By: Matt May 13, 2019
T-Minus 10 (Days) And Counting…
I'm not particularly good with calendars. I can have a date in my mind and remember it, but I'm never really completely aware as to when that date actually is.
The European Elections are on the 23rd of May – miles away, right?
Nope, turns out they're next Thursday.
The reason why this hasn't particularly sunk in is that there seems to be a level of urgency within British politics akin to that of a cat, lying in a sunny spot on the kitchen floor, being asked to move so you can hoover.
This probably because any feeling of excitement towards it lies only in the Brexit Party – everyone else seems destined to suffer severe losses. Despite there being just ten days until the elections, the feeling isn't so much "roll up your sleeves" as it is "tie your own noose."
So, with the elections round the corner, what's been happening over the weekend?
The Gab Returns
Gavin Williamson, the former Defence Secretary who was sacked over the Huawei leaks, wrote in the Mail On Sunday that he thought that the cross-party talks with Labour were a "grave mistake." Warning that it could destroy the Conservative Party, his remarks came at a time where May's support was at an all-time low.
Yes, there are those who have consistently been furious with her for beginning the talks in the first place, but some of the more moderate Conservative MPs within her party are now also starting to lose patience with her and the process – we're ten days from the election, yet all that the Tories are doing is skirting around the edges of ideology with their sworn enemies.
It's not a good look.
Additionally, Sir Keir Starmer, Shadow Brexit Secretary and superbly-haired Labour Minister, came out over the weekend to say that even though talks would resume today, a breakthrough was unlikely. He also said that anything that was agreed would need to be ratified by a second referendum.
…Which May has sworn to never do. We've had six weeks of these talks and so far we've made all the progress of a Morris Minor doing the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
On Thursday, our battered and beleaguered PM meets with the 1922 Committee to explain exactly what her plan is and to spell out her timetable for leaving. This comes as the Times revealed today that current polls have the Tories at fifth place, behind the Lib Dems and the Greens, for next week's election.
I'd imagine that the meeting will be about as pleasant as a Saturday-afternoon Glastonbury toilet.
Feisty Farage Receives Barbed Barrage From The Beeb
Appearing on Andrew Marr's show on Sunday, Nigel Farage was keen from the outset to speak about the betrayal of the British people by the government. In fact, being old Nige, he was just keen to speak.
Marr, however, took the opportunity to ask him some pretty pertinent questions about his beliefs. He asked him about:
His views on immigration, climate change and gun control;
His previous admiration of Vladimir Putin;
The 'Breaking Point' poster he used for the referendum featuring non-EU asylum-seekers;
A health insurance system for the NHS, which Farage has previously supported (i.e. making the NHS more privatised);
And his quote that concern about global warming was "the stupidest thing in human history."
Which, of course, Farage avoided answering at all costs, except to say that he wasn't sorry about the 'Breaking Point' poster. In fact, Farage got pretty furious, and after the interview he called the BBC 'The Enemy.'
Leading Remainer commentators have called Farage out on this, saying that the second any of his views get challenged, he simply threatens to take the ball away and not to play any more rather than engage in discussion.
Their argument is that the Brexit party has no policy or strategy, but is just bluster and bluster alone – how would the Brexit party, for instance, govern the country if it stood in local elections?
To deny the impact and momentum of the party, however, would be a grave mistake – they are currently set to absolutely destroy the opposition at the ballot box come the 23rd…
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Weekly Wrap-Up – 03/05-09/05
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