OT. The futures Bright, the Futures Brexit!!!

[swaledale]

She succeded. She made it legal that parliament is King.
She never saw that one bblow up in her face and neither did the other squealers

Erm that was the whole point of her action! Mm some people should just keep quiet!

[swaledale]

Why do nations sometimes lurch into spectacular acts of self-destruction? A strange fervour that seized the Xhosa people of South Africa in the 1850s may shed some light on Brexit

In South Africa in April 1856, a Xhosa girl named Nongqawuse went out to scare birds away from the crops. She returned to her family with a strange tale. She had met three spirits who had an urgent message to pass on to her people: all their cattle should be slaughtered and their crops destroyed. If these instructions were followed, the ancestors of the Xhosa would rise from the dead, drive the white settlers from their lands and replace the slaughtered cattle with new herds.
As the blood of the slaughtered beasts flowed and the crops burned, large enclosures were prepared for the arrival of the magnificent new herds promised by the spirits and great skin sacks made to hold their abundant milk.

A date for the promised wonders to occur had been set by the spirit voices: 18 February 1857, when the rising of a red sun would herald the miraculous transformation. As the day dawned, crowds gathered in eager anticipation of the glorious return of their ancestors.

Their failure to appear was met with confusion and dismay. It rapidly became clear that the Xhosa had rendered themselves utterly destitute, and the people were soon reduced to digging roots and eating what they could salvage from the rotting carcasses of their slaughtered herds.

In 2016 the Brexiters, channelling ancestral voices of their own, urged us to make a leap of faith in defiance of a mountain of expert evidence as to its likely impacts. Many people were inclined to believe their assurances that a brave new world awaited us after we’d well and truly burned our EU boats. Others seemed to feel – perhaps like the Xhosa – that their lives had become so insecure and impoverished that they had little to lose by taking a leap into the dark.

Like the Xhosa’s spirit guides, the Brexiters have refused all suggestion that a less drastic version of their magical transformation might be possible. Those pointing out that tens of thousands of jobs have already been destroyed and that much worse is to come are dismissed as faint-hearted advocates of “Project Fear”.

While the people of the UK are not yet obliged to survive on weeds and rotting carcasses, there are many signs that an economic catastrophe is looming. The miraculous mountains of cash – advertised on Brexit buses and in countless interviews – are no more likely to materialise than the herds of fat cattle promised to the Xhosa.

My guess is that Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson will be remembered in rather the same way as Mhlakaza and Nongqawuse are remembered by the Xhosa people of today – as false prophets who induced mass delusion and an act of spectacular national self-immolation.

[swaledale]

So another lie from Johnson "Te time is past when we can do a deal" Somehow think a deal, though it will be a poor one economically disaster for the Uk, wil be magicked up from nowhere within a month and the clown in No 10 will claim its "world beating"!

[MadAmster]

Any truth in the rumour that the huge lorry park just outside Dover is to named "Farage Garage"

[ramAnag]

Any truth in the rumour that the huge lorry park just outside Dover is to named "Farage Garage"

Indeed there is MA.
All seems a bit like DCFC, to be just going from bad to worse. I honestly can’t remember being so despondent about the nation’s future since the early eighties.

[swaledale]

Indeed there is MA.
All seems a bit like DCFC, to be just going from bad to worse. I honestly can’t remember being so despondent about the nation’s future since the early eighties.

I wouldn't worry too much, rA, we won't leave without a deal, though it will be a piss poor one compared to remaining in the Customs Union, but hey the perception of sovereignty is apparently worth more having hassle free interaction between Europe and us!

[ramAnag]

Sorry Swale, I’d love you to be right, but I’m just listening to Gove on the ‘Marr Show’...Jesus wept...and he’s more cohesive that bumbling Boris.

[swaledale]

Sorry Swale, I’d love you to be right, but I’m just listening to Gove on the ‘Marr Show’...Jesus wept...and he’s more cohesive that bumbling Boris.

I wouldn't believe a word they say, they certainly dont!

[ramAnag]

With Cummings and Cain apparently on their way - and not before time - what does this suggest about Brexit?

A change of strategy acknowledging that now is not the time to embark on ‘going it alone’ or a case of ‘job done’?

If it’s the former, doubtless it’ll lead to more thoughts from the ‘King of Europe’ and his ghoulish image dominating our screens again.

[swaledale]

With Cummings and Cain apparently on their way - and not before time - what does this suggest about Brexit?

A change of strategy acknowledging that now is not the time to embark on ‘going it alone’ or a case of ‘job done’?

If it’s the former, doubtless it’ll lead to more thoughts from the ‘King of Europe’ and his ghoulish image dominating our screens again.

Well he is leaving at Christmas, so not a change of strategy, (always assume they had one other than leave the EU!) he finds the process of Government boring (you know the tedium of actually dealing with real issues and delivering solutions) as against campaigning whereby if you pump out enough lies there is more than half a chance that the gullible within a population will believe them.

Then as we see with Trump, despite 4 years whereby he has shown not to have delivered what he promised to the blue collar workers (the return of manufacturing jobs, etc.) but has delivered tax cuts and benefits for the rich, and then without evidence (and indeed before the election actually started) waffled on about votes being stolen the dumb ****s still believe him!

As for Brexit, as I posted before, we will reach a deal, an infinitely poorer one than we could have reached months ago, but it will be spun by Johnson and the Tories as an amazing one. Then the Brexiteers will celebrate the Uk shooting itself in both feet as a triumph!

[Geoff Parkstone]

rA "With Cummings and Cain apparently on their way - and not before time - what does this suggest about Brexit?"

To me it suggests nothing about Brexit. It suggests people moving on in life, reviewing their work life balance, considering career options.

I k ow I did a number of times and I imagine you did too. I can't somehow imagine you stuck in the same school for 25vyears?

[Andy_Faber]

With Cummings and Cain apparently on their way - and not before time - what does this suggest about Brexit?

A change of strategy acknowledging that now is not the time to embark on ‘going it alone’ or a case of ‘job done’?

If it’s the former, doubtless it’ll lead to more thoughts from the ‘King of Europe’ and his ghoulish image dominating our screens again.

I think you might be getting your hopes up about any change in path. My man (well, bag-carrier) on the inside (and yes Swale, if you are reading this, I DO have someone who walks the stinking halls of Whitehall and occasionally DS and who shares the odd titbit), there are dozens of folk of Cummings' ilk (OK maybe not all so evil-looking) to pick up whatever baton he may be dropping. Other hate-figures will appear from the woodwork in due course...

[ramAnag]

rA "With Cummings and Cain apparently on their way - and not before time - what does this suggest about Brexit?"

To me it suggests nothing about Brexit. It suggests people moving on in life, reviewing their work life balance, considering career options.

Really? Seems odd to me that two individuals who played such a part in the ‘Leave’ campaign and hold/held such extraordinary and unelected power within government should choose now to depart.
Surely if the deal is done they’d want to be around to ‘celebrate’ it and if it isn’t they’d need to be around to get it over the line.
Not given to conspiracies but something seems to be going on.

[Andy_Faber]

Really? Seems odd to me that two individuals who played such a part in the ‘Leave’ campaign and hold/held such extraordinary and unelected power within government should choose now to depart.
Surely if the deal is done they’d want to be around to ‘celebrate’ it and if it isn’t they’d need to be around to get it over the line.
Not given to conspiracies but something seems to be going on.

Did you not work in the public sector for a while? There's ALWAYS something going on!

[swaledale]

Really? Seems odd to me that two individuals who played such a part in the ‘Leave’ campaign and hold/held such extraordinary and unelected power within government should choose now to depart.
Surely if the deal is done they’d want to be around to ‘celebrate’ it and if it isn’t they’d need to be around to get it over the line.
Not given to conspiracies but something seems to be going on.

Ok rA why do they need to be around to get it over the line? Anyway as I've pointed out Cummins will be there to get it over the line as he doesn't leave until Christmas, it will be signed sealed and delivered by then! The guy who is leaving now Cain, is Director of Communications and this is partly due to the appointment of the Press Secretary and partly due to tension within No 10 about the power that Cain had as Johnson's most trusted aide.

Those two were really only interested in the "project" which was Brexit.

Your right something is going on, Brexit is nearly done unless you can enlighten me as to how that isn't the case? As I've said before a deal will be done we will leave on 31 December. Not sure the architects need to be in their current posts to celebrate that, in fact it might be in their interests to be paddling away from the "scene of the crime" before reality strikes!


When he became PM, Johnson promptly installed Cummings as the most powerful aide in No 10, and appointed a large number of Cummings’ Vote Leave colleagues to run policy, and everything else, in Downing Street. In many respects it was a Vote Leave administration more than a Conservative administration. Cummings has never been liked by the party he was a means to an end, that end has been achieved, unless you can come up with a scenario whereby Brexit won't happen?

Of course Johnson has to shift the agenda, as a government largely elected on Brexit, he needs to try and get through Covid-19 and re*****ise the party before he gets shafted by the Tory grandees, which is likely to happen long before the public get a chance to vote again.