the day after the deadline: can the union survive brexit and other deep questions

good thread of additional observations from the barnier interview here:

The EU will be uncompromising on transition: UK must accept EU acquis lock, stock and barrel, including any new laws passed when British ministers and MEPs no longer at the table.

— Jennifer Rankin (@JenniferMerode) December 19, 2017

To be doubly sure, checked: this means EU’s four freedoms, including people, and sensitive areas, such as fisheries. MB said transition shd be “short” without extensions.

— Jennifer Rankin (@JenniferMerode) December 19, 2017

goes back to LG's point, what on earth is all this talk about having cake again about? i can't work out whether it's something they genuinely believe, or it's just for the right-wing press and hard brexit faction, and there'll be another six months of posturing before doing what the EU wants. Think I said unthread that I had a conversation with a friend who had spoken to dexeu civil servants earlier in the year and they said they were seriously hampered by the fact that DD and others *believed* this posturing nonsense, but surely that can't have survived phase 1? seriously, these fucking clowns.

MB said during transition the UK will be allowed to re-negotiate the 750 international agreements that fall when UK leaves EU.

Subtext: good luck with that.

— Jennifer Rankin (@JenniferMerode) December 19, 2017

xp
aye, thank god that never happened!

The outcome of the snap election guaranteed this would happen. A lot of press at the time pointed out that an increase in the Tory majority would mean that the influence of the hard Brexiteers would be drowned out and there would be no need to rely on them for tight votes. This was apparent to the EU too, see this Deutsche Bank analysis for example: http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-sterling-election-idUSKBN17K1KS

Obviously, what happened happened. The Remain faction in the party is bigger but also clearly more biddable as they vote along with the government on every occasion for the most part.

If you go on conservativehome the comment talk is increasingly of “never voting for the Tories again if they don’t deliver” and the mood is increasingly ugly. Nicky Morgan wrote a piece about receiving death threats and the comments were all along the lines of “yeah but you are actually a traitor so”

This isn’t me slagging off the Remain faction either - getting death threats and constant abuse, especially given what happened to Jo Cox, must be horrific. The government won’t even come out and condemn the Telegraph or the Mail for their rhetoric, so they know they’ve got no support from the party.

Agree with the comments about the emerging and dangerous narrative, but at a loss to see what would change it.

what elias canetti said about his time in frankfurt after the war, when Rathenau was assassinated, reminded me of Brexit when I read it:

The first demonstrations I saw made a deep impact on me; they weren't infrequent and they were always against the war. There was a sharp separation between those who sided with the revolution that had ended the war and the other, who resented not the war, but the Versailles Treaty one year later. This was the most important distinction; its effects were already tangible.

a sharp division and two deeply opposed narratives, everything in the balance. one of those moments in history where perception is divided, and its effects are already tangible. and very ripe for a stab in the back narrative, but i'd like to think apart from political and media delusion there isn't really the appetite for ongoing brexit wars. maybe i'm being naive.

xpost

fuckit just read gyac's post, i'm definitely being naive. always an appetite for resentment.

that sky news thing confronting the people who sent death threats to anna soubry was bonkers, like white racist jihadists who've been radicalised by the Daily Mail to a murderous rage they can't explain. like they were the manchurian pensioners.

And neither of them were even from Yorkshire.

lol at ’the manchurian pensioners’ btw

gammonchurian

nanchurian

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DRf6UCWWAAAVSsz.jpg

whether the future looks good or bad, what is certain is it will involve the robots from the video for "all is full of love"

Been waiting for that to show up. I already have my NO JOBS protest sign ready to protest jobs, safely positioned away from wherever the weak economy and anti-innovation is happening.

fucking scab robots

https://i.imgur.com/PElJrQD.jpg

Awesome.

"Thank you marvellous mechanical man now my party members can watch VR porn without anyone suspecting a thing!"

"I'm actually Jeremy Hunt."

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-mBaQmOUHW-Q/VEDspDD-AbI/AAAAAAAALrc/2OnSHQ7a2Cg/w650-h444-no/alan_mak.jpg

POSITIVE CONSERVATIVE VISION looks like a slightly try-hard album cover for a 90s alt-rock album

conservative home
the home of conservatism

how is montie so bad at this

The future looks really white, but at least George Osborne makes a comeback.

Any reason why there are driverless police cars churning up the countryside into dirt tracks?

Those'll be Google Street View cars, making sure you can see every dirt road in the UK in real time.

xp driverless and passengerless

Crime is abolished in the Conservative Future, huzzah!

Kate Hoey is pretty great at trolling

https://i.imgur.com/aHDVx3g.png

https://i.imgur.com/LB28R4I.png

Green has apparently gone.

May asked him to resign and subsequently accepted his resignation, which is stretching the definition a touch.

'Resigned' over not telling the truth that he knew the police found porn on his computer.

it's a disgrace, he hasn't done anything

... sorry, someone's else's porn on his computer.

Pesto plays the hard man

.@DamianGreen has not resigned. He was sacked by his lifelong friend, @theresa_may pic.twitter.com/jAFSycwYlT

— Robert Peston (@Peston) December 20, 2017

He's not taking this mushroom management anymore, he's cutting through the bullshit.

.@DamianGreen has not resigned. He was sacked by his trusty, life-longfriend and master providorer, @theresa_may pic.twitter.com/jAFSycwYlT
— Robert Peston (@Peston) December 20, 2017

David 'I'd take a bullet for Bergerac' Davis apparently not resigning. Disgraceful.

lol what des that mean?

(The Bergerac bit)

just another successful negotiation from D Davis

xposts

jed - unfortunately just a fake news meme of my own construction I am gleefully running into the ground

If enough posts change hands do you really need another general election? It's a version of Theseus's ship that kills disabled people.

Obv this moment was picked to sack the cunt, but I don't see how Twateus's Ship is any less stormy waters right now than it was last month. Sigh, I genuinely despair.

Johnson in Russia going about as well as can be expected.

Boris Johnson is on another planet. Lavrov complains about relations being "at a low," Boris says he's "glad they're increasing the export of kettle crisps to Russia." Interpreter just doesn't translate the crisps part pic.twitter.com/Zsdpimax7o

— Alec Luhn (@ASLuhn) December 22, 2017

May should heavily reprimand him for such tin-eared transmitting and not receiving type behaviour.

http://www.eadt.co.uk/business/kettle-foods-could-move-export-production-to-europe-after-brexit-1-5240713

Borscht or Goulash flavour Kettle Chips wd be a-ok imo

imagine the heartburn.

Sour cream and mushroom imo.

Reactions to this are a bit ott:

This is mad.

There was nothing stopping the UK from having a passport colour of its choice as EU member, if it wanted. Croatia does. Burgundy is a non-binding recommendation. https://t.co/Y657f3VI0Q

— David Allen Green (@davidallengreen) December 22, 2017

remember when people thought boris could be prime minister

a more innocent time, really

back in those days when there was worldwide comment on "the irresistible rise of Theresa May", rather than "who the fuck is this joker, is she for real?"

My first passport was issued in 1987 and it looked black, although apparently it was really very very very very dark blue. Not this new colour anyway.

What a load of bollocks.