That was the weekend that was.

[Workingman]

700,000 turn up for a march for a People's Vote, but it is not for a second referendum, no, no, no. Give it a break, kiddies, of course it was for a 2nd ref.

Then Theresa says she is open to a transition extension. Hang on, says Raab, its it an extension or a backstop, not both.

That left time for ex-Minister Stave Baker to table amendments to the Northern Ireland bill making it a legal requirement for the Stormont Assembly's approval for any plan to treat Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the UK.... it is just that Stormont isn't working ATM.

Theresa has also been called before the C1922 to be grilled. she has been told to "bring her own noose" and that she has 72 hours to save her job. 46 of 48 letters are said to be in. Not the best choice of words to use.

We also had Scottish Tories saying no to the Common Fisheries Policy after 2020 no matter what the deal.

And if that was not enough excitement the fragrant Meghan has been told to take a rest from pitching Aussie rules footballs and walking barefoot on the beach. Bless.

[Suff]

Ah I just ignored most of it. I was too busy with "other stuff" for most of it and could care less if 2.5m people go to London to demonstrate that they don't like Democracy.

2nd Ref? The only thing they're likely to get is Mogg, Davis or Johnson and all three of those will be in solid with Foster, carry the confidence of the Labour Brexiteers and put the fear of god into Tory Remainers. Never mind telling EU to go sling their hook till they come back with a better idea of what they would like to accept. Rather than constantly telling the UK they don't like what the UK has proposed.

Go for it. Demonstrate, bring May down just GO FOR IT. There are two categoric things that the Remainer voters will absolutely not get. 1. a second referendum. 2. an election before the 5 year parliament is up. The only thing they can do is bring May down and if they bring May down, then they are going to get something which is a polar opposite of what they are demonstrating for.

Every time I see a demonstration about BrexitRef#2 I'm seriously pleased.

When Davis became Brexit minister I (and probably a few thousand others like me), wrote to Davis and asked him to go and review the Greek negotiations with the EU. Asked him to read the post-mortem articles written about it and suggested that the absolute last thing he should do is to offer the EU anything other than a clean, swift, exit. If the EU wanted anything else, they should come forward and make their demands.

It seems that Davis listened to us. At every meeting he arrived with Varoufakis' book. At the end of last year he put the EU in the ignominious position of having to state their "demands" for the UK exit bill and to have to keep on coming back with a lower number. Davis? Offered nothing. He just kept telling them to "get real" and provide "more information" as to what they really wanted.

This worked really well.
Then in the spring of this year, due to fear of the press stating that things were not working fast enough, May ditched Davis and "took over" using her "civil servant", so much more experienced than Davis, to make the negotiations.

Now we are in the position of Greece with the EU refusing everything we "ask for" and demanding "more information" on what we want. More information in EU speak is "go away and water down what you want and we'll think about it".

May started with a remit of getting the UK out of the EU with a relatively whole skin. If she succeeded, then she would take the credit and continue. She is, now, being played with by the EU. Her approach, suggested by the oh so clever civil servant, is a disaster and the EU is in control. There is no chance of her continuing as the leader of the Conservative party after we leave the EU. the 1922 committee now has a decision to make. Whether it is better to chop her now and take the hit on when we'll finish negotiating with the EU; or to chop her in April 2019 and hope there is enough time to fix the mess before the next election.

My suspicion is that a Tory leadership competition, right now, would give the right message to the EU, stall the talks long enough to cause total panic in the EU27 and Brussels and come out with a leader who doesn't want a patched up debacle but will be strong enough to lead a hard Brexit or force the EU to be reasonable.

I guess we have a few weeks to go before that becomes a foregone conclusion.

[Workingman]

Attack is the best form of defence, eh?

I thought that you Brexiters were so sure of the sunny uplands, gambolling Unicorns and Mermaids bathing in crystal clear waters that everything else was Project Fear.

So what is it that has got you so galvanised about a 2nd ref that will not happen, a few Remoaners strolling along on a sunny day and a general election we cannot have because of the five year rule, even though we just had one?

Are things not going as planned, oops, there was no plan, or are you running scared?

Theresa May says 95% of Brexit deal is done, but what happened to 'nothing is agreed until everything is agreed'? A bit of clarification would not go amiss.

[Suff]

I thought that you Brexiters were so sure of the sunny uplands, gambolling Unicorns and Mermaids bathing in crystal clear waters that everything else was Project Fear.

I was aware you always took what I said and changed it to your own view... Each to his, or her own viewpoint..

If you recall I am the one who has consistently said this is going to hurt, that it will take the better part of a decade to settle down and that it will hurt me more than 99% of UK citizens.

I am also very clear that this needed to be done and that now was probably the very last opportunity.

Attack? Hell yes. Because that is what the EU does all the time. Except that when we put our minds to it we are better at it than they are. Also the UK knows how to defend against attack and the EU has never quite mastered the art.

Of course if you believe that the UK is some "smaal" and insignificant loser state, then you will beg at the EU table for any scraps you can get. Fortunately there are enough of us that are aware of the real state of affairs that we'll get a better deal than that.

[Workingman]

Suff, I used the word "you" as a pronoun for the group known as Brexiters, it was not used as a personal pronoun. I hope that clears that up.

During the past few weeks and months Brexiters have become more concerned and strident, and the vitriol has been turned up a few notches. OK, I agree that both sides do it, and I have condemned all parties without fear or favour.

I read a wide range of comments in various news outlets and constantly being referred to as a Remoaner, traitor, anti-democrat, fifth-columnist and socialist -fascist (yes, really) eventually wears one down to the point of breaking.

[Suff]

I read a wide range of comments in various news outlets and constantly being referred to as a Remoaner, traitor, anti-democrat, fifth-columnist and socialist -fascist (yes, really) eventually wears one down to the point of breaking.

Sorry I was pushing back a bit. I know that you do understand my position but I have actually put myself in with a lot of people who are both clueless and vitriolic in their lack of understanding. So I should expect a bit of push back, I suppose.

"traitor, anti-democrat, fifth-columnist and socialist -fascist" is part and parcel of the problem with "useful idiots".

Concerned, annoyed, irritated, little time for fools and likely to eviscerate anyone who is talking crap; yes. The above? Not at all.

I know some of what I'm saying is quite abrasive. If I do get it wrong just rub my nose in it, you have my full permission to do so.

I'll try to keep in mind that you are generalising with the "you" and adjust accordingly.