The big Brexit thread - news, updates and discussion

[Winot]

Perfectly reasonable to vote for the crap deal, make clear it’s crap because Tories, and have a policy to change it when in government.

 

[Artaxerxes]

Tesco telling us that the Brexit deal will not be a significant driver of food price inflation, but appeared to accept that larger corporations like his will be better placed to absorb the costs of non-tariff barriers than smaller companies.

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It's also disingenuous because we've already seen some goods go up in price after the pound took a nose dive in 2016. Crisps and chocolates are noticeably more, few other odds and sods.

 

[Artaxerxes]

Xmas 21 shouldn't (touchwood) be a tiered affair.
Rows about Brexit will be less vitual affairs.

I don't think editor and topcat are going to be pulling each others cracker over a fresh American turkey.

 

[gosub]

Entirely concure, though do think Labour tied itself in knot because Labour. Weren't they at one stage going to negotiate a better deal and then campaign against. or some such, can't rememeber its been a long year

 

[gosub]

I don't think editor and topcat are going to be pulling each others cracker over a fresh American turkey.

No was thinking more generally. Actually been quite a mellow Xmas for once

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Keir Starmer: Labour has six tests for Brexit - if they're not met we won't back the final deal in parliament - LabourList

The Brexiteers, once a minority, are now in power in the Conservative government, Keir Starmer will say today.…

labourlist.org

although, again, labour has been put in a no-win position by the tories.

vote for the crap deal and they will piss off their remain voters and will get "well you voted for it" every time they criticise anything

abstain and they will be made out to be a bunch of soggy indecisive nits and will probably piss off both their remain and leave voters

vote against and the tories will say (as they are already doing with the SNP who have said they will vote against) that they are voting for no-deal

 

[editor]

No not at all , I was just asking if you were in a union .

Why does it matter to you?

 

[editor]

I don't think editor and topcat are going to be pulling each others cracker over a fresh American turkey.

I won't be doing anything near any turkey from any country, thanks. Always happy to go for a pint with topcat though (when possible).

 

[kabbes]

Their indecision is the same triumph of shit politics over doing the best thing that has repeatedly got them into this mess. What’s better for the country at this point — the deal on the table or no deal? Right now, that’s all they should care about. To do otherwise means they care more about their party political games than the country, which is exactly what people hate politicians for more than anything else.

 

[TopCat]

I won't be doing anything near any turkey from any country, thanks. Always happy to go for a pint with topcat though (when possible).

It would be so nice to be sitting in the Albert in the warm with pints. Lots to talk about bar brexit!

 

[bimble]

Bit of a tangent but I wonder if this is just me or more broadly true:
In my (crap comp) 2ndary school, it was very important to refuse to try at all, in French or German lessons. Everyone went out of their way to see much you could maintain a taking the piss English accent when you had to say stuff in foreign in the classroom. Not being demonstrably terrible at languages made you an instant loser, definitely worse than letting people know you were into maths or whatever else.
Was that normal?

 

[Lucy Fur]

Bit of a tangent but I wonder if this is just me or more broadly true:
In my (crap comp) 2ndary school, it was very important to refuse to try at all, in French or German lessons. Everyone went out of their way to see much you could maintain a taking the piss English accent when you had to say stuff in foreign in the classroom. Not being demonstrably terrible at languages made you an instant loser, definitely worse than letting people know you were into maths or whatever else.
Was that normal?

Definitely an element of that, encouraged by popular culture; Allo Allo, that book on Franglais, Bill Wyman's Je suis in rockstar. And yeah, I know I'm showing my age

 

[Poot]

Bit of a tangent but I wonder if this is just me or more broadly true:
In my (crap comp) 2ndary school, it was very important to refuse to try at all, in French or German lessons. Everyone went out of their way to see much you could maintain a taking the piss English accent when you had to say stuff in foreign in the classroom. Not being demonstrably terrible at languages made you an instant loser, definitely worse than letting people know you were into maths or whatever else.
Was that normal?

Sort of. At my school you had to pick a team: either you were good at languages and embraced it (and hid at lunchtimes) or you did exactly as you describe. I can't possibly imagine any disadvantages of that scenario in later life.

 

[kabbes]

Bit of a tangent but I wonder if this is just me or more broadly true:
In my (crap comp) 2ndary school, it was very important to refuse to try at all, in French or German lessons. Everyone went out of their way to see much you could maintain a taking the piss English accent when you had to say stuff in foreign in the classroom. Not being demonstrably terrible at languages made you an instant loser, definitely worse than letting people know you were into maths or whatever else.
Was that normal?

Not my school. But although mine was a standard comprehensive, it was a middle class one in the Home Counties that prided itself on being something of an exam factory, with a culture to match. So I don’t know that it was “normal” exactly. But then, what is “normal” anyway?

 

[The39thStep]

Why does it matter to you?

Th thread was discussing a possible erosion of workers rights, unions are central to resisting such a thing. I expect most unions will be doing a post Brexit briefing at some point.

 

[Dogsauce]

What do small-time bands tour Europe for? Genuine q.

a cheap way of going on holiday, load of fun, probably the most I’ve had. I’d not been to mainland Europe until we went there on tour in my mid twenties. Half of us were signing on at the time. Happy for it to be described as a hobby though, no intent or likelihood of earning a living from it (though the drummer has managed to since then, fairly marginally).

 

[Artaxerxes]

Bit of a tangent but I wonder if this is just me or more broadly true:
In my (crap comp) 2ndary school, it was very important to refuse to try at all, in French or German lessons. Everyone went out of their way to see much you could maintain a taking the piss English accent when you had to say stuff in foreign in the classroom. Not being demonstrably terrible at languages made you an instant loser, definitely worse than letting people know you were into maths or whatever else.
Was that normal?

Yes.

I regret letting my mates encouraging me to embrace the attitude in French. By the end of school I was however very good st German which surprised the teacher considering i never spoke in class.

 

[The39thStep]

Bit of a tangent but I wonder if this is just me or more broadly true:
In my (crap comp) 2ndary school, it was very important to refuse to try at all, in French or German lessons. Everyone went out of their way to see much you could maintain a taking the piss English accent when you had to say stuff in foreign in the classroom. Not being demonstrably terrible at languages made you an instant loser, definitely worse than letting people know you were into maths or whatever else.
Was that normal?

Definitely although it was a mainly a peer group thing. I hated French lessons , couldn't see the point , couldn't pay attention and was embarrassed if the teacher ever spoke in French to me. The only thing I can remember was the cat was on the table and what is your name. We also had to do German in the second year, the teacher hated me and I hated the teacher but I found out around Xmas that you could do Religious Education or what ever it was called as an option so did that for the rest of the year. There were only about 10 of us in the class and four had dropped out of German.

 

[brogdale]

The government have published some outline of the new Turing scheme intended to replace the UK's participation in Erasmus+.

Mostly filler and guff, but the Tories determination to embed neoliberal 'market' competition into the policy is obvious from the outset:

 

[DownwardDog]

I am not suggesting those English speakers stop speaking English.
I have suggested a possible benefit of Brexit, dropping English as one of the 'working languages'.
It might not happen regrettably.

English will continue to be a working language but will naturally reduce in significance because the commission is going to be recruiting relatively few native English speakers in years to come.

 

[two sheds]

French was ruined for us because the French teacher (complete with proper moustache) used a wind-up gram-o-phone so we were all waiting for it to wind down rather than listening to what was being said.

 

[The39thStep]

This fella is like a black cat walking in front of any campaign

Alastair Campbell: I couldn’t stop Brexit, but I could do my bit to save the planet

After his resolution to stop Brexit failed four years in a row, the writer and strategist turned his attention to saving the planet

www.theguardian.com

 

[Smokeandsteam]

Th thread was discussing a possible erosion of workers rights, unions are central to resisting such a thing. I expect most unions will be doing a post Brexit briefing at some point.

Not only that but I’d expect unions to be sitting down with Labour to agree what will go into their manifesto in respect of employment rights, the living wage and also the extent of intervention in the economy in the form of an investment bank and regional investment programmes.

 

[TopCat]

I studied French and German and remember most of it.

 

[mojo pixy]

.... future radical left wing government ....

Ow, it only hurts when I laugh.

 

[mojo pixy]

I always thought the kids in my classes who laughed at other kids knowing things were wankers. I used to say so at the time too, though it made my school days miserable.

 

[philosophical]

English will continue to be a working language but will naturally reduce in significance because the commission is going to be recruiting relatively few native English speakers in years to come.

Another benefit of brexit if those in favour mean what they say about the UK being global and outward looking, could be the dropping of teaching French in schools and teaching Mandarin instead.

 

[philosophical]

Bit of a tangent but I wonder if this is just me or more broadly true:
In my (crap comp) 2ndary school, it was very important to refuse to try at all, in French or German lessons. Everyone went out of their way to see much you could maintain a taking the piss English accent when you had to say stuff in foreign in the classroom. Not being demonstrably terrible at languages made you an instant loser, definitely worse than letting people know you were into maths or whatever else.
Was that normal?

Pretty difficult to do a short cut or blag it when learning a language in school. It is a pretty pure form of teaching and learning. You have to memorise and utilise which can be hard work.
I reckon it might have been lazy people digging out hard working people for showing up how idle they were.
I suppose one short cut 'ish' in learning a language is to live in a place where everybody speaks it.

 

[two sheds]

This fella is like a black cat walking in front of any campaign

Alastair Campbell: I couldn’t stop Brexit, but I could do my bit to save the planet

After his resolution to stop Brexit failed four years in a row, the writer and strategist turned his attention to saving the planet

www.theguardian.com

Wondered who it was, so gone from helping fuck over the country to saving the planet. Sick bag please.

 

[Dogsauce]

Maybe we should start making a list of the things that it doesn't matter that we'll lose or will become harder or more expensive. We'll get over it, or something.


Food other than what's in season in the UK.

Foreign holidays.

Playing live music around Europe.

Playing the viola anywhere (cunts).

Studying abroad.

Working abroad.

Getting ill abroad.


What else is there that we really just need to fucking get over?

visiting family abroad.