BristolUK

Conservative party call centre 'may have broken election law'
May have? Upon reading it rather sounds as if they did.

But with the company concerned owned by a Conservative businessman who stood for the Conservatives in elections this year and who says “In relation to the Conservative party project...the scripts and lists of who to call and when to call were given to us by Conservative campaign HQ" I'm sure it was all above board.

dave_j

Off topic, but there's a link here somewhere.

I often remark at the insensitivity of decision making at high levels. The news that RBS, the bank that the UK government is still a majority shareholder and was saved from instant destruction in the 2008 crash, is about to thank many of the taxpayers who saved it by giving them the sack Royal Bank of Scotland to move hundreds of jobs to India - BBC News is one of those stories that adds another straw onto the back of that poor camel. But someone has to sacrifice their income to pay for those bank bonuses.

Trump recognised the anger that such demonstrations of 'globalisation' can bring about and the brexit vote similarly planted a red flag in the sand and you might have thought politicians would take note. May could yet win a few brownie points by using her influence to persuade RBS to revoke this decision.

But it won't happen, the recent election demonstrated how much she cares for Joe Bloggs in the pub and just too many alligators biting her bum at the moment. One wonders why she wanted the job in the first place, I certainly wouldn't.

Novocastrian

Is there any possibility that you might one day make a post uncluttered by tortured clichés?

dave_j

Nope.

Steve_

My point was it would be some sort of interim measure, I can't see the UK being an EEA state generally.

But they can't stop the UK from joining EFTA and doing it the Swiss way. And Switzerland signed up for the whole of Schengen thus guaranteeing freedom of movement, the UK didn't.

There has to be a show of some massive loss to the UK so the EU can say they won and the UK has to get something out of it to say they won. But the Swiss contribute to the European budget.

In reality, they're both going to lose and no-one wins.

The reason I'm pretty sure I'm right is because Switzerland voted to leave Schengen, so there is a lot of pressure on the Commission to come up with some sort of agreement with the Swiss, so in that context, they can't really not do the same thing for the UK.

JamesM

Theresa May sinking faster than the titanic

Shakyuk

Maybe India can bail them out next time? Nothing says thank you to the tax payer like removing their job and their tax from the government coffer.


Globalisation was a buzzword for free trade and interdependence of nations. It's still sold as that but in reality it's a way of taking jobs from the west to maximise the super rich's profit. The west suffers, the east get exploited whilst the rich sit back and cream even more cash. What a time to be alive.

Novocastrian

Anna Soubry has a wonderful knack of speaking truth to power.

Shard

She certainly does.

dave_j

Is the Fat Lady still singing?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...n-commissioner
I think she is.. and getting fatter by the day whilst the EU bureacracy looks as though their gravy train could at last derail at the Brexit Junction, methinks they doth protest just a little too loudly.
It could cost the UK a few quid, but the potential prospect of starvation rations in the Berleymont canteen could give the EU commissioners an ulcer and temper their outrageous outpourings, it just takes a poker face to bet on the UK pocket rockets against the EU ducks.

JamesM

They charge charge the UK the difference to remain in the single market. $20 billion is not a lot of money once divided up all the member states either.

Anyway as mentioned "Brexit" is on it's last legs now. It'll be dead this time next year.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics...reverse-brexit

Almost Canadian

Didn't Corbyn fire one of his ministers because she didn't agree with "his" position that the UK has to leave the single market? That being the case, if the UK's two main parties agree that the UK has to leave the single market, what option is there other than Brexit?

Novocastrian

He doesn't have any ministers. He fired 3 shadow cabinet members. He's smart and just keeping his powder dry.

Shard

How about the option of not leaving and not "Brexiting"? I don't find that the politicians are really clear on what to do or say. Prior to the referendum the vast majority (80%) were anti-Brexit, but given the result, they were forced to "accept the will of the people" whether it made sense or not. On the surface, for the sake of headlines and publicity, they are all making clear that "Britain is leaving" and that the "respect the democratic will of the people"...but politicians are fickle creatures, and if the general mood goes against Brexit, the political response will mutate into a pseudo Brexit.

The question is will the mood shift. Certainly some of the issues that were only touched upon in the run up to the referendum are now being explored in a bit more detail. UK reliance on EU workers, for instance, the value of the pound, the true negotiating strength of the UK with the USA (relative to EU and USA), jobs and supply chain, borders, etc.. Obviously, there are die hard Euro-sceptics, both of the informed and non-informed variety, and they will not change their opinions. However, one year on, doubts are starting to creep into the national debate, and the youth vote has woken up, so the mood may well shift. During this time the (self preserving) politicians need to walk a tight rope in order not to alienate the either side. My two centimes.

Almost Canadian

If you say so. It seems to be that the electorate were asked if they wished to leave. They answered "yes". Now some wish to discuss what was meant by that answer but, to me, it seems clear notwithstanding the fact I may not like the result.