So quick on the heels of Sunderland, another pro-Brexit area are to receive their [url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47282603reward[/url

I realise it's more to do with the recent E.U. / Japan trade deal, however our glorious government has been warned enough times about all the uncertainty this whole fiasco is causing.

We should have a whole new thread on the effects of "going green".
Diesel cars are a huge no, no and this is the main reason for the motor companies streamlining their operations.

However, with all of the uncertainty around Brexit, they have an easy "out" and who can blame them.

It's worth remembering that these decisions take a while to filter through and although there is little doubt that diesel sales have hit the proverbial wall at speed, if you factor in just how difficult it is for manufacturing companies to make plans, it's not too difficult to see why there is already an exodus.

It's bloody hilarious (not) hearing the government "adverts" asking whether businesses are prepared for life after 29th March. However, just how much resource should companies use for their plans, when there is no direction from government on what is likely to happen.

We've seen the publicity stunt of a "few" lorries parked in a field in Kent but, if that is the extent of government planning, we're in for some "fun".

I'd like someone to tell the masses, what happens on 30th of March with no deal.

Can we import goods from countries where there isn't a trade deal in place (I assume this would revert to WTO terms) and what happens to any goods in transit (either leaving or entering the UK), especially goods coming over from Ireland ??

How the hell can ANYONE make a plan with so much still up in the air, it's pure madness.

But we'll be alright ?? No cliff edge ??

The "safest" way to prepare is to temporarily "shut down" any manufacturing and wait and see what actually happens but, this might just leadto a few empty shelves, oh dear...……………...

So, now we have a new 'centrist party opposed to Brexit'. That'll sort this mess out!

Indeed, it just muddies the waters a little further, although, it will be interesting to see who else defects from the 2 main parties. If it remains with those 7, they will quickly be consigned to the history books.

On a side note but, certainly topical, Labour have "welcomed" back Mr Derek Hatton. They continue to take more and more steps to the left and with the Tories moving as far right as they can, there is a void in the centre ground of politics.

Wonder if Teflon Tony will be making a comeback ?

Interestingly, some of them claim to have defected - to a private company mind you, not a party, so they are not subject to electoral laws around transparency of funding etc - because of racism; and on the same day they launched, 14.28% of their MP's turned out to be massive racists.

I expect Luciana Berger to appear on all media today, condemning racist behaviour towards all those of a "funny tinge," and Mike Gapes to resign in protest - perhaps to an Even More Independent Group.

It's pathetic - particularly given that they are now holding their constituents hostage by refusing to call by-elections; they are all in favour of a People's Vote - but not that kind of people or that kind of vote?

There is a certain irony when one of the reasons given for the "split" is antisemitism and then as you point out Angela Smith used a phrase which is altogether worse.

As for the funding issues, I think this will become clear as they see just who is joining their "crusade".
If they dont gather a significant number of other MP's to join their "movement", they will very quickly disappear into the political wilderness.

Regarding "holding their constituents to ransom", I dont recall too many defectors, from any of the political parties calling by elections in the past, when they've swapped sides.

Indeed the "gang of 4" didn't put themselves up for re re election when the SDP was formed and there are plenty of instances of MP's becoming "independents" during the course of Parliament.

Comparing these minnows to the SDP seems incongruous, but you're right - and [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2xqgT5mtd0Tony Benn[/url dealt with them better than I ever could.

How many MPs who have become independents or changed party have submitted to an immediate by-election in the past? I bet you can count the numbers on the fingers of one elbow. Labour welcoming Hatton back is another example of shooting yourself in the foot. If Galloway returns next I’ll start to suspect the party has been infiltrated by undercover Conservatives. Anyway, back on topic I’ve been involved with a lot of “EU-Exit” planning recently in the NHS. A heck of a lot of work is going into planning for no deal. Be assured if it is no deal then things could get very messy indeed. Lots of scenarios are being explored that fall into immediate, short, medium and long term. As for how it may affect RL and other sports this guidance is worth a read. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/organisatio ... l-scenario

How many MPs who have become independents or changed party have submitted to an immediate by-election in the past? I bet you can count the numbers on the fingers of one elbow. Labour welcoming Hatton back is another example of shooting yourself in the foot. If Galloway returns next I’ll start to suspect the party has been infiltrated by undercover Conservatives. Anyway, back on topic I’ve been involved with a lot of “EU-Exit” planning recently in the NHS. A heck of a lot of work is going into planning for no deal. Be assured if it is no deal then things could get very messy indeed. Lots of scenarios are being explored that fall into immediate, short, medium and long term. As for how it may affect RL and other sports this guidance is worth a read. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/organisatio ... l-scenario

I know a fair few people who have rejoined Labour since Corbyn was elected leader. I don't know anyone who has left. Membership has boomed under Corbyn, so perhaps the magnificent 7 should consider those who voted them in.

I’m starting to wonder if we’ve already had “peak Corbyn”.

28 days until EU Exit. It’s going to be very interesting to see how things develop for both main parties. Could be more splits on the cards.

Tony Benn was always a good listen and it will be interesting to see if Hilary Benn joins the "breakaway". It does look like there will be more to follow.
Labours membership may well have risen substantially under Corbyn but, he fails to lead on the major issues.
Fundamentally he is a Eurosceptic and his lack of leadership over the EU membership is cringeworthy. Yes, he's been quick to try and play the workers rights card and he is right to do so but, I've yet to hear him talk about membership of the EU as a positive and dont actually think this is his position and sadly, much like so many of the Tory rebels, he is manly concerned with sitting in the big char, behind the desk at No 10, rather than saying what he really thinks.

Despite the Labour membership seemingly being in favour of a "peoples vote" he hasn't got the balls to play this card, due to it potentially being toxic and had HE really thrown his political weight behind "Remain", maybe we would never have ended up in the current mess.

Labour could have a million members but if it can’t get elected what’s the point? It needs to actually be in government if it wants to improve people’s lives. In order to do that it needs to appeal to more than just the left of the party. With the Tories heading ever more rightwards there is an opportunity to gather support from the middle but this looks to have been lost.

Although I have plenty of empathy with Corbyn's natural position I am aghast that the Tories are still, according to some research, ahead in the polls. they should have been confined to the history books. My earlier post was a comment against those splitters using the democracy argument. I think Corbyn is a thoroughly decent person who has done more for equality & anti-racism in his dinner break than most of the Tory party have in their lifetimes. But if he can't destroy the Tories in the current climate I am not sure when he ever will.

It’s easy to think that Corbyn and Labour should be storming ahead given the state of the country and the mess the Tories are in but I think outside our circle of pinkos he and Labour just aren’t liked or trusted by enough people to get them elected. There are probably loads of reasons for that. Some of it deserved some definitely not. He could win the Nobel Peace Prize and still not get elected. Like you I think he’s a decent man but I’m less sure about some of the people who are his advisors or those anti semites who troll it up on social media. He could’ve got a grip on that debacle ages ago if he’d been a bit tougher.

Both parties have some pretty awful people in their grassroots and it appears they’re having more influence now.

I think the current climate is more likely to produce a hung parliament for some time. Both main parties are divided. First past the post means that a 3rd “centre-ist” party is only likely to have a say as junior partner to one of the big two.

On Brexit Labour is hamstrung by the MPs that are wanting to do right by their leave voting constituents. They’re smaller in number than the Conservative head bangers. I still believe that if he or Cooper comes up with a Norway style option at the eleventh hour it could command a majority as that has to be preferable to no deal.

Corbyn just doesn't have a fraction of the smarm of Blair which most floating voters go for. Most people snort in disgust when Corbyn's name is mentioned. When you challenge that you find there is little substance to it, just repeated slaughtering in the press. I don't think antisemitism is a big thing, or a thing at all, in the parliamentary LP. Not a fraction of the generic racism of the Tory party. Plenty of people 'like' T May. When you challenge that there is little depth. She's just middle England who stands for nothing but the status quo, gets photo'd outside church every Sunday.

Corbyn also has a problem with older voters who can remember the 98% top rate of income tax etc.
This was tried and yet spectacularly failed.
It makes great headlines telling the masses that we're going to Nationalise the utilities and rail etc and although some of the companies make hefty profits, which line the pockets of the top brass these conglomerates . The reality of those same companies in the public sector wasn't efficiently run, profitable companies, pumping back huge profits to update their infrastructure, many were inefficient lumbering outfits that were barely fit for purpose.
On the flip side, the so called competition between suppliers, never quite materialised and some of them seem to work as huge cartels, with little benefit to their long suffering customers.

An 8th MP has quit Labour to join the revolution.
They've been whinging for over 3 years, and decide to now do what everyone knew they were going to do, on the eve of the most pivotal moment in 50 years.

Looking at the voting history of some of these people, they hardly seem the most progressive, and transparent people in parliament.

Excellent news Derek Hatton re-joining the Labour Party. All they need now is Galloway and Scargill to return. Obviously these people would contribute massively to a modern forward thinking Labour Party.

Brilliant, insightful comment as ever Backwardsman. What the country really needs is a progressive, forward thinking politician from the Middle-ages, like Jacob Rees-Mogg, to hold it to ransom.
You are like a privatised bus service, nothing turns up for weeks, then a knackered, out of date old banger crawls out.

Not just great headlines - when policies like that are actually given oxygen, they're hugely popular amongst voters; and the water issue in particular has been tested by serious financial journalists, and proven to be affordable.

My issue with Corbyn and genuine Labour MP's more broadly, is that the MSM is so stacked against them, that we rarely see grown up discussions about their ideas and policies - so lots of people form a view based on personal smears or lies; the antisemitism circus is the most mendacious example - with facts proving that a vanishingly small number of Labour members have been guilty of antisemitism, that incidents are dramatically lower than they were under Tony Blair, and that there is a bigger problem on the right - not to mention the institutional Islamophobia that exists in the Tory party - but never seems to get any attention in the media.

To suggest that Corbyn himself is anti-Semitic is beyond ridiculous - but so long as criticism of the apartheid government of Israel is spun as antisemitism - even to the point that Jews who oppose the brutality against the Palestinians are labelled as self-hating, or the wrong kind of Jew, then we're going to be stuck in a situation where anyone who wants to score cheap points against JC or Labour, can trot out that line and it goes unchallenged by most of the media.

Wouldn't it be interesting to see an election campaign run based on policies and facts, rather than personalities, spin and whomever has the most effective command of a Facebook algorithm?

It would but it'll never happen.

Until Labour accept that and deal with it I just can’t see them winning a general election. That frustrates me.

Blair understood what he needed to do to get elected. They stole the Tory’s clothes by mirroring their spending plans. They set up a rapid rebuttal unit to deal with the smears and lies. They also had front benchers that could communicate well and appeal to the interviewers and agenda setters in the MSM. It’s a game Labour now seem unable or unwilling to play Corbyn. Take the remark that McDonnell made about Churchill the other week. He walked right into that. It shows he’s either naïve or not bothered. Either way it all adds fuel to the fire that Labour supporters then complain about when they get a raw deal in the MSM.

If they can't get this right how can they run the country? That's what people will be thinking. It doesn't matter that the Tories are making a mess, Labour have to show they can do better and they can only begin to do that if they get the presentation right.

The difficulty for labour is that they are saying EXACTLY the same as they were 2+ years ago about listening and rooting out anti-Semitic issues etc
Corbyn may not be of this persuasion but, as leader, HE has to deal with it and he has chosen not to.
You may know why this is but, much like his views on the EU, he prefers to sit on the fence and hope that he can seize power without publicly tackling these issues.

How are you feeling about the "magnificent 7 (11)". If this movement continues to grow, which looks likely, it's going to make both of the main parties nervous ?

Many thanks for your kind comments. I also share your dismay at accusations directed towards Corbyn. It’s a complete mystery how jezza could be anti-Semite when he is friends with hezbollah and hamas. Regarding his prospects of forming the next government. I agree with you jezza should be well ahead of the polls. He is surely on a winner with socialism a tried and tested formula. The people of Venezuela as they leave the country speak loudly and clearly regarding socialism. Hopefully jezza will come good in the end. So we will get to see Diane Abbott and david lammy in power cheered on by that little scamp Owen Jones. What a mouth watering prospect. Anyway keep the red flag flying and up the workers.

HOUSE!

Cheers Backwoodsman.

You’re the dream ticket for those of us who like to play a game of ‘Racist Moron Bingo’.

quote="Backwoodsman"...Corbyn...socialism...Venezuela...'"