Be Excellent To Each Other

I can't think of a politician I'd credit with sufficient long-term thinking to take the sacrifice of losing a court case for that. But perhaps I am too cynical.

I think it is seen as "rules guidance', rather than losng a case. At least, that is how I would present it. "Wanted guidance to make sure we do it right first time"

Yeah, but they didn't play it as that when they appealed the high court ruling. Too late for it to be anything but a foolishly gambled, wasteful defeat at this point.

Apparently there's an interesting plot twist in the judgement where the Court rules that the devolved assemblies don't have a say in the legislation. I need to read more on this but that's going to bring joy to the governing party in Holyrood for sure.

Stu's post on it

http://wingsoverscotland.com/fooled-you-again/

We look forward to Scotland’s lily-livered columnists explaining to us how “federalism” is still a viable alternative to independence, any minute now.

Nah, I think they needed to run it through the Supreme Court to shore up barricades against any future attacks on the process. I don't think it is a massive loss.

Hmm... looks like Sir Keir Starmer is addressing the local Labour party in February. Shame I'm both away that night, and not a member.

One of the most high profile names in finance has said that Brexit is going to lead to dramatic economic upheaval which will be bad for most people but good for his multi billion-pound private equity firm.

Guy Hands, chairman of Terra Firma, one of Europe's largest private equity groups, warned that the country will have to get rid of much of its social safety net and may see a 30 per cent decline in wages in real terms in the next 20 years to enable it to compete outside of Europe.

Debt will command higher interest rates as more risk is ascribed to an independent UK, and immigrants from Europe will be replaced with workers from the Indian subcontinent and Africa, who may be willing to accept “substantially” lower pay, he said.

Still, ultimately, the exit will be a good thing for the economy, Hands said.

“The slightly sad thing is the people who voted for Brexit aren’t the people who are going to have to make these sacrifices,” Hands said. “That’s not unusual for big, political decisions when people don’t fully analyse what the economic consequences are.”

Prime Minister Theresa May said this month that the country would leave the European Union’s single market, pursuing a so-called hard Brexit and severing the bloc’s influence over the UK’s immigration and laws. She’s aiming to preserve tariff-free trade between Britain and the continent while securing the liberty to make new deals with other countries.

Brexit will also present opportunities for buyout funds, Hands said. As interest rates go up, some businesses will go bankrupt, leading to buying opportunities, he said.

“Sadly, and this is always one of the strange things about business, I think it’s probably a bad thing for the majority of people and bad for the country, but I think, for my business, it’s probably going to be good,” he said.

That says that he thinks it'll be a good thing for the economy, then later directly quotes him as saying bad for the country but good for his company.

he slightly sad thing is the people who voted for Brexit aren’t the people who are going to have to make these sacrifices,

Shami Chakrabati has disappointed me greatly this morning, taking the Labour party line on supporting A50.

She's not been the same since she became a peer. Much of her firery support for unpopular things like civil liberties and human rights seems to have been extinguished by the ermine.

Yes, I was thinking much the same, this morning, listening to her.

The unprincipled bitch even happily joined in with Caroline Flint's EU migrant bashing on Newsnight the other week.

Lots of Labour's traditional voters still think people are coming over here to steal all their jobs, though. Or so Labour think, anyway.

I heard someone from Labour say today that 2/3rds of their constituents voted to leave.

2/3rds of Labour constituencies were majority leave, but 2/3rds of Labour voters want to remain. It's as perfect an example of being fucked by electoral mathematics as you can possibly imagine.

Let's not forget once again of course that traditional labour is not progressive, it's protectionist. A party of two halves is always going to struggle to represent its voters especially on this issue which directly brings the 'modern, progressive Labour' into conflict with 'traditional, protectionist, unionist Labour'

It's a good job they have a leader who can adequately represent both sides whilst remaining savvy of the media.

Oh.

Ooo... we're going to get a white paper. Would have been useful to have had one before referendum day, but at least it's something.

Interesting point from the FT (in 2014.) I didn't know this.

Interesting point from the FT (in 2014.) I didn't know this.

surely this comes a surprise to no one

R4 was talking about chickens washed in chlorine in the US. The impression I got was the Secessionist Trumptonian Republic has much lower food safety standards compared to EU.

The man tipped to be Donald Trump's ambassador to the European Union has told the BBC the single currency "could collapse" in the next 18 months. Professor Ted Malloch said he would "short the euro" - taking a market position which bets on the value of the currency falling.

The possibility of an early trade deal with America, once the UK has left the EU, will be on the agenda.

"I remind people that the largest merger and acquisition deals in history are often done in about that time frame [90 days]," Mr Malloch, a professor at Henley Business School, said. "Some of us who have worked on Wall Street or in the City know that if you get the right people in the right room with the right data and the right energy, and Trump is certainly high energy, you can get things done. "I think this will cut out the bureaucrats in effect and it won't take two years, it won't take seven years to actually come to an agreement."

He added: "Obviously there are things to iron out, certainly there are differences and compromises to make, but it can be done. "So, there won't be a deal signed in the White House on Friday, but there could be an agreement for a framework going forward where people are empowered to have that kind of conversation behind closed doors and it could take as little as 90 days.

"That is very positive and it sends a signal that the United States is behind Great Britain in its hour of need."

"Less regulation at the possible cost of consumer safety" is a blanket rule of thumb for all US industry when comparing to the EU, I suspect. I can't recall any examples that go the other way around. (Topical example: the latest Mustang just got a woeful two stars in the EU passenger safety crash tests, but it did fine in the US equivalent crash tests.)

You wouldn't get that in a £95k Porsche.

Corbyn going with the 3 line whip.

My irony-o-metre just exploded.

Not irony.