Seems to me there are two possibilities on the conditions Corbyn will seek before agreeing to an election: 1. Guarantee of an agreed polling date eg 14 October, which will be in good time before 31/10 2. No deal ruled out for 31/10 1. seems reasonable. No way Boris will give 2 If we pass 31/10 without leaving, Boris may well move towards the Brexit Party position of a no-deal whatever. That's the danger for Labour imo. Rebels and Corbyn can keep ruling out no deal and refusing a GE during 2020, but who gets damaged by that? Uncertainty will drive the public mad
If parliament is able to rule out No Deal this week, I don't see why Labour would agree to an election before October 31st. Ruling out No Deal would force Johnson to actually try to get a revised deal through parliament before 31st October (something he has shown no intention of doing and which his prorogation has made pretty much impossible anyway) or ask the EU for a further extension, which would be a complete humiliation. Maybe the evil genius Cummings has some other trick up his sleeve, but if No Deal is blocked it seems to me that Corbyn holds all the aces. Perhaps they are actually prepared to break the law to force No Deal, which would be electoral suicide.
It looks like No-deal will be ruled out. It seems to rebels have the numbers, and the small benefit to the Tories is they kick out the recalcitrants, and I hope they don't come back. I don't think a change in the law would be ignored by Boris, but there may be procedural manoeuvres that frustrate the rebels, I don't know. The temptation for Corbyn is that he is being offered the GE he wanted, and if he says no, he may not get another chance until 2022. Commentors are already saying that recent PM's that ask for a snap election - Brown and May - suffered badly. So will Corbyn really give up the chance to become PM before he's over the hill (if he isn't already)? He has a difficult personal decision to make, and may not be that influenced by the like of McDonnell who wants to replace him
I sincerely hope Boris can sort some sort of deal out that the ERG wont vote for. See if they expel those ****s
Dominic Raab saying in Helsinki that progress is being made in negotiations because they have asked "to remove the undemocratic backstop". Please can somebody inform him that 56% of people in Northern Ireland voted against Brexit. Recently, 49 out of 90 MLA's who were elected to Stormont in the last election wrote to Donald Tusk advising him that they agree 100% with the backstop and that he should continue to insist that it is kept. Which part of democracy does Dominic Raab not understand??? The people of NI don't want Brexit and the majority of their elected representatives want the backstop.
It’s Cummings. Just call it undemocratic over and over again and it’s a simple enough message for the people who want it to be true to get. It works as well.
The problem is, until Stormont agrees on how to power share, the UK government is obliged to make decisions on its behalf, which is doesn't want to do. And hence the power of the DUP. If Northern Ireland would officially agree to a custom's border in the Irish Sea, well and good, but there's no one in office to agree it!
So, that is democracy in the United Kingdom in 2019, what the DUP want they get from their tory buddies irrespective of what the majority of people in NI and their elected representatives want. No wonder the EU are laughing at Bojo.
I understand the irritation that the DUP hold undue influence due to currently holding the balance of power in Westminster. But so too, you can't impose a backstop on Northern Ireland based on an unofficial poll of past representitives.
They are CURRENT elected representatives Goldy. Until there is another election, they are not "past representatives". FFS.
Whats the difference? The fact remains, the last time the people of NI spoke at an election to elect their local representatives, they chose the 90 current MLA's. Whether they sit or not is not relevant. Why are the British government continuing to pay their salaries? The fact is, they represent the views of the people of NI. I would say 49 out of 90 MLA's is a pretty accurate reflection of what people think, ie the backstop must stay if democracy is to be respected.
The problem still comes down to the fact that Stormont is suspended, doesn't it? Without Stormont sitting, there can be no debate between members of the assembly, no opportunity for members to air their views back and forth, the opportunity to change members minds, consider all implications and no formal decisions taken at the end of those debates. If Boris gets his election and a healthy majority, the DUP will lose the power over the Tories. But I still don't see the Tories making decisions on the backstop without formal law-making decisions of Stormont. This is just my view from a distance, and I'm far from an expert on NI affairs as I'm sure you can tell.
There simply isn’t any negotiations taking place at all. Seriously from here in France people cannot believe what we are going through as the story over here is that the people are being lied to. They are showing so many examples of English politicians saying that there are talks etc but nothing is in fact happening. They are making real correct assumptions that the UK’s ministers are all acting like Donald Trump. That’s the story over here. It’s more of a mess than before from a French point if view it’s a bloody joke that some people are even believing the messages coming out. Boris is playing a blinder alright ... he is feeding them a right old dose
Cummings has admitted in the Telegragh that "negotiations" with the EU are a sham. Proves Boris is lying. No way should Corbyn or anyone else trust him an inch, and certainly shouldn't trust him to hold an election on any promise that it will be done in time to stop a no deal on 31 October. Johnson is trying to go round both parliament and the courts to get his no deal through. He and his fellow lunatics need locking in the Tower.
But nothing to do with Brexit of course! Fact that the Pound has actually lost a third of its value since the Brexit vote against some currencies is just project fear. And doesn't matter if you are comfortably placed in your detached house somewhere in the stockbroker belt and never go anywhere other than to visit Auntie in Henley.
