buctootim

Johnson keeps saying he won't ask for an extension. How is he going to square that without resigning and becoming the shortest lived PM ever?

Some people are claiming that if the executive (ie the cabinet) no confidences itself that would trigger a GE without a need for a 2/3 majority vote. No idea if that is legal or likely but if he goes down that road all of a sudden anybody but him starts to look preferable.

Down to 289 out of 650 and counting...

What do people think Johnson will do if he loses both the vote for a GE and the vote on no deal? Resign or try another tack?

Agree it will be much harder to predict than a normal non Brexit GE. Seems likely the Tories will lose around 14 seats in Scotland and London. Cant see them making that up elsewhere with BP splitting the vote

They likely won't extend their majority. Most predictions point to a hung Parliament so there will be deadlock again unless there is a broad coalition. If Corbyn is smart, big if, he'll whip against for the GE vote until some kind of Brexit way forward is agreed and beyond the point of no return.

Corbyn hasnt thank God. Told Johnson the bill must pass first. Gove having a hissy fit at Corbyn

Pretty comfortable win 328-301. Odd that 21 didnt vote. edit 18 if you dont count speaker and deputies

Hammond and his constituency association already outsmarted Johnson.According to Sky on Monday night he was re-selected to fight the coming election, whenever it is. He couldn't be removed without a court battle. Hammond seems set to stay and fight for the kind of broad church Tory party he wants.

copied from Twitter. Not my own work

Agree. It all hinges on what Corbyn will do in those circumstances. I hope he is smart enough to think strategically and whip Labour to vote against. Its just a hope though.

Agree it will be a much harder election to predict because far more constituencies will not follow what the polls show for overall national voting intentions as Brexit transcends parties. I'll vote LD because they have a chance to win and my Tory MP is a total *****. In the adjoining constituency the pro remain Tory Nicholas Soames is MP and I'd vote for him rather than allow Brexit party in. If I was still living in Brighton I'd probably vote Green for Caroline Lucas.

He's definitely lying and luring one side into a trap. The trouble is no-one knows which side he will sell out, maybe not even him. His primary concern is to stay as PM over and above his political preferences.

If you were just a tad brighter you'd realise what Johnson wants is May's deal minus the backstop - ie nearly two more years in the single market and customs union. During those two years he'd negotiate something near identical except in name to those transitional arrangements. But you aren't, so you don't.

I already give more than £50pm to charity so it makes no difference to me. The attraction was extracting £50 from the wallet of the most myopic dullard on here and giving it to a cause he resents.

I've never understood the right wing argument that its hypocrisy to be well paid or wealthy and to vote for a more redistributive party instead of voting for self interest. Altruism is not hypocrisy. Arguing that the wealthy are only allowed to express socially progressive views if they have first given up all their income and gone to live in a bedsit is risible.

Not set in stone, but you need some kind of agreement. I actually think it will be worse long term than short term. The day after leave any EU country with an international freight terminal (port or air) may take the line that since Britain hasnt actually changed anything yet they can assume compliance. Once we start to deviate on tariffs, adopting US standards instead of EU etc thats when the problems will start to pile up.

There was to be a steady state 20 month implementation period under May's deal. No deal means there wont be one.

Its not lack of willingness or goodwill, its a simple reflection of the fact that currently we have common taxation, tariff and safety standards - so there isn't anything to check. But Johnson wants to diverge from that. It you have to work out tariffs, compliance with standards and duties payable its way more complicated and will take much longer. Agree more than two hours is uncommon but 1.5-2 hours is pretty typical especially outside Florida which is a holiday destination and the flow of people in is fairly consistent. New York, Los Angeles, Raleigh-Durham, Minneapolis, Dulles etc are different from day to day, time of day and with the season. As with the trucks, an EU passport conveys commonly agreed standards, so minimal checks. The lines at non EU passports are always longer as the process is more complicated.

Seems like your entire life experience stopped in the 1980s - ie well before Schengen and the single market. As for never waiting 2-3 hours at immigration whilst working in the US - either you have a poor memory or you made it up. I travelled to the US for work until two years ago. Immigration at all the major gateways frequently took two hours. Not occasionally, frequently. As for your observation on health insurance, its ignorance in a bottle. Many people have chronic conditions which are managed and they are mostly well but can be liable to flare ups which require hospitalisation. I know two people whose travel insurance will go up 10 and 12 fold respectively under a no EHIC scheme. The Governments own planning for no deal says that under normal circumstances trucks will have to wait 6 hours to cross into the EU and in a worst case scenario 36-48 hours. Currently it averages two minutes. When the referendum took place I thought the debits of leaving outweighed the benefits by 60-40. Now its looking more like 90-10.

Who's the fat kid Who's the fat kid Who's the fat kid on the right? Who's the fat kid on the right?

One idea being floated is a temporary government of national unity with Hilary Benn as PM and people like Ken Clarke, Hammond, Caroline Lucas, and Rory Stewart as ministers. That sounds like a better option than any other party - for the next five years let alone a couple of months.

The inevitable consequence of Johnson's actions - diverging from common standards and tariffs is a hard border. However he doesn't want to be blamed for that so he's saying he wont introduce it, knowing that the EU will be forced to

And that in a nutshell is why everyone says Brexiteers don't understand the issues. The Parliament and Council are two totally different things. As Whitey says, power resides with the Council which made up of the ministers / Prime Ministers of the individual nations. Its they who approve or reject or veto. That's why the whole Brexit, get power back spiel is so risible.