The UK Brexit vote to leave the EU

[sunwings]

Never forget Britain holds all the cards, however the EU are playing chess.

Any general election will make this process even more complicated.

A people´s vote will happen.

Brexit will NOT!

[greybeard]

Posted by sunwings (here)
Never forget Britain holds all the cards, however the EU are playing chess.

Any general election will make this process even more complicated.

A people´s vote will happen.

Brexit will NOT!

Yes I think you are correct sunwings.
If it goes to a public vote
The public is fickle--people change their minds and why not!!!
We will just have to wait and see.

Chris

[norman]

It all depends on who chooses the tick box options, and what corner they want us in when we decide.

The obvious choice isn't likely to be the one they willingly give us. That's why I don't really want a people's vote. We had one 2 years ago and the choice was clear. Everything since then has been a psyop to obscure the people's choice and turn the whole thing into something completely different.

Example, how nuts is it to be talking endlessly about a "deal" before we are even a free agent to be able to be talking about a deal. While we are still in, the eu gets to play the "we are bigger than you" bluff. In reality, they need us slightly more than we need them, but we can not realise that bargaining power until we are a free agent.

Stage 1, get the hell out, totally (as instructed to by the referendum).

Stage 2, start talks with the EU. Those talks will go a lot better for us than anything that's happened so far with the fake psyop deal talking.

[sunwings]

UK stands down 6,000 no-deal Brexit staff - after spending £1.5bn
https://www.theguardian.com/politics...-spending-15bn

So, no deal is NEVER going to happen. (please see above)

Jean-Claude Juncker: EU won’t renegotiate Brexit deal
https://www.politico.eu/article/jean...e-brexit-deal/

No NEW deal will be offered.

How do we have an impass to this mess????

[Operator]

Interesting "News and Views" this week from Joseph Farrell about the Royals getting politically involved in the UK

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=pnedMj6ehQw

[greybeard]

As far as I can see only 3 choices, just possible, to get through parliament
Accept the May deal, a customs union or stay in EU.
A new referendum likely I guess

Chris

[greybeard]

There are now only two choices, revoke or referendum – no wonder Brexiteers are coming round to a Final Say
The Independent Editorial,


There are now only two choices, revoke or referendum – no wonder Brexiteers are coming round to a Final Say

If the British were to face facts today about Brexit, they would do one of two things with the six-month “flextension” granted by the European Council.

The first option, and by far the simplest, would be to accept that Brexit has failed, and that neither the soft Brexit proposed by the prime minister, nor the no-deal Brexit advocated by a minority of the Conservative Party are realistic options that can carry parliamentary approval, now or ever.

Brexit, in any of its incarnations, is dead, crushed under the weight of its own contradictions. Even if Theresa May were somehow to win a majority for her withdrawal agreement – and there is no sign of that happening – it would mean the UK remaining in the EU customs union indefinitely, and in any case at the sole pleasure of the European Union.

Britain would become a vassal state, as Jacob Rees-Mogg used to have it, a rule-taker not a rule-maker, and a prisoner in a not-so-gilded cage. The Eurosceptics are right in discerning that Ms May’s deal is, in many respects, worse than remaining a full member of the EU – the worst of all worlds.

Better, in these circumstances, to accept that reality right now and end the Brexit fatigue by revoking Article 50. The 2016 referendum result can still be “respected”, in the sense that we would then be able to spend an infinite amount of time discussing different hypothetical models for Brexit, but the ruminations would have the status of a parlour game, like those competitions for a perpetual motion machine. It would not then get in the way of the nation attending to its other problems and making a living in the world.

Brexit fatigue and chaos could, in other words, be cured at a stroke if Article 50 were to be revoked – and this could be done rapidly and unilaterally by the UK. The Conservatives could then get on with reinventing themselves under a new leader in good time for the 2022 general election, Brexit but a painful memory.

It might, though, be too much for many, who would find it a betrayal, and offensive. The second option would salve their feelings – to put the options to the people.

As The Independent has consistently argued, a second referendum, a Final Say, is inevitable if the Brexit process is to resolved in the way it started – through the will of the people, freely expressed. Six months should be sufficient time for that.

We wouldn’t need a lengthy campaign to discuss the options – we have spent three years on this giant exercise in deliberative democracy. We do not need any more buses with big numbers on the side, or “project fear”, or graphics explaining single markets and customs unions. We’re fully educated.

The 2015-16 legislation on an EU referendum can readapted, the flaws in the last referendum repaired, and the voting can take place with as many sensible options on the ballot paper as possible – guided by the expertise of the electoral commission. This ought to include Remain and one or two Brexit options – Ms May’s deal and/or the WTO or hard Brexit option, which, though economically ruinous, is at least practical.

Of course the British will not want to make a quick decision, and the generous holidays enjoyed by MPs mean that the opportunities for the House of Commons to resolve matters will be severely curtailed.

The chances are that Ms May, or her replacement, will be back in Brussels sometime after the British party conferences, in mid-October, asking for more time. The Europeans will also ask the usual questions about a plan. They will agree a further extension and another and another if need be, because the EU does not wish to force a hard Brexit, and the British parliament has virtually outlawed it.

Even if, say, Emmanuel Macron eventually ran out of patience and played his veto, the UK would almost certainly not leave the EU because the choice would then be to crash out or to revoke. And this and any plausible future House of Commons will never vote for a no-deal Brexit.

Brexit is, to all intents and purposes, dead. The only possibility of reincarnation is via a second referendum, which some of the more clear-sighted Leavers are starting to realise. Perhaps a consensus will eventually form around that proposition. It will take longer than six months, however.

[Eric J (Viking)]

This could be fun.....

By VICTORIA FRIEDMAN12 Apr 2019

Nigel Farage launched his Brexit Party on Friday to campaign Britons to support a clean break from the EU and “to begin a political revolution in the UK. “

Mr Farage wrote in The Telegraph ahead of today’s launch of what was nothing short of a “national humiliation” suffered by the UK at the European Summit, where Prime Minister Theresa May secured yet another delay to Brexit to October 31st, 2019, and lamented of the ineffectual lawmakers in the House of Commons.

“The fact is, our ruling class no longer believes in Britain. In them, there is a blithe acceptance of managed decline into 3rd worldness.

“I feel differently. We are a great nation and a great people. But we are being held back by weak leadership. The time to change this is now,” Mr Farage wrote.

The Brexiteer, who campaigned for the UK to leave the EU for more than two decades, registered his party in February in preparation for the betrayal of Brexit which would result in the UK needing to take part in European Parliament elections.

“We see the next few weeks as the beginning of a fightback against an establishment that has wilfully betrayed our trust,” the MEP wrote.

MEP Candidate June Mummery called for an end to the Common Fisheries Policy, saying for the years that the UK has been “throwing the jewels from the crown” as Europeans continue to be allowed to fish in British waters.

Businessman candidate Ben Habib calls it “absolutely bonkers” to take no-deal off the table, saying that “Parliament has condemned this country to unconditional surrender.”

While Richard Tice, chairman of the Brexit Party and founder of Leave Means Leave, says “we cannot allow this shambles in Westminster to continue.”

“It’s time we took on the establishment and the civil service” to make British politics work “for the people” again, Mr Tice said, warning that by the time Halloween comes around, the Government will write another “begging letter” to the EU to delay Brexit even further.

Farage laughed off the scare tactics that a WTO exit would result in a ‘hard border’ saying, “who’s going to build that border”? with Mr Tice pointing out that technology can be used for customs purposes.

Mr Farage added, “I do believe the quickest way to a free-trade deal is we leave on WTO and the EU will come running down the street after us wanting a tariff-free deal.”

UPDATE 12:08 — Farage: We have division because politicians refuse to accept the decision of the people

Asked whether the divide in Parliament was a reflection of the ‘divide’ in the country, Mr Farage said that recent polls have shown that people just want to get on with Brexit, saying we have division because politicians “refuse to accept the decision of the people.”

UPDATE 11:45 — MEP Candidate Richard Tice says “we cannot allow this shambles in Westminster to continue.

“We cannot allow this shambles in Westminster cannot continue,” the Brexit Party chairman said, adding, “We have an incompetent government, an incapable negotiating team, and politicians who write one thing in a manifesto then conspire in dodgy backroom deals” to undermine Brexit.

The Brexit Party is going to do things differently,” Mr Tice continued. “It’s time we took on the establishment and the civil service” to make British politics work “for the people” again, otherwise by the time Halloween comes around, the Government will write another “begging letter” to the EU to delay Brexit even further.

UPDATE 11:40 — MEP Candidate Dr Alka Sehgal Cuthburt calls for the ‘Redemocratisation’ of British politics

Dr Sehgal Cuthburt is a researcher, author, academic, and educator, and says she is standing for the Brexit Party to stand up for democracy, telling the audience that the political class has created a structure that dedemocratised politics, of which ramifications are being felt through society because “everyone lives their lives through these structures.”

Viking

[greybeard]

Peter Mandelson: The EU has given us the gift of time. Soon we must go back to the people

Thursday News
Evening Standard Peter Mandelson,Evening Standard


As Theresa May awaited her call into the EU summit last night, there was no mistaking the humiliating mess that has been made of Brexit — one that few foresaw following the 2016 referendum. I was disappointed by the result but felt it had to be respected. The public had voted, the majority went for Leave and that was an end to the matter. Three years later, the argument is not about who won but what has gone wrong since.

Some will blame Mrs May for undermining her own negotiations by putting down red lines before she understood the issues or triggering Article 50 before formulating a plan. Others will blame the EU for being inflexible, or Tory diehards for holding out against compromise, or Whitehall conspirators, or just simply “the Establishment”.

In fact, none of these are to blame. The idea that we have not left the EU yet because the politicians have not tried hard enough is absurd. The inescapable truth is that Brexit has defeated Brexit.

After 60 years of progressive integration and reshaping our economy around the market opportunities offered by the EU, it is no easier to leave it than it would be if we voted to unplug the country from the internet. The paradox we have discovered at the heart of Brexit is that the very event which was intended to give Britain greater control outside the EU can only be implemented by ceding even greater control to it.

If we depart, we can only safeguard our trade rights in Europe by complying with EU rules but without having a say in them. Like the Eagles’ Hotel California, we would check out but never leave. A pointless Brexit. Of course, we could abandon these rights for the sake of our sovereignty but not without paying a huge economic price. However you view it, Brexit is either pointless or painful and is so far short of perfect compared to the economic and security deal we have now that it must force us to think again.

We certainly cannot stay in limbo as we are now. Hoping for unity breaking out in Tory ranks is a forlorn quest: more than 170 Conservative MPs ignored a three-line whip in the Commons on Tuesday evening and these rebels included the Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom, and the deputy chief whip himself, Chris Pincher. Nobody could realistically hold out hope for common ground materialising between Mrs May and Jeremy Corbyn: why should Labour want to co-own the mess? And if there was ever any likelihood that the EU would tear up its rule book to accommodate Britain, that moment has surely passed, and in truth never existed.

So how are we going to get out of our present bind?

Simply revoking the UK’s Article 50 application at this stage risks a backlash in the current fevered atmosphere. It would spark meltdown in the Conservative Party and bring the largely hidden tensions inside Labour rushing to the surface. More importantly, it would be seen, rightly, as undemocratic to reach such a decision without taking it back to the people.

We could hold a general election. Faced with a new Tory leader elected on a platform of opposing any Brexit compromise — the only way to win support in today’s party — the case for going to the polls would be overwhelming. But having fought on manifestoes which were inevitably about more than Brexit, the outcome would be nuanced and indeed the result might not even deliver a working majority for either of the two main parties.

Steam needs to be allowed out of the pressure cooker, but not simply to allow the Tories to oust Mrs May

A fresh referendum is a blunter instrument, for sure. However you dress it up, the choice would again boil down to a binary decision: leave or stay. The outcome would certainly be clear and everyone would have to live with it.

Exactly a year ago, a campaign was launched to advocate such a second referendum, called a “People’s Vote”. I wrote the original concept paper for this campaign, having swallowed my reservations about both the idea and the timing. It all seemed premature when the April 12 launch day arrived.

It is certainly a widely supported proposition today but I would caution fellow campaigners to tread carefully. It is where I believe we will end up, but without an informed and properly conducted national conversation beforehand which addresses both Brexit and the causes of Brexit, we risk a hardening in public opinion against the EU, especially if the longer extension keeps us in but denies us a serious role.

The country is desperately looking for leadership in framing the debate about what we do next, and without delay the Government should commission an objective, fact-based White Paper that honestly lays bare all the difficulties, choices and trade-offs we have encountered. This White Paper can then be used in public town hall meetings and citizens’ assemblies across the UK.

It will take time to prepare and the pause would do us all good. Steam needs to be allowed out of the pressure cooker, but not simply to allow the Tories to oust Mrs May and for the rest of us to hide from the issues. Let’s face it, the EU has done us a favour by confronting us with the time to choose whether we still want Brexit at all.

In my view, the answer should be no — the jobs, livelihoods and security that come with EU membership will not be found elsewhere. But this is something that the people started and only the people can end.

Lord Mandelson is a former European Commissioner and senior minister in the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown

[norman]

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=7F_qk4Dpg6g

[greybeard]

News
Corbyn told to back new EU referendum or lose millions of supporters
Toby Helm Observer political editor

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/corbyn-tol...210029950.html

Jeremy Corbyn has been warned by Labour’s leader in the European parliament and other grandees that the party will be deserted by millions of anti-Brexit voters if it fails to clearly back a second referendum in its manifesto for next month’s EU elections.

The message from Richard Corbett, who leads Labour’s 20 MEPs, comes amid growing fears at the top of the party that it could lose a generation of young, pro-EU voters if it does not guarantee another public vote.

That age group, as well as many other Remainers, MPs say, could turn instead to unambiguously anti-Brexit parties, including the fledgling independent group Change UK, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and the SNP.

Corbett said: “If Labour does not re-confirm its support for a confirmatory public vote on any Brexit deal in its manifesto then it will haemorrhage votes to parties who do have a clear message. If on the other hand we do offer clarity and a confirmatory ballot we could do very well.”
Richard Corbett, leader of Labour’s 20 representatives in the European parliament. Richard Corbett, leader of Labour’s 20 representatives in the European parliament. Photograph: Imageplotter/REX/Shutterstock

While Labour says it is keeping the option of a second referendum on the table in talks with the government, some key figures close to Jeremy Corbyn have been reluctant to confirm that another public vote would be held on any deal that is agreed and approved by parliament. This has prompted speculation that there may be no commitment to one in Labour’s European election manifesto.

Former Labour foreign secretary Margaret Beckett also called for the manifesto to back a second public vote, saying: “It is very important that there is a clear message about where Labour stands and what Labour is offering. In my view that clear and simple message should be that there should be a confirmatory vote of the British people.

“There is a great opportunity for Labour if we are clear. But lack of clarity would cost us support not only in these elections but it will feed through into the next general election and that may not be far away.”

The issue of whether Labour commits to another referendum in its European manifesto, or fudges the issue to avoid alienating its Leave-supporting voters, is already renewing tensions at the top of the party. Those in the shadow cabinet who believe the manifesto should have a second referendum pledge at its heart fear they will be cut out of discussions and that the content and wording will be decided by Corbyn’s office and the national executive committee (NEC), which is dominated by Corbyn supporters. On Saturday night a senior party source said responsibility for what would be in the manifesto would be “an NEC decision in consultation with stakeholders”. Second referendum supporters in the shadow cabinet – Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry and Tom Watson – are likely to insist, however, that it is also fully involved.

“It would be beyond unacceptable if the shadow cabinet is not able to approve the document and it is all done by the NEC and leader’s office,” said another shadow cabinet member. Opponents of another referendum in the shadow cabinet, including party chairman Ian Lavery, warn that Labour will lose support among its Leave voters if it backs a second vote.

An Opinium poll for the Observer today finds that just 17% of people who say they are certain to vote in the European elections would choose the Tories, against 29% who would back Labour. Some 26% say they would back pro-Remain parties – the Liberal Democrats (10%), the SNP (6%) the Greens (6%) and Change UK (4%) – while 25% would back either Ukip (13%) or Nigel Farage’s new Brexit party (12%). Although it is now almost three years since the June 2016 referendum put the UK on course to leave the EU, European leaders last week insisted Britain would have to take part in European elections at the end of next month as a condition for extending membership until 31 October, unless a Brexit deal passed through parliament before 22 May.

Labour insiders say all but four of the party’s current MEPs, who all back another referendum, want to stand again and will in all probability be confirmed as candidates this week.
Labour deputy leader Tom Watson thinks Corbyn should follow the example set by Harold Wilson in 1975. Labour deputy leader Tom Watson thinks Corbyn should follow the example set by Harold Wilson in 1975. Photograph: Getty Images

One senior party figure said: “The result of this is that even if our manifesto does not confirm a second referendum, that is what our candidates will be advocating on the doorsteps.”

At the last European elections in 2014 – in which Ukip won the most seats – responsibility for writing Labour’s European election manifesto was delegated to a sub-group of the national policy forum. But this time, given the hugely increased profile of the elections, there are demands for the process to widened.

Watson said Labour had to tread carefully and suggested the party follow the lead of Harold Wilson, who in 1975 allowed MPs and his cabinet to vote according to their consciences in the referendum confirming UK membership of the European Community.

He said: “A Labour government would be duty bound to deliver the result of a confirmatory referendum, whatever that may be. The public must trust us to honour that result so it makes sense for our party leadership to take a careful position and our MPs to be allowed to campaign with their consciences. Wilson’s example is a good one. He kept the government and country together.”

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, who has warned that another referendum would damage trust in democracy, said the focus should be to reach a cross-party agreement. He said: “Most Labour colleagues are very encouraged by media reports – and by the prime minister’s recent comments about a customs union – that we may be within touching distance of an exit deal that protects jobs, environmental standards and workers’ rights.

“If this is indeed the case, then it’s vital that we do not allow the negotiations to be torpedoed by insisting on a public vote. It is just not realistic to hope the prime minister would ever whip her MPs to back a second referendum. The first task should be to get a ‘Labour-shaped’ deal agreed and embedded in the withdrawal agreement so it was not able to be ripped up by future Tory leader.

“There will then of course be ample opportunity for colleagues to press their case for a second referendum on the basis of this renegotiated deal by attaching an amendment to the legislation needed to implement Brexit.”

[greybeard]

Jacob Rees-Mogg blasts David Lammy for comparing Tory Brexiteers to Nazis
Evening Standard Asher Mcshane, James Morris,Evening Standard

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/labour-sec...104800609.html

Jacob Rees-Mogg has blasted "foolish" David Lammy after the prominent Labour MP defended his comparison of Tory Brexiteers to Nazis.

The high-profile campaigner for a second Brexit referendum said the comparison "wasn't strong enough".

His comments came as he hit out at members of the European Research Group (ERG) of Tory MPs who have urged Prime Minister Theresa May to take a tougher stance on EU withdrawal.

And ERG chair Mr Rees-Mogg hit back on Sunday evening, saying he "feels sorry" for the Tottenham MP.

He tweeted: "I feel sorry for Mr Lammy, comparing a Parliamentary ginger group with an organisation and creed that killed six million Jewish people makes him look foolish and his comments unbalanced. It damages his reputation."
David Lammy likened Brexiteer MPs to Nazis (BBC)

Mr Lammy defended his views when asked on BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show whether a comparison he previously made between the ERG and the Nazi Party and South African racists was unacceptable.

Mr Marr played a recording of a comment made by Mr Lammy on March 23 in which he said: "I’m just looking over there at Winston Churchill. On the 30th of September 1938, he stood up in parliament and he said we would not appease Hitler.

"I’m looking across to Nelson Mandela who would not give in to apartheid. We say we will not give in to the ERG. We will not appease. We will not appease."

Mr Marr's response was: "By implication you’re comparing the ERG to the Nazi party or at least to the South African racists. Now whatever you think about the ERG that was an unacceptable comparison – wasn’t it?"

The Tottenham MP replied: "I would say that that wasn't strong enough.

"In 1938 there were allies who hatched a plan for Hitler to annex part of Czechoslovakia, and Churchill said no, and he stood alone.

"We must not appease. We're in a situation now, and let me just be clear, I'm an ethnic minority.

"We have, in the ERG, in Jacob Rees-Mogg, someone who is happy to put onto his web pages the horrible, racist AfD [Alternative for Germany] party, a party that's Islamophobic and on the far right."

Mr Lammy added: "They're happy to use the phrase 'grand wizard'. KKK is what it evokes to me when I think of that phrase and the Deep South.

"I'm sorry, but very, very seriously, of course we should not appease that, of course we should not appease that."

Mr Marr responded: "Jacob Rees-Mogg has been absolutely clear that he does not endorse the AFD and the Grand Wizard stuff, we don’t know where that came from. It’s a dangerous thing surely to accuse him of being close to Nazi ideology."

Mr Lammy continued: "We do know that Boris Johnson is with Steve Bannon who is a white supremacist. We do know that there are links between Viktor Orban, Salvini and others.

"I’m not backing off on this. Never will I back off on this on behalf of my constituents and the BBC should not allow this extreme hard right fascism to flourish."

The AfD was founded in 2013 as a Eurosceptic party in Germany, and has since campaigned for tougher immigration laws. Mr Rees-Mogg has previously denied supporting the party.

Mr Lammy added: "What kind of country are we going to be like if these people are running it?"

When it was put to Mr Lammy that he was saying Mr Rees-Mogg and former foreign secretary Boris Johnson are equivalent to Nazis, Mr Lammy said: "Ask Boris Johnson why he's hanging out with Steve Bannon."

[greybeard]

Brexit news: Conservatives face European elections drubbing as support 'slumps to lowest point in six years'
The Independent Adam Forrest,The Independent Sat, 13 Apr 11:48 BST

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/brexit-new...084100956.html


Brexit news: Conservatives face European elections drubbing as support 'slumps to lowest point in six years'

The Conservatives are facing a humiliating defeat at the European elections next month after support for the party slumped to its lowest level since 2013, according to a new poll.

The survey shows the Tories on just 28 per cent when it comes to general election voting intention – a four-point fall which leaves them trailing Labour on 32.

When voters were asked which party they will vote for at the European elections, Theresa May’s party languished on 16 per cent, eight points behind Labour on 24.

In a clear sign support for the Conservatives is crumbling over the failure to deliver Brexit, 56 per cent of people who voted to leave at the 2016 referendum said they would back Ukip or Nigel Farage’s newly formed Brexit Party during next month’s vote.

The Brexit Party is on 15 per cent, while Ukip stands at 14 per cent when it comes to European voting intention, the YouGov poll for The Times indicated.

By comparison, the Lib Dems and the Greens are both on 8 per cent, while Change UK has 7 per cent support.

No 10 is still hoping to get a deal through parliament in time to avoid participation in the European elections on 23 May. But the UK is formally on track to hold the poll, having informed the EU authorities ahead of Friday’s deadline that it would be taking part.

Boris Johnson’s backers have suggested he may not even campaign on behalf of his party next month in an effort to show his displeasure at the UK’s involvement.

“Boris won’t campaign in European elections. He believes the prospect of the UK fielding candidates is utterly preposterous,” a source told The Times.

Last week Nadhim Zahawi, the children’s minister, said taking part in the May elections would be the Conservatives “suicide note”, suggesting the level of anger expressed during the vote would be an “existential threat” to his party.

Last night Philip Hammond, the chancellor, admitted the European elections “feels like a pointless exercise” and also acknowledged senior figures were “jockeying for position” to succeed the prime minister.

Yet he insisted Ms May would stay on until she has taken Britain out of the EU.

He told Bloomberg: “The prime minister has said that she will leave once she has done the deal and taken us out of the European Union. But, as far as I know, she doesn’t have any intention of leaving until that deal is done.”

The latest YouGov poll shows Ms May’s personal ratings remain largely unchanged.

When asked to choose between the leaders of the two main parties, 30 per cent said Ms May would make the best prime minister, while only 19 per cent opted for Mr Corbyn.
image

[greybeard]

Hammond ridiculed Brexiteers in Tory leadership race, according to reports
PA Ready News UK By Shaun Connolly, Press Association Political Correspondent,PA Ready News UK 21 hours ago

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/hammond-ri...230133683.html

Chancellor Philip Hammond has mocked prominent Tory Brexiteers for engaging in a “suicide pact” during failed bids to beat Theresa May to the Tory leadership, it has been reported.

Mr Hammond used a speech in the US on Friday to say Environment Secretary Michael Gove and former foreign secretary Boris Johnson had formed an “unintended suicide pact” in the 2016 leadership contest, the Daily Telegraph said.

The Chancellor said that Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom had effectively “knifed herself” during the race to become Prime Minister, according to the newspaper.
Theresa May became Conservative leader and Prime Minister in 2016 (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Mrs May is facing calls to quit and trigger a new leadership contest, with ex-cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith saying she should stand down as early as next month.

Mr Johnson hit back at David Lammy after the Labour MP defended comparing some Tory Brexiteers to the Nazis.

Mr Johnson wrote in the Daily Telegraph that Mr Lammy’s comments were a “peculiar outburst” which has been brought on by “Brexichosis”.

The remarks came as Cabinet Office minister David Lidington, Mrs May’s defacto deputy, said talks with Labour on trying to end the Brexit deadlock would continue over the Easter parliamentary recess.

However, the discussions were not expected to resume on Monday, according to Labour sources.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Mr Hammond said in a speech at the British embassy in Washington DC the Tories have the “joy of a leadership contest ahead”.

Mr Gove and Mr Johnson became rivals during the 2016 leadership contest which saw the field narrow to Mrs May and Mrs Leadsom.
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson (Brian Lawless/PA)

Mrs Leadsom then dropped out of the contest after controversy was sparked by remarks which appeared to suggest that being a mother put her in a better position to be leader.

Referring to the leadership battle, the newspaper reported Mr Hammond as saying: “If you remember last time this happened in 2016, Gove and Johnson knifed each other in an unintended suicide pact.

“Which left just Andrea Leadsom and Theresa May.

“And then Andrea Leadsom knifed herself in a private suicide pact and Theresa May inherited the prime ministership without anybody casting a single vote.”
(PA Graphics)

Digital Minister Margot James said she would not serve under Mr Johnson if he became Tory leader.

Asked if she would stay in the party if someone who supports a hard Brexit became leader, Ms James told BBC Radio 4’s The Westminster Hour: “Well, I think it would slightly depend who it was.”

Ms James added: “I have already said I wouldn’t serve under Boris Johnson.

“Not just because his Brexit views, but because of his performance as foreign secretary as well which I felt really let the country down.”

[greybeard]

EU president Donald Tusk says Brexit can be stopped: 'We cannot give into fatalism'
The Independent Jon Stone,The Independent 4 hours ago

EU president Donald Tusk says Brexit can be stopped: 'We cannot give into fatalism'

The president of the European Council has warned opponents of Brexit not to “give in to fatalism” and accept Britain’s departure from the European Union.

Speaking in the European Parliament on Tuesday Donald Tusk said Europe and Britain needed “dreams and dreamers” to keep the idea of a united Europe alive and the UK in the EU.

“During the European Council one of the leaders warned us not to be dreamers and that we shouldn’t think that Brexit can be reversed,” Mr Tusk told MEPs in Strasbourg.

“I didn’t respond at the time. But today in front of you I would like to say at this rather difficult moment in our history, that we need the dreamers and dreams. We cannot give into fatalism. At least, I will not stop dreaming about a better and united Europe.”

Mr Tusk says he accepts the result of the EU referendum and that the decision on whether to leave is for the British people; but he has made no secret of the fact he would rather see the UK stay in the bloc.

EU leaders last Wednesday agreed to give Britain a long extension of Brexit until 31 October, after Theresa May requested a longer deadline to pass her deal. Mr Tusk defended the length of the extension, which he pushed for – in part because it would give time the UK to “rethink Brexit”.

“In my view it has a few advantages. Only a long extension ensures that all options remain on the table, such as ratification of the current withdrawal agreement, or extra time to rethink Brexit, if that were the risk of the British people,” he said.

“Second, it allows the EU to focus on other priorities that are at least as important, such as trade with the US or the new EU leadership.

“I know that some have expressed fear that the UK might want to disrupt the EU’s functioning during this time. But the EU did not give in to such scaremongering... in fact, since the very beginning of the Brexit process the UK has been a constructive and responsible EU member state. So we have no reason to believe that this should change.

“Third, the flexible extension delays the possibly of a no-deal Brexit by six months. Thanks to this millions of people and businesses have gained at least some certainty in this unstable time.”

But Mr Tusk’s Commission counterpart Jean-Claude Juncker struck a less optimistic tone.

“If the UK has not ratified the withdrawal agreement by [31 October] then there will be a hard Brexit, which we would like to avoid. Of course the UK can request to revoke Article 50 – that is something that’s been made very clear. But that is not my working hypothesis, and it’s not my working hypothesis either that beyond the 31 October we will see another extension.”

Both leaders stressed their preference not to speak about Brexit for a few months. Mr Juncker told MEPs: ”We are on a Brexit break, we are focusing on the very many other issues for our union. With that in mind I want to be very brief.

“We have made sure that we do not need to discuss Brexit every other week and have given the United Kingdom the time and space to find a way out of the impasse.”

[Ba-ba-Ra]

Graham Moore on SGT Report - Claims Brexit already happened on March 29, 2019

I have no idea who he is or if he knows what he is talking about, but sounds knowledge.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=YRGiaCfzknQ

[norman]

Why would the people who don't want the referendum result to stand be so keen on extensions/delays. What's the point?

We already know that the EU doesn't take no for an answer. They have forced reruns of national votes over and over until they got the result they wanted ( then stopped forcing reruns ).

But, here's another angle. Suppose, in the case of the UK brexit referendum result, they now want some time to get the "Irish troubles" rebooted and on our TV screens 24/7. The Irish border 'question' was the big card they played during the time of the "negotiations". The border was a threat, kinda. Meaning, if we mess with the Good Friday agreement, we will be back into serious trouble in Ireland.

Seriously.

Have a look at 'Amazing Polly's observations. The video is worth watching from the beginning but this link starts it just before she gets to talking about northern Ireland.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ABOellxIGsI

Nancy Pelosi, of all people, was in Derry earlier in the day a 29 years old female journalist was shot and died soon afterwards. Michelle Obama had been boat cruising on the seine river in Paris in front of the burning Cathedral ( you can see an image of the burning Cathedral actually in her wine glass ). John Podesta was in New Zealand just before the Mosque attack.

How many times do these things have to happen before people start to wonder what's going on ?


Now here's a thing.

The Cathedral in Paris that was burned is a Catholic Cathedral. The people in Ireland they might want to get agitated and re lighting the fires of the "troubles" would be . . err, wait for it . . . . . the Catholics !.

What did Pelosi say, in Derry. Did she stir the pot ?



.

[greybeard]

Tom Watson says Labour cannot ‘sit on the fence’ as he urges second Brexit vote
PA Ready News UK By David Hughes, Press Association Chief Political Correspondent,PA Ready News UK 9 hours ago

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/tom-watson...210339224.html

Labour must back a second Brexit referendum in order to respond to the electoral challenge posed by Nigel Farage, the party’s deputy leader Tom Watson said.

He said the party could not “sit on the fence” on the biggest issue facing the country, in comments which appear aimed at putting pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to make a second referendum a red line issue in Brexit talks with Theresa May.

A “confirmatory” referendum on any deal was “the very least” that voters should expect, Mr Watson said.

Writing in the Observer, the Labour deputy leader said: “Labour won’t defeat Farage by being mealy-mouthed and sounding as if we half agree with him.

“We won’t beat him unless we can inspire the millions crying out for a different direction.

“We won’t win if we sit on the fence about the most crucial issue that has faced our country for a generation.”

He added: “Now that we know a bit more about what Brexit means, the very least that Leavers and Remainers deserve is a final say – a confirmatory referendum – on any deal.

“They deserve a Labour party that offers clarity on this issue, as well as the radical vision for a new political economy achieved by working with our socialist allies inside the EU.

“And, above all, they deserve better than Nigel Farage’s promise of a far-right Brexit that would solve nothing.”
European Parliament elections
Nigel Farage said another referendum would be an insult to Labour voters who backed the Leave cause (Aaron Chown/PA)

Mr Farage accused Mr Watson of breaking his promise to the British people, claiming a second referendum would be “a total insult” to five million Labour Leave voters.

“I now intend to wholeheartedly target Labour lies and dishonesty in the weeks ahead,” he warned.

The momentum generated by Mr Farage’s Brexit Party has also sent shockwaves through the Conservative Party.

A survey of 781 Conservative councillors for the Mail On Sunday found 40% were planning to back the Brexit Party at the May 23 European elections.

Just over half – 52% – said they would vote Tory at the European election, a figure that would rise to 65% if Theresa May was replaced by Brexiteer Boris Johnson, the Survation poll for the Mail On Sunday found.

Some 15% of those surveyed said they believed Mr Farage would be the best leader of the Conservative Party – only Mr Johnson was ahead of him on 19%.

[greybeard]

Annunziata Rees-Mogg reveals what brother thinks of her running as Brexit Party candidate
Evening Standard Katy Clifton,Evening Standard

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/annunziata...142609712.html

The sister of Tory Eurosceptic Jacob Rees-Mogg who is standing as a Brexit Party candidate has said her brother understands she feels it is "for the sake of our country".

Around 700 people attended a pro-Brexit rally on Saturday afternoon led by Nigel Farage and Annunziata Rees-Mogg, who hit out at Britain's "broken" political system.

Confirming she will stand for Nigel Farage's new party in the East Midlands region in the European elections on May 23, Ms Rees-Mogg slammed the Conservative Party as being "confused" with "no leadership" under Theresa May.

Ms Rees-Mogg, who twice stood unsuccessfully for election to Westminster as a Tory, was asked if she had spoken to her brother about her decision to stand for the Brexit Party.

She replied: "Of course I have. My family is incredibly important to me and Jacob and I get on extremely well.

"He understands that I feel this is the only way to get everyone's voices heard - to get us out of Europe for the good of our democracy, for the sake of our country."
Nigel Farage and Annunziata Rees-Mogg at a Brexit Party rally (PA)

Speaking before the event, Ms Rees-Mogg, who lives in Lincolnshire, said: "I will be standing in the East Midlands, where I live with my family, and fighting to represent the people of the East Midlands - all of the counties - in order to ensure the Brexit they voted for is actually delivered.

"I think our politics is broken. It's been very clear that we have got a Remainer parliament trying very ineffectually to represent the Leave vote. We need Leave representatives to fight the corner of our democracy."

Asked why Labour and Tory Brexiteers should switch their allegiance to the newly-formed party, she replied: "When it comes to Labour, Lord Adonis has said it better than I could - if you supported Brexit, don't vote Labour.

"For the Conservatives, they are in such a confused place. There is no leadership from the top. Theresa May has succumbed to the Remainer will of some of her party and ignored the rest of her party.

"If you want your voice to be heard, vote for the Brexit Party."

Ms Rees-Mogg said it had yet to be confirmed where she would be ranked on the Brexit Party's list of candidates in the East Midlands.

"Obviously I hope to be reasonably high up and I hope we get as many votes as possible so that there as many representatives in order to make sure we're heard."


During a speech at the rally, party leader Nigel Farage drew laughter as he said he had spent two decades in the European Parliament and had "enjoyed it more than they have".

Telling party supporters he is not a career politician, Mr Farage said: "I genuinely thought after 498 MPs voted for Article 50 that we would leave the European Union on March the 29th.

"I genuinely thought that I had played my part in turning around history and the future of our country. I was perfectly happy to cease involvement in frontline politics."


Mr Farage added: "I am not, after 25 years of fighting and campaigning for our country to be free and independent, I am not prepared to stand aside - I am not prepared to be rolled over by our career politicians."

He also said that it was clear that Parliament did not represent the will of the people.

"I think it's obvious that our two-party system simply doesn't work any more. I think it's obvious that our two big parties serve nothing but their own interests."


There are picture on the original can be found on the link.
Chris

[greybeard]

Senior Brexiteer fuelling violence with 'vain and bitter' article about Theresa May, Tory MP says
The Independent Benjamin Kentish,The Independent 5 hours ago

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/senior-bre...064400072.html

Senior Brexiteer fuelling violence with 'vain and bitter' article about Theresa May, Tory MP says

Conservative MPs have accused senior Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash of fuelling violence against politicians after he accused Theresa May of "abject surrender" and "capitulation" to the EU.

Former cabinet minister Nicky Morgan said Sir Bill's words were "not helpful" while former Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt accused the veteran MP, a senior member of the European Research Group of anti-EU Tories, of a publishing "a vain and bitter article".

MPs will return to Westminster after their Easter break on Tuesday with no solution to the Brexit crisis in sight. Cross-party talks have so far failed to reach an agreement and the UK is on course to take part in EU elections on 23 May, despite the government insisting it can pass a Brexit deal before then.

With the House of Commons gripped by deadlock and her deal having been rejected by MPs three times, Ms May was forced to agree another Brexit delay with the EU earlier this month. The UK is now set to leave the bloc on 31 October.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Sir Bill said this was an "abject surrender" and accused the prime minister of "capitulation" and "appeasement".

The comments were strongly condemned by pro-EU Tories.

Ms Morgan, a former education secretary, told BBC Radio 4's Today: "I understand that Sir Bill Cash has written an article in which there are all sorts of phrases about betrayal and capitulation and all the rest of it.

"As my colleague Alistair Burt has pointed out, this kind of language is not helpful. It's not the kind of language that our councillors or frankly any normal people would use."

The MP, who has received death threats, said she saw a link between the type of comments made by Sir Bill and violence directed against MPs.

Asked if she believed there was a connection, she said: "I do. I think it's been shown that the language that MPs or campaigners, mainly in favour of Brexit, are using is stoking up other people, often who are sitting at home watching all this stuff and it gets them really, really angry and fired up and then they say things that they would never say face to face."

She added: "Language is important and the One Nation group of MPs that I am co-chairing has said very clearly that we should all think about the language that we are using in these debates. We need to remember that politics is about much more than Brexit."

Mr Burt, who resigned as a Foreign Office minister last month in order to vote against the government on Brexit, wrote to Sir Bill on Twitter: "A vain and bitter article focused on your prime minister, with your opinions expressed in words such as mendacity, surrender, betrayal, appeasement, bended knee...Does it ever cross your mind what you're contributing to?"

In his article, Sir Bill's wrote: "In the early hours of 11 April, Theresa May made a statement in Brussels after her abject surrender to the European Council – now a constant feature of her capitulation and of our humiliation throughout these withdrawal negotiations.

"She stated that she had, “agreed an extension of time.” This was no agreement, it was appeasement on bended knee. Our ambassador to the EU even entwined it in his letter of submission to the decision of the European Council thus purporting to make it an international treaty. Under the so called, “agreement” we were tied down by conditions like Gulliver."

He added: "How low can we sink with the prime minister making us crawl on our hands and knees, not only to the EU, but to Germany and France?"

Conservative MPs are plotting how to oust Ms May and on Tuesday will discuss proposals for changing party rules to allow another vote of no confidence in the prime minister.

Under current rules, a confidence vote in the party leader can only be held once a year. Ms May saw off an attempt to topple her in December, meaning another vote cannot be held until the end of the year.
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