Brexit fantasy is about to come crashing down

[barryqwalsh]

Prime minister-in-waiting Boris Johnson is merely the winner of a Winston Churchill impersonation contest.

He has a streak of Churchill’s brilliant opportunism and reckless charm, but he does not have behind him the national consensus that an existential struggle created behind Churchill and he is, in everything but girth, a lightweight.

It is not even clear that the Brexit coalition can itself hold together in any meaningful way. It is, after all, a weird conjunction. Brexit is not so much a peasants’ revolt as a deeply strange peasants’ – and – landlords’ revolt.



Fintan O’Toole: Brexit fantasy is about to come crashing down

 

[HenryBHough]

After Cameron's slick Chamberlain impersonation.....yeah, indeed a tough act to follow.

It was over when the PM crawled back from Brussels waving a sheaf of toilet paper and proclaiming it to be concessions. Sadly nobody currently makes a top hat big enough to fit an overblown cranium.

 

[waltky]

Will the EU break up?...

Can EU Survive a Brexit?
June 24, 2016 — For once, media hyperbole matches reality. Britain’s vote to leave the European Union has sent shockwaves around the world with the initial one hitting the financial markets. The British pound crashed to levels not seen since 1985 and billions of dollars are being wiped off the value of British and European companies.

With the markets plunging and a majority of Britons voting against the EU, Prime Minister David Cameron announced he would resign but remain as a caretaker until Britain’s ruling Conservative Party selected a replacement in the next three months.

Will Brexit trigger exodus?

Who will replace him isn’t the most important question following the referendum, although it will likely trigger a civil war within the Conservative Party. Across Europe, politicians are asking whether the European Union can survive Brexit or whether the British vote set in motion dynamics that will see other member states leave too?

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier greeted the result with dismay. “This is a sad day for Britain and for the EU,” he said. But that view isn't shared by Europe’s far-right nationalists. Even before the Brexit vote populists in Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden were pushing for their own referendums. They are likely now to be emboldened. France's far-right politician Marine Le Pen tweeted that the vote is a “victory for liberty.” “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger,” said European Council President Donald Tusk as he sought to put a brave face on the result. He added that the EU’s remaining 27 members “are determined to keep our unity. Europe is the framework for our common future.” But he admitted there would have to be serious reflection on what the vote means for how the European Union functions. Not only is the EU’s future being questioned. To some, the British union's own survival is cast into doubt.

Scotland, Ireland

Despite British Leave campaigner Nigel Farage greeting the result as “dawn…breaking on an independent United Kingdom,” Scottish nationalists warned they are likely now to seek another referendum – one to break with the English. Scotland massively backed the Remain camp with 62 percent of the Scots voting to stay in the EU. In Northern Ireland, the only part of Britain to share a land border with another EU country, the reaction from the Irish Republican party Sinn Fein was immediate and sharp. Party chairman Declan Kearney warned that the British government had “forfeited any mandate to represent the interests of people here in the north of Ireland in circumstances where the north is dragged out of Europe as a result of a vote to leave.”

His party colleague and Northern Ireland’s deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, called for a border poll on a united Ireland. As politicians and markets took in the result, Peter Mandelson, a British Labour Party politician and chairman of the strategic advisory firm Global Counsel, said the next few years will be full of uncertainty and difficulty for Britain and Europe. “It will take two years for the British government to negotiate with our erstwhile partners. It will take many more years for negotiations on Britain’s future relations with Europe,” he said. He argued the period of uncertainty should be shortened as much as possible, saying the British government, whoever leads it, should trigger the formal process for the divorce as soon as possible.

Formal divorce

See also:

Asian leaders raise economic concerns over Brexit vote
June 24, 2016 -- Britain's decision to leave the European Union drew mixed reactions from Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul.

During a press briefing on Friday Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Beijing had taken note of the vote. "Beijing respects the decision of the British people," Hua said, according to South Korean news service Newsis. Hua added the decision to leave the EU would naturally impact bilateral relations with Britain. But Beijing will approach the partnership with Britain and the EU using a "long-term" perspective, the spokeswoman said. In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took a more proactive approach to the news from London.

During a recorded television debate on Friday, Abe said he is "concerned" about currency fluctuations and that Tokyo is committed to taking "every measure" to guarantee stability in the world's financial markets, The Japan Times reported. "British citizens have made a decision to leave the European Union. I'm concerned over risks on currencies and financial markets," Abe said. In South Korea, Seoul's ministry of strategy and finance held an emergency meeting on economic and financial stability.

The South Korean won experienced increased volatility, according to a statement from Seoul. In order to minimize repercussions on the Brexit vote, Seoul stated it is operating a 24-hour government monitoring and response system, as well as "keeping an eye on the movement of major currencies." Risks, however, will be minimized, "given the low level of trade between Korea and Britain," the statement read. Ahn Cheol-soo, an opposition party politician, said his party is willing to offer all cooperation with the ruling party's government in order to minimize the fallout from the Brexit decision.
Asian leaders raise economic concerns over Brexit vote

Related:

China media scoff at ‘Brexit,’ but upbeat on UK ties
Sun, Jun 26, 2016 - Chinese state media yesterday offered snide criticism of the negative consequences of democracy after Britain voted to leave the EU, but vowed to stand by the “golden age” of Sino-British ties.

Although China and Britain have a history of disputes over human rights and the future of the former British colony of Hong Kong, export-reliant China had valued Britain as a strong advocate for free trade within the EU. Relations between Britain and China have been warming over the past few years and economic links have multiplied, in what both countries refer to as a “golden age” in ties, a concept promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister David Cameron, who resigned followed the referendum. China on Friday called for Britain and the EU to reach agreement as soon as possible after Britain’s vote to leave the bloc, adding that China respected the choice of the British people.

However, influential Chinese tabloid the Global Times, published by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) official People’s Daily, yesterday questioned the wisdom of such a momentous decision being decided by such a relatively narrow margin. “Is it really fair to decide Britain’s future this way?” it said in an op-ed. “For the Chinese people, who are at a critical time to learn about globalization and democracy, they will continue to watch the consequence of Britain’s embracing of a ‘democratic’ referendum,” the paper said. The stability-obsessed CCP brooks little dissent to its rule, and such a public vote would be unthinkable in China.

Britain’s vote to leave dealt the biggest blow to the European project of greater unity since World War II and global financial markets plunged as results from Thursday’s referendum emerged. The “leave” camp won by 52 percent to 48 percent. Xi and Cameron had set great store on the bilateral relationship, and when Xi visited Britain last October the two sealed almost ￡40 billion (US$54.74 billion) in business deals, including the financing of nuclear power stations. In a front page commentary, the People’s Daily overseas edition dismissed people wanting to “stir up trouble and badmouth Sino-British ties.” “In the face of much complicated information, people need to see the positive aspects in relations,” it said. “Cooperation won’t change because of Brexit.”

Both are important players on the world stage, including permanent members of the UN Security Council, the paper said. “Going forward, China and Britain will keep pushing for the early realization of the ‘golden age,’” the paper said.

China media scoff at ‘Brexit,’ but upbeat on UK ties - Taipei Times

 

[TheOldSchool]

Prime minister-in-waiting Boris Johnson is merely the winner of a Winston Churchill impersonation contest.

He has a streak of Churchill’s brilliant opportunism and reckless charm, but he does not have behind him the national consensus that an existential struggle created behind Churchill and he is, in everything but girth, a lightweight.

It is not even clear that the Brexit coalition can itself hold together in any meaningful way. It is, after all, a weird conjunction. Brexit is not so much a peasants’ revolt as a deeply strange peasants’ – and – landlords’ revolt.



Fintan O’Toole: Brexit fantasy is about to come crashing down

Johnson's speech after the results sounded like he lost. I think he expected to lose and for cooler heads to prevail, and now that this actually happened he's dreading what comes next. He wanted to score political points, but instead started the collapse of the EU.

 

[montelatici]

Actually, he has strengthened the EU.

 

[waltky]

Sterling, stocks take another Brexit hit; oil, yen rise...

Banks pull stocks lower as Brexit continues global rout
June 27, 2016 - Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union roiled global markets for a second day on Monday, hammering U.S. and European banks, lifting bond and gold prices, and dragging the British pound to a 31-year low.

U.S. stocks opened sharply lower, following European markets, pulled down by financial stocks amid uncertainty over London's future as the region's financial capital. The S&P financial index <.SPSY> fell 2.5 percent. JPMorgan <JPM.N> was down 3.3 percent while Bank of America <BAC.N> was down 5.3 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 295.06 points, or 1.7 percent, to 17,105.69, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 39.83 points, or 1.95 percent, to 1,997.58 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 110.39 points, or 2.34 percent, to 4,597.59. An index of European bank shares <.SX7P> fell 8.89 percent. Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> fell 16 percent while Barclays <BARC.L> shed 18 percent.

Italian banks also suffered. UniCredit <CRDI.MI> fell more than 9 percent. The government was looking at options to help its banks and prevent further share price falls. European stocks <.FTEU3> took a beating for a second day, down 3.7 percent. Banks at a seven-year low helped push London's top share index <.FTSE> down by 2.5 percent. British finance minister George Osborne sought to reassure markets, saying the world's fifth-largest economy was strong enough to cope with the Brexit-inspired volatility, but the positive impact on sterling was only fleeting. MSCI's all-country world stock index <.MIWD00000PUS> fell 2 percent. "There is a crisis of confidence in the markets," said Todd Morgan, Chairman at Bel Air Investment Advisors in Los Angeles. "But there is a lot of cash lying around and interest rates are low, the world will survive."

Yields on core government debt fell again. German 10-year bond yields <DE10YT=TWEB>, the benchmark for euro zone borrowing costs, fell as low as minus 0.11 percent but held above Friday's record low of almost minus 0.17 percent. In the scramble for safe-haven assets, benchmark U.S. Treasury yields hovered near four-year lows. The 10-year note <US30YT=RR> fell nearly 11 basis points to 1.47 percent. "The U.S. remains a very powerful place where people can find a safe haven. Foreigners are also getting a kick with the rise in the dollar," said Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia. Sterling fell more than 3.65 percent to $1.310, surpassing its Friday low as yields on 10-year British government debt fell below 1 percent for the first time <GB10YT=RR>. "Uncertainty equals currency weakness, we know this, and there is no sense that this (sterling) is a value trade right now and that you have to get back in. It is too early for anyone to start calling a bottom," said Neil Mellor, a currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon in London.

The euro <EUR=>, also seen vulnerable to the exit from the EU of its second-largest economy, fell 1.2 percent to as low as $1.098. The yen firmed as high as 101.52 per dollar <JPY=>. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback's value against six currencies <.DXY>, was up 1 percent. The rallying dollar helped drag oil prices down. Brent crude <LCOc1> dropped more than 2 percent to $47.35 before 12 noon EDT (16:00 GMT), while U.S. crude <CLc1> slipped $1.12 to $46.52. Brent and U.S. crude futures have lost about 7 percent since Thursday's settlement in the rush away from global risk assets.

Banks pull stocks lower as Brexit continues global rout

See also:

Brexit: What happens now?
Mon, 27 Jun 2016 - The UK has voted to leave the EU. Here is what is likely to happen next.

The story so far

At exactly 06:00 BST on 24 June it was confirmed that the UK had voted to leave the European Union. The first thing to stress is that the UK will not leave immediately. The UK is still a member of the EU and will probably remain so for several years. But the vote has already triggered an extraordinary chain of events.

A new prime minister needed

In a statement outside Downing Street, David Cameron said the government would respect the result and carry out the instructions of the British people, reassuring the 2.9 million EU citizens in the UK that they will not be adversely affected. Although it was his responsibility to remain in No 10 to "steady the ship", he announced he would step down in the autumn as he was not the right "captain to steer the country to its next destination". A new Conservative leader and prime minister is expected to be elected by the end of September.

Vote Leave supporters celebrate​

Under the party's existing rules, Conservative MPs would hold a series of ballots, with all but the two most popular candidates being eliminated. The final two will then go into a run-off in which all Conservative Party members will get a vote. This was the system used to elect Mr Cameron in 2005. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has come under huge pressure from within his party to consider his position but he has insisted he will not step down. Two MPs have submitted a motion of no confidence in Mr Corbyn, accusing him of weak leadership during the referendum campaign and he has been forced to announce a new shadow cabinet following a wave of resignations.

This is not a formal mechanism for removing Mr Corbyn and he could survive even if the vote, should it take place, went against him. He has warned: "Those who want to change Labour's leadership will have to stand in a democratic election, in which I will be a candidate." His critics had hoped the vote and resignations might force him to either step down voluntarily or precipitate a formal challenge - which would require 50 MPs to write to the party's general secretary and a challenger to come forward with sufficient nominations to get on the ballot paper. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has effectively challenged the would-be challengers, saying that even if Mr Corbyn was forced to stand for re-election, he would win when it came to a vote of the party members and supporters. This one looks set to run for a while yet.

The markets react

Related:

Post-Brexit era begins for Britain as reactions range from jubilant to hostile
Monday 27th June, 2016 – In what is being considered as one of the most historic events in the world, the tiny archipelago that is the United Kingdom has voted out of a 43-year-old marriage with the European Union. Eurosceptic restlessness finally found a voice, and has Britain turning its back on the 60-year-old bloc. In the wake of their bitter divorce, Big News Network traces the ties backwards to the very beginning.

SO HOW DID IT BEGIN?

Britain joined the European Union way back in 1973, but since then, time has seen a lot of arguments over money, partiality and overall exasperation between the two. The negotiation to allow Britain into what was then the European Economic Community, formed in 1971, was championed by Conservative Prime Minister, Edward Heath. As if in a prediction of what was to come four decades later, British opinion was divided then too, with the center wanting to “join,” and the right and left wings saying, to quote Margaret Thatcher, “No, no, no.”

However, the House of Commons voted, Britain became a member and Europe turned into U.K.’s salvation after being snubbed by multiple colonies, including their largest, India. With the entry of Thatcher, the Eurosceptic bubble grew stronger. Britain began to demand better prices for being a member, and seethed against plans for a single currency and greater powers for the EU Commission and Parliament. Thatcher also seemed to have set the cornerstone for one of the most debated topics currently - immigration, by saying that, “People are really rather afraid that this country might be rather swamped by people with a different culture.”

FAST FORWARD TO THE PRESENT

With the U.K. Independence Party claiming Thatcher’s legacy, the “Leave” campaign came back with full force, as “the gap between the metropolitan, cosmopolitan, middle-class voters and working-class social conservatives has now grown so great that it simply cannot be ignored.” Many rural counties, therefore, voted heavily in favour of Brexit on June 23, 2016, antagonised by the stumblings of the EU over migrant crises, interfering Eurocrats and fixed jam-jar sizes. In this way, Brexit has also exposed the great divide within the “United” Kingdom, both culturally and economically. As counties were jubilant over the results, London and Scotland, that passionately voted to remain, were crestfallen. Young voters voted to “stay,” but were overwhelmed by prosperous, retired Conservative voters saying “out.” “Leave” voters were akin to a tough-minded bulldog digging in its heels and refusing to head in - citing fears of immigration and love for nationalism. However, it is important to note that even for the U.K. to remain a worthwhile trading partner; it must keep relations intact with the rest of Europe - just not through the EU.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR EVERYONE

 

[Drummond]

 

[Phoenall]

Will the EU break up?...

Can EU Survive a Brexit?
June 24, 2016 — For once, media hyperbole matches reality. Britain’s vote to leave the European Union has sent shockwaves around the world with the initial one hitting the financial markets. The British pound crashed to levels not seen since 1985 and billions of dollars are being wiped off the value of British and European companies.

With the markets plunging and a majority of Britons voting against the EU, Prime Minister David Cameron announced he would resign but remain as a caretaker until Britain’s ruling Conservative Party selected a replacement in the next three months.

Will Brexit trigger exodus?

Who will replace him isn’t the most important question following the referendum, although it will likely trigger a civil war within the Conservative Party. Across Europe, politicians are asking whether the European Union can survive Brexit or whether the British vote set in motion dynamics that will see other member states leave too?

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier greeted the result with dismay. “This is a sad day for Britain and for the EU,” he said. But that view isn't shared by Europe’s far-right nationalists. Even before the Brexit vote populists in Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden were pushing for their own referendums. They are likely now to be emboldened. France's far-right politician Marine Le Pen tweeted that the vote is a “victory for liberty.” “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger,” said European Council President Donald Tusk as he sought to put a brave face on the result. He added that the EU’s remaining 27 members “are determined to keep our unity. Europe is the framework for our common future.” But he admitted there would have to be serious reflection on what the vote means for how the European Union functions. Not only is the EU’s future being questioned. To some, the British union's own survival is cast into doubt.

Scotland, Ireland

Despite British Leave campaigner Nigel Farage greeting the result as “dawn…breaking on an independent United Kingdom,” Scottish nationalists warned they are likely now to seek another referendum – one to break with the English. Scotland massively backed the Remain camp with 62 percent of the Scots voting to stay in the EU. In Northern Ireland, the only part of Britain to share a land border with another EU country, the reaction from the Irish Republican party Sinn Fein was immediate and sharp. Party chairman Declan Kearney warned that the British government had “forfeited any mandate to represent the interests of people here in the north of Ireland in circumstances where the north is dragged out of Europe as a result of a vote to leave.”

His party colleague and Northern Ireland’s deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, called for a border poll on a united Ireland. As politicians and markets took in the result, Peter Mandelson, a British Labour Party politician and chairman of the strategic advisory firm Global Counsel, said the next few years will be full of uncertainty and difficulty for Britain and Europe. “It will take two years for the British government to negotiate with our erstwhile partners. It will take many more years for negotiations on Britain’s future relations with Europe,” he said. He argued the period of uncertainty should be shortened as much as possible, saying the British government, whoever leads it, should trigger the formal process for the divorce as soon as possible.

Formal divorce

See also:

Asian leaders raise economic concerns over Brexit vote
June 24, 2016 -- Britain's decision to leave the European Union drew mixed reactions from Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul.

During a press briefing on Friday Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Beijing had taken note of the vote. "Beijing respects the decision of the British people," Hua said, according to South Korean news service Newsis. Hua added the decision to leave the EU would naturally impact bilateral relations with Britain. But Beijing will approach the partnership with Britain and the EU using a "long-term" perspective, the spokeswoman said. In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took a more proactive approach to the news from London.

During a recorded television debate on Friday, Abe said he is "concerned" about currency fluctuations and that Tokyo is committed to taking "every measure" to guarantee stability in the world's financial markets, The Japan Times reported. "British citizens have made a decision to leave the European Union. I'm concerned over risks on currencies and financial markets," Abe said. In South Korea, Seoul's ministry of strategy and finance held an emergency meeting on economic and financial stability.

The South Korean won experienced increased volatility, according to a statement from Seoul. In order to minimize repercussions on the Brexit vote, Seoul stated it is operating a 24-hour government monitoring and response system, as well as "keeping an eye on the movement of major currencies." Risks, however, will be minimized, "given the low level of trade between Korea and Britain," the statement read. Ahn Cheol-soo, an opposition party politician, said his party is willing to offer all cooperation with the ruling party's government in order to minimize the fallout from the Brexit decision.
Asian leaders raise economic concerns over Brexit vote

Related:

China media scoff at ‘Brexit,’ but upbeat on UK ties
Sun, Jun 26, 2016 - Chinese state media yesterday offered snide criticism of the negative consequences of democracy after Britain voted to leave the EU, but vowed to stand by the “golden age” of Sino-British ties.

Although China and Britain have a history of disputes over human rights and the future of the former British colony of Hong Kong, export-reliant China had valued Britain as a strong advocate for free trade within the EU. Relations between Britain and China have been warming over the past few years and economic links have multiplied, in what both countries refer to as a “golden age” in ties, a concept promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister David Cameron, who resigned followed the referendum. China on Friday called for Britain and the EU to reach agreement as soon as possible after Britain’s vote to leave the bloc, adding that China respected the choice of the British people.

However, influential Chinese tabloid the Global Times, published by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) official People’s Daily, yesterday questioned the wisdom of such a momentous decision being decided by such a relatively narrow margin. “Is it really fair to decide Britain’s future this way?” it said in an op-ed. “For the Chinese people, who are at a critical time to learn about globalization and democracy, they will continue to watch the consequence of Britain’s embracing of a ‘democratic’ referendum,” the paper said. The stability-obsessed CCP brooks little dissent to its rule, and such a public vote would be unthinkable in China.

Britain’s vote to leave dealt the biggest blow to the European project of greater unity since World War II and global financial markets plunged as results from Thursday’s referendum emerged. The “leave” camp won by 52 percent to 48 percent. Xi and Cameron had set great store on the bilateral relationship, and when Xi visited Britain last October the two sealed almost ￡40 billion (US$54.74 billion) in business deals, including the financing of nuclear power stations. In a front page commentary, the People’s Daily overseas edition dismissed people wanting to “stir up trouble and badmouth Sino-British ties.” “In the face of much complicated information, people need to see the positive aspects in relations,” it said. “Cooperation won’t change because of Brexit.”

Both are important players on the world stage, including permanent members of the UN Security Council, the paper said. “Going forward, China and Britain will keep pushing for the early realization of the ‘golden age,’” the paper said.

China media scoff at ‘Brexit,’ but upbeat on UK ties - Taipei Times

The banks have done their job and kept Britain Inc. afloat and the markets are rebounding all the time as the Stock markets did their jobs. Britain lost a small amount on it rating, but the £ rallied and is up were it was on Thursday, the euro is still in the doldrums and looks like this is what they feared would happen without Britain to prop up the failed EU

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

Prime minister-in-waiting Boris Johnson is merely the winner of a Winston Churchill impersonation contest.

He has a streak of Churchill’s brilliant opportunism and reckless charm, but he does not have behind him the national consensus that an existential struggle created behind Churchill and he is, in everything but girth, a lightweight.

It is not even clear that the Brexit coalition can itself hold together in any meaningful way. It is, after all, a weird conjunction. Brexit is not so much a peasants’ revolt as a deeply strange peasants’ – and – landlords’ revolt.



Fintan O’Toole: Brexit fantasy is about to come crashing down

Boris has stated he's not running, of course as soon as Michael Gove said he was running, there was no way that Boris could.

As Brutus knew, he who wields the dagger, never wears the crown.

Michael Gove, although pro-Brexit, he's a Neo-Conservative, so he won't win.

I think it's now increasingly likely that Theresa May is going to be the next British Prime Minister, she also has said absolutely no second referendum and with her there also won't be an early General Election for Britain, she also stated that Brexit MEANS Brexit, there's no turning back, it's happened, it's happening.

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

View attachment 79676

Don't worry Drummond, there's not going to be a second referendum.

 

[Drummond]

Prime minister-in-waiting Boris Johnson is merely the winner of a Winston Churchill impersonation contest.

He has a streak of Churchill’s brilliant opportunism and reckless charm, but he does not have behind him the national consensus that an existential struggle created behind Churchill and he is, in everything but girth, a lightweight.

It is not even clear that the Brexit coalition can itself hold together in any meaningful way. It is, after all, a weird conjunction. Brexit is not so much a peasants’ revolt as a deeply strange peasants’ – and – landlords’ revolt.



Fintan O’Toole: Brexit fantasy is about to come crashing down

Boris has stated he's not running, of course as soon as Michael Gove said he was running, there was no way that Boris could.

As Brutus knew, he who wields the dagger, never wears the crown.

Michael Gove, although pro-Brexit, he's a Neo-Conservative, so he won't win.

I think it's now increasingly likely that Theresa May is going to be the next British Prime Minister, she also has said absolutely no second referendum and with her there also won't be an early General Election for Britain, she also stated that Brexit MEANS Brexit, there's no turning back, it's happened, it's happening.

Well .. I heard that Gove was supporting Boris (though a certain email circulated suggests another tier to all this ..).

Anyway, the report we have is that Boris opted out of the running because he suspected he wasn't up to the job. Refreshingly honest, if it's true.

 

[Drummond]

View attachment 79676

Don't worry Drummond, there's not going to be a second referendum.

It was always very unlikely at minimum. Nicola Sturgeon won't give up on her own spanner-wielding machinations, of course ...

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

Prime minister-in-waiting Boris Johnson is merely the winner of a Winston Churchill impersonation contest.

He has a streak of Churchill’s brilliant opportunism and reckless charm, but he does not have behind him the national consensus that an existential struggle created behind Churchill and he is, in everything but girth, a lightweight.

It is not even clear that the Brexit coalition can itself hold together in any meaningful way. It is, after all, a weird conjunction. Brexit is not so much a peasants’ revolt as a deeply strange peasants’ – and – landlords’ revolt.



Fintan O’Toole: Brexit fantasy is about to come crashing down

Boris has stated he's not running, of course as soon as Michael Gove said he was running, there was no way that Boris could.

As Brutus knew, he who wields the dagger, never wears the crown.

Michael Gove, although pro-Brexit, he's a Neo-Conservative, so he won't win.

I think it's now increasingly likely that Theresa May is going to be the next British Prime Minister, she also has said absolutely no second referendum and with her there also won't be an early General Election for Britain, she also stated that Brexit MEANS Brexit, there's no turning back, it's happened, it's happening.

Well .. I heard that Gove was supporting Boris (though a certain email circulated suggests another tier to all this ..).

Anyway, the report we have is that Boris opted out of the running because he suspected he wasn't up to the job. Refreshingly honest, if it's true.

I think Boris damaged himself by appearing to be back-peddling regarding certain things, obviously behind the scenes Gove had some falling out with Boris and then as you mention the email stuff.

I think Theresa May is going to win, she said that she'll create a special Cabinet department dealing with the Brexit from the EU, negotiations and the actual exit etc, maybe she'll appoint Michael Gove to be in charge of that Cabinet department.

She certainly has the experience to become British Prime Minister, she's been British Home Secretary since 2010.

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

View attachment 79676

Don't worry Drummond, there's not going to be a second referendum.

It was always very unlikely at minimum. Nicola Sturgeon won't give up on her own spanner-wielding machinations, of course ...

I think anyone with half a brain knew there wouldn't be a second referendum, if you lose you lose, you don't get to throw a tantrum and demand to have another election and/or referendum, it illustrates a complete emotional immaturity to expect a rerun of something you didn't win.

Nicola Sturgeon was left embarrassed yesterday, being told no and Donald Tusk snubbing her, her visit to the EU Commission was pointless.

 

[miketx]

Prime minister-in-waiting Boris Johnson is merely the winner of a Winston Churchill impersonation contest.

He has a streak of Churchill’s brilliant opportunism and reckless charm, but he does not have behind him the national consensus that an existential struggle created behind Churchill and he is, in everything but girth, a lightweight.

It is not even clear that the Brexit coalition can itself hold together in any meaningful way. It is, after all, a weird conjunction. Brexit is not so much a peasants’ revolt as a deeply strange peasants’ – and – landlords’ revolt.



Fintan O’Toole: Brexit fantasy is about to come crashing down

Knowing nothing, having only the desire to quash any freedom anywhere, without knowing why or caring, it posts.