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[MetalSlimeHunt]

Ok, but after austerity I still don't see how the Brits aren't making guillotine memes, let alone the new layer of hell we've discovered here. Even the Corbynites won't do it. Does Liz really have that much mental real estate?

[Dorsidwarf]

Ok, but after austerity I still don't see how the Brits aren't making guillotine memes, let alone the new layer of hell we've discovered here. Even the Corbynites won't do it. Does Liz really have that much mental real estate?

Well it ain’t her fault, is it?

[hector13]

Ok, but after austerity I still don't see how the Brits aren't making guillotine memes, let alone the new layer of hell we've discovered here. Even the Corbynites won't do it. Does Liz really have that much mental real estate?

Well it ain’t her fault, is it?

T’be fair, she could’ve refused to endorse the government - or whatever it is she does to rubber stamp it - but that would very likely have ended up poorly.

Would’ve been brilliant though.

[ChairmanPoo]

Ok, but after austerity I still don't see how the Brits aren't making guillotine memes, let alone the new layer of hell we've discovered here. Even the Corbynites won't do it. Does Liz really have that much mental real estate?

Well it ain’t her fault, is it?

T’be fair, she could’ve refused to endorse the government - or whatever it is she does to rubber stamp it - but that would very likely have ended up poorly.

Would’ve been brilliant though.

I think the king of Belgium or the Netherlands or one of those anyway recently did something like that.... a mini abdication for five minutes  during which the acting head of state was the PM so that he could have someone else sign a law that he disliked (I think it was something concerning abortion?) . I remember this be ause the king of Spain when askedmif he would do the same about gay marriage he declined (I think he was self-conscious that constitutional monarchies put up with the figure of the king largely insofar as that king doesnt become a pain in the ass... )

Anyways:  rumors are Theresa May is planning asking for an extension WITH a general election... probably with a long extension for brexit in the process. I'm not sure as to whether an election would fix anything given that all recent polls suggest an even more hung parliament.

My personal theory is that she will let the MPs do the second round of indicative voting and then try to frame a final vote between her deal and whichever is the least disliked option, with an either/or operator in the vote.

[Loud Whispers]

T’be fair, she could’ve refused to endorse the government - or whatever it is she does to rubber stamp it - but that would very likely have ended up poorly.

Would’ve been brilliant though.

In this case, the Queen could actually pull it off, especially since the actual authority of May's government is more symbolic than the Queen's atm. It would need the support of Boris AND Corbyn, but it could be done

[TD1]

It would come at a huge cost to the monarchy, though. The Queen, in particular, would be hailed by the most fervent as an anti-democratic tyrant imposing her will on the Government, even with key Parliamentary allies. Only at the moment of greatest crisis would I condone the Queen's direct intervention, and we are not (quite) there yet.

The Clock is ticking, though, and I suspect the Fourth May Not Be With Us. We are teetering on the edge of having an anti-democratic government, whatever flowery language and justifications given.


As an aside, was in London last week. Got to shake my fist at Parliament buildings, which was cathartic but ultimately fruitless.

[smjjames]

Aren't the most fervent going to call her a tyrant if she even says anything anyway?

She has more subtle methods and she knows how to employ them without riling up those who would object. So, it'd be one of those.

[smjjames]

They still can't decide: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47781009 Theres gotta be a better way to resolve this...

Also, a week or two ago, I saw an article saying that a former Irish PM (well, a former politician, I forget who) said that they could ttry public commissions or something which are common in NI or something. That idea would have been good to suggest two years ago.....

[ChairmanPoo]

I have a question concerning shipping stuff to Ireland (for obvious reasons) for anyone familiar with sea routes: Is there any reason why freighters can't sail directly across the Gulf of Biscay to and From Ireland?

[Culise]

They can and do. If I had to take a guess, though, it's because the ports on the Bay of Biscay don't amount to a fraction of the traffic coming out of north European ports like Le Havre, Antwerp, Bremen, Hamburg, Rotterdam, and Felixstowe.  I've added an interesting map I found while poking around at this question; you can still see some traffic following the route you suggest, even if it's not as much because the source and destination ports aren't as large.

What really surprised me looking at this is that Bordeaux doesn't even seem to rank compared to most hubs, given how it's always been an excellent harbour through history.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[smjjames]

Starting from where? Spain? Though looking at wikipedia, it's home to some of the nastiest storm conditions in the Atlantic.

edit: Ninja'd. Though if you want whatever is being delivered to arrive in a reasonable amount of time (for the item), you'd be better off doing it by air.

[ChairmanPoo]

I'm mostly thinking groceries. I'm talking about supermarket levels of shipping, not me arranging shipping anything.

Mostly I'm concerned about my orange supplies, and to a lesser extent my salad supplies

[smjjames]

You'd probably be better off asking your supplier. Unless theres some sort of dockworker strike I haven't heard about, not sure why you'd be worried about the shipping.

If you're worried about Brexit, a no-deal Brexit will screw with everything, even with contingency plans in place. Though I think those contingency plans are mainly just to keep it from getting to apocalypse levels of crisis.

[Culise]

If this is about the potential impact of Brexit on Irish shipping, it's also worth noting that it seems less than 10% of Ireland's combined imports and exports come from overland routes, and if I figure it right, that's essentially bilateral trade with Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK that doesn't go any further.  Even leaving aside the particular case of Ireland being an island, direct bulk transport of goods is just so much more efficient by maritime routes where such options exist, and I'm not sure Ireland imports that much food from the UK directly.  It's likely more efficient, leaving aside maximum local capacities which I couldn't track down, to have food come in from most of the world to offload it in Cork or Dublin instead of moving through the Irish Sea to Belfast (which seem to be the three container ports on the island).  That said, Ireland is also mostly self-sufficient in food if you listen to their own Department of Agriculture, so imports would likely come from nations that don't have similar climates and by extension crops.

[smjjames]

Maybe he's in NI and not ROI?

Also, while it won't affect Ireland directly, the ripple effects will, which could be what he's worried about. Not sure how the Bay of Biscay fits into his worries about his favorite oranges though, other than maybe the Basque region? *shrug*