FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
The monarchy is not politically neutral. Mr Cameron has used it during the last referendum and he is using it again in this referendum. Just be thankful you didn't get a Prince Harry thread on AV.
It is is legal right indeed obligation to nominate someone. It's tough on anyone who does not like it. If he did not then it would set an odious precedent that could easily and probably would rebound in the faces at some time in the future of those who want to play fun and games with the due process by blocking it.
The monarchy is not politically neutral. Mr Cameron has used it during the last referendum and he is using it again in this referendum. Just be thankful you didn't get a Prince Harry thread on AV.
Time for another read of those blockbuster Prince Charles Black Spider memo's, with him lobbying the government about the plight of the South American dung beetle and other issues of international significance...
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
If that poll is true (and it is Lord Aschroft, arf) the floor for Leave is 36% and Remain is 32%.
The hard-pressed (undecideds) are 19% and on the fence.
The listen to DC (undecided but think Leave is a risk) are 13% and may be susceptible to a strong lead by DC. But he hasn't exactly started off on the right foot.
I'm not holding my breath, but I'm interested to see what Liz Truss and Justine Greening do over the weekend too.
Not much has been written about them.
Truss is 100% REMAIN.
I'm on Truss at 100/1 to be Dave's successor.
I cannot see a path to her becoming leader. That is assuming that we vote to remain in the EU, Osborne is one of the two candidates and Truss backs REMAIN.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
I think you're right.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
The Sovereign should stay politically neutral. At least in the IndyRef that was about the possible break-up of her kingdom.
HMQ has no role in relation to the EU.
Bloody silly of the Royals to let themselves be used in this way. Cameron has said he is going. Saving his face is not what this referendum is about nor what the Royal Family exists for.
And he's panicking unnecessarily - if indeed he is panicking. Remain will probably comfortably win without all this hysteria about jungle camps and the like.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
I think you're right.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
Is it time to call on Francis II, our undoubted King?
I very much hope that Euroscepticism isn't just another romantic lost cause like Jacobitism, but I suspect it is.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
I think you're right.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
If I were Her Majesty, I would have done a quid pro quo with Dave.
She should have said 'Dave, I'll back remain if as part of your deal you get the frogs to honour the Treaty of Troyes, or I'm backing Brexit'
But yes her Majesty should not be involved.
What happens if one of her successors is more like her uncle and is in fact a Nazi loving racist and endorses the BNP?
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
The Sovereign should stay politically neutral. At least in the IndyRef that was about the possible break-up of her kingdom.
HMQ has no role in relation to the EU.
Bloody silly of the Royals to let themselves be used in this way. Cameron has said he is going. Saving his face is not what this referendum is about nor what the Royal Family exists for.
And he's panicking unnecessarily - if indeed he is panicking. Remain will probably comfortably win without all this hysteria about jungle camps and the like.
He is panicking. The front page of The Times (which I also expect, reluctantly, to come out for Remain) describes how much immense stress and pressure he's under.
William can be a great ambassador, I think the World cup bid was well made - and would have won had FIFA not been so outright corrupt, but he was foolish to allow himself to get caught up in the remain campaign today.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
I'm quite impressed by the politics behind that times headline.
It probably wouldn't matter if the headline actually said "William is backing EU" - the impression imprinted on middle britain is the same.
Britain now knows what he really thinks.
And Leave can only make things worse by getting angry.
I'm not holding my breath, but I'm interested to see what Liz Truss and Justine Greening do over the weekend too.
Not much has been written about them.
Truss is 100% REMAIN.
I'm on Truss at 100/1 to be Dave's successor.
I cannot see a path to her becoming leader. That is assuming that we vote to remain in the EU, Osborne is one of the two candidates and Truss backs REMAIN.
The evidence is mixed, and given the evidence of welching to date by eurosceptics, I too am sceptical, but I've heard very little from her and also heard she is her own woman:
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
I think you're right.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
If I were Her Majesty, I would have done a quid pro quo with Dave.
She should have said 'Dave, I'll back remain if as part of your deal you get the frogs to honour the Treaty of Troyes, or I'm backing Brexit'
But yes her Majesty should not be involved.
What happens if one of her successors is more like her uncle and is in fact a Nazi loving racist and endorses the BNP?
One presumes they are acting on the instructions of their government.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
The Sovereign should stay politically neutral. At least in the IndyRef that was about the possible break-up of her kingdom.
HMQ has no role in relation to the EU.
Bloody silly of the Royals to let themselves be used in this way. Cameron has said he is going. Saving his face is not what this referendum is about nor what the Royal Family exists for.
And he's panicking unnecessarily - if indeed he is panicking. Remain will probably comfortably win without all this hysteria about jungle camps and the like.
He is panicking. The front page of The Times (which I also expect, reluctantly, to come out for Remain) describes how much immense stress and pressure he's under.
I don't want Dave to suffer. I do want to Leave.
I couldn't care less about whether Cameron suffers or not. He's a politician. He's had plenty of time to plan how he was going to handle this. A large part of the stress seems self-inflicted.
But if he is panicking he shouldn't bloody show it. He's meant to be a leader. Or are we all supposed to vote Remain out of pity for him?
He'll be gone soon. The referendum decision - whatever it turns out to be - is one with consequences for us all and our children. Cameron is no more important in that than my 17 year old.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
I'm quite impressed by the politics behind that times headline.
It probably wouldn't matter if the headline actually said "William is backing EU" - the impression imprinted on middle britain is the same.
Britain now knows what he really thinks.
And Leave can only make things worse by getting angry.
Crosby earning his knighthood.
It's not about Leave or Remain; it's about politicising the monarchy.
Honestly, the Government give the impression they'd sacrifice anything at the altar of the EU in their desperation to convince people stay in it, including our centuries old royal family.
'This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.'
The word 'desperate' is featuring more and more in describing the Remain side's antics. This incident really does show how contemptible they are, dragging the royals in.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
I think you're right.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
If I were Her Majesty, I would have done a quid pro quo with Dave.
She should have said 'Dave, I'll back remain if as part of your deal you get the frogs to honour the Treaty of Troyes, or I'm backing Brexit'
But yes her Majesty should not be involved.
What happens if one of her successors is more like her uncle and is in fact a Nazi loving racist and endorses the BNP?
Well, if we'd got the Treaty of Troyes even I might have backed Remain.
It shouldn't be forgotten: the last time the monarchy "did" politics seriously, in the 1930s, it almost led to their downfall.
We were lucky to get the Queen's line of the family, which was a fortunate (and very significant) bonus, but it was luck nonetheless following a major constitutional crisis.
MEPs can overrule any deal agreed. This can be done after a referendum. Only after the referendum will the deal be debated in the EU Parliament and finalised.
As soon as we vote in... They will do what they always do ....backtrack.
'This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.'
The word 'desperate' is featuring more and more in describing the Remain side's antics. This incident really does show how contemptible they are, dragging the royals in.
But what does the man on the Clapham omnibus think of Will's position on our membership of the EU? What appears to the politically engaged as desperate behaviour may not even register with most voters. I truly hope they see through Project Fear.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
I think you're right.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
If I were Her Majesty, I would have done a quid pro quo with Dave.
She should have said 'Dave, I'll back remain if as part of your deal you get the frogs to honour the Treaty of Troyes, or I'm backing Brexit'
But yes her Majesty should not be involved.
What happens if one of her successors is more like her uncle and is in fact a Nazi loving racist and endorses the BNP?
Well, if we'd got the Treaty of Troyes even I might have backed Remain.
It shouldn't be forgotten: the last time the monarchy "did" politics seriously, in the 1930s, it almost led to their downfall.
We were lucky to get the Queen's line of the family, which was a fortunate (and very significant) bonus, but it was luck nonetheless following a major constitutional crisis.
I'd say it was less than two years ago that her Majesty did politics seriously in the Indyref.
The referendum result can't be binding on the rest of Europe. That's trivial (though, given the demands for a UK veto over some Eurozone activities, perhaps not trivial to all).
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
I think you're right.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
If I were Her Majesty, I would have done a quid pro quo with Dave.
She should have said 'Dave, I'll back remain if as part of your deal you get the frogs to honour the Treaty of Troyes, or I'm backing Brexit'
But yes her Majesty should not be involved.
What happens if one of her successors is more like her uncle and is in fact a Nazi loving racist and endorses the BNP?
Captain Darling: I'm as British as Queen Victoria!
Captain Blackadder: So your father's German, you're half German, and you married a German!
No, not really. I appreciate her views are not to the taste of many on PB.com, but it is still a very large newspaper going after an individual who has not broken the law.
It's an awful Sun front page. If the lady had said she liked Europe for its cakes, then it would have been clever. As it is they are depicting her eating cake which she cites as being in surfeit, then they tell the woman to shut up, so it is a very confusing message
'This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.'
The word 'desperate' is featuring more and more in describing the Remain side's antics. This incident really does show how contemptible they are, dragging the royals in.
I am sorry, but I just do not accept this dragging the Royals in line. If one reads what HRH actually said then one can see that his words could equally be interpreted as support for Leave. In fact he said nothing political or controversial.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
I'm quite impressed by the politics behind that times headline.
It probably wouldn't matter if the headline actually said "William is backing EU" - the impression imprinted on middle britain is the same.
Britain now knows what he really thinks.
And Leave can only make things worse by getting angry.
Crosby earning his knighthood.
It's not about Leave or Remain; it's about politicising the monarchy.
Honestly, the Government give the impression they'd sacrifice anything at the altar of the EU in their desperation to convince people stay in it, including our centuries old royal family.
What are they so afraid of?
The monarchy is not politically neutral: - every year the queen reads out a list of things her government tells her to read, this is no different but skipping two generations, the monarchy accepts instructions from their government
'This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.'
The word 'desperate' is featuring more and more in describing the Remain side's antics. This incident really does show how contemptible they are, dragging the royals in.
But what does the man on the Clapham omnibus think of Will's position on our membership of the EU? What appears to the politically engaged as desperate behaviour may not even register with most voters. I truly hope they see through Project Fear.
The thinking is that:
(1) Shit, this is serious; we might lose this (2) The media are being so unfair to us (3) Clearly, it's mainly the ignorant plebs that want to vote Leave (4) We know they're dumb C2s/Ds and Es (5) But they aren't engaged by news, and normal politics and politicians (6) So, how can we get through to them? (7) Ah, they do like celebrity magazines and gossip, and they love Wills and Kate (8) So we'll get Wills to dogwhistle for Remain. Simples!
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
I think you're right.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
If I were Her Majesty, I would have done a quid pro quo with Dave.
She should have said 'Dave, I'll back remain if as part of your deal you get the frogs to honour the Treaty of Troyes, or I'm backing Brexit'
But yes her Majesty should not be involved.
What happens if one of her successors is more like her uncle and is in fact a Nazi loving racist and endorses the BNP?
Well, if we'd got the Treaty of Troyes even I might have backed Remain.
It shouldn't be forgotten: the last time the monarchy "did" politics seriously, in the 1930s, it almost led to their downfall.
We were lucky to get the Queen's line of the family, which was a fortunate (and very significant) bonus, but it was luck nonetheless following a major constitutional crisis.
Mr. Royale, which constitutional crisis was occasioned by a Royal doing politics?
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
I'm quite impressed by the politics behind that times headline.
It probably wouldn't matter if the headline actually said "William is backing EU" - the impression imprinted on middle britain is the same.
Britain now knows what he really thinks.
And Leave can only make things worse by getting angry.
Crosby earning his knighthood.
It's not about Leave or Remain; it's about politicising the monarchy.
Honestly, the Government give the impression they'd sacrifice anything at the altar of the EU in their desperation to convince people stay in it, including our centuries old royal family.
What are they so afraid of?
I think they are afraid of making the case for the EU - and there is a case for it - because they have assumed that it was self-evident and therefore have become intellectually lazy about examining why it is a good thing and what the answers are to the criticisms made of it.
That intellectual laziness, that assumption that - of course - everyone sensible thinks like this is more prone to panic and lashing out and using all sorts of other means to get people to agree with you (the equivalent of telling a teenager to study in return for payment rather than study for its own sake) because the foundations of their belief are so shaky. It's become an unexamined belief rather than the product of rigorous thought.
There was a bit of that with IndyRef: it was often hard to discern why we were Better Together though it was often asserted. You see it with lots of other arguments as well. Why is the health service the way it is? Is it the best way now? Both legitimate questions. But often the answers are simply torrents of abuse as if you'd proposed slaughtering the first born. The violence of the reaction is quite often in inverse proportion to the strength of the argument.
You get the same on the right too. Is competition in the health service a good thing? Also a legitimate question. It's not often you get a reasoned answer to it.
People get very personal when their beliefs are challenged. Whereas those who have thought through their arguments are more willing to engage in debate.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
I think you're right.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
If I were Her Majesty, I would have done a quid pro quo with Dave.
She should have said 'Dave, I'll back remain if as part of your deal you get the frogs to honour the Treaty of Troyes, or I'm backing Brexit'
But yes her Majesty should not be involved.
What happens if one of her successors is more like her uncle and is in fact a Nazi loving racist and endorses the BNP?
Captain Darling: I'm as British as Queen Victoria!
Captain Blackadder: So your father's German, you're half German, and you married a German!
The cake EmmaT is eating on the sun front page is a Victoria Sponge.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
I think you're right.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
If I were Her Majesty, I would have done a quid pro quo with Dave.
She should have said 'Dave, I'll back remain if as part of your deal you get the frogs to honour the Treaty of Troyes, or I'm backing Brexit'
But yes her Majesty should not be involved.
What happens if one of her successors is more like her uncle and is in fact a Nazi loving racist and endorses the BNP?
Captain Darling: I'm as British as Queen Victoria!
Captain Blackadder: So your father's German, you're half German, and you married a German!
The cake EmmaT is eating on the sun front page is a Victoria Sponge.
We don't talk enough about cake identification. We should do a thread on it.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
I think you're right.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
If I were Her Majesty, I would have done a quid pro quo with Dave.
She should have said 'Dave, I'll back remain if as part of your deal you get the frogs to honour the Treaty of Troyes, or I'm backing Brexit'
But yes her Majesty should not be involved.
What happens if one of her successors is more like her uncle and is in fact a Nazi loving racist and endorses the BNP?
Well, if we'd got the Treaty of Troyes even I might have backed Remain.
It shouldn't be forgotten: the last time the monarchy "did" politics seriously, in the 1930s, it almost led to their downfall.
We were lucky to get the Queen's line of the family, which was a fortunate (and very significant) bonus, but it was luck nonetheless following a major constitutional crisis.
Mr. Royale, which constitutional crisis was occasioned by a Royal doing politics?
The Abdication Crisis.
Wallis Simpson was a major Germanophile at a time when Germany wasn't exactly all bratwursts and lederhosen.
Plus Edward VIII had shown repeatedly poor political judgement, including his utter stubbornness over Simpson herself.
'This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.'
The word 'desperate' is featuring more and more in describing the Remain side's antics. This incident really does show how contemptible they are, dragging the royals in.
But what does the man on the Clapham omnibus think of Will's position on our membership of the EU? What appears to the politically engaged as desperate behaviour may not even register with most voters. I truly hope they see through Project Fear.
The thinking is that:
(1) Shit, this is serious; we might lose this (2) The media are being so unfair to us (3) Clearly, it's mainly the ignorant plebs that want to vote Leave (4) We know they're dumb C2s/Ds and Es (5) But they aren't engaged by news, and normal politics and politicians (6) So, how can we get through to them? (7) Ah, they do like celebrity magazines and gossip, and they love Wills and Kate (8) So we'll get Wills to dogwhistle for Remain. Simples!
It's so transparent it isn't even there.
The point of the activate-the-queen strategy is surely to appeal to core Conservative voters i.e. older southern and wealthy, not apathetic C2DE who won't vote!
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
I think you're right.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
If I were Her Majesty, I would have done a quid pro quo with Dave.
She should have said 'Dave, I'll back remain if as part of your deal you get the frogs to honour the Treaty of Troyes, or I'm backing Brexit'
But yes her Majesty should not be involved.
What happens if one of her successors is more like her uncle and is in fact a Nazi loving racist and endorses the BNP?
Captain Darling: I'm as British as Queen Victoria!
Captain Blackadder: So your father's German, you're half German, and you married a German!
The cake EmmaT is eating on the sun front page is a Victoria Sponge.
We don't talk enough about cake identification. We should do a thread on it.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
I'm quite impressed by the politics behind that times headline.
It probably wouldn't matter if the headline actually said "William is backing EU" - the impression imprinted on middle britain is the same.
Britain now knows what he really thinks.
And Leave can only make things worse by getting angry.
Crosby earning his knighthood.
It's not about Leave or Remain; it's about politicising the monarchy.
Honestly, the Government give the impression they'd sacrifice anything at the altar of the EU in their desperation to convince people stay in it, including our centuries old royal family.
What are they so afraid of?
The monarchy is not politically neutral: - every year the queen reads out a list of things her government tells her to read, this is no different but skipping two generations, the monarchy accepts instructions from their government
Robotically and dispassionately reading out the proposed programme of her elected government is her constitutional duty, and one which she's exercised for decades.
Intervening with a personal speech, with some very well-chosen words, in a highly politically charged, and divisive, debate is quite another.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
I think you're right.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
If I were Her Majesty, I would have done a quid pro quo with Dave.
She should have said 'Dave, I'll back remain if as part of your deal you get the frogs to honour the Treaty of Troyes, or I'm backing Brexit'
But yes her Majesty should not be involved.
What happens if one of her successors is more like her uncle and is in fact a Nazi loving racist and endorses the BNP?
Well, if we'd got the Treaty of Troyes even I might have backed Remain.
It shouldn't be forgotten: the last time the monarchy "did" politics seriously, in the 1930s, it almost led to their downfall.
We were lucky to get the Queen's line of the family, which was a fortunate (and very significant) bonus, but it was luck nonetheless following a major constitutional crisis.
I'd say it was less than two years ago that her Majesty did politics seriously in the Indyref.
Semantics really, but although that was doing politics, it wasn't doing politics seriously.
Edward VIII was the master at that.
I would also argue Charles does so today, which might invalidate my point a bit but he is the heir to the throne.
FPT @MP SE - the timing was no accident, neither was the choice of words, or the location, or the fact he delivered a speech in the Foreign Office at a very politically charged time with Philip Hammond.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
This was merely the appetising hors d'oeuvre.
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
I think you're right.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
If I were Her Majesty, I would have done a quid pro quo with Dave.
She should have said 'Dave, I'll back remain if as part of your deal you get the frogs to honour the Treaty of Troyes, or I'm backing Brexit'
But yes her Majesty should not be involved.
What happens if one of her successors is more like her uncle and is in fact a Nazi loving racist and endorses the BNP?
Captain Darling: I'm as British as Queen Victoria!
Captain Blackadder: So your father's German, you're half German, and you married a German!
The cake EmmaT is eating on the sun front page is a Victoria Sponge.
We don't talk enough about cake identification. We should do a thread on it.
Comments
@tnewtondunn: EXCL: Huge new @LordAshcroft poll of 28,000 EU citizens boosts PM's hand - just 10% want Brexit, 60% for UK to stay; https://t.co/USVC4kIjFp
Hmm....if I were one of his victims I would be seeking damages from that £83,000 he says he has in his bank account.
The only indisputably qualified Supreme Court candidates are people like Sandra Day O'Connor who have served thereon! It's easy to dispute!
Beatles legend filmed being turned away from party organised by rapper Tyga after the Grammy awards in Los Angeles
Sir Paul was refused entry along with singer Beck and actor Woody Harrelson
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/12160602/How-VIP-do-we-gotta-get-Sir-Paul-McCartney-turned-away-from-Grammys-after-party.html
So they like the most the 2 countries which are not in the euro. Interesting.
Or as Cruz, or Rubio are.
We've won five times, and we came 5th in 2009.
This was an absolutely intentional, and planned, intervention - with some plausible deniability designed in by deliberately omitting the words "EU" and "Europe".
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.
http://in1.ccio.co/3C/01/03/154389093445878260PcLENnIsc.jpg
That will be £6 please.
https://twitter.com/suttonnick/status/699722557373739008
Her Majesty will be wheeled out just like she was in the Indyref
Three words: follicular unit extraction. Although, to be honest, he's probably too far gone...
She won't be impressed by the Duke of Cambridge's intervention today.
Did you know my first job was as a Male Model?
The hard-pressed (undecideds) are 19% and on the fence.
The listen to DC (undecided but think Leave is a risk) are 13% and may be susceptible to a strong lead by DC. But he hasn't exactly started off on the right foot.
It tells me it will be close.
http://youtu.be/KiLw45oAuD0
And it was the height of Britpop, cool Britannia, pro-Europeanism (relatively) and the imminent rise of Blair.
That should be conducted AV.
The only one that counts is the UK.
I don't know what you think, but I really don't agree with the monarchy being politicised like this.
For the record, I didn't like it during the indyref either where I was on "her" side.
HMQ has no role in relation to the EU.
Bloody silly of the Royals to let themselves be used in this way. Cameron has said he is going. Saving his face is not what this referendum is about nor what the Royal Family exists for.
And he's panicking unnecessarily - if indeed he is panicking. Remain will probably comfortably win without all this hysteria about jungle camps and the like.
And I'm someone who makes Charles I look like George Washington when it comes to HMQ.
I very much hope that Euroscepticism isn't just another romantic lost cause like Jacobitism, but I suspect it is.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1857322/
@alexgallagher2: @tnewtondunn @Planet_Pedro @LordAshcroft That's why @theSNP wants to break it up. No? Me neither.
She should have said 'Dave, I'll back remain if as part of your deal you get the frogs to honour the Treaty of Troyes, or I'm backing Brexit'
But yes her Majesty should not be involved.
What happens if one of her successors is more like her uncle and is in fact a Nazi loving racist and endorses the BNP?
Saying he is going to nominate someone qualified for the job is just doing his job.
I don't want Dave to suffer. I do want to Leave.
It probably wouldn't matter if the headline actually said "William is backing EU" - the impression imprinted on middle britain is the same.
Britain now knows what he really thinks.
And Leave can only make things worse by getting angry.
Crosby earning his knighthood.
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/01/has-liz-truss-just-declared-her-support-for-cameron-in-the-referendum/
http://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2014/12/which-cabinet-ministers-now-want-to-leave-the-eu.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11382246/Liz-Truss-interview-We-have-lost-touch-with-the-land.html
She may surprise. I'd say she's 70% certain to come out for Remain, but not 100%.
Thompson is damaging her own reputation too.
If she'd come out with some rational arguments for staying in the EU, fair enough.
Insulting everyone? Not smart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBykhFyy-ZE
If you don't like our history or our future, feck off to France.
But if he is panicking he shouldn't bloody show it. He's meant to be a leader. Or are we all supposed to vote Remain out of pity for him?
He'll be gone soon. The referendum decision - whatever it turns out to be - is one with consequences for us all and our children. Cameron is no more important in that than my 17 year old.
Honestly, the Government give the impression they'd sacrifice anything at the altar of the EU in their desperation to convince people stay in it, including our centuries old royal family.
What are they so afraid of?
And it was a very, very stupid (and desperate) idea.'
The word 'desperate' is featuring more and more in describing the Remain side's antics. This incident really does show how contemptible they are, dragging the royals in.
It shouldn't be forgotten: the last time the monarchy "did" politics seriously, in the 1930s, it almost led to their downfall.
We were lucky to get the Queen's line of the family, which was a fortunate (and very significant) bonus, but it was luck nonetheless following a major constitutional crisis.
Every time she opens her mouth, Leave wins votes.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/how-french-are-you-take-the-quiz-a6876971.html
MEPs can overrule any deal agreed. This can be done after a referendum. Only after the referendum will the deal be debated in the EU Parliament and finalised.
As soon as we vote in... They will do what they always do ....backtrack.
It's a crock of shit.
Nicolas Sarkozy investigated over France campaign funds - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35592077
Captain Blackadder: So your father's German, you're half German, and you married a German!
I'll take that!
http://visual.ons.gov.uk/how-has-life-expectancy-changed-over-time/
And as my bottle of Marston's Pedigree is nearly empty, I bid you goodnight.
This a row that has been dreamed up by the media.
every year the queen reads out a list of things her government tells her to read, this is no different but skipping two generations, the monarchy accepts instructions from their government
Pretty French too. 8/13.
(1) Shit, this is serious; we might lose this
(2) The media are being so unfair to us
(3) Clearly, it's mainly the ignorant plebs that want to vote Leave
(4) We know they're dumb C2s/Ds and Es
(5) But they aren't engaged by news, and normal politics and politicians
(6) So, how can we get through to them?
(7) Ah, they do like celebrity magazines and gossip, and they love Wills and Kate
(8) So we'll get Wills to dogwhistle for Remain. Simples!
It's so transparent it isn't even there.
That intellectual laziness, that assumption that - of course - everyone sensible thinks like this is more prone to panic and lashing out and using all sorts of other means to get people to agree with you (the equivalent of telling a teenager to study in return for payment rather than study for its own sake) because the foundations of their belief are so shaky. It's become an unexamined belief rather than the product of rigorous thought.
There was a bit of that with IndyRef: it was often hard to discern why we were Better Together though it was often asserted. You see it with lots of other arguments as well. Why is the health service the way it is? Is it the best way now? Both legitimate questions. But often the answers are simply torrents of abuse as if you'd proposed slaughtering the first born. The violence of the reaction is quite often in inverse proportion to the strength of the argument.
You get the same on the right too. Is competition in the health service a good thing? Also a legitimate question. It's not often you get a reasoned answer to it.
People get very personal when their beliefs are challenged. Whereas those who have thought through their arguments are more willing to engage in debate.
Part 1: Battenburg...
Wallis Simpson was a major Germanophile at a time when Germany wasn't exactly all bratwursts and lederhosen.
Plus Edward VIII had shown repeatedly poor political judgement, including his utter stubbornness over Simpson herself.
None of that Europhile cake dictatorship here!
Intervening with a personal speech, with some very well-chosen words, in a highly politically charged, and divisive, debate is quite another.
And well you know it.
I'd quite like to be a bit French.. My fav book is French, most of my fav footballers, the language is beautiful, the place is cool.
When you're 100% English for generations back it can be a bit stiff... would be nice to have the influence of another country/culture
Edward VIII was the master at that.
I would also argue Charles does so today, which might invalidate my point a bit but he is the heir to the throne.