New leader by the end of July. then back in September, for a week, off for conferences, then back with 3 weeks to go.
Upcoming
Recess House rises House returns Whitsun 23 May 2019 4 June 2019 The exact pattern of recesses can change and is normally slightly different for the two Houses. These are the dates for the recesses that have already taken place during this session: Previous
Recess House rises House returns Summer 20 July 2017 5 September 2017 Conference 14 September 2017 9 October 2017 November 7 November 2017 13 November 2017
New leader by the end of July. then back in September, for a week, off for conferences, then back with 3 weeks to go.
Upcoming
Recess House rises House returns Whitsun 23 May 2019 4 June 2019 The exact pattern of recesses can change and is normally slightly different for the two Houses. These are the dates for the recesses that have already taken place during this session: Previous
Recess House rises House returns Summer 20 July 2017 5 September 2017 Conference 14 September 2017 9 October 2017 November 7 November 2017 13 November 2017
The EU offered us longer to sort ourselves out, after we had already missed 1 deadline (set by us).
Everyone is saying time is tight. So
1. We have a meaningless Euro election, where (no doubt) people voted for a Party that can have precisely 0 influence for the next 3 years (other than to tub-thump, and threaten anyone who wants to compromise, obviously)
2. The Government decide to spend the next 2 months (of the remaining 5 months) having some internal wrangles about which (unelected, at least by us) person is to run the country
I despair of this country, sometimes. I really do.
We are going to end up with a period of total chaos via a No Deal that we are totally unprepared for. Organised by the Party that has always stood for (and been supported by) big business. That are likely to make themselves unelectable for a generation.
Think LibDems and tuition fees. And multiply it by about a million.
New leader by the end of July. then back in September, for a week, off for conferences, then back with 3 weeks to go.
Upcoming
Recess House rises House returns Whitsun 23 May 2019 4 June 2019 The exact pattern of recesses can change and is normally slightly different for the two Houses. These are the dates for the recesses that have already taken place during this session: Previous
Recess House rises House returns Summer 20 July 2017 5 September 2017 Conference 14 September 2017 9 October 2017 November 7 November 2017 13 November 2017
The EU offered us longer to sort ourselves out, after we had already missed 1 deadline (set by us).
Everyone is saying time is tight. So
1. We have a meaningless Euro election, where (no doubt) people voted for a Party that can have precisely 0 influence for the next 3 years (other than to tub-thump, and threaten anyone who wants to compromise, obviously)
2. The Government decide to spend the next 2 months (of the remaining 5 months) having some internal wrangles about which (unelected, at least by us) person is to run the country
I despair of this country, sometimes. I really do.
We are going to end up with a period of total chaos via a No Deal that we are totally unprepared for. Organised by the Party that has always stood for (and been supported by) big business. That are likely to make themselves unelectable for a generation.
Think LibDems and tuition fees. And multiply it by about a million.
I think much has been made of the pointlessness of the EU elections. Mainly by the Tory, and Labour parties. This may of course have been prompted by their expectation of disastrous results.
However even Great Britain has to obey rules from time to time. We are still members of the EU, and therefore have to elect MEPs.
The Brexit mess has been partially caused by our side thinking that rules don't apply to us. We seem to think that we are above the rules. Hence the cherry picking, and cake eating.
The cost of these elections is a drop in the ocean, compared to the money spent on no deal preparations.
The results of the elections should act as a warning to both the main parties.
Boris the favorite to become the next PM, has already made clear that we will leave in October, with or without a deal.
It is hard to see what sort of compromise could occur, in a matter of the last couple of weeks.
Theresa Mays attempts at compromise were her eventual undoing.
I still have a problem in understanding how a no deal option would be possible.
For it to be a real option, we have to welsh on the money we owe them, wash our hands of the Irish border, ignore citizens rights, and expect them to say fair enough, we will trade with you on WTO rules.
Any trade with the EU will require the passing of a Withdrawal Bill.
At the end of the day I believe that any compromise seems unlikely, in the time we have left and that we will be left with the more extreme options.
Those that are critical of a confirmatory vote, may change their minds, when faced with a choice of revoke, no deal, or confirmatory vote.
Assuming this was the choice we are left with, it would be hard to argue that this would not be the most democratic outcome.
New leader by the end of July. then back in September, for a week, off for conferences, then back with 3 weeks to go.
Upcoming
Recess House rises House returns Whitsun 23 May 2019 4 June 2019 The exact pattern of recesses can change and is normally slightly different for the two Houses. These are the dates for the recesses that have already taken place during this session: Previous
Recess House rises House returns Summer 20 July 2017 5 September 2017 Conference 14 September 2017 9 October 2017 November 7 November 2017 13 November 2017
The EU offered us longer to sort ourselves out, after we had already missed 1 deadline (set by us).
Everyone is saying time is tight. So
1. We have a meaningless Euro election, where (no doubt) people voted for a Party that can have precisely 0 influence for the next 3 years (other than to tub-thump, and threaten anyone who wants to compromise, obviously)
2. The Government decide to spend the next 2 months (of the remaining 5 months) having some internal wrangles about which (unelected, at least by us) person is to run the country
I despair of this country, sometimes. I really do.
We are going to end up with a period of total chaos via a No Deal that we are totally unprepared for. Organised by the Party that has always stood for (and been supported by) big business. That are likely to make themselves unelectable for a generation.
Think LibDems and tuition fees. And multiply it by about a million.
The next Tory leader will be chosen by 0.27% of the electorate, who have an average age of 70.
This Tory leader was forced out by the 1922 committee, who threatened to change the Tory Party rules, if she refused to resign. Contrary to the current rules.
The Sunday Times seems to relish the fact that Environment Secretary Michael Gove will go head-to-head with Boris Johnson in the Conservative leadership race. "Get Boris!" is the headline. The paper says the development will revive memories of what it calls "the psychodrama of 2016", when Mr Gove was chairman of Mr Johnson's leadership campaign - but then launched his own bid. The Sunday Telegraph reports that Mr Gove set out his stall to about 10 Tory MPs at a private dinner on Tuesday, three days before Theresa May resigned. One of those present, who is not named, is quoted saying: "His pitch was that he could provide unity, vision and grip".
The former foreign secretary is attacked by the Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage in the Sunday Express. Mr Farage highlights the fact that Mr Johnson resigned from his cabinet post because he was so angry about Theresa May's Brexit deal, but then voted for a later version of it in the Commons. He argues this raises doubts about Mr Johnson's pledge that the UK would leave the EU at the end of October, with or without a deal, if he was in charge. The Sun on Sunday showcases Mr Johnson's pitch for the top job in a two-page spread. It says he has come up with what it describes as a "secret blueprint for power". This includes increasing funding for the NHS, tackling violent crime, and easing the housing crisis. But the paper is worried about the number of candidates entering the race, warning that the Conservatives "need to get a grip fast". "PM race turning toxic already", is the headline in the Mail on Sunday. It says the contest to replace Theresa May "exploded into life", when the hopefuls traded "the first vicious blows". These include International Development Secretary Rory Stewart's description of Boris Johnson's stance on Brexit as "damaging, unnecessary and dishonest".
The candidates' pitches "The race is on," declares the front page of the Sunday Telegraph, in which a dizzying array of Tories give their views on the contest. Among them are Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss, former International Development Secretary Priti Patel, and Sir Graham Brady, the former chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs. One of the candidates - the former Work and Pensions Secretary, Esther McVey - sets out her stall. She believes that the Brexit deal negotiated by Theresa May must be, in her words, "put out of its misery". The UK should make it clear to Brussels, Ms McVey argues, that it is prepared to leave in October with no deal, making a "clean break". Writing in the Mail on Sunday, former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab explains why he should be the next prime minister. He sums up his vision, which includes efforts to increase wages and lower taxes, as "a fairer deal for workers, a fairer society, and a fairer deal from the EU". The Sunday Times has a double-page spread in which two candidates - the Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and the former leader of the Commons, Andrea Leadsom - make their pitches for the top job.
Mr Hunt points to his business credentials, as an entrepreneur who founded an education company which he sold for £15m. He tells the paper: "We need to send a signal to the world that we are going to be the best place to do business." Ms Leadsom explains that she would relish the opportunity to lead Britain out of the European Union - and would do so by the current deadline in October, with or without a deal. But she says she would put "significant effort" into trying to achieve an agreement with the European Commission. Aside from Brexit, she is expected to promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions to nearly zero by 2050. The Sunday Mirror's leader column expresses disgust that the Conservatives are so focused on their own rivalries, when thousands of jobs are in jeopardy, because of the collapse of British Steel. The paper describes the leadership contest as "both an act of gross self-indulgence and a grotesque dereliction of public duty".
The Observer unmasks the members of the anti-Brexit activist group, Led By Donkeys. They put up giant billboard posters across the UK, featuring old tweets or quotes from politicians, which tended to subvert their arguments for leaving the EU. The four men describe how they came up with the idea while drinking in a north London pub, and crowdfunded several of the posters. Also in the Observer, Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson warns that his party will lose the next general election, unless it quickly commits wholeheartedly to a second referendum on Brexit. Mr Watson argues that Labour needs to develop what he calls "backbone" on the issue. He says the way to do that is to make sure that policy is set by the membership, not by "a small number of people on Labour's national executive".
People often say that "No Deal" is the worst solution. It is bad, but it is not the worst.
The worst scenario for business is uncertainty. For the last 3 years, UK PLC has been totally hamstrung in its business planning. I am confident that large parts of UK business will cope better with any reality (however bad) than the unknown.
Leaving without a deal will be horrendous. Mainly for the UK, but also (to a lesser extent) for Europe. It will at least concentrate the minds moving forward, so that Parliament will be forced to agree on a deal.
People often say that "No Deal" is the worst solution. It is bad, but it is not the worst.
The worst scenario for business is uncertainty. For the last 3 years, UK PLC has been totally hamstrung in its business planning. I am confident that large parts of UK business will cope better with any reality (however bad) than the unknown.
Leaving without a deal will be horrendous. Mainly for the UK, but also (to a lesser extent) for Europe. It will at least concentrate the minds moving forward, so that Parliament will be forced to agree on a deal.
And we can get on with our lives.
What do you think may happen to make a deal possible?
“a man who waits to see which way the crowd is running, then dashes in front and says ‘follow me’”.
Boris Johnson’s bid for No 10 hit by backlash as senior Conservatives back away over no-deal Brexit fears
Later, in a barb clearly aimed at the former foreign secretary, Mr Stewart tweeted: “The star name will not always be the best choice. “There may be times when Jiminy Cricket would make a better leader than Pinocchio.”
Although the early editions of the papers were printed before the European parliamentary election results were revealed, the direction of travel was clear. A smiling Nigel Farage dominates the front pages of the Times and the Daily Telegraph, which says his Brexit party has surged across the country, while the Conservatives have suffered their worst-ever election result. The paper also points out that what it calls Labour's "Brexit muddle" has brought the Lib Dems back from the dead.
And with the new pro-EU Change UK party considering whether to merge with the Lib Dems as it failed to win any seats, the Daily Express says that after last night's shuddering alarm call, it is make-your-mind-up time for parties old and new. The Guardian's headline neatly sums up the wider picture: "Power shifts away from major parties as voters across Europe desert the centre ground". The i newspaper agrees that the establishment parties have been punished, with nationalists and Greens claiming victories around Europe. The results mark the end of what the Guardian calls the cosy consensus in the European Parliament, but it notes that there is still a fairly comfortable pro-European majority. Many papers consider the effect that the EU election results will have on the Conservative leadership race. "Farage might be crowing, and Jeremy Corbyn rethinking," writes the Daily Mirror, "but the Tories are sinking deeper into their civil war, losing the ability to govern." The civil war that's shaping up appears to be the former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson against the rest: under the headline "Operation Stop Boris", the Daily Mail highlights attacks on Mr Johnson from other candidates, as well as senior Conservatives who are not standing.
The Sun says this leadership battle is already doing the Conservatives serious damage, turning all too quickly into a circular firing squad. It says of another contender, the International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, that "having a pop at colleagues on day one won't help rebuild the party's battered reputation". But it is more critical of Chancellor Philip Hammond, for "threatening to bring down the government if a new leader pushes for a clean-break Brexit, even if his party's MPs and members vote for exactly that". In its editorial, the Times warns that it would be a disaster for the party and the country if the race becomes as ugly, divisive and bitter as the Conservative infighting over Brexit. This would make it "very difficult for any new leader to bind up the wounds, fashion an acceptable compromise or command the confidence of the electorate," it concludes. Noting that the schism in the Tory party is between those who could accept a no-deal Brexit and those who could not, the Guardian says: "Throwing off Theresa May has changed nothing significant. But it has made one important thing clearer, which is the fault line along which the party is being broken."
In his regular column in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Johnson writes that "No-one sensible would aim exclusively for a no-deal outcome," but adds that, "No-one responsible would take no-deal off the table." Writing in the Times, another challenger, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, warns against personal attacks and says there is a need to repair our fractured sense of national community.
Comments
New leader by the end of July. then back in September, for a week, off for conferences, then back with 3 weeks to go.
Upcoming
Recess
House rises
House returns
Whitsun
23 May 2019
4 June 2019
The exact pattern of recesses can change and is normally slightly different for the two Houses.
These are the dates for the recesses that have already taken place during this session:
Previous
Recess
House rises
House returns
Summer
20 July 2017
5 September 2017
Conference
14 September 2017
9 October 2017
November
7 November 2017
13 November 2017
https://www.parliament.uk/about/faqs/house-of-commons-faqs/business-faq-page/recess-dates/
The EU offered us longer to sort ourselves out, after we had already missed 1 deadline (set by us).
Everyone is saying time is tight. So
1. We have a meaningless Euro election, where (no doubt) people voted for a Party that can have precisely 0 influence for the next 3 years (other than to tub-thump, and threaten anyone who wants to compromise, obviously)
2. The Government decide to spend the next 2 months (of the remaining 5 months) having some internal wrangles about which (unelected, at least by us) person is to run the country
I despair of this country, sometimes. I really do.
We are going to end up with a period of total chaos via a No Deal that we are totally unprepared for. Organised by the Party that has always stood for (and been supported by) big business. That are likely to make themselves unelectable for a generation.
Think LibDems and tuition fees. And multiply it by about a million.
I think much has been made of the pointlessness of the EU elections. Mainly by the Tory, and Labour parties. This may of course have been prompted by their expectation of disastrous results.
However even Great Britain has to obey rules from time to time. We are still members of the EU, and therefore have to elect MEPs.
The Brexit mess has been partially caused by our side thinking that rules don't apply to us. We seem to think that we are above the rules. Hence the cherry picking, and cake eating.
The cost of these elections is a drop in the ocean, compared to the money spent on no deal preparations.
The results of the elections should act as a warning to both the main parties.
Boris the favorite to become the next PM, has already made clear that we will leave in October, with or without a deal.
It is hard to see what sort of compromise could occur, in a matter of the last couple of weeks.
Theresa Mays attempts at compromise were her eventual undoing.
I still have a problem in understanding how a no deal option would be possible.
For it to be a real option, we have to welsh on the money we owe them, wash our hands of the Irish border, ignore citizens rights, and expect them to say fair enough, we will trade with you on WTO rules.
Any trade with the EU will require the passing of a Withdrawal Bill.
At the end of the day I believe that any compromise seems unlikely, in the time we have left and that we will be left with the more extreme options.
Those that are critical of a confirmatory vote, may change their minds, when faced with a choice of revoke, no deal, or confirmatory vote.
Assuming this was the choice we are left with, it would be hard to argue that this would not be the most democratic outcome.
The next Tory leader will be chosen by 0.27% of the electorate, who have an average age of 70.
This Tory leader was forced out by the 1922 committee, who threatened to change the Tory Party rules, if she refused to resign. Contrary to the current rules.
Plenty more democracy in action.
The Sunday Times seems to relish the fact that Environment Secretary Michael Gove will go head-to-head with Boris Johnson in the Conservative leadership race.
"Get Boris!" is the headline. The paper says the development will revive memories of what it calls "the psychodrama of 2016", when Mr Gove was chairman of Mr Johnson's leadership campaign - but then launched his own bid.
The Sunday Telegraph reports that Mr Gove set out his stall to about 10 Tory MPs at a private dinner on Tuesday, three days before Theresa May resigned.
One of those present, who is not named, is quoted saying: "His pitch was that he could provide unity, vision and grip".
The former foreign secretary is attacked by the Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage in the Sunday Express.
Mr Farage highlights the fact that Mr Johnson resigned from his cabinet post because he was so angry about Theresa May's Brexit deal, but then voted for a later version of it in the Commons.
He argues this raises doubts about Mr Johnson's pledge that the UK would leave the EU at the end of October, with or without a deal, if he was in charge.
The Sun on Sunday showcases Mr Johnson's pitch for the top job in a two-page spread.
It says he has come up with what it describes as a "secret blueprint for power". This includes increasing funding for the NHS, tackling violent crime, and easing the housing crisis.
But the paper is worried about the number of candidates entering the race, warning that the Conservatives "need to get a grip fast".
"PM race turning toxic already", is the headline in the Mail on Sunday. It says the contest to replace Theresa May "exploded into life", when the hopefuls traded "the first vicious blows".
These include International Development Secretary Rory Stewart's description of Boris Johnson's stance on Brexit as "damaging, unnecessary and dishonest".
The candidates' pitches
"The race is on," declares the front page of the Sunday Telegraph, in which a dizzying array of Tories give their views on the contest.
Among them are Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss, former International Development Secretary Priti Patel, and Sir Graham Brady, the former chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs.
One of the candidates - the former Work and Pensions Secretary, Esther McVey - sets out her stall. She believes that the Brexit deal negotiated by Theresa May must be, in her words, "put out of its misery".
The UK should make it clear to Brussels, Ms McVey argues, that it is prepared to leave in October with no deal, making a "clean break".
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab explains why he should be the next prime minister. He sums up his vision, which includes efforts to increase wages and lower taxes, as "a fairer deal for workers, a fairer society, and a fairer deal from the EU".
The Sunday Times has a double-page spread in which two candidates - the Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and the former leader of the Commons, Andrea Leadsom - make their pitches for the top job.
Mr Hunt points to his business credentials, as an entrepreneur who founded an education company which he sold for £15m.
He tells the paper: "We need to send a signal to the world that we are going to be the best place to do business."
Ms Leadsom explains that she would relish the opportunity to lead Britain out of the European Union - and would do so by the current deadline in October, with or without a deal.
But she says she would put "significant effort" into trying to achieve an agreement with the European Commission. Aside from Brexit, she is expected to promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions to nearly zero by 2050.
The Sunday Mirror's leader column expresses disgust that the Conservatives are so focused on their own rivalries, when thousands of jobs are in jeopardy, because of the collapse of British Steel.
The paper describes the leadership contest as "both an act of gross self-indulgence and a grotesque dereliction of public duty".
The Observer unmasks the members of the anti-Brexit activist group, Led By Donkeys. They put up giant billboard posters across the UK, featuring old tweets or quotes from politicians, which tended to subvert their arguments for leaving the EU.
The four men describe how they came up with the idea while drinking in a north London pub, and crowdfunded several of the posters.
Also in the Observer, Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson warns that his party will lose the next general election, unless it quickly commits wholeheartedly to a second referendum on Brexit.
Mr Watson argues that Labour needs to develop what he calls "backbone" on the issue.
He says the way to do that is to make sure that policy is set by the membership, not by "a small number of people on Labour's national executive".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-48411490
The worst scenario for business is uncertainty. For the last 3 years, UK PLC has been totally hamstrung in its business planning. I am confident that large parts of UK business will cope better with any reality (however bad) than the unknown.
Leaving without a deal will be horrendous. Mainly for the UK, but also (to a lesser extent) for Europe. It will at least concentrate the minds moving forward, so that Parliament will be forced to agree on a deal.
And we can get on with our lives.
Michael Heseltine on Boris Johnson:
“a man who waits to see which way the crowd is running, then dashes in front and says ‘follow me’”.
"Andrea Leadsom the latest minister to quit after discovering to her horror what her government’s policy has been for many months"
She negotiated a Withdrawal Agreement that was defeated by the biggest ever margin, yet she was surprised by this.
She negotiated an Irish border solution, without even talking to the DUP.
She came up with the Chequers plan without even consulting the Brexit Secretary, who was busy negotiating something completely different.
To spend nearly 2 years negotiating something that was so unacceptable, to so many people, means she didn't have a clue.
In her leaving speech, she warned her successor about the importance of compromise, yet she clearly has no idea of the meaning of the word.
Boris Johnson’s bid for No 10 hit by backlash as senior Conservatives back away over no-deal Brexit fears
Later, in a barb clearly aimed at the former foreign secretary, Mr Stewart tweeted: “The star name will not always be the best choice.
“There may be times when Jiminy Cricket would make a better leader than Pinocchio.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/politics/boris-johnsons-bid-for-no-10-hit-by-backlash-as-senior-conservatives-back-away-over-no-deal-brexit-fears/ar-AABUhet?ocid=spartanntp
Although the early editions of the papers were printed before the European parliamentary election results were revealed, the direction of travel was clear.
A smiling Nigel Farage dominates the front pages of the Times and the Daily Telegraph, which says his Brexit party has surged across the country, while the Conservatives have suffered their worst-ever election result.
The paper also points out that what it calls Labour's "Brexit muddle" has brought the Lib Dems back from the dead.
And with the new pro-EU Change UK party considering whether to merge with the Lib Dems as it failed to win any seats, the Daily Express says that after last night's shuddering alarm call, it is make-your-mind-up time for parties old and new.
The Guardian's headline neatly sums up the wider picture: "Power shifts away from major parties as voters across Europe desert the centre ground".
The i newspaper agrees that the establishment parties have been punished, with nationalists and Greens claiming victories around Europe.
The results mark the end of what the Guardian calls the cosy consensus in the European Parliament, but it notes that there is still a fairly comfortable pro-European majority.
Many papers consider the effect that the EU election results will have on the Conservative leadership race.
"Farage might be crowing, and Jeremy Corbyn rethinking," writes the Daily Mirror, "but the Tories are sinking deeper into their civil war, losing the ability to govern."
The civil war that's shaping up appears to be the former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson against the rest: under the headline "Operation Stop Boris", the Daily Mail highlights attacks on Mr Johnson from other candidates, as well as senior Conservatives who are not standing.
The Sun says this leadership battle is already doing the Conservatives serious damage, turning all too quickly into a circular firing squad.
It says of another contender, the International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, that "having a pop at colleagues on day one won't help rebuild the party's battered reputation".
But it is more critical of Chancellor Philip Hammond, for "threatening to bring down the government if a new leader pushes for a clean-break Brexit, even if his party's MPs and members vote for exactly that".
In its editorial, the Times warns that it would be a disaster for the party and the country if the race becomes as ugly, divisive and bitter as the Conservative infighting over Brexit.
This would make it "very difficult for any new leader to bind up the wounds, fashion an acceptable compromise or command the confidence of the electorate," it concludes.
Noting that the schism in the Tory party is between those who could accept a no-deal Brexit and those who could not, the Guardian says: "Throwing off Theresa May has changed nothing significant. But it has made one important thing clearer, which is the fault line along which the party is being broken."
In his regular column in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Johnson writes that "No-one sensible would aim exclusively for a no-deal outcome," but adds that, "No-one responsible would take no-deal off the table."
Writing in the Times, another challenger, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, warns against personal attacks and says there is a need to repair our fractured sense of national community.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-48417214