Gerrymander

Tony Blair has said that there is a 50-50 chance of s People’s Vote happening, as their is ‘no majority’ in parliament for whatever deal Theresa May brings back. He also issued a rallying cry to Remainers to ‘hold firm’ as each of the choices about the Northern Irish backstop presented are ‘unpalatable’.  Blair has previously rubbished the Chequers compromise as ‘mush’, the only result he will accept being remain.

With a Brexit showdown approaching in the coming months ahead, the Remainers might not want him as their main image…

Former Prime Minister John Major has warned today that unless the government addresses the concerns over Universal Credit, large protests could erupt, similar to those that Margaret Thatcher endured near the end of her premiership in the late 80s. Universal Credit, which gives everyone without a job or on a low income a small basic financial support, is the brain child of Iain Duncan Smith and is the Conservatives approach to welfare, although it means taking money. The policy has of course come under fire from the Labour Party, and divides some opinion among the Tory backbenches.

Mrs M doesn’t seem to want to listen to Major though, Gerry thinks…

Theresa May has a new dilemma. Trying to keep both the Remainers and Brexiteers content, an nigh on impossible task, she now has a new foe as such. Arlene Foster of the Democratic Unionists, who the PM relies on for support in Parliament, has drawn a red line over different Irish backstop agreement. If the PM budges, she could lose her confidence and supply deal and perhaps therefore her government, or risk losing out to the many hard-liners within her own party. Whatever choice she takes will be a major factor is deciding her fate and reputation in the history books, as well as the UK’s future relationship with the EU and the Republic of Ireland.

Gerry can’t wait for this to end soon…

Theresa May has called an ‘inner cabinet’ meeting tomorrow at 5 pm to update their views on the ongoing Brexit negotiations. According to sources, David Lidington, Sajid Javid, Jeremy Hunt, Philip Hammond, Geoffrey Cox, Karen Bradley, Michael Gove and Gavin Williamson have all been called to the table, in an effort to sure up their support for the Chequers proposal.

Nothing could really happen here apart from keeping their supposed support, Gerry thinks…

Prime Minister’s Questions today involved a clear clash of ideologies over the always present question of how how much public money should go into our services. Despite the PM’s announcement last week at conference that austerity was ‘over’, Jeremy Corbyn lambasted this claim, saying that many doctors and police officers had been cut since 2010. Although bringing down crime has always been a useful campaigning pledge for the Tories with large knife crime rates across London, Labour could easily now use this against them, and promise more money to the services. The two then clashed over school funding, which Mrs May said is now the highest ever, while Corbyn used the familiar ploy of annoyed teachers, despite many headteachers now having extremely large wages.

This new ‘compassionate conservatism’ might need some work to persuade others, Gerry thinks…