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Jeremy H*unt, now the second favourite (behind BoJo) to follow Mayhem at the head of the London government, has played once again to his audience of elderly English Tory Party members by refusing Nicola Sturgeon Foreign Office support on her visit today to Brussels.
“I say old chap, that will show those damned Jockanese a thing or two, what what!” you can imagine “Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells” saying to his dear lady wife. ( I’ve no idea why these people refer to their spouses as “lady wives”. I don’t imagine any of them have gentlemen wives… much too late 20th century!)
Trade with other countries is part of the remit of the First Minister, as is looking after the interests of Scotland everywhere in the world. We tried to point this out to the unionists when Nicola was slammed by the Scottish Branch Office Tories earlier this year for flying to the USA and Canada.
It also falls into the remit of the Scotland Secretary of the Westminster administration, but, seriously, can you imagine Fluffy jetting off to Europe to fight Scotland’s corner.
Right then! Nor me.
Nicola is doing her day job by talking to the EU.
Somewhat amazingly, having been granted a third extension to Article 50, the Tory party, on the other hand, has decided to waste most of the time having an internal war, summer holidays and possibly a general election.
I expect they learned that kind of thing in the dorms at Eton. Pillow fights at midnight!
But tick tock… and nothing is happening, except that a pile of rather posh men, one posh woman… and Esther are knocking bits off each other.
Meanwhile, Nicola is getting on with the day job. And she is being refused FO backup.
This, I imagine, will not faze Nicola one little bit. She’s a pretty bright spark herself and she will have her own advisors including Mike Russell, her Brexit secretary who, unlike the succession of Tory Brexit ministers, actually seems to have a grasp of the remit.
Anyway, who’d want foreign office advice, when the best they could offer their own foreign secretary on a visit to Slovenia was a speech where he talked about Slovakia.
Incompetent muppets.
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Oh yeah, does anyone know who the hell Mark Harper is?
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MUNGUIN'S NEW REPUBLIC 
Mike Russell Well what can one say he is defo one to ! Grasp the thistle !
🙄
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Not sure how Tory democracy
Works 17.5 million in a non binding referendum must prevail.
But on the other hand 120,000
Tory members can choose the next unelected prime minister.
And likely will only get a % of the 120.000
Oh well Britain waves the rules
As usual
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Thank god no one ever demanded that we have a written constitution that it was impossible to bend to the will of whatever crook was in charge at the time.
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trispw,
They are masters of the Universe in that. It is a skill set that appears to me, a mere pleb, to be Etonian in flavour?
I dunno about you, but I feel a bit constricted by their care for me.
Hmm.
https://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hsimp=yhs-btyuser&hspart=bt&p=The+night+they+drove+old+Dixie+Down+Joan+Baez#id=2&vid=154650af2e5fe3bc19162b7857be206d&action=view
Hope this works.
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Oh! OK then:
I had a long chat with my youngest son – I only have two of them, and a daughter – and he is in despair about where the UK is going. I am pretty sure he is looking at emigration options, because he thinks the political system he lives in is, more or less, a disaster about to happen.
The question for you guys is whether I should agree with him – NZ seems a sensible destination and perhaps possible – or ask him to stay and fight? In his opinion, we will never be permitted to become an independent nation. And he certainly doesn’t want UK troops on Scottish streets.
You and I may see that as scary.
But how do we realistically talk him down?
I’d like some sensible advice.
(If he ever sees this post, I will be toast)
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All my European friends are leaving for their home states. That includes a couple of French doctors, a biologist, and business graduate and a teacher.
A Scottish friend’s son and his girlfriends are heading for New Zealand.
My pal from Jersey is going back there, and a couple are looking at Montréal.
I wouldn’t want to be starting my life in the UK and if I were a fresh graduate, I’d probably leave, if I’m totally honest.
But hey, there is hope.
If there is enough pressure they will indeed let us have our referendum. Who know, if seems unlikely that we will end up with troops on the streets. But it’s not impossible.
I’m not really in the business of advice, and certainly not sensible advice, Douglas… Daft advice occasionally!
In the end people need to make up their minds where their future lies.
If we don;t get back into the EU, we are on a downward spiral. If NZ will take people with skills, it would be hard to advise against that. It is a much better life out there, I’m told.
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trispw,
Thanks for that. It is sound advice.
douglas.
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We don’t want them to leave as selfishly we need their votes and we just don’t want them to leave.
Oz is a wonderful place too and has the added advantage of being warm and sunny. NZ is colloquially called the “land of the long white cloud”.
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Yes, I see that point. We need people to stay to vote with us, but if the Scots refuse to see how they are being used, well, in the end you only have one life.
I’m thinking that Jake’s suggestion is the best.
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Douglas,
A difficult one. It’s hard not to advise the young to be adventurous and to explore and experience the world . Having said that, exploration is something quite different from moving with the intention to settle.
Somebody or other put it this way: “For a Westerner to trash Western culture is like criticizing our nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere on the grounds that it sometimes gets windy, and besides, Jupiter’s is much prettier. You may not realize its advantages until you’re trying to breathe liquid methane.”
Of course New Zealand isn’t Jupiter, but then again are their politics so much different from our own?
https://jacobinmag.com/2019/06/new-zealand-teachers-strike-budget-wages
I don’t know.
Perhaps if your son were to explore…a gap year ( more or less), a working holiday, an intention to return, an option not to. Bridges crossed but not burnt.
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That’s sensible, Jake.
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As I an expat of coming up 50 years, and working – or working holidays – in five continents, my my advice is ‘go’. See the world, broaden horizons, learn new languages, enjoy new cultures. He can always come back, although in my case, return visits tend to confirm that I made the right decision in the first place.
I always get jibes about supporting Scottish independence – from unionists in Scotland and abroad. “If you’re that keen on Scotland, why don’t you live there?” My response is simple: “I probably would not have left an independent Scotland, and if Scotland should become independent I would seriously consider going back.”
Another useful response is to quote, “How can he know Scotland, who only Scotland knows?” I’d always thought that came from Sir Walter Scott, but Google doesn’t give an attribution. Over to Mungunites for further enlightenment.
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We could attribute it to you, John!
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Sorry, John, but the original quote is, “What do they know of England, who only England know?” – it’s from Rudyard Kipling.
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Joan Baez … great voice.
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Dougy
A Tory ruled Brexit UK 🇬🇧 or
New Zealand 🇳🇿
Do we really have to think 🤔
About what to choose.
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Probably, to be fair, best to find out what life is really like in NZ before jumping ship.
I’ve always thought that I’d like to live in egalitarian Scandinavia, but that said, I’ve never been there in winter!!!
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I have visited my 2 brothers who live in Australia, they moved in the 60’s.
One lives in Perth the other Melbourne.
I like the place, Perth is pleasant and Melbourne has a very hot summer and damp winter.
The brothers have both UK and Australian Pensions, UK one small as they didn’t have lots of years contributions, full Aussie one.
Australia is now a high income economy balanced off with high prices on processed foods and services.
Basic foods are cheap, cars for example are more expensive.
They have their troubles as well, they are left with a political system similar to the uk system and a multicultural population slow to integrate.
OT
Isn’t it strange that at the GE we were told that the Labour party were just factions but the Tory party were all singing from the same hymn sheet.
Now look at the members of that party, fighting like rats in a sack to be TAP DUG, a children’s squabble in the playground and the bus just about to run over the cliff, don’t worry dear readers they are going on their holidays soon.The lemmings are in control so we get a new policy decision from the maybot, electric cars by 2050. Nero and Rome burning come to mind.
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Actually, Dave, the word fiddle comes to mind as well.
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