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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46188790

Agreement is finally in Number 10's grasp.

The text that's taken months of officials' blood, sweat and tears has been agreed, at least at a technical level.

Now a paper's being drafted to present to the Cabinet tomorrow ready for the government's hoped-for next step - political approval from Theresa May's team, even though many of them have deep reservations.

Remember in the last 24 hours some of them have been warning privately that what's on the table is just not acceptable, and will never get through Parliament. Some even believe the prime minister ought to walk away.

But the government machine is now cranking into action. With a text ready, their long-planned rollout can begin.
The BBC's chief political correspondent Vicki Young said some ministers had "deep concerns" about the shape of the likely agreement, which critics say could leave the UK trapped in a customs agreement with the EU.

She said they would have to decide whether they could support it, and if not, whether to resign from cabinet.

Leading Brexiteers have already condemned the draft agreement, Boris Johnson saying it would see the UK remain in the customs union and "large parts" of the single market.

He told the BBC it was "utterly unacceptable to anyone who believes in democracy". "Am I going to vote against it. The answer is yes," he added.

And Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said "given the shambolic nature of the negotiations, this is unlikely to be the good deal for the country".

'Failure to deliver'
Both the UK and EU want to schedule a special summit of European leaders at the end of November to sign off the reportedly 500 page withdrawal deal and the much shorter outline declaration of their future relationship.

Brussels has insisted it would only agree to put the wheels in motion for the summit if agreement can be reached on the issue of the Irish border.

Ambassadors from the remaining 27 EU states will meet in Brussels on Wednesday.

If a deal is agreed with the EU, Mrs May then needs to persuade her party - and the rest of Parliament - to support it in a key Commons vote.

Conservative Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said if details of the text reported by Irish broadcaster RTE were true, the UK would become a "vassal state" with Northern Ireland "being ruled from Dublin".

Such an agreement "failed to deliver on Brexit" and the cabinet should reject it, he told the BBC.

"I think what we know of this deal is deeply unsatisfactory," he said. "There seems to be growing opposition to these very poor proposals."

Meanwhile, following pressure from all sides of the Commons, ministers have agreed to provide MPs with a legal assessment of the implications for the UK of the Irish backstop and other controversial aspects of any deal.

Cabinet Office minister David Lidington said Attorney General Geoffrey Cox would make a statement to MPs and take questions ahead of the final vote on any Brexit deal.

MPs, he said, would get to see "a full reasoned position statement laying out the government's both political and also legal position on the proposed withdrawal agreement".

The Democratic Unionists' Westminster leader Nigel Dodds said he was pleased Parliament had "asserted its will" as it was imperative that all parties to the deal were clear in what way and for how long it would "legally bind" the UK.

Chequers minus it is. Whatever happened to no deal being better than a bad deal.

We should have been far more aggressive in negotiations with Brussels. They all but stated immediately after the referendum that they were going to bumrape us for having the temerity to leave, so we should have told them that unless and until they got serious, we'd basically go full on tax haven mode and steal all their big companies - and funnel money and support to Eurosceptics in Italy, Spain, Greece, Poland, and Hungary.

 

[6MillionCoofs]

Ah, nothing important then. Excellent.

 

[Overly Serious]

Does anyone in Britain actually care about this Dominic Cummings hoopla? Because that's all they seem to care about right now on r/ukpolitics.

Nope, but the media is covering nearly nothing else.

Honestly, this whole thing is a Godsend for those who want to get away with stuff whilst the public aren't looking. We have no real news any longer.

 

[CWCissey]

Dominic Cummings did a stupid and should have known better. However, the Twitterati and the media blowing it out of proportion purely because of politics is making me agree with him more.

 

[heyitsmike]

However, the Twitterati and the media blowing it out of proportion purely because of politics is making me agree with him more.

Same as with Trump then. Half of the new support he's picked up is probably for that reason.

 

[Slimy Time]

Nope, but the media is covering nearly nothing else.

Honestly, this whole thing is a Godsend for those who want to get away with stuff whilst the public aren't looking. We have no real news any longer.

Which is why they are not going to sack him or have him resign. Distracts from other things they might not want people looking into. Maybe slowly open things up while the majority of people, who are likely shitting themselves and want to stay home, are distracted by this garbage story.

At least that's what I think. Haven't looked at it, but I think a lot of Brits want to remain locked down out of fear/save the state religion (NHS) garbage.

 

[Ponderous Pillock]

Cummings did not "break lockdown rules" the media is trying their desperate best to portray it as such because they want his bald pate for daring to finally push the UK government in a direction the plebs wanted and they desperately don't.

During his household isolation, he moved to a property near his parents so his vulnerable, five year old autistic son (who becomes distressed when not around familar faces and people) and could be nearby if anything happened to him.

His parents live in Durham, 192 miles from London. There's even an image ripping round the net pointing to this fact in the legislation that vulnerable persons should be moved to another household in the event of you needing to isolate, be they elderly or vulnerable.

Despite them baying for his blood (and his circumstances are valid, unlike Ferguson who want to screw a married woman, and the former CMO in Scotland who went with her household repeatedly to her holiday home) he's actually done nothing wrong.

His statement and Q&A session later will be interesting....


Meanwhile, the British Press are currently... not socially distancing or wearing PPE as they all camp outside Cummings home, all piling on top of each other and the zombie remain campaign "Lead by Donkeys" parked a van outside his home which played how a 13 year old died of Covid on a loop... while Dom was at Downing Street. Meaning it blasted this out at his wife and said vulnerable child.

 

[Ginger Piglet]

At least that's what I think. Haven't looked at it, but I think a lot of Brits want to remain locked down out of fear/save the state religion (NHS) garbage.

I think a lot of us IRL are actually getting increasingly bored of schlepping around indoors, working from home in spurts in between crafty shitposts on social media and extended wanking sessions, but the media has since taken it upon themselves to be the "real opposition" and are still butthurt over the fact that the people didn't vote the way they told them to in December so therefore anything the Government does is wrong. Then there's the XR insects who are clearly rubbing their hands with glee and thinking that this might be a trial run for when net zero comes in. After all, if we all stayed at home, queued, didn't travel, and rationed ourselves when Corona-chan came around, you can do it to save the earth from dying of global warming in ten years' time, can't you.

I don't know about anyone else, but given the recent revelation that everyone who was prosecuted for lockdown violation was in fact done so wrongly, I'm tempted to basically go out my way to bend the rules until they scream. I kinda want someone to say to me that I'm killing people and should go home just so I can laugh in their face and tell them that since Jonathon Porritt and David Attenborough reckon the earth is overpopulated anyhow, I'm ackchually saving the planet, so stick that in your self isolation, Karen.

However because the twatter mob are as shrill as they are, nobody dare complain or criticise the measures or "our heroic NHS" or ThEY'rE KiLLiNg PeOplE!!!1

 

[heyitsmike]

By my count, currently 18 of the top 25 posts on r/ukpolitics are about Cummings either directly or tangentially. They are really worked up into a tizzy right now over there.

 

[Overly Serious]

I think a lot of us IRL are actually getting increasingly bored of schlepping around indoors, working from home in spurts in between crafty shitposts on social media and extended wanking sessions, but the media has since taken it upon themselves to be the "real opposition" and are still butthurt over the fact that the people didn't vote the way they told them to in December so therefore anything the Government does is wrong. Then there's the XR insects who are clearly rubbing their hands with glee and thinking that this might be a trial run for when net zero comes in. After all, if we all stayed at home, queued, didn't travel, and rationed ourselves when Corona-chan came around, you can do it to save the earth from dying of global warming in ten years' time, can't you.

I don't know about anyone else, but given the recent revelation that everyone who was prosecuted for lockdown violation was in fact done so wrongly, I'm tempted to basically go out my way to bend the rules until they scream. I kinda want someone to say to me that I'm killing people and should go home just so I can laugh in their face and tell them that since Jonathon Porritt and David Attenborough reckon the earth is overpopulated anyhow, I'm ackchually saving the planet, so stick that in your self isolation, Karen.

However because the twatter mob are as shrill as they are, nobody dare complain or criticise the measures or "our heroic NHS" or ThEY'rE KiLLiNg PeOplE!!!1

I was on a train to London last year and an XR supporting person who "worked for charities" casually expressed their support for old people dying off as quickly as possible to stop being a burden on "the rest of us". He was cheerful, outwardly friendly with the faint undercurrent of psychosis. I told him he'll probably feel differently when he's Seventy and he confidently asserted that he wouldn't. (Bullshit). I think if someone of them could have both the lockdown AND a mass die off rather than it (theoretically) being a choice, they'd be happy as Larry.

 

[Slimy Time]

I don't know about anyone else, but given the recent revelation that everyone who was prosecuted for lockdown violation was in fact done so wrongly, I'm tempted to basically go out my way to bend the rules until they scream. I kinda want someone to say to me that I'm killing people and should go home just so I can laugh in their face and tell them that since Jonathon Porritt and David Attenborough reckon the earth is overpopulated anyhow, I'm ackchually saving the planet, so stick that in your self isolation, Karen.

Out of the loop. What did they screw up in trying to prosecute lockdown violators?

 

[Kane Lives]

It's enough of a hoopla that my local news (all the way across the globe) has a section on this.

JFC, they really worked themselves into a tizzy for this one.

 

[Ginger Piglet]

I was on a train to London last year and an XR supporting person who "worked for charities" casually expressed their support for old people dying off as quickly as possible to stop being a burden on "the rest of us". He was cheerful, outwardly friendly with the faint undercurrent of psychosis.

Suddenly, Saint Greta of Thunberg's "how dare you, you have stolen my life and my childhood from me" makes an awful lot more sense.

Shudder.

Also, why am I not surprised he works for charities. I bet he had a hipster / soy beard as well. Am I right?

Out of the loop. What did they screw up in trying to prosecute lockdown violators?

This should explain it.

Basically, what Inspector Knacker reckons the regulations say, and what they actually say, are totally different things. That, and there's no statutory route to challenge a spot fine for breaching lockdown other than to refuse to pay and see if they prosecute you.

 

[Ponderous Pillock]

So the end was, he explained what he did, and that he did it for his family. Literally a dad looking out for his son and family and making the Press look like the useless, untrustworthy cunts they are.

Alistair Campbell decided to report him to the Met for it, because of fucking course he did. The end result is that County Durham Police looked into it, and decreed it's not actually a violation of the law as he followed the guidance above.

The Press continued to look like twats as they repeatedly asked the exact same question 90,000 times. Making them look like the absolute twats they are.

"Regardless of who's fault is this, shouldn't you resign?" Said by one fucking moron of a journo proving it had fuck all to do with anything about violation of orders, they just want Cummings specifically gone, probably so they can magically slay Brexit once and for all, somehow.

Mobile phone records released showing a lot of his reported "wanderings" didn't actually occur.

Only news lot to backtrack some of its more screeching claims was Sky News, as it was probably reaching "Could be easily sued until broke" territory.

 

[CWCissey]

Checkmark Twitter's gone suddenly silent all of a sudden...

Thank you based Cummings for showing the press up as the tards they are.

 

[Ginger Piglet]

"Regardless of who's fault is this, shouldn't you resign?" Said by one fucking moron of a journo proving it had fuck all to do with anything about violation of orders, they just want Cummings specifically gone, probably so they can magically slay Brexit once and for all, somehow.

That is the most smoothbrained thing it is possible to say in the circumstances. In fact, I'm going to watch the thing to check that that actually was said because I can't for once think anyone was humanly possible of such reality-bending denseness.

EDIT: She did. Fuck me.

Also #ScumMedia is trending on twatter. Blue ticks are losing their shit over how it's clearly a manufactured hashtag by a Tory troll farm. Blaming Russian hackers in 3, 2, 1...

 

[Champion The Wonder Horse]

I think Piers Morgan is going to have a stroke, all his bigging himself up and giving Boris ultimatums and he just got completely mugged off by Classic Dom.

 

[Ponderous Pillock]

That is the most smoothbrained thing it is possible to say in the circumstances. In fact, I'm going to watch the thing to check that that actually was said because I can't for once think anyone was humanly possible of such reality-bending denseness.

It's a quote from an order order commentor and got a lot of thumbs up, so I'm taking it as true.

Plus, you've seen this pack of slavering ideological morons, right? Might as well put Beff and Laura into the chamber at westminster as they've declared themselves the official opposition.

I think Piers Morgan is going to have a stroke, all his bigging himself up and giving Boris ultimatums and he just got completely mugged off by Classic Dom.

He's "banned" the cabinet from GMB. Which is hilarious because they're not going near his ranting shitty show who's ratings have halved during a lockdown in which watching TV is pretty much the only option available to millions at the minute.

EDIT: Brendan O'Neil via The Spectator:

The media’s Dominic Cummings story has completely collapsed. He did NOT go to Durham a second time, which was reported on the front page of the Sunday Mirror and the Observer. He did NOT have any physical contact with family members. The police did NOT talk to the Cummings family about the Covid lockdown guidelines. Cummings did NOT carry on doing things that everyone else had stopped doing — he even missed the funeral of his uncle who died from Covid. He did NOT leave his London home for leisure reasons — he left it because he was receiving death threats as a result of media demonisation. He was very ill, his wife was ill, and at one point his child was taken to hospital in an ambulance in Durham.

His family has had a really rough time and the media have told lie after lie about him. The scandal is not Cummings’ behaviour — it is the collapse of ethics and objectivity in the British media.

 

[CWCissey]

It's a quote from an order order commentor and got a lot of thumbs up, so I'm taking it as true.

Plus, you've seen this pack of slavering ideological morons, right? Might as well put Beff and Laura into the chamber at westminster as they've declared themselves the official opposition.



He's "banned" the cabinet from GMB. Which is hilarious because they're not going near his ranting shitty show who's ratings have halved during a lockdown in which watching TV is pretty much the only option available to millions at the minute.

EDIT: Brendan O'Neil via The Spectator:

The media’s Dominic Cummings story has completely collapsed. He did NOT go to Durham a second time, which was reported on the front page of the Sunday Mirror and the Observer. He did NOT have any physical contact with family members. The police did NOT talk to the Cummings family about the Covid lockdown guidelines. Cummings did NOT carry on doing things that everyone else had stopped doing — he even missed the funeral of his uncle who died from Covid. He did NOT leave his London home for leisure reasons — he left it because he was receiving death threats as a result of media demonisation. He was very ill, his wife was ill, and at one point his child was taken to hospital in an ambulance in Durham.

His family has had a really rough time and the media have told lie after lie about him. The scandal is not Cummings’ behaviour — it is the collapse of ethics and objectivity in the British media.

What's the phrase I'm looking for?

Is it 'FUCKING PWNED AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!'?

 

[April Ryan]

The whole thing is just another piece of evidence of how to deal with these assholes.

Do not back down, do not apologize.

Even if you did something clearly wrong (which Cummings didn't) your refusal to cave to the media onslaught will drive them mad and they WILL start making shit up to demonise you. At which point you can calmly mike-drop them and you walk away from the "scandal" more popular than you entered it, even if the original story had you bang to rights. If (as in this case) you did nothing wrong to begin with, then it gives you a permanent defense ( at least to your own supporters) against attacks in the future as you can just claim that the media is crying wolf.

 

[Ginger Piglet]

The whole thing is just another piece of evidence of how to deal with these assholes.

Do not back down, do not apologize.

Even if you did something clearly wrong (which Cummings didn't) your refusal to cave to the media onslaught will drive them mad and they WILL start making shit up to demonise you. At which point you can calmly mike-drop them and you walk away from the "scandal" more popular than you entered it, even if the original story had you bang to rights. If (as in this case) you did nothing wrong to begin with, then it gives you a permanent defense ( at least to your own supporters) against attacks in the future as you can just claim that the media is crying wolf.

Absolutely. A piece of doggerel springs to mind:

You cannot hope to bribe or twist
Thank God, the British Journalist.
Given what the man will do
Unbribed, there's no occasion to.

And now, there's going to be a real life Two Minutes Hate tomorrow at 8.00 pm.

Lol. I wonder how many people will turn out and actually do it. So far the hashtag seems to be confined to FBPE cretins.