Theresa May, as the SKWAWKBOX had predicted, reduced herself to a parody last night when she defeated her own deal in Parliament just for the short-term ‘optics’ of being able to claim she won a vote for a change.
Cue a level of media double-speak this morning that – while being utterly predictable – still managed to astonish even jaded observers of Establishment hackery.
The Daily Mail went ‘balls to the wall’ with a front-page headline that literally inverted reality in SCREAMING CAPITALS:
Sky was more subtle, but not by that much:
In reality May now has to appear, humiliated, in front of EU leaders to beg for something they’ve been quite clear is not only not on the table but is so far from the table as to be hidden somewhere they haven’t even heard of tables yet.
Basically the EU faces a choice between sending May away to face the disgrace she’s earned – or betraying the interests of Ireland, a country that is staying in the EU and has a government that doesn’t spend all its time insulting the union before expecting unworkable concessions. ‘No-brainer’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.
SKWAWKBOX comment:
We are fully through the looking-glass – and May knows it, which is why Downing Street has been secretly ‘war-gaming‘ a general election.
In the meantime, Labour had its best night of the year so far – though you’d never guess that from the media coverage, naturally. More on that anon.
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May should stop wasting everybody’s time trying to avoid the inevitable.
It is time for a general election.
REALLY ???
14 Labour members voted against the Cooper amendment, adopted by the leadership. Even given it’s origins, it posed one obvious measure that needs to be taken unless one’s living in La La Land. As you say – hardly a triumph in terms of upsetting May’s cart of rotting apples and showing preparation for an (even if admittedly unlikely) election.
Wot? No calls for deselection?
The two desperate Remainer/PV trolls, SteveH and RH, just don’t geddit at all. I’m sure Jeremy (and his team) are actually VERY satisfied with exactly how last evening’s various votes went – even his own one. Try to figure out the quite complicated tactics playing out here guys . No wonder Chuka looked sick as the proverbial parrot on Sky later ! The PV nonsense is dead, and MAY , whilst lauded by a bonkers Tory press today for opposing her own deal, with a fantasy-based amendment, is going to be vilified by both sides of her broken party again tomorrow as reality sinks in. A General Election looms !
I understand your disappointment at reality not matching your religiosity. But this was simply a rational assessment of what happened – i.e. a defeat – both of Labour, and common sense. Not Corbyn’s fault – it was entirely forseeable, and nothing to do with your febrile hatred of the notion of another referendum, or Chukup et. etc. etc. The Tory policy of Brexit stumbles on with its Groundhog Day shit-show. If you hadn’t noticed -they’re still there despite the most abysmal performances in living memory.
If you haven’t learned the ways of the Tories by now, and their ability to hang on, you really need do need to get a reality check.
“Trolls”? Do grow up and try talking from the other end.
Wake up . Defeat for motions solely aimed at postponing Brexit to give the Labour PV Right more time to plot , is a defeat only for you and your saboteur pals , RH. And I’m quite sure Jeremy was perfectly happy for his motion – just a sop to the Left Liberal PV lobby too, was defeated. Jeremy”s astute tactics in seeing off your PV pals has msde a snap General Election much more likely. Something you Remainer trolls , determined to return Labour to its political deadend neoliberal past are terrified of. You would rather a Tory government continued than a Corbyn government took office.
jpenney 30/01/2019 at 7:49 pm
I sincerely hope that your assertions are untrue because if true they would represent a fundamental betrayal of the beliefs and hopes of many who voted in 2 leadership elections for JC.
More from Planet Zog, playground of the righteous. Do get in touch with Earth sometime – you could even get in touch with the Labour Party.
Hans-Olaf Henkel on News24 just now talking about EU members moving toward immigration controls and hoping that might give Brexiteers a way to remain and save face.
Hint… if you’re going to offer someone a face-saving way out of a difficulty of their own making don’t call it face-saving ffs.
Except that my reasons for voting Leave had nothing to do with immigration. (I’m so sick of that lazy conflation.)
I’m bemused by Theresa May’s astronomical incompetence and I feel betrayed by the establishment. I heard yesterday that Brexit may be delayed, quite substantially.
This makes me angry. The democracy deficit in Britain is much worse than I realised. Parliament is a fortress designed to protect neoliberalism.
I’m sure that you are stating your honest position.
But immigration had a hell of a lot to do with the Leave vote. Trouble is most couldn’t distinguish between EU migration, asylum seekers,non-EU migration and settled British 2nd or 3rd generation communities of other origin.
As I’ve often said – never underestimate the vile influence of the Murdoch/Dacre/Barclay propaganda press.
Here are the other front pages (excluding the Sun):
https://www.thepaperboy.com/uk/front-pages.cfm
I’m amazed that the MSM – and the right-wing Tory rags in particular – haven’t taken up the ‘story’ about the number of times Tory MPs made Points of Order in yesterday’s debate, and how Theresa May took numerous interventions compared to JC only taking a handfull.
Anyone who saw it will know that about half-a-dozen Tory MP’s or more made supposed Points of Order one after the other at one point during JC’s speech – ie as soon as the Speaker had dealt with one and Jeremy got back to his feet to continue, another Tory jumped up to make another Point of Order before he could, and so on. Again and again and again.
They were just having fun of course trying to disrupt him, and it was all obviously planned in advance. And all the way through his speech there was constant loud talking going on on the Tory benches by I don’t know how many Tory MPs, forcing Jeremy to almost have to shout to be heard over them, and I’m amazed that Bercow didn’t shut them up at any point. On the other hand, I don’t recall ANY consistent loud talking at ALL going on on the opposition benches whilst Theresa May was speaking.
Anyway, yesterday I finally got round to looking through the ‘No Confidence’ debate two weeks ago on Hansard’s website. I watched some of it, but missed Jeremy’s opening speech and, as such, the bit when Soubry intervened to mention the polls having Labour six points behind (as Leadsom had done the day before – on the Tuesday – in a Channel 4 News interview AND Isabel Oakeshott did the day after – on the Thursday – on QT, which Fiona Bruce backed up of course).
The main reason for looking through it was because someone left a comment on SB a few days after the No Confidence debate saying that a number of Tory MPs had cited/mentioned the poll. I only came across ONE other Tory MP who brought it up – apart from Anna Soubry – and that was Julian Knight (at 5.50pm) who started thus:
We have heard a lot about polls today. I will give the House a couple. We all know the figures of 52% and 48%, and it is intrinsic and beholden on the House to respect the referendum result, but another figure is 34%, which is the current polling for the Labour party. That is quite incredible at this time. The reasons for that figure were encapsulated by the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock), who said that the shadow Chancellor and the Leader of the House are simply unfit for high office……..
(Ends)
I assume he meant the leader of the opposition. And in case anyone is unaware of what Anna Soubry said, here it is again:
The Leader of the Opposition is making some powerful arguments—not very well, but he is making them—but could he help us with this? I saw an opinion poll at the weekend. If there is any merit in his arguments, can he explain why the Conservative party is six points ahead in the polls? Could it be because he is the most hopeless Leader of the Opposition we have ever had?
And – just for the record – this was Jeremy’s response:
I thank the right hon. Lady for her intervention, and I look forward to testing opinion at the ballot box in a general election, when we will be able to elect a Labour Government in this country.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2019-01-16/debates/D130C27B-C328-48F8-B596-03F05BF2EF8A/NoConfidenceInHerMajesty%E2%80%99SGovernment
Oh right, I nearly forgot…… in his speech, Sam Gyimah said the following:
Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition—our putative future Prime Minister—has broken promise after promise. On tuition fees, he promised a younger generation that he was going to reverse them and then reversed the promise. On debt, he wants £1,000 billion extra in borrowing and spending, taking us right back to square one after we tidied up the mess that we inherited. Mayor Khan has presided over a knife-crime epidemic in London. He talks about it but does not deal with it. The shadow Home Secretary, Diane Abbott, cannot add up…..
Oh yes, HE knew what they had lined up on QT the next day for Diane, as no doubt more than a few other Tory MPs did as well!
If anyone wonders why and how brutal dictators across the world hang on to power, and even appear popular, here’s the answer.
I’m just waiting for the Mail to organise a mass populist street rally in support of May. Probably after she declares martial law, though, to be on the safe side.
Brutal dictators around the world hang on to power because 60% of the human race are spineless Apaths who turn a blind eye to cruelty and injustice and obediently lap up, without question, official narratives.
Oh no – it only takes about 37% to transfix the political class with nonsense about the ‘People Swill’, and start swimming for Never Never Land, be it ‘clamping down ‘ on welfare fraud, booting out immigrants – or exiting the EU 🙂
rh STILL banging the FUBAR 37% drum on behalf of the infants; hoping nobody noticed that by the same system the remain lot only got 34%.
The horse expired a long time ago, unless you’re some sort of bestialist, you’d do well to stop flogging it.
The Tories are engaged in mind games with the electorate, they are spinning this whole charade out to very end when they will say we have been forced to crash out of the EU. Which they don’t care about one way or the other, as there is always some one else to blame and a complicit mass media will cover up what the Tories intentions were all along.
A lying mass media along with lying Tories means that the only real alternative is a general election, every day these Tories remain in office means they do even more damage to this country, I just wish the people of this country would wake up.
The problem is that the ‘lying mass media’ keeps them in the dark, or deceives and misleads and manipulates them emotionally. Speed cameras, for example, aren’t there to prevent people from being killed or crippled and/or permanently brain-damaged or otherwise very seriously injured – as thousands ARE each and every year – they are ‘cash cows’ and a ‘stealth tax’ and other such platitudes, whose sole purpose is to fleece and persecute motorists.
The number of people being killed on UK roads every year is equivalent to a passenger jet plane* crashing (in the UK) every six weeks with all on board killed, but of course IF that were happening, just about everyone would soon stop flying, but that is what’s happening on our roads and streets, only MOST people don’t realise it because the MSM in general don’t ram the message home. Figures for the number of people killed and seriously injured etc are published by the DfT at the end of September every year, and they hardly get a mention in the media, but if we lived in a sane world, they would be headline news in every newspaper and on every news channel/station in the country. But we don’t.
* Carrying 200 people
PS And globally it’s more than 1.3 million being killed every year, and millions more being crippled and maimed.
loftkarisson says “parliament is a fortress designed to protect neoliberlism” I agree, but its not just parliament its everything. remember the line from the film Wall Steet “greed is good”
well thats a real mantra from almost every part of the so called “civilised” parts of the planet
It seems that if you dare question Blair’s programme of cheap labour immigration; you are a racist…..especially in the Guardian. I have taught working class kids most of my life & watched in horror as equal opportunities in the jobs market & education are denied. The bourgeoisie are only interested in raising their own glass ceilings. There has been no social mobility since the time that we joined the EU, as manufacturing has been destroyed.
Freedom of Movement is code for cheap labour, part of the 4 Freedoms to Exploit’ The EU & the German Economy, needs cheap labour & the ‘gig economy’ (aka Flexible Working) to maintain profits, as EU expands forever eastwards in its quest for cheap labour.
The Neo-Liberal dream of importing as many doctors & nurses as we need from emerging nations, is obscene. Dump young British kids on the rubbish heap, we don’t need to educate or train them.
Universities complain that they don’t get enough ‘foreign’ students. 40% staff % & 40% students are not British.Need foreign students to help pay the half million pounds per anum for vice chancellors. Little Englander? No. I just care about the future of my students.
steve richards 31/01/2019 at 12:33 pm
It is more than a little unfair to blame the EU for Thatcherism. It is very unlikely that we would have a successful automotive industry (for now) if we weren’t members of the EU.
steve richards, re “There has been no social mobility since the time that we joined the EU, as manufacturing has been destroyed.”
Everything in your post is true except when you blame the EU for the incompetence of our own governments.
Thatcher & Reagan dumped Keynes for Hayek, deregulated the finance sector and caused the bubble which eventually burst in the crash of 07/08.
Sober, cautious and experienced bankers who knew the sector’s dangers had been replaced by young, thrusting salespeople and whiz-kids who were a better fit in the casino of modern banking.
It was obvious to many of us that an economy built on finance, house price inflation and shopping would always hang by a thread.
Its apparent success was the cause of manufacturing being neglected, not the EU.
The impossibility of competing with increasingly sophisticated SE Asian industry was the other reason – a minor cause of which was UK manufacturers having sold old tooling to them when they updated their own in the 50’s & 60’s, thus accelerating their own decline.
The EU’s current love affair with neoliberalism of which we complain began because Thatch/Reagan’s magic boom looked like it would last forever and put everyone else out of business if they didn’t jump on the gravy train immediately – so that’s what they did. It’s our fault. We started it.
The EU’s problems are also exactly the same as ours – neoliberalism and the wealth inequality that’s impoverishing the many – which also happens to be the underlying cause of Brexit, Trump and the rise of the far right.
In other words, if we were doing OK we wouldn’t be having this discussion.