'I think local government elections are more significant. They reflect the capacity of parties to campaign strongly in a particular area.'
That used to work for the Lib Dems but after the tuition fee lies it will be a very long time before they are ever trusted again at national level.
Fox jr and fellow students are becoming much more open to the LDs, in part because the fees generation has moved on, and fees are the new normal, but also they feel they have had their revenge in 2015. There is a lot of youth support for the LDs unreserved pro-Remain position and anti-Iraq war too.
It will not be a quick return to parliament, but may not be as far off as it seemed a year ago. Brexit and the seppuko of the Labour Party are having an effect.
Lib Dem revival is not shown by the polls. Lib Dems stuck at 8%.
Don't some of the plans - such as preventing foreigners from owning media outlets in Poland - fall foul of their treaty obligations?
Those changes haven't been made, slap them with single market violations if they are.
What has happened is the Polish government were elected with a majority and decided that the last government had acted without honour by appointing three judges to their constitutional court as they left office. The new government hace blocked their ascent and nominated their own judges who are rather more Eurosceptic. The EU has decided this is the hill it wants to die on.
Thank God we voted Brexit. And still they don't get it.
I hope the Poles rebuke them for so arrogantly pretending to have such powers.
Maybe what we need to do is set up a Commonwealth single market and invite countries like Poland, Denmark etc. to leave the EU and join the Commonwealth.
Alternate history timeline - European nations joining the Commonwealth:
1973 Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Italy, West Germany, 1981 Greece 1986 Spain, Portugal 1990 East Germany and Berlin 1995 Austria, Finland, Sweden 2004 Malta, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia 2007 Bulgaria, Romania 2013 Croatia
If we make the Commonwealth sucessful enough we can all leave the UN and save a fortune and make the Commonwealth games more important than the Olympics.
"“I’m looking at this with an open mind,” Mrs May said. “I think we should be developing the model that suits the United Kingdom and the European Union. Not adopting, necessarily, a model that is on the shelf already.”
Don't some of the plans - such as preventing foreigners from owning media outlets in Poland - fall foul of their treaty obligations?
Those changes haven't been made, slap them with single market violations if they are.
What has happened is the Polish government were elected with a majority and decided that the last government had acted without honour by appointing three judges to their constitutional court as they left office. The new government hace blocked their ascent and nominated their own judges who are rather more Eurosceptic. The EU has decided this is the hill it wants to die on.
Thank God we voted Brexit. And still they don't get it.
I hope the Poles rebuke them for so arrogantly pretending to have such powers.
Maybe what we need to do is set up a Commonwealth single market and invite countries like Poland, Denmark etc. to leave the EU and join the Commonwealth.
Alternate history timeline - European nations joining the Commonwealth:
1973 Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Italy, West Germany, 1981 Greece 1986 Spain, Portugal 1990 East Germany and Berlin 1995 Austria, Finland, Sweden 2004 Malta, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia 2007 Bulgaria, Romania 2013 Croatia
East Germany didn't really join the EU, it joined West Germany. So it wouldn't really have joined the Commonwealth :P
I think Cyprus joined the Commonwealth in 1961 shortly after independence in 1960. Malta likewise in 1964.
In semi-related news the Polish media have been investigating the machete killing and come up with more interesting facts than the useless German media.
1. She wasn't pregnant, she already had children.
2. The man didn't work there but hung around there with a group of other migrants.
"“I’m looking at this with an open mind,” Mrs May said. “I think we should be developing the model that suits the United Kingdom and the European Union. Not adopting, necessarily, a model that is on the shelf already.”
I should of thought that was a statement of bleedin' obvious
Don't some of the plans - such as preventing foreigners from owning media outlets in Poland - fall foul of their treaty obligations?
Those changes haven't been made, slap them with single market violations if they are.
What has happened is the Polish government were elected with a majority and decided that the last government had acted without honour by appointing three judges to their constitutional court as they left office. The new government hace blocked their ascent and nominated their own judges who are rather more Eurosceptic. The EU has decided this is the hill it wants to die on.
Thank God we voted Brexit. And still they don't get it.
I hope the Poles rebuke them for so arrogantly pretending to have such powers.
Maybe what we need to do is set up a Commonwealth single market and invite countries like Poland, Denmark etc. to leave the EU and join the Commonwealth.
Alternate history timeline - European nations joining the Commonwealth:
1973 Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Italy, West Germany, 1981 Greece 1986 Spain, Portugal 1990 East Germany and Berlin 1995 Austria, Finland, Sweden 2004 Malta, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia 2007 Bulgaria, Romania 2013 Croatia
East Germany didn't really join the EU, it joined West Germany. So it wouldn't really have joined the Commonwealth :P
I think Cyprus joined the Commonwealth in 1961 shortly after independence in 1960. Malta likewise in 1964.
Apparently France seriously wanted to join the UK in 1956.
Apparently also Algeria are applying to join the Commonwealth and France are fuming about it
I know its a subsample, but have the Tories ever been more than double Labour (and more than half the SNP(!)) before?
Not quite half the SNP score, but next year's Scottish council elections are going to be fun.
Still can't get over those Scottish YouGov leader ratings from yesterday
Tory fanboys wetting their pants on a subsample
It seems to be pretty much unarguable now that the Tories are the party on the march in Scotland, and are best placed to hoover up the SNP when their arrogance and incompetence finally smashes them on the rocks.
The SNP's current complacency reminds many of SLab's a decade ago. So smug and so stupid.
So the SNP are due a comeuppance in 7-10 years? We can hope I guess.
The unkind might suggest they had a marginal comeuppance only 2 months ago with the loss of their majority ...
Still the most popular party in any individual country of the UK, just really the voting system flatters the Conservatives in Westminster compared to the SNP in Holyrood.
Compare like for like results. The voting system hasn't changed, only the results changed.
Tories went from no majority to a majority under the same voting system. SNP went from a majority to no majority under the same voting system.
Maybe that's because it is alot harder to get a majority under the Holyrood rules ! They're still more popular in Scotland than the Conservatives are UK wide anyway.
Nobody is disputing that. But then no sensible Tories hubristically believe they have an inevitable right to rule for the foreseeable decades even if the opposition were to.get a sensible leader. SNP supporters do seem to believe that.
I would caution any side against hubris.
Things will not change till either or both Labour and Tory become real Scottish parties rather than london regional sockpuppets
Don't some of the plans - such as preventing foreigners from owning media outlets in Poland - fall foul of their treaty obligations?
Those changes haven't been made, slap them with single market violations if they are.
What has happened is the Polish government were elected with a majority and decided that the last government had acted without honour by appointing three judges to their constitutional court as they left office. The new government hace blocked their ascent and nominated their own judges who are rather more Eurosceptic. The EU has decided this is the hill it wants to die on.
Thank God we voted Brexit. And still they don't get it.
I hope the Poles rebuke them for so arrogantly pretending to have such powers.
Maybe what we need to do is set up a Commonwealth single market and invite countries like Poland, Denmark etc. to leave the EU and join the Commonwealth.
Alternate history timeline - European nations joining the Commonwealth:
1973 Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Italy, West Germany, 1981 Greece 1986 Spain, Portugal 1990 East Germany and Berlin 1995 Austria, Finland, Sweden 2004 Malta, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia 2007 Bulgaria, Romania 2013 Croatia
East Germany didn't really join the EU, it joined West Germany. So it wouldn't really have joined the Commonwealth :P
I think Cyprus joined the Commonwealth in 1961 shortly after independence in 1960. Malta likewise in 1964.
Um, yes, you are completely correct - I was just testing you
- all the first bullet point is saying that the new judges must be lawfully selected. That's a process issue.
More importantly, isn't it saying that the previous judges have been unlawfully removed?
It's as if Trump got elected and then tried to remove the Supreme Court judges he didn't like and replace them with his picks.
If it is saying that then that is a process failure which could, I imagine, be cured e.g. by removing the judges lawfully and appointing the replacements lawfully. Even here there is a process by which judges can be removed - even if it is very very rarely used.
If following EU rules is important then this principle must be applied to all EU states equally and not just to those states with governments which the EU Commission doesn't approve of. Unfortunately, as we have seen, some EU states find it very easy indeed to ignore EU rules without so much as a peep from the Commission.
EU law is not equal for all - and this is - or ought to be - a fundamental value.
I think they imply it goes beyond a single point of failure, but is a systematic attempt by the government to pervert the legal institutions in Poland.
As such it's a judgment whether all of it put together constitutes a "systemic threat to the rule of law" The Commission presumably believes the Polish threat to be much greater than any previous case.
The Commission do set out a long list of things they object to here
If I were a Pole I would be worried about this. The EU claims to be an institution that promotes the rule of law and it is a fundamental requirement for membership. So I think it can legitimately be concerned about major lapses amongst member states. At this point it's a case to be answered.
"“I’m looking at this with an open mind,” Mrs May said. “I think we should be developing the model that suits the United Kingdom and the European Union. Not adopting, necessarily, a model that is on the shelf already.”
I should of thought that was a statement of bleedin' obvious
Tell that to all the Brexiters on here who want the EEA option yesterday.
I know its a subsample, but have the Tories ever been more than double Labour (and more than half the SNP(!)) before?
Not quite half the SNP score, but next year's Scottish council elections are going to be fun.
Still can't get over those Scottish YouGov leader ratings from yesterday
Tory fanboys wetting their pants on a subsample
It seems to be pretty much unarguable now that the Tories are the party on the march in Scotland, and are best placed to hoover up the SNP when their arrogance and incompetence finally smashes them on the rocks.
LOL, how delusional can you get and that from a handful of people.
When the SNP's popularity does start to wane -- and it can only defy political gravity for so long -- where do you think SNP votes will go?
Back to a real Scottish Labour party. The clowns will be ousted at some point and a real Scottish Labour party formed.
- all the first bullet point is saying that the new judges must be lawfully selected. That's a process issue.
More importantly, isn't it saying that the previous judges have been unlawfully removed?
It's as if Trump got elected and then tried to remove the Supreme Court judges he didn't like and replace them with his picks.
If it is saying that then that is a process failure which could, I imagine, be cured e.g. by removing the judges lawfully and appointing the replacements lawfully. Even here there is a process by which judges can be removed - even if it is very very rarely used.
If following EU rules is important then this principle must be applied to all EU states equally and not just to those states with governments which the EU Commission doesn't approve of. Unfortunately, as we have seen, some EU states find it very easy indeed to ignore EU rules without so much as a peep from the Commission.
EU law is not equal for all - and this is - or ought to be - a fundamental value.
Because the EU is fundamentally a political project none of us should be surprised that it uses the powers it accrues to pursue political ends.
I note a deplorable rise in the use of four letter anglo-saxon words on this and previous threads, well before the lagershed. Can we please revert to the more inventive words of abuse and response that PB is esteemed for?
Are five letter Anglo-Saxon words permitted? As in Swive Off?
Yes, that is much more like it!
So the lovely Mrs May is a FLOTTILTS or WILS for short......
Glad we've got that sorted then.
I am at a loss to explain the sudden outpouring of sexual desire for Theresa May by pb'ers today.
Some things we're better off not knowing.
I used to think Hattie was rather good looking a decade or two back....
Jezza beats her hands down he is looking all the way back to the '70s.
Serious bit: these terrorist incidents are getting beyond a joke right now.
Under a zero hours contract, an employee is (at least notionally) free to decline any offer of work. If they had a one hour contract, then their employer could use that one hour to guarantee that the worker were compelled to waste their own time.
Don't some of the plans - such as preventing foreigners from owning media outlets in Poland - fall foul of their treaty obligations?
Those changes haven't been made, slap them with single market violations if they are.
What has happened is the Polish government were elected with a majority and decided that the last government had acted without honour by appointing three judges to their constitutional court as they left office. The new government hace blocked their ascent and nominated their own judges who are rather more Eurosceptic. The EU has decided this is the hill it wants to die on.
Thank God we voted Brexit. And still they don't get it.
I hope the Poles rebuke them for so arrogantly pretending to have such powers.
Maybe what we need to do is set up a Commonwealth single market and invite countries like Poland, Denmark etc. to leave the EU and join the Commonwealth.
Alternate history timeline - European nations joining the Commonwealth:
1973 Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Italy, West Germany, 1981 Greece 1986 Spain, Portugal 1990 East Germany and Berlin 1995 Austria, Finland, Sweden 2004 Malta, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia 2007 Bulgaria, Romania 2013 Croatia
East Germany didn't really join the EU, it joined West Germany. So it wouldn't really have joined the Commonwealth :P
I think Cyprus joined the Commonwealth in 1961 shortly after independence in 1960. Malta likewise in 1964.
Apparently France seriously wanted to join the UK in 1956.
Apparently also Algeria are applying to join the Commonwealth and France are fuming about it
Rwanda and Mozambique are two non-former-British Colonies wot joined. Rwanda was German, then Belgian, and Mozambique was Portuguese.
- all the first bullet point is saying that the new judges must be lawfully selected. That's a process issue.
More importantly, isn't it saying that the previous judges have been unlawfully removed?
It's as if Trump got elected and then tried to remove the Supreme Court judges he didn't like and replace them with his picks.
If it is saying that then that is a process failure which could, I imagine, be cured e.g. by removing the judges lawfully and appointing the replacements lawfully. Even here there is a process by which judges can be removed - even if it is very very rarely used.
If following EU rules is important then this principle must be applied to all EU states equally and not just to those states with governments which the EU Commission doesn't approve of. Unfortunately, as we have seen, some EU states find it very easy indeed to ignore EU rules without so much as a peep from the Commission.
EU law is not equal for all - and this is - or ought to be - a fundamental value.
I think they imply it goes beyond a single point of failure, but is a systematic attempt by the government to pervert the legal institutions in Poland.
As such it's a judgment whether all of it put together constitutes a "systemic threat to the rule of law" The Commission presumably believes the Polish threat to be much greater than any previous case.
The Commission do set out a long list of things they object to here
If I were a Pole I would be worried about this. The EU claims to be an institution that promotes the rule of law and it is a fundamental requirement for membership. So I think it can legitimately be concerned about major lapses amongst member states. At this point it's a case to be answered.
And if the Polish people who just elected the government to make these changes think they have gone too far they are free to elect a different government to reverse said changes. Democracy in action. You europhiles disgust me.
It is wrong that it is so hard in the US to convict police officers of misconduct, but cases against at least 4 of the officers in the Freddie Gray incident should never have reached indictment, let alone trial. A classic case of prosecuting for political purposes. Sad, it undermines both the police and the rule of law.
And if the Polish people who just elected the government to make these changes think they have gone too far they are free to elect a different government to reverse said changes. Democracy in action. You europhiles disgust me.
Clearly you don't believe in democracy but in elected dictatorship.
Under a zero hours contract, an employee is (at least notionally) free to decline any offer of work. If they had a one hour contract, then their employer could use that one hour to guarantee that the worker were compelled to waste their own time.
My daughter has worked two zero hours contracts, both of which suited her very well. Exclusive zero hours contracts are terrible, but I believe they've already been banned.
It is wrong that it is so hard in the US to convict police officers of misconduct, but cases against at least 4 of the officers in the Freddie Gray incident should never have reached indictment, let alone trial. A classic case of prosecuting for political purposes. Sad, it undermines both the police and the rule of law.
... Liam Fox wants to be outside the EU customs union and free to negotiate UK terms with non EU countries.
The US says it needs to know which it is before it can start trade talks with the UK. ...
Yes, not much in the way of meaningful negotiation on any trade deals can be done until it becomes clear what the UK-EU relationship is going to be. In the meantime, we can start building relationships and exploring issues, but that's about it.
I know its a subsample, but have the Tories ever been more than double Labour (and more than half the SNP(!)) before?
Not quite half the SNP score, but next year's Scottish council elections are going to be fun.
Still can't get over those Scottish YouGov leader ratings from yesterday
Tory fanboys wetting their pants on a subsample
It seems to be pretty much unarguable now that the Tories are the party on the march in Scotland, and are best placed to hoover up the SNP when their arrogance and incompetence finally smashes them on the rocks.
LOL, how delusional can you get and that from a handful of people.
When the SNP's popularity does start to wane -- and it can only defy political gravity for so long -- where do you think SNP votes will go?
Back to a real Scottish Labour party. The clowns will be ousted at some point and a real Scottish Labour party formed.
Under a zero hours contract, an employee is (at least notionally) free to decline any offer of work. If they had a one hour contract, then their employer could use that one hour to guarantee that the worker were compelled to waste their own time.
My daughter has worked two zero hours contracts, both of which suited her very well. Exclusive zero hours contracts are terrible, but I believe they've already been banned.
Ed's suggestion of a right to a permanent contract of some sort was a more interesting line to consider, although not without its problems.
"Labour leadership hopeful Owen Smith says he would introduce a wealth tax on the richest 1% in society to fund the NHS and tackle inequality in Britain. Mr Smith - who is challenging leader Jeremy Corbyn - said the "equality-busting" move would raise £3bn a year."
Oh dear, desperate confusion here. There is no way the UK will staying the customs union, whatever version of Brexit is chosen. The customs union is one of the most objectionable parts of the EU - all Brexiteers agree on that.
... Liam Fox wants to be outside the EU customs union and free to negotiate UK terms with non EU countries.
The US says it needs to know which it is before it can start trade talks with the UK. ...
Yes, not much in the way of meaningful negotiation on any trade deals can be done until it becomes clear what the UK-EU relationship is going to be. In the meantime, we can start building relationships and exploring issues, but that's about it.
"Yes, hypothetically speaking we'd be happy to offer a trade deal whereby you concede on all the points that are important to us, and in return we'll take good care of your friend Adam."
Oh dear, desperate confusion here. There is no way the UK will staying the customs union, whatever version of Brexit is chosen. The customs union is one of the most objectionable parts of the EU - all Brexiteers agree on that.
There would be no point in leaving if we stayed in the customs union tbh.
Fox is right on this one. Without the right to drop tariffs, we lose most of the economic advantages of leaving while still bearing most of the disadvantages.
"Labour leadership hopeful Owen Smith says he would introduce a wealth tax on the richest 1% in society to fund the NHS and tackle inequality in Britain. Mr Smith - who is challenging leader Jeremy Corbyn - said the "equality-busting" move would raise £3bn a year."
I assume he means "inequality-busting"...!
There is not a hope that a wealth tax would raise that amount. So it is a sense-busting claim
Plus £3billion would make precious little difference to the scale of the problems in the NHS
Oh dear, desperate confusion here. There is no way the UK will staying the customs union, whatever version of Brexit is chosen. The customs union is one of the most objectionable parts of the EU - all Brexiteers agree on that.
Possibly - but it would also presumably mean that Mr Fox's job would disappear? So he isn't perhaps the best person to give an impartial view!
"“I’m looking at this with an open mind,” Mrs May said. “I think we should be developing the model that suits the United Kingdom and the European Union. Not adopting, necessarily, a model that is on the shelf already.”
I should of thought that was a statement of bleedin' obvious
Tell that to all the Brexiters on here who want the EEA option yesterday.
I know, Mr. Glenn. I have been greatly saddened by the number of people on this site (from both sides of the original debate) who chuck around "EEA/EFTA" or "EFTA/EEA" without seemingly having any idea of what either of those two bodies are about, what their rules are or actually anything about either.
To my mind there are two cardinal points.
1. A deal designed for three very small economies (EEA) will obviously not be suitable for the UK. Even Switzerland wouldn't go for it.
2. The UK has to be prepared to walk away from the table and revert to WTO rules. In any negotiation if you are not prepared to walk away then you are not negotiating you are begging. (Personally, I would be happy to go WTO as our default position).
- all the first bullet point is saying that the new judges must be lawfully selected. That's a process issue.
More importantly, isn't it saying that the previous judges have been unlawfully removed?
It's as if Trump got elected and then tried to remove the Supreme Court judges he didn't like and replace them with his picks.
If it is saying that then that is a process failure which could, I imagine, be cured e.g. by removing the judges lawfully and appointing the replacements lawfully. Even here there is a process by which judges can be removed - even if it is very very rarely used.
If following EU rules is important then this principle must be applied to all EU states equally and not just to those states with governments which the EU Commission doesn't approve of. Unfortunately, as we have seen, some EU states find it very easy indeed to ignore EU rules without so much as a peep from the Commission.
EU law is not equal for all - and this is - or ought to be - a fundamental value.
I think they imply it goes beyond a single point of failure, but is a systematic attempt by the government to pervert the legal institutions in Poland.
As such it's a judgment whether all of it put together constitutes a "systemic threat to the rule of law" The Commission presumably believes the Polish threat to be much greater than any previous case.
The Commission do set out a long list of things they object to here
If I were a Pole I would be worried about this. The EU claims to be an institution that promotes the rule of law and it is a fundamental requirement for membership. So I think it can legitimately be concerned about major lapses amongst member states. At this point it's a case to be answered.
And if the Polish people who just elected the government to make these changes think they have gone too far they are free to elect a different government to reverse said changes. Democracy in action. You europhiles disgust me.
Keep your disgust to yourself.
Ultimately Poles and anyone else can do whatever they like. I doubt, actually, they gave their government a mandate to act unconstitutionally and to undermine their own system of justice but that's up to them at the end of the day. But if you are a member of any institution you sign up to the rules. If you don't follow them you are sanctioned or expelled.
Oh dear, desperate confusion here. There is no way the UK will staying the customs union, whatever version of Brexit is chosen. The customs union is one of the most objectionable parts of the EU - all Brexiteers agree on that.
Possibly - but it would also presumably mean that Mr Fox's job would disappear? So he isn't perhaps the best person to give an impartial view!
Just re-read your post and ponder how silly it is.
I know its a subsample, but have the Tories ever been more than double Labour (and more than half the SNP(!)) before?
Not quite half the SNP score, but next year's Scottish council elections are going to be fun.
Still can't get over those Scottish YouGov leader ratings from yesterday
Tory fanboys wetting their pants on a subsample
It seems to be pretty much unarguable now that the Tories are the party on the march in Scotland, and are best placed to hoover up the SNP when their arrogance and incompetence finally smashes them on the rocks.
LOL, how delusional can you get and that from a handful of people.
When the SNP's popularity does start to wane -- and it can only defy political gravity for so long -- where do you think SNP votes will go?
Back to a real Scottish Labour party. The clowns will be ousted at some point and a real Scottish Labour party formed.
Oh dear, desperate confusion here. There is no way the UK will staying the customs union, whatever version of Brexit is chosen. The customs union is one of the most objectionable parts of the EU - all Brexiteers agree on that.
Are there any Irish implications to leaving it?
Cant think why else staying in it would even be suggested
Don't some of the plans - such as preventing foreigners from owning media outlets in Poland - fall foul of their treaty obligations?
Those changes haven't been made, slap them with single market violations if they are.
What has happened is the Polish government were elected with a majority and decided that the last government had acted without honour by appointing three judges to their constitutional court as they left office. The new government hace blocked their ascent and nominated their own judges who are rather more Eurosceptic. The EU has decided this is the hill it wants to die on.
Thank God we voted Brexit. And still they don't get it.
I hope the Poles rebuke them for so arrogantly pretending to have such powers.
Maybe what we need to do is set up a Commonwealth single market and invite countries like Poland, Denmark etc. to leave the EU and join the Commonwealth.
Alternate history timeline - European nations joining the Commonwealth:
1973 Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Italy, West Germany, 1981 Greece 1986 Spain, Portugal 1990 East Germany and Berlin 1995 Austria, Finland, Sweden 2004 Malta, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia 2007 Bulgaria, Romania 2013 Croatia
East Germany didn't really join the EU, it joined West Germany. So it wouldn't really have joined the Commonwealth :P
I think Cyprus joined the Commonwealth in 1961 shortly after independence in 1960. Malta likewise in 1964.
Apparently France seriously wanted to join the UK in 1956.
Apparently also Algeria are applying to join the Commonwealth and France are fuming about it
Rwanda and Mozambique are two non-former-British Colonies wot joined. Rwanda was German, then Belgian, and Mozambique was Portuguese.
Rwanda is an interesting case, which also had very close links to France. However the French connection became tainted during the genocide and the new government set about breaking its historic links with France; joining the Commonwealth was a part of that strategy. They also set about changing the European language in use from French to English (the local language not being spoken anywhere much outside the country). I was there in 2010 when they dramatically changed the language of all teaching in primary schools to English, over the whole country, at the beginning of one term!
Arch prat Piers Morgan has joined the Putin love in:
Piers Morgan @piersmorgan I'd feel very comfortable with a U.S. president who regularly dines with Putin. shina balogun @Govshina @piersmorgan God is on Hillary's side. Mr Trrump is a devil who wants to dine with a dictator like Putin
There would be no point in leaving if we stayed in the customs union tbh.
Depends which compromise you want to make. It might be a way of minimising the economic disruption without having to concede freedom of movement, so from that point of view it could be quite attractive politically.
Not great for services, of course, but you can't have everything.
Ultimately Poles and anyone else can do whatever they like. I doubt, actually, they gave their government a mandate to act unconstitutionally and to undermine their own system of justice but that's up to them at the end of the day. But if you are a member of any institution you sign up to the rules. If you don't follow them you are sanctioned or expelled.
But the point is, the unelected commission have unilaterally decided that Poland are breaking the rules. Who are they to make the decision? As ever, democracy falls by the wayside at the altar of the EU for you europhiles. Thankfully there aren't many of you. Most of the sensible remain types can see the more clearly than ever what the EU is. I think I'll hold all of you in the same contempt that the EU holds for democracy.
Arch prat Piers Morgan has joined the Putin love in:
Piers Morgan @piersmorgan I'd feel very comfortable with a U.S. president who regularly dines with Putin. shina balogun @Govshina @piersmorgan God is on Hillary's side. Mr Trrump is a devil who wants to dine with a dictator like Putin
I like that quote apparently from an unidentified senior FCO official who told a Financial Times journalist to imagine that Piers Morgan had just been appointed editor of the FT, in answer to a question about their reaction to Boris.
Ultimately Poles and anyone else can do whatever they like. I doubt, actually, they gave their government a mandate to act unconstitutionally and to undermine their own system of justice but that's up to them at the end of the day. But if you are a member of any institution you sign up to the rules. If you don't follow them you are sanctioned or expelled.
But the point is, the unelected commission have unilaterally decided that Poland are breaking the rules. Who are they to make the decision? As ever, democracy falls by the wayside at the altar of the EU for you europhiles. Thankfully there aren't many of you. Most of the sensible remain types can see the more clearly than ever what the EU is. I think I'll hold all of you in the same contempt that the EU holds for democracy.
Actually the Commission are saying the Court has ruled against the Polish government and unless Poland respects the Courts decision then the EU could apply sanctions.
Oh dear, desperate confusion here. There is no way the UK will staying the customs union, whatever version of Brexit is chosen. The customs union is one of the most objectionable parts of the EU - all Brexiteers agree on that.
I suspect the customs union, such as Turkey has, is a straw man on the part of Liam Fox. AFAILK no-one serious was suggesting it and it wouldn't be part of an EEA arrangement. So Mr Fox can present it as a totem to be knocked down to show how Macho Brexit he is. Then he can settle on whatever fudge has been agreed by the government.
Alternatively Mr Fox genuinely doesn't know the difference, despite being the man in charge. This too is possible.
"“I’m looking at this with an open mind,” Mrs May said. “I think we should be developing the model that suits the United Kingdom and the European Union. Not adopting, necessarily, a model that is on the shelf already.”
I should of thought that was a statement of bleedin' obvious
Tell that to all the Brexiters on here who want the EEA option yesterday.
I know, Mr. Glenn. I have been greatly saddened by the number of people on this site (from both sides of the original debate) who chuck around "EEA/EFTA" or "EFTA/EEA" without seemingly having any idea of what either of those two bodies are about, what their rules are or actually anything about either.
To my mind there are two cardinal points.
1. A deal designed for three very small economies (EEA) will obviously not be suitable for the UK. Even Switzerland wouldn't go for it.
2. The UK has to be prepared to walk away from the table and revert to WTO rules. In any negotiation if you are not prepared to walk away then you are not negotiating you are begging. (Personally, I would be happy to go WTO as our default position).
Agree completely on both points, especially 2.
Indeed, I think our negotiating stance should be to ask for our absolute maximum, then gauge the EU reaction.
If it is reasonable, then continue negotiating. If, however, it is clear that there is any element of punishing the UK or giving the Eu will only give us something less than Canada got, we should simply walk then and there, leave the EU with immediate effect falling back on WTO rules, and only come back to the negotiating table once reality has sunk in with the EU to negotiate from a tabula rasa something that would make sense to both parties if we'd never been a member.
Are there any Muslim countries that are a - prosperous and successful b - relatively non corrupt
Singapore
Is Singapore Muslim?
No. It's a real melange of religions. If it's anything it's Buddhist. Micro-states don't count, they can be used to prove anything. For example, Luxembourg is an example of a multi-cultural success story with 44.5% immigrants.
Under a zero hours contract, an employee is (at least notionally) free to decline any offer of work. If they had a one hour contract, then their employer could use that one hour to guarantee that the worker were compelled to waste their own time.
My daughter has worked two zero hours contracts, both of which suited her very well. Exclusive zero hours contracts are terrible, but I believe they've already been banned.
I'm 99 % zero hours contracts existed under different names the entirety of my working life.
For a small percentage of the population, they work perfectly well. Even with the numbers being stated, they come to a single figure percentage. And, as said, the more egregious sub-clauses should be monitored.
When Labour decided to run on that and the bedroom tax, you knew they had *nothing* in the locker. Nothing.
Ultimately Poles and anyone else can do whatever they like. I doubt, actually, they gave their government a mandate to act unconstitutionally and to undermine their own system of justice but that's up to them at the end of the day. But if you are a member of any institution you sign up to the rules. If you don't follow them you are sanctioned or expelled.
But the point is, the unelected commission have unilaterally decided that Poland are breaking the rules. Who are they to make the decision? As ever, democracy falls by the wayside at the altar of the EU for you europhiles. Thankfully there aren't many of you. Most of the sensible remain types can see the more clearly than ever what the EU is. I think I'll hold all of you in the same contempt that the EU holds for democracy.
The procedure is set out in the Treaty of Union that Poland is a signatory of. It can't object to the EU following its own procedures in applying the membership rules that Poland has agreed to.
Are there any Muslim countries that are a - prosperous and successful b - relatively non corrupt
Malaysia ?
How successful are they though? I don't see them as part of the G20 for example or am I wrong?
They are forecast to join the developed world based on economic factors in the near term. However, while Muslims are a majority at 60%, it has very sizable Indian and Chinese populations.
Oh dear, desperate confusion here. There is no way the UK will staying the customs union, whatever version of Brexit is chosen. The customs union is one of the most objectionable parts of the EU - all Brexiteers agree on that.
Are there any Irish implications to leaving it?
Cant think why else staying in it would even be suggested
Yes, but the issue is only for goods and people at the land border between NI/EIRE. You could have customs checks for imports for the UK - and all exports - at all ports and airports in both and you can do quite a lot with countries of origin and destination checking at EIRE/UK posts and checking things weren't being illegitimately reexported. Or you treat NI as a special exclave - which it is in many ways already, plenty of UK companies offer deals 'not valid in NI' - and give different powers to the Stormont assembly. You can do benefit and employment checks quite easily in NI and immigration raid and spot checks. You could filter EU and UK passports differently with travel between the island of Ireland and the U.K. Mainland too etc.
I struggle to see how it'd affect capital and services - they already both have different currencies - and it's hard to smuggle an insurance policy.
Oh dear, desperate confusion here. There is no way the UK will staying the customs union, whatever version of Brexit is chosen. The customs union is one of the most objectionable parts of the EU - all Brexiteers agree on that.
I suspect the customs union, such as Turkey has, is a straw man on the part of Liam Fox. AFAILK no-one serious was suggesting it and it wouldn't be part of an EEA arrangement. So Mr Fox can present it as a totem to be knocked down to show how Macho Brexit he is. Then he can settle on whatever fudge has been agreed by the government.
Alternatively Mr Fox genuinely doesn't know the difference, despite being the man in charge. This too is possible.
Well it's certainly true the media don't appear to understand the difference between the EEA and the customs union.
We've been debating this issue for many weeks now and the levels of ignorance remain absolutely staggering.
Oh dear, desperate confusion here. There is no way the UK will staying the customs union, whatever version of Brexit is chosen. The customs union is one of the most objectionable parts of the EU - all Brexiteers agree on that.
I suspect the customs union, such as Turkey has, is a straw man on the part of Liam Fox. AFAILK no-one serious was suggesting it and it wouldn't be part of an EEA arrangement. So Mr Fox can present it as a totem to be knocked down to show how Macho Brexit he is. Then he can settle on whatever fudge has been agreed by the government.
Alternatively Mr Fox genuinely doesn't know the difference, despite being the man in charge. This too is possible.
Yes, Fox is probably pencilling in his 'victories' now, fearful that he will be condemned as May's stooge and a sell-out when he inevitably fails to deliver all the expected red meat. My guess is that what Fox eventually manages to winkle from the EU will make Dave's 'deal' look like the sacking of Carthage in comparison.
Oh dear, desperate confusion here. There is no way the UK will staying the customs union, whatever version of Brexit is chosen. The customs union is one of the most objectionable parts of the EU - all Brexiteers agree on that.
I suspect the customs union, such as Turkey has, is a straw man on the part of Liam Fox. AFAILK no-one serious was suggesting it and it wouldn't be part of an EEA arrangement. So Mr Fox can present it as a totem to be knocked down to show how Macho Brexit he is. Then he can settle on whatever fudge has been agreed by the government.
Alternatively Mr Fox genuinely doesn't know the difference, despite being the man in charge. This too is possible.
Well it's certainly true the media don't appear to understand the difference between the EEA and the customs union.
We've been debating this issue for many weeks now and the levels of ignorance remain absolutely staggering.
The media, aside from a handful of very smart journalists (and it really is a handful), know very little.
Oh dear, desperate confusion here. There is no way the UK will staying the customs union, whatever version of Brexit is chosen. The customs union is one of the most objectionable parts of the EU - all Brexiteers agree on that.
I suspect the customs union, such as Turkey has, is a straw man on the part of Liam Fox. AFAILK no-one serious was suggesting it and it wouldn't be part of an EEA arrangement. So Mr Fox can present it as a totem to be knocked down to show how Macho Brexit he is. Then he can settle on whatever fudge has been agreed by the government.
Alternatively Mr Fox genuinely doesn't know the difference, despite being the man in charge. This too is possible.
Yes, Fox is probably pencilling in his 'victories' now, fearful that he will be condemned as May's stooge and a sell-out when he inevitably fails to deliver all the expected red meat. My guess is that what Fox eventually manages to winkle from the EU will make Dave's 'deal' look like the sacking of Carthage in comparison.
Mr. Runnymede, the ignorance may be enormous, but staggering?
The media still don't know the difference between deficit and debt.
Among the many things I've learned during EUref is that journalists are, for practical purposes, innumerate. Andrew Neil is one honourable exception.
Most journalists are both innumerate, illogical and lazy about background research in my experience. But Andrew Neil always does his background research well.
Fox jr and fellow students are becoming much more open to the LDs, in part because the fees generation has moved on, and fees are the new normal, but also they feel they have had their revenge in 2015. There is a lot of youth support for the LDs unreserved pro-Remain position and anti-Iraq war too. It will not be a quick return to parliament, but may not be as far off as it seemed a year ago. Brexit and the seppuko of the Labour Party are having an effect.
Lib Dem revival is not shown by the polls. Lib Dems stuck at 8%.
But Lib Dems doing well in local government byelections. It shows the local organisation is starting to improve. Opinion polls will follow, never fear.
Whilst I don't wish to give the parliamentary Labour party any advice, I think they should try something else other than to forcibly unseat Corbyn. At the moment they are playing the Conservative's game, badly.
Comments
Lib Dem revival is not shown by the polls. Lib Dems stuck at 8%.
"“I’m looking at this with an open mind,” Mrs May said. “I think we should be developing the model that suits the United Kingdom and the European Union. Not adopting, necessarily, a model that is on the shelf already.”
In semi-related news the Polish media have been investigating the machete killing and come up with more interesting facts than the useless German media.
1. She wasn't pregnant, she already had children.
2. The man didn't work there but hung around there with a group of other migrants.
3. He killed her after she rejected his advances.
Apparently also Algeria are applying to join the Commonwealth and France are fuming about it
As such it's a judgment whether all of it put together constitutes a "systemic threat to the rule of law" The Commission presumably believes the Polish threat to be much greater than any previous case.
The Commission do set out a long list of things they object to here
If I were a Pole I would be worried about this. The EU claims to be an institution that promotes the rule of law and it is a fundamental requirement for membership. So I think it can legitimately be concerned about major lapses amongst member states. At this point it's a case to be answered.
https://twitter.com/youngvulgarian/status/758313023270453248
Serious bit: these terrorist incidents are getting beyond a joke right now.
Under a zero hours contract, an employee is (at least notionally) free to decline any offer of work. If they had a one hour contract, then their employer could use that one hour to guarantee that the worker were compelled to waste their own time.
The non EU Turkey is in the EU customs union which gives it some advantages about access and paperwork in the EU.
However, those inside the custom union have to apply EU tariffs to imports from those countries outside the customs union.
Liam Fox wants to be outside the EU customs union and free to negotiate UK terms with non EU countries.
The US says it needs to know which it is before it can start trade talks with the UK.
See https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/economy/business-regulation/news/77695/no-10-forced-clarify-liam-fox-comments-post-brexit
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36904409
Danny Shaw @DannyShawBBC · 21m21 minutes ago
BREAKING: Misconduct case against 3 policemen accused of racially abusing black firefighter has collapsed 5 years after original incident.
Danny Shaw @DannyShawBBC · 21m21 minutes ago
BBC News has been told that "no evidence" was offered against the 3 policemen after serious problems emerged with the IPCC investigation
https://twitter.com/GodfreyElfwick/status/715164558986518528
Edited extra bit: worth seeing the comment to which he's replying. In Latin, the chap's name would be Betwettius Hangwringius Guardianistar.
I assume he means "inequality-busting"...!
A ban on Russian track & field athletes from #Rio2016 will not be overturned, IAAF president Sebastian Coe has ruled https://t.co/QnHFKuXKTE
Plus £3billion would make precious little difference to the scale of the problems in the NHS
So it is just classic lefty virtue signalling.
To my mind there are two cardinal points.
1. A deal designed for three very small economies (EEA) will obviously not be suitable for the UK. Even Switzerland wouldn't go for it.
2. The UK has to be prepared to walk away from the table and revert to WTO rules. In any negotiation if you are not prepared to walk away then you are not negotiating you are begging. (Personally, I would be happy to go WTO as our default position).
Ultimately Poles and anyone else can do whatever they like. I doubt, actually, they gave their government a mandate to act unconstitutionally and to undermine their own system of justice but that's up to them at the end of the day. But if you are a member of any institution you sign up to the rules. If you don't follow them you are sanctioned or expelled.
At last
Hope he checks his tea...
Cant think why else staying in it would even be suggested
a - prosperous and successful
b - relatively non corrupt
Given there are (at a most) five airports that can claim to serve the capital, that's a wonderfully absurd boast.
Edit - suitcase apparently packed with aerosol cans.
All these security alerts in germany & France, my school boy level foreign languages are improving at a rapid rate.
Piers Morgan @piersmorgan
I'd feel very comfortable with a U.S. president who regularly dines with Putin.
shina balogun @Govshina
@piersmorgan God is on Hillary's side. Mr Trrump is a devil who wants to dine with a dictator like Putin
Not great for services, of course, but you can't have everything.
Alternatively Mr Fox genuinely doesn't know the difference, despite being the man in charge. This too is possible.
Indeed, I think our negotiating stance should be to ask for our absolute maximum, then gauge the EU reaction.
If it is reasonable, then continue negotiating. If, however, it is clear that there is any element of punishing the UK or giving the Eu will only give us something less than Canada got, we should simply walk then and there, leave the EU with immediate effect falling back on WTO rules, and only come back to the negotiating table once reality has sunk in with the EU to negotiate from a tabula rasa something that would make sense to both parties if we'd never been a member.
Singapore is not majority Muslim though. Only 14%. Mostly Buddhist, and Taoist. 10% Christian
For a small percentage of the population, they work perfectly well. Even with the numbers being stated, they come to a single figure percentage. And, as said, the more egregious sub-clauses should be monitored.
When Labour decided to run on that and the bedroom tax, you knew they had *nothing* in the locker. Nothing.
I'm not sure how non-corrupt the country is though, in particular with regard to 1MDB!
I struggle to see how it'd affect capital and services - they already both have different currencies - and it's hard to smuggle an insurance policy.
Solutions can be found to these things.
Chris Mason BBC
Owen Smith accused of 'shameless exploitation' of Orgreave by ex miner John Dunn: https://t.co/YesEgxR6Lw
Latest French atrocity ... "Two young Algerians shot dead leaving Church."
We've been debating this issue for many weeks now and the levels of ignorance remain absolutely staggering.
http://www.itv.com/news/2016-07-27/mcdonalds-to-create-5-000-new-jobs-because-of-brexit/
"London City Airport expansion will create 1,600 airport jobs and potentially add £1.5 billion to the UK economy by 2025."
But blah blah blah Brexit end of the world etc etc etc
It's like Blairites sat round a table and said "We need someone new, someone untainted by government... What about a Welsh Alan Partridge?"
The media still don't know the difference between deficit and debt.
.@realDonaldTrump: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing."
That's why I come here.
Guido cites Deutsche Boerse decision to press ahead with LSE merger.
A deal the FT declared emphatically was 'dead' after Brexit.
A shame about the FT and the economist. Once great publications. Now?