It’s Monday once again, and time to introduce another day of general stuff!
* checks diary *
Oh, it’s Friday.
* looks around *
Yes, it’s summer, and whilst Caron is off having a thoroughly deserved holiday, the rest of us are minding the shop. That means that normal service… isn’t. So, bear with me as I step in for the day.
Yesterday saw the release of the first set of Brexit technical notices, advising of various impacts in the event of no deal. And, in terms of reassurance, they didn’t offer as much as Dominic Raab might have thought.
We will, apparently, still be able to get a BLT, although I’m with Sam Vimes on that, in that I can’t really see the point of the L and T elements. Oh yes, and brown sauce. Meanwhile, the producers of Danepak were suggesting that the price of bacon imported from Denmark was likely to go up. It really is “the rich what gets the pleasure, the poor what gets the blame”.
Oh, and yes, Philip Hammond warned that a no deal Brexit would blow an £80 billion hole in the public finances.
Meanwhile, Labour continue to oppose/not oppose (delete depending on which Labour frontbencher is on television) the Government. Are they in favour of a second vote, or will it cause civil unrest? Will Britain be better off or worse off outside the European Union, or could somebody ask a less difficult question, please?
But enough of Brexit.
Good news from East Hertfordshire overnight, with a stunning win by Sophie Bell and her team in Watton-le-Stone (it’s south-east of Stevenage), who have gained a seat from the Conservatives, gaining 67% of the vote from a standing start – a mere 51.7% swing.
Also, a safe hold in Bude, on Cornwall Council, with a significant increase in the majority there.
The debate on Liberal Democrat immigration policy continues today, with another contribution from a member of the Working Group. If we could all try and be polite this morning, it would be greatly appreciated.
As Sheryl Crow astutely notes, “every day is a winding road”, so it’s time to set out on another event-filled day…
* Mark Valladares is Monday Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice. Mostly…
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5 Comments
I do like your little summaries, Mark, we may be going to hell in a handcart, but at least someone is taking a photo of the handcart.
We pay these MPs millions of £s to make decisions, seems like they can’t even make one. The 4 Brexit choices have been the same for quite a long time – none is without difficulty, but it does seem surprising that they collectively can’t decide which is the least worst option:
1> Withdraw Art. 50, stay in the EU ( + no problems – not the referendum vote, free movement continues)
2> EEA & Customs Union / Norway ( + still no real problems – no say in ongoing rule changes in the EU, free movement continues )
3> “Canada +” FTA ( + no free movement, independent trade policy , – Border in the Irish Sea, many detail difficulties )
4> No Deal / WTO (+ as 3, – Border between N.I & Eire, many problems and bureaucratic difficulties )
Nothing’s perfect, but it seems to me that if they can’t make a fairly simple decision, they should all resign and we should have another election.
……………………..Nothing’s perfect, but it seems to me that if they can’t make a fairly simple decision…………………
C’mon Jenny, you are being far too hard on them. After all, only today, David Lidington stated that the government’s promised October deadline for a deal is no longer considered a government deadline..
How’s that for a decision?
“We pay these MPs millions of £s to make decisions”
Not of course most of them have to make any decisions except which subsided restaurant to have lunch in – they just turn up and follow their party’s whip.
No prizes for guessing what is the tail wagging the Tory Brexit chaos. It hasn’t changed since the referendum. Some more enlightened Members won’t be wagged around.