Government watch

Sorry, first line.

Listening to the news, I get the feeling that this shambles of a government is barely holding it together

I am unclear what authority May has to continue. The Tories are hugely split just as they always have been.

There is no plan, the government is clueless.

A hard Brexit has almost certainly been abandoned , so what will a soft Brexit mean?

Doesn't it mean nothing will change other than we will have no influence whatsoever? So much for taking back control.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/26/the-guardian-view-on-the-tory-dup-deal-theresa-may-is-in-denial

She's been in denial for ages. May's variation on the three wise monkeys rolled into one, except it's difference rather than evil.

Anger in Scotland! from my Facebook Feed:-

So Northern Ireland is to get an extra Billion+ quid, and Scotland and Wales (not forgetting the English Regions) an extra big fat ZERO. (This is contrary to the Barnett Formula of course, but the Tories are just going to ignore that, like they ignored the Sewell Convention, the 5 year parliament legislation, and the rules of electoral funding, purdah periods, and postal ballot sampling)

So for all those people out there who voted in Scottish Tory MPs, please note that they did not say one word about this, they did not argue for a second that there should be extra money for here, even though those 13 Scottish Tory MPs are shoring up the Tory Govt just the same as the 10 DUP MPs.
And they could have asked for anything they wanted. Any group of 10 or more Tory MPs can currently hold the government to ransom for whatever they want, so our 13 Scottish Tories could have asked for the moon for the people here, but they didn't ask for one extra penny, far less ask for the parity that the law says we should have.

So right from the start, these Tory MPs have made it clear that they won't stand up for Scotland, they won't use their influence, they won't do what is best for us. They will simply toe the party line and keep sipping the Westminster champagne.

And while our Scottish Tories, ask for nothing for their voters/constituents, be assured, that while the DUP has extracted a billion pound price to agree to get the Tories through their Queen's Speech vote, it won't be stopping there. Clearly, Mrs May is so desperate to hold on to power, that she will do whatever is necessary, so the DUP wish list will be back. Watch out for attacks on women's rights, LGBT rights, and of course, the hard won stability of Northern Ireland itself.

So while you congratulate yourself on showing your dislike for another independence referendum with your Tory vote, you better hope that warm glow will keep you going while our best interests now mean nothing, while your shiny new MPs ignore you, and while investment here stops to pay for the dreams of Unionist extremists.

And that's before the Tories even get started on their next wave of persecute the poor and vulnerable policies...After all they will need to re-coup the 1.5 Billion somehow

Again, not something any Tory voter can justify.
All gone into hiding, I fear.

Oh dear despite the sudden £2.5bn

Austerity is still not over according to Fallon.

Not buying a majority then.

Good article in the Guardian Jen, particularly this.

In short, Mrs May is acting as if nothing has changed. That is why rightwing Tory MPs, desperate to prevent concessions, rallied behind her in the Commons on Monday. Yet in the country things have changed and are changing. The public has tired of austerity. It is more anxious about Brexit. Mrs May, though, will not change unless she is forced to. Opposition parties and pro-European Tories must make that happen. They have thepower. It is time for them to use it.

Yes saw that gg

Except Michael Fallon Jen. He was on this morning and talked about the agreement as if this was just the normal work of his kind and beneficent government.

Thanks to Jen's for the link as always.

Just been reading that Holland and Barrett has been bought out by a Russian billionaire. I wonder why, when many people are trying to get out of the UK.
Although maybe that is someone getting out of the UK as it was owned by an Americaqn group, Carlyle.

Amendment to QS.

Asking for spending to increase the police and firefighting budget, and to lift the pay freeze on public sector pay.

Tories will vote against claiming that there is no money tree. DUP will support them, having just received an initial payment of one thousand million pounds, with more available over the next two years. I suppose it will very much depend when the DUP starts to threaten withdrawing their support.

Chris Patten, appearing on BBC Breakfast , made avery good point when he said that the Tory government did not need to offer the DUP anything because they would never vote to bring them down.

The DUP is a right wing party which would never back the Labour party, and they detest Corbyn because of his association with Irish Republicans.

In other words, what Chris Patten called a "bung" (ie bribe) of £1,000,000,000 of taxpayers' money could have been left growing on the magic money tree or used to benefit the whole country.

It would have given a further 2% to the NHS if they had chosen to do that, benefiting every single member of the British community.

Philippa Whitford making really good speech in the Queens Speech Debate on poverty. Never noticed her before but she is very erudite and speaks very well.

Oh! good reply. (the cons are interrupting - obviously no poverty to worry about!)

Has anyone come across her?

Phillipa Whiteford was elected as a Westminster MP as one of the 56 SNP MPs in 2015 (relected 2017). A distinguished cancer surgeon before election she provoked fury in the right wing press when she spent the summer recess operating on women with breast cancer in Gaza and cancelled her Christmas Holiday to cover for a sick colleague by performing life saving surgery in Scotland. She was accused of 'moonlighting' to make a bob or two on top of her MP's salary. She explained that she was pleased to do some work, partly to keep her registration up to date and partly to ensure that women did not face cancellation of their urgent surgery. Her fee had been donated to a cancer charity.

Recognised as one of the best SNP MPs she speaks mainly on Health and Welfare issues.

Wow. She not only talks the talk but obviously walks the walk.

Thank you Granny23. I would like to hear more from people like her.

Would like to hear more from people like Ms Whiteford and less from our disgusting, vicious, liars of the right wing press. How much longer can people swallow the bile and poison they publish? They never let the truth get in the way of a story.

How can I hear that? Any idea?

The telegraph reports that the cabinet is totally divided over Brexit and its negotiations.

Hammond and Davis are continually squabbling. Hammond has also dragged Johnson into the argument, criticising his "having our cake and eating it" as ignorant and totally unhelpful.

No 10 is desparately trying to keep a lid on it all.

Quote from David Davis.

" we are not going to introduce ID cards - what we are going to do is introduce cards of identification"

They also don't appear to have any idea about the pay cap.
This is quite funny.

www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2017/jun/28/pmqs-may-corbyn-queens-speech-oliver-letwin-tory-and-cameron-policy-guru-says-taxes-should-go-up-to-fund-better-public-services-politics-live

Taxes should go up to fund better services, but no more pay even though the pay cap is under review.
Even people like Peston are flummoxed.