Europe IV: The Final Hour

[charlesr]

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[Neon Ignition]

At least we have Charles on the way at some point, that should start the turning of the tide somewhat with any hope

[MartyG]

This is another one of those areas where I have to admit to a level of ignorance. I don't know how the role of the Queen works. I was under the impression that, being a figurehead, she wasn't really allowed to say no to a prime minister or government. Am I wrong? Can she essentially pull rank?

Nope, this is exactly right and as it should be. The power should be with parliament, not the Queen. We haven't been a absolutely monarchy in centuries and we should not be stepping back any further in time.

But officially, if things go too far could she step in? Or could she have even said no to Johnson?

Not without creating a constitutional crisis.

Be under no illusion; what's happening in Parliament currently is down to Government not having a whippable majority. If a GE provides an absolutely majority, power and so the legislature, will be completely back in Government's hands.

[Dogg Thang]

Nope, this is exactly right and as it should be.

Thanks. Yep, that all makes sense and I totally agree.

[Cassius_Smoke]

Wonder if there will be any more tories jumping from the sinking ship following this. I'm sure a few back benchers must be wondering if supporting Boris is a good idea.

What a absolute **** show. I never believed in a million years that court would find against him.

[MartyG]

In what way is the ship sinking? Tory support is at the highest it's been in a long time, polling shows that the best chance of getting elected at the moment is by being a Tory MP.

I see people keep saying that the wheels are coming off, but I see very little evidence of that being the case; if the opposition was so sure that Johnson was going to lose a GE, they'd have one tomorrow.

To say it's to stop a no deal doesn't hold water - following a general election which gives a majority to a brexit party / coalition any legislation passed prior to the GE will be revoked anyway and the same true if the coin falls the other way. All that's happening at the moment is more indecision and that's something that polling shows both sides of the debate dislike immensely. Three years on and still no closer to anyone making a definitive decision.

[charlesr]

This

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[Neon Ignition]

LBC was a hoot earlier, one guy spending his entire call saying it's a disgrace how those judges have changed the law to ruin us getting better democracy for our Parliament and the host repeatedly, and increasingly exasperatedly, reiterating that no law has been changed and you can't claim to argue for more democracy for Parliament by supporting a government that silences it when it suits them.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/sep/24/brexit-supreme-court-latest-news-labour-conference-starmer-says-it-is-obvious-labour-will-back-remain-despite-conference-vote-live-news

Labour have backed the impossible to achieve policy of making the UK carbon neutral emmissions by 2030.

[QualityChimp]

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[Neon Ignition]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/sep/25/boris-johnson-flies-to-uk-as-parliament-returns-after-court-ruling-politics-live

Blackford suggests the SNP might be coming around to the idea of having Corbyn as Interim Prime Minister following a vote of no confidence.

[Neon Ignition]

Gove: Not bothered, not bothered at all

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/sep/25/boris-johnson-flies-to-uk-as-parliament-returns-after-court-ruling-politics-live

This one though, it's amazing that he persists in a central role despite blatantly playing every side that comes his way. In three years he's been Pro Boris, Anti-Boris, Pro-Boris again, Pro-May, Pro-Withdrawal Agreement, Pro-No Deal etc.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/sep/25/boris-johnson-flies-to-uk-as-parliament-returns-after-court-ruling-politics-live

Johnson effectively given till the end of next week to formalise is backstop proposal as the international treaty nature of the Withdrawal agreement means quick alterations are not possible and therefore he will have run out of time to agree an altered deal based on the 31 October deadline.

Not that he was ever genuine in wanting one.

[QualityChimp]

The life and times of Boris Johnson, actual Prime Minister

1. Sacked from The Times for inventing a quote then lying about having invented it
2. Sacked from Tory front-bench for lying about an affair
3. Had police called to his house during his actual job interview as PM
4. Invented the lie about EU law on straight bananas
5. Invented the lie about EU banning prawn cocktails
6. Invented the lie about EU introducing mandatory smaller coffins
7. Broke the record for the most parliamentary defeats (5)
8. Next day, broke it again (6)
9. Blamed Hillsborough on Liverpool fans, then described the victims as "whingeing scousers"
10. Promised £350m a week for NHS (at time of writing, owes NHS £57.7 billion)
11. Blew £46m on a garden bridge that has never had a single brick laid
12. Referred to investigations into sexual abuse as "spaffing up the wall"
13. Referred to Islamic women as looking like "bank robbers" and "post-boxes"
14. Lied repeatedly that 80 million people from Turkey would come to UK if we didn't leave EU
15. Wasted £500,000 on a cable-car - the most expensive ever built - that has an average of 4 daily users
16. Doubled rough-sleeping during his tenure as Mayor of London
17. Refused to take part in a press conference because he might be jeered at
18. Lied, on camera, about there being no press present when confronted by a distraught father in a hospital
19. Said "**** business" when presented with concerns about Brexit
20. Got a British Citizen, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, jailed in Iran because he mistakenly called her a spy
21. Found guilty of misrepresenting facts by IPSO
21. Found to have broken the Ministerial Code by failing to declare income
22. As a journalist, questioned the repeal of the ban on promoting homosexuality
23. Refuses to admit how many children he has
24. Forced by Telegraph to apologise for describing the people of Papua New Guinea as "cannibals"
25. As Foreign Secretary, said Libya could be the new Dubai if "they clear the dead bodies away"
26. Bought water cannon that are illegal to use in the UK at a cost of £333,000. They were sold for scrap, unused
27. Recorded helping a friend to find a journalist he (the friend) had a quarrel with, even after Boris was told the friend wanted to "break his ribs"
28. Referred to Commonweath citizens as "picaninnies" (racist term for black children)
29. Suggested reinstating British control over former colonies - essentially restarting The Empire
30. And, of course, illegally prorogued parliament, and lied about it to parliament, the public, the queen, and the Supreme Court.

BONUS!
- His own brother won't serve with him
- He's probably guilty of corruption (news today)
- He's still facing charges for electoral fraud related to referendum
- Gave £26,500 in public money to Jennifer Arcuri’s business and attended three overseas trade missions led by him when he was London mayor
- A second firm she is director of received a further £100,000 this year from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), but is now investigating whether the business was eligible for grant.

[Cassius_Smoke]

So he acted like a Tory then?

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/sep/25/boris-johnson-flies-to-uk-as-parliament-returns-after-court-ruling-politics-live

Suggestion is that Johnson will meet the new A50 Extension law by submitting a plain formal request to extend Article 50 by three months alongside a second letter giving extensive reasons to the EU why they should reject said request. This creates a significant risk that Johnson may find his government taken back to the Supreme Court within the coming month.