Originally posted by Satchmo Distel
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This would defeat the very purpose of the extension (ensuring that any Brexit would be orderly and creating space for possible revocation, while giving themselves more time to prepare) by giving the UK a gun to hold at the 27's head. The 27 also are very well aware that any such commitment by this government would be torched gleefully by the likes of Johnson or Raab. -
Up to a year says the EU.
In the last European elections UKIP came top withOver 6 million signed the petition.26.77 which was 4,376,635 votes
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The UK's Euroskeptic MEPs have barely done anything of import in the Parliament, because all they care about is the money and occasional grandstanding. The Italians have got far more done (or not done) when it comes to legislation. I don't see that changing much even if the vote swings heavily Brexit. There's just not much that one country's MEP's can do against the rest anyway.Comment
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Conversatiom with Leave Voter, yesterday:
DG: So do you think you might vote for another hard-working Green councillor?
LV: But you all voted Remain! It's a national humiliation etc etc
DG: Well even the Tories running the Council arent to blame for that?
LV: Oh I dont know what to do...you lot do work hard. I'm having second thoughts, voted Labour for 30 years before Tory since 2016...
DG: I'll mark you as Green possible then?Comment
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The problem is that the 6 million (and million on the streets) will have to vote Labour in those elections to get Remain MEPs in. Which is a bit tricky when the ground has been effectively salted by the FBPE-ers / PV organisation. (And the latter two groups would have to make a massive U-turn anyway.)Originally posted by Nefertiti2 View PostComment
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No they won't. The European parliament elections are done on PR.Comment
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I know. The choices are effectively Labour, Tory and UKIP. Who do the FBPE voters go for? The one they've been screaming is Hard Brexit for the last three years?Comment
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Like fuck is that the choice.Comment
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Aye. a big problem is the vote being proportionate but not transferable. LibDems, Greens and Tiggy's Stooges could get 10% each and not a seat between themComment
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If 6m people vote Lib Dem or Green or Change they'll get LD, Green or Change representatives. I wouldn't vote LD or Change if you paid me, but you can't pull the wasted vote argument here.Comment
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That'd be pretty extraordinary, DG. Greens got 4% of seats on 6% of the vote last time.Comment
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OK, I got a bit carried away there- and maybe I'm over-estimating how well the LibDems and Stooges will do.Originally posted by Etienne View Post
Some figures from 2014 (LibDem and Green vote combined)
East Anglia- 15% (no seats)
Yorkshire & Humberside- 14% (no seats)
North West- 13% (no seats)
East Midlands- 11% (no seats)
West Midlands- 11% (no seats)
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But I don't see May getting anything through Parliament between now and whatever new deadline is agreed. It's only the time pressure of April 12th that forced May to ask for negotiations with Corbyn, Remove that time pressure and she can just resume her "red lines".Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
If the calculus is that we might get a General Election and/or new PM, be careful what you wish for. The replacement might be even harder for the EU to manage.
Although there's no doubt that an extension beyond June 30 is going to cause a massive rumpus in the Tory party, it's not clear what emerges after and whether that will be containable.Comment
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As Etienne says, depending on the region, 10-15% of the vote will elect one MEP - so possible for Greens to do so in some areas, or a CUK/LD joint ticket in others.Originally posted by Snake Plissken View PostComment
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Really? For once I agree with DG, warts and all.
In many instances as he says, the vote's not transferable, so the chances of a wasted vote are much higher.
For me, the main impetus should be to keep out Ukip and their ilk, plus the usual Tory assholes.
The rest is almost immaterial.Comment
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Splendid trolling by Switzerland today, our Supreme Court has just voided a 2016 referendum (on taxation) for reason of "invalid information" in the official explanatory leaflets....
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Euros is a d'Hondt isn't it?Comment
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I specified a scenario in which the Greens, LibDems and Stooges stand separately (ie without a joint ticket). OK, my 10% example was too high but say they all got 7-8%. That's no seats and 20-25% of the national vote wasted.Originally posted by Diable Rouge View Post
Thanks for the warty confidence George
TT: aye, it's d'Hondt for the counting
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I would think the TIG and LD should do some sort of joint list given that a) they basically have the same policies and TIG have no infrastructure.Comment
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Could happen. While we wait for them to decide, the DUP and UUP will field their sitting MEPs if it goes ahead. Diane Dodds looked pissed off in interview but Jim Nicholson was chuckling. Rather oddly he uses his tractor to feed the chickensComment
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Yesterday, I did the equivalent of what Ad Hoc did a couple of weeks ago, and attended a UK citizens' meeting in Bratislava. We were addressed by the ambassador, a citizens' advisor (didn't catch if she was based in Bratislava, elsewhere in the region or in London), the head of the Slovak Foreign Police Department and an official from the Slovak Ministry of Employment and Social Security.
It was a 6-hour round-trip to hear what I already knew, which is basically that, even in the event of 'No Deal', my life can drift quietly and (mostly) inoffensively along, just as it has for the past 15 years. The Slovaks have been good to us. Partly out of their own national interest of course, there being around 80,000 Slovaks in the UK compared with 2,000 or so of us here, but it's still appreciated. The Foreign Police guy thus had the most positive message to deliver, but was still the most impressive of the speakers. He was right on top of his brief, made sincere-sounding promises to follow up the odd complaint, and was definite about not answering questions that weren't within his competence.
The citizens' advisor was equally sincere, but was still unable to answer half of the questions directed at her/deflected to her by the ambassador. This was no fault of hers, it was simply that, as in any group of people, everyone's situation is unique and specific to them. This confirmed two things. Firstly, that 'no deal' would be an utter disaster on so many levels, and that there must be hundreds of personal scenarios that no'one has yet foreseen. Secondly, that this young woman was clearly highly-skilled and intelligent, yet was in a situation that made her look less than impressive. In that she most definitely won't be alone. How many people like that must there be in the UK civil service / foreign service at present? How many promising careers is this whole ridiculous episode going to break?Comment
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heard that everyone is moved out of DfID and elsewhere. they are on 24 hour shifts. it's called being yellowhammered. (after Operation yellowhammer.)Comment
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Given that May has failed to prevent the long extension, what's her role now? Everyone in the Commons just ignores her until she quits and does a deal that she just nods through? New leader installed in the Tory conference who presumably calls an election?Comment
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I'm not sure the long extension is guaranteed.Comment
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