Countdown

It has turned nasty overnight.

Overnight?

I watched the "emergency" meeting in the Commons for some time yesterday and all they could do was shoot vitriol at each other. Literally, "your party did xyz" and "no, your party is responsible"... "The Right Honorable gentleman is mistaken" ...."The Other Right Honorable gentleman is forgetting  that time in 1872..." etc., ad nauseum. Until one MP (a black gent, didn't get his name) said "enough of this, we have a job to do" and then they all started talking about how important it was that they do their job. Not doing it, mind you, but talking about doing it. Eight days before a potential economic catastrophe for the country.

Holy frijoles! They are making the USA Congress look sane.

It's been a sh*tshow in Parliament all the way through, from what I can tell. And now the PM has addressed the public, saying she's asked for an extension until June without mentioning clearly that the EU has already replied that there are still only two options -  the agreed deal or the cliff - and no extension without the former, and that any such extension would only be until 23 May. And she stood there, dumping the blame for the potential debacle back on the Commons. Who, I assume, are livid about being called out, but, yet, (after, what, three years?) still can't delineate precisely what they want so that it could even be proposed for discussion with the EU.  (Which should have been decided before Article 50 was triggered.)

There is a document containing terms negotiated in good faith and agreed to by the EU, after  two years of wrangling back and forth, waiting for the UK Parliament to ratify to avoid the cliff.  What part of this binary decision do they not get? 

I do find it odd that the PM only mentioned in her speech to the public that she'd asked the EU for an extension until June. AND not added that the EU had already sent back word they'd only agree for an extension to 23rd of May, and only if it was to implement the ratified agreement.  Does she think that avoiding mentioning what's already all over the world press is going to keep that out of the public's eye? (I was somewhat amused to later hear an ITV news anchor state that the PM had "demanded" an extension of time  from the EU. Shades of Britannia Rules The Waves there.    Then again, perhaps that's part of the problem? )

It's not as if Parliament can't go back later and rejigger things, without having maimed the UK economy and the lives of the people who depend upon it. Seriously, if after the two year transition period they don't like the results, what's to stop them from doing what they're apparently doing now - cutting off all goodwill ties with the EU and going their own way? Only with the appropriate preparations in place.

If they can't, after three years, come to a concensus, they are not going to be able to come to a concensus. The Parliament is broken and cannot do its job. This should be passed back to the voters to decide. I would assume the EU would go for that - if the voters approve it, it's done. If they reject it, a short period (of a few weeks) should be allowed to get the ink dry. Then it's done.

But nooooooooo....

What. Ever.

This should be passed back to the voters to decide.

Yes, there is this third option. Many keep framing this as either May's deal or hard Brexit, but a people's vote and simple revocation are valid options.

Well, there's this. Worth a try?

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/241584

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Well, there's this. Worth a try?

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/241584

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

I've tried it but when you click submit it's still having issues (it had already crashed due to the amount of visits)

I've tried it but when you click submit it's still having issues (it had already crashed due to the amount of visits)

I tried this about half 7 this morning and it was working. Try again in a couple hours. Seems to be overloaded!

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I tried this about half 7 this morning and it was working. Try again in a couple hours. Seems to be overloaded!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Yeah it crashed because of all the visits. They are working on it now

It's going to need a whole lot more people signing this than it has so far.
Even then, TM says she's going forward with Brexit come hell or high water.
I have signed, but have not received the confirming email for me to use to validate my vote.


https://uk.yahoo.com/news/petition-revoke-article-50-hits-600000-2000-signatures-added-per-minute-website-crashes-101837391.html

It's going to need a whole lot more people signing this than it has so far.
Even then, TM says she's going forward with Brexit come hell or high water.
I have signed, but have not received the confirming email for me to use to validate my vote.


https://uk.yahoo.com/news/petition-revoke-article-50-hits-600000-2000-signatures-added-per-minute-website-crashes-101837391.html

Finally got it to go through on lunch break just now. Took a few minutes to get the email so will eventually come, just not as quick as you'd expect. Up to nearly 900,000 almost.

Well in theory it requires Parliament to actually discuss the topic. Which many have been dodging.

Well in theory it requires Parliament to actually discuss the topic. Which many have been dodging.

Exactly. It seems like May could keep digging in her heels and throw the country off a cliff though. Does parliament have the power to pull article 50 without her support?

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Just tried to log in to see the current count, and it seems to be hanging up again (probably overloaded, as people become aware of the option and vote).

The BBC is trying to downplay this - saying that it won't be debated unless it could change something. As if that will really dissuade anyone? Yeah, it might - people who believe the BBC is unbiased. 

Edit - It's got close to 1,000,000 signatures now (at 895,000). And those will only be the ones who have already clicked their confirming email link. At the rate it's going, it could very well become important. If only to raise attention.

Edited Edit - Ok, so I seem to have been #  931,197. As I input my vote when it was back in the 600,000s, I'd say it's over a million now. Sixteen more million and change to go yet. 

8 days to go to Brexit. Just to document for posterity:

The pound/dollar is $1.304. The pound/euro is 1.149.

The EU is saying no delay past 22 May.  Will Parliament really drive the country off an economic cliff?

Sigh.

Probably.

From RTE:

A draft of the EU summit conclusions being considered by the EU27 leaders suggest that the UK could be offered an extension to 22 May, on the condition that British MPs approve the Withdrawal Agreement. The date is the day before European elections are due to start, and the draft conclusions say that there should be no Brexit extension beyond the elections. It also reiterates that the Withdrawal Agreement cannot be renegotiated.

"The European Union commits to agreeing, before March 29 2019, to an extension until 22 May, provided the Withdrawal Agreement is approved by the House of Commons next week," said the draft, seen by Reuters. "Given that the United Kingdom does not intend to hold elections to the European Parliament, no extension is possible beyond that date."

7 days to go to Brexit. Just to document for posterity:

The pound/dollar is $1.32. The pound/euro is 1.16.

The EU is saying no delay past 22 May, even if the agreement is signed. And no delay past April 12 unless the UK comes up with a viable plan. Political pundits in the UK are still talking about "alternative plans" - the EU has already repeatedly said there will be no renegotiation.

Will Parliament infighting really drive the country off an economic cliff?

Sigh.

Probably.

Aside: The online petition asking for Article 50 to be cancelled has hit over 3.5 million signatures. And, on schedule, the BBC has come along and suggested that perhaps the Russians have a hand in it. So much for the BBC.

Online polls and petitions are easy to scam so no surprise there.

Meanwhile the parliamentary paralysis this last 2 years has been great for the economy.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonconstable/2019/03/21/how-a-chaotic-brexit-has-been-great-for-britains-economy/

Wow! The U.K. parliament has been unproductive since the Brexit referendum in June 2016.

But judging by the economic results perhaps we should want more of the same.

Here's what you need to know.

By most economic measures Britain's economy is performing far better than comparable economies across the channel in mainland Europe. It may be no coincidence that the country's outperformance comes precisely while Britain's government has been bogged down in endless no progress negotiations with the European Union about leaving the bloc.
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The UK economy has a far lower unemployment rate than that of the eurozone, the EU's single currency area. In Britain, it recently dipped to yet another multi-decade low of 3.9%, according to data collated by statistics website Trading Economics. Compare that to the eurozone which has an unemployment rate of 7.8%, with higher rates of 10.5% and 8.8% in Italy and France respectively.

Britain's national broadcaster, the BBC, summed up the situation with the following headline: "UK employment at highest since 1971," referring to the fact that the employment rate, which measures the percentage of the population engaged in work is now at its highest since the records began.

Economic growth in the UK is modest, but it still beats its major rivals on the continent. The UK grew at an annualized rate of 1.3% in the latest period measured compared to 1.1% for the entire eurozone. It was far worse in Italy, France, and Germany which had zero growth, 0.9%, and 0.6% respectively.

Put simply, in terms of economic vibrancy Britain is hands down beating the other large economies of Europe, such as Germany, France, and Italy.

What we need is a war. Those really get things revved up.