my neck of the woods & my MP. He is a loyal remainer & ex serviceman. Is on the defence select committee & I reckon would make a good PM.
As for the M26. Read it was just initial surveying atm & further work in nov & dec. Seems like Highway England are looking to use the central reservation to hold the lorries.....which is a novel plan but more sensible than blocking the M20 for miles.
my neck of the woods & my MP. He is a loyal remainer & ex serviceman. Is on the defence select committee & I reckon would make a good PM.
As for the M26. Read it was just initial surveying atm & further work in nov & dec. Seems like Highway England are looking to use the central reservation to hold the lorries.....which is a novel plan but more sensible than blocking the M20 for miles.
From what I saw, the suggestion is that gates be constructed on the central reservation to allow for semi-permanent contraflows. HGVs in the central reservation, with traffic continuing on both carriageways, is a short cut to madness and fatalities.
There was a good item on ITV news last night showing the difficulty and real risks for Northern Ireland if the border issue is not sorted. It really clarified the issue May has. The DUP wont agree to an open border localised customs union with customs checks between the UK and Northern Ireland, which is the EU proposed solution. The hard liners within the Tory party will not agree to a permanent customs union to solve the problem. May has persuaded a few - maybe enough to agree to it with an end date, but the EU is insistent it would only agree this as a permanent solution.
With Irish republicans armed and ready to attack any border from an interview on the same item, we are heading for a total mess. People wonder why remainers are so firm in their anger at the mess that has been needlessly created. Well that should explain it. I am livid and I am not even a great fan of Europe. The Irish consequences are even more frightening than the economic ones, and they are pretty frightening. I am getting a stronger opinion each day that we have to stop this madness whilst we still can. We need to try to save this country from itself. And when I say we, it isn't political - we need conservatives, socialists and liberals to work together to prevent a disaster.
There was a good item on ITV news last night showing the difficulty and real risks for Northern Ireland if the border issue is not sorted. It really clarified the issue May has. The DUP wont agree to an open border localised customs union with customs checks between the UK and Northern Ireland, which is the EU proposed solution. The hard liners within the Tory party will not agree to a permanent customs union to solve the problem. May has persuaded a few - maybe enough to agree to it with an end date, but the EU is insistent it would only agree this as a permanent solution.
With Irish republicans armed and ready to attack any border from an interview on the same item, we are heading for a total mess. People wonder why remainers are so firm in their anger at the mess that has been needlessly created. Well that should explain it. I am livid and I am not even a great fan of Europe. The Irish consequences are even more frightening than the economic ones, and they are pretty frightening. I am getting a stronger opinion each day that we have to stop this madness whilst we still can. We need to try to save this country from itself. And when I say we, it isn't political - we need conservatives, socialists and liberals to work together to prevent a disaster.
So, based on this and other news stories it sounds to me like the November deal that will be tabled will look something like status quo during the two year implementation period and then, essentially, status quo for an indefinite period afterwards until a final trade deal can be done, which it never will.
Oooh a brexit dividend! Along the lines of "we are working on something as close to not leaving as possible, which is clearly better for the country". The comments are somewhat "cured" in their porkiness
Oooh a brexit dividend! Along the lines of "we are working on something as close to not leaving as possible, which is clearly better for the country". The comments are somewhat "cured" in their porkiness
Shouldn't that headline read "Hammond says 'Brexit deal dividend' where we don't actually leave the EU would deliver economic boost".
No shit Sherlock fucking Holmes!
Alastair Campbell would be too embarrassed to attempt a spin like that.
There was a good item on ITV news last night showing the difficulty and real risks for Northern Ireland if the border issue is not sorted. It really clarified the issue May has. The DUP wont agree to an open border localised customs union with customs checks between the UK and Northern Ireland, which is the EU proposed solution. The hard liners within the Tory party will not agree to a permanent customs union to solve the problem. May has persuaded a few - maybe enough to agree to it with an end date, but the EU is insistent it would only agree this as a permanent solution.
With Irish republicans armed and ready to attack any border from an interview on the same item, we are heading for a total mess. People wonder why remainers are so firm in their anger at the mess that has been needlessly created. Well that should explain it. I am livid and I am not even a great fan of Europe. The Irish consequences are even more frightening than the economic ones, and they are pretty frightening. I am getting a stronger opinion each day that we have to stop this madness whilst we still can. We need to try to save this country from itself. And when I say we, it isn't political - we need conservatives, socialists and liberals to work together to prevent a disaster.
So, based on this and other news stories it sounds to me like the November deal that will be tabled will look something like status quo during the two year implementation period and then, essentially, status quo for an indefinite period afterwards until a final trade deal can be done, which it never will.
What was the point of any of this?
Pretty good assessment. Any deal does though have to get through Parliament, Tory nut jobs, DUP and Labours six tests. Looks tough to me.
Dominic Rabb promised that his proposals on the Irish border were imminent, still waiting yet next Wednesday is a/the deadline. All he needs to do is ask any brexit voter, because they knew what they were voting for as we are continually told.
Dominic Rabb promised that his proposals on the Irish border were imminent, still waiting yet next Wednesday is a/the deadline. All he needs to do is ask any brexit voter, because they knew what they were voting for as we are continually told.
Rabbs proposals are probably being written by the DUP as we speak.
Oooh a brexit dividend! Along the lines of "we are working on something as close to not leaving as possible, which is clearly better for the country". The comments are somewhat "cured" in their porkiness
Shouldn't that headline read "Hammond says 'Brexit deal dividend' where we don't actually leave the EU would deliver economic boost".
No shit fucking Sherlock Holmes!
Alastair Campbell would be too embarrassed to attempt a spin like that.
Ahem, exhibit a lying to spinning for The Hutton Enquiry.
In a previous appearance before a judge during a libel trial, Alastair Campbell was described as an unreliable witness, yet Hutton, despite all the evidence, thought otherwise. He even chose to ignore the fact that Campbell's evidence was different from that he gave to MPs. A complete exposure of his diary would surely have sunk him, which is why his lawyers did everything to limit its exposure.
Tony Blair made a pretty good fist of his response in the House of Commons, effectively ending Michael Howard's honeymoon. His big mistake, however, was to allow Alastair Campbell to have anything to do with the response.
Blair seems to be the only person in the world who still thinks the discredited spin doctor is a good thing. One unnamed cabinet minister said at the weekend: 'I wish Alastair would shut up.' So do the electorate and nearly all the Parliamentary Labour Party.
As all historians know, Winston Churchill's maxim of being magnanimous in victory still holds true, and only someone as arrogant and self-important as Alastair Campbell would have the nerve to ignore it.
It was a sure sign that Campbell has lost all sense of reality when he appeared on the ornate staircase of the foreign Press Association to deliver his verdict on Hutton. Who does he think he is? A small clue is that in his embarrassing one-man roadshow he likened Tony Blair to Nelson Mandela.
A short statement to PA saying that he welcomed the fact he had been exonerated by Lord Hutton would have been more effective PR and more helpful to the Government. Like Mandelson before him, this great communicator hasn't a clue how to communicate himself.
All the good that came of Campbell's departure has been undone in just a few hours. What is the point of employing the trusted David Hill if Campbell is allowed to do this?
The only thing the government can do is agree to a customs union and plead with the EU to let them put an end date on it. I can't see the EU agreeing to this simply because it looks like buying time to find a solution for something there isn't a solution for!
Oooh a brexit dividend! Along the lines of "we are working on something as close to not leaving as possible, which is clearly better for the country". The comments are somewhat "cured" in their porkiness
Shouldn't that headline read "Hammond says 'Brexit deal dividend' where we don't actually leave the EU would deliver economic boost".
No shit fucking Sherlock Holmes!
Alastair Campbell would be too embarrassed to attempt a spin like that.
Ahem, exhibit a lying to spinning for The Hutton Enquiry.
Couldn't see any evidence of spin and/or lies there. Just truth and fact. And his target audience was a good deal more knowledgeable and intelligent than Hammond's target audience which consists of 37% who actually voted for Brexit (though I think I read this week that about 900,000 of the people who voted Brexit are now dead).
The euro MP bloke Guy Verhofstadt said last week there ought not to be any more time spent on brexit. I believe his stance was the UK triggered article 50, and have had two years to come up with something, enough is enough, especially as a huge part of the last two brexit years has been about Tory infighting. He has a very good point.
I remember after the referendum that some people on here were saying that the UK vote for Brexit would be the first of various countries to leave, which now looks extremely unlikely to ever happen. Even the Eurosceptic governments of Hungary and Italy don't seriously entertain the idea of getting out: it's just too risky for the economy.
Maybe if the UK can make a success out of leaving the EU it might happen but at the moment the farcical lack of preparation to leave or even understanding of what it actually involves is more likely to act as a cautionary tale to others of the folly of walking away without making a plan.
In a previous appearance before a judge during a libel trial, Alastair Campbell was described as an unreliable witness, yet Hutton, despite all the evidence, thought otherwise. He even chose to ignore the fact that Campbell's evidence was different from that he gave to MPs. A complete exposure of his diary would surely have sunk him, which is why his lawyers did everything to limit its exposure.
Tony Blair made a pretty good fist of his response in the House of Commons, effectively ending Michael Howard's honeymoon. His big mistake, however, was to allow Alastair Campbell to have anything to do with the response.
Blair seems to be the only person in the world who still thinks the discredited spin doctor is a good thing. One unnamed cabinet minister said at the weekend: 'I wish Alastair would shut up.' So do the electorate and nearly all the Parliamentary Labour Party.
As all historians know, Winston Churchill's maxim of being magnanimous in victory still holds true, and only someone as arrogant and self-important as Alastair Campbell would have the nerve to ignore it.
It was a sure sign that Campbell has lost all sense of reality when he appeared on the ornate staircase of the foreign Press Association to deliver his verdict on Hutton. Who does he think he is? A small clue is that in his embarrassing one-man roadshow he likened Tony Blair to Nelson Mandela.
A short statement to PA saying that he welcomed the fact he had been exonerated by Lord Hutton would have been more effective PR and more helpful to the Government. Like Mandelson before him, this great communicator hasn't a clue how to communicate himself.
All the good that came of Campbell's departure has been undone in just a few hours. What is the point of employing the trusted David Hill if Campbell is allowed to do this?
That is an opinion piece. A fact free vitriolic outburst. In fact, it reads like you wrote it.
Dominic Rabb promised that his proposals on the Irish border were imminent, still waiting yet next Wednesday is a/the deadline. All he needs to do is ask any brexit voter, because they knew what they were voting for as we are continually told.
Did you not spend any time on the takeover thread? Everyone knows imminent means 6 months and counting
It would of course help in the Conservative party were united and went into negotiations from a position of strength, but they have been negotiating with themselves whilst trying to negotiate with the EU. If anybody from either side of the argument can't see how ridiculous that is, I despair. It is farcical but not funny due to the danger it presents.
It would of course help in the Conservative party were united and went into negotiations from a position of strength, but they have been negotiating with themselves whilst trying to negotiate with the EU. If anybody from either side of the argument can't see how ridiculous that is, I despair. It is farcical but not funny due to the danger it presents.
One look at the Tory front bench tells you all you need to know about institutional incompetence.
It would of course help in the Conservative party were united and went into negotiations from a position of strength, but they have been negotiating with themselves whilst trying to negotiate with the EU. If anybody from either side of the argument can't see how ridiculous that is, I despair. It is farcical but not funny due to the danger it presents.
One look at the Tory front bench most of the political strata in the UK tells you all you need to know about institutional incompetence.
It would of course help in the Conservative party were united and went into negotiations from a position of strength, but they have been negotiating with themselves whilst trying to negotiate with the EU. If anybody from either side of the argument can't see how ridiculous that is, I despair. It is farcical but not funny due to the danger it presents.
One look at the Tory front bench most of the political strata in the UK tells you all you need to know about institutional incompetence.
I remember after the referendum that some people on here were saying that the UK vote for Brexit would be the first of various countries to leave, which now looks extremely unlikely to ever happen. Even the Eurosceptic governments of Hungary and Italy don't seriously entertain the idea of getting out: it's just too risky for the economy.
Maybe if the UK can make a success out of leaving the EU it might happen but at the moment the farcical lack of preparation to leave or even understanding of what it actually involves is more likely to act as a cautionary tale to others of the folly of walking away without making a plan.
While maybe there isn't a rush for the exits, I think the EU's expansionist plans have ground to a halt. Joining the EU isn't the proposition that was once promised and the pool of liberal democracies that the EU would let in without having to hold their nose is shrinking. Iceland have let their application lapse, and are further than they've ever been from joining. Anecdotally, the Icelanders I spoke with when I was there were generally fed up with the EU's bullying, hectoring attitude toward Iceland and it's inconvenient sense of independence.
The UK will be the admiral that gets shot, "pour l'encouragement des autres"
Someone tell Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, etc., and also that nice Mr. Putin (as he might not need to spend all that money on supporting those in opposition to their accession...
Someone tell Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, etc., and also that nice Mr. Putin (as he might not need to spend all that money on supporting those in opposition to their accession...
Someone should tell Jean Claude Juncker in that case. He just kicked further EU expansion into the long grass for at least the next five years.
I remember after the referendum that some people on here were saying that the UK vote for Brexit would be the first of various countries to leave, which now looks extremely unlikely to ever happen. Even the Eurosceptic governments of Hungary and Italy don't seriously entertain the idea of getting out: it's just too risky for the economy.
Maybe if the UK can make a success out of leaving the EU it might happen but at the moment the farcical lack of preparation to leave or even understanding of what it actually involves is more likely to act as a cautionary tale to others of the folly of walking away without making a plan.
While maybe there isn't a rush for the exits, I think the EU's expansionist plans have ground to a halt. Joining the EU isn't the proposition that was once promised and the pool of liberal democracies that the EU would let in without having to hold their nose is shrinking. Iceland have let their application lapse, and are further than they've ever been from joining. Anecdotally, the Icelanders I spoke with when I was there were generally fed up with the EU's bullying, hectoring attitude toward Iceland and it's inconvenient sense of independence.
The UK will be the admiral that get's shot, "pour l'encouragement des autres"
Weren’t the “EU’s expansionist plans” (I.e. Turkey) one of the main reasons put up to support Brexit?
Accession is a process, and Mr. Juncker's term ends next year - even if it didnt, he does not have the power to make decisions about expansion or otherwise - it's unlikely that any of the accession states are on the cusp of finally joining. But they are on a path to EU membership, and I'd expect will continue along it, unless Mr. Putin and his friends are successful.
The decision about expansion rests with the member states, as does that of deepening EU structures, which may also happen, but is also unlikely in the short term.
Accession is a process, and Mr. Juncker's term ends next year - even if it didnt, he does not have the power to make decisions about expansion or otherwise - it's unlikely that any of the accession states are on the cusp of finally joining. But they are on a path to EU membership, and I'd expect will continue along it, unless Mr. Putin and his friends are successful.
The decision about expansion rests with the member states, as does that of deepening EU structures, which may also happen, but is also unlikely in the short term.
I guess the old drunk was just flapping his gums again then. Who put him in charge of anything?!
True, it's a process and there are many bumps in the road. Iceland were in that process and thought better of it. It's laudable that the EU tries to use membership as incentive for reformation of these former Eastern Bloc European countries, but I'm doubtful Serbia would ever reach the civic standards of a nation like Iceland. Maybe 5 years will be long enough for Serbia to sort out its human rights issues, or police up the huge number of unregistered weapons in circulation. I suspect not.
Comments
Police refusing to investigate a series potential crimes because of “political sensitivities”. This is banana republic territory.
As for the M26. Read it was just initial surveying atm & further work in nov & dec. Seems like Highway England are looking to use the central reservation to hold the lorries.....which is a novel plan but more sensible than blocking the M20 for miles.
With Irish republicans armed and ready to attack any border from an interview on the same item, we are heading for a total mess. People wonder why remainers are so firm in their anger at the mess that has been needlessly created. Well that should explain it. I am livid and I am not even a great fan of Europe. The Irish consequences are even more frightening than the economic ones, and they are pretty frightening. I am getting a stronger opinion each day that we have to stop this madness whilst we still can. We need to try to save this country from itself. And when I say we, it isn't political - we need conservatives, socialists and liberals to work together to prevent a disaster.
What was the point of any of this?
Oooh a brexit dividend! Along the lines of "we are working on something as close to not leaving as possible, which is clearly better for the country". The comments are somewhat "cured" in their porkiness
No shit Sherlock fucking Holmes!
Alastair Campbell would be too embarrassed to attempt a spin like that.
All he needs to do is ask any brexit voter, because they knew what they were voting for as we are continually told.
lying tospinning for The Hutton Enquiry.In a previous appearance before a judge during a libel trial, Alastair Campbell was described as an unreliable witness, yet Hutton, despite all the evidence, thought otherwise. He even chose to ignore the fact that Campbell's evidence was different from that he gave to MPs. A complete exposure of his diary would surely have sunk him, which is why his lawyers did everything to limit its exposure.
Tony Blair made a pretty good fist of his response in the House of Commons, effectively ending Michael Howard's honeymoon. His big mistake, however, was to allow Alastair Campbell to have anything to do with the response.
Blair seems to be the only person in the world who still thinks the discredited spin doctor is a good thing. One unnamed cabinet minister said at the weekend: 'I wish Alastair would shut up.' So do the electorate and nearly all the Parliamentary Labour Party.
As all historians know, Winston Churchill's maxim of being magnanimous in victory still holds true, and only someone as arrogant and self-important as Alastair Campbell would have the nerve to ignore it.
It was a sure sign that Campbell has lost all sense of reality when he appeared on the ornate staircase of the foreign Press Association to deliver his verdict on Hutton. Who does he think he is? A small clue is that in his embarrassing one-man roadshow he likened Tony Blair to Nelson Mandela.
A short statement to PA saying that he welcomed the fact he had been exonerated by Lord Hutton would have been more effective PR and more helpful to the Government. Like Mandelson before him, this great communicator hasn't a clue how to communicate himself.
All the good that came of Campbell's departure has been undone in just a few hours. What is the point of employing the trusted David Hill if Campbell is allowed to do this?
He has a very good point.
Maybe if the UK can make a success out of leaving the EU it might happen but at the moment the farcical lack of preparation to leave or even understanding of what it actually involves is more likely to act as a cautionary tale to others of the folly of walking away without making a plan.
The UK will be the admiral that gets shot, "pour l'encouragement des autres"
Accession is a process, and Mr. Juncker's term ends next year - even if it didnt, he does not have the power to make decisions about expansion or otherwise - it's unlikely that any of the accession states are on the cusp of finally joining. But they are on a path to EU membership, and I'd expect will continue along it, unless Mr. Putin and his friends are successful.
The decision about expansion rests with the member states, as does that of deepening EU structures, which may also happen, but is also unlikely in the short term.
True, it's a process and there are many bumps in the road. Iceland were in that process and thought better of it. It's laudable that the EU tries to use membership as incentive for reformation of these former Eastern Bloc European countries, but I'm doubtful Serbia would ever reach the civic standards of a nation like Iceland. Maybe 5 years will be long enough for Serbia to sort out its human rights issues, or police up the huge number of unregistered weapons in circulation. I suspect not.