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

remember the "short-lived" Cleggeron era? these people are like herpes

he's gone!

not far enough

election incoming

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/09/boris-johnson-resigns-as-foreign-secretary-brexit

'class act' as The Guardian might put it.

self-immolation in the lotus position on College Green or gtfo

There might not even be enough for a confidence vote:

The 1922 Committee is 42 votes. Davis and Baker would make 44. They need 48. None of them has any intention of doing it: this is an idle power play. https://t.co/Czy3Vyu1Ec

— Elvis Buñuelo (@Mr_Considerate) July 8, 2018

must be time for a new thread

i mean we are surely into a new phase

(for the record i have thought boris has been a never-was since he flinched after brexit: DD casually hammered this home last night)

i like to think that boris made the announcement then stood up, smashed the window and zip-wired straight out of carlton house

and then realised he didn't actually have a zip wire

Cometh the hour, cometh the Mogg.

the leader we deserve

the moggman prophecies

holy shit at everything

this is so far beyond omnishambles, it’s like omnimetainfinishambles

wouldn't say we are into a new phase till May goes or is pushed out.

new thread new thread new thread (bangs clipboard)

who cares what you wouldn't say

what dead-eyed ghoul will rise to replace boris as foreign sec i wonder

time for ian duncan smith to make his move

This is going to be really funny when we're all destitute.

they'd surely struggle to find someone with quite the same level of competency for the post

Priti Patel waiting in the wings.

Guido Fawkes reporting that Fox is next.

Bet Gove gets FCO.

I am told Downing Street "spiked" @BorisJohnson - that is they announced he was quitting BEFORE he actually finished writing his resignation letter. This is getting very brutal

— Robert Peston (@Peston) July 9, 2018

Labour MP comes out of the briefing. “Most surreal meeting ever. They are presenting a deal which is collapsing in front of our eyes. The projector doesn’t work. All anyone is talking about is Boris. It’s like the fucking Thick of It.”

— Jessica Elgot ⚽️🔜🏠 (@jessicaelgot) July 9, 2018

Gove would be a shoo-in if he wants it.

According to the brilliant BBC analysis and research team; so far as we can tell this is the first time two cabinet ministers have quit within 24 hours of each other (outside cabinet reshuffles) since at least 1979. Happy to be corrected.

— Alex Forsyth (@AlexForsythBBC) July 9, 2018

Think this might actually end up strengthening May tbh.

She never appointed these clowns expecting them to stay the course after all.

xp the party members will be howling for her to go - can’t imagine that they’re far off 48 now

Labour MP comes out of the briefing. “Most surreal meeting ever. They are presenting a deal which is collapsing in front of our eyes. The projector doesn’t work. All anyone is talking about is Boris. It’s like the fucking Thick of It.”

out of all these people i have the most sympathy for the projectionist, it's a thankless position

https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348201144l/889755.jpg

pic.twitter.com/f2nrM2xvEO

— wint MP (@parliawint) July 9, 2018

2m ago 15:55

Jeremy Corbyn says the cabinet Brexit deal took two years to negotiate and two days to unravel.

He mocks May’s claim that she has restored cabinet collective responsibility.

He says he understands why ministers did not resign on Friday; their phones were removed, they would have lost their cars, and, because of government cuts, there would have been no bus services.

out of all these people i have the most sympathy for the projectionist, it's a thankless position

― Karl Malone, Monday, 9 July 2018 14:49 (eight minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the projectionist on the titanic went down with the captain, his family campaigned for years to have this remembered but the family of the deckchair-shuffler had saatchi on the case

Nasty this; told Boris Johnson informed No 10 earlier that he was going to resign this evening & they put out statement. “They think they’re terribly clever” said a friend.

— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) July 9, 2018

the clip of that Corbyn quote is too good not to post

pic.twitter.com/iKXhxAMuIZ

— meth lab for cutie (@AliceAvizandum) July 9, 2018

Friend of whom? Xp

<3 meth lab for cutie :D

BREAKING More Conservative Cabinet ministers will resign unless Theresa May drops her Chequers plan, senior Eurosceptic sources have told The Telegraph.
One source said: "This is defenestration by Cabinet. If you push on with Chequers you are going to lose you leadership."

— Christopher Hope (@christopherhope) July 9, 2018

Silly - who would replace May at this point? Resigning from the cabinet is the easy bit.

I thought that was a given - surely they are staggering these to pile on the pressure. She is trying to keep them onside by appointing former leave campaigners, but is she going to change the policy (that won’t work anyway?) thing with the taxi cards was very much calling their bluff and presumably she won’t want to back down, but why not appoint people friendly to you in that case then? Idk

I'm not sure Remainers would be more friendly - there was a point made last Friday that the deal announced was only 'soft Brexit' after a year of JRM dragging the Overton window.

Who's more likely to make it to the weekend?

— Momentum (@PeoplesMomentum) July 9, 2018

None of the above

There isn't even remotely a Commons majority in favour of hard Brexit though, I'm not sure what the endgame is here beyond forcing a change of leader and hoping they win the subsequent election with a proper majority. And even then cliff edge approaching - unless that's the point.

Is there even a majority for hard Brexit within the Tory bloc of MPs?

i feel i should know this but does tories forcing a change of tory leader force an election?