[Rocksteady]

ahh, I've just seen the green card is for if you are driving your own car abroad, correct me if I'm wrong.

Yep I'm driving via Eurotunnel. I've also been told by a colleague that she had massive delays on Eurostar due to customs checks, hopefully will not experience that in April...

[seankenny]

Yep I'm driving via Eurotunnel. I've also been told by a colleague that she had massive delays on Eurostar due to customs checks, hopefully will not experience that in April...

I did a day trip to France a few weeks ago, using the Eurotunnel. Going was fine, coming back the French customs were working to rule which may or may not have been Brexit related, anyhow had a couple of hours sitting in the car park and inching forwards.

Aggregating the time over everyone sat there, it seems (like the enforced post office visit) to be a massive collective waste for no gain, in fact a waste of time and effort for a collective loss. It won't even deliver the promised benefits of "ruling ourselves" as that argument relies on a complete misunderstanding of what we can and can't do.

Plus of course the lost opportunities to fix the things that really matter.

[Will Hunt]

I'd love to write the sketch for The News Quiz.

Bercow: Ordeeeeeeeer! Ordeeeer! I'm only going to say this once so listen very closely. Has everybody got their voting slip? You should find a voting slip on your bench.

*Mutters of aye from the house*

Bercow: Has anybody NOT got their voti... Yes, Diane it's on the other side. The other side, Diane. Yes. Yes. Turn it over, Dian... Kier, please could you help Diane turn her vo... Yes, there we are.
Now, I want you to read through the options that are presented there. Boris, Theresa will help you to read them. I say, Theresa, please could you help Boris read through his voting slip? And don't tell him that the "No Deal" option is the "Revoke" option, Theresa, you're better than that. Philip, please could you check that Theresa is honest with Boris? Thank you.
Now, when you've read the options I want you to indicate with a cross whether you're in favour of them.

*Inaudible from the Labour bench*

Bercow: No, no, no. Jeremy you can't fill in other people's slips for them, they have to make up their own minds. Yes, I know they made you leader but you've made up your own mind plenty of times in the past, it's time to let the others have their turn at it.




And on and on and on.

[kelvin]

It's times like this that I miss Spitting Image.

[Oldmanmatt]

It's times like this that I miss Spitting Image.

Hard to grasp, but I almost miss Maggie.
And she was a total psycho bitch.


She was, at least, decisive and commanding in her unrestrained cruelty.

[sdm]

Yep I'm driving via Eurotunnel. I've also been told by a colleague that she had massive delays on Eurostar due to customs checks, hopefully will not experience that in April...

I did a day trip to France a few weeks ago, using the Eurotunnel. Going was fine, coming back the French customs were working to rule which may or may not have been Brexit related, anyhow had a couple of hours sitting in the car park and inching forwards.

We had the same experience in January. No problems on the way out but on our return, Calais had been turned in to a car park with the customs queues spiralling all around the port for miles to prevent the traffic backing up too far on to the motorway. They had portaloos set up all along the routrand seemed to have drafted in thousands of students with high vis jackets and glowsticks to direct the traffic. We presumed it was all part of the brexit contingency planning as there were no reports of any other issues.

I would have had a few more attempts at the problem I was trying rather than rushing back to the car had I known there wasn't a hope in hell of making our designated crossing.

We're going back in April too. I'm assuming we won't have left yet by then but we'll be sorting out an international license and green card just in case and I'm fully expecting extra delays regardless of whether brexit has been finalised.

On traveling to Dubai this month, I see they haven't waited for us to make our minds up, British passport holders have already had more stringent visa requirements imposed than the rest of the EU.

[TobyD]

I'd love to write the sketch for The News Quiz.
Bercow: Ordeeeeeeeer! Ordeeeer! ...

The thing is, it really didn't need the sketch, the reality was a surreal comedy as it was.
On the subject of R4 comedy, last week's now show had a great sketch with Corbyn at a kebab festival saying 'how much I like hammas.  Err... I mean hummus.'

[Oldmanmatt]

So, I know this will come as a shock, but “the deal” has been defeated in Parliament for a third time.

I sat down to have a cup of tea, read the papers etc, after the last of the Lunchtime training mob cleared out and there it was.

Such a surprise! It was only every fucking single commentator, pundit, politician, layman, Buddhist monk in a Himalayan cave  (and even my 12 week old Collie barked “May’s got no fucking chance” in my ear over breakfast this morning); that predicted this.

[Oldmanmatt]

https://www.facebook.com/6622931938/posts/10156626651816939?sfns=mo

Sorry for the FB link, can’ Find it on their website yet.

Interesting wording she used.

[TobyD]

An excellent article on the conspiracy theory bs that seems to have become rife at both political extremes.

It’s far easier to be hoodwinked if you really think they’re out to get you

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/30/far-easier-to-be-hoodwinked-if-you-really-think-they-are-out-to-get-you-conspiracy-theorists?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

[tregiffian]

The skippers of the Defiant , Resolute and Provider were not hoodwinked. They knew that the CFP is stacked against them and want out to get unfettered access to our territorial waters. They may not get out past Rockall but who knows? I am with them (but not off Rockall).

[Oldmanmatt]

The skippers of the Defiant , Resolute and Provider were not hoodwinked. They knew that the CFP is stacked against them and want out to get unfettered access to our territorial waters. They may not get out past Rockall but who knows? I am with them (but not off Rockall).

Yep. Definitely. 

Actually here’s a far more sarcastic article. The author is grinding his teeth to stumps as he types. 70,000 tons of work, replaced by 150, because Brexit:

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/european-carrier-work-offered-to-scotland-blocked-by-uk-government/?no_cache=1

I understand pacifist objections to arms manufacturing in the UK, I am only considering the economic impact in this post.

[Oldmanmatt]

Too late to edit, but...

Actually, I just did a back of fag-packet calc to estimate an illustration of how ridiculous the above is.
There will be more steel used, in the domestic cold water system, of the carrier, than in the entire fleet of cross Thames ferries. Each ferry will displace less than only 11 of the aircraft carried aboard the carrier, and will provide employment of only 1/100 th (in total for all disciplines) of that I would estimate for the Fabrication alone (of the carriers), before looking at other trades.

[A Jooser]

Actually here’s a far more sarcastic article. The author is grinding his teeth to stumps as he types. 70,000 tons of work, replaced by 150, because Brexit:

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/european-carrier-work-offered-to-scotland-blocked-by-uk-government/?no_cache=1

I understand pacifist objections to arms manufacturing in the UK, I am only considering the economic impact in this post.

Sarcastic's putting it mildly. Did you get to the footnote at the bottom?...

If you have read this far, you will undoubtedly have noticed that the entire story is a fabrication put together by contributors from various parts of the UK defence community and is simply, an April Fools joke.

Today's a good day to stay off the internet.

[Oldmanmatt]

No, that got me.

Totally forgot what day it was...

My desperation for a resurgence in British ship building got the better of me there.

[Will Hunt]

 

Oh dear! Surely alarm bells rang at this photo caption?

Luxembourg is expected to produce and ship the bow section.

There's actually a serious point to be made there about how easy it is to fall prey to conspiracy theories and fake news if it fits with a narrative that we like. But I'm better than to make it ... 

[Oldmanmatt]

In my defence, we have reached a point in all this, where very little is too ridiculous to be true...

[TobyD]

Well, we're really fucked now.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47776512

I can't see the cabinet volunteering for an election (and the necessary extension to article 50) as they're - very reasonably - scared they might lose.

I'm really disappointed that more MPs didn't hear Grayling's threat to resign in the case of a soft Brexit and take the opportunity to rid the government of the most incompetent fool in a ship of fools.

[Will Hunt]

To be fair to Grayling, he can't be a fool in a ship of fools since he has no ships to be a fool in.

[spidermonkey09]

I found last night very disappointing. The non ERG headbangers who didn't support a customs union or common market 2.0 should be ashamed. No Deal has to be heavy favourite now...

[tomtom]

I found last night very disappointing. The non ERG headbangers who didn't support a customs union or common market 2.0 should be ashamed. No Deal has to be heavy favourite now...

Indeed. Boles in his resignation speech said the failure to reach a compromise lay firmly with the conservatives.

God knows what may will do today. She’ll have to change MV4 considerably to enable the speaker to allow it...

[TobyD]

To be fair to Grayling, he can't be a fool in a ship of fools since he has no ships to be a fool in.

I found last night very disappointing. The non ERG headbangers who didn't support a customs union or common market 2.0 should be ashamed. No Deal has to be heavy favourite now...

Yes me too, much as I don't think we should leave I think either of the probable options now is extremely unpalatable. As you say, it's looking most likely that we'll be out without a deal. Which will not affect most of its proponents in parliament, just most of the rest of us.
It's frankly pretty depressing.

[spidermonkey09]

Indeed. Boles in his resignation speech said the failure to reach a compromise lay firmly with the conservatives.

God knows what may will do today. She’ll have to change MV4 considerably to enable the speaker to allow it...

I think the Conservatives are beyond help on this issue and their penance will be the total destruction of the party if No Deal is the result. I don't feel let down by that side of the house because I expected it from them, I feel let down by the other side! But as you say, today is another day....!

[Oldmanmatt]

Indeed. Boles in his resignation speech said the failure to reach a compromise lay firmly with the conservatives.

God knows what may will do today. She’ll have to change MV4 considerably to enable the speaker to allow it...

I think the Conservatives are beyond help on this issue and their penance will be the total destruction of the party if No Deal is the result. I don't feel let down by that side of the house because I expected it from them, I feel let down by the other side! But as you say, today is another day....!

Too many Groundhogs involved in the days lately...

[tommytwotone]

I found last night very disappointing. The non ERG headbangers who didn't support a customs union or common market 2.0 should be ashamed. No Deal has to be heavy favourite now...

Specifically,:


The SNP decided to abstain on the Clarke proposal, which only lost by 3 votes:


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47781009


But for their support, we'd be looking at a) a way out of this mess with b) a much softer Brexit in prospect. From the tone of Ian Blackford's point of order straight after the results (basically "Scotland wanted to Remain, Parliament can't agree on any proposal, therefore Scotland should be free to do its own thing"), I'm not sure the benefit to their cause justifies the wider cost to the process as a whole.


The TIGgers / CUKers also voted against both Clarke's proposal, and the Boles plan, as their stated aim is a People's Vote (or presumably confirmatory referendum, which is what they backed yesterday)


Plaid Cymru also voted against the Clarke proposal - but then backed all the other proposals. WTF.


Adam Fleming (I think) summed it up well on last night's Brexitcast - that essentially the various factions are all holding out, assuming that if they end up as last man standing they might get what they want.