More bad news for bitter as he kicks off the weekend with a spectacular self-own.

Oh dear. From that very BBC report:-

Yup. Record trade deficit, £18.3bn. Recall that Harold Wilson's Labour government unexpectedly lost the 1970 election, having started the campaign 12 points ahead of Edward Heath's Conservatives, because of the last-minute report on polling day itself of a surprise £31 million trade deficit, of which £20 million was accounted for simply by the order of two Boeing 747s for BOAC that month. And the current deficit is about 30 times worse even allowing for inflation.

Incidentally, there are still two members of the House who stood and won in 1970: Ken Clarke and Dennis Skinner.

Who are Ukip Rovers playing there?

Kudos to Vince Cable and the lib dems.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...ers-for-remain

I like to think I played a tiny part handing out stickers on the marches and in the pub.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-combined-poll

"Brexit party may get more EU election votes than Tories and Labour combined – poll"

That's what you get when you are trying to cheat your own citizens. Even if you are a remainer, you have to acknowledge the fact that "someone" is trying hard to nullify a decmocratic voting. I am not talking about what happens in Turkey right now, I am talking about the UK. The Brexit-story brings up a central question: What is democracy worth if people vote for the "wrong" result? The answer can only be less democracy.

On the other hand, how would Europe look if every country had a voting system of Switzerland? Well, I think that every european country would look pretty much like Switzerland. That's an utopia that I could actually live with very well. Yes, Switzerland doesn't exist in a vacuum, but it's hard to argue against their success.

It's getting very hairy. Seem no doubt that the brexit party is going to do very well (assuming the elections aren't miraculously cancelled). Post election the prospect of the tories moving towards the brexit party's ground looms large. May is possibly giving a departure timetable this week.

The one silver lining for my side at the moment is that remainers may stop kidding themselves that they are winning the argument by agreeing with themselves so much. The remain camp will hopefully realise that they have to get their act together and actually sort this out while they have the numbers. Even an unpopular remain is better than leaving this vacuum. Kier Starmer coming out firmly for any deal with the tories needing a confirmatory referendum is a good start.

No. Leaving is the only road to true catharsis now. Don't kid yourself.

Possibly but if so I will continue to kid myself on that one.

I really think it depends on how it's handled if we remain. We can go down the path of 'jeering at the stupid racists' or go down the path of healing the wounds and relying on time to do it's work.

If that's true after a referendum on method of leaving vs remain it's because remainers are inherently more reasonable than leavers and thus less prone to making threats of violence etc, not because of any terrible injustice caused by whatever the result is.

The Swiss held two referendums on EFTA membership: the first on whether to apply in principle, and the second on whether to go ahead with the deal that was actually agreed. Because that's how you do that. And you can't teach the Swiss anything about referendums.

The Swiss also just did this:--

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47879777

lol

Well ok, if you don't like the word reasonable substitute "better human beings on average".

Exhibit A supporting this assertion is you

Well, people that act with the temperament and reasoned argument of a two year old because they can't get their own way and try to rationalise it when really it's just 'I want it, and I'm going to scweam and scweam till I get it', aren't really objectively better than those who are dismayed by politicians trying to slime their way out of a democratic mandate imo.

Also don't have a problem with the word, more your laughable misuse of it.

Are people that post an article and think that it shows how ace the UK is doing despite the idiocy of Brexit without having read the article that says that stockpiling due to Brexit caused the economic bounce better or worse than either of those two groups?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48267688

4400 jobs.

Yes, plus 20,000 in the supply chain. And S****horpe voted Leave. It's tragic. Just as Sunderland voted Leave and, even though most Sunderland voters don't want Leave any more (see the council elections), they're still stuck with it because idiots (including Combat 18 fascist Billy Charlton and his friends, pictured at the Sunderland count on all the front pages the day after the referendum) claim the 2016 vote is somehow definitive in a way that no vote ever has been before, so Nissan are still going to quit and the town's dead. With no hope for the future at all.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48275827

I assume by 'deal' they mean May's withdrawal agreement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_activism

There is no doubt that in the end Switzerland will be assimilated too. The octopus United Nations (aka International Socialism) will eventually grab the whole world. Resistance is futile!

The absolute certainty of the terminally clueless.

You show remarkable self awareness.

Oh dear. How embarrassing.

Yes, but this time it'll be presented as an actual bill, to get round the Speaker's correct rule that you can't keep re-presenting the same motion in the same session.

Be aware, though, that, even if Corbyn whips Labour to abstain and it passes, the Lords are likely to attach a referendum amendment.