I'm beginning to wonder if we'll have a repeat of the 1979 vote of confidence where the government loses by a single vote. A shame that one wasn't televised.
There would be no deals but there would, of course, be contacts and discussions about a programme for government that would command support among all the non-Tory parties
We're all friends here, you can use normal words. Save the amazing political euphemisms for the voters.
The main downside of a minority Labour government would be a return to pb Tories banging on about magic money trees.
What I do not see is how we get from here to there without a general election being called when the government loses a vote of confidence or when its relationship with the DUP breaks down, whether or not the Conservatives have achieved their manifesto commitment to repeal the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act.
Mr Brind doesn't address how the DUP get past Corbyn's previous IRA links or avowed wish for a United Ireland - non-trivial matters......
By not talking about them? The DUP manage (or managed) to work with Sinn Fein which has IRA links and wants a united Ireland. And you seem to have accidentally typed "Corbyn's previous IRA links" rather than Sinn Fein links.
The 'retoxifying of the Tory Party' happened when Mrs May embraced Brexit like a teenager in love. The voters remember Major's battles against his 'bastards' and May had made them mainstream. Grammar schools and fox hunting didn't help.
I see Mr Brind is back to predictions we can safely disregard.
A coalition of everybody but Tories is not viable at all as a government, and it is hard to see them all keen for a GE either, at least not this year. 2018 is more possible.
The DUP agreed work with Inn Fein at the devolved level because that was the price of securing devolved government and an ending of the Troubles. But the personal charm of the Protestant Ulstermen belies a core of steel. Quote from a DUP spokesman on last week's R4 Any Questions: "Jeremy Corbyn has made common cause with just about every enemy this country has ever had."
A minority Labour government is not going to happen. There are not the numbers for it and the DUP would NEVER put Corbyn in No 10. To them it is an issue of fundamental patriotism. And quite what Heidi Allen has got to do with it I fail to see.
The maths is wrong at the moment for Mr Brind's strategy, Tories + UKIP need to lose 2 (Probably 3) seats by 2019 in by-elections before DUP abstentions can put Corbyn in - with the DUP deal being front loaded. But would the DUP want to put themselves as unreliable partners long term, in order to facilitate Corbyn ? I'd think that not to be the case. Hence the Tories look to be in till 2022 or whenever they decide to call the election to me (For surely Corbyn would vote for another election).
THIS, the 328 rather than 318 vs 314 arithmetic is the real value of the DUP deal for the Tories, in what is likely to be an unpopular government where some marginal Tory MPs might decide they wish to pursue other hobbies in say 2019.
The 'retoxifying of the Tory Party' happened when Mrs May embraced Brexit like a teenager in love. The voters remember Major's battles against his 'bastards' and May had made them mainstream. Grammar schools and fox hunting didn't help.
The DUP had little to do with it
It was 17 million Leave voters who made Brexit mainstream, not May who backed Remain and a plurality polled back grammar schools. This article may have been interesting 2 weeks ago, now the DUP have effectively signed a contract with the Tories for at least 2 years it is pointless, social care is heading to 'consultation anyway
Do not confuse distaste for Brexit and despair at the state of the government with any support for or confidence in Corbyn's platform amongst the other non-Tory parties. And, on the mainland, I would expect most of them are as concerned about Corbyn hoovering up the votes of almost everyone in their 20s and 30s on an empty prospectus as are the Tories. The Greens in particular seem very unhappy with how, as they see it, their attempts at constructive and collaborative politics have worked out for them.
A rainbow coalition.. risible. DUP support Corbyn and McDonnell? Hell would freeze over first.
Politicians can be remarkably pragmatic. But, I think Corbyn would have to offer something very big to the DUP to win them over, and even then, the numbers would make such a deal difficult. And the SNP and the Lib Dems have no reason to help Labour out.
While it is not inappropriate for the DUP as a unionist party to be part of or have a pact to support the UK government (like the MAY-DUP deal), it is wholly inappropriate for parties that wish to destroy the UK to be in any way linked to the UK government. That includes the SNP, who unlike SF, do participate in the lower house at Westminster, an institution they do not in principle wish to have any say in the affairs of Scotland.
On the current parliamentary arithmetic, the Labour party would need at least passive support from the SNP to run a minority administration. It would be completely unacceptable for a UK government to be beholden to enemies of the state.
Sort of on topic, it's a difficult one as the Tories must show they've listened and they understand, but I'm far from convinced desperately trying to ape Labour on public spending, and abandoning deficit reduction in all-but-name, will save them.
Voters might conclude they may as well vote for the real thing.
The 'retoxifying of the Tory Party' happened when Mrs May embraced Brexit like a teenager in love. The voters remember Major's battles against his 'bastards' and May had made them mainstream. Grammar schools and fox hunting didn't help.
The DUP had little to do with it
It was 17 million Leave voters who made Brexit mainstream, not May who backed Remain and a plurality polled back grammar schools. However this article May have been interesting 2 weeks ago now the DUP have effectively signed a contract with the Tories for at least 2 years it is pointless, social care is heading to 'consultation anyway
You can fulfil the wishes of the people in a dignified way. Lifting your skirt and blowing a humungous raspberry towards our EU collegues wasn't classy. It was 'Nasty' and unnecessary.
"So, people in Northern Ireland would get the extra resources from a Labour government – not as a “bung” to buy DUP votes – but as part of a drive to improve public services and raise living standards throughout the UK."
When Labour do deals with the DUP it's to raise living standards. When Tories do deals with the DUP it's a bung.
Do not confuse distaste for Brexit and despair at the state of the government with any support for or confidence in Corbyn's platform amongst the other non-Tory parties. And, on the mainland, I would expect most of them are as concerned about Corbyn hoovering up the votes of almost everyone in their 20s and 30s on an empty prospectus as are the Tories. The Greens in particular seem very unhappy with how, as they see it, their attempts at constructive and collaborative politics have worked out for them.
I don't think Vince Cable's LDs would dance with Corbyn's Labour very often.
A more nuanced view would recognise that elections are both about winning seats and winning arguments. The problem the Tories have is that they (and the DUP) won the seats but lost the argument.
"So, people in Northern Ireland would get the extra resources from a Labour government – not as a “bung” to buy DUP votes – but as part of a drive to improve public services and raise living standards throughout the UK."
When Labour do deals with the DUP it's to raise living standards. When Tories do deals with the DUP it's a bung.
Right, got it.
When I strike a deal, it's in the national interest. When you strike one, it's a corrupt bargain.
Hitting the reset button on a personal computer clears the memory and forcibly reboots the machine. That is what Nicola Sturgeon failed to do last week when she addressed only the timing of a referendum and further nudged her party, like a wonky PC, into what could be its meltdown.
Sturgeon’s government is in a dismal place right now, and not having the humility to recognise the reality of the consequences of her party’s failings will be at the root of its demise. Yes, the SNP won the Westminster election, but it lost the campaign, and with it went more than just the 21 MPs and the scalps of totemic figures like Alex Salmond. It has lost momentum, and after three successive elections that evidence a trajectory of down, gone too is that spirit of reinvention, of a seemingly inexhaustible ability to pick itself up and shake itself down.
And worse, Sturgeon, a giant of a politician, appears shrunken, cut down to size, reduced to name calling and defensively sniping from the sides. And it isn’t worthy.
Do not confuse distaste for Brexit and despair at the state of the government with any support for or confidence in Corbyn's platform amongst the other non-Tory parties. And, on the mainland, I would expect most of them are as concerned about Corbyn hoovering up the votes of almost everyone in their 20s and 30s on an empty prospectus as are the Tories. The Greens in particular seem very unhappy with how, as they see it, their attempts at constructive and collaborative politics have worked out for them.
The Greens:
3rd in Isle of Wight still, but now behind Labour. Over 25,000 votes behind the Tories. 4th now in Norwich South - and completely out the running. 3rd in Bristol West, and over 37,000 votes behind Labour.
Ex Caroline Lucas, they are pretty much dead in the FPTP waters - their problems just as big as UKIPs. Where on earth do they go from here, the post 2015 landscape looked alot better for them with the possible targets of both Bristol West & Norwich South. But they've been beyond humiliated in both of those.
A more nuanced view would recognise that elections are both about winning seats and winning arguments. The problem the Tories have is that they (and the DUP) won the seats but lost the argument.
Do not confuse distaste for Brexit and despair at the state of the government with any support for or confidence in Corbyn's platform amongst the other non-Tory parties. And, on the mainland, I would expect most of them are as concerned about Corbyn hoovering up the votes of almost everyone in their 20s and 30s on an empty prospectus as are the Tories. The Greens in particular seem very unhappy with how, as they see it, their attempts at constructive and collaborative politics have worked out for them.
I think you're right. The idea that all the non Tory parties in parliament would gather round Leader Corbyn is fanciful. In a choice between him and May he might even struggle to get all his own party behind him.
"So, people in Northern Ireland would get the extra resources from a Labour government – not as a “bung” to buy DUP votes – but as part of a drive to improve public services and raise living standards throughout the UK."
When Labour do deals with the DUP it's to raise living standards. When Tories do deals with the DUP it's a bung.
Right, got it.
When I strike a deal, it's in the national interest. When you strike one, it's a corrupt bargain.
I guess that you're both making a party political point. It's quite simple to see what Don Brind meant, that Corbyn would apply extra resources to the whole of the UK not just NI. It would be better if you accepted the point he was making and argue against that rather than deliberately misinterpreting what he was saying.
Do not confuse distaste for Brexit and despair at the state of the government with any support for or confidence in Corbyn's platform amongst the other non-Tory parties. And, on the mainland, I would expect most of them are as concerned about Corbyn hoovering up the votes of almost everyone in their 20s and 30s on an empty prospectus as are the Tories. The Greens in particular seem very unhappy with how, as they see it, their attempts at constructive and collaborative politics have worked out for them.
The Greens:
3rd in Isle of Wight still, but now behind Labour. Over 25,000 votes behind the Tories. 4th now in Norwich South - and completely out the running. 3rd in Bristol West, and over 37,000 votes behind Labour.
Ex Caroline Lucas, they are pretty much dead in the FPTP waters - their problems just as big as UKIPs. Where on earth do they go from here, the post 2015 landscape looked alot better for them with the possible targets of both Bristol West & Norwich South. But they've been beyond humiliated in both of those.
Mr Brind doesn't address how the DUP get past Corbyn's previous IRA links or avowed wish for a United Ireland - non-trivial matters......
By not talking about them? The DUP manage (or managed) to work with Sinn Fein which has IRA links and wants a united Ireland. And you seem to have accidentally typed "Corbyn's previous IRA links" rather than Sinn Fein links.
Oh, did Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness have nothing to do with the IRA, then?
Do not confuse distaste for Brexit and despair at the state of the government with any support for or confidence in Corbyn's platform amongst the other non-Tory parties. And, on the mainland, I would expect most of them are as concerned about Corbyn hoovering up the votes of almost everyone in their 20s and 30s on an empty prospectus as are the Tories. The Greens in particular seem very unhappy with how, as they see it, their attempts at constructive and collaborative politics have worked out for them.
The Greens:
3rd in Isle of Wight still, but now behind Labour. Over 25,000 votes behind the Tories. 4th now in Norwich South - and completely out the running. 3rd in Bristol West, and over 37,000 votes behind Labour.
Ex Caroline Lucas, they are pretty much dead in the FPTP waters - their problems just as big as UKIPs. Where on earth do they go from here, the post 2015 landscape looked alot better for them with the possible targets of both Bristol West & Norwich South. But they've been beyond humiliated in both of those.
And, having read a few articles circulating in green circles recently, they seem to be coming to the view that, despite warm words from a few individuals like Clive Lewis, Labour (and to a lesser extent the LDs) have sought the benefit of tacit green support for a progressive alliance without offering anything in return. In particular Labour's apparent last minute retreat from making a commitment to PR (which was being rumoured/leaked a month or so before the election was called) has disillusioned them greatly. Or awoken them to seeing Labour for the cynical self-interested machine politicians that they are, according to your view.
Hitting the reset button on a personal computer clears the memory and forcibly reboots the machine. That is what Nicola Sturgeon failed to do last week when she addressed only the timing of a referendum and further nudged her party, like a wonky PC, into what could be its meltdown.
Sturgeon’s government is in a dismal place right now, and not having the humility to recognise the reality of the consequences of her party’s failings will be at the root of its demise. Yes, the SNP won the Westminster election, but it lost the campaign, and with it went more than just the 21 MPs and the scalps of totemic figures like Alex Salmond. It has lost momentum, and after three successive elections that evidence a trajectory of down, gone too is that spirit of reinvention, of a seemingly inexhaustible ability to pick itself up and shake itself down.
And worse, Sturgeon, a giant of a politician, appears shrunken, cut down to size, reduced to name calling and defensively sniping from the sides. And it isn’t worthy.
The SNP is on a knife edge; it has stalled and could drop like a stone, but Sturgeon is attempting to plough on regardless. The SNP now hold few seats with significant majorities and is likely to lose most of them at the next GE with a further swing of 5%.
A more nuanced view would recognise that elections are both about winning seats and winning arguments. The problem the Tories have is that they (and the DUP) won the seats but lost the argument.
What argument do you think Labour 'won'?
The Tories went to the country arguing that they needed a bigger mandate/majority to deliver their version of Brexit, and lost. They argued that Mrs May was a stronger and more competent leader than Corbyn, and lost. They argued that stable steady-as-you-go was vital and that a change in direction would be dangerous, and lost. They argued for a continuation of the economic approach since 2010 (given May's failure to put any meat on the bones for her JAMs) and lost. They lost the argument on funding social home care from property equity and lost the argument on most of the peripheral Tory obsessions that found their way into the manifesto, such as fox hunting, which is probably now resolved for ever. More Grammar schools is probably also dead as an issue.
The political mood now is entirely changed, Hence all the Tories falling over themselves to argue for pay rises for public sector employees.
If lab and con seat totals were reversed, I think DUP would have done a deal for more money with Corbyn.
But the math doesn't work in this parliament for Labour.
Any more than they would have seven years ago! And, as someone else said, I can’t see the LD’s doing another coalition any time soon, right though it was to do what they did in 2010.
Hitting the reset button on a personal computer clears the memory and forcibly reboots the machine. That is what Nicola Sturgeon failed to do last week when she addressed only the timing of a referendum and further nudged her party, like a wonky PC, into what could be its meltdown.
Sturgeon’s government is in a dismal place right now, and not having the humility to recognise the reality of the consequences of her party’s failings will be at the root of its demise. Yes, the SNP won the Westminster election, but it lost the campaign, and with it went more than just the 21 MPs and the scalps of totemic figures like Alex Salmond. It has lost momentum, and after three successive elections that evidence a trajectory of down, gone too is that spirit of reinvention, of a seemingly inexhaustible ability to pick itself up and shake itself down.
And worse, Sturgeon, a giant of a politician, appears shrunken, cut down to size, reduced to name calling and defensively sniping from the sides. And it isn’t worthy.
The SNP is on a knife edge; it has stalled and could drop like a stone, but Sturgeon is attempting to plough on regardless. The SNP now hold few seats with significant majorities and is likely to lose most of them at the next GE with a further swing of 5%.
I do think it is very likely that there will be more Labour MPs from Scotland after the next election than Tory and this will largely be at SNP expense. The mountainous majorities of 2015 are no more and they are vulnerable pretty much everywhere which will stretch resources.
It also seems very likely to me that the SNP will lose control of Holyrood next time out with the shortfall being too large for the Greens to cover. What will replace them, however, is very much up for grabs.
A more nuanced view would recognise that elections are both about winning seats and winning arguments. The problem the Tories have is that they (and the DUP) won the seats but lost the argument.
What argument do you think Labour 'won'?
The Tories went to the country arguing that they needed a bigger mandate/majority to deliver their version of Brexit, and lost. They argued that Mrs May was a stronger and more competent leader than Corbyn, and lost. They argued that stable steady-as-you-go was vital and that a change in direction would be dangerous, and lost. They argued for a continuation of the economic approach since 2010 (given May's failure to put any meat on the bones for her JAMs) and lost. They lost the argument on funding social home care from property equity and lost the argument on most of the peripheral Tory obsessions that found their way into the manifesto, such as fox hunting, which is probably now resolved for ever. More Grammar schools is probably also dead as an issue.
The political mood now is entirely changed, Hence all the Tories falling over themselves to argue for pay rises for public sector employees.
That doesn't answer the question - what argument did Labour win?
Mr Brind doesn't address how the DUP get past Corbyn's previous IRA links or avowed wish for a United Ireland - non-trivial matters......
By not talking about them? The DUP manage (or managed) to work with Sinn Fein which has IRA links and wants a united Ireland. And you seem to have accidentally typed "Corbyn's previous IRA links" rather than Sinn Fein links.
Oh, did Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness have nothing to do with the IRA, then?
It's a question of hats. When they met Corbyn, were they wearing their Sinn Fein hats or their IRA hats? There is enough ambiguity to fudge the issue, should it become expedient.
Leaving the hopeless maths to one side, Jeremy Corbyn has nothing to offer the DUP. They have voters to answer to as well and they would neither understand nor forgive any deal done with him.
The DUP worked with Sinn Fein after they renounced violence in order to secure a peaceful future for Northern Ireland and even then they hardly did so with enthusiasm. A bung - for that is what Don Brind is arguing for - wouldn't be enough of an incentive to ignore what the Northern Irish protestants would undoubtedly see as a matter of principle. Nothing like.
That's the trouble with being a terrorist sympathiser. The chances are that sooner or later you'll come up against people who don't sympathise with those terrorists one little bit. And they'll sympathise with you even less.
Most importantly, what is this "Diss" of which the headline speaks, and why does it have a capital D?
Diss is in Norfolk. They do things differently there.
Apparently to "diss" in Norfolk dialect is to partake of same sex electoral marriage that dates back to the era of rotten boroughs. Male voters from the area would gamble vast quantities of turnips on the best shaped and number of the said vegetable that might fitted up the rear end of a nominated Tory or Whig member.
The winner was then paraded in triumph to the Diss parish church where he was married to the turnip and deemed elected. This quaint tradition has all but vanished in the UK but there remains an outpost of "Diss" still to found in Ayrshire.
The SNP is on a knife edge; it has stalled and could drop like a stone, but Sturgeon is attempting to plough on regardless. The SNP now hold few seats with significant majorities and is likely to lose most of them at the next GE with a further swing of 5%.
A more nuanced view would recognise that elections are both about winning seats and winning arguments. The problem the Tories have is that they (and the DUP) won the seats but lost the argument.
What argument do you think Labour 'won'?
The Tories went to the country arguing that they needed a bigger mandate/majority to deliver their version of Brexit, and lost. They argued that Mrs May was a stronger and more competent leader than Corbyn, and lost. They argued that stable steady-as-you-go was vital and that a change in direction would be dangerous, and lost. They argued for a continuation of the economic approach since 2010 (given May's failure to put any meat on the bones for her JAMs) and lost. They lost the argument on funding social home care from property equity and lost the argument on most of the peripheral Tory obsessions that found their way into the manifesto, such as fox hunting, which is probably now resolved for ever. More Grammar schools is probably also dead as an issue.
The political mood now is entirely changed, Hence all the Tories falling over themselves to argue for pay rises for public sector employees.
I think those were partial, rather than total defeats. The public did not trust the Conservatives with a majority, but did not trust Labour in power; they were tired of austerity, but not persuaded of the alternative; they preferred May to Corbyn as PM; they want Brexit to go ahead, but don't want the Conservatives to have complete control of it.
Most importantly, what is this "Diss" of which the headline speaks, and why does it have a capital D?
Diss is in Norfolk. They do things differently there.
Apparently to "diss" in Norfolk dialect is to partake of same sex electoral marriage that dates back to the era of rotten boroughs. Male voters from the area would gamble vast quantities of turnips on the best shaped and number of the said vegetable that might fitted up the rear end of a nominated Tory or Whig member.
The winner was then paraded in triumph to the Diss parish church where he was married to the turnip and deemed elected. This quaint tradition has all but vanished in the UK but there remains an outpost of "Diss" still to found in Ayrshire.
Also famous for Daniel Bedingfield's rousing ballad that tells of a difficult journey from Ipswich to Norwich.
Mr Brind doesn't address how the DUP get past Corbyn's previous IRA links or avowed wish for a United Ireland - non-trivial matters......
By not talking about them? The DUP manage (or managed) to work with Sinn Fein which has IRA links and wants a united Ireland. And you seem to have accidentally typed "Corbyn's previous IRA links" rather than Sinn Fein links.
Oh, did Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness have nothing to do with the IRA, then?
It's a question of hats. When they met Corbyn, were they wearing their Sinn Fein hats or their IRA hats? There is enough ambiguity to fudge the issue, should it become expedient.
Not sure I can agree with the hats argument when it comes to such serious crime. Imagine a Jimmy Saville trial. "Well I met her in the top of the pops studio but I had my TV presenter hat on". Or in Rochdale would you say the taxi drivers weren't grooming young girls because they were legitimate taxi customers.
Get the feeling that the Tories won power but don't have a clue what direction they are heading. Philip Hammond suggests a national debate about whether taxes should increase to pay for better public services. David Davis and other cabinet ministers want a more flexible approach to Brexit negotiations without the red lines Theresa May insisted on previously.
Tory/DUP coalition of chaos will last a few months, before Theresa May is toppled by her Tory cabinet colleagues and they cancel the deal with the DUP. The new Tory leader/PM will then try to continue with an early election in April 2018. Brexit will be delayed by years, as article 50 is extended by agreement with the EU.
This is my prediction based on the messy situation we have at the moment.
The new Tory leader/PM will then try to continue with an early election in April 2018.
I very much doubt the Tories want to re-consult the electorate until they have exhausted all other options....if they can, they'll soldier on to 2022...
A more nuanced view would recognise that elections are both about winning seats and winning arguments. The problem the Tories have is that they (and the DUP) won the seats but lost the argument.
What argument do you think Labour 'won'?
The Tories went to the country arguing that they needed a bigger mandate/majority to deliver their version of Brexit, and lost. They argued that Mrs May was a stronger and more competent leader than Corbyn, and lost. They argued that stable steady-as-you-go was vital and that a change in direction would be dangerous, and lost. They argued for a continuation of the economic approach since 2010 (given May's failure to put any meat on the bones for her JAMs) and lost. They lost the argument on funding social home care from property equity and lost the argument on most of the peripheral Tory obsessions that found their way into the manifesto, such as fox hunting, which is probably now resolved for ever. More Grammar schools is probably also dead as an issue.
The political mood now is entirely changed, Hence all the Tories falling over themselves to argue for pay rises for public sector employees.
As a Liverpool fan I love this argument. We might have come second by a distance but really we won, we beat the Champions twice, and we were a long way back at the beginning and they lost their last 4 games, so they might as well put our name on the trophy!
Mr Brind doesn't address how the DUP get past Corbyn's previous IRA links or avowed wish for a United Ireland - non-trivial matters......
By not talking about them? The DUP manage (or managed) to work with Sinn Fein which has IRA links and wants a united Ireland. And you seem to have accidentally typed "Corbyn's previous IRA links" rather than Sinn Fein links.
Oh, did Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness have nothing to do with the IRA, then?
It's a question of hats. When they met Corbyn, were they wearing their Sinn Fein hats or their IRA hats? There is enough ambiguity to fudge the issue, should it become expedient.
The North Sea oil industry cost taxpayers £312 million last year, the worst since records began nearly 50 years ago. Revenues plummeted into the red for the first times due to low oil prices while there were high operating costs.
“Government revenues have declined over the last few years from £10.9 billion in 2011/12, to -£312 million in 2016/17,” reported HMRC.
Just as Theresa May will struggle to lay down the Brexit law to the EU 27, so Ms Sturgeon no longer has the authority to dictate referndum terms to the UK government. She will have to take what she is given and, as matters stand, that seems likely to be much less than she wanted or thought possible only a few weeks ago. That leaves her weak and, without the galvanising spirit of independence to guide her, it’s not clear what’s left for Ms Sturgeon. She is to indyref2 what Mrs May is to Brexit and in neither instance does either woman look like she holds a winning hand.
The new Tory leader/PM will then try to continue with an early election in April 2018.
I very much doubt the Tories want to re-consult the electorate until they have exhausted all other options....if they can, they'll soldier on to 2022...
Even if the Tories return to 23% poll leads there will always be the doubt as to whether that is sufficient. The last election has done awful things for those who make their decisions based on the polls
The sheer incompetence of the Conservative party's approach to Brexit really is something to behold. They have no idea what they want, no understanding of what will happen when we do leave and no plan to deal with any of it. What an absolute shower of shite they are.
British manufacturers are fast approaching a “tipping point” where a lack of certainty over the direction of Brexit negotiations will force them to make painful cuts whatever the outcome, they say. The stark warning, due to be delivered on Tuesday by Engineering Employers’ Federation chief executive Terry Scuoler, comes as business leaders begin a week of crunch meetings with government ministers to try to force the pace of thinking over how to ensure economic stability when Britain leaves the European Union.
Get the feeling that the Tories won power but don't have a clue what direction they are heading. Philip Hammond suggests a national debate about whether taxes should increase to pay for better public services. David Davis and other cabinet ministers want a more flexible approach to Brexit negotiations without the red lines Theresa May insisted on previously.
Tory/DUP coalition of chaos will last a few months, before Theresa May is toppled by her Tory cabinet colleagues and they cancel the deal with the DUP. The new Tory leader/PM will then try to continue with an early election in April 2018. Brexit will be delayed by years, as article 50 is extended by agreement with the EU.
This is my prediction based on the messy situation we have at the moment.
The EU will not extend the time frames. The UK has made its bed and now it has to lie in it! The UK lemmings are going over the cliff and the only way back will be on the EU's terms. (i.e. Join the Euro, opt in to the opt-outs, say goodbye to the rebate, and less influence). What a total screw-up!
Get the feeling that the Tories won power but don't have a clue what direction they are heading. Philip Hammond suggests a national debate about whether taxes should increase to pay for better public services. David Davis and other cabinet ministers want a more flexible approach to Brexit negotiations without the red lines Theresa May insisted on previously.
Tory/DUP coalition of chaos will last a few months, before Theresa May is toppled by her Tory cabinet colleagues and they cancel the deal with the DUP. The new Tory leader/PM will then try to continue with an early election in April 2018. Brexit will be delayed by years, as article 50 is extended by agreement with the EU.
This is my prediction based on the messy situation we have at the moment.
The EU will not extend the time frames. The UK has made its bed and now it has to lie in it! The UK lemmings are going over the cliff and the only way back will be on the EU's terms. (i.e. Join the Euro, opt in to the opt-outs, say goodbye to the rebate, and less influence). What a total screw-up!
The sheer incompetence of the Conservative party's approach to Brexit really is something to behold. They have no idea what they want, no understanding of what will happen when we do leave and no plan to deal with any of it. What an absolute shower of shite they are.
British manufacturers are fast approaching a “tipping point” where a lack of certainty over the direction of Brexit negotiations will force them to make painful cuts whatever the outcome, they say. The stark warning, due to be delivered on Tuesday by Engineering Employers’ Federation chief executive Terry Scuoler, comes as business leaders begin a week of crunch meetings with government ministers to try to force the pace of thinking over how to ensure economic stability when Britain leaves the European Union.
You're much more interesting when you take the partisan spectacles off. Theresa May has been constant on no single market, no EU Customs Union, no freedom of movement and no ECJ jurisdiction since January.
It's your party that promises 'not being in the Customs union or single market but with all the benefits'. What would you call promising something by definition unachievable?
The new Tory leader/PM will then try to continue with an early election in April 2018.
I very much doubt the Tories want to re-consult the electorate until they have exhausted all other options....if they can, they'll soldier on to 2022...
Even if the Tories return to 23% poll leads there will always be the doubt as to whether that is sufficient. The last election has done awful things for those who make their decisions based on the polls
Every time some politician goes to the electorate with a commanding poll lead 'UK GE 2017' will be trotted out.....
Most importantly, what is this "Diss" of which the headline speaks, and why does it have a capital D?
Diss is in Norfolk. They do things differently there.
Apparently to "diss" in Norfolk dialect is to partake of same sex electoral marriage that dates back to the era of rotten boroughs. Male voters from the area would gamble vast quantities of turnips on the best shaped and number of the said vegetable that might fitted up the rear end of a nominated Tory or Whig member.
The winner was then paraded in triumph to the Diss parish church where he was married to the turnip and deemed elected. This quaint tradition has all but vanished in the UK but there remains an outpost of "Diss" still to found in Ayrshire.
Also famous for Daniel Bedingfield's rousing ballad that tells of a difficult journey from Ipswich to Norwich.
Dear Mary, Yes it will be bliss to go with you by train to Diss.....
Get the feeling that the Tories won power but don't have a clue what direction they are heading. Philip Hammond suggests a national debate about whether taxes should increase to pay for better public services. David Davis and other cabinet ministers want a more flexible approach to Brexit negotiations without the red lines Theresa May insisted on previously.
Tory/DUP coalition of chaos will last a few months, before Theresa May is toppled by her Tory cabinet colleagues and they cancel the deal with the DUP. The new Tory leader/PM will then try to continue with an early election in April 2018. Brexit will be delayed by years, as article 50 is extended by agreement with the EU.
This is my prediction based on the messy situation we have at the moment.
The EU will not extend the time frames. The UK has made its bed and now it has to lie in it! The UK lemmings are going over the cliff and the only way back will be on the EU's terms. (i.e. Join the Euro, opt in to the opt-outs, say goodbye to the rebate, and less influence). What a total screw-up!
Nobody would want those terms.
ScarfNZ is wrong about losing influence. If we joined the Euro we would have a level of influence we haven't had since the 90s.
The new Tory leader/PM will then try to continue with an early election in April 2018.
I very much doubt the Tories want to re-consult the electorate until they have exhausted all other options....if they can, they'll soldier on to 2022...
Even if the Tories return to 23% poll leads there will always be the doubt as to whether that is sufficient. The last election has done awful things for those who make their decisions based on the polls
And what about the various independent models dependent on polling information? Where do they go when they can't trust the original data? It seems to me that there is going to be a lot more uncertainty going forward.
This is probably a good thing though. I fear materially inaccurate polling information seriously distorted the outcome of both of the last 2 elections considerably favouring the Tories in 2015 (at enormous expense to the Lib Dems) and substantially disfavouring them in June.
Get the feeling that the Tories won power but don't have a clue what direction they are heading. Philip Hammond suggests a national debate about whether taxes should increase to pay for better public services. David Davis and other cabinet ministers want a more flexible approach to Brexit negotiations without the red lines Theresa May insisted on previously.
Tory/DUP coalition of chaos will last a few months, before Theresa May is toppled by her Tory cabinet colleagues and they cancel the deal with the DUP. The new Tory leader/PM will then try to continue with an early election in April 2018. Brexit will be delayed by years, as article 50 is extended by agreement with the EU.
This is my prediction based on the messy situation we have at the moment.
The EU will not extend the time frames. The UK has made its bed and now it has to lie in it! The UK lemmings are going over the cliff and the only way back will be on the EU's terms. (i.e. Join the Euro, opt in to the opt-outs, say goodbye to the rebate, and less influence). What a total screw-up!
The EU doesn't want us to leave. On that basis, it's worth letting us keep the current set up if we'll revoke Article 50.
I think they will make the offer - perhaps quite late in the process.
The sheer incompetence of the Conservative party's approach to Brexit really is something to behold. They have no idea what they want, no understanding of what will happen when we do leave and no plan to deal with any of it. What an absolute shower of shite they are.
British manufacturers are fast approaching a “tipping point” where a lack of certainty over the direction of Brexit negotiations will force them to make painful cuts whatever the outcome, they say. The stark warning, due to be delivered on Tuesday by Engineering Employers’ Federation chief executive Terry Scuoler, comes as business leaders begin a week of crunch meetings with government ministers to try to force the pace of thinking over how to ensure economic stability when Britain leaves the European Union.
You're much more interesting when you take the partisan spectacles off. Theresa May has been constant on no single market, no EU Customs Union, no freedom of movement and no ECJ jurisdiction since January.
It's your party that promises 'not being in the Customs union or single market but with all the benefits'. What would you call promising something by definition unachievable?
I'd call it lying.
Being consistent on a line that is unsustainable without inflicting immense damage on the UK economy and to its citizens, and which has just been rejected by the voters, is not entirely admirable. And saying that Labour - a party of which I am no longer a member - is being deceitful is purely diversionary. It was current Tory cabinet ministers who told us that it would be pain-free and easy to leave the EU; and it is the Tories who are in power (thanks to the DUP) and the Tories who own the entire Brexit strategy. They are making an absolute Horlicks of it.
Lord Haw Haw plumbing the sewers for the cockroach outpout yest again , somethings never change, bitter twisted old tax exile Tories just cannot be happy counting their loot, they have to continue with their trawling in the gutters.
it is the Tories who are in power (thanks to the DUP) and the Tories who own the entire Brexit strategy. They are making an absolute Horlicks of it.
The most interesting thing from that Dominic Cummings exchange is not that he thinks it will be a disaster, but that he is already blaming poor implementation for the failure.
"The idea was great, if only it had been done right..."
it is the Tories who are in power (thanks to the DUP) and the Tories who own the entire Brexit strategy. They are making an absolute Horlicks of it.
The most interesting thing from that Dominic Cummings exchange is not that he thinks it will be a disaster, but that he is already blaming poor implementation for the failure.
"The idea was great, if only it had been done right..."
The implementation of Brexit has been remarkably bad. He has a point.
The North Sea oil industry cost taxpayers £312 million last year, the worst since records began nearly 50 years ago. Revenues plummeted into the red for the first times due to low oil prices while there were high operating costs.
“Government revenues have declined over the last few years from £10.9 billion in 2011/12, to -£312 million in 2016/17,” reported HMRC.
Most importantly, what is this "Diss" of which the headline speaks, and why does it have a capital D?
Diss is in Norfolk. They do things differently there.
Apparently to "diss" in Norfolk dialect is to partake of same sex electoral marriage that dates back to the era of rotten boroughs. Male voters from the area would gamble vast quantities of turnips on the best shaped and number of the said vegetable that might fitted up the rear end of a nominated Tory or Whig member.
The winner was then paraded in triumph to the Diss parish church where he was married to the turnip and deemed elected. This quaint tradition has all but vanished in the UK but there remains an outpost of "Diss" still to found in Ayrshire.
Jack, Diss is for real jessies and southerners. Nothing as effete would be acceptable in Ayrshire, where men are men and Tories live under rocks. PS: Your use of turnips seems very acceptable and useful mind you.
it is the Tories who are in power (thanks to the DUP) and the Tories who own the entire Brexit strategy. They are making an absolute Horlicks of it.
The most interesting thing from that Dominic Cummings exchange is not that he thinks it will be a disaster, but that he is already blaming poor implementation for the failure.
"The idea was great, if only it had been done right..."
The implementation of Brexit has been remarkably bad. He has a point.
It would take a miracle to implement well, which is the pertinent point.
A more nuanced view would recognise that elections are both about winning seats and winning arguments. The problem the Tories have is that they (and the DUP) won the seats but lost the argument.
What argument do you think Labour 'won'?
The Tories went to the country arguing that they needed a bigger mandate/majority to deliver their version of Brexit, and lost. They argued that Mrs May was a stronger and more competent leader than Corbyn, and lost. They argued that stable steady-as-you-go was vital and that a change in direction would be dangerous, and lost. They argued for a continuation of the economic approach since 2010 (given May's failure to put any meat on the bones for her JAMs) and lost. They lost the argument on funding social home care from property equity and lost the argument on most of the peripheral Tory obsessions that found their way into the manifesto, such as fox hunting, which is probably now resolved for ever. More Grammar schools is probably also dead as an issue.
The political mood now is entirely changed, Hence all the Tories falling over themselves to argue for pay rises for public sector employees.
That doesn't answer the question - what argument did Labour win?
it is the Tories who are in power (thanks to the DUP) and the Tories who own the entire Brexit strategy. They are making an absolute Horlicks of it.
The most interesting thing from that Dominic Cummings exchange is not that he thinks it will be a disaster, but that he is already blaming poor implementation for the failure.
"The idea was great, if only it had been done right..."
Dominic Cummings is obviously scarily bright, but he takes no account of the resources that the nation is likely to have at its disposal for implementing Brexit (and indeed his other desired changes to the state). The chances of a happy ending were always remote for that reason, even leaving aside the wholly malign way in which Leave fought its campaign and the inevitable consequences of that malignity.
The implementation of Brexit has been remarkably bad. He has a point.
non-sequitur
The implementation of Brexit has been remarkably bad.
This does not mean any other implementation of Brexit would have been any less bad.
Driving off a cliff has very few "good implementation" options...
I disagree. Brexit could have been approached in a very different way. But that would have required a competent government and a campaign without bullshit on buses.
What we have is Laurel and Hardy trying to implement soundbites and lies.
The sheer incompetence of the Conservative party's approach to Brexit really is something to behold. They have no idea what they want, no understanding of what will happen when we do leave and no plan to deal with any of it. What an absolute shower of shite they are.
British manufacturers are fast approaching a “tipping point” where a lack of certainty over the direction of Brexit negotiations will force them to make painful cuts whatever the outcome, they say. The stark warning, due to be delivered on Tuesday by Engineering Employers’ Federation chief executive Terry Scuoler, comes as business leaders begin a week of crunch meetings with government ministers to try to force the pace of thinking over how to ensure economic stability when Britain leaves the European Union.
You're much more interesting when you take the partisan spectacles off. Theresa May has been constant on no single market, no EU Customs Union, no freedom of movement and no ECJ jurisdiction since January.
It's your party that promises 'not being in the Customs union or single market but with all the benefits'. What would you call promising something by definition unachievable?
I'd call it lying.
Being consistent on a line that is unsustainable without inflicting immense damage on the UK economy and to its citizens, and which has just been rejected by the voters, is not entirely admirable. And saying that Labour - a party of which I am no longer a member - is being deceitful is purely diversionary. It was current Tory cabinet ministers who told us that it would be pain-free and easy to leave the EU; and it is the Tories who are in power (thanks to the DUP) and the Tories who own the entire Brexit strategy. They are making an absolute Horlicks of it.
Not all, Cameron, Osborne, Hunt, Morgan, Rudd, Javid, even May all backed Remain. Labour MPs like Field, Hoey and Stuart were a core part of the Vote Leave campaign and helped convince over a third of Labour voters to vote Leave while Corbyn did virtually nothing at all for the Remain campaign. Indeed almost as many Labour voters backed Leave as Tory voters backed Remain. Only the LDs can claim to have genuinely had all their MPs backing Remain and the vast majority of their voters and to have stuck to a soft Brexit position after the result
That would be the federalist Vernon Bogdanor who, like Williamglenn, believes the UK should cease to exist as an independent country and become part of a federal EU state. Not exactly an unbiased commentator.
it is the Tories who are in power (thanks to the DUP) and the Tories who own the entire Brexit strategy. They are making an absolute Horlicks of it.
The most interesting thing from that Dominic Cummings exchange is not that he thinks it will be a disaster, but that he is already blaming poor implementation for the failure.
"The idea was great, if only it had been done right..."
The implementation of Brexit has been remarkably bad. He has a point.
It would take a miracle to implement well, which is the pertinent point.
The difference between implementing well and badly is negligible. We'll have to take pretty much what we're offered because we voted to leave, whatever.
The main difference the negotiations make will be in respect of the extent to which they enable us to blame the EU for the consequences of Brexit as they become increasingly undeniable.
A more nuanced view would recognise that elections are both about winning seats and winning arguments. The problem the Tories have is that they (and the DUP) won the seats but lost the argument.
What argument do you think Labour 'won'?
The Tories went to the country arguing that they needed a bigger mandate/majority to deliver their version of Brexit, and lost. They argued that Mrs May was a stronger and more competent leader than Corbyn, and lost. They argued that stable steady-as-you-go was vital and that a change in direction would be dangerous, and lost. They argued for a continuation of the economic approach since 2010 (given May's failure to put any meat on the bones for her JAMs) and lost. They lost the argument on funding social home care from property equity and lost the argument on most of the peripheral Tory obsessions that found their way into the manifesto, such as fox hunting, which is probably now resolved for ever. More Grammar schools is probably also dead as an issue.
The political mood now is entirely changed, Hence all the Tories falling over themselves to argue for pay rises for public sector employees.
As a Liverpool fan I love this argument. We might have come second by a distance but really we won, we beat the Champions twice, and we were a long way back at the beginning and they lost their last 4 games, so they might as well put our name on the trophy!
Amusing but not really my point.
The change in the political mood is nevertheless evident all around us, including in the polls, where Labour now has a lead and Corbyn has better leader ratings than May (the odds on that ever occurring would have been huge a few months ago!). All the expectation is that things will have to change, and the government's approach will have to change, and - as we are seeing with public sector pay - each time the Tories will have the choice between not changing, and digging the political hole they are now in yet deeper, or changing, and conceding that the opposition is in the driving seat.
The North Sea oil industry cost taxpayers £312 million last year, the worst since records began nearly 50 years ago. Revenues plummeted into the red for the first times due to low oil prices while there were high operating costs.
“Government revenues have declined over the last few years from £10.9 billion in 2011/12, to -£312 million in 2016/17,” reported HMRC.
Get the feeling that the Tories won power but don't have a clue what direction they are heading. Philip Hammond suggests a national debate about whether taxes should increase to pay for better public services. David Davis and other cabinet ministers want a more flexible approach to Brexit negotiations without the red lines Theresa May insisted on previously.
Tory/DUP coalition of chaos will last a few months, before Theresa May is toppled by her Tory cabinet colleagues and they cancel the deal with the DUP. The new Tory leader/PM will then try to continue with an early election in April 2018. Brexit will be delayed by years, as article 50 is extended by agreement with the EU.
This is my prediction based on the messy situation we have at the moment.
The EU will not extend the time frames. The UK has made its bed and now it has to lie in it! The UK lemmings are going over the cliff and the only way back will be on the EU's terms. (i.e. Join the Euro, opt in to the opt-outs, say goodbye to the rebate, and less influence). What a total screw-up!
Nobody would want those terms.
ScarfNZ is wrong about losing influence. If we joined the Euro we would have a level of influence we haven't had since the 90s.
If Beppe Grillo wins the Italian elections next year (he still leads most Italian polls) he has promised to call a referendum on Italian membership of the Euro and current Italian polls on the issue show they could vote to return to the Lira
it is the Tories who are in power (thanks to the DUP) and the Tories who own the entire Brexit strategy. They are making an absolute Horlicks of it.
The most interesting thing from that Dominic Cummings exchange is not that he thinks it will be a disaster, but that he is already blaming poor implementation for the failure.
"The idea was great, if only it had been done right..."
The implementation of Brexit has been remarkably bad. He has a point.
It would take a miracle to implement well, which is the pertinent point.
The difference between implementing well and badly is negligible. We'll have to take pretty much what we're offered because we voted to leave, whatever.
The main difference the negotiations make will be in respect of the extent to which they enable us to blame the EU for the consequences of Brexit as they become increasingly undeniable.
There's a lot more to it than that. The scope for FU's in the detail, as we seek to replace EU regulations on a myriad of detailed issues with our own bespoke arrangements, is huge. The scope for any one issue, for example farming subsidy or fishing, to spiral quickly into a political disaster, is also huge. Successful implementation would need a confident government in control of events and in command of its brief.
Mr Brind doesn't address how the DUP get past Corbyn's previous IRA links or avowed wish for a United Ireland - non-trivial matters......
McGuiness was a thug, but Paisley came to respect him over time. He had also moved on from the past - just enough to get him into office while retaining leverage.
The sheer incompetence of the Conservative party's approach to Brexit really is something to behold. They have no idea what they want, no understanding of what will happen when we do leave and no plan to deal with any of it. What an absolute shower of shite they are.
British manufacturers are fast approaching a “tipping point” where a lack of certainty over the direction of Brexit negotiations will force them to make painful cuts whatever the outcome, they say. The stark warning, due to be delivered on Tuesday by Engineering Employers’ Federation chief executive Terry Scuoler, comes as business leaders begin a week of crunch meetings with government ministers to try to force the pace of thinking over how to ensure economic stability when Britain leaves the European Union.
You're much more interesting when you take the partisan spectacles off. Theresa May has been constant on no single market, no EU Customs Union, no freedom of movement and no ECJ jurisdiction since January.
It's your party that promises 'not being in the Customs union or single market but with all the benefits'. What would you call promising something by definition unachievable?
I'd call it lying.
Being They are making an absolute Horlicks of it.
Not all, Cameron, Osborne, Hunt, Morgan, Rudd, Javid, even May all backed Remain. Labour MPs like Field, Hoey and Stuart were a core part of the Vote Leave campaign and helped convince over a third of Labour voters to vote Leave while Corbyn did virtually nothing at all for the Remain campaign. Indeed almost as many Labour voters backed Leave as Tory voters backed Remain. Only the LDs can claim to have genuinely had all their MPs backing Remain and the vast majority of their voters and to have stuck to a soft Brexit position after the result
The Tories own Brexit - they led the Leave and Remain campaigns, they headlined the debates, they set the referendum agenda and they are now in power and have been throughout this entire period. Tory cabinet ministers told voters leaving would be pain-free and easy. And the Tories are now making a complete pig's ear of the exit process.
That would be the federalist Vernon Bogdanor who, like Williamglenn, believes the UK should cease to exist as an independent country and become part of a federal EU state. Not exactly an unbiased commentator.
That lecture is already out of date. He declared the 2017 General Election to be the "Revenge of the Remainers." He did not factor in Jeremy Corbyn.
I watched the Rochdale documentary last night and it was depressingly familiar.
Racism by the state. They treated a small section of the community differently because they were Muslims. In the interests of community cohesion, they gave them preferential treatment by allowing them to get away with rape. There was also a strong suggestion they didn't want the BNP to take advantage of this racism by the politically correct council and police. How ironic.
Anne Cryer was called a racist by some fellow MPs for even bringing the subject up.
To add to the irony, only Muslims were allowed to broach the subject without being shouted down. And some did.
Incidentally, IS are Muslim, albeit an extreme form. There is more mileage in claiming these taxi drivers weren't proper Muslims because they drank alcohol and raped. But they were still given a free pass.
The BNP were racist, the Authorities were racist, stupid and hypocritical.
A more nuanced view would recognise that elections are both about winning seats and winning arguments. The problem the Tories have is that they (and the DUP) won the seats but lost the argument.
What argument do you think Labour 'won'?
The Tories went to the country arguing that they needed a bigger mandate/majority to deliver their version of Brexit, and lost. They argued that Mrs May was a stronger and more competent leader than Corbyn, and lost. They argued that stable steady-as-you-go was vital and that a change in direction would be dangerous, and lost. They argued for a continuation of the economic approach since 2010 (given May's failure to put any meat on the bones for her JAMs) and lost. They lost the argument on funding social home care from property equity and lost the argument on most of the peripheral Tory obsessions that found their way into the manifesto, such as fox hunting, which is probably now resolved for ever. More Grammar schools is probably also dead as an issue.
The political mood now is entirely changed, Hence all the Tories falling over themselves to argue for pay rises for public sector employees.
That doesn't answer the question - what argument did Labour win?
I suggest you go back and read my original post.
I have.
You explained which arguments you thought the Tories lost, but not which arguments Labour won
The North Sea oil industry cost taxpayers £312 million last year, the worst since records began nearly 50 years ago. Revenues plummeted into the red for the first times due to low oil prices while there were high operating costs.
“Government revenues have declined over the last few years from £10.9 billion in 2011/12, to -£312 million in 2016/17,” reported HMRC.
Which has already happened. The difference between public and private sector is that when a crash happens the private sector reacts in a logical and practical way. Hence the reason for all the job losses and companies pulling out of the North Sea.
The problem for the country is that successive governments sought to make necessary and I'll advised concessions to some big companies regarding tax breaks. They were wholly unnecessary and have left the country with liabilities which should be pushed back onto the operating companies.
Get the feeling that the Tories won power but don't have a clue what direction they are heading. Philip Hammond suggests a national debate about whether taxes should increase to pay for better public services. David Davis and other cabinet ministers want a more flexible approach to Brexit negotiations without the red lines Theresa May insisted on previously.
Tory/DUP coalition of chaos will last a few months, before Theresa May is toppled by her Tory cabinet colleagues and they cancel the deal with the DUP. The new Tory leader/PM will then try to continue with an early election in April 2018. Brexit will be delayed by years, as article 50 is extended by agreement with the EU.
This is my prediction based on the messy situation we have at the moment.
The EU will not extend the time frames. The UK has made its bed and now it has to lie in it! The UK lemmings are going over the cliff and the only way back will be on the EU's terms. (i.e. Join the Euro, opt in to the opt-outs, say goodbye to the rebate, and less influence). What a total screw-up!
From my knowledge of EU politics I don't think they'd be as unhelpful as you think if we did want to stay. But they're not in the mood to spin the process out for the convenience of UK domestic politics, which they regard with increasing exasperation. "If you're going, let's get on with it. If you'd like to reconsider, that's different." sums it up.
The North Sea oil industry cost taxpayers £312 million last year, the worst since records began nearly 50 years ago. Revenues plummeted into the red for the first times due to low oil prices while there were high operating costs.
“Government revenues have declined over the last few years from £10.9 billion in 2011/12, to -£312 million in 2016/17,” reported HMRC.
Only the Tories could magic up a loss on oil, the only country in the world that can do so. Whose pocket are the spoils filling is the question.
Nothing to do with any political party - just that the UK pioneered offshore drilling at a time when the oil price made it worthwhile. It is no longer so. If you look at the breakdown of production costs by country, the second most expensive is Brazil, and that includes a substantial tax component - the UK rate is currently nil: http://graphics.wsj.com/oil-barrel-breakdown/
The sheer incompetence of the Conservative party's approach to Brexit really is something to behold. They have no idea what they want, no understanding of what will happen when we do leave and no plan to deal with any of it. What an absolute shower of shite they are.
British manufacturers are fast approaching a “tipping point” where a lack of certainty over the direction of Brexit negotiations will force them to make painful cuts whatever the outcome, they say. The stark warning, due to be delivered on Tuesday by Engineering Employers’ Federation chief executive Terry Scuoler, comes as business leaders begin a week of crunch meetings with government ministers to try to force the pace of thinking over how to ensure economic stability when Britain leaves the European Union.
You're much more interesting when you take the partisan spectacles off. Theresa May has been constant on no single market, no EU Customs Union, no freedom of movement and no ECJ jurisdiction since January.
It's your party that promises 'not being in the Customs union or single market but with all the benefits'. What would you call promising something by definition unachievable?
I'd call it lying.
Being They are making an absolute Horlicks of it.
Not all, Cameron, Osborne, Hunt, Morgan, Rudd, Javid, even May all backed Remain. Labour MPs like Field, Hoey and Stuart were a core part of the Vote Leave campaign and helped convince over a third of Labour voters to vote Leave while Corbyn did virtually nothing at all for the Remain campaign. Indeed almost as many Labour voters backed Leave as Tory voters backed Remain. Only the LDs can claim to have genuinely had all their MPs backing Remain and the vast majority of their voters and to have stuck to a soft Brexit position after the result
The Tories own Brexit - they led the Leave and Remain campaigns, they headlined the debates, they set the referendum agenda and they are now in power and have been throughout this entire period. Tory cabinet ministers told voters leaving would be pain-free and easy. And the Tories are now making a complete pig's ear of the exit process.
"Own" in this context is a classic weasel word. May neither advocated, campaigned for, voted for nor welcomed Brexit, which is what your argument demands, so we'll say her party "owns" it. It doesn't.
Comments
I'm beginning to wonder if we'll have a repeat of the 1979 vote of confidence where the government loses by a single vote. A shame that one wasn't televised.
What I do not see is how we get from here to there without a general election being called when the government loses a vote of confidence or when its relationship with the DUP breaks down, whether or not the Conservatives have achieved their manifesto commitment to repeal the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act.
The DUP had little to do with it
Any Questions: "Jeremy Corbyn has made common cause with just about every enemy this country has ever had."
A minority Labour government is not going to happen. There are not the numbers for it and the DUP would NEVER put Corbyn in No 10. To them it is an issue of fundamental patriotism. And quite what Heidi Allen has got to do with it I fail to see.
But would the DUP want to put themselves as unreliable partners long term, in order to facilitate Corbyn ?
I'd think that not to be the case. Hence the Tories look to be in till 2022 or whenever they decide to call the election to me (For surely Corbyn would vote for another election).
THIS, the 328 rather than 318 vs 314 arithmetic is the real value of the DUP deal for the Tories, in what is likely to be an unpopular government where some marginal Tory MPs might decide they wish to pursue other hobbies in say 2019.
On the current parliamentary arithmetic, the Labour party would need at least passive support from the SNP to run a minority administration. It would be completely unacceptable for a UK government to be beholden to enemies of the state.
Voters might conclude they may as well vote for the real thing.
But the math doesn't work in this parliament for Labour.
When Labour do deals with the DUP it's to raise living standards.
When Tories do deals with the DUP it's a bung.
Right, got it.
Hitting the reset button on a personal computer clears the memory and forcibly reboots the machine. That is what Nicola Sturgeon failed to do last week when she addressed only the timing of a referendum and further nudged her party, like a wonky PC, into what could be its meltdown.
Sturgeon’s government is in a dismal place right now, and not having the humility to recognise the reality of the consequences of her party’s failings will be at the root of its demise. Yes, the SNP won the Westminster election, but it lost the campaign, and with it went more than just the 21 MPs and the scalps of totemic figures like Alex Salmond. It has lost momentum, and after three successive elections that evidence a trajectory of down, gone too is that spirit of reinvention, of a seemingly inexhaustible ability to pick itself up and shake itself down.
And worse, Sturgeon, a giant of a politician, appears shrunken, cut down to size, reduced to name calling and defensively sniping from the sides. And it isn’t worthy.
https://www.holyrood.com/articles/editors-note/snp-dismal-place-right-now
3rd in Isle of Wight still, but now behind Labour. Over 25,000 votes behind the Tories.
4th now in Norwich South - and completely out the running.
3rd in Bristol West, and over 37,000 votes behind Labour.
Ex Caroline Lucas, they are pretty much dead in the FPTP waters - their problems just as big as UKIPs. Where on earth do they go from here, the post 2015 landscape looked alot better for them with the possible targets of both Bristol West & Norwich South. But they've been beyond humiliated in both of those.
It's quite simple to see what Don Brind meant, that Corbyn would apply extra resources to the whole of the UK not just NI.
It would be better if you accepted the point he was making and argue against that rather than deliberately misinterpreting what he was saying.
To Tunnock's Teacakes, Barrhead Travel, Highland Spring we can now add Greggs for boycott:
https://twitter.com/AgentP22/status/881978560394784769
The political mood now is entirely changed, Hence all the Tories falling over themselves to argue for pay rises for public sector employees.
It also seems very likely to me that the SNP will lose control of Holyrood next time out with the shortfall being too large for the Greens to cover. What will replace them, however, is very much up for grabs.
The DUP worked with Sinn Fein after they renounced violence in order to secure a peaceful future for Northern Ireland and even then they hardly did so with enthusiasm. A bung - for that is what Don Brind is arguing for - wouldn't be enough of an incentive to ignore what the Northern Irish protestants would undoubtedly see as a matter of principle. Nothing like.
That's the trouble with being a terrorist sympathiser. The chances are that sooner or later you'll come up against people who don't sympathise with those terrorists one little bit. And they'll sympathise with you even less.
This started it:
https://stv.tv/news/politics/1392609-businesses-fed-up-with-push-for-second-referendum/
Though I don't know how it spread beyond Highland Spring.....
Apparently to "diss" in Norfolk dialect is to partake of same sex electoral marriage that dates back to the era of rotten boroughs. Male voters from the area would gamble vast quantities of turnips on the best shaped and number of the said vegetable that might fitted up the rear end of a nominated Tory or Whig member.
The winner was then paraded in triumph to the Diss parish church where he was married to the turnip and deemed elected. This quaint tradition has all but vanished in the UK but there remains an outpost of "Diss" still to found in Ayrshire.
Tory/DUP coalition of chaos will last a few months, before Theresa May is toppled by her Tory cabinet colleagues and they cancel the deal with the DUP. The new Tory leader/PM will then try to continue with an early election in April 2018. Brexit will be delayed by years, as article 50 is extended by agreement with the EU.
This is my prediction based on the messy situation we have at the moment.
http://jackofkent.com/2017/07/in-some-possible-branches-of-the-future-leaving-will-be-an-error-an-exchange-about-brexit-with-dominic-cummings/
The North Sea oil industry cost taxpayers £312 million last year, the worst since records began nearly 50 years ago.
Revenues plummeted into the red for the first times due to low oil prices while there were high operating costs.
“Government revenues have declined over the last few years from £10.9 billion in 2011/12, to -£312 million in 2016/17,” reported HMRC.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/north-sea-oil-industry-cost-taxpayers-more-than-300-million-1-4493807
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/alex-massie-comment-sturgeon-needs-a-break-in-more-ways-than-one-w05vspjk2
always be the doubt as to whether that is sufficient. The last election has done awful things for those who make their decisions based on the polls
British manufacturers are fast approaching a “tipping point” where a lack of certainty over the direction of Brexit negotiations will force them to make painful cuts whatever the outcome, they say.
The stark warning, due to be delivered on Tuesday by Engineering Employers’ Federation chief executive Terry Scuoler, comes as business leaders begin a week of crunch meetings with government ministers to try to force the pace of thinking over how to ensure economic stability when Britain leaves the European Union.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jul/04/uk-manufacturers-brexit-cuts-business?CMP=share_btn_tw
It's your party that promises 'not being in the Customs union or single market but with all the benefits'. What would you call promising something by definition unachievable?
I'd call it lying.
Betjeman to Mary Wilson.
This is probably a good thing though. I fear materially inaccurate polling information seriously distorted the outcome of both of the last 2 elections considerably favouring the Tories in 2015 (at enormous expense to the Lib Dems) and substantially disfavouring them in June.
I think they will make the offer - perhaps quite late in the process.
She pandered to the headbangers, and we are all going to suffer for it.
Vernon Bogdanor sets it out brilliantly in his lecture 'Britain and Europe: one year on'.
https://youtu.be/39KtssUwd-Q
I recommend it to everyone.
Heck, Corbyn finds it hard to work with the PLP.
"The idea was great, if only it had been done right..."
PS: Your use of turnips seems very acceptable and useful mind you.
The implementation of Brexit has been remarkably bad.
This does not mean any other implementation of Brexit would have been any less bad.
Driving off a cliff has very few "good implementation" options...
What we have is Laurel and Hardy trying to implement soundbites and lies.
The main difference the negotiations make will be in respect of the extent to which they enable us to blame the EU for the consequences of Brexit as they become increasingly undeniable.
The change in the political mood is nevertheless evident all around us, including in the polls, where Labour now has a lead and Corbyn has better leader ratings than May (the odds on that ever occurring would have been huge a few months ago!). All the expectation is that things will have to change, and the government's approach will have to change, and - as we are seeing with public sector pay - each time the Tories will have the choice between not changing, and digging the political hole they are now in yet deeper, or changing, and conceding that the opposition is in the driving seat.
This should have been predictable, it is what happens to a business with insanely high operating costs the price of whose output falls by 75%. The magic money tree has stopped fruiting and requires expensive tree surgery.
Corbyn is a true believer who won't compromise
Racism by the state. They treated a small section of the community differently because they were Muslims. In the interests of community cohesion, they gave them preferential treatment by allowing them to get away with rape. There was also a strong suggestion they didn't want the BNP to take advantage of this racism by the politically correct council and police. How ironic.
Anne Cryer was called a racist by some fellow MPs for even bringing the subject up.
To add to the irony, only Muslims were allowed to broach the subject without being shouted down. And some did.
Incidentally, IS are Muslim, albeit an extreme form. There is more mileage in claiming these taxi drivers weren't proper Muslims because they drank alcohol and raped. But they were still given a free pass.
The BNP were racist, the Authorities were racist, stupid and hypocritical.
You explained which arguments you thought the Tories lost, but not which arguments Labour won
The problem for the country is that successive governments sought to make necessary and I'll advised concessions to some big companies regarding tax breaks. They were wholly unnecessary and have left the country with liabilities which should be pushed back onto the operating companies.
If you look at the breakdown of production costs by country, the second most expensive is Brazil, and that includes a substantial tax component - the UK rate is currently nil:
http://graphics.wsj.com/oil-barrel-breakdown/