NO-GO day was meant to be yesterday.
This was the moment at which the principal purpose of government was meant to shift to getting this country ready for leaving the EU, regardless of whether there was deal or not.
The Department For Exiting The EU wanted November 30 but No10 argued that a more vague deadline of late November/ early December was better.
They thought that this would give more time to tell whether full-on “no-deal” preparation was necessary or not.
But now No 10 is indicating that it wants to hold off until after the meaningful vote in Parliament on December 11.
This is deeply irresponsible.
Those inside the machine estimate that it would take four months of intense preparations to get this country into a place where it could make no deal manageable.
So, by waiting until after the meaningful vote, the Government is denying itself valuable time.
I am told that new Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay, who will update Cabinet on no-deal preparedness on Tuesday, is frustrated at the foot- dragging by No 10. A growing number of other ministers share this concern.
Theresa May, of course doesn’t want no deal. She wants Parliament to approve the deal she has negotiated.
But, right now, it is hard to see how it passes.
The DUP have said they won’t vote for it, denying the Government its majority, and 64 Tory MPs have declared they will vote against it — suggesting the Government is on course for a heavy defeat.
“It is increasingly difficult to see what rescues this,” said one of those charged with getting it through.
Given that if the withdrawal agreement is defeated and nothing is put in its place then this country leaves the EU without a deal, it is foolish not to massively intensify planning for that outcome.
At every point since the referendum, the Government has put off crucial decisions on no-deal planning.
This has weakened the UK’s negotiating position and means the UK is now ill-prepared for what Mrs May admits is one of the three most likely outcomes.
The situation is so serious that one member of the Privy Council told me this week that the military should be drafted in to help.
This former Cabinet minister’s argument was that only the military had the logistical know-how to ensure that critical supplies make it all around the country in time.
May still hasn’t given up on getting the withdrawal agreement through Parliament.
But there is little sign of a decisive shift in her favour.
Cabinet ministers are still talking in terms of the scale of defeat, rather than of victory.
The expectation among ministers is that if May loses the vote by 40 or less, she will seek clarification on the backstop and then try and bring it back to the Commons.
But, as one leading member of the Cabinet warns, May will have to move fast.
If she loses the meaningful vote she “could face the 48 letters and a vote of no confidence in short order”.
Renters beat the treasury
THE Housing Secretary, James Brokenshire, has scored a significant victory over the Chancellor.
Brokenshire wanted to reduce the maximum deposit that renters would have to pay from six weeks’ rent to five.
The idea was that this would be fairer on tenants who must find the money for the deposit up front. But Philip Hammond objected.
The Chancellor wrote to Cabinet colleagues that “I cannot agree to the proposed concession to lower the deposit cap from six weeks’ rent to five weeks’ rent.
“Six weeks’ rent was already placing landlords at risk of uncovered loss for damage to property, as well as risk of loss of rent.
“This bill was always a high- risk measure. A cap of six weeks’ rent was already a major concession and I believe we have to hold the line at this level.”
However, Hammond’s objections have not carried the day. The Government will now back reducing the deposit cap to five weeks for all but the most expensive properties.
One of the Tories’ biggest problems is being seen as the landlords’ party. Hammond himself declares rental income of more than £10,000.
In 2010, the Tories were more popular than Labour among those who rented in the private sector.
But at the last election, Labour had a 23-point lead over the Tories among private renters.
The Tories won’t win these voters back by dragging their feet on measures that make life easier for tenants.
Labour plotting early election
SENIOR Labour figures are plotting a route to an early General Election that doesn’t involve having to get two thirds of the Commons to vote for it.
One close ally of Jeremy Corbyn in the Shadow Cabinet tells me that the plan would be to defeat the Government in a confidence motion if the Government loses the meaningful vote.
The idea would be to persuade the DUP to join with Labour and the other opposition parties in voting against the Government. This would result in a narrow defeat for Theresa May.
At that point, the Fixed Term Parliament Act allows 14 days for the Commons to approve an alternative government.
In these circumstances, no government could be approved – the DUP wouldn’t actively put Corbyn into No 10 while no Tory leader could be elected in that time who would meet the DUP’s requirements on the backstop.
The result of all this would be that with Parliament deadlocked, there would have to be another General Election.
How realistic the Labour front bench consider this scenario is crucial. For there is mounting tension in the Shadow Cabinet about whether or not Labour should formally back a second referendum.
At the moment, Labour’s policy is to push for a General Election above all else.
But this week, John McDonnell – the Shadow Chancellor – admitted that securing a General Election was “very difficult” so the party may well back a second referendum instead.
Four Brexit scenarios revealed
TORY party donors have received a letter from party HQ defending the deal that Theresa May has negotiated.
Attached to the letter is a rather revealing document setting out why “the backstop is needed in all scenarios”.
It lists four future scenarios for UK/EU relations – a Canada-style trade deal, EEA membership, a UK/EU customs union and the UK being in both the customs union and the single market.
Three of these four options would be deemed unacceptable by most Brexiteer MPs.
WHEN the then Culture Secretary Matt Hancock scrapped Leveson 2, the next stage of the inquiry into the Press, critics claimed that either Parliament or the courts would force him into a U-turn.
But the key votes in the Commons were won, and this week the courts rejected the appeal for a judicial review of the decision.
With Labour having gone cold on Section 40, which would have forced newspapers to sign up to a state regulator or pay both sides’ costs in disputes, the freedom of the Press remains.
The challenge now is never to allow it to be threatened in this way again.
- James Forsyth is political editor of The Spectator
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/no10-need-more-time-to-tell-whether-full-on-no-deal-preparation-is-necessary/
News Pictures No10 need more time to tell whether full-on ‘no-deal’ preparation is necessary
You don’t have to pack away your bikini just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!
TEENS
Hayden Panettiere
Size: 8
Age: 18
Height: 5ft 1in
Weight: 8st
To achieve her kick-ass figure, Hayden – who plays cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes – follows the ‘quartering’ rule. She eats only a quarter of the food on her plate, then waits 20 minutes before deciding whether she needs to eat again.
Hayden says: “I don’t have a model’s body, but I’m not one of those crazy girls who thinks that they’re fat. I’m OK with what I have.”
Nicollette says: “I don’t like diets – I see it, I eat it! I believe in eating healthily with lots of protein, vegetables and carbs to give you energy.”
kim cattrall
Size: 10-12
Age: 52
Height: 5ft 8in
Weight: 9st 4lb
SATC star Kim swears by gym sessions with Russian kettle bells (traditional cast-iron weights) and the South Beach Diet to give her the body she wants. To avoid overeating, Kim has a radical diet trick – squirting lemon juice on her leftovers – so she won’t carry on picking.
Kim says: “I am no super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/TM-comp-politics.jpg?strip=all&w=490
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий