Election 2019 Exit Poll

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by nomadking

The bigger problem is those that keep convincing the EU that we will roll over and agree to whatever they say.

Much as I would like to see BoJo called out on this - for his withdrawal agreement is precisely as you describe - I don't think the British electorate has the energy for yet another general election!

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Meanwhile, Dominic Cummings is seeking "Weirdos and misfits with odd skills" and other talented individuals to work for him.
https://dominiccummings.com/2020/01/...orted-weirdos/

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Mr K

27 versus 1, work it out. Who is in the the stronger negotiating position? The UK is going to have a very bad hangover from this.
.

But that 1 is a very big 1

https://fullfact.org/economy/uk-largest-economies-eu/

https://facts4eu.org/news/2019_apr_eu28_to_eu10

A trade deal, an equitable trade deal, is both parties interest, and the U.K. is no minion in this.

[heero_yuy]

Quote from Politicshome:

The Tories have a 17-point lead over Labour as Boris Johnson exceeds voters' expectations in Number 10, according to a new poll.

The Opinium survey puts the Conservatives on 47%, compared to 30% for Labour. Support for the the Lib Dems, meanwhile, is at just 9%.

At the general election last month, the Tories received around 43% of the vote, compared to Labour's 32%.

Looks like Boris' honeymoon is still going.

[Mr K]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

Looks like Boris' honeymoon is still going.

Honeymoon over...

Boris Johnson suffers first parliamentary defeat since election
Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal has received a setback in the Lords over the right of EU citizens to be given official documentation if they lawfully reside in the UK after Brexit.

Peers backed a cross-party amendment to the European Union (withdrawal agreement) bill allowing them physical proof of their status – the first defeat for the government since the general election.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...y_to_clipboard

Originally Posted by Mr K

Honeymoon over...


https://www.theguardian.com/politics...y_to_clipboard

No need to wet your pants over a symbolic defeat in the Lords where the government doesn’t have a majority.

They will simply overturn the amendments when the bill returns to the Commons, and thereafter convention requires the Lords to leave it alone because it is a matter of government policy that is subject to a manifesto commitment.

Originally Posted by Mr K

Honeymoon over...


https://www.theguardian.com/politics...y_to_clipboard

Oh dear, someone doesn’t quite know the difference between the Elected and Unelected chambers.

[1andrew1]

Interesting article by Dan Hodges on why some ministers are asking if Boris has any idea on what he's going to do apart from Brexit.

...No clear line on Iran. Uncertainty and continued Cabinet infighting over Huawei. Chaotic briefing and counter-briefing over HS2. Most tellingly of all, little, 45 days in, that even resembles a coherent strategy or vision for the country.

Another Minister painted the following picture: 'Everything's just being left to pile up. We had no coherent Iran response for days. We've got HS2, another rail report, 5G, something on education, the Budget and nothing's being decided.'...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/a...clue-next.html

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Interesting article by Dan Hodges on why some ministers are asking if Boris has any idea on what he's going to do apart from Brexit.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/a...clue-next.html

Interesting if you like journalists and newspapers that lost the Brexit argument and now have turned their sights on attacking the government. Given the total paralysis the country has been in for the last 3+ years, I’m willing to give them a little more time.

No doubt Huawei is a delicate issue - all I’d say as someone who works in telecoms is that I wouldn’t use them, or limit their use to passive components.

HS2 will definitely go ahead from London to Birmingham. It’s the onward sections that are an issue. Given that many Northerners lent their vote to the Tory’s he can’t be seen to ditch them, so some skilful politicking is required.

The criticism over Iran is baseless.

Originally Posted by Pierre

Interesting if you like journalists and newspapers that lost the Brexit argument and now have turned their sights on attacking the government. Given the total paralysis the country has been in for the last 3+ years, I’m willing to give them a little more time.

No doubt Huawei is a delicate issue - all I’d say as someone who works in telecoms is that I wouldn’t use them, or limit their use to passive components.

HS2 will definitely go ahead from London to Birmingham. It’s the onward sections that are an issue. Given that many Northerners lent their vote to the Tory’s he can’t be seen to ditch them, so some skilful politicking is required.

The criticism over Iran is baseless.

Dan Hodges writes for the Mail on Sunday, and before that, the Telegraph and the Spectator (not reknowned for being anti-Brexit)...

He also supported BJ in his campaign to be Mayor of London.

[nomadking]

So who does have the definitive answers on those matter, and what are they? Gets tedious people saying X doesn't have an answer for Y, when they don't either, other than giving in to their demands.

Originally Posted by Hugh

Dan Hodges writes for the Mail on Sunday, and before that, the Telegraph and the Spectator (not reknowned for being anti-Brexit)...

He also supported BJ in his campaign to be Mayor of London.

Dan Hodges is Glenda Jackson’s son, a former Labour Party member (I think he left after Corbyn got the leadership) and was definitely on the Blairite wing of the party.

I used to very much enjoy reading him back in the halcyon days of the Telegraph Blogs. He was challenging of the assumptions of the centre right that are often lazily and uncritically accepted on papers like the telegraph or the mail, while also being a very accessible voice of the left, which all too often is unbearably self righteous and shrill.

Hodges has been extremely critical of Labour since 2010 though, as Chris says he is clearly on the 'right' of the Labour Party. So I think he has earned the right to be listened too by the right as he isn't a propagandist for the left.

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Originally Posted by Pierre

I
HS2 will definitely go ahead from London to Birmingham. It’s the onward sections that are an issue. Given that many Northerners lent their vote to the Tory’s he can’t be seen to ditch them, so some skilful politicking is required.
.

HS2 should just happen now. Just do it.

People are deluded if they think it's cancellation will lead to investment in the existing railway infrastructure in the North instead. The same thing will happen again. There will be years, far beyond this Government's parliamentary term, of public consultation and government case studies before anything is proposed. Then, between 2025 and 2030, when a proposal is put forward it'll be beset by court cases and disagreement with politicians of every stripe opposing it in favour of something else before a final plan is somehow agreed in 2035 and we're all back here in 2040 wondering if it's about to be cancelled.

This country is absolutely pathetic when it comes to infrastructure projects. It's a wonder we have a Eurostar or M25. How we built the London Underground will become a mystery to future generations of Brits in the same way the Pyramids are now.

It may not be the most optimal use of money but HS2 is a unicorn in that it's a project that is actually being built and has passed all the bureaucracy and nonsense that we throw at any attempt to do anything.

A case in point is a new bridge at the Dartford Crossing on the M25. The tunnel itself, running from South to North, is already a nightmare. For over 10 years they've been having public discussions on how/when/where to build another bridge (to match the one going Clockwise) to help this pressure but as of yet nothing has been decided and ALREADY the demand exceeds the capacity. By the time they start building half of the M25 will be paralysed.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Damien

Hodges has been extremely critical of Labour since 2010 though, as Chris says he is clearly on the 'right' of the Labour Party. So I think he has earned the right to be listened too by the right as he isn't a propagandist for the left.

---------- Post added at 19:18 ---------- Previous post was at 19:09 ----------



HS2 should just happen now. Just do it.

People are deluded if they think it's cancellation will lead to investment in the existing railway infrastructure in the North instead. The same thing will happen again. There will be years, far beyond this Government's parliamentary term, of public consultation and government case studies before anything is proposed. Then, between 2025 and 2030, when a proposal is put forward it'll be beset by court cases and disagreement with politicians of every stripe opposing it in favour of something else before a final plan is somehow agreed in 2035 and we're all back here in 2040 wondering if it's about to be cancelled.

This country is absolutely pathetic when it comes to infrastructure projects. It's a wonder we have a Eurostar or M25. How we built the London Underground will become a mystery to future generations of Brits in the same way the Pyramids are now.

It may not be the most optimal use of money but HS2 is a unicorn in that it's a project that is actually being built and has passed all the bureaucracy and nonsense that we throw at any attempt to do anything.

A case in point is a new bridge at the Dartford Crossing on the M25. The tunnel itself, running from South to North, is already a nightmare. For over 10 years they've been having public discussions on how/when/where to build another bridge (to match the one going Clockwise) to help this pressure but as of yet nothing has been decided and ALREADY the demand exceeds the capacity. By the time they start building half of the M25 will be paralysed.

One of the problems in delivering a project like this, why it’s so expensive, and why the likes of China to it faster and better is.......

We adhere to all the environmental bollocks. For a project like this you will have Natural England, the JNCC and several other NGOs throwing as many hurdles in front of it as possible. Endless environmental impact assessments, mitigations, NIMBYs, consultations etc yadda yadda yadda.

You may think it right or wrong, but I guarantee you China just build it. I doubt the French are even as anal.

Environmental impact? Of course there will be but it’s a 50m strip at most, and although during construction it will be more, that is temporary and will recover.

I think there needs to be some legislation to help support major national infrastructure projects.

[Mr K]

Originally Posted by Pierre

One of the problems in delivering a project like this, why it’s so expensive, and why the likes of China to it faster and better is.......

We adhere to all the environmental bollocks. For a project like this you will have Natural England, the JNCC and several other NGOs throwing as many hurdles in front of it as possible. Endless environmental impact assessments, mitigations, NIMBYs, consultations etc yadda yadda yadda.

You may think it right or wrong, but I guarantee you China just build it. I doubt the French are even as anal.

Environmental impact? Of course there will be but it’s a 50m strip at most, and although during construction it will be more, that is temporary and will recover.

I think there needs to be some legislation to help support major national infrastructure projects.

China's got a bit more land to play with. If we're not careful our green and pleasant land will end up a grey concreted metropolis.

The cost of HS2 is obscene and will only benefit a few. All to save a few minutes on a train ride. Social care would be a much better beneficiary of that money for our ageing population.

Originally Posted by Mr K

China's got a bit more land to play with. If we're not careful our green and pleasant land will end up a grey concreted metropolis.

The cost of HS2 is obscene and will only benefit a few. All to save a few minutes on a train ride. Social care would be a much better way to direct that money on our ageing population.

HS2 will benefit every commuter in central England and eventually the north, by taking inter city traffic off the legacy network and thereby creating capacity. It’s not just about faster inter city services, except in the minds of the short-sighted, self loathing types who feel physical pain whenever they are forced to think about this country achieving something.