I now write for Byline Times in Scotland. Above all else, the Coronation celebrations on 6 May will be a welcome relief from Tory gaslighting in difficult times for some. But will it be a mixed blessing for Charles and Camilla? It’s not exactly like the works’ Christmas curry in terms of just trying to get the seating plan right and avoiding embarrassing encounters. The entire world will be watching, analysing, hypothecating and so on. Please read our latest article on the Coronation celebrations at Byline Times. Find it below by clicking on King Charles III or a chicken:
Possible PhD project title : “The phenomenology of barbed wire, culture wars and societally caged monarchs – Royalty in aspic”
Although I’m agnostic about the royalty and definitely do not want President Boris, I am having trouble swallowing my breakfast at the thought of swearing allegiance to a King who takes no view on the macro issues that affect his ‘subject’s lives and livelihoods’. The BBC are trying to suggest today that having a ‘piss up’ will heal Brexit Britain. It won’t. Just for clarity I made this mini film for Chris Mason, Mishal Husain, Martha Kearney, Amol Rajan et al.
— Reboot Britain – Rage Against The Brexit Machine (@BrexitRage) May 6, 2023
The Police were quick to move in on protestors. They even arrested people who had not actually done any protesting. This is the ultimate manifestation of 1984 Brexit thoughtcrimes. If you are thinking, it’s now possible that you will be arrested for it …
As a councillor in the @cityoflondon, I am very concerned to see @CityPolice threatening to arrest protestors exercising their right to free speech & lawful protest for “public nuisance”. Do the officers know what is legal or not? This is extremely vague?pic.twitter.com/pso0Q4OwcY
— Reboot Britain – Rage Against The Brexit Machine (@BrexitRage) May 7, 2023
Thought Crime 1984
If Charles is to prevail, he must exercise some influence upon the Brexit fascists who now run our country. Undoubtedly, it’s the least KC III can do to earn the nation’s respect. The age of deference has gone for most people in Brexit Britain. Finally, whilst we are on the subject of monarchy, here’s some more royalty:
I recently published an article on Labour’s position (or lack of it) on Brexit. You can find the article at Bylines Scotland. It provoked an angry visceral reaction from Labour ideologues on social media. Louis told me the article was incorrect and badly written. When I asked him to point out the inaccuracies and poor writing, he couldn’t. Eventually he told me that we must all keep quiet about Brexit, deliver a crushing defeat to the Tories in the local elections and then Rishi Sunak would call a General Election. I asked him to explain his logic. He refused and drifted off into the notion that the UK will be ended if a General Election does not happen in 2023.
I share your pain, but I have to disagree with most you write. A few things you seem to overlook: Starmer is NOT pro-EU anymore, nor pro-SM/CU. He is pro-FPTP/anti-PR —->anti-democratic. If GE is not happening this year, UK will be history. And so will be Starmer and his party.
Sadly Louis refused to justify his appraisal of the article. And he claims to be a scientist.
Louis’ logic from the exchange can be summarised here:
The Tories suffer a crushing defeat on May 4th.
Sunak must then call a General Election.
He does this so that he can suffer another …. crushing defeat.
Can anyone help me figure out how this works? Call me cynical, but politicians do not call elections that they intend to lose. I agree it’s not impossible but it would require significant public and political pressure. With the nurses having caved in on a pay deal yesterday, I sense that the Tories are now over the hump of public unrest, due to the passivity of the British people. We’ll have to see …
Another chap called John simply called me a silly infant. I asked him to justify his statement. He could not. I don’t mind being called an idiot, but I do mind it when the people doing it cannot justify their insults. Several people have apologised privately on behalf of John, telling me that (a) he’s a bit old (so am I) (b) he’s a bit nutty (do I have to put up with that?) and (c) he is horrible to lots of people so that’s OK (does that make it right?). Here are some of John’s tweets:
Grow up you silly infant.
— @johnandi#FBPE#GTTO#LetsTryUBI#FollowBackFriday (@johnandi) May 1, 2023
No explanation, no apology – the same behaviours as used by Brexiteers
Brexit is done. It can't now be undone. Tory Brexit bastards did that, not Starmer. What part of that don't you understand ?
— @johnandi#FBPE#GTTO#LetsTryUBI#FollowBackFriday (@johnandi) May 2, 2023
A clear demonstration of learned helplessness
I was also schooled online by Supertanskiii that ‘now is not the time to mention Brexit’. I beg to differ Tan. Airbrushing the word Brexit out of the lexicon is a one way journey, sponsored by the Tories and Labour alike. Brexit is the single most important socio-economic, political, legal and environmental disaster of our age. Denial is not a river in Egypt.
You really think now is the time to focus on this when we have an election to win?
Supertanskiii is a potent online campaigner, but I fear she is emotionally addicted to Labour
John’s views are symptomatic of what is called in the trade ‘learned helplessness’. Remainers lost two elections and a referendum through setting low expectations, accepting rules on democracy which Brexiteers ignored them, believing that we don’t deserve any better and so on. This extract from the book Reboot Britain summarises the ‘condition’:
Learned Helplessness – Click the graphic to read more
So, it seems that we are back into the binary political trap that delivered Brexit. Tony Blair was right when he said that the Labour party often suffers from the triumph of ideology over pragmatism, a disease which caused the Tory party to cannabalise itself with Brexit. Have a look at the Scottish Bylines article and let me know what is inaccurate or stupid about it in the comments or via Twitter. To my Labour chums, I repeat my usual challenging unemotional questions:
What are the differences between a red or blue Brexit? No one will explain them and I have asked many times.
There is a clear business case to support the argument that Brexit has failed. Why won’t Keir Starmer move to this position?
Why will the right-wing media eat Starmer for breakfast if he states that Brexit isn’t working? Read the point on sunk costs in the article to understand this point better.
What makes people believe that Labour will reform the FPTP electoral system in a binary prisoner’s dilemma, all the while they believe that it benefits them? By the way, all the research evidence from UKICE points to the fact that Labour would benefit from electoral reform, in terms of votes, seats and number of terms in power.
If 70% of Labour members wanted to Remain, why are they so docile? What does this say about Labour’s approach to democracy?
Why do people believe that Keir Starmer will rejoin the Customs Union and Single Market when he has flatly refused to do so on many occasion? Surely this makes him a liar? The right wing media will certainly be all over this if he were to gain power.
Hard Labour – Click to read the article. Image by P Paton
To understand the various options for joining anew, please see London 4 Europe’s article on this.
Join us at our next Reboot Britain meeting on Wed May 10th May at 8 pm via Zoom. Find the link at Reboot Britain.
Recently, I took the new prospective local Tory Councillors to task over their inability to answer a simple question about the local impacts of Brexit. See this microblog on twitter for the background to this article:
"Venus" and I have not got off to a great start. Venus is the local Tory Councillor – what did I do wrong?
— Reboot Britain – Rage Against The Brexit Machine (@BrexitRage) April 19, 2023
The sorry tale of Ms Venus
In the course of my e-mail exchange with Tina Venus-Coppard, it transpired that she and her husband had become ‘angry birds’ due to my over familiarity, but most particularly because I explained that it was nothing to be proud of by supporting drowning children in the channel in order to ‘pray at the racist altar’ of Brexit. Of course, Ms Venus vigorously denied supporting Suella Braverman’s policy, although I pointed out that if they were Tory party members, then surely they supported the values and behaviours of that party? They did not answer. Mr Venus pretended that he wasn’t a Tory nor did he back Brexit and that was the end of the matter ….
Until today, when the local Tory MP, Rehman Chishti published an article in The Observer, yes, The OBSERVER, saying that he does not agree with Braverman’s racist remarks about Muslim grooming gangs. Chishti stopped short of criticising Braverman’s policy on racist abuse of people fleeing from terror and therefore her policy on migration and asylum via deportation to Rwanda. Chishti calls Ms Braverman’s comments ‘inaccurate’. Translated, that’s a LIE. Rehman is himself a Pakistani Muslim and the son of a preacher imam, He campaigns on various issues of cross faith religious co-operation, when he’s not taking consultancy fees for Saudi defence ‘consultancy’ and taking £22 000 pa salary for a US fundamentalist anti-abortion pressure group.
Nonetheless, I must welcome Chishti’s candour in this matter, particularly as his voting record shows that he votes with the Government on nearlyevery issue he is presented with. This is presumably a throwback to the time when he became a prefect at the local Grammar school. However, I am naturally suspicious that this is a carefully crafted stunt, simply designed to curry (sic) favour with the local Conservative party and the Pakistani community for the local elections on Thursday May 5th. Interestingly I am told that Mr Chishti’s daughter is also a local Tory candidate in my area. It is notable that Chishti did this almost immediately after I challenged Ms Venus on her immigration credentials. Last time Chishti opposed something was over the illegal pro-roguing of Parliament by Boris Johnson. He voted against the bill initially as it was safe to do so but then subsequently he voted it through. But to see the good in what he has done, this is a major contribution towards racial harmony in an area full of knuckle dragging white supremacists in Medway and Mr Chishti should be applauded for this. I wait to see what happens on Friday 5th May for my final analysis. I note that the Tories are now fighting like cats in a sack over this trumped up issue and look forward to the eventual climbdown. In case Rehman is looking, here is my answer to immigration and asylum in just two minutes. Having gone this far, it is time to lead Rehman. Who knows, Mr Chishti may well cross the floor to Labour again or The Lib Dems as he did many years ago in order to win the 2010 General Election in my area.
What should we learn from this? Click on the links to read more:
I am tired of Tories who pretend that local politics has nothing to do with national policies. In this context, I ask that you support my campaign to GET THE TORIES OUT. My campaign in 2019 demonstrated that if I’d campaigned seriously I’d have a fighting chance to wreak some serious damage. This time I will adopt a longer term and more serious approach to the matter.
Yesterday, I walked out of Medway Police station as an innocent man. But there was no jailbreak or incarceration in “Kentonville Prison”. I merely handed myself into the Police to assist them with their investigations. This followed a complaint in The Daily Express from someone in Yorkshire about the re-branding of Kent from The Garden of England to The Toilet of England.
The Kent Toilet of England story was reported the world over, from The Guardian, The New European, Evening Standard, FT to Scotland, Ireland, Wales and as far as The New York Times and in Abu Dhabi. Reports said that the police were investigating. It turned out that the Police press officer had made the story up as an “official response”.
Jailbreak. Turns out that Natalie lied.
I had a cordial conversation with the officer in charge at Medway Police station and then left without the need for waterboarding, electric shock treatment or a cake with a nail file inside.
One man from Yorkshire commented: “The petulant, infantile antics of swivel-eyed Remainers never ceases to amaze.”
ITV News picked up on the story behind the jailbreak headline, as did Kent Live. The Kent Toilet of England exercise was organised to highlight the combined impact of COVID crisis + Brexit disaster = A Britastrophe. In the event the ITV news interview was truncated down to the parochial issue of the lorry parks and Brexit readiness in Kent.
Here below are the original interview questions and our full answers. There have been recent instructions for local authorities to say nothing bad about Brexit, so the Councillor’s hands were tied. Careful analysis of his statement does reveal that the Councillor more or less told viewers to stockpile food and fuel as he cast doubt on whether supplies would get through. I guess that ITV want to only spread good news in the season of goodwill, but I had hoped for better from them. It seems that everyone is scared of this Government, but why?
Shock horror – a suit !!
Q1 Kent County Council say that everything will be fine after Brexit. What do you say?
A This is disingenuous at best and a downright lie at worst. I understand that people want to feel optimistic at this time of COVID crisis and Christmas. However, in my long experience, optimists are usually people who have not had enough experience. The French prefer experience over fantasies. They showed that a 70 second transit time produces a 5 mile queue. This has been confirmed by the Government’s own reports on the matter. I myself have spoken with Kent Councillors, who confirm that once contagion takes place with cars, we are likely to see gridlock in towns and village, as members of the public attempt to use rat runs etc. It has recently been reported that Government plan to use the military to fly COVID vaccines into Britain – obviously the roads are OK then?
Q2 You organised a stunt to change the signage at the Kent border to say Kent, Toilet of England. What was behind that?
A We did it to highlight three main points:
Brexit can be stopped or suspended. Although legally we have left the EU, stopping or suspending Brexit is merely a matter of political will.
Nobody voted for the toxic combination of Corona crisis plus Brexit disaster, which I call a “Britastrophe”. We must Re-Boot Britain and that’s why we feel the need to re-start the conversation with all the people who voted in the referendum.
We have interviewed former MEPs across the political spectrum. They confirm that no deal is more or less the same as a Brexit deal. Theresa May was right when she said “NO deal is better than a bad deal”. She might have added that NO Brexit is better than a Britastrophe.
A man from Yorkshire complained about the signage in the Daily Express – that’s hardly “Fury” 🙂
Q3 What should Kent County Council do now?
A They must ask Boris Johnson to suspend or stop Brexit in the wake of Corona. Border delays are the tip of a much bigger iceberg socially, economically and politically. The GDP shock to our country will be between 5-10 times larger than the 2008 crash. People have no idea just how bad this will be. We have to endure Corona as a natural phenomenon. We don’t have to endure Brexit on top of Corona. Tonight we’re gonna have a Jailbreak …
Please take action by writing to MPs and EU leaders. Ask for Brexit to be stopped or suspended for two years minimum.
Here is the “I am Spartacus” video we made with the help of people across the globe who admitted to the sticker crime. I am hoping all of them manage to make a jailbreak …
Many years ago, the Conservative grandee Lord Hailsham observed that, constitutionally, Britain is an “elective dictatorship”. Boris Johnson’s regime is demonstrating the truth of his warning, particularly when power falls into the wrong hands. Dominic Cummings, until recently Johnson’s over-powerful senior adviser and the driving force behind his policies, was autocratic by nature. Cummings treated MPs, including Johnson’s Brexiteer supporters, with contempt. During his period in power, he created a centralised and unaccountable power base at the heart of Government with key functions such as appointments, vetting and control of data in his own hands. Parliament was increasingly sidelined. The hallmark of the regime became the advancement, employment and enrichment of persons noted only for their loyalty to himself and the Brexit cause, with no consideration given to their merit, experience, suitability or capability to carry out their duties. A stench of corruption and cronyism began to emanate from No 10.
Conservatives have a long track record in crime.
Johnson’s regime is also unconservative. Conservatives instinctively want to conserve, as the name implies, but his is an administration of destroyers. Cummings was never a member of the Conservative party and his appointees in No 10 reject traditional Tory respect for continuity and compromise, in favour of creative destruction. Their current targets are the BBC, the impartial civil service, and the judiciary. Our planning system and, indeed, our whole structure of local government are due to follow. Under Cummings, the Conservative tradition of managerial capability and economic credibility has been discarded, as demonstrated, inter alia, by the extraordinary failure to report and then trace the contacts of almost 16,000 COVID-19 cases, a major blunder to which the Government reacted with barely a shrug. Cummings’ departure opens the door to a new start where realism replaces dogma, honesty and transparency replaces lies, corruption and cronyism, and where respect for our institutions and constitutional conventions and, in particular, the rule of law is restored.
What must be done?
Radical U-turns by the Conservative party are required to expunge Cummings’ legacy. The largest and most immediate is the withdrawal of the Internal Market Bill and, in particular, the removal of the clauses which break international law and curtail Parliament’s powers.
There should be no further talk of lowering our food and environmental standards at the behest of the United States, nor of downgrading worker protection.
The Culture Secretary’s plan to abolish the BBC and replace it with American-style radio and TV must be shelved.
Hancock’s questionable appointment of an old university girlfriend to a post in his department should be this administration’s last vestige of cronyism.
The Cabinet Office’s involvement in hospital and medical procurement should be terminated and all further government contracts undergo transparent and competitive tendering processes as the law requires.
There should be a general review of appointments made under the Cummings regime in No 10 and the public service, with a view to removing those who are patently unsuitable or incompetent. The Prime Minister would do well to carry out the same exercise amongst his second and third-rate ministers once Brexit is over and blind obedience to that objective can cease to be the sole qualification for advancement.
This should be accompanied by an end to lying and xenophobic propaganda, if Conservatives still wish to regain any trace of being a one-nation party.
Only if a programme of this nature is followed can we hope to regain a Government worthy of respect, both at home and abroad. Its present state was well summed up in the words of a Tory former cabinet minister: “ This is a bad English nationalist government with no idea of where it’s going.” Unless Johnson shows himself capable of changing this judgement in the near future, it is in the interests of his party as well as of his country that he be replaced as soon as possible.
The writer resigned from the Conservative party in protest against its SE branch’s policy to force Remain members to vote for extreme Brexiteers in the choice of candidates for the 2014 European elections.
It seems that we have reached the stage of the Brexit Wars. We knew it would come. This is the first time that a country has declared war on itself and Britain leads the world in this area. Here is our latest Daily Maul page on Brexit Wars, with a fact and fiction checker below, just in case you cannot tell the difference.
Click image to read our Brexit satire book on Amazon.
In case of doubt …
FICTION : Cod have not learned to speak, although they speak more sense than Boris Johnson when he says that The Royal Navy is to be converted to the Royal Fish Fingering Fleet in readiness for the Brexit Wars. I prepared a new advert for The Royal Navy to help them recruit First Fish Officers.
FACT : Boris Johnson and David Frost did look like a sack of potatoes when they attended the dinner with Ursula Von der Leyen and Michel Barnier, who looked stylish. Even cats were dismayed at the contrast.
The slobs formerly known as Frost and Johnson out vogued by some cats and some dignified leaders.
FACT : The Brexit Microwave deal has not been delivered. This was an election promise. For an explantion of how we got here in five minutes see “Brexit in five minutes”:
Talking Heads – Steve Peer interviews Peter Cook.
FICTION : Priti Patel is NOT re-enacting the Irish Potato Famine in practice. However, she is in principle by threatening trade wars.
FACT : Kent County Council is not ready for Brexit. Kent is set to become the Toilet of England. See our appearance on “Have I Got News For You”:
Watch Have I Got News For EU.
FACT : Matt Hancock stood alone in cabinet, asking for the COVID vaccine to be prioritised. Perhaps we should thank him for standing up to idiots and Dominic Cummings. We are not sure he actually cried as it seemed to be interspersed with laughter. The search for onions continues.
Tears of a clown.
FACT : No deal Brexit and a Brexit deal are virtually indistinguishable from a practical viewpoint. Brexit can be stopped or suspended if political will changes. See our interviews with MEPs.
Mark François lives ! And it’s Christmas ! Praise the lord. I had been worried about Mark’s wellbeing ever since he disappeared at the beginning of August. I had feared that he might have been kidnapped by angry Remainers in his constituency of Rayleigh, or, worse still, had been arrested for a minor offence such as shoplifting. Mark stood down from his post as the leader of the ERG and disappeared from public life. This is unusual for a soldier. Mark is partly responsible for the decision to patrol the English channel with gunboats to protect English Cod and I think that should be applauded.
The Codfather. Mark Francois.
In other news, the Police have dropped their investigation into the Tory rapist. Mark had been widely thought to be under suspicion for this, but the evidential threshold for prosecution was not met.
The law is the law and I’m pleased to welcome Mark back to public life. Mark François lives to fight another day. If you feel like me, that we should mark this development, I’ve created a unique Christmas gift that you can send to Mark via e-mail mark.francois.mp@parliament.uk It’s a remake of the Plastique Bertrand classique “Ca Plane Pour Moi” as “Francois Pour Moi“.
GIFT the song to Mark François with a personal message. The song is FREE. Find the gifting option at Bandcamp.
If you like Francois Pour Moi, please buy “The Brexit Party Album” for friends and enemies across the world – it’s the party album to end all tomorrow’s Brexit parties. All proceeds go towards anti-Brexit activism and to help sustain our musical activities.
As Christmas comes, it is traditional to think of others rather than Looking after No 1. Selfishness or Looking after No 1 gave us Brexit. So, it warms my heart to discover that Dominic Cummings has taken a £45 000 pay rise. I imagine that this is a bonus for Dom’s “leadership” in breaking lockdown rules, by driving 500 miles to take an eyesight test. This, while Boris Johnson asks public sector workers to take a pay freeze. Yes, Dom deserves is £45 000 and the nurses, doctors, carers, council workers et al deserve nothing at all. Looking after No 1 really works.
Our remake of Durham Town. Poignant.
It’s even more gratifying to learn that Jacob Rees-Mogg, Minister for the 18th Century, has condemned UNICEF’s attempt look after others, after they tried to help the world’s most vulnerable children. I understand that Mr Mogg intends to start workhouses for these children rather than rely on handouts from damned charities.
Jacob Rees-Mogg says UNICEF should be “ashamed of itself” for providing food for some hungry British children
As the COVID R rate for Britain rises to 1.1-1.2, it is heartwarming to learn that the virus does not visit Private schools. Eton College is closed but state schools remain open. I confidently predict that we are headed for another national lockdown to mask problems from “Getting Brexit Done”. Johnson may lack competence in many things but he is brilliant at Looking after No 1. Locking us down after Christmas and using the law to enforce the measures will ensure that people are unable or unwilling to protest or riot against Brexit.
Already, we have 20 mile queues in Kent on the roads. We are also told that the lorry parks promised by Kent County Council will not be ready for months, due to “unplanned rain”.
Trucks queue down the M20 for mile upon mile at the entrance of the Eurotunnel in Folkestone, as companies rush to stockpile as the deadline for a Brexit trade deal looms.
Have I Got News For You features “Operation Pisspot”.
Devaluation of the truth
We have also been let inside the not so secret recipes of the Conservative Party recently. Wellingborough Conservative Party advise that sometimes it’s better to lie quickly rather than tell the truth slowly. Does that accord with you to get on in life as part of Looking after No 1?
Is self interest our default position?
Can we not do better than this?
"If you make enough dubious claims fast enough, you can get away with it"
Keir Starmer quotes from the Wellingborough Tories newsletter which tells wannabe politicians how to get ahead and asks if the PM was the inspiration or author. #pmqspic.twitter.com/PqPLQidBDx
Keir Starmer appears to be following the lead of The Midwife of Brexit aka Jeremy Corbyn, by appearing to back a deal. There is no good Brexit deal and the will of the people has changed dramatically. At what point will he and Labour oppose the greatest disaster to face our children? When it’s too late?
Some other bugger’s fault
Looking after No 1 demands that everything is always someone else’s fault. As expected, Johnson continues to blame the European Union for Brexit. I mean, it’s obvious:
The Conservatives set the Brexit vote up to heal a problem of cohesion within their own party.
The plan failed. Brexit has consumed three Prime Ministers so far.
The concept of No Deal was invented a year after the vote was taken. It was never mentioned at the time of the referendum.
Various aspects of Brexit have been deemed illegal. These are clearly the fault of judges, doomsayers and snowflakes
All of the above is clearly the fault of The European Union and not the Conservative Party and those who were taken in my the lies. How could anyone think it was Britain that voted for Brexit?
The Blame Game.
Brexit Means Brexit (still)
Everywhere I work, people are puzzled about why we are still pursuing this and I did this explainer video for our American friends the other week:
Season’s Brexit Greetings.
Enjoy spending your sovereignty this Christmas.
Infect a friend.
Looking after No 1 seems to be in vogue at this time. I am sure that karma will eventually kick in on this shower of liars, bullies and cheats. Britain was better than this … remember Live Aid?
Will the British people do the usual thing? To walk on by and ignore our sleepwalk into fascism? To moan about what happened AFTER it happened?
We can do better than this
Come out of the darkness
Into the light
Our requiem for Brexit. Please download the songs on Bandcamp.
Just a day after Johnson appeared to have made a “Canada style” deal, it turns out that all is not well and the industrial scale lies and gaslighting has started again. Our deal is really a Canada MINUS MINUS Brexit. Here we report the news via the medium of populist press parodies. Today it’s the Daily Maul and The Sun. Including a fact and fiction checker. As always it’s action that counts. Please follow the links at the bottom.
It’s always Fury in the Maul. Check our work in this area by clicking the image.
FACT AND FICTION CHECKER
TRUE : Boris Johnson has thrown students under one of his buses by cancelling the Erasmus scheme. In one of his empty flourishes he says he plans to replace it with our own scheme which he has rather oddly titled The Turing System. FALSE : It does not require students to undergo castration like Turing had to, leading to his suicide.
TRUE : Britain “leads” all of Europe in terms of COVID deaths. We are once again back up at peak deaths per day as we experienced in March 2020. This is because Johnson has prioritised the economy above health throughout this crisis, acting too little and too late and using the science when it was expedient to do so and then ignoring it to silence opposition. As a result, Britain lurches from lockdown to lockdown. The result will be a prolonged crisis rather than a rise to zero. Schemes such as eat out to help out and the use of exceptions mean that everyone loses as the pandemic flatlines at 400 – 700 deaths per day.
FALSE : Police did not threaten to taser lorry drivers to prevent them urinating. However, they used tactics reserved for totalitarian states in their attempts to control people who, through no fault of their own, were trapped at Manston airport and remain so.
TRUE : Plans exist to evacuate the Queen in case of civil unrest over Brexit. This unrest can only come from those who apparently have “won” Brexit, since remainers are largely unable to contemplate acts of civil unrest. beyond eating cucumber sandwiches and sitting down on the grass opposite parliament.
TRUE : These charts are an accurate appraisal of the Canada MINUS MINUS Brexit deal, as compared with our existing arrangements with the EU. It tells a very sorry story. To read the full text of the trade deal go to Brexit Trade Deal.
Rough Trade.
Brexit Fury in “The Sun”. Read Private Eyelines by clicking on the image.
FACT AND FICTION CHECKER
TRUE : Jacob Rees-Mogg did in fact blame UNICEF for feeding children at Christmas. This is beyond shame. FALSE : As far as we know, Mogg has not opened a workhouse in Chew Magna, But one never knows.
Jacob Rees-Mogg says UNICEF should be “ashamed of itself” for providing food for some hungry British children
FALSE : Although “John” has not taken over as home secretary , this regular attendee at 10 Downing St is an advocate of hanging. TRUE : He often turns up drunk at 10:00 o’clock in the morning to sing songs such as Bye Bye EU. In fact this is his only song .
TRUE : Oi band the K**TS managed to get to #5 in the Official Charts this week with their song Boris Johnson is a F*****G C**T. Speaking as a musician, I cannot say this song is particularly well written, but clearly the sentiment has captured the mood of the nation. Ursula Von de Leyen is in fact a gynaecologist, but did not utter the words about Johnson, apart from expressing some hand relief in her dignified speech on Thursday afternoon.
"Thank you for putting up with our adapted child Johnson for all these years. Please show us no mercy when he breaks the deal. We still love EU"
— Peter Cook – Leadership for a Better World (@academyofrock) December 24, 2020
True leadership.
TRUE : The French provided relief to stranded lorry drivers with 10,000 COVID tests. The Germans airlifted supplies in, whilst Sikhs from Gravesend cooked thousands of curries for lorry drivers stuck in Kent through no fault of their own. In contrast, Kent County Council managed to provide a snack bar, whilst Kent Police locked the drivers in at Manston airport and wielded tasers in order to frighten them. Kent County Council’s CEO also was complicit in lying about the numbers of lorry drivers stranded in the County, suggesting that it was in the hundreds rather than thousands.
TRUE : Boris Johnson attempted to cover up the fact that he has given a lot of ground to the EU by refusing to publish the details of the deal. He is calling it a Canada style deal, when in fact it is what I’m calling Canada MINUS MINUS Brexit. Meanwhile today Michael Gove is involved in gaslighting us to talk about a “special relationship” with Europe, in order to stop scrutiny on the deal. Keir Starmer is still undecided as to whether to oppose, abstain or support a Brexit deal. Although it’s a difficult choice, an abstention would be the minimum best course of action given that Boris Johnson will blame Labour if they back the deal. Where are your six tests Keir? And your backbone? John Redwood wishes to write a spoiler clause into the EU trade agreement, saying that we can cancel the agreement at any time without consequence.
This piece of excellent analysis by James Chespy who has read the entire EU Trade Agreement on Boxing Day – a Herculian effort:
The purpose of a Free Trade deal is to remove barriers to trading across frontiers. Having read this EU/UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement I can say with some degree of certainty that this is not a free trade deal it is not even a Canada Style deal which the Prime Minister articulates. The deal is a regressive agreement because imposes barriers to Trading across frontiers. It imposes extra bureaucracy for businesses to adhere to. That means extra costs of doing business and that will mean lost jobs and reduced profits.
When companies are having their profit margins hit by the extra bureaucracy they will take the view that it will be far easier to conduct their business from within the EU than from within the UK.Whilst its welcome that there are no tariffs on exported or imported goods the extra cost imposed on businesses by the extra bureaucracy will make the fact that there are no tariffs rather meaningless.
Continue to operate divide and rule tactics in the Tory party in whatever way you can. Use their own tactics on them and better their strategies rather than copy them.
At this point in time, Sir Keir Starmer says he plans to back Johnson’s oven ruined Brexit. We must change this through writing letters to Keir and Labour Party MPs. Here are some sample letters to use. Please adapt them for your own MP and send a copy to Keir. It is best if you write your own letters but please use these for inspiration. Arise, Sir Keir Starmer.
The e-mail format to use is firstname.lastname.mp@parliament.uk Look your MP up at Write To Them.
Dear Keir,
I write to urge you to at least ask your party to abstain from the Brexit Trade deal vote. Many people are surprised that you said you would back it without even seeing it but I also understand that you are fighting an untrustworthy PM. In such circumstances, it pays to learn from Sun Tzu, Machiavelli and the world’s best poker players, by not revealing your final strategy until you have seen Johnson’s final position and voting intentions close to the vote.
I wrote this press statement for your elaboration, should you choose to abstain:
“On Christmas Eve, I was minded to back Boris Johnson’s deal in the national interest. I acted in good faith, placing my trust in the PM and put my faith in the Brexit deal as presented. It has since become apparent that the deal is far from what he presented. I have today tabled amendments that would have made the deal better but these have been rejected. As a result I cannot in all good conscience support a deal that is bad for the people of Britain. At the same time, I must take account of the views of my MPs and party members. In the words of Bonar Law ‘I am their leader, I must follow them’. I ask Labour MPs to abstain in the vote.”
You know full well that Johnson will make sure Labour get the blame for his Brexit as he has a reliable track record of deflection. Back the deal at your peril and ultimately that of your party.
I write to urge you to at least ask your party to abstain from the Brexit Trade deal vote. Many people are surprised that you said you would back it without even seeing it but I also understand …
— Peter Cook – Leadership for a Better World (@academyofrock) December 28, 2020
Bragg gets it spot on every time.
Dear friends and comrades
We are just 3 days away from Boris Johnson’s bad Brexit deal being voted on in parliament. While this government has pulled us back from the brink of a catastrophic No Deal outcome, we must be under no illusions. Johnson’s Brexit deal will damage our economy and leave us all poorer during the worst recession in 300 years. The government will get its deal through the Commons – I have no doubt about that – but it should not be endorsed by anyone who believes Boris Johnson’s Brexit is bad for Britain.
We should hold this government, and this government alone, responsible for this terrible deal. Opposition MPs must refuse to endorse it and lay the blame squarely at the door of this government.
This so-called free trade agreement in the history of free trade agreements is the only free trade agreement that actually erect barriers to trade. We in the Labour Party should not get our hands soiled by walking in the voting lobby alongside Boris Johnson he has negotiated this insanity which will leave us all worse off.
The purpose of a Free Trade deal is to remove barriers to trading across frontiers. Having read this EU/UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement I can say with some degree of certainty that this is not a free trade deal it is not even a Canada Style deal which the Prime Minister articulates. The deal is a regressive agreement because imposes barriers to Trading across frontiers. It imposes extra bureaucracy for businesses to adhere to. That means extra costs of doing business and that will mean lost jobs and reduced profits. When companies are having their profit margins hit by the extra bureaucracy they will take the view that it will be far easier to conduct their business from within the EU than from within the UK.
Whilst it’s welcome that there are no tariffs on exported or imported goods the extra cost imposed on businesses by the extra bureaucracy will make the fact that there are no tariffs rather meaningless.
That is why I am calling on you to refuse to endorse the deal by abstaining. should you on examination of the agreement decide to vote with the government I won’t hold it against you after all we are all Labour and you must do what you think is right according to the dictates of you own conscience and I do believe that this matter is a conscience decision.All I would ask is after careful consideration you do what you think is right.
Kind Regards,
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Arise, Sir Keir Starmer
Dear Keir,
I am sorry but you are entirely wrong to back the Brexit deal . There are no advantages to Labour in doing so and you will be a hostage to Johnson’s gibes for the future. This is not a good deal it is not even an acceptable deal it goes nowhere near meeting the 6 tests you set out. It is not up to the Labour Party to make sure Johnson doesn’t end up with no deal by default. He has to sort that one out for himself.
Many of the Labour voters in the Red wall seats did not vote in 2019 turnout was relatively low . Proper analysis of the figures shows many of the former Labour voters in those seats started voting UKIP or Tory years ago. You have bought in to the Southern /Westminster narrative about the 2019 election. Many who did not vote couldn’t vote for you predecessor .
Unforgivably, you are taking most Labour members who voted remain for granted and assuming you can count on our support. That is a big assumption. You are now following a path likely to alienate many Remainers as well as not winning over leavers. Why would they choose to leave Johnson and Co? They are not going to vote for the imitation when they can have the real thing.
Labour is about to become completely irrelevant if you are foolish enough to vote for this deal.
Yours sincerely,
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Dear xxx,
I am as furious as I am sure you are to find that Boris Johnson’s Brexit bears no resemblance to what was promised. It is a bad deal for Britain that will cause economic and social harm to our country.
The Government has run down the clock on negotiations with foolish negotiating tactics, leaving MPs with a very difficult decision when it comes to the upcoming vote on the deal. But this is not a vote between deal or no deal – there are three ways to use your vote. It is clear that the government will get its deal through the Commons – there is no doubt about that – but it should not be given a ringing endorsement by anyone who believes Boris Johnson’s Brexit is bad for Britain.
It is in the national interest that Boris Johnson’s Government takes full responsibility for this bad deal, and that Labour is not seen to endorse this moment of national self-harm. Any sense of opposition parties taking joint ownership of this deal will make it more difficult to hold this government to account for the damage it will cause.
Abstaining on a matter of such great national importance may be difficult to do. But it is an honest position, which recognises the impossibility of rubber-stamping this bad Brexit, and of risking a harmful no-deal outcome.
That is why I am writing to you today to ask: will you abstain on this bad Brexit deal?
Kind regards
With thanks to James Chespy, Ellin Stein, Moez Adamjee and Catherine Reynolds for these.
