Ding Dong! MV3 is dead!

At least this week it probably is, after Mr Speaker, John Bercow, blocked May's attempts at putting it back for a 3rd vote due to the Erskine-May rules. We are now in full blown constitutional crisis, and with just 10 days remaining until 29th March this is extremely serious.

10 days remaining - and we don't even know if we can extend Article 50, nor by how much.

This. is. ridiculous.

To delay or not delay

Another week and it's going to be another dramatic one, it seems. The Government has until Thursday, when there is an EU summit, to decide whether it will put the MV3 to Parliament, and from the result either ask for a short technical extension (if it passes) or else ask for a much longer extension to Article 50.

I really hope that if the vote even occurs that it does not pass. It would keep us bound by the EU rules for a number of years with no say in any existing or new regulations that come to pass. Worst still is the dreaded backstop which would bind Northern Ireland to these rules should we decide to move against them.

And of course I am dreading a no deal situation. That would risk my supply of medicines and dialysis equipment. I cannot believe Parliament - or May - would let this happen. I have a cupboard stocked with food just in case but it would be a complete disaster.

Rumour has it that any longer extension might be for just 9 months, which seems pretty short to me. I'd rather it be for 2 years, so that the country can decide what it really wants. perhaps by means of a second referendum.

It's odd - generally people I speak to don't seem too bothered by the outcome of a no deal. I think most people haven't really understood the catastrophe that it would be, and are quite relaxed about it all.

The clock is ticking and sooner will will know our fate.

MV3

Just back from dinner on the southbank. For some reason Pizza Express that overlooks the Thames is never busy. We managed to get a window seat too. Wine is vile though, but anyway...


So not much happened politically today. May is trying to get a deal with the DUP and according to reports they are softening. She is going to try again next week with the 3rd attempt for a meaningful vote (number 3 - MV3). Some more might vote with her, but I still think she is not going to manage a majority.

Took delivery of my Bollinger 2008 today. Let's see how that does over the next 30 years. Hopefully it's Corbyn proof for a while.

Massacre in Christchurch with 49 dead. Nowhere is sacred anymore.

Parliament votes for no no-deal, but what happens next?

It's not a given that there will be no deal. This is the thing I am most worried about. No deal will risk a disruption to the delivery of my medicines and dialysis supplies. That the Prime Minister could walk through the No Lobby tonight, voting against the removal of no deal under any circumstances, is despicable. Completely despicable.

And so it was, the will of Parliament is to remove no deal. And yet still, she stated immediately after the vote that there must still be a deal of sorts if we are to truly remove no deal. This is no true. She could choose to revoke Article 50. She doesn't need to hide behind the EU to do that.

On the plus side it is clear now that Theresa May is really losing her grip of power as Parliament starts to express its own. Brexiteers must be furious. But they are also so stupid. Take Mark Francois for example. So thick that he would rather vote against a 3rd attempt of May's Withdrawal Agreement because he thinks it is not completely leaving the EU, ignoring the fact that its the future arrangements that will define our future relationship. I'm glad that these people are blinded by their own ignorance.

I just want it all to stop. Ever since 2015 when I heard about this wretched Referendum I've wanted it to stop.

Withdrawal Agreement voted down a second time

This is proving to be a fascinating time to follow politics. Tonight, thankfully, Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement was voted down again. Now tomorrow there will be a vote to take no-deal off the table and on Thursday whether Article 50 should be extended.

It's not a given that the EU will agree to extend Article 50. My thoughts are that if no-deal is taken off the table, and if the EU refuse to extend Article 50, May might well be forced to revoke Article 50, and we can put an end to this sorry affair.

Strangely, tomorrow's vote is a free vote for Conservatives, proving that May can no longer govern her party. As predicted Corybn did not push for a second referendum.

Given that its been shown recently that May knew how unsafe the Referendum was due to electoral cheating, it seems incredible that she has pushed the "will of the people" narrative for so long. It's nearly 3 years since the will of the people was tested. It's time to accept that this vote, proven to be illegal, was a vote for unicorns. Brexiteers offered an impossible future to the people. Now is the time to get real and return back to the EU with a program of reform, and to fix the problems and reasons of why the people were convinced to blame the EU for all their woes.

Brexit is only 17 days away.

29th March or bust

I had a work from home day today as I was due to see the consultant at Guys. It seems I now need to up my folic acid and also increase my inhibitors. Plus more ferrin(?) will be required by means of an iron infusion. I've also not been feeling to good, possibly a mild form of flu.

Also today the never ending saga that is Brexit moved forward. Already this month there have been defectors from both the Labour and Tory parties forming an independent group of MPs to oppose Brexit. This is good. It has also put pressure on both May and Corbyn. Only yesterday he agreed to pursue the idea of a second referendum. And today May agreed that there will be a vote on delaying Article 50. First a vote on her deal or no deal. The assumption is that the Commons will not vote for her deal. Then the following day a vote on no deal or delay Article 50. On the face of it it seems that leaving on 29th March is now dead in the water, as is her deal. But she is still trying to get those legal assurances from Brussels, so we will see.

Meanwhile I am quite concerned by how I might be impacted by a no deal scenario. If my dialysis supplies cannot be delivered it will be very serious for me. I counted about 20 different medicines and equipment that I require. It's not possible to stock pile. I don't have the room for it.

Taking back control

What can I say? We are plunged even further into the political crisis than last time I posted on this topic. The meaningful vote proved to be the biggest parliamentary vote against a Government ever. Yet Theresa May is still ploughing on, determined to see it through. For now she has agreed to invite the other political parties for discussions. But is she really listening?

This week there were further votes on amendments to the motion that was necessary after failing to get the vote through. Here a few noble parliamentarians (such as Dominic Grieve and Yvette Cooper tried but failed to give Parliament more powers to take back control from this despotic government. Grieve's amendment would have provided specific days for discussion and voting on next steps should May still not have the deal approved. Cooper's amendment was to extend Article 50. That too failed. Even an amendment to prevent a no-deal didn't go through. May's response to that is that the only way to avoid a no-deal is to vote for the deal. Even if the deal is worse than a no-deal.

It was the Brady amendment that passed that evening. This unicorn amendment seeks to remove the backstop from the Withdrawal Agreement. Yet we all know that the EU will never approve this. The whole point is that the UK can no longer be trusted not to contravene the Good Friday Agreement. What a mess.

And in all this melee I was invited to speak on Radio 5 Live breakfast show with my thoughts. I actually thought I would be discussing no deal and the risk to my kidney medicine and equipment. In fact I was asked to comment on who holds the power.