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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Six Fridays to go and punters think there’s an increasing chan

SystemSystem Posts: 12,172
edited February 2019 in General

imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Six Fridays to go and punters think there’s an increasing chance the the UK will leave on schedule

Betdata.io chart of movement on the Betfair exchange

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Comments

  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,219
  • MrXMrX Posts: 12
    What do you think is going to happen in a fortnight? Parliament is clearly going to try to force a delay, will they succeed? What obstacles do they face?
  • ChrisChris Posts: 11,752
    MrX said:

    What do you think is going to happen in a fortnight? Parliament is clearly going to try to force a delay, will they succeed? What obstacles do they face?

    That they're bloody useless?
  • MrXMrX Posts: 12
    Chris said:

    MrX said:

    What do you think is going to happen in a fortnight? Parliament is clearly going to try to force a delay, will they succeed? What obstacles do they face?

    That they're bloody useless?
    Well I was hoping for something more specific? For example I heard a rumour that the a tiny group of brexiteer lords were planning to filibuster Cooper's amendment.
  • BarnesianBarnesian Posts: 8,621
    edited February 2019
    There are only three possibilities. Befair implies these probabilities:

    Leave by 29 Mar (either with a deal or No Deal) 30% (No Deal is 23% so deal is 7%)
    Extend A50 71%
    Revoke A50 14%

    These are last prices struck. They add up to 115%. I think the Revoke is too high, the Leave by 29 mar too high, and the extend is too low.

    EDIT: I heavily laid "Leave by 29 Mar" at 1.6 some time back so I'm well in the green.
  • MrX said:

    What do you think is going to happen in a fortnight? Parliament is clearly going to try to force a delay, will they succeed? What obstacles do they face?

    They face the same obstacles that stumped them last time - (1) anti no-deal ministers staying loyal to May in the hope that her deal can pass without a delay, (2) Leave Labour MPs rebelling against Corbyn due to their own convictions, or fear of a backlash from their constituents.

    I have no sense of how likely it is that they will overcome these obstacles this time around.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,387
    MrX said:

    What do you think is going to happen in a fortnight? Parliament is clearly going to try to force a delay, will they succeed? What obstacles do they face?

    I'm not sure that the Cooper/Boles amendment works. If it's passed, and we request an extension to A50, the EU can always say No.
  • BarnesianBarnesian Posts: 8,621
    Sean_F said:

    MrX said:

    What do you think is going to happen in a fortnight? Parliament is clearly going to try to force a delay, will they succeed? What obstacles do they face?

    I'm not sure that the Cooper/Boles amendment works. If it's passed, and we request an extension to A50, the EU can always say No.
    They won't - but there will be conditions ... which we will agree to.
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,722
    Sean_F said:

    MrX said:

    What do you think is going to happen in a fortnight? Parliament is clearly going to try to force a delay, will they succeed? What obstacles do they face?

    I'm not sure that the Cooper/Boles amendment works. If it's passed, and we request an extension to A50, the EU can always say No.
    Don't all 27 have to agree to it if asked?
  • BarnesianBarnesian Posts: 8,621
    geoffw said:

    Sean_F said:

    MrX said:

    What do you think is going to happen in a fortnight? Parliament is clearly going to try to force a delay, will they succeed? What obstacles do they face?

    I'm not sure that the Cooper/Boles amendment works. If it's passed, and we request an extension to A50, the EU can always say No.
    Don't all 27 have to agree to it if asked?
    It's the Council, not the parliaments. They have been totally united so far and prepared for an extend request.
  • Leaving on 29/3 now is identical for all intents and purposes to No Deal. There simply is not time to pass the legislation necessary to implement the deal within the four weeks after the next scheduled date for a Meaningful Vote (and even if there is, the prudent thing would still be to request an extension, just in case) - and that's if the vote takes place on time, and passes, both of which come with substantial dollops of doubt.

    The prospect of negotiating a different deal - one with a revised backstop, for example - while possible, has to be extremely slim. And even if it could be done, it'd put a spanner in the works of any draft ratification legislation already drawn up, so make a delay even more likely (although there is the risk that the EP might reject such a deal, in which case we'd be back to No Deal and a 29/3 exit).

    However, No Deal does not necessarily equate to leaving on 29/3. It's quite possible that Britain could get an extension and still not be able to ratify any deal.
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,318
    Nothing will happen. Nothing will be done. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. And endless empty threats. And lots of interviews - much sound and fury signifying nothing.

    Leadsom will continue talking nonsense. May will repeat the same pre-programmed statement she’s been boring us rigid with for months and months.

    And the Militant Tendency of the Tory party - the ERG - will get their desire. I hope it turns to ashes in their mouths.

    The rest of us will just have to cope with what happens. And some of us will wait quietly until the time comes to take our revenge.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,725

    Leaving on 29/3 now is identical for all intents and purposes to No Deal.

    Yes, a corollary of that is that to avoid No Deal, we either need a justification for an extension that will be accepted by the EU27, or we need to revoke.

    If May just scrapes a meaningful vote win by the skin of her teeth before the deadline, that wouldn't be sufficient to demonstrate there is a stable majority to pass the legislation.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,253
    So, yesterday was a waste of time, both generally speaking and on the matter of Brexit. It remains quite a thorny issue. At least on the surface it does. Perhaps it is because of the spectacles I wear but I am able to see method from the PM amidst the apparent madness.

    She has 2 big cards to play.

    CARD 1: The Irish backstop. She has deduced that Brussels has a little something for her on this. It might be a 5 year sunset clause, it might be a legal codicil, it might even be the one expressed in the other. Whatever, it will not be totally insulting. Of course it won't. I don't care who you are, you don't insult Britain.

    This card she will play very very late. Don't bank on it being 27th Feb. It could be later than that. She will produce it at the point of maximum panic about no deal on the one hand and not leaving at all on the other.

    Will it be enough? I believe it will. I think the deal will pass. But if not, if MPs still refuse to play ball, TM has her own backstop, she has CARD 2 to play - take it to the British people, her people, in a 'back me or sack me' general election.

    "This parliament will not Brexit, they are quislings, please give me a another one."

    Will voters oblige? I have no idea. Much depends on Labour positioning. And in any case, as I say, I don't expect her to get locked into the backstop of a snap election. CARD 1 should take the trick. I sense that she is as confident of this as I am, hence the serene look on her face at the moment. It is the look of a strong woman in control of her life. She is directing this movie. It's Theresa's world and parliament and the rest of us just live in it.
  • ChrisChris Posts: 11,752

    Leaving on 29/3 now is identical for all intents and purposes to No Deal. There simply is not time to pass the legislation necessary to implement the deal within the four weeks after the next scheduled date for a Meaningful Vote (and even if there is, the prudent thing would still be to request an extension, just in case) - and that's if the vote takes place on time, and passes, both of which come with substantial dollops of doubt.

    The prospect of negotiating a different deal - one with a revised backstop, for example - while possible, has to be extremely slim. And even if it could be done, it'd put a spanner in the works of any draft ratification legislation already drawn up, so make a delay even more likely (although there is the risk that the EP might reject such a deal, in which case we'd be back to No Deal and a 29/3 exit).

    However, No Deal does not necessarily equate to leaving on 29/3. It's quite possible that Britain could get an extension and still not be able to ratify any deal.

    Thanks.

    Of course, that's right about No Deal still being possible after an extension, but as far as I know the only No Deal betting markets are "Leave with No Deal on 29 March".
  • ChrisChris Posts: 11,752
    Cyclefree said:

    Nothing will happen. Nothing will be done. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. And endless empty threats. And lots of interviews - much sound and fury signifying nothing.

    Leadsom will continue talking nonsense. ...

    If only we could bet on that.
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,722
    Cyclefree said:

    Nothing will happen. Nothing will be done. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. And endless empty threats. And lots of interviews - much sound and fury signifying nothing.

    Leadsom will continue talking nonsense. May will repeat the same pre-programmed statement she’s been boring us rigid with for months and months.

    And the Militant Tendency of the Tory party - the ERG - will get their desire. I hope it turns to ashes in their mouths.

    The rest of us will just have to cope with what happens. And some of us will wait quietly until the time comes to take our revenge.

    Thus spake Cassandra.
  • MrX said:

    Chris said:

    MrX said:

    What do you think is going to happen in a fortnight? Parliament is clearly going to try to force a delay, will they succeed? What obstacles do they face?

    That they're bloody useless?
    Well I was hoping for something more specific? For example I heard a rumour that the a tiny group of brexiteer lords were planning to filibuster Cooper's amendment.
    Is that possible? I thought in the UK that Bercow has the power (which he would exercise) to prevent that?
  • kinabalu said:

    So, yesterday was a waste of time, both generally speaking and on the matter of Brexit. It remains quite a thorny issue. At least on the surface it does. Perhaps it is because of the spectacles I wear but I am able to see method from the PM amidst the apparent madness.

    She has 2 big cards to play.

    CARD 1: The Irish backstop. She has deduced that Brussels has a little something for her on this. It might be a 5 year sunset clause, it might be a legal codicil, it might even be the one expressed in the other. Whatever, it will not be totally insulting. Of course it won't. I don't care who you are, you don't insult Britain.

    This card she will play very very late. Don't bank on it being 27th Feb. It could be later than that. She will produce it at the point of maximum panic about no deal on the one hand and not leaving at all on the other.

    Will it be enough? I believe it will. I think the deal will pass. But if not, if MPs still refuse to play ball, TM has her own backstop, she has CARD 2 to play - take it to the British people, her people, in a 'back me or sack me' general election.

    "This parliament will not Brexit, they are quislings, please give me a another one."

    Will voters oblige? I have no idea. Much depends on Labour positioning. And in any case, as I say, I don't expect her to get locked into the backstop of a snap election. CARD 1 should take the trick. I sense that she is as confident of this as I am, hence the serene look on her face at the moment. It is the look of a strong woman in control of her life. She is directing this movie. It's Theresa's world and parliament and the rest of us just live in it.

    A general election is no solution as too many of her own MPs are against her deal.

    Originally the deal was blocked by 432 MPs. Even if May won a landslide taking 50 seats off Labour, even if all 50 of those backed the deal, the numbers still wouldn't be there
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,725
    kinabalu said:

    But if not, if MPs still refuse to play ball, TM has her own backstop, she has CARD 2 to play - take it to the British people, her people, in a 'back me or sack me' general election.

    That card would only be available if we had a presidential system. As it is, candidates would run their own Brexit manifestos and we'd probably still end up with no majority for anything.
  • Spain is to have a general election at the end of April. The polls say that PSOE will win most votes, but that a right wing coalition government is likely to be the end result, with PP and C's - supported by the far right Vox - coming to power. That will see a hardening of Spain's position on Gibraltar and also a return to serial confrontation between Madrid and Barcelona, with the Catalan autonomy statute likely to be suspended once more. Expect mass demos across Catalonia and increased international attention on what is going on there. It is going to get profoundly unpleasant once more. Throw in Brexit and a generally weakening European economy and 2019/20 is going to be extremely tough.
  • Cyclefree said:

    Nothing will happen. Nothing will be done. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. And endless empty threats. And lots of interviews - much sound and fury signifying nothing.

    Leadsom will continue talking nonsense. May will repeat the same pre-programmed statement she’s been boring us rigid with for months and months.

    And the Militant Tendency of the Tory party - the ERG - will get their desire. I hope it turns to ashes in their mouths.

    The rest of us will just have to cope with what happens. And some of us will wait quietly until the time comes to take our revenge.

    Why ashes?

    Surely if it happens you should hope that you were wrong, that the ERG against the odds were right and that we succeed.

    You may not expect that but its surely what is to he hoped for.
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,318
    Off topic - and with due caveats given its source - I do hope the local LEA and Damian Hinds stand up to this sort of nonsense.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6706337/Muslim-parents-lead-group-300-protest-outside-school-gates-against-equality-lessons.html
  • kinabalu said:

    But if not, if MPs still refuse to play ball, TM has her own backstop, she has CARD 2 to play - take it to the British people, her people, in a 'back me or sack me' general election.

    That card would only be available if we had a presidential system. As it is, candidates would run their own Brexit manifestos and we'd probably still end up with no majority for anything.
    The card would only work if May withdrew the whip from and deselected every Tory MP opposed to the deal.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,725

    kinabalu said:

    But if not, if MPs still refuse to play ball, TM has her own backstop, she has CARD 2 to play - take it to the British people, her people, in a 'back me or sack me' general election.

    That card would only be available if we had a presidential system. As it is, candidates would run their own Brexit manifestos and we'd probably still end up with no majority for anything.
    The card would only work if May withdrew the whip from and deselected every Tory MP opposed to the deal.
    Then who would campaign for her candidates? Rory Stewart can't canvass the whole country.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,187
    edited February 2019
    Cyclefree said:

    Nothing will happen. Nothing will be done. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. And endless empty threats. And lots of interviews - much sound and fury signifying nothing.

    Leadsom will continue talking nonsense. May will repeat the same pre-programmed statement she’s been boring us rigid with for months and months.

    And the Militant Tendency of the Tory party - the ERG - will get their desire. I hope it turns to ashes in their mouths.

    The rest of us will just have to cope with what happens. And some of us will wait quietly until the time comes to take our revenge.

    The ERG do not have the votes thanks to the hung parliament.

    Given Parliament voted 318 to 310 to rule out No Deal last month and those 318 will almost certainly vote for a permanent Customs Union to stop No Deal, joined by resigning Ministers like Clark, Rudd, Gauke and Burt by rejecting May's Deal the ERG will likely end up with the Commons voting for BINO instead.

    The EU are now preparing for a renegotiation based on a permanent Customs Union as the likely alternative to No Deal given May's Deal seems doomed
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    edited February 2019

    kinabalu said:

    But if not, if MPs still refuse to play ball, TM has her own backstop, she has CARD 2 to play - take it to the British people, her people, in a 'back me or sack me' general election.

    That card would only be available if we had a presidential system. As it is, candidates would run their own Brexit manifestos and we'd probably still end up with no majority for anything.
    The card would only work if May withdrew the whip from and deselected every Tory MP opposed to the deal.
    Then who would campaign for her candidates? Rory Stewart can't canvass the whole country.
    Precisely it wasn't a serious suggestion.
  • kinabalu said:

    So, yesterday was a waste of time, both generally speaking and on the matter of Brexit. It remains quite a thorny issue. At least on the surface it does. Perhaps it is because of the spectacles I wear but I am able to see method from the PM amidst the apparent madness.

    She has 2 big cards to play.

    CARD 1: The Irish backstop. She has deduced that Brussels has a little something for her on this. It might be a 5 year sunset clause, it might be a legal codicil, it might even be the one expressed in the other. Whatever, it will not be totally insulting. Of course it won't. I don't care who you are, you don't insult Britain.

    This card she will play very very late. Don't bank on it being 27th Feb. It could be later than that. She will produce it at the point of maximum panic about no deal on the one hand and not leaving at all on the other.

    Will it be enough? I believe it will. I think the deal will pass. But if not, if MPs still refuse to play ball, TM has her own backstop, she has CARD 2 to play - take it to the British people, her people, in a 'back me or sack me' general election.

    "This parliament will not Brexit, they are quislings, please give me a another one."

    Will voters oblige? I have no idea. Much depends on Labour positioning. And in any case, as I say, I don't expect her to get locked into the backstop of a snap election. CARD 1 should take the trick. I sense that she is as confident of this as I am, hence the serene look on her face at the moment. It is the look of a strong woman in control of her life. She is directing this movie. It's Theresa's world and parliament and the rest of us just live in it.

    A very plausable comment piece
  • MrX said:

    Chris said:

    MrX said:

    What do you think is going to happen in a fortnight? Parliament is clearly going to try to force a delay, will they succeed? What obstacles do they face?

    That they're bloody useless?
    Well I was hoping for something more specific? For example I heard a rumour that the a tiny group of brexiteer lords were planning to filibuster Cooper's amendment.
    Is that possible? I thought in the UK that Bercow has the power (which he would exercise) to prevent that?
    Bercow has no power in the HOL
  • So they are leaving the SM as well then?
  • ChrisChris Posts: 11,752
    "hile insiders say that at one point, Varadkar had simply considered the option of refusing to police the border, the government now says it plans to hold talks with the EU and the U.K. on how to avoid infrastructure on the frontier in the event of no-deal."

    ?!?? ??! ? ?
  • Varadkar beginning to panic - Merkel and the EU will have no choice to put in a hard border in no deal, either in Ireland or on continental europe

    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Chickens coming home to roost
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,622
    Well, Leo, them's the Rules. If you don't like the Rules, leave the club.....

    Brexit really has flushed out an army of grandstanding tossers, on all sides.
  • BarnesianBarnesian Posts: 8,621
    There would be a hard border between Ireland and mainland EU using the GB landbridge, and a softer border between Ireland and mainland EU if direct.
  • Leaving on 29/3 now is identical for all intents and purposes to No Deal.

    Yes, a corollary of that is that to avoid No Deal, we either need a justification for an extension that will be accepted by the EU27, or we need to revoke.

    If May just scrapes a meaningful vote win by the skin of her teeth before the deadline, that wouldn't be sufficient to demonstrate there is a stable majority to pass the legislation.
    Perhaps. But if the EU turned down a request for an extension, after the WA had been ratified, based only on their own interpretation of the dynamics of British politics, they would very much cast themselves as the bad guy. That's not to say they wouldn't do it but it would be much more in their interests to grant the extension and punt the ball back into the UK's court.
  • Varadkar beginning to panic - Merkel and the EU will have no choice to put in a hard border in no deal, either in Ireland or on continental europe

    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Chickens coming home to roost
    What's it got to do with Merkel. The SM/CU is an EU-wide thing. Even if she didn't want a border in Ireland, she can't stop one surely?
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,725

    Leaving on 29/3 now is identical for all intents and purposes to No Deal.

    Yes, a corollary of that is that to avoid No Deal, we either need a justification for an extension that will be accepted by the EU27, or we need to revoke.

    If May just scrapes a meaningful vote win by the skin of her teeth before the deadline, that wouldn't be sufficient to demonstrate there is a stable majority to pass the legislation.
    Perhaps. But if the EU turned down a request for an extension, after the WA had been ratified, based only on their own interpretation of the dynamics of British politics, they would very much cast themselves as the bad guy. That's not to say they wouldn't do it but it would be much more in their interests to grant the extension and punt the ball back into the UK's court.
    Agreed, but there are lots of permutations and potential conditions they could put on an extension. A short extension to ratify the legislation might not be desirable if it will lead to another no deal cliff edge in short order.
  • Varadkar beginning to panic - Merkel and the EU will have no choice to put in a hard border in no deal, either in Ireland or on continental europe

    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Chickens coming home to roost
    What's it got to do with Merkel. The SM/CU is an EU-wide thing. Even if she didn't want a border in Ireland, she can't stop one surely?
    Exactly. But many see Merkel as the power in the EU but of course the commission will put in a hard border either in Ireland or more likely on continental Europe
  • Varadkar beginning to panic - Merkel and the EU will have no choice to put in a hard border in no deal, either in Ireland or on continental europe

    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Chickens coming home to roost
    What's it got to do with Merkel. The SM/CU is an EU-wide thing. Even if she didn't want a border in Ireland, she can't stop one surely?
    And a border in Ireland completely smashes the Good Friday Agreement. Let us pray that there's no return to the troubles that so plagued us from the late 60s till 1998.
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,318

    Cyclefree said:

    Nothing will happen. Nothing will be done. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. And endless empty threats. And lots of interviews - much sound and fury signifying nothing.

    Leadsom will continue talking nonsense. May will repeat the same pre-programmed statement she’s been boring us rigid with for months and months.

    And the Militant Tendency of the Tory party - the ERG - will get their desire. I hope it turns to ashes in their mouths.

    The rest of us will just have to cope with what happens. And some of us will wait quietly until the time comes to take our revenge.

    Why ashes?

    Surely if it happens you should hope that you were wrong, that the ERG against the odds were right and that we succeed.

    You may not expect that but its surely what is to he hoped for.
    I hope the Tory party infected by ERG stupidity gets destroyed and we get a better more decent more thoughtful right of centre party.

    Of course, I hope that a No deal Brexit and what comes after is not as bad as I fear it will. But I am not hopeful. There is no thought, no strategy behind it. It is reactive and angry. This is not a good basis for charting a fresh course in the world.

  • Varadkar beginning to panic - Merkel and the EU will have no choice to put in a hard border in no deal, either in Ireland or on continental europe

    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Chickens coming home to roost
    What's it got to do with Merkel. The SM/CU is an EU-wide thing. Even if she didn't want a border in Ireland, she can't stop one surely?
    And a border in Ireland completely smashes the Good Friday Agreement. Let us pray that there's no return to the troubles that so plagued us from the late 60s till 1998.
    Amen to that
  • It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html
  • Varadkar beginning to panic - Merkel and the EU will have no choice to put in a hard border in no deal, either in Ireland or on continental europe

    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Chickens coming home to roost
    What's it got to do with Merkel. The SM/CU is an EU-wide thing. Even if she didn't want a border in Ireland, she can't stop one surely?
    And a border in Ireland completely smashes the Good Friday Agreement. Let us pray that there's no return to the troubles that so plagued us from the late 60s till 1998.
    It might smash the spirit of it - and I accept that in Ireland particularly, the spirit of these things matters at least as much as the text - but there's nothing in the GFA that rules out a hard border.

    Of course, if the terrorists "haven't gone away", then that would smash the GFA.
  • It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html

    Same here.
  • YBarddCwscYBarddCwsc Posts: 7,172
    Gossip from Meirionnydd.

    I am hearing strong rumours that Theresa May has just bought a property in Southern Snowdonia.

    It made me wonder if she is now thinking of life after Brexit.

    I think, one way or another, she will get her deal through, and then resign (or perhaps even her resignation will be part of the price of the deal).
  • Varadkar beginning to panic - Merkel and the EU will have no choice to put in a hard border in no deal, either in Ireland or on continental europe

    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Chickens coming home to roost
    What's it got to do with Merkel. The SM/CU is an EU-wide thing. Even if she didn't want a border in Ireland, she can't stop one surely?
    And a border in Ireland completely smashes the Good Friday Agreement. Let us pray that there's no return to the troubles that so plagued us from the late 60s till 1998.
    It might smash the spirit of it - and I accept that in Ireland particularly, the spirit of these things matters at least as much as the text - but there's nothing in the GFA that rules out a hard border.

    Of course, if the terrorists "haven't gone away", then that would smash the GFA.
    If people start noticing it now it doesn’t mean it wasn’t happening before.

    May 2016

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/what-is-the-new-ira-why-has-the-terror-threat-been-raised-from-northern-ireland-to-the-uk-a7024276.html
  • Varadkar beginning to panic - Merkel and the EU will have no choice to put in a hard border in no deal, either in Ireland or on continental europe

    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Chickens coming home to roost
    What's it got to do with Merkel. The SM/CU is an EU-wide thing. Even if she didn't want a border in Ireland, she can't stop one surely?
    Exactly. But many see Merkel as the power in the EU but of course the commission will put in a hard border either in Ireland or more likely on continental Europe
    If they put a hard border around Ireland, then Ireland is no longer in the SM/CU surely?
  • Varadkar beginning to panic - Merkel and the EU will have no choice to put in a hard border in no deal, either in Ireland or on continental europe

    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Chickens coming home to roost
    What's it got to do with Merkel. The SM/CU is an EU-wide thing. Even if she didn't want a border in Ireland, she can't stop one surely?
    Exactly. But many see Merkel as the power in the EU but of course the commission will put in a hard border either in Ireland or more likely on continental Europe
    Merkel is barely the power in Germany these days.

    Europe is distinctly lacking in leadership. In some ways, that's an advantage: the likes of Verhofstadt can fantasise over European armies but there's no-one with the vision, dynamism and power to make a real shot on delivering on that. On the other hand, it also means that when big gestures are needed - for example in fudging rules on the NI border, for example, in the interests of peace and stability - the tramlines of bureaucrats' interpretations still rule the day.
  • Gossip from Meirionnydd.

    I am hearing strong rumours that Theresa May has just bought a property in Southern Snowdonia.

    It made me wonder if she is now thinking of life after Brexit.

    I think, one way or another, she will get her deal through, and then resign (or perhaps even her resignation will be part of the price of the deal).

    I am surprised she ever wants to see the place again. Wasn't Snowdonia where she came up with the 2017 GE brainwave?
  • ChrisChris Posts: 11,752

    Gossip from Meirionnydd.

    I am hearing strong rumours that Theresa May has just bought a property in Southern Snowdonia.

    It made me wonder if she is now thinking of life after Brexit.

    I think, one way or another, she will get her deal through, and then resign (or perhaps even her resignation will be part of the price of the deal).

    Are we sure Wales will still be part of the UK post-Brexit?
  • YBarddCwscYBarddCwsc Posts: 7,172

    Gossip from Meirionnydd.

    I am hearing strong rumours that Theresa May has just bought a property in Southern Snowdonia.

    It made me wonder if she is now thinking of life after Brexit.

    I think, one way or another, she will get her deal through, and then resign (or perhaps even her resignation will be part of the price of the deal).

    I am surprised she ever wants to see the place again. Wasn't Snowdonia where she came up with the 2017 GE brainwave?
    In the Church opposite my house. I'll put a blue plaque up.
  • In case anyone else missed this 'Ken Livingstone' type moment:

    https://twitter.com/AaronBastani/status/1096154729149878272
  • Top trolling.

    Twitter about to suffer a server meltdown:

    https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/1096364819379355648
  • YBarddCwscYBarddCwsc Posts: 7,172
    Chris said:

    Gossip from Meirionnydd.

    I am hearing strong rumours that Theresa May has just bought a property in Southern Snowdonia.

    It made me wonder if she is now thinking of life after Brexit.

    I think, one way or another, she will get her deal through, and then resign (or perhaps even her resignation will be part of the price of the deal).

    Are we sure Wales will still be part of the UK post-Brexit?
    I suspect if Scotland and N . Ireland both left, then Wales would.
  • Varadkar beginning to panic - Merkel and the EU will have no choice to put in a hard border in no deal, either in Ireland or on continental europe

    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Chickens coming home to roost
    What's it got to do with Merkel. The SM/CU is an EU-wide thing. Even if she didn't want a border in Ireland, she can't stop one surely?
    Exactly. But many see Merkel as the power in the EU but of course the commission will put in a hard border either in Ireland or more likely on continental Europe
    Merkel is barely the power in Germany these days.

    Europe is distinctly lacking in leadership. In some ways, that's an advantage: the likes of Verhofstadt can fantasise over European armies but there's no-one with the vision, dynamism and power to make a real shot on delivering on that. On the other hand, it also means that when big gestures are needed - for example in fudging rules on the NI border, for example, in the interests of peace and stability - the tramlines of bureaucrats' interpretations still rule the day.
    It also means no one is attempting to sort out the economic disaster that is the Euro, which is about to be incredibly tested by a new recession and Italian debt crisis.
  • Gossip from Meirionnydd.

    I am hearing strong rumours that Theresa May has just bought a property in Southern Snowdonia.

    It made me wonder if she is now thinking of life after Brexit.

    I think, one way or another, she will get her deal through, and then resign (or perhaps even her resignation will be part of the price of the deal).

    Well, she's committed to standing down before the next election, which realistically means summer 2021 at the latest, so whatever happens (if she sticks to that pledge), it's not something for the distant future.

    FWIW, I think this summer still makes sense for a leadership election, if this round of Brexit is sorted by then - although not if there's an extension into the autumn or beyond, or if there's a No Deal situation to be managed.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,176

    It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html

    Not so good for me, but then I have influences from the South and the North.
  • AndrewAndrew Posts: 2,900

    It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html


    Not bad - it picks a blob covering where I was born, and where my dad is from.
  • It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html

    It accurately reflects where my great-grandfather (up the paternal line) and my great-grandmother (up the maternal line) were from. Near enough.
  • Gossip from Meirionnydd.

    I am hearing strong rumours that Theresa May has just bought a property in Southern Snowdonia.

    It made me wonder if she is now thinking of life after Brexit.

    I think, one way or another, she will get her deal through, and then resign (or perhaps even her resignation will be part of the price of the deal).

    Well, she's committed to standing down before the next election, which realistically means summer 2021 at the latest, so whatever happens (if she sticks to that pledge), it's not something for the distant future.

    FWIW, I think this summer still makes sense for a leadership election, if this round of Brexit is sorted by then - although not if there's an extension into the autumn or beyond, or if there's a No Deal situation to be managed.
    Aren't house prices dropping, with a further plunge on No Deal?

    She should have waited...
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,622



    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Well, if that is what it takes to stay in accordance with the Good Friday Agreement.....
  • Varadkar beginning to panic - Merkel and the EU will have no choice to put in a hard border in no deal, either in Ireland or on continental europe

    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Chickens coming home to roost
    What's it got to do with Merkel. The SM/CU is an EU-wide thing. Even if she didn't want a border in Ireland, she can't stop one surely?
    And a border in Ireland completely smashes the Good Friday Agreement. Let us pray that there's no return to the troubles that so plagued us from the late 60s till 1998.
    It might smash the spirit of it - and I accept that in Ireland particularly, the spirit of these things matters at least as much as the text - but there's nothing in the GFA that rules out a hard border.

    Of course, if the terrorists "haven't gone away", then that would smash the GFA.
    If people start noticing it now it doesn’t mean it wasn’t happening before.

    May 2016

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/what-is-the-new-ira-why-has-the-terror-threat-been-raised-from-northern-ireland-to-the-uk-a7024276.html
    Oh, sure. There's a great deal of hypocrisy in the whole thing. That said, a little blind-eye turning at times doesn't go amiss. It'd be daft to dismantle the whole settlement because of dissident groups. If one of the mainstream parties again allied themselves to the armed struggle, that'd be different.

    But that's the whole thing about the hard border: it only really matters if people choose to believe that it matters. Unfortunately, for some, it does matter to that extent because it undermines the constructive ambiguity of N Ireland's constitutional position that's the true essence of the GFA.
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,318

    In case anyone else missed this 'Ken Livingstone' type moment:

    https://twitter.com/AaronBastani/status/1096154729149878272

    Since both McDonnell and Corbyn have regularly spoken at marches and rallies in front of banners of Stalin and Mao and Marx and one of Corbyn’s advisers is someone who was a Communist party member for over 40 years until 2016 and Corbyn even praised Mao’s approach to reducing poverty on an interview with Andrew Marr, this should not be a surprise to anyone.
  • It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html

    Well, they got Scotland but Dumfries & Galloway or Orkney as the strongest matches, just about the opposite ends from where I was actually brought up. I must be somewhat deracinated.
  • It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html

    Same here.
    It's quite good - it had me in the right part of Hertfordshire\Bedfordshire and also Norwich - probably because unusually for Hertfordshire most people I grew up with still had a herts accent, which is like norfolk but better
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,318
    tlg86 said:

    It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html

    Not so good for me, but then I have influences from the South and the North.
    Not at all good for me. Ipswich, Dover and Hampshire, one of which I’ve never been to, one scarcely ever and one only when travelling abroad.

    But then I am a foreign mongrel.......
  • RecidivistRecidivist Posts: 4,679



    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Well, if that is what it takes to stay in accordance with the Good Friday Agreement.....
    Or we could have a new whole of the Islands of Great Britain and Ireland poll and pool the results. Then we could both stay or leave together. If the will of the people is good, the will of two peoples should be even better.
  • 148grss148grss Posts: 4,155
    Cyclefree said:

    In case anyone else missed this 'Ken Livingstone' type moment:

    https://twitter.com/AaronBastani/status/1096154729149878272

    Since both McDonnell and Corbyn have regularly spoken at marches and rallies in front of banners of Stalin and Mao and Marx and one of Corbyn’s advisers is someone who was a Communist party member for over 40 years until 2016 and Corbyn even praised Mao’s approach to reducing poverty on an interview with Andrew Marr, this should not be a surprise to anyone.
    I mean, this thread did the rounds last year, but it does kinda point out the whole "Churchill good" thing is pretty much only because he wrote history and claimed a lot of WW2 victory personally (and it is easy to look good when your contemporaries are Hitler and Stalin)

    https://twitter.com/ireland/status/954792642327523329?lang=en
  • Cyclefree said:

    In case anyone else missed this 'Ken Livingstone' type moment:

    https://twitter.com/AaronBastani/status/1096154729149878272

    Since both McDonnell and Corbyn have regularly spoken at marches and rallies in front of banners of Stalin and Mao and Marx and one of Corbyn’s advisers is someone who was a Communist party member for over 40 years until 2016 and Corbyn even praised Mao’s approach to reducing poverty on an interview with Andrew Marr, this should not be a surprise to anyone.
    Needs to be repeated and spread around so that as many voters who pay little attention to this stuff know what the Corbynites say about history and what they plan to do in government.

    I see Owen Jones is determined to join in the 'let's look at Churchill's record' bandwagon.

    Why?

    What on earth has it to do with anything that is happening politically at the moment? What has Labour to gain by trying to educate the public about Churchill's pre-war record (and I'm trying to be kind to them here when I say 'educate')?

    Average voter in the Duck and Dog (if they even notice): Oh look, it seems Churchill may have sent the army in to quell a strike in 1900. You know what that is terrible. Just terrible. I'll be voting Labour now.

    Is this Brexit displacement activity or are these people so stuck in their own bubble that they have gone bonkers?
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,622

    It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html

    Bang on the centre of the red area.

    Spooky.....
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,622



    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Well, if that is what it takes to stay in accordance with the Good Friday Agreement.....
    Or we could have a new whole of the Islands of Great Britain and Ireland poll and pool the results. Then we could both stay or leave together. If the will of the people is good, the will of two peoples should be even better.
    I'm pretty sure that's not in accordance with the Good Friday Agreement.....
  • Gossip from Meirionnydd.

    I am hearing strong rumours that Theresa May has just bought a property in Southern Snowdonia.

    It made me wonder if she is now thinking of life after Brexit.

    I think, one way or another, she will get her deal through, and then resign (or perhaps even her resignation will be part of the price of the deal).

    Well, she's committed to standing down before the next election, which realistically means summer 2021 at the latest, so whatever happens (if she sticks to that pledge), it's not something for the distant future.

    FWIW, I think this summer still makes sense for a leadership election, if this round of Brexit is sorted by then - although not if there's an extension into the autumn or beyond, or if there's a No Deal situation to be managed.
    Aren't house prices dropping, with a further plunge on No Deal?

    She should have waited...
    I think the prices of houses in London, and of mainonettes and flats are dropping? I doubt May'll be in those markets!
  • Chris said:

    Gossip from Meirionnydd.

    I am hearing strong rumours that Theresa May has just bought a property in Southern Snowdonia.

    It made me wonder if she is now thinking of life after Brexit.

    I think, one way or another, she will get her deal through, and then resign (or perhaps even her resignation will be part of the price of the deal).

    Are we sure Wales will still be part of the UK post-Brexit?
    I suspect if Scotland and N . Ireland both left, then Wales would.
    Wales can't afford to leave. Northern Ireland would presumably combine with Ireland, and Scotland could be economically independent. Wales is too far from the continent, and its coal and steel industries have largely died. As Salmond said back in the 80s, Welsh independence is a cultural movement: Scottish independence an economic one.
  • Cyclefree said:

    In case anyone else missed this 'Ken Livingstone' type moment:

    https://twitter.com/AaronBastani/status/1096154729149878272

    Since both McDonnell and Corbyn have regularly spoken at marches and rallies in front of banners of Stalin and Mao and Marx and one of Corbyn’s advisers is someone who was a Communist party member for over 40 years until 2016 and Corbyn even praised Mao’s approach to reducing poverty on an interview with Andrew Marr, this should not be a surprise to anyone.
    If you didn’t know Aaron Bastani was a Corbynite, that tweet could be read as a Tory glad that Churchill’s standing had been elevated in the minds of the Labour front bench
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 63,149
    edited February 2019

    Gossip from Meirionnydd.

    I am hearing strong rumours that Theresa May has just bought a property in Southern Snowdonia.

    It made me wonder if she is now thinking of life after Brexit.

    I think, one way or another, she will get her deal through, and then resign (or perhaps even her resignation will be part of the price of the deal).

    I am surprised she ever wants to see the place again. Wasn't Snowdonia where she came up with the 2017 GE brainwave?
    Once you have seen Snowdonia it remains in your heart for evermore
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,722
    You must be a "somewhere".
    For me, a very broad smudge smearing out in the wrong direction from whence I moved in 1962. I must be an "anywhere" :confounded:
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 63,149
    edited February 2019
    Chris said:

    Gossip from Meirionnydd.

    I am hearing strong rumours that Theresa May has just bought a property in Southern Snowdonia.

    It made me wonder if she is now thinking of life after Brexit.

    I think, one way or another, she will get her deal through, and then resign (or perhaps even her resignation will be part of the price of the deal).

    Are we sure Wales will still be part of the UK post-Brexit?

    Yes 100%
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,722

    It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html

    Bang on the centre of the red area.

    Spooky.....
    You must be a "somewhere".
    For me, a very broad smudge smearing out in the wrong direction from whence I moved in 1962. I must be an "anywhere" :confounded:
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992

    Varadkar beginning to panic - Merkel and the EU will have no choice to put in a hard border in no deal, either in Ireland or on continental europe

    What is he going to do. Join the UK and leave the EU.

    Chickens coming home to roost
    What's it got to do with Merkel. The SM/CU is an EU-wide thing. Even if she didn't want a border in Ireland, she can't stop one surely?
    And a border in Ireland completely smashes the Good Friday Agreement. Let us pray that there's no return to the troubles that so plagued us from the late 60s till 1998.
    That this needs saying is of course tragic, in its literal sense.

    And Leadsom on the radio seemed to be threatening the EU with a return to those troubles if they don't cave in on the backstop.
  • eekeek Posts: 28,406
    edited February 2019

    Chris said:

    Gossip from Meirionnydd.

    I am hearing strong rumours that Theresa May has just bought a property in Southern Snowdonia.

    It made me wonder if she is now thinking of life after Brexit.

    I think, one way or another, she will get her deal through, and then resign (or perhaps even her resignation will be part of the price of the deal).

    Are we sure Wales will still be part of the UK post-Brexit?
    I suspect if Scotland and N . Ireland both left, then Wales would.
    Wales can't afford to leave. Northern Ireland would presumably combine with Ireland, and Scotland could be economically independent. Wales is too far from the continent, and its coal and steel industries have largely died. As Salmond said back in the 80s, Welsh independence is a cultural movement: Scottish independence an economic one.
    Scottish independence was an economic one but by the time they actually leave the North Sea won't be the money tree they think it will be. Already a lot of companies are moving into the decommissioning phase.
  • Cyclefree said:

    In case anyone else missed this 'Ken Livingstone' type moment:

    https://twitter.com/AaronBastani/status/1096154729149878272

    Since both McDonnell and Corbyn have regularly spoken at marches and rallies in front of banners of Stalin and Mao and Marx and one of Corbyn’s advisers is someone who was a Communist party member for over 40 years until 2016 and Corbyn even praised Mao’s approach to reducing poverty on an interview with Andrew Marr, this should not be a surprise to anyone.
    Needs to be repeated and spread around so that as many voters who pay little attention to this stuff know what the Corbynites say about history and what they plan to do in government.

    I see Owen Jones is determined to join in the 'let's look at Churchill's record' bandwagon.

    Why?

    What on earth has it to do with anything that is happening politically at the moment? What has Labour to gain by trying to educate the public about Churchill's pre-war record (and I'm trying to be kind to them here when I say 'educate')?

    Average voter in the Duck and Dog (if they even notice): Oh look, it seems Churchill may have sent the army in to quell a strike in 1900. You know what that is terrible. Just terrible. I'll be voting Labour now.

    Is this Brexit displacement activity or are these people so stuck in their own bubble that they have gone bonkers?
    The past is of course a different place. A hundred years ago, strikes could be far more violent and revolutionary in nature to the sort of thing we see today, and police had far less means of breaking unrest.

    On the flip side, employers could be much more brutal bastards as well, so I'm not saying this was all one-sided or that grievances weren't deep and justified, but we do need to understand the whole context of industrial and social relations before passing judgement.
  • The ERG has shown Donald Tusk was absolutely right. No getting round that now.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,387
    Barnesian said:

    Sean_F said:

    MrX said:

    What do you think is going to happen in a fortnight? Parliament is clearly going to try to force a delay, will they succeed? What obstacles do they face?

    I'm not sure that the Cooper/Boles amendment works. If it's passed, and we request an extension to A50, the EU can always say No.
    They won't - but there will be conditions ... which we will agree to.
    They will want a better reason than "so we can faff around for a bit longer."
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,387

    Cyclefree said:

    In case anyone else missed this 'Ken Livingstone' type moment:

    https://twitter.com/AaronBastani/status/1096154729149878272

    Since both McDonnell and Corbyn have regularly spoken at marches and rallies in front of banners of Stalin and Mao and Marx and one of Corbyn’s advisers is someone who was a Communist party member for over 40 years until 2016 and Corbyn even praised Mao’s approach to reducing poverty on an interview with Andrew Marr, this should not be a surprise to anyone.
    Needs to be repeated and spread around so that as many voters who pay little attention to this stuff know what the Corbynites say about history and what they plan to do in government.

    I see Owen Jones is determined to join in the 'let's look at Churchill's record' bandwagon.

    Why?

    What on earth has it to do with anything that is happening politically at the moment? What has Labour to gain by trying to educate the public about Churchill's pre-war record (and I'm trying to be kind to them here when I say 'educate')?

    Average voter in the Duck and Dog (if they even notice): Oh look, it seems Churchill may have sent the army in to quell a strike in 1900. You know what that is terrible. Just terrible. I'll be voting Labour now.

    Is this Brexit displacement activity or are these people so stuck in their own bubble that they have gone bonkers?
    The latter, I think. Social media is driving some people mad.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992
    tlg86 said:

    It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html

    Not so good for me, but then I have influences from the South and the North.
    What about the midlands, me duck?
  • Get rid of Brillo, but keep This Week
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 13,677

    The ERG has shown Donald Tusk was absolutely right. No getting round that now.

    Being right always always makes one unpopular as Thatcher once opined.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,133
    edited February 2019

    In case anyone else missed this 'Ken Livingstone' type moment:

    https://twitter.com/AaronBastani/status/1096154729149878272

    Putting aside the specifics of Churchill's wrongs and rights, these kind of really extreme views used to be right on the fringe in the shadows. Just like in the US, with rise of Trump has come the extremists in the form of white nationalism / antisemitism, we now similar here (obviously from the left) with these people in increasingly powerful positions of what has been for most people's lifetime a moderate centre left party.

    This guy took party in violent protests, lied about his PhD, said all sorts of extreme stuff, yadda yadda yadda, and now is one of the go to guys for Corbynism,
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992
    Dura_Ace said:

    The ERG has shown Donald Tusk was absolutely right. No getting round that now.

    Being right always always makes one unpopular as Thatcher once opined.
    I have no idea whether it's the case in other countries but the concept and dislike of "the school swot" seems ingrained into the UK's subconscious.
  • tpfkartpfkar Posts: 1,565
    kingbongo said:

    It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html

    Same here.
    It's quite good - it had me in the right part of Hertfordshire\Bedfordshire and also Norwich - probably because unusually for Hertfordshire most people I grew up with still had a herts accent, which is like norfolk but better
    Good for me as well, had a swathe of N Wales and Manchester area. I was brought up in Stockport and my mum's family from N Wales.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,176
    TOPPING said:

    tlg86 said:

    It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html

    Not so good for me, but then I have influences from the South and the North.
    What about the midlands, me duck?
    When I said North, I should have said Midlands. I don't use the word duck, but it's a word I heard a lot when growing up.
  • AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395
    edited February 2019

    It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html

    Didn't expect this to work for me but it got the right general area. One of the giveaways is probably that words like but and put are pronounced with the same vowel sound round here.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,387
    148grss said:

    Cyclefree said:

    In case anyone else missed this 'Ken Livingstone' type moment:

    https://twitter.com/AaronBastani/status/1096154729149878272

    Since both McDonnell and Corbyn have regularly spoken at marches and rallies in front of banners of Stalin and Mao and Marx and one of Corbyn’s advisers is someone who was a Communist party member for over 40 years until 2016 and Corbyn even praised Mao’s approach to reducing poverty on an interview with Andrew Marr, this should not be a surprise to anyone.
    I mean, this thread did the rounds last year, but it does kinda point out the whole "Churchill good" thing is pretty much only because he wrote history and claimed a lot of WW2 victory personally (and it is easy to look good when your contemporaries are Hitler and Stalin)

    https://twitter.com/ireland/status/954792642327523329?lang=en
    It's instructive that the author considers that preventing a communist takeover in Greece is evidence of villainy.
  • ChrisChris Posts: 11,752
    Chris said:

    Leaving on 29/3 now is identical for all intents and purposes to No Deal. There simply is not time to pass the legislation necessary to implement the deal within the four weeks after the next scheduled date for a Meaningful Vote (and even if there is, the prudent thing would still be to request an extension, just in case) - and that's if the vote takes place on time, and passes, both of which come with substantial dollops of doubt.

    The prospect of negotiating a different deal - one with a revised backstop, for example - while possible, has to be extremely slim. And even if it could be done, it'd put a spanner in the works of any draft ratification legislation already drawn up, so make a delay even more likely (although there is the risk that the EP might reject such a deal, in which case we'd be back to No Deal and a 29/3 exit).

    However, No Deal does not necessarily equate to leaving on 29/3. It's quite possible that Britain could get an extension and still not be able to ratify any deal.

    Thanks.

    Of course, that's right about No Deal still being possible after an extension, but as far as I know the only No Deal betting markets are "Leave with No Deal on 29 March".
    Anyway, it looks to me as though - assuming the chances of leaving with a deal on 29 March are negligible - then the disparity between those markets allows a risk-free 25% return in the event of No Deal on 29 March, if I've done my sums right.
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,318
    148grss said:

    Cyclefree said:

    In case anyone else missed this 'Ken Livingstone' type moment:

    https://twitter.com/AaronBastani/status/1096154729149878272

    Since both McDonnell and Corbyn have regularly spoken at marches and rallies in front of banners of Stalin and Mao and Marx and one of Corbyn’s advisers is someone who was a Communist party member for over 40 years until 2016 and Corbyn even praised Mao’s approach to reducing poverty on an interview with Andrew Marr, this should not be a surprise to anyone.
    I mean, this thread did the rounds last year, but it does kinda point out the whole "Churchill good" thing is pretty much only because he wrote history and claimed a lot of WW2 victory personally (and it is easy to look good when your contemporaries are Hitler and Stalin)

    https://twitter.com/ireland/status/954792642327523329?lang=en
    Churchill was undoubtedly a flawed politician. He was not an unblemished hero - very far from it. And if WW2 had not happened he would be remembered as an interesting politician but not as some great man.

    But on Hitler and appeasement and WW2 he was right. On the biggest moral and political question this country faced, at a time when its very existence was in doubt, he was right. And that is why he is a great man. Not because he was always right. But because he was right when it really mattered. Even if he was also wrong on other important questions.

    When Britain was fighting Hitler, Communist Russia was allied with it and occupying countries and murdering their people and sending war materiel to Nazi Germany. The Communist party of Great Britain opposed the war until June 1941.

    Stalin and Mao and Lenin and all those admired by McDonnell and Corbyn were some of the biggest mass murderers and evil people of the 20th century. The fact that they still feel able to express their admiration and march in front of their banners and express approval for some of their policies tells you something important about their utter lack of moral and historical sense.

    If any politician on the right or their close advisers expressed admiration for Hitler, spoke at rallies with banners with Hitler's face on it, admired some of his policies, there would rightly be utter revulsion and such a politician would have, I hope, an extremely short career.

    But the same revulsion does not apply to those admiring mass murderers on the Left. It is an appalling and depressing double standard which speaks ill of those doing it, those justifying it and those turning a blind eye to it.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992
    tlg86 said:

    TOPPING said:

    tlg86 said:

    It takes a few minutes, but this is brilliant. Got very close to exactly where I was born and raised:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html

    Not so good for me, but then I have influences from the South and the North.
    What about the midlands, me duck?
    When I said North, I should have said Midlands. I don't use the word duck, but it's a word I heard a lot when growing up.
    I'm sure between @Foxy and @Richard_Tyndall we should be able to draw the demarcation line.
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