Thanks for the friemndly comments, all. Roger, I think the A50 thing is genuinely difficult,and Remainers need to play it long, aiming to keep the final decision open till the negotiations have actually delivered a deal which peels off some of the Leavers who liked the general idea but dislike the outcome. Not opposing the negotiations in prijnciple but trying to amend it to keep the option of rejection of the outcome opn is the thing to aim for, but difficult.
I do agree that Corbyn needs to identify a few key issues that relate to ordinary people, and he can be thoroughly controversial about them (he will not win votes by trying to seem a centrist). Maximuim wage, nationalise the railways, Crossrail 3 in the north funded by borrowing, and more needed. Putting up tax by 1p for standard and 2p for higher rate to fund the NHS and social care properly would be my favourite - would cause a hell of a fuss but I think significantly more than our current 30% would go for it.
If it wasn't for the Tories trying to pursue a "lets leave Europe and have less trading links than Turkey" approach all of this would be very funny.
Hard Brexit is inevitable, because it is what the EU and key European leaders want. The views of British politicians don't matter. Politicians like Macron and Schulz, who are in a good position to win their respective GEs - are hardly sympathetic to the UK.
For a historical perspective on Britain's current position vis-a-vis Europe, this Vichy-era postcard is rather apt:
The latest German opinion poll £ EMNID ) seems to confirm that there has been a sudden movement over the last week from CDU/CSU to SPD
CDU/CSU 33 minus 4 SPD 29 plus 6 Green 8 minus 2 FDP 6 N/C Linke 8 minus 2 AfD 11 N/C Others 5 plus 2
Changes from last poll 7 days ago
Probably worth a bet on Schulz to win the GE - a double with Macron to win in France as well might have good odds, which are likely to diminish as time goes on. If both win, it would be excellent for Europe and the EU.
The latest German opinion poll £ EMNID ) seems to confirm that there has been a sudden movement over the last week from CDU/CSU to SPD
CDU/CSU 33 minus 4 SPD 29 plus 6 Green 8 minus 2 FDP 6 N/C Linke 8 minus 2 AfD 11 N/C Others 5 plus 2
Changes from last poll 7 days ago
After recent newspaper reports on coin dealers and their "storage solutions" I do earnestly hope you are sitting comfortably as you post on PB !!!!!!!!!
If it wasn't for the Tories trying to pursue a "lets leave Europe and have less trading links than Turkey" approach all of this would be very funny.
Hard Brexit is inevitable, because it is what the EU and key European leaders want. The views of British politicians don't matter. Politicians like Macron and Schulz, who are in a good position to win their respective GEs - are hardly sympathetic to the UK.
For a historical perspective on Britain's current position vis-a-vis Europe, this Vichy-era postcard is rather apt:
Britain really does need to be friendly to the Donald.
Hard Brexit is inevitable if we pursue "our own deal". We won't get a deal. The EU leaders are stubborn but they aren't blind. They can see the increasing unpopularity of the EU in France and Germany and Austria and Hungary and Spain and Italy to say nothing of Greece. The UK will need to be punished as a statement to deter others from also wanting to tap out.
But there is an alternative. Rejoin the European Free Trade Association. Then we don't need a deal, we just become a signatory of an existing treaty.
"Ah but what about migration" I hear some people saying. The elephant in the room remains the intra-Irish border. We will have an open land border between the EU and the UK regardless of what we do. ROI can't stop free movement. People will be able to walk into the UK as they do now. We can't stop free movement in the UK. The black economy will continue to hoover up workers after Brexit as they do now - more so if hard Brexit collapses trade due to having no deal with anyone as seems likely.
So what about migration? We have an open border. We will still have an open border. Migration simply is, like the sun rising in the morning.
Last week Bayrou published his latest epic, Resolution Francais, and was widely expected to announce his Presidential intentions.
He did not.
Instead he's said that he'll make an announcement in mid-February. There is a (blatantly artificial) attempt to create a snowball effect asking for his candidacy, with a group of celebrities writing a letter. The plan is that this will follow through into another... and another...
I'm sceptical. His book seems to have been met with a big 'meh', by the population at large, and there have been just five reviews of it on Amazon.fr.
I think he's thinking long and hard, right now. Does he want to stand and end up in perhaps sixth position, or does he endorse Fillon or Macron, and possibly get a plum ministry in return? Before the scandal, there were lots of photos of him and Fillon together. But the worst possible outcome for Bayrou would be to pull out and back someone who doesn't make the second round.
Re Macron, that's certainly not true. I met with Macron about a year ago, and he was very clear that an EEA type arrangement was on the cards if the UK wanted it. Indeed, he was pretty sympathetic to the British point of view, and regarded us a key world ally, whatever our differences regarding the direction of the EU.
If it wasn't for the Tories trying to pursue a "lets leave Europe and have less trading links than Turkey" approach all of this would be very funny.
Hard Brexit is inevitable, because it is what the EU and key European leaders want. The views of British politicians don't matter. Politicians like Macron and Schulz, who are in a good position to win their respective GEs - are hardly sympathetic to the UK.
For a historical perspective on Britain's current position vis-a-vis Europe, this Vichy-era postcard is rather apt:
Britain really does need to be friendly to the Donald.
Hard Brexit is inevitable if we pursue "our own deal". We won't get a deal. The EU leaders are stubborn but they aren't blind. They can see the increasing unpopularity of the EU in France and Germany and Austria and Hungary and Spain and Italy to say nothing of Greece. The UK will need to be punished as a statement to deter others from also wanting to tap out.
But there is an alternative. Rejoin the European Free Trade Association. Then we don't need a deal, we just become a signatory of an existing treaty.
"Ah but what about migration" I hear some people saying. The elephant in the room remains the intra-Irish border. We will have an open land border between the EU and the UK regardless of what we do. ROI can't stop free movement. People will be able to walk into the UK as they do now. We can't stop free movement in the UK. The black economy will continue to hoover up workers after Brexit as they do now - more so if hard Brexit collapses trade due to having no deal with anyone as seems likely.
So what about migration? We have an open border. We will still have an open border. Migration simply is, like the sun rising in the morning.
The solution in Ireland is simple in the long-term - it is a united Ireland. Hopefully, progress towards this will be facilitated if the despicable Arlene Foster and her party do badly in the forthcoming NI assembly election. The EU should insist on a hard border which might force the issue.
If it wasn't for the Tories trying to pursue a "lets leave Europe and have less trading links than Turkey" approach all of this would be very funny.
Hard Brexit is inevitable, because it is what the EU and key European leaders want. The views of British politicians don't matter. Politicians like Macron and Schulz, who are in a good position to win their respective GEs - are hardly sympathetic to the UK.
For a historical perspective on Britain's current position vis-a-vis Europe, this Vichy-era postcard is rather apt:
Britain really does need to be friendly to the Donald.
Hard Brexit is inevitable if we pursue "our own deal". We won't get a deal. The EU leaders are stubborn but they aren't blind. They can see the increasing unpopularity of the EU in France and Germany and Austria and Hungary and Spain and Italy to say nothing of Greece. The UK will need to be punished as a statement to deter others from also wanting to tap out.
But there is an alternative. Rejoin the European Free Trade Association. Then we don't need a deal, we just become a signatory of an existing treaty.
"Ah but what about migration" I hear some people saying. The elephant in the room remains the intra-Irish border. We will have an open land border between the EU and the UK regardless of what we do. ROI can't stop free movement. People will be able to walk into the UK as they do now. We can't stop free movement in the UK. The black economy will continue to hoover up workers after Brexit as they do now - more so if hard Brexit collapses trade due to having no deal with anyone as seems likely.
So what about migration? We have an open border. We will still have an open border. Migration simply is, like the sun rising in the morning.
The solution in Ireland is simple in the long-term - it is a united Ireland. Hopefully, progress towards this will be facilitated if the despicable Arlene Foster and her party do badly in the forthcoming NI assembly election. The EU should insist on a hard border which might force the issue.
Northern Irish public opinion favours staying in the UK.
The Guardian was the sole English newspaper to cover in some detail the social and economic problems of the US Midwest over the last 18 months. It has a commitment to serious journalism - whatever you think of its editorial politics. We are very lucky still to have in this country a press which is not completely polarised and unmoored from reality.
The fact Abbott opposes triggering Article 50 is not the same thing as saying she has abandoned Corbyn and unless we get polling showing the Labour membership are abandoning him he remains safe
The solution in Ireland is simple in the long-term - it is a united Ireland. Hopefully, progress towards this will be facilitated if the despicable Arlene Foster and her party do badly in the forthcoming NI assembly election. The EU should insist on a hard border which might force the issue.
I suspect "simple in the long term" and "united Ireland" are mutually exclusive descriptors...
If it wasn't for the Tories trying to pursue a "lets leave Europe and have less trading links than Turkey" approach all of this would be very funny.
Hard Brexit is inevitable, because it is what the EU and key European leaders want. The views of British politicians don't matter. Politicians like Macron and Schulz, who are in a good position to win their respective GEs - are hardly sympathetic to the UK.
For a historical perspective on Britain's current position vis-a-vis Europe, this Vichy-era postcard is rather apt:
Britain really does need to be friendly to the Donald.
Hard Brexit is inevitable if we pursue "our own deal". We won't get a deal. The EU leaders are stubborn but they aren't blind. They can see the increasing unpopularity of the EU in France and Germany and Austria and Hungary and Spain and Italy to say nothing of Greece. The UK will need to be punished as a statement to deter others from also wanting to tap out.
But there is an alternative. Rejoin the European Free Trade Association. Then we don't need a deal, we just become a signatory of an existing treaty.
"Ah but what about migration" I hear some people saying. The elephant in the room remains the intra-Irish border. We will have an open land border between the EU and the UK regardless of what we do. ROI can't stop free movement. People will be able to walk into the UK as they do now. We can't stop free movement in the UK. The black economy will continue to hoover up workers after Brexit as they do now - more so if hard Brexit collapses trade due to having no deal with anyone as seems likely.
So what about migration? We have an open border. We will still have an open border. Migration simply is, like the sun rising in the morning.
The solution in Ireland is simple in the long-term - it is a united Ireland. Hopefully, progress towards this will be facilitated if the despicable Arlene Foster and her party do badly in the forthcoming NI assembly election. The EU should insist on a hard border which might force the issue.
Northern Irish public opinion favours staying in the UK.
With current arrangements, yes. But if the choice is between staying in the UK with a hard border across Ulster, and a united Ireland with the financial benefits accruing from continued membership of the EU, views might be different. Hard Brexit doesn't sit well with current arrangements for the 6 counties.
Hamon now in to 21 (backed him at 80 thanks to David Herdson's excellent tip). Time to cash out?
I think Le Pen beats Hamon in the second round, so 20s is probably about right. Indeed, I'd argue it's probably 8- or 10-1 that Hamon passes both Fillon and Macron, and then 2- or 3-1 against Le Pen.
The latest German opinion poll £ EMNID ) seems to confirm that there has been a sudden movement over the last week from CDU/CSU to SPD
CDU/CSU 33 minus 4 SPD 29 plus 6 Green 8 minus 2 FDP 6 N/C Linke 8 minus 2 AfD 11 N/C Others 5 plus 2
Changes from last poll 7 days ago
Probably worth a bet on Schulz to win the GE - a double with Macron to win in France as well might have good odds, which are likely to diminish as time goes on. If both win, it would be excellent for Europe and the EU.
Schulz will likely be Deputy Chancellor anyway but it makes little difference to the EU whether Macron, Fillon or Hamon or Merkel or Schulz or indeed Rutte win or to Brexit as all back the EU and the Euro and free movement being non negotiations for full single market membership. Only if Wilders Le Pen and the AfD win will the EU be really under threat combined with strong support for Brexit
Last week Bayrou published his latest epic, Resolution Francais, and was widely expected to announce his Presidential intentions.
He did not.
Instead he's said that he'll make an announcement in mid-February. There is a (blatantly artificial) attempt to create a snowball effect asking for his candidacy, with a group of celebrities writing a letter. The plan is that this will follow through into another... and another...
I'm sceptical. His book seems to have been met with a big 'meh', by the population at large, and there have been just five reviews of it on Amazon.fr.
I think he's thinking long and hard, right now. Does he want to stand and end up in perhaps sixth position, or does he endorse Fillon or Macron, and possibly get a plum ministry in return? Before the scandal, there were lots of photos of him and Fillon together. But the worst possible outcome for Bayrou would be to pull out and back someone who doesn't make the second round.
It will be very interesting to see what he does.
I read an article in the past few days where Bayrou was quoted as saying he would not be voting for Fillon because he could not support some of his policies. (That could be an excuse for wanting to distance himself from someone tainted with the current scandal)
He is also on record as saying in the past that if Juppe won the Primary, he would not run and he would support Juppe's bid.
I think he is holding fire, waiting to see if Juppe replaces Fillon.
If Bayrou announces he is running over the next few days, I would take it as a sign that Juppe is not gonna be replacing Fillon.
It's a point I made a while ago. Trump could be the best friend the centre-left in Europe has. Ditto with Tory Hard Brexit for the moderate centre-left in the UK; though it looks like the reality of Trump is going to temper that anyway.
To get back from this site's preoccupation with the EU and Labour's internal wranglings, happy birthday, Nick P.
I'm just over a decade behind you and the issue of how, when and on what basis people should transition from a life predominately based around a single (or more than one) job to a life where work plays none or a very small part is a huge challenge and transforming that experience into something more positive would be far more transformational for us as a society than any of the nonsense being peddled around A50 and leaving the EU.
At a Conference I attended the other day, one speaker spoke of the virtues of the multi-generational workplace and it is now emerging as youngsters forego University in favour of employment and older people choose (or are forced) to work longer.
That's not without issues as much younger managers need particular skills and empathy to manage older staff. My current Manager is half my age and it's not without some tensions.
As for retirement itself, the notion of a phased approach to leaving work has merits though it requires organisations to re-think how they are resourced. Often, it has to be said, when an older staff member goes, the younger replacement is often hired at a lower salary and expected to do more hoping youthful exuberance will offset any notion of a loss of status.
If people want to work, let them would be the obvious notion. If they want to work less, let them work less. There is in my organisation a cat's cradle of part-timers, job sharers and the like. The notion of job sharing is one which I think has merits.
Though it may seem counter intuitive, providing incentives for charities and other organisations to hire older staff on a part time might be helpful and there's more than enough potential for community-based activities and small volunteering groups.
The retirement "industry" is huge and could be contributing to phased or gradual retirement schemes to help those who want to ease out of work but can't make the financial sacrifice. It's a huge idea and full of potential for those with radical ideas.
If it wasn't for the Tories trying to pursue a "lets leave Europe and have less trading links than Turkey" approach all of this would be very funny.
Hard Brexit is inevitable, because it is what the EU and key European leaders want. The views of British politicians don't matter. Politicians like Macron and Schulz, who are in a good position to win their respective GEs - are hardly sympathetic to the UK.
For a historical perspective on Britain's current position vis-a-vis Europe, this Vichy-era postcard is rather apt:
Britain really does need to be friendly to the Donald.
Hard Brexit is inevitable if we pursue "our own deal". We won't get a deal. The EU leaders are stubborn but they aren't blind. They can see the increasing unpopularity of the EU in France and Germany and Austria and Hungary and Spain and Italy to say nothing of Greece. The UK will need to be punished as a statement to deter others from also wanting to tap out.
But there is an alternative. Rejoin the European Free Trade Association. Then we don't need a deal, we just become a signatory of an existing treaty.
"Ah but what about migration" I hear some people saying. The elephant in the room remains the intra-Irish border. We will have an open land border between the EU and the UK regardless of what we do. ROI can't stop free movement. People will be able to walk into the UK as they do now. We can't stop free movement in the UK. The black economy will continue to hoover up workers after Brexit as they do now - more so if hard Brexit collapses trade due to having no deal with anyone as seems likely.
So what about migration? We have an open border. We will still have an open border. Migration simply is, like the sun rising in the morning.
The solution in Ireland is simple in the long-term - it is a united Ireland. Hopefully, progress towards this will be facilitated if the despicable Arlene Foster and her party do badly in the forthcoming NI assembly election. The EU should insist on a hard border which might force the issue.
No it isn't as loyalist paramilitaries would just become more prominent instead of the IRA. The present power sharing system is the best solution for now and the biggest gainers in current polls are the UUP and non sectarian Alliance
If it wasn't for the Tories trying to pursue a "lets leave Europe and have less trading links than Turkey" approach all of this would be very funny.
Hard Brexit is inevitable, because it is what the EU and key European leaders want. The views of British politicians don't matter. Politicians like Macron and Schulz, who are in a good position to win their respective GEs - are hardly sympathetic to the UK.
For a historical perspective on Britain's current position vis-a-vis Europe, this Vichy-era postcard is rather apt:
Britain really does need to be friendly to the Donald.
Hard Brexit is inevitable if we pursue "our own deal". We won't get a deal. The EU leaders are stubborn but they aren't blind. They can see the increasing unpopularity of the EU in France and Germany and Austria and Hungary and Spain and Italy to say nothing of Greece. The UK will need to be punished as a statement to deter others from also wanting to tap out.
But there is an alternative. Rejoin the European Free Trade Association. Then we don't need a deal, we just become a signatory of an existing treaty.
"Ah but what about migration" I hear some people saying. The elephant in the room remains the intra-Irish border. We will have an open land border between the EU and the UK regardless of what we do. ROI can't stop free movement. People will be able to walk into the UK as they do now. We can't stop free movement in the UK. The black economy will continue to hoover up workers after Brexit as they do now - more so if hard Brexit collapses trade due to having no deal with anyone as seems likely.
So what about migration? We have an open border. We will still have an open border. Migration simply is, like the sun rising in the morning.
The solution in Ireland is simple in the long-term - it is a united Ireland. Hopefully, progress towards this will be facilitated if the despicable Arlene Foster and her party do badly in the forthcoming NI assembly election. The EU should insist on a hard border which might force the issue.
Northern Irish public opinion favours staying in the UK.
With current arrangements, yes. But if the choice is between staying in the UK with a hard border across Ulster, and a united Ireland with the financial benefits accruing from continued membership of the EU, views might be different. Hard Brexit doesn't sit well with current arrangements for the 6 counties.
In purely financial terms, UK membership benefits them far more than EU membership does. But, finance is not the only issue, here.
If it wasn't for the Tories trying to pursue a "lets leave Europe and have less trading links than Turkey" approach all of this would be very funny.
Hard Brexit is inevitable, because it is what the EU and key European leaders want. The views of British politicians don't matter. Politicians like Macron and Schulz, who are in a good position to win their respective GEs - are hardly sympathetic to the UK.
For a historical perspective on Britain's current position vis-a-vis Europe, this Vichy-era postcard is rather apt:
Britain really does need to be friendly to the Donald.
Hard Brexit is inevitable if we pursue "our own deal". We won't get a deal. The EU leaders are stubborn but they aren't blind. They can see the increasing unpopularity of the EU in France and Germany and Austria and Hungary and Spain and Italy to say nothing of Greece. The UK will need to be punished as a statement to deter others from also wanting to tap out.
But there is an alternative. Rejoin the European Free Trade Association. Then we don't need a deal, we just become a signatory of an existing treaty.
"Ah but what about migration" I hear some people saying. The elephant in the room remains the intra-Irish border. We will have an open land border between the EU and the UK regardless of what we do. ROI can't stop free movement. People will be able to walk into the UK as they do now. We can't stop free movement in the UK. The black economy will continue to hoover up workers after Brexit as they do now - more so if hard Brexit collapses trade due to having no deal with anyone as seems likely.
So what about migration? We have an open border. We will still have an open border. Migration simply is, like the sun rising in the morning.
The solution in Ireland is simple in the long-term - it is a united Ireland. Hopefully, progress towards this will be facilitated if the despicable Arlene Foster and her party do badly in the forthcoming NI assembly election. The EU should insist on a hard border which might force the issue.
The EU forcing a hard border is the type of attitude that allowed BREXIT to win. The British armed forces couldn't enforce a "hard border" during "the troubles" so the EU would surely fail miserably unless of course they consult The Donald on wall building.
The world sobbed hot tears of woe and grief when Donald Trump was sworn in as US president two weeks ago. So long the land of the free, now subsumed by the nefarious, neoliberal forces of corporate postfascism. Not since the 1930s has the Western world been cast into such a squalid quagmire of sheer horror. It’s just like the return of the Third Reich: Hitler. Mussolini. Sauron. Voldemort. Skeletor. Mr Bronson.
This bigoted demagogue. This abnormal dictator. He’s unleashed a blood-curdling torrent of post-truth hatred with his so-called Muslim ban, whipping up Islamophobia among the neo-right, who are the exact mirror-image and exact moral equivalent of ISIS. One can only tremble at the chilling historical parallels: Kristallnacht. Guernica. The Leeds United season of 1974-75.
How different things used to be. Recall previous ‘normal’ presidents. Remember how the progressive President Obama bombed Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. Recall how previous presidents also intervened in most of these countries, and the Balkans, Sudan and Rwanda. And don’t forget Vietnam, El Salvador, Panama, Grenada, etc, etc. Last year alone, with the compassionate Obama at the helm, the United States dropped over 26,000 well-meaning bombs on brown people.
Alas. These days are gone. They seem a lifetime ago now. Welcome to the utterly new, terrifying ‘post-truth’ world of 2017, and its abnormal president. PS: Hitler.
If it wasn't for the Tories trying to pursue a "lets leave Europe and have less trading links than Turkey" approach all of this would be very funny.
Hard Brexit is inevitable, because it is what the EU and key European leaders want. The views of British politicians don't matter. Politicians like Macron and Schulz, who are in a good position to win their respective GEs - are hardly sympathetic to the UK.
For a historical perspective on Britain's current position vis-a-vis Europe, this Vichy-era postcard is rather apt:
Britain really does need to be friendly to the Donald.
Hard Brexit is inevitable if we pursue "our own deal". We won't get a deal. The EU leaders are stubborn but they aren't blind. They can see the increasing unpopularity of the EU in France and Germany and Austria and Hungary and Spain and Italy to say nothing of Greece. The UK will need to be punished as a statement to deter others from also wanting to tap out.
But there is an alternative. Rejoin the European Free Trade Association. Then we don't need a deal, we just become a signatory of an existing treaty.
"Ah but what about migration" I hear some people saying. The elephant in the room remains the intra-Irish border. We will have an open land border between the EU and the UK regardless of what we do. ROI can't stop free movement. People will be able to walk into the UK as they do now. We can't stop free movement in the UK. The black economy will continue to hoover up workers after Brexit as they do now - more so if hard Brexit collapses trade due to having no deal with anyone as seems likely.
So what about migration? We have an open border. We will still have an open border. Migration simply is, like the sun rising in the morning.
The solution in Ireland is simple in the long-term - it is a united Ireland. Hopefully, progress towards this will be facilitated if the despicable Arlene Foster and her party do badly in the forthcoming NI assembly election. The EU should insist on a hard border which might force the issue.
No it isn't as loyalist paramilitaries would just become more prominent instead of the IRA. The present power sharing system is the best solution for now and the biggest gainers in current polls are the UUP and non sectarian Alliance
An intermediate solution might be the 6 counties remaining within the UK with the current administrative arrangements, together with free movement on the island of Ireland, but travel between Great Britain and Ireland (north and south) subject to identity checks for all.
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
If it wasn't for the Tories trying to pursue a "lets leave Europe and have less trading links than Turkey" approach all of this would be very funny.
Hard Brexit is inevitable, because it is what the EU and key European leaders want. The views of British politicians don't matter. Politicians like Macron and Schulz, who are in a good position to win their respective GEs - are hardly sympathetic to the UK.
For a historical perspective on Britain's current position vis-a-vis Europe, this Vichy-era postcard is rather apt:
Hard Brexit is inevitable if we pursue "our own deal". We won't get a deal. The EU leaders are stubborn but they aren't blind. They can see the increasing unpopularity of the EU in France and Germany and Austria and Hungary and Spain and Italy to say nothing of Greece. The UK will need to be punished as a statement to deter others from also wanting to tap out.
But there is an alternative. Rejoin the European Free Trade Association. Then we don't need a deal, we just become a signatory of an existing treaty.
"Ah but what about migration" I hear some people saying. The elephant in the room remains the intra-Irish border. We will have an open land border between the EU and the UK regardless of what we do. ROI can't stop free movement. People will be able to walk into the UK as they do now. We can't stop free movement in the UK. The black economy will continue to hoover up workers after Brexit as they do now - more so if hard Brexit collapses trade due to having no deal with anyone as seems likely.
So what about migration? We have an open border. We will still have an open border. Migration simply is, like the sun rising in the morning.
The solution in Ireland is simple in the long-term - it is a united Ireland. Hopefully, progress towards this will be facilitated if the despicable Arlene Foster and her party do badly in the forthcoming NI assembly election. The EU should insist on a hard border which might force the issue.
No it isn't as loyalist paramilitaries would just become more prominent instead of the IRA. The present power sharing system is the best solution for now and the biggest gainers in current polls are the UUP and non sectarian Alliance
An intermediate solution might be the 6 counties remaining within the UK with the current administrative arrangements, together with free movement on the island of Ireland, but travel between Great Britain and Ireland (north and south) subject to identity checks for all.
An intermediate solution might be the 6 counties remaining within the UK with the current administrative arrangements, together with free movement on the island of Ireland, but travel between Great Britain and Ireland (north and south) subject to identity checks for all.
That was the solution during the second world war.
Non-story. A three hour wait isn't unusual and I doubt he was treated any differently as he would have been under the Obama regime.
That doesn't make it non story and I must have been to the States over 40 times and I've never been kept waiting for three hours.
I've regularly had 1+ hours in the main queue and if you are sent to secondary screening (as he probably was) it'a at least another 2 hours. I once missed a connecting flight because some ditz thought that "catch up with" meant "consult with"
Also why "humiliated"? I was certainly "irritated" and "frustrated" but not "humiliated" - either the press is exagerrating or he is a very weak-willed individual. I suspect it isn't the latter...
For the same reason various ethic minorities don't like stop and search.
If there are abuses then the perpetrators should be disciplined. But it sounds like he was sent for secondary screening because he had an Iraq stamp in his passport. Without evidence to the contrary that seems reasonable application of the rules
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
All the better in betting terms. To put it mildly I don't share her views but she is articulate and capable of putting vaguely coherent sentences together. This really makes her stand out in the revolving door that is the Shadow Cabinet.
An intermediate solution might be the 6 counties remaining within the UK with the current administrative arrangements, together with free movement on the island of Ireland, but travel between Great Britain and Ireland (north and south) subject to identity checks for all.
That was the solution during the second world war.
Wouldn't that require a treaty change, and also legislation in the UK?
If it wasn't for the Tories trying to pursue a "lets leave Europe and have less trading links than Turkey" approach all of this would be very funny.
Hard Brexit is inevitable if we pursue "our own deal". We won't get a deal. The EU leaders are stubborn but they aren't blind. They can see the increasing unpopularity of the EU in France and Germany and Austria and Hungary and Spain and Italy to say nothing of Greece. The UK will need to be punished as a statement to deter others from also wanting to tap out.
But there is an alternative. Rejoin the European Free Trade Association. Then we don't need a deal, we just become a signatory of an existing treaty.
"Ah but what about migration" I hear some people saying. The elephant in the room remains the intra-Irish border. We will have an open land border between the EU and the UK regardless of what we do. ROI can't stop free movement. People will be able to walk into the UK as they do now. We can't stop free movement in the UK. The black economy will continue to hoover up workers after Brexit as they do now - more so if hard Brexit collapses trade due to having no deal with anyone as seems likely.
So what about migration? We have an open border. We will still have an open border. Migration simply is, like the sun rising in the morning.
The solution in Ireland is simple in the long-term - it is a united Ireland. Hopefully, progress towards this will be facilitated if the despicable Arlene Foster and her party do badly in the forthcoming NI assembly election. The EU should insist on a hard border which might force the issue.
No it isn't as loyalist paramilitaries would just become more prominent instead of the IRA. The present power sharing system is the best solution for now and the biggest gainers in current polls are the UUP and non sectarian Alliance
An intermediate solution might be the 6 counties remaining within the UK with the current administrative arrangements, together with free movement on the island of Ireland, but travel between Great Britain and Ireland (north and south) subject to identity checks for all.
It would be easy enough to stop commercial vehicles while allowing people to move freely across the border that's not the issue.
The other confusing thing is the EU definition of "Freedom of Movement" doesn't mean to be allowed into a country - it means to be allowed an NI number, NHS treatment, education and benefits the same as a British person. That's a big difference, and policing the border itself shouldn't have to be too severe whatever the arrangement as we leave the EU.
An intermediate solution might be the 6 counties remaining within the UK with the current administrative arrangements, together with free movement on the island of Ireland, but travel between Great Britain and Ireland (north and south) subject to identity checks for all.
That was the solution during the second world war.
Wouldn't that require a treaty change, and also legislation in the UK?
This would be a change between two members of the Common Travel Area, nothing to do with Schengen or the EU. I think a bigger issue is how the Unionists in Northern Ireland would take it.
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
Why wouldn't Thornberry ?
She's clearly not the hardest of left, her delivery has improved alot and quite honestly she's no worse than any of the other contenders. I think she'd get the nominations if she wanted them - though I think she is more likely to be Lewis' CoTE.
Who would have predicted that, in the aftermath of the EU referendum, there would be a united Tory party (Ken Clarke excepted) and a split down the middle Labour Party? Rather amusing all the same.
Who'd have thought the result of the referendum would be to leave? But for Labour I think the splits on Europe are just one symptom of a bigger problem. I have never known the public faces of the party to be so uniformly unimpressive. But given that no bright young person who is pro the EU will be joining the Tories for a few years, that might be something that sorts itself out fairly quickly.
Non-story. A three hour wait isn't unusual and I doubt he was treated any differently as he would have been under the Obama regime.
That doesn't make it non story and I must have been to the States over 40 times and I've never been kept waiting for three hours.
I've regularly had 1+ hours in the main queue and if you are sent to secondary screening (as he probably was) it'a at least another 2 hours. I once missed a connecting flight because some ditz thought that "catch up with" meant "consult with"
Also why "humiliated"? I was certainly "irritated" and "frustrated" but not "humiliated" - either the press is exagerrating or he is a very weak-willed individual. I suspect it isn't the latter...
For the same reason various ethic minorities don't like stop and search.
If there are abuses then the perpetrators should be disciplined. But it sounds like he was sent for secondary screening because he had an Iraq stamp in his passport. Without evidence to the contrary that seems reasonable application of the rules
I think it's fair to say that the airlines of the Middle East are confused as hell and have lots of unhappy customers. The guidance seems to change every day, and with every update they say they can't rely on it and it it's subject to change.
Whatever one thinks of the policy of vetting immigrants from countries where there are problems with terrorism, it's not in doubt that the way this has been implemented and communicated is utterly shambolic.
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
All the better in betting terms. To put it mildly I don't share her views but she is articulate and capable of putting vaguely coherent sentences together. This really makes her stand out in the revolving door that is the Shadow Cabinet.
I'd be surprised if many from the shadow cabinet stood in the next leadership election. Maybe Thornberry, maybe Starmer. Plus Lewis and perhaps Nandy.
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
Why wouldn't Thornberry ?
She's clearly not the hardest of left, her delivery has improved alot and quite honestly she's no worse than any of the other contenders. I think she'd get the nominations if she wanted them - though I think she is more likely to be Lewis' CoTE.
I agree. She's like Theresa May with the poker removed from her backside. Good choice
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
All the better in betting terms. To put it mildly I don't share her views but she is articulate and capable of putting vaguely coherent sentences together. This really makes her stand out in the revolving door that is the Shadow Cabinet.
I'd be surprised if many from the shadow cabinet stood in the next leadership election. Maybe Thornberry, maybe Starmer. Plus Lewis and perhaps Nandy.
I'd be equally surprised if any of those sitting in their tents outside the Shadow Cabinet stood. The membership who decide have made their views of them very clear. They need to find something more productive to do and to be fair some of them have already.
I can see a people solution for Ireland, which maintains aspects of the CTA, but also allows Ireland to join Schengen. Currently anyone born in the island of Ireland, I believe, can claim Irish citizenship. Ireland could extend this citizenship to anyone in the north with a residency that would qualify for Irish citizenship in the south. Irish citizens can travel freely in the EU. The UK would allow free entry to any Irish citizen or resident that meets certain qualifications. The UK and Ireland would jointly decide on those qualifications and Ireland would endorse individual passports accordingly.
Trade is more problematic, but I could see the EU accepting a border agreement that covered all of Northern Ireland.
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
All the better in betting terms. To put it mildly I don't share her views but she is articulate and capable of putting vaguely coherent sentences together. This really makes her stand out in the revolving door that is the Shadow Cabinet.
I'd be surprised if many from the shadow cabinet stood in the next leadership election. Maybe Thornberry, maybe Starmer. Plus Lewis and perhaps Nandy.
Thornbury .........Council estate girl made good; what’s not to like?
Lewis ......... another child of the council estate, ex army, served in Afghanistan; what’s not to like.
UK position as broker between US & Europe made more difficult by Brexit.
And Trump, of course. Claiming to be able to act as a bridgehead to someone so thin-skinned, unreliable and dishonest is just not credible. The last two weeks have blown May's US strategy out of the window. That's a good thing - we'll end up with a better Brexit as a result.
The completely unbiased and neutral Welsh rugby message board I read was apoplectic with the ref in the England France match.
Im guessing its the same one I read, and there were at least three pens that England should have given away and the ref missed. Hartley holding on, after being told to release, Woods no arms tackle and Itoje diving over a ruck.
Which is why the insistent, splenetic, neuralgic, angry, obsessive and sometimes almost crazed intensity of so many in the Leave crowd has become a source of concern to the rest of us. It isn’t as if these people lost the referendum. It isn’t as if their plans are being thwarted! They won, we concede it, and the government is executing their instructions with resolve — and all the signs are that the final outcome will be the ‘hard’ Brexit so many of them crave.
So what’s bugging them? Why do they, the winners, keep lashing out whenever one of the losers doubts or questions their plans? You can almost see the veins standing out on their necks as they rail against the people who didn’t win the referendum.
On-topic: perhaps. But this is a been-and-gone issue, is it not? Very important, but it's near certain to go through. Corbyn might just let Abbott claim she was touring East Germany and couldn't make it back in time.
Mail headline but in inverted commas. So perhaps someone else said it
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
All the better in betting terms. To put it mildly I don't share her views but she is articulate and capable of putting vaguely coherent sentences together. This really makes her stand out in the revolving door that is the Shadow Cabinet.
I'd be surprised if many from the shadow cabinet stood in the next leadership election. Maybe Thornberry, maybe Starmer. Plus Lewis and perhaps Nandy.
Thornbury .........Council estate girl made good; what’s not to like?
Lewis ......... another child of the council estate, ex army, served in Afghanistan; what’s not to like.
Maybe it's me, but Thornberry comes across as thin-skinned and rather petulant in the face of any kind of criticism. Her manner grates, as does her embrace of Corbyn - which was solely a career move. Then there are the flags.
Which is why the insistent, splenetic, neuralgic, angry, obsessive and sometimes almost crazed intensity of so many in the Leave crowd has become a source of concern to the rest of us. It isn’t as if these people lost the referendum. It isn’t as if their plans are being thwarted! They won, we concede it, and the government is executing their instructions with resolve — and all the signs are that the final outcome will be the ‘hard’ Brexit so many of them crave.
So what’s bugging them? Why do they, the winners, keep lashing out whenever one of the losers doubts or questions their plans? You can almost see the veins standing out on their necks as they rail against the people who didn’t win the referendum.
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
All the better in betting terms. To put it mildly I don't share her views but she is articulate and capable of putting vaguely coherent sentences together. This really makes her stand out in the revolving door that is the Shadow Cabinet.
I'd be surprised if many from the shadow cabinet stood in the next leadership election. Maybe Thornberry, maybe Starmer. Plus Lewis and perhaps Nandy.
Thornbury .........Council estate girl made good; what’s not to like?
Lewis ......... another child of the council estate, ex army, served in Afghanistan; what’s not to like.
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
All the better in betting terms. To put it mildly I don't share her views but she is articulate and capable of putting vaguely coherent sentences together. This really makes her stand out in the revolving door that is the Shadow Cabinet.
I'd be surprised if many from the shadow cabinet stood in the next leadership election. Maybe Thornberry, maybe Starmer. Plus Lewis and perhaps Nandy.
I'd be equally surprised if any of those sitting in their tents outside the Shadow Cabinet stood. The membership who decide have made their views of them very clear. They need to find something more productive to do and to be fair some of them have already.
Quite understandably, you may not be noticing just how much support Corbyn has lost over recent months. His coalition is breaking apart and the next leadership election will not be about who was most loyal to him. It will have a smaller electorate and will be more biased toeards long-term members who have already made their feelings clear about his leadership.
The Guardian was the sole English newspaper to cover in some detail the social and economic problems of the US Midwest over the last 18 months. It has a commitment to serious journalism - whatever you think of its editorial politics. We are very lucky still to have in this country a press which is not completely polarised and unmoored from reality.
+1, that was a very well written article on why Trump is popular - and why the political elites and media still don't understand why.
Fair play to the Guardian for publishing something that their usual readership will find, erm, challenging. I do note that "Comments will be turned on later", obviously waiting for the moderator to arrive at his desk first!
Corbyn claims legitimacy for his leadership from the members that voted for him and for his Brexit position from ordinary voters. His problem is that members reject hos Brexit position, while ordinary voters would never choose him in a hundred years. That contradiction may also apply to his would be successors.
67 today - spending most of the day driving as part of a visit to various family during the week. It's commonplace to say it these days, but like most of my contemporaries I don't feel especially older than when I was 50 - still working most of the time, much the same energy. The thing about getting older is that when one does get a health problem is takes longer to recover (if at all), but while one's healthy it doesn't seem to make much difference. Which is good for us and good for the economy too - the idea that longevity is creating a class of chronically sick people for 20 years of miserable retirement is an inaccurate picture.
What's needed, I think, is more scope for gradual retirement. Both employment markets and the pensions system really assume that either you're retired or you're not, and a gradual transition is difficult except for us self-employed types.
It's worrying that there appear to be people who seriously view Angela Rayner as the post-Corbyn future. I mean, were that to happen, it's not as if this story would re-surface?
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
All the better in betting terms. To put it mildly I don't share her views but she is articulate and capable of putting vaguely coherent sentences together. This really makes her stand out in the revolving door that is the Shadow Cabinet.
I'd be surprised if many from the shadow cabinet stood in the next leadership election. Maybe Thornberry, maybe Starmer. Plus Lewis and perhaps Nandy.
Thornbury .........Council estate girl made good; what’s not to like?
Lewis ......... another child of the council estate, ex army, served in Afghanistan; what’s not to like.
Which is why the insistent, splenetic, neuralgic, angry, obsessive and sometimes almost crazed intensity of so many in the Leave crowd has become a source of concern to the rest of us. It isn’t as if these people lost the referendum. It isn’t as if their plans are being thwarted! They won, we concede it, and the government is executing their instructions with resolve — and all the signs are that the final outcome will be the ‘hard’ Brexit so many of them crave.
So what’s bugging them? Why do they, the winners, keep lashing out whenever one of the losers doubts or questions their plans? You can almost see the veins standing out on their necks as they rail against the people who didn’t win the referendum.
Whatever he's been reading, it's clearly not his own articles on the subject.
Poor Matthew. He's not taken the Brexit thang well. I have to say he's not totally wrong.
My Twitter TL is a mix of political persuasions, and any attempt I might make to say, for example, that it's in our interest for the EU27 to prosper, garners me lots of strange angry people who post entirely in block capitals and seem quite exercised about the death of the EU entire.
Today's status, for your delectation: Bremorse. Trump is mad. You may gloat if that makes you happier .
UK position as broker between US & Europe made more difficult by Brexit.
And Trump, of course. Claiming to be able to act as a bridgehead to someone so thin-skinned, unreliable and dishonest is just not credible. The last two weeks have blown May's US strategy out of the window. That's a good thing - we'll end up with a better Brexit as a result.
Andrew Rawnsley put it succinctly this morning - it's difficult to be a bridge builder when you burnt them first. Still, Theresa May's the best we've got and we have to put our hopes in her.
Non-story. A three hour wait isn't unusual and I doubt he was treated any differently as he would have been under the Obama regime.
That doesn't make it non story and I must have been to the States over 40 times and I've never been kept waiting for three hours.
I've regularly had 1+ hours in the main queue and if you are sent to secondary screening (as he probably was) it'a at least another 2 hours. I once missed a connecting flight because some ditz thought that "catch up with" meant "consult with"
Also why "humiliated"? I was certainly "irritated" and "frustrated" but not "humiliated" - either the press is exagerrating or he is a very weak-willed individual. I suspect it isn't the latter...
For the same reason various ethic minorities don't like stop and search.
If there are abuses then the perpetrators should be disciplined. But it sounds like he was sent for secondary screening because he had an Iraq stamp in his passport. Without evidence to the contrary that seems reasonable application of the rules
I think it's fair to say that the airlines of the Middle East are confused as hell and have lots of unhappy customers. The guidance seems to change every day, and with every update they say they can't rely on it and it it's subject to change.
Whatever one thinks of the policy of vetting immigrants from countries where there are problems with terrorism, it's not in doubt that the way this has been implemented and communicated is utterly shambolic.
I travelled to the US a lot 30 years ago and got fed up of over-zealous officials asking inane questions of (white) Brits. apparently just to justify their job.
Bill Bryson wrote half a book chapter on the US border experience and warned people never to attempt humour with US officials.
Just to add to the previous post, the Government's utterly confused education policy would certainly be an area for a serious opposition to be landing blows. So, who is the current shadow at Education?
Which is why the insistent, splenetic, neuralgic, angry, obsessive and sometimes almost crazed intensity of so many in the Leave crowd has become a source of concern to the rest of us. It isn’t as if these people lost the referendum. It isn’t as if their plans are being thwarted! They won, we concede it, and the government is executing their instructions with resolve — and all the signs are that the final outcome will be the ‘hard’ Brexit so many of them crave.
So what’s bugging them? Why do they, the winners, keep lashing out whenever one of the losers doubts or questions their plans? You can almost see the veins standing out on their necks as they rail against the people who didn’t win the referendum.
The Guardian was the sole English newspaper to cover in some detail the social and economic problems of the US Midwest over the last 18 months. It has a commitment to serious journalism - whatever you think of its editorial politics. We are very lucky still to have in this country a press which is not completely polarised and unmoored from reality.
Not in Scotland unfortunately, they don't even hide their bias, just print merde and lies constantly.
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
All the better in betting terms. To put it mildly I don't share her views but she is articulate and capable of putting vaguely coherent sentences together. This really makes her stand out in the revolving door that is the Shadow Cabinet.
I'd be surprised if many from the shadow cabinet stood in the next leadership election. Maybe Thornberry, maybe Starmer. Plus Lewis and perhaps Nandy.
Thornbury .........Council estate girl made good; what’s not to like?
Lewis ......... another child of the council estate, ex army, served in Afghanistan; what’s not to like.
Thornberry, not Thornbury
Noted....
Absolute Nonentity so surprising you even got as close as you did.
Non-story. A three hour wait isn't unusual and I doubt he was treated any differently as he would have been under the Obama regime.
That doesn't make it non story and I must have been to the States over 40 times and I've never been kept waiting for three hours.
I've regularly had 1+ hours in the main queue and if you are sent to secondary screening (as he probably was) it'a at least another 2 hours. I once missed a connecting flight because some ditz thought that "catch up with" meant "consult with"
Also why "humiliated"? I was certainly "irritated" and "frustrated" but not "humiliated" - either the press is exagerrating or he is a very weak-willed individual. I suspect it isn't the latter...
For the same reason various ethic minorities don't like stop and search.
If there are abuses then the perpetrators should be disciplined. But it sounds like he was sent for secondary screening because he had an Iraq stamp in his passport. Without evidence to the contrary that seems reasonable application of the rules
I think it's fair to say that the airlines of the Middle East are confused as hell and have lots of unhappy customers. The guidance seems to change every day, and with every update they say they can't rely on it and it it's subject to change.
Whatever one thinks of the policy of vetting immigrants from countries where there are problems with terrorism, it's not in doubt that the way this has been implemented and communicated is utterly shambolic.
I travelled to the US a lot 30 years ago and got fed up of over-zealous officials asking inane questions of (white) Brits. apparently just to justify their job.
Bill Bryson wrote half a book chapter on the US border experience and warned people never to attempt humour with US officials.
I guess I was lucky when I landed at Denver on a J-visa back in 2011. No problem getting past immigration.
Just to add to the previous post, the Government's utterly confused education policy would certainly be an area for a serious opposition to be landing blows. So, who is the current shadow at Education?
Are you interested in the position? Asking for a friend.
Who would have predicted that, in the aftermath of the EU referendum, there would be a united Tory party (Ken Clarke excepted) and a split down the middle Labour Party? Rather amusing all the same.
Who'd have thought the result of the referendum would be to leave? But for Labour I think the splits on Europe are just one symptom of a bigger problem. I have never known the public faces of the party to be so uniformly unimpressive. But given that no bright young person who is pro the EU will be joining the Tories for a few years, that might be something that sorts itself out fairly quickly.
There are plenty of impressive Labour MPs, in particular female ones, but one of the effects of Corbyn has been to waste or stall a generation of talent because they, like the public think the leadership are potty and have either been passed over for inferior or inexperienced ideologically sound MPs who can defend each idiocy with a straight face, or are unwilling to countenance taking a role where they'd be forced to. Ordinarily someone like Rebecca Long-Bailey would've had three or four years keeping her head down and learning the ropes before she even got near representing the party on Question Time, as it is Corbyn's acolytes are rumoured to be seriously pushing her as his successor. If say Cooper had won in 2015, you'd have a front bench that chosen from the likes of Kendall, Creasy, Jarvis, Reed, Nandy, Umunna, Benn, Leslie, De Piero, Berger, Hunt, Starmer, Flint. They may not be to your personal taste but all are serious politicians, some with an air of authenticity and would've come up with at least a semi-coherent response to Brexit. Heck, you could make a better Shadow Cabinet than the current one only by choosing women. As it is, clowns like Burgon are speaking for the party and making it look like an overgrown Student Union.
Just to add to the previous post, the Government's utterly confused education policy would certainly be an area for a serious opposition to be landing blows. So, who is the current shadow at Education?
I am not sure the UK has ever seen anything like it. With nearly 2 years in post Angela Rayner is one of the longer serving members still in the same post. Some are just vacant and some have had 4 different people in position in the last 2 years.
My favourite story was a Maltese neurologist friend who went to Seattle for a conference. Upon landing, the US Immigration Officer said "Hmmm, Malta, I've never heard of that. Is that a real country?". She answered jokely that it was, and then spent four hours waiting for secondary screening. Where the more experienced officer apologised profusely and let her in.
But you know what: I bet UK immigration is just as bad. I've seen horrendous lines at Heathrow on a Monday morning at 8am.
I would hope that we can - as the Swiss and others have done - come up with a sensible reciprocal policy for allowing tourists and short-term business travellers in, preferably without forcing people to spend unnecessary hours in queues.
Which is why the insistent, splenetic, neuralgic, angry, obsessive and sometimes almost crazed intensity of so many in the Leave crowd has become a source of concern to the rest of us. It isn’t as if these people lost the referendum. It isn’t as if their plans are being thwarted! They won, we concede it, and the government is executing their instructions with resolve — and all the signs are that the final outcome will be the ‘hard’ Brexit so many of them crave.
So what’s bugging them? Why do they, the winners, keep lashing out whenever one of the losers doubts or questions their plans? You can almost see the veins standing out on their necks as they rail against the people who didn’t win the referendum.
It was Parris who described 17m voters as racists, during his interview with Matt Ridley.
Parris is really upset that those 17m voters want to see the referendum result actually enacted, against the virulent opposition of elites like himself.
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
All the better in betting terms. To put it mildly I don't share her views but she is articulate and capable of putting vaguely coherent sentences together. This really makes her stand out in the revolving door that is the Shadow Cabinet.
I'd be surprised if many from the shadow cabinet stood in the next leadership election. Maybe Thornberry, maybe Starmer. Plus Lewis and perhaps Nandy.
Thornbury .........Council estate girl made good; what’s not to like?
Lewis ......... another child of the council estate, ex army, served in Afghanistan; what’s not to like.
Maybe it's me, but Thornberry comes across as thin-skinned and rather petulant in the face of any kind of criticism. Her manner grates, as does her embrace of Corbyn - which was solely a career move. Then there are the flags.
She's learning. Relatively new to front line politics esp. in today's Lab Party the learning curve is quite steep.
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
All the better in betting terms. To put it mildly I don't share her views but she is articulate and capable of putting vaguely coherent sentences together. This really makes her stand out in the revolving door that is the Shadow Cabinet.
I'd be surprised if many from the shadow cabinet stood in the next leadership election. Maybe Thornberry, maybe Starmer. Plus Lewis and perhaps Nandy.
Thornbury .........Council estate girl made good; what’s not to like?
Lewis ......... another child of the council estate, ex army, served in Afghanistan; what’s not to like.
Thornberry, not Thornbury
Noted....
Oh bugger. Every time I think my Lab leadership book is looking reassuringly green, new information comes from the Kremlinologists and I have to rebalance again or add a new name.
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
Her problem is nominations. She won't get them. And if the threshold is reduced, a number of candidates on the left will stand. She is a long shot IMO.
All the better in betting terms. To put it mildly I don't share her views but she is articulate and capable of putting vaguely coherent sentences together. This really makes her stand out in the revolving door that is the Shadow Cabinet.
I'd be surprised if many from the shadow cabinet stood in the next leadership election. Maybe Thornberry, maybe Starmer. Plus Lewis and perhaps Nandy.
Thornbury .........Council estate girl made good; what’s not to like?
Lewis ......... another child of the council estate, ex army, served in Afghanistan; what’s not to like.
Maybe it's me, but Thornberry comes across as thin-skinned and rather petulant in the face of any kind of criticism. Her manner grates, as does her embrace of Corbyn - which was solely a career move. Then there are the flags.
She's learning. Relatively new to front line politics esp. in today's Lab Party the learning curve is quite steep.
Which is why the insistent, splenetic, neuralgic, angry, obsessive and sometimes almost crazed intensity of so many in the Leave crowd has become a source of concern to the rest of us. It isn’t as if these people lost the referendum. It isn’t as if their plans are being thwarted! They won, we concede it, and the government is executing their instructions with resolve — and all the signs are that the final outcome will be the ‘hard’ Brexit so many of them crave.
So what’s bugging them? Why do they, the winners, keep lashing out whenever one of the losers doubts or questions their plans? You can almost see the veins standing out on their necks as they rail against the people who didn’t win the referendum.
It was Parris who described 17m voters as racists, during his interview with Matt Ridley.
Parris is really upset that those 17m voters want to see the referendum result actually enacted, against the virulent opposition of elites like himself.
But his point is that it is being enacted. There isn't the sniff of a possibility that A50 will not go through in March, and only marginally less change that we wont end up with the full english Brexit of no access to single market, customs union etc etc.
So, he is right to ask, what the hell are Leavers so worked up about?
Which is why the insistent, splenetic, neuralgic, angry, obsessive and sometimes almost crazed intensity of so many in the Leave crowd has become a source of concern to the rest of us. It isn’t as if these people lost the referendum. It isn’t as if their plans are being thwarted! They won, we concede it, and the government is executing their instructions with resolve — and all the signs are that the final outcome will be the ‘hard’ Brexit so many of them crave.
So what’s bugging them? Why do they, the winners, keep lashing out whenever one of the losers doubts or questions their plans? You can almost see the veins standing out on their necks as they rail against the people who didn’t win the referendum.
It was Parris who described 17m voters as racists, during his interview with Matt Ridley.
Parris is really upset that those 17m voters want to see the referendum result actually enacted, against the virulent opposition of elites like himself.
But his point is that it is being enacted. There isn't the sniff of a possibility that A50 will not go through in March, and only marginally less change that we wont end up with the full english Brexit of no access to single market, customs union etc etc.
So, he is right to ask, what the hell are Leavers so worked up about?
Going for an early election in that situation would be risky, because Labour might be able to pick a new leader before polling day, potentially giving them a major boost.
Normally, Labour wouldn't be able to select a new leader that fast, but with the pressure of an impending election the party might informally agree on a single candidate who'd be elected unopposed.
Labour would also have a further interest in blocking an early election in such circumstances. I suspect though that polls such as today's Opinium will tend to reinforce May's instinctive caution.
Just to add to the previous post, the Government's utterly confused education policy would certainly be an area for a serious opposition to be landing blows. So, who is the current shadow at Education?
I am not sure the UK has ever seen anything like it. With nearly 2 years in post Angela Rayner is one of the longer serving members still in the same post. Some are just vacant and some have had 4 different people in position in the last 2 years.
Thanks for the friemndly comments, all. Roger, I think the A50 thing is genuinely difficult,and Remainers need to play it long, aiming to keep the final decision open till the negotiations have actually delivered a deal which peels off some of the Leavers who liked the general idea but dislike the outcome. Not opposing the negotiations in prijnciple but trying to amend it to keep the option of rejection of the outcome opn is the thing to aim for, but difficult.
I do agree that Corbyn needs to identify a few key issues that relate to ordinary people, and he can be thoroughly controversial about them (he will not win votes by trying to seem a centrist). Maximuim wage, nationalise the railways, Crossrail 3 in the north funded by borrowing, and more needed. Putting up tax by 1p for standard and 2p for higher rate to fund the NHS and social care properly would be my favourite - would cause a hell of a fuss but I think significantly more than our current 30% would go for it.
I'll sign off for today - be good, children.
I would vehemently disagree with such policies, but I agree with the approach.
If Labour wants to put clear red water between itself and the Tories, and strengthen its base, then it needs to stop alienating voters by banging on about how wonderful immigration and identity politics is and go for raising taxes to fund the NHS and social care, and infrastructure improvements in the North, together with a bit of mild post Brexit British socialism.
Under a competent Labour leader, provided a story about balancing the books long-term creeps in there as well, Labour could be a threat by GE2020.
Comments
Gag Her !!
For a historical perspective on Britain's current position vis-a-vis Europe, this Vichy-era postcard is rather apt:
https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/4qqd44/vichyera_easter_postcard_notre_mère_leurope/
Britain really does need to be friendly to the Donald.
As a result I will not repeat my mistake of last year of laying the England Slam.
Happy birthday, Mr. Palmer.
But there is an alternative. Rejoin the European Free Trade Association. Then we don't need a deal, we just become a signatory of an existing treaty.
"Ah but what about migration" I hear some people saying. The elephant in the room remains the intra-Irish border. We will have an open land border between the EU and the UK regardless of what we do. ROI can't stop free movement. People will be able to walk into the UK as they do now. We can't stop free movement in the UK. The black economy will continue to hoover up workers after Brexit as they do now - more so if hard Brexit collapses trade due to having no deal with anyone as seems likely.
So what about migration? We have an open border. We will still have an open border. Migration simply is, like the sun rising in the morning.
(and so the circle turns again)
Last week Bayrou published his latest epic, Resolution Francais, and was widely expected to announce his Presidential intentions.
He did not.
Instead he's said that he'll make an announcement in mid-February. There is a (blatantly artificial) attempt to create a snowball effect asking for his candidacy, with a group of celebrities writing a letter. The plan is that this will follow through into another... and another...
I'm sceptical. His book seems to have been met with a big 'meh', by the population at large, and there have been just five reviews of it on Amazon.fr.
I think he's thinking long and hard, right now. Does he want to stand and end up in perhaps sixth position, or does he endorse Fillon or Macron, and possibly get a plum ministry in return? Before the scandal, there were lots of photos of him and Fillon together. But the worst possible outcome for Bayrou would be to pull out and back someone who doesn't make the second round.
It will be very interesting to see what he does.
Re Macron, that's certainly not true. I met with Macron about a year ago, and he was very clear that an EEA type arrangement was on the cards if the UK wanted it. Indeed, he was pretty sympathetic to the British point of view, and regarded us a key world ally, whatever our differences regarding the direction of the EU.
Trump defends Putin over Russia killings allegations - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38872328
He is also on record as saying in the past that if Juppe won the Primary, he would not run and he would support Juppe's bid.
I think he is holding fire, waiting to see if Juppe replaces Fillon.
If Bayrou announces he is running over the next few days, I would take it as a sign that Juppe is not gonna be replacing Fillon.
To get back from this site's preoccupation with the EU and Labour's internal wranglings, happy birthday, Nick P.
I'm just over a decade behind you and the issue of how, when and on what basis people should transition from a life predominately based around a single (or more than one) job to a life where work plays none or a very small part is a huge challenge and transforming that experience into something more positive would be far more transformational for us as a society than any of the nonsense being peddled around A50 and leaving the EU.
At a Conference I attended the other day, one speaker spoke of the virtues of the multi-generational workplace and it is now emerging as youngsters forego University in favour of employment and older people choose (or are forced) to work longer.
That's not without issues as much younger managers need particular skills and empathy to manage older staff. My current Manager is half my age and it's not without some tensions.
As for retirement itself, the notion of a phased approach to leaving work has merits though it requires organisations to re-think how they are resourced. Often, it has to be said, when an older staff member goes, the younger replacement is often hired at a lower salary and expected to do more hoping youthful exuberance will offset any notion of a loss of status.
If people want to work, let them would be the obvious notion. If they want to work less, let them work less. There is in my organisation a cat's cradle of part-timers, job sharers and the like. The notion of job sharing is one which I think has merits.
Though it may seem counter intuitive, providing incentives for charities and other organisations to hire older staff on a part time might be helpful and there's more than enough potential for community-based activities and small volunteering groups.
The retirement "industry" is huge and could be contributing to phased or gradual retirement schemes to help those who want to ease out of work but can't make the financial sacrifice. It's a huge idea and full of potential for those with radical ideas.
http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/whatever-happened-to-left-wing-euroscepticism/19414#.WJWw2_mLTb0
"A fortnight of fascism’, by Mungo Krankenhaus
The world sobbed hot tears of woe and grief when Donald Trump was sworn in as US president two weeks ago. So long the land of the free, now subsumed by the nefarious, neoliberal forces of corporate postfascism. Not since the 1930s has the Western world been cast into such a squalid quagmire of sheer horror. It’s just like the return of the Third Reich: Hitler. Mussolini. Sauron. Voldemort. Skeletor. Mr Bronson.
This bigoted demagogue. This abnormal dictator. He’s unleashed a blood-curdling torrent of post-truth hatred with his so-called Muslim ban, whipping up Islamophobia among the neo-right, who are the exact mirror-image and exact moral equivalent of ISIS. One can only tremble at the chilling historical parallels: Kristallnacht. Guernica. The Leeds United season of 1974-75.
How different things used to be. Recall previous ‘normal’ presidents. Remember how the progressive President Obama bombed Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. Recall how previous presidents also intervened in most of these countries, and the Balkans, Sudan and Rwanda. And don’t forget Vietnam, El Salvador, Panama, Grenada, etc, etc. Last year alone, with the compassionate Obama at the helm, the United States dropped over 26,000 well-meaning bombs on brown people.
Alas. These days are gone. They seem a lifetime ago now. Welcome to the utterly new, terrifying ‘post-truth’ world of 2017, and its abnormal president.
PS: Hitler.
Has she replaced Diane as the number one supporter? Its starting to look that way. Ms Thornberry is looking increasingly well positioned should Corbyn have a moment of clarity.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38871095
I quite like the bit about Trump's fence and the Maginot Line.
The other confusing thing is the EU definition of "Freedom of Movement" doesn't mean to be allowed into a country - it means to be allowed an NI number, NHS treatment, education and benefits the same as a British person. That's a big difference, and policing the border itself shouldn't have to be too severe whatever the arrangement as we leave the EU.
She's clearly not the hardest of left, her delivery has improved alot and quite honestly she's no worse than any of the other contenders. I think she'd get the nominations if she wanted them - though I think she is more likely to be Lewis' CoTE.
Turkish anti-terror police arrest 400 ISIS suspects in coordinated nationwide operation https://t.co/ki2RpNUJIW https://t.co/5BDtA3hhd7
E.g. https://www.emirates.com/ae/english/about/operational_updates/operational_updates.aspx#/#3969890
Whatever one thinks of the policy of vetting immigrants from countries where there are problems with terrorism, it's not in doubt that the way this has been implemented and communicated is utterly shambolic.
UK position as broker between US & Europe made more difficult by Brexit.
Enemy of the people #1 after that interview
England were bad but Ireland's 1st half was proper old school terrible. If the board you're referring to is Gwlad, they're perhaps a little one eyed.
Trade is more problematic, but I could see the EU accepting a border agreement that covered all of Northern Ireland.
Lewis ......... another child of the council estate, ex army, served in Afghanistan; what’s not to like.
Which is why the insistent, splenetic, neuralgic, angry, obsessive and sometimes almost crazed intensity of so many in the Leave crowd has become a source of concern to the rest of us. It isn’t as if these people lost the referendum. It isn’t as if their plans are being thwarted! They won, we concede it, and the government is executing their instructions with resolve — and all the signs are that the final outcome will be the ‘hard’ Brexit so many of them crave.
So what’s bugging them? Why do they, the winners, keep lashing out whenever one of the losers doubts or questions their plans? You can almost see the veins standing out on their necks as they rail against the people who didn’t win the referendum.
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/02/insistent-splenetic-almost-crazed-brexiteers-driven-mad-brexit/
Fair play to the Guardian for publishing something that their usual readership will find, erm, challenging. I do note that "Comments will be turned on later", obviously waiting for the moderator to arrive at his desk first!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11984305/Angela-Rayner-shoes-row-A-bad-case-of-Do-you-know-who-I-am-syndrome.html
My Twitter TL is a mix of political persuasions, and any attempt I might make to say, for example, that it's in our interest for the EU27 to prosper, garners me lots of strange angry people who post entirely in block capitals and seem quite exercised about the death of the EU entire.
Today's status, for your delectation: Bremorse. Trump is mad. You may gloat if that makes you happier
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-bc-dc--former-norway-prime-minister-questioned-20170203-story.html
I travelled to the US a lot 30 years ago and got fed up of over-zealous officials asking inane questions of (white) Brits. apparently just to justify their job.
Bill Bryson wrote half a book chapter on the US border experience and warned people never to attempt humour with US officials.
It was Parris who described 17m voters as racists, during his interview with Matt Ridley.
PS: Think it's still Rayner.
I am not sure the UK has ever seen anything like it. With nearly 2 years in post Angela Rayner is one of the longer serving members still in the same post. Some are just vacant and some have had 4 different people in position in the last 2 years.
My favourite story was a Maltese neurologist friend who went to Seattle for a conference. Upon landing, the US Immigration Officer said "Hmmm, Malta, I've never heard of that. Is that a real country?". She answered jokely that it was, and then spent four hours waiting for secondary screening. Where the more experienced officer apologised profusely and let her in.
But you know what: I bet UK immigration is just as bad. I've seen horrendous lines at Heathrow on a Monday morning at 8am.
I would hope that we can - as the Swiss and others have done - come up with a sensible reciprocal policy for allowing tourists and short-term business travellers in, preferably without forcing people to spend unnecessary hours in queues.
I'm on her as next leader at over 20s.
So, he is right to ask, what the hell are Leavers so worked up about?
The Defence position says it all.
If Labour wants to put clear red water between itself and the Tories, and strengthen its base, then it needs to stop alienating voters by banging on about how wonderful immigration and identity politics is and go for raising taxes to fund the NHS and social care, and infrastructure improvements in the North, together with a bit of mild post Brexit British socialism.
Under a competent Labour leader, provided a story about balancing the books long-term creeps in there as well, Labour could be a threat by GE2020.