Looks like the Tory activists have erupted in the face of Theresa May sitting down with Jermey Corbyn. They are refusing to help the party with the May EU elections (If they will happen, they will actually be announced on Friday, April 12) and donors have closed their wallets and refused to give money. Tory activists go on strike and donations dry up as Theresa May woos Jeremy Corbyn in Brexit talks Conservative activists are refusing to campaign for the party and donations have “dried up” because members feel that Theresa May has betrayed them over Brexit and the Government has “completely lost touch with voters”, council candidates have warned. In a letter to the Prime Minister, more than 100 current and would-be Tory councillors state that they are unable to muster the volunteers needed to effectively fight next month’s local elections because “belief in the party they joined is gone”. While I think the are overreacting in terms of their attitudes, their actions of refusing to participate in these elections on behalf of the Tories makes good sense. If these elections actually occur, that will be a validation of all of their worst fears. However, so far these elections have not been formally announced and Theresa May has stated repeatedly that it is her position, and her government's position that they should not be. In fact, the extension request she made a few days ago, if granted, would not require the UK to participate in these election. If the UK does not participate in the May 23-26, 2019 EU Parliamentary elections, they are out of the EU.
The Tories are threatening to oust Theresa May if it appears that the UK is going to commit to participating in the May 23-26, 2019 EU Parliamentary elections. Brexit: furious Tories will try to oust May if UK fights Euro elections Theresa May’s mutinous MPs are warning her that they will move to oust her within weeks if the UK is forced to take part in European elections next month and extend its EU membership beyond the end of June. Tory MPs are increasingly angry at the prospect of voters being asked to go to the polls to elect MEPs three years after the Brexit referendum, in an election they fear will be boycotted by many Conservatives and be a gift to the far right and Nigel Farage’s new Brexit party. Senior Tories said one silver lining of a long extension would be that it would allow them to move quickly to force May out, and hold a leadership election starting as soon as this month. Exactly right. Not only that, they should be ready to dismember the Tory Party, tearing it apart - hammer and tongs - if it looks like that is actually going to happen. Staying out of these elections is far more important that then continued existence of the Tory Party. This is the right place to draw the line, and if anything, they need to be ready to draw that line more fiercely and more destructively than what is being discussed here by ousting Theresa May. But it should be noted that so far she has not ever endorsed participating in these elections, or any other action that would actually require the UK to do so.
Toothless dogs barking. They can't oust her. Cry me a river now it's too late. They should be ready to dismember the Tory Party..? Who? The Tories should destroy the Tories? WTF are you talking about? The ONLY reason that May is still in power is because they do not want to tear the Tory Party apart.
Well the Telegraph wrote that article not me, but I agree with them. You can't call Farage the grandfather. How is someone with minimal political power and clout in the fringes of the political world and perceived as a caricature a grandfather of such a project? Just because he has been shouting loudly the longest and gathering up elderly and racists in some northern poor villages? His party didn't even have a single MP. Even the Greens have one. It's like saying that Trump's Wall is grandfathered by a televangelist cult leader in Missisippi. Don't pay attention to what he says he doesn't have real power. No Brexit is grandfathered and fathered and mothered by the Tory party. The only reason it was realised was because of the Tory infighting during Cameron and it is 20 years now that the Tories are fighting about Europe. OT Farage has said some even more eyepopping backtracking than those Tories that I just didn't bother bringing up because of how insignificant he really is. 'In a 52-48 referendum Remain win, this would be unfinished business by a long way.' Nigel Farage, May 2016. "I never said it would be a beneficial thing to leave and everyone would be better off, just that we would be self-governing."
So, the talk in the ever hysterical British press over the last few days has been about Theresa May invoking the "C" word (Compromise) and how the most likely outcome of the talks between her and Jermey Corbyn is likely to be a customs union. Several Tory ministers have joined in, pushing back and making what appear to be intentionally provocative predictions that a "Customs union" (No Brexit) is what is likely to be the outcome of these "compromise" negotiations with Jeremy Corbyn and Labour. Here are a couple of links: Customs union 'most likely outcome' of Theresa May-Jeremy Corbyn talks, admits minister (Solicitor General) Boris Johnson: Tory MPs will rally to stop Theresa May's customs union surrender Of course I could turn out to be wrong about this, but it appears to me that these Tory ministers are now mobilizing their own "Operation fear" and using the press to change the narrative to one of fear of betrayal and treachery, and the loss of not only Brexit, but also the credibility of the UK's democracy. These claims are certainly something to be concerned about and I am glad that these Tory ministers and others are raising them, if for no other reason to counteract the ridiculous scare campaign that has been mounted against the prospect of leaving the EU with no deal. At the same time, it appears to me that these are very likely "Straw man" arguments against threats that probably are not real. Barack Obama used to do this all the time when he spoke, diverting attack away from what he was doing against some sort of made-up enemy and then attribute that to his adversaries. In fact, Theresa May has been consistently against any formal customs union with the EU, and has repeated that within the last week. Also, all reports are that the talks are going nowhere, supposedly because of Theresa May's intransigence, but in fact because both sides have their heels dug in. In fact, there are not even any further talks scheduled for today, although both sides have indicated that they hope that will change. Meanwhile, the Lords still has not finished voting on the extension bill - with no date specified in it - and the date is supposed to be debated and passed tomorrow in the House of Commons. Do they have support for a date beyond the June 30, 2019 date that Theresa May has requested? It does not appear so to me. And if they don't then there will be no authorization to participate in the May 23, 2019 EU Parliamentary elections, without which the UK cannot and will not remain in the EU past the end of June. Anyway, this appears to be a coordinated P.R. battle to change the narrative away from making "No deal" the enemy, towards making "No Brexit" the enemy. What is interesting is that Theresa May is apparently pleased to sacrifice herself here, as she knows she is out soon anyway. This is fascinating stuff. If she proposes a customs union with Jeremy Corbyn as a "Compromise," then that will mean I have gotten it wrong. Stay tuned. Four days to go. Tick Tock.
farage is an outsider, and therefore by definition yes, does not hold political power. but he has nonetheless been the face of brexit, which in part explains why he has 10x more twitter followers than hannan. he actually has a cult following not only by elderly/racists, but amazingly by the financial crowd as well. that is what i was alluding to w/ all his private speaking engagements the next couple months. so he's (quite disingenuously) really trying to carve out a career and build himself a nice bank account from a futile farcical charade that he surely knows is never going to end up happening. speaking of which, what do u think of the MPs just revoking article 50 altogether come wednesday nite?
i would think the same as well, but desperate circumstances call for desperate measures. and they can always just cry to their constituents that their opposers in parliament just weren't cooperating and they had to do this to avert the deadly evil no-deal WTO brexit. "don't worry mates, we'll get em in the 2nd referendy yeah"
As I discussed in my previous post above, the current deadly evil is now becoming the 'customs union' no-Brexit betrayal and surrender to the EU. There are dueling P.R. campaigns. The no deal scare campaign no longer has the field to itself.
yes but brexit determination/execution lies in the hands of the MPs, who have thus far shown to disregard the masses outside. and if any one of france/poland/italy/hungary etc ends up vetoing the extension, then these MPs will be pushed into a corner
Theresa May is apparently holding a cabinet meeting in a few minutes (5PM London time) and then flies to Paris and Berlin tomorrow, before going to Brussels on Wednesday for the April 10 Emergency Summit. As a result, if there is any legitimate basis for the talk of an agreement with Jeremy Corbyn, surely there needs to be an announcement about that today.
So the Prime Minister has just finished meeting with the 1922 group of her own backbenchers, one of whom had earlier suggested that he wanted to call for a vote of no confidence. After this meeting, he has apparently changed his mind and they have no intention on pushing this matter any further. Also when asked about a deal with Labour, Sir Graham Brady stated "There is, at the moment, no deal with Labour." 1922 Committee has ruled out call for a fresh no confidence vote in May, says Brady Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, spoke to ITV as he was leaving Downing Street after a meeting between the committee’s executive and the prime minister. He wasn’t excessively forthcoming, but he said he and his colleagues had had an update on the talks with Labour. When he was asked about the “deal” with Labour, he replied: "There is, at the moment, no deal with Labour." Brady was more reluctant to discuss Mark Francois’s call for a new no confidence vote in Theresa May (see 1.05pm), but eventually he said that the 1922 executive had discussed this last week and that it had “no intention of proceeding”. Meanwhile, the clock continues to tick.
Well things change very fast here. Right now British politics is like watching House of Cards on drugs,and that's why I am following it too. One day a politician says white the very next day he appears in front of the cameras shouting for black. Great drama. But revoking article 50 would be the equivalent of House of Cards ending with a meteor falling on the White House. There's a scenario it can happen but it is too far fetched. If it comes to this a second referendum is MUCH more likely. There are many actors in this farce who have clearly shown that they are putting their party over their country. May and Corbyn for example. Whoever brings to the UK no deal or revocation will have to bear a tremendous fall in next elections maybe for years if not decades to come. Tories and Labour have already suffered with them being in opposition for 20 years each in similar crisis circumstances in the last century. May invited Corbyn in these " talks" because she wanted to bring him down as well. Corbyn would never dare to take such a big blow by outright revocation. The interesting thing is that we are in front of the cliffedge of 2 party politics. It has lasted for who knows how many centuries 4?, and the orbituary is almost being written.
They can't ask for a no confidence vote until December. They really think the people watching this are idiots. Mark Francois wanted to call a no confidence vote he had 0 chance to get through as a facade so that Macron will veto an extension. This kind of people are the ERG politicians. IQ of a turnip.
They have been preparing for a solid year now. if the UK Electoral Commission issues the announcement that these elections will be held this coming Friday, then it is on. Anything up until that is just a warmup session, just in case.
