I Just got an email saying that, basically saying this petition is a waste of time
From whom?
Mind you itās not wrong, I mean, who would pay any attention to a mere 5.8 million people expressing an opinion - not the present government, thatās for sure.
In fact itās not even clear that any notice is going to be taken of the āIndicative Votesā - although there is the suggestion that May might not be able to do so, even if she wants to.
Thereās a copy posted by James in a parallel thread
So in essence May and her government should fuck off but on the way out they should get the 15 year voting rule changed because they did promise it in their manifesto and you must always stick to your manifesto pledges except of course the ones people now donāt agree with. Hmm, how does that work?
Oh, the government āresponseā - havenāt had it as an email personally but I saw it yesterday.
Iām already pretty pissed off about Brexit and every time I get told that it āmustā be implemented because of the referendum result or that 80% voting for a party promising to deliver on that result provided a fresh mandate I get just that little bit more angry.
It is well established that the referendum result is dodgier than a nine bob note given out by Delboy Trotter and as both the Labour party and the Tories stood on a manifesto promise to deliver the referendum result there wasnāt really a choice that the voters could have expressed at the ballot box. Yes, in theory, we could all have voted LibDem but in practice thatās not how politics works in the UK.
Given that neither gained a majority it cannot be said that there is a popular mandate to enact any given form of Brexit and much argument about how to do so even now - 2 furkin days from the original date of leaving.
All this stuff that is now going through parliament should have done so two years ago, before we triggered Article 50.
One would hope that she would heed this advice, but it appears tgat she listens to her husband more than anyone else.
With her track record for treating Parliament with such contempt one can only wait and see.
Perhaps if there is an outcome she finds distasteful she will go of her own accord.
When people say protests, petitions, etc, are a waste of time I often think of the story of Chinese Premier Zhou Enlaiās reply to Henry Kissingerās question, in 1971, about the effects of the French Revolution: Zhou said āIt is too early to tell.ā
I hate to say it but Andrea Leadsom had a point this morning in that most of the tabled āoptionsā (the ones Iāve seen are not well worded either) are to do with the future relationship - not with the withdrawal deal pre se and it is ratifying the WA that is the current sticking point.
The main options that are going to impact the current impasse would be no deal, Mayās deal, revocation of A50 or a further referendum. Most of the other stuff is just fluff at present.
Letās hope that this isnāt just choosing which fiddle music we want while the UK burns.
For any that might be interested, the Peopleās march have a website setup to petition your MP:
I will tell my mp to back a Peopleās Vote today
It wonāt be for everyone, but if you believe that a second referendum is the only way out of this mess then have a look.
I think Labourās position is that they could live with the Withdrawal Agreement if the Political Declaration is revised and key aspects like staying in a customs union are written into UK law now.
They see this as leading inevitably to a general election (and long Article 50 extension) which is of course their real goal - and I think theyāre right about this.
The interesting thing then would be whether they put a referendum on their new deal vs. remain in their manifesto.
Donald Tuskā¦x
āYou cannot betray the six million people who signed a petition to revoke Article 50, the one million people who marched for a peopleās vote, or the increasing majority of people who want to remain in the European Union. They may feel that they are not sufficiently represented by the UK parliament but they must feel that they are represented by you in this chamber because they are Europeans.ā
I am Europeanā¦ and that point I have been making to my friends and neighbours et alā¦(and the Ministre de lāIntĆ©rieur sent me a written reply to my email )
I am so glad this gentleman has actually come out and confirmed the factā¦ letās see what the EU can come up with now