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The 1o79 Callaghan Winter of discontent press conference – the basis of the Sun’s famous “Crisis What Crisis” headline
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The 1o79 Callaghan Winter of discontent press conference – the basis of the Sun’s famous “Crisis What Crisis” headline
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https://twitter.com/MarkDiStef/status/1101140815064297472
On Cardinal Pell I have been reading in the Australian press some disquiet over his conviction - based on the sole testimony on one complainant (the other allegedly having denied the allegation before his death) and no other evidence of grooming or other assaults, which would tend to be unusual in these types of cases.
If the leader comes to understand the scale of the problem sufficiently to consider that they might need to leave, are they not then finally able to lead the action needed to fix the issue - and if they go there's no guarantee that their successor will have the same understanding.
If Theresa May comes to that conclusion then we are basically in that situation. She'd know there's a good chance that someone anointed by the ERG would take over and that would make the situation far worse.
https://www.marchtoleave.com/
Looks like they're planning on going over the Transporter Bridge. Could be a bit of a wait to get across especially if it's high winds. Still, 70p a person to Middlesbrough Council ....
We should also have the Julian Surprise, after Julian the Apostate who got made Caesar (junior emperor) largely on the basis he was the only living male relative of the emperor.
"Being a core marcher means you will receive an official March to Leave kit to help you on the march. These are the items you will receive on the day:
Waterproof coat
Beanie hat
Gloves
Water bottle
T-Shirt
Wristband
High visibility blue jacket"
https://www.marchtoleave.com/march
WRT scandals, I remember how I and fellow schoolboys took it for granted in the eighties that there were some "dodgy" teachers, with very wandering hands.
So, for example, the Aylesbury to Beaconsfield leg on 28th March looks like it just goes straight down the A413, so they will pass within a couple of miles of Chequers when they could with little additional difficulty walk past the official country residence of the Prime Minister.
It doesn't appear they've just gone into Google Maps and entered the 'walk' tab.
If they need someone to design 'proper' routes, I'm available for a fee.
Edit: or is it just more visible than other blue jackets?
Given that MEPs are elected from closed party lists, it would be easy enough to redo the D'Hondt counting process and seat distributions once the UK's membership status is confirmed, in order to determine who is eligible from each member state to be in the Parliament. That process being easier than trying to arrange election of the UK MEPs at a few days' notice.
The original march in 1936 was all about unemployment. Not sure this one has quite the same resonance.
If you are interested in choral music, The Burning Road is a cantata by Will Todd based on the march.
https://twitter.com/michaelgove/status/1101154411248787456?s=21
Just as with Northern Ireland this has the potential to be a much bigger issue down the road that we'd wish people had dealt with earlier.
The selected towns are probably those with activists from Leave Means Leave.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.4078585,-1.1161094,3a,75y,182.83h,86.65t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sD3MG78W_kC0AovN425ZvsA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
We have heard a lot from Remainers since June 2016 while the Leavers have been kind of forgotten so now is their chance to be heard...
In all seriousness, there must be a lot of work in organising this sort of thing. Not just in planning a route, but I assume in negotiating with councils, police and other authorities. And in keeping people safe and fit.
A decade or so ago I planned a route across Britain for a woman's charity walk. It took ages, and getting council permissions for charity collections was really hard for her. Street collection licences are a massive difficulty (on my walk I just didn't bother - nobody complained).
In a now-deleted opinion piece, Anna Maria Tuckett, an EU migrant and carer for her disabled son, wrote that she had been advised she was ‘unlikely to qualify for citizenship’ after Brexit and therefore could be deported and separated from her son. The piece also seemed to suggest that she could be denied settled status because she is a home-based carer.
If this were true, it would, of course, be a travesty. I could understand why the Guardian would run it. A faceless Home Office official taking an immigrant mother and carer from her son because of the evils of Brexit. It’s liberal clickbait.
The only thing is, the story is total rubbish.
https://www.spiked-online.com/2019/02/28/the-guardians-anti-brexit-fake-news/
http://tinyurl.com/y4qvyevm
In that case any 3-month extension is going to have to be totally and utterly final, and purely for the purposes of straightening the paperwork on an already agreed deal - meaning in the UK that *all* the required legislation - not just one 'meaningful' vote in the Commons - to have already passed by 29th March.
Edit: @david_herdson below thinks it would be possible to sort out afterwards.
I'm also rather against 'marches' across the country where the start of a day does not end at the previous day's endpoint. If you'e going to skip bits, why not just skip the entire thing?
I would hope they'll have an escort, which might cause traffic hold ups.
Mind you, I don't suppose the idea is to pass un-noticed.
I assume that they will actually have to have permission from police and councils, who may alter the route somewhat to take account of traffic patterns and pubic disruption etc.
It's been a couple of decades since I was involved in organising a long walk, (which was for a charitable rather than political purpose). On a couple of very rural but unavoidable stretches we had a couple of well-illuminated support vehicles causing havoc by driving at walking pace on A-roads to shield half a dozen walkers from the traffic.
There can also be the issue that they have been pushed into accepting there is a problem. That makes it hard for them to push back against the inevitable inertia etc.
What is needed is a change of tone, of mood from the top which inspires and motivates others to do the necessary. Very hard to get that when people look at a leader and say " Well, you were the one who didn't support me when I first raised this problem x years ago."
Not impossible but rare. If I look at organisations in trouble now, in my professional opinion, a change of leadership is needed. The longer it is postponed, the harder eventual recovery will be.
The thing is that the potential for this mess affects the choices that people make now.
So do we now need a replacement for the replacement? I think so but the timing is tricky. I would certainly want a replacement before we start any further negotiations about more important matters than the WA with the EU. The ideal, in my opinion, is for May to get the WA through Parliament and then step down before the transition talks begin. I am just not sure how this is possible. The risk is that getting the WA through, if she does, will be regarded as giving her a boost and increasing the risk of this happening again.
Ironically were Brexit to result in Nissan closing it would be true...
It's an almighty mess if we are somehow still members when the new Parliament reconvenes on July 2nd.
Neither May nor Robbins can be allowed within a hundred miles of the trade agreement talks.
Michael Gove and Crawford Falconer for the trade agreement negotiating team, please.
Also, if we haven't elected MEPs, but stay, then there will be a delay before the Parliament can sit while we elect MEPs.
RIP.
I think the answer would probably be a large box of finest EU fudge, but it is just one of the things that the EU side will be thinking about when considering a request for a short extension.
EU Parliament Press Release on the subject:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20180607IPR05241/number-of-meps-to-be-reduced-after-eu-elections-in-2019
It doesn't deal with if there's uncertainty over whether or not we will still be a member on the date of the elections (which vary slightly between member states according to their own electoral norms).
Reminds me of his series on the most unscrupulous roman emperors, which he always seemed more fascinated by than the glories of Athens.
"Very sorry but I am at my GMC Hearing in [omitted] and they eventually gave down their findings on the Facts at 5.30. They have found me guilty of all 17 charges so I do not expect you will wish me to proceed with the report?
We are awaiting their Findings on Impairment and Sanction over the next day or so
I will let you know of the final recommendations if they get round to them on Wednesday "
Best excuse I have seen for a delay for a while.
https://twitter.com/bbcpolitics/status/1101168555129597952?s=21
One is a good idea which will transform the country. The other is a blonde shagger ..
Actually the kerfuffle over which kind of fat was used in the sepoys' cartridges has all the hallmarks of a Daily Mail EU scare story.