartlepool. The referendum didn't address this debate. Leave lied about it to win. The big question in UK politics now is whether the Conservative leadership election now faces upto this choice or kicks the can further down the road.
I agree. That's what they will have to do, economically. The pressure they will now be under, from their donors and backers, will be enormous: save the single market, accept Free Movement, fuck Hartlepool. It's a brave Tory PM who says Boo to the City. I can't think of any Tory PM who has ever done it.
But how the F do they sell this monumental U-turn to the British people?
This is another reason May will probably win. Boris is too far down the road, he can't turn back (though he tried in that now-disowned Telegraph piece)
May can sound more authentic, as she was Tepid Remain.
The Tories don't need the Hartlepool voters, they are Labour's problem. Harsh as that sounds, @SouthamObserver was absolutely correct that now we've got the leave vote the WWC voters will go back to being ignored by the mainstream parties. This presents a much bigger problem for Labour than for the Tories though
Yes, the central issue to me has been an inability to take "the people(s)" along on the journey for decades, so they've done it by stealth. The Lisbon Treaty (ex Constitution or the "tidying up exercise" - how I took my revenge last Thursday for that pitiful sneering phrase) is exhibit one for the prosecution. Essentially they've not trusted the people(s) to vote for the "Project" so they have had to be got round. What a miserable prospectus. And yet and yet, if it had been openly articulated and set out and with transparent aims with dates etc and put to a a Europe wide vote I was not necessarily utterly against per se. However, they didn't so personally I felt I was put into a place last Thursday by decades of obfuscation where I had a once in a lifetime decision to meekly go along or rage against the dying light. So I raged.
Why is Osborne on R4 saying we'll have tax rises and spending cuts when he's not going to be CoE in the new HMG set up?
He's stirring.
Some more taxes on the super rich and the likes of Starbucks and Google would not go amiss. The 1% owning more than the other 99% annoys not only left wingers. It's all got very skewed
No idea how to do this in practice, but a new Chancellor could contradict the old one and buy back some Tory support from the middle ground, which will be needed
That statement from Osborne should rule him out of the next Govt. He no longer sets the policy and should not be trying to. The new Chancellor needs to be more positive and avoid a panic budget with further cuts (except in the EU and overseas aid)
Why does anyone need to be positive - surely the very fact of Brexit should have sent the £ and the stock markets soaring. You're the one who is off message.
I never said or expected stock markets or the £ to soar and note that FTSE100 is up on Febuary.
The FTSE 100 is only up on February because the £ has fallen so far and the 75% of revenue FTSE 100 companies get from outside the UK is suddenly worth more. This is basic economics - come on.
250 is currently up close to 3%
Don't confuse the poor boy with facts.
It's bouncing off its 18-mth lows.
Are the facts.
Wow 18 months!!!. So not exactly the collapse we were promised then.
Is this a fair summary of where we are at from a slow learner - me!
1. A majority of those who purport to understand the economics of the situation feel that it would be a disaster for the UK economy to end up without access to the Single Market. In particular because of the importance of the SM to our services industry which is the most successful and key part of our economy.
2. To maintain access to the single market means we have to maintain agreement to freedom of movement of EU people and that EU laws remain supreme.
So no control over immigration and no regaining of sovereignty if we maintain access to the Single Market. Unless we manage to carve out some sort of "special deal"? Which appears extremely unlikely to be achievable.
Broadly that's right, except that we'd still get some regaining of sovereignty (environment, agriculture, fisheries, for example).
A large part of the 'world beating down our door to do business here' was based on our access to the European market of 500million people. If the EU suddenly goes bad then its going to have a huge impact on us. Better to have stayed in and worked to reform it and grown our marketplace.
A dangerous pipe dream. It was never going to be reformed in away that would have suited or helped us. We had 40 years to do that and failed utterly.
World at One – different attitudes in Europe wrt Brexit. Measured and reasonable arguments from Finland's deputy Prime Minister Timo Soini (who is a Millwall fan!). Whereas German CDU acolyte of Merkel – didn't catch his name – expressing dismissive attitude to British interests and obsessing over Farage.
G - "Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, has vowed to fight the next general election, “which could be very soon”, on a pledge to stop Brexit.
Voters deserve the chance to rethink their decision, now the EU debate has moved from the abstract to the visceral, threatening jobs and living standards, he said on a visit to Brussels."
Why is Osborne on R4 saying we'll have tax rises and spending cuts when he's not going to be CoE in the new HMG set up?
He's stirring.
Some more taxes on the super rich and the likes of Starbucks and Google would not go amiss. The 1% owning more than the other 99% annoys not only left wingers. It's all got very skewed
No idea how to do this in practice, but a new Chancellor could contradict the old one and buy back some Tory support from the middle ground, which will be needed
That statement from Osborne should rule him out of the next Govt. He no longer sets the policy and should not be trying to. The new Chancellor needs to be more positive and avoid a panic budget with further cuts (except in the EU and overseas aid)
Why does anyone need to be positive - surely the very fact of Brexit should have sent the £ and the stock markets soaring. You're the one who is off message.
I never said or expected stock markets or the £ to soar and note that FTSE100 is up on Febuary.
The FTSE 100 is only up on February because the £ has fallen so far and the 75% of revenue FTSE 100 companies get from outside the UK is suddenly worth more. This is basic economics - come on.
250 is currently up close to 3%
Don't confuse the poor boy with facts.
It's bouncing off its 18-mth lows.
Are the facts.
Wow 18 months!!!. So not exactly the collapse we were promised then.
People who are saying this is as bad as 2008 need to get their heads examined, in 2008 Sterling was almost at parity with EUR and around the same level as now with USD but the US had lower interest rates and had already ramped up QE while the BoE were jyst getting started.
Is this a fair summary of where we are at from a slow learner - me!
1. A majority of those who purport to understand the economics of the situation feel that it would be a disaster for the UK economy to end up without access to the Single Market. In particular because of the importance of the SM to our services industry which is the most successful and key part of our economy.
2. To maintain access to the single market means we have to maintain agreement to freedom of movement of EU people and that EU laws remain supreme.
So no control over immigration and no regaining of sovereignty if we maintain access to the Single Market. Unless we manage to carve out some sort of "special deal"? Which appears extremely unlikely to be achievable.
Broadly that's right, except that we'd still get some regaining of sovereignty (environment, agriculture, fisheries, for example).
Justice and trade as well, Richard.
And the only laws that would still apply are those related to the single market - less than 10%.
Gove as DPM & a less demanding brief so he can support Boris more. Party Chairman maybe? Leadsom as Chancellor. Redwood Chief Secretary to the Treasury (imagine having a competent Treasury team!). Davis - Home Sec. LORD Longworth - Trade and Industry Sec. Duncan-Smith - special project to implement universal credit - giving him a cabinet post just paints a target on his back for the angry. There's virtually no cabinet post that I can't see getting sneers of derision from the commentariat. Gisella Stuart - Europe Sec. (preferably 'on loan' from Labour rather than as some sort of 'coup') Teresa May - Foreign Sec. Julian Lewis & LORD (General Sir Mike) Jackson - Defence
By the way, I understand DFID actually doesn't spend the bulk of it's budget any more, it's been disbursed to other departments.
Redwood and competent - LOL - rather early to be on the juice?
Redwood is crap at presentation, which has damaged his career. But he's extremely strong on economics. Therefore he shouldn't be Chancellor, but is criminally wasted without a supporting role. Osborne is an economic pygmie by comparison.
Asking Mervyn to help out wouldn't go amiss either.
Ah the Brexpert - different from expert cos he's older and out of date but he's a 'Leaver'.
Just seen Farage speaking at the EU Parliament. Shameful, utterly shameful.
The MP for Clacton should resign the whip.
What's he said now ?
He just insulted a load of MEPs to their faces. Stuff like "you've never had a proper job, never done a days work in your lives".
Even when we're out of the EU, he still represents Britain abroad. He makes us look like complete arseholes.
No wonder they're glad to see the back of us.
You do realise the European Parliament also has French quasi-fascists, Hungarian crypto-fascists, Greek full-on Fascists, numbers of demented German Trots, "Swedish democrats", True Finns, the Austrian Far Right, Italian Ur-Fascists, Geert Wilders' nastier friends, and Daniel Cohn Bendit (I'll let you Google).
The idea the clownish but sometimes quite perceptive Farage marks us out as uniquely unpleasant is quaint. But wrong.
I don't care about the French (etc) looking like arseholes. I do care about our reputation. Farage was rude without being clever. No subtlety. As I say, an embarrassment.
I agree with the smaller point. He should have taken the opportunity to be magnanimous, with just tiny hints of gloating, and some better jokes. Would have been more annoying for the Federalists.
Instead he was boorish and gave them a chance to be boorish back, making the European Parliament look as ridiculous as ever. Perhaps that was Farage's subtle, underlying intention..
He does subtle?
Subtle is when he does 4 pints, 2 bottles of wine and two whiskeys as part of a light lunch...
Sounds about par for the course for some in the City that I have worked with (though they probably would have gone for half a bottle of Port rather than the whiskey). However, they would not have called it a light lunch, just lunch.
The Independent: Nigel Farage warns that Tories are 'backsliding' over immigration and could keep free movement of labour. http://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIw5pSO4yU
Isn't this the Labour nightmare scenario? Tories are generally more comfortable with migration than WWC Labour or UKIP, they keep it in some form with a few token changes to keep our single market membership, this satisfies most Con voters leave or remain. Labour are left either supporting this or arguing for continued EU membership and ignoring the vote to leave. Around 40% of Labour voters were in the leave camp which is 12% on 2015 GE shares, how much of that could UKIP hoover up?
Posh, upper middle-class Tories are fine with immigration much like metropolitan Labour, lower middle-class class Tories in the likes of Essex, the Kent coast and Lincolnshire are as uncomfortable with it as wwc Labour
Comments
What's not to like?
I'm very ambivalent about Osborne. He's been good on sly tactics and awful on execution far too many times.
That's why I suggested we give him an ambassadorial role - he'd be good at that/keep him busy and away from Westminster.
Unsurprisingly, we've tended to dwell on the issues that Brexit raises for us as a country. However, I do think the European exam question is much, much harder and has the potential to do Europe even greater harm in the future.
Other than that, she's palatable. I don't expect her to cross the floor, but she might relish getting stuck into the nuts and bolts of Brexit.
John McTernan on Sky wants David Miliband to lead Labour "to bring back some stardust"
Yes, the central issue to me has been an inability to take "the people(s)" along on the journey for decades, so they've done it by stealth. The Lisbon Treaty (ex Constitution or the "tidying up exercise" - how I took my revenge last Thursday for that pitiful sneering phrase) is exhibit one for the prosecution. Essentially they've not trusted the people(s) to vote for the "Project" so they have had to be got round. What a miserable prospectus. And yet and yet, if it had been openly articulated and set out and with transparent aims with dates etc and put to a a Europe wide vote I was not necessarily utterly against per se. However, they didn't so personally I felt I was put into a place last Thursday by decades of obfuscation where I had a once in a lifetime decision to meekly go along or rage against the dying light. So I raged.
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Voters deserve the chance to rethink their decision, now the EU debate has moved from the abstract to the visceral, threatening jobs and living standards, he said on a visit to Brussels."
He's alive?