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The lovely discussion of all things EU and/or Brexit

Brett-Butler
in News and Politics

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Peston is right and largely echoes what I have said many times. The BBC simply reported what each side was saying with little or no analysis or scrutiny.

 

Election coverage has been moving this way for a long time. Campaigns exploit the broadcasters' obligation to provide balanced coverage, in particular the obligation to give equal time to each side in a referendum. Back in the 1983 general election Labour stuck largely to traditional campaigning methods - major speeches, policy announcements etc. The Tories knew that, if the broadcasters showed five minutes of this in their campaign coverage, they would have to devote five minutes to the Tories. However, the Tories provided little in the way of policies etc. and concentrated on photo-opportunities. By 1987 Labour started to move in that direction and the Alliance / Lib Dems eventually felt they needed to follow suit as well.

 

By the time of the Scottish referendum, the No campaign knew that they could just spout a few slogans and they would be faithfully reported. The Leave campaign in the EU referendum took it a step further. They realised that they didn't have to bother worrying about whether anything they said was true, the broadcasters would be obliged to report it. Sure enough, that's what happened. Hence why the £350m is one of the main things people remember from the campaign.

 

Broadcasters need to reconsider their approach to news and what constitutes balance. If one side in a campaign says something that is demonstrably untrue, that should be reported. Anyone repeating that untruth should be challenged. Opinions should be subjected to proper scrutiny. That means not allowing someone to say that a trade deal with the EU would be "the easiest ever". It also means that anyone saying that there would be a mass exodus of companies in the event of a Leave vote should have been asked to explain why they thought that.

 

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It is being alleged today that the Met are holding back on investigating possible crimes by the Leave campaign because of "political sensitivities". IF that is true (and for now it remains an if) that is scandalous. If it happened in any other country we would be calling it blatant corruption of the highest order.

 

https://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/brexitinc/...-claiming-polit

Extremely corrupt.

 

Meanwhile a black man was beaten by four officers for smoking marijuana. Who gives a shite. Let the man smoke all the Maria he wants. UK is barely better than a fascist state now.

The M26 (for anyone unaware) is a major link road between the motorway to Dover/Folkestone and the M25. It is currently being closed at short notice for the next few nights as work is started on making it ready to potentially be used as a lorry park in the event of a 'no deal'.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45827197

Ah yes, the continuing saga of preparing for "no deal".

 

It is one of the responsibilities of government to prepare for various possible major problems. These include severe winter weather or a major flu epidemic. In many of those cases (severe weather in the coming winter being the most obvious example) there is noting the government can do to stop it happening. All they can do is hope to reduce the impact.

 

Leaving the EU without a deal is very different. This government's "strategy" is rather like the driver of a train trying to minimise the effects of driving it over a cliff while ignoring the fact that it still has a perfectly functioning set of brakes.

Extremely corrupt.

 

Meanwhile a black man was beaten by four officers for smoking marijuana. Who gives a shite.

 

Huh?

 

Let the man smoke all the Maria he wants.
Ah, I thought you'd turned into Tommy Robinson there for a minute. :P

 

The problem with weed is not smoking it in private, but driving under the influence of it...

 

UK is barely better than a fascist state now.

 

Except that a fascist state usually has more than enough police - a claim that can't be made of Britain!

I like how even Buzzjack's most fervent politicos have tuned out of Brexit chat despite No Deal being on the horizon within 48 hours.

 

That's the upside of the government's strategy, isn't it? Going round and round in circles between last December and today ensures the most helpful outcome for the Conservatives remaining in government which is not a good deal, but for the UK public to get bored of Brexit.

 

Case in point this afternoon, barely 24 hours before Groundhog Day:

"1st steers out of Cabinet is that there was collective agreement that EU's backstop to the backstop is not acceptable , but no final decisions were taken so still 'all to play for' one source suggests"

https://twitter.com/bbclaurak/status/1052167536484204544

I had been thinking this myself. Each day shows more and more signs of how little progress is being made, which would have been inexcusable 18 months ago, never mind this close to decision time. Hence nothing new to talk about and I think a lot of people are already mentally in panic freezing mode like it's already March.
I had been thinking this myself. Each day shows more and more signs of how little progress is being made, which would have been inexcusable 18 months ago, never mind this close to decision time. Hence nothing new to talk about and I think a lot of people are already mentally in panic freezing mode like it's already March.

I think the electorate are far from panicking though? I'd say it ranges from the clichéd stiff upper lip complacency that everything will turn out fine (this is fading, but it's still unhelpful), to a resigned despondence. Neither of these sentiments offer any impetus or direction to get the country out of its rut. Only on the hardcore Leave/Remain margins, or amongst the minority who are politically engaged enough to follow each twist and turn do you get outrage, anger or panic.

I fear that a lot of people don’t fully appreciate what leaving without a deal really means. There seems to be alarmingly little understanding of just how many things work as smoothly as they do as a direct result of EU membership.
There are 164 days until we leave the EU. There has been 844 DAYS since we voted to leave, yet we're barely closer to knowing what the final product will be. The tories have let everyone down horrifically and so have Labour. Ugh whenever I think of Brexit it's genuinely worrying :mellow:
I fear that a lot of people don’t fully appreciate what leaving without a deal really means. There seems to be alarmingly little understanding of just how many things work as smoothly as they do as a direct result of EU membership.

 

I agree, but at least house prices will be affordable*! :P

 

*I'm being incredibly facetious here..

There are 164 days until we leave the EU. There has been 844 DAYS since we voted to leave, yet we're barely closer to knowing what the final product will be. The tories have let everyone down horrifically and so have Labour. Ugh whenever I think of Brexit it's genuinely worrying :mellow:

 

Am I the only one here looking forward to it?

Am I the only one here looking forward to it?

 

What is it exactly you are looking forward to? We are still no nearer to knowing what will actually happen.

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