Brexit Party misses first deadline to form political group in European Parliament
As the leader of an orphan party, Nigel Farage will be granted significantly less speaking time in the hemicycle.

Nigel Farage's Brexit Party has missed an initial deadline to be part of a political grouping in the European Parliament, meaning less funding and support staff, and less speaking time in the legislature for the leader himself.

The party can still join or form a group anytime throughout the legislature. But political groups had until Wednesday to submit their name and composition to the legislature's administration. Several Parliament officials said that Farage's former "Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy" group had not been added to the official list. "Farage and 5Star doesn't have a group," said one official, referring to Italy's 5Star movement which was also part of the EFDD.

Forming a group in the Parliament opens up funding, staff, and speaking time — and confers more influence in the legislature. If Farage doesn't form a group, he will no longer sit at the front of the hemicycle, share a secretary-general with other non-affiliated members and be granted significantly less speaking time than in the last Parliament.
https://www.politico.eu/article/brexit-p...ean-parliament/

Penner.

This quote from Jeremy Hunt reveals insanity of no-deal Brexit – Brian Wilson
One is spoilt for choice but I suggest the quote of the week to illustrate the surreal nature of the Tory leadership fiasco belongs to Jeremy Hunt, who is supposed to be the relatively sane one.

Mr Hunt told a hustings of Tory members: “I was at an amazing company just outside Kidderminster that manufactures steel wheels for offroad vehicles. They’ve got half the European market and employ 350 people. They have a four per cent margin so a ten per cent tariff on their products would wipe them out. So there would be an economic impact of no deal. If that was the only way to deliver Brexit then I’m afraid we have to do that because that is what people have voted for and we are a democracy first and foremost.”

Pause for a moment to contemplate the sheer monstrosity of that statement – which Mrs Thatcher in her pomp might have baulked at. A great company and 350 jobs are to be ”wiped out” on the altar of a “no deal” Brexit and he is boasting about it in the name of “democracy”.

Multiply that illogic by thousands. Take out Kidderminister and wonder about a place near you. Then the scale of this folly and subordination of consequences to dogma might register. Mr Hunt is not a fool. Perhaps it is worse. In order to compete for his audience, he has to pretend to be a fool – and a dangerous “out by 31 October” one at that.

The stakes could scarcely be higher and at some point Opposition parties must recognise that responsibility rests with them also if this lunacy is to be averted.
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/n...ilson-1-4956256

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/201...il-switzerland/

Das ist es: Hinter dem Wertegesülz verbergen sich ganz ordinäre Erpresser. Up yours, EU.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep2PuXu8fcY

Haha, Tony B. Liar's Spin Doctor Alastair Campbell - die Campbells waren immer eine üble Brut, wenn man in die Geschichte Schottlands und des Vereinigten Königreichs blickt - spricht über die Lügen der Brexiteers. Dass sich nicht der Boden aufgetan und ihn verschlungen hat, ist auch alles.

Are the wheels coming off Boris Johnson's bus?
The once-seemingly unstoppable PR campaign behind Johnson is faltering

It looked at one point as if it was all but certain that the Tory leadership contest would end in the “coronation” of Boris Johnson.

But as the frontrunner continues to struggle with the fallout from the Guardian’s revelations of a late night row with his girlfriend, coupled with some distinctly shaky interviews, questions are being asked about whether the once-seemingly unstoppable PR campaign behind Johnson is faltering, and whether the normally loquacious MP is truly “match fit” for the type of grillings expected in a race like this.
“I think at this point that you might actually be a bit worried from a public relations point of view that your candidate is not quite singing the tune you need him to,” said one expert on media communications who has also worked alongside Johnson in the past....

... Then there has been the continuing, and to some surprising, tough ride given to Johnson by sections of a normally supportive Tory Press, which includes the Telegraph, the title from which he has earned a £275,000 salary as a columnist.
On Tuesday, the paper splashed with the headline “Boris tries to keep the show on the road” as it and other titles all ran front-page pictures of the photograph of him and his partner Carrie Symonds released by Johnson’s campaign team as part of a PR strategy. ...

Perhaps more significantly, the Daily Mail carried a front-page display for a Jan Moir column titled: “Boris and the Mills & Boon scene that takes us all for fools.” Rather than put unanswered questions about the altercation to bed, new ones have arisen about the circumstances of the release of the image, which came without bylines or dates.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/201...Wut36aiogCNvS2A

Blind, mad or Blairite: UK will not survive politicians like these – Joyce McMillan
UK is beset by institutional blindness of Corbynism, denialist madness of Tory Brexitism and neoliberal Blairites

The British state faces a perfect storm that threatens its existence unless politicians come to their senses, stop the Brexit nightmare and embrace policies like the Green New Deal, writes Joyce McMillan.

... And this, of course, is where the crazed nostalgist tragedy of the Tories’ current obsession with Brexit – and hard Brexit at that – collides with the other current tragedy of UK politics: the failure of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, despite its strong engagement with many of the radical and urgently necessary ideas outlined above, to understand the institutional shape of the 21st century world in which they will have to be implemented, including the vital importance of the EU as a source of agreed supra-national legislation in a globalised world.
Between them, these twin failures – the institutional blindness of Corbynism, and the denialist madness of Tory Brexitism – have created a perfect storm for the British state, which many international commentators do not now expect it to survive.

Those of us who live here may have a clearer view, of course, of the close bonds and profound inertias that still keep the countries of the UK stumbling on together. Yet of this we can be sure: that if the UK does still exist in its present form in ten years’ time, it will not be because of some new jumble of initials financed by wealthy donors and dressed up as a centrist political party; but because one of its existing powerful political forces has come to its senses, pledged to put a stop to the nightmare of Brexit, and set the whole country on a new track that can rightly be recognised as progressive, creative, sustainable, and capable of offering its people some hope, at last, for a better common future.
https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/co...illan-1-4955486

Zitat von Willie im Beitrag #2706

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Blind, mad or Blairite: UK will not survive politicians like these – Joyce McMillan
UK is beset by institutional blindness of Corbynism, denialist madness of Tory Brexitism and neoliberal Blairites

The British state faces a perfect storm that threatens its existence unless politicians come to their senses, stop the Brexit nightmare and embrace policies like the Green New Deal, writes Joyce McMillan.

... And this, of course, is where the crazed nostalgist tragedy of the Tories’ current obsession with Brexit – and hard Brexit at that – collides with the other current tragedy of UK politics: the failure of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, despite its strong engagement with many of the radical and urgently necessary ideas outlined above, to understand the institutional shape of the 21st century world in which they will have to be implemented, including the vital importance of the EU as a source of agreed supra-national legislation in a globalised world.
Between them, these twin failures – the institutional blindness of Corbynism, and the denialist madness of Tory Brexitism – have created a perfect storm for the British state, which many international commentators do not now expect it to survive.

Those of us who live here may have a clearer view, of course, of the close bonds and profound inertias that still keep the countries of the UK stumbling on together. Yet of this we can be sure: that if the UK does still exist in its present form in ten years’ time, it will not be because of some new jumble of initials financed by wealthy donors and dressed up as a centrist political party; but because one of its existing powerful political forces has come to its senses, pledged to put a stop to the nightmare of Brexit, and set the whole country on a new track that can rightly be recognised as progressive, creative, sustainable, and capable of offering its people some hope, at last, for a better common future.
https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/co...illan-1-4955486

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EU Referendum: Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port factory 'will shut if Britain leaves Europe'
Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson's stark warning over 1,700 jobs at plant

Vauxhall will close its Ellesmere Port factory if Britain leaves Europe, it was today warned.

Nearly 1,700 jobs at the Cheshire plant are riding on the result of next week’s referendum, as Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson warned that production would be shifted to Spain or Germany.
He said it was “unrealistic” to think that General Motors, which owns Vauxhall, would maintain the Ellesmere Port plant if a Brexit vote led to new tariffs on British exports to Europe.

General Motors today refused to rule out potential closure, stating that Vauxhall was part of a “fully integrated European company” which benefited from the EU.
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liv...YeLGpkfyGiXhqvQ

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D-QLf5IXYAAi0F1.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D-QLX_TXkAECSzN.jpg

Boris Johnson ‘might never enter No 10’ if MPs withdraw support
Constitutional experts say new Tory leader could be blocked from becoming prime minister without a Commons majority

Boris Johnson could be stopped from becoming prime minister even if he is elected as the new Conservative leader, two of Britain’s leading constitutional experts have said.

With Tory MPs threatening to withdraw support for the party under his stewardship, Johnson is warned that he could be prevented from ever entering Downing Street should it become clear he cannot command a majority in the House of Commons.

It is the latest sign of the parliamentary crisis that could face Johnson upon his election. It risks involving the Queen in politics and could pull Theresa May back into the Brexit impasse; as the incumbent prime minister, she will be key in recommending to the palace who should be called to form the next government. ...

... One senior Tory said it was simply a statement of reality that Johnson would struggle to form an administration. However, he predicted that Johnson would be allowed to do so at the end of July, but would be likely to face a no-confidence vote when MPs returned from summer recess. “It’s very probable that he will be able to set up an administration and the crunch in terms of his legitimacy won’t come until September,” he said.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/201...ithdraw-support

Boris Johnson: UK’s main parties face ‘political extinction’ without Brexit
Tories and Labour ‘will suffer considerably from an electorate that feels that they can’t trust politicians to deliver on their promises.’

https://www.politico.eu/article/boris-jo...without-brexit/

Manufacturers see worst decline in six and a half years as Brexit uncertainty, stockpiling reversal and weak demand hit the sector

UK manufacturers' downturn deepened last month as a mix of Brexit uncertainty, a reversal of the stockpiling seen in the run-up to the original 29 March exit date, and weak demand continued to hit the sector.
The latest IHS Markit/CIPS manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 48 in June from May's 49.4, its lowest reading in six and half years. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in activity.
The data drove the pound to a 10 day low, with sterling shedding half a cent against the dollar to $1.264. It was little changed against the euro at €1.116.

The manufacturing slump is partly a result of the stockpiling boost going into reverse after the original Brexit date was pushed back to 31 October, as well as weak demand at home and from abroad amid slower global growth.
'The downturn in UK manufacturing deepened during June, as the impact of firms unwinding stockpiles built before the original Brexit date continued to reverberate through the sector and exacerbate weak demand,' said Rob Dobson, director at IHS Markit.
'This led to solid decreases in both production and new orders, which sank the headline PMI to its lowest in almost six-and-a-half years.'
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news...5urWWYP0mSF64SE

Jeremy Hunt: I’m prepared to sacrifice people’s jobs ‘with a heavy heart’ to deliver Brexit
The Tory leadership hopeful says that 'with a heavy heart' he would sacrifice jobs to deliver a no-deal Brexit
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/jeremy...oq-jaF7gTVCR4Ko

Britische Industrieproduktion fällt auf tiefsten Stand seit 2013
Großbritanniens Wirtschaft schwächelt, der Index für das produzierende Gewerbe fällt den zweiten Monat in Folge - und liegt nun so tief wie seit Jahren nicht mehr.

Großbritanniens produzierendes Gewerbe schlittert womöglich in eine Krise. Ein entsprechender Branchenindex - der IHS Markit's PMI - ging im Juni den zweiten Monat in Folge zurück, auf einen Wert von 48 Punkten.
https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/untern...-a-1275280.html

The EU’s new trade deal with South America will put ‘global Britain’ to shame
A recent piece of news that largely passed under the radar, such is the UK’s Brexit obsession, was the fact that the EU and South American economic bloc Mercosur has clinched a huge trade deal after 20 years of negotiations.

It is the EU’s biggest deal to date and aims to cut or remove trade tariffs, making imported products cheaper for consumers while also boosting exports for companies on both sides.
The agreement is set to create a market for goods and services covering nearly 800 million consumers, making it the largest in the world in terms of population. It should be noted that the EU is already Mercosur’s biggest trade and investment partner.

A matter of days later, adding to the irony, the EU and Vietnam signed a long-awaited free trade deal that will slash duties on almost all goods.
Both these deals neatly highlight that the EU is one of the world’s great global trading powers, and follow recently concluded trade deals with Japan, South Korea and Canada.

As an EU member state the UK automatically benefits from 40 trade agreements the EU has in place with more than 70 countries. These are trade agreements that on leaving the EU the UK will have to renegotiate, in a world that is becoming increasingly protectionist.

So, while Brexiteers talk of a “global Britain” that will trade freely with the rest of the world, they will soon find out, to the detriment of us all, that not only will this take a considerable amount of time, but any terms agreed will not come close to being a match when compared with the benefits we currently enjoy as members of the EU.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/let...t-a8982716.html

Pensioner racially abused black woman in south London and told her ‘when Brexit comes, you will be gone’
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/pe...fnddXACZzNnwlx4

Brexit Party MEPs turn backs in EU Parliament
Brexit Party MEPs turned their backs during the EU's Ode To Joy anthem, while Lib Dem MEPs wore yellow "Stop Brexit" T-shirts on the first day of European Parliament.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said his 29 MEPs were "cheerfully defiant" and made their "presence felt".

Brexit Party MEP David Bull told BBC Radio 5 Live he and his colleagues turned their backs did so because it was a "federal anthem" and not a "national anthem".
"We were not turning our backs on our European friends and colleagues, we do not believe in a federal European state and an anthem is as symbol of that," he said.
"If it had been a national anthem we would have respected it. No-one in Europe has voted to have an anthem."

When asked by Emma Barnett whether he would be collecting a European Parliament pay cheque Mr Bull said: "I have submitted my bank details because we are working."
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-488...-wj0tPrNKDn7_1E

Comments:
What is the point of the Brexit Party MEPs being there? If they act like Farage has done as an MEP - they'll hardly be there at all over their term. If they hate the institution so much why don't they do the right thing - and resign - instead of taking a monthly paycheck !? Especially if we don't leave !

A number of MPs criticised the move on Twitter. Labour's Lilian Greenwood called the stunt "childish, disrespectful and damaging to our country's interests". Her colleague Luciana Berger called it "beyond pathetic".

Hunt: Brexit gain may come with much pain, writes ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston
Is it the country that has gone mad? Or just a majority of members of the Conservative party?

They are the questions that rattle around my brain as the self-styled “sensible” candidate in the Tory leadership campaign, Jeremy Hunt, tells me in an ITV interview it would serve democracy and save his party from possible extinction for the UK to leave the EU without a deal - even though he agrees with the Bank of England that the rupture from the EU could be almost as big a blow to our prosperity as the 2008 banking crisis, and he agrees with the Chancellor the shock could increase the national debt by £90bn and he agrees with the former Tory leader William Hague it could lead to Northern Ireland and Scotland breaking away from the UK. ...

... And Hunt, like Johnson, may - against the revealed evidence - be right that the EU will agree to give them the unilateral right they crave to withdraw from the backstop and associated membership of the customs union only if we prepare in deadly earnest for the kind of self-harm that would typically be associated with serious mental illness.

Or to put it another way, Hunt or Johnson would only secure a deal from EU leaders for an orderly Brexit that would secure ratification by MPs if we start whacking ourselves in the face with a very large stick, and keep shouting that we are ‘ard enough to endure much worse.

Yes, we may have reached peak bonkers in the history of the democratic west’s longest lived political party.

https://www.itv.com/news/2019-07-02/hunt...-robert-peston/

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t...7f6&oe=5D7F0194


https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t...1c2&oe=5D78F78D

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t...a1e&oe=5D79E2DF

😂

Boris Johnson slumps in the polls as British public say he would make a bad prime minister
Public perceptions of Boris Johnson have worsened in the past two weeks following revelations about his private life, with a clear majority of voters saying he would make a bad prime minister, according to a new poll.

A new poll by YouGov found that Johnson's rival Jeremy Hunt was now the clear public favourite to replace Theresa May as prime minister, of the two remaining candidates in the Conservative party leadership.

Overall, 41% of voters said they would prefer Hunt as prime minister, compared to just 29% who said Johnson.
https://www.businessinsider.com/poll-bri...SOr7aS3HKLtsTsM

Zitat von Willie im Beitrag #2720

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https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/65958362_2203858733057534_1711457146475905024_n.jpg?_nc_cat=1&_nc_eui2=AeGPdXM8nFfqbzSr4GzVW_Xejpg7YcKDCNR4Qo-SWVVwsYAjtc1nv8_Kb_cBMXGwxtOhWTh4O-FwT0Sh5i2midCydwCOtlaIAUsaloXF__x_Dw&_nc_oc=AQl74gq212MgHk5eAmmYPpNJOIbDxkjeUrFjn7lFQOJ20MTTxeL_Cag2L6CYYjZYHUk&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=76ddaf6b759e958d3175712f10b53a1e&oe=5D79E2DF

😂

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXrZv0fJmS4

Great speech - Britons never will be slaves.

UK breaking up would be 'regrettable' but price worth paying for Brexit, says Nigel Farage
Brexit Party leader says he has 'had enough' of 'threats' that Scotland could become independent if UK leaves EU without a deal

Several senior Conservatives, including Jeremy Hunt, have warned that leaving the EU without a deal would pose a major threat to the union, with Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's first minister, already ploughing ahead with plans for a second referendum on Scottish independence.

On Thursday, Ms May will warn Mr Hunt and his rival to be prime minister, Boris Johnson, that one of the "first and greatest" duties of the next prime minister must be strengthening the union.

But Mr Farage insisted that Brexit should be the "number one" priority - even if it means the UK breaking up.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po...lVAWnBUUgYxygNg

Future of British Union Becomes Battleground for No-Deal Brexit
Boris Johnson, the front-runner to replace Theresa May as British prime minister, said delivering Brexit would be key to keeping the U.K. together, just hours after May warned her successor not to put the union at risk with a no-deal Brexit.

A majority of rank and file Tory members would choose Brexit even if it meant abandoning the union, according to a YouGov poll in June. Asked if they’d stop Brexit if it led to Scotland and Northern Ireland breaking away from the U.K., 63% and 59% respectively said no.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...ng-u-k-together

Damit laeuft alles auf eine Explosion hinaus.