I think.it is progress, not efficient progress, but a step forward all the same

Assuming I've read the bill correctly, it does mean that any postponement becomes easier as it doesn't need a seperate confirmatory vote to alter that 2018 Withdrawal Act. Of course, it was a stupid idea to put a date on the face of that Act in the first place, but as we all know, symbols matter.

Do you think it was "constitutional vandalism"?

Incidentally, I'm a little bit concerned that Tezz & Jezz might compromise on a "May's deal or no deal" plebiciste with no 'remain' option.

I agree

What’s in that for Labour? They’ve publicly stated on repeated occasions that those are the worst two possible options.

Can’t see it happening.

The deal isn't an end in itself. If you can get the withdrawal agreement through, you can still negotiate the subsequent political agreements. My fear is that Corbyn sees that any form of vote would cause May to fall and a fresh general election.



I'm glad you're the optimistic one this week.

What’s in that for Labour? They’ve publicly stated on repeated occasions that those are the worst two possible options.

Unconvinced. Labour's preferences appear to be:

1) Unicorns. Specifically labour unicorns
2) Brightly coloured horses with horns on their heads
3) No deal because DELIVER REFERENDUM RESULT
4) May's deal or similar
5) Another referendum LOOK AT THAT OVER THERE *runs out of the room*
6) Remain *pretends not to understand, quickly starts talking about something else*

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain will have to recover millions of euros from some multinationals after EU antitrust regulators ruled on Tuesday that an exemption in a UK tax scheme was illegal.

The European Commission’s decision, following a 16-month investigation, is part of an ongoing crackdown against multinationals benefiting from sweetheart tax deals offered by EU countries.

“The UK gave certain multinationals a selective advantage by granting them an unjustified exemption from UK anti–tax avoidance rules. This is illegal under EU State aid rules,” European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said.

The Commission did not say which multinationals are affected nor did it give an estimate for the amount Britain would recover, leaving it to UK tax authorities to reassess the tax liabilities.

BBA Aviation, Chemring, Daily Mail & General, Diageo, Euromoney, Inchcape, London Stock Exchange, Meggitt, Smith & Nephew and WPP are some of the companies which have mentioned the EU investigation in their accounts.

Vestager has already ordered Apple, Starbucks, Fiat Chrysler and several other multinationals to pay back taxes totalling billions of euros to various EU countries.

Oh, I still think whatever they come up with will be shit.

What’s in that for Labour? They’ve publicly stated on repeated occasions that those are the worst two possible options.

Can’t see it happening.

Bolloxit

Finally – and without naming them – I must state that there are many MPs (and not a few journalists) still marching under the Brexit banner who will read this article with a sympathy and support they do not feel able to declare. They too have changed their minds.

I have, and must say so. Fair enough (you may think), but where is the ringing declaration of love for the European Union? We have seen the passionate beliefs of the Brexiteers. Where’s your own positivity? Where your matching passion for Remain?

I have none. Only a deep, gnawing worry that we are making a significant mistake: a worry that is growing by the hour. Call that negative, if you like, but precaution is negative – yet it is part of our kit for survival.

I come back, then, to a proposition that sounds lame – as quiet good sense so often does. Just this, and this alone. Suspending Brexit will be greatly preferable to the alternative. How many important decisions in our own lives, too, have had to be taken on such a chilly and unexciting consideration? It’s time for a long pause.

Basil’s most celebrated meltdown comes, of course, when he is confronted with a touring group of well-to-do, articulate, friendly Germans. His psyche splits: he knows he must be welcoming, but cannot find the mental space or language that allows him to forget the second world war. The MP Mark Francois and his squadron of nostalgia-basted, 1945-obsessed calamity-capitalism spivs are mere tribute acts to Fawlty. If only we had picked up that Basil – far from being a glimpse into the past – was a snapshot of the future, we might have been able to do something about it.

This is a nice angle on things.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... ers-sitcom

I think a big problem is that the Empire is still thought of and taught as a good thing. Most people praise Churchill etc.

Germany has more recently had to deal with the legacy of The Nazis and as far as I know all German school children have to visit concentration camps and so on.

There is no national confrontation of our past. That, I think, is what really needs addressing in this country and it will lead to a much better environment if/when we do.

I don't know if it's so much that people think the Empire was a good thing (though that's definitely true) but more that a good chunk of the country seems unable to grasp that we no longer have that amount of power and influence. The whole 'they need us more than we need them' thing is frighteningly prevalent. A lot of Brexit supporters don't give a fuck for your fact-based arguing because they genuinely believe that the world will just dutifully shift around to accommodate us, because we're Britain and we're fucking awesome. You literally can't argue with that attitude because--as far as they're concerned--there's no roadblock that won't just dutifully sink into the ground in deference to us so why worry about any of it? I mean we do seem to punch above our weight a bit in terms of power on the world stage, but that doesn't mean we can actually survive the economic equivalent of running off a cliff and just expecting gravity to look the other way.

I use 'we' throughout all that, but I suspect it is a bit more of an English issue. While Scotland is justifiably proud it's achievements etc there's much less of a sense of taking things for granted, and much more of a general awareness of our actual place in the grand scheme of things I'd say. Though I'm generalising wildly here because, of course, you'll get mixtures of these two stances throughout the population of the entirety of the UK.

Another stay of execution.

I'm now thinking about who to vote for in the European elections (sorry, Prime Minister, but I do understand why we're having them). Mostly likely Green, because they need some reward for the consistency of Caroline Lucas's position on all this, and have an established grouping in the parliament. I'm keeping an open mind about the Party-formerly-called-the-Independent-Group but that depends on who they ally with in the chamber and which commission president they'd support. I'm also cooling on them over the whole 'national service' thing.

I am concerned that a second referendum would increase division in our society and across this country at a time when we need to bring people together. We can bring people together by agreeing the way in which we can leave the European Union, getting on with it and delivering for people on their vote.

In an unmissable talk, journalist Carole Cadwalladr digs into one of the most perplexing events in recent times: the UK's super-close 2016 vote to leave the European Union. Tracking the result to a barrage of misleading Facebook ads targeted at vulnerable Brexit swing voters -- and linking the same players and tactics to the 2016 US presidential election -- Cadwalladr calls out the "gods of Silicon Valley" for being on the wrong side of history and asks: Are free and fair elections a thing of the past?