EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

https://neweuropeans.net/letter-electoral-registration-officer?fbclid=IwAR2Ozeg1tgQ7kfBuaZ5Cm9QK_yt0RlbJj3r-P1ItxFmVCQfQRP9G9VlE_8w

So...warning: If you are an EU national you probably need to ask for an additional paper form unless your local voter registration authority is so good to post it out to you.

In 2014 about half a million people did not know they had to do this to vote in the EU parliament!!!

I'm not sure what you're outraged about? People have to register to vote. That's true for UK citizens as well. It's one more form, but I doubt it's due to any type of formal/institutional desire to deny rights. I can tell you it was much more difficult in another EU country outside the UK - involving a trip to the police.

Also, just looked up the point of the second form in case I was being a dismissive dick (it happens and apologies if I was). EU says this: "The purpose of this form is to get you to declare that you are going to vote in the European elections in the UK only, rather than in your home country. This is because you are not allowed to vote in the European elections in two countries." (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/en/european-elections/european_elections/can_i_vote.html)

I was also asked to fill this form out to vote in Finland.

I don't think I've ever seen this form, so either all of my past votes cast in European elections were void or my local authority takes care of it. As I expect they may be swamped with phone calls because of this, I'll try to find if they've put up a page about it.

Here:

https://www.hackney.gov.uk/european-election-2019

EU citizens will receive a form in the post, which they must complete and return to us in the pre-paid envelope by midnight on 7 May if they wish to vote in the European Elections in the UK.

If you haven't received this form by 20 April, please contact the Elections Office.

I haven't received it yet, but it doesn't sound as if there's any reason to panic if you live in Hackney. This may well be different elsewhere.

Because a lot of voting registration areas did not tell anyone.

The electoral commission actually said the process was flawed when there was an audit in 2014.

I registered as my address changed. 0 information was given. The form cannot be found online either. edit: just found it, going to post it. My Dutch registration actually points out clearly you need two registrations, EU and Dutch voting.

It's no problem to have to do two registrations. Of course not.

Some authorities do tell you, some send it automatically by post, I've ask the NI electoral office what their process is.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/16/brexit-talks-with-government-have-stalled-says-corbyn

Well...if May keeps at this, back to a round of votes again? Hopefully sooner than 30 October.

The Guardian "cat lady" speaks...

https://www.ted.com/talks/carole_cadwalladr_facebook_s_role_in_brexit_and_the_threat_to_democracy

And some (more) solid C4 journalism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4jqtq6_u_4

finally. after coming up for 3 years people are starting to talk about the shady stuff, Im tired of having conversations with people and having to try to convince them to look into this more.

Both Brexiteers and remainers saying we should just get on with it.

No Brexit more likely than a disorderly one, say economists

What a repugnant creature.

I bet Aaron Banks’ tinder profile has that Marilyn Monroe quote that ends with “... if you can’t handle me at my worst you don’t deserve me at my best”

I still can't understand why this is such a divisive issue in the Tory Party, but then I guess divisive issues usually are like that:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/19/tory-councillors-refuse-to-campaign-for-next-months-eu-elections

If they don't campaign then losing to Farage isn't so painful?

Or not actively, but passively enabling Farage to win a greater share of the vote?

Nancy Pelosi meets Mark Francois

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/brexit-speaker-told-condescending-mark-14392890

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Independence_Party_representation_and_election_results#English_councils

2013, 14 & 15 saw ukip winning some council seats at each election, and even won control of Thanet Council.
There were a significant number of local councillors who saw a zero-distance journey
from their position as anti-Union Thatcherites to kipperism,
especially as CallMeDave forced Gay marriage through Parliament.
This was what scared Cameron into believing he needed to 'shoot ukip's fox' and grant the referendum.
The anger at the metropolitan elite is not solely from economically impoverished Northern towns who have lost their sole or major industries and employers, against the Corbyn Labour party, but also from disaffected Tories who are irrelevant to the Parliamentary Conservative party.
In days gone by the local Conservative Club was the balance to the Working Mens' Clubs,
a place for small employers to drink in comparative safety at better prices than pubs, and raise money for elections through Dinner Dances, Bring'n'Buy sales and Cake sales.

These days Tory Central Office can raise £250k from an Oiligarch's wife for playing tennis with dePfeffel, and such like. TCO can also use social media to contact potential voters directly,
so who needs the local Councillors to plod round the streets delivering leaflets no-one reads?

What a weirdo :)

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/theresa-may-spotted-marshalling-10k-easter-race-in-maidenhead-a4122161.html

Lord Buckethead returns to take on Farage

I always thank the marshals.....in this case I would have spat on the marshal

Good grief

Donation made. All hail the overlord.

So those people want genuine input / say in the political party, and what the party stands for is less important?

The Tory party has always consisted of a spectrum of views, from borderline NF/BNP on the extreme Right through to (the descendents of) Thatchers 'Wets', and on to the patrician One Nation Tories.
As the members of local Conservative constituency parties have aged, their political views have drifted to the Right, whilst the Parliamentary party has, on their view, forsaken them with socially progressive policies like gay marriage.
In days gone by the number of Tories who would cross the line into outright support for the NF/BNP was limited, it was electoral suicide.
Now with the rise of social media, they can be reassured that their views have some support, but only in their own echo chamber, possibly amplified by targeted social media advertising from groups will not reveal their sources of funding.

Rather like a snake sloughing off old skin,
Farage, and the other founders of the original ukip could see that UK fascists could get 12-14% of the vote in certain constituencies. Use that as a base, and (correctly) assume the major parties will be at best lukewarm about Euro Elections, and you can add on all sorts of malcontents to 'win' the 2014 Euro Elections.

Farage, or more likely his financial backer, could see where ukip support was coming from, and could see the problem with being the cheerleaders for a newly invigorated extreme right wing.
So, ditch the continuity ukip, and start a new party, seemingly closer to the centre of the Overton window, offering a safe home to the socially conservative who do not want to be associated with fascists.
The Derbyshire councillors can legitimately claim that they have been cast adrift by the (more socially liberal) Parliamentary Tory party. Continuity ukip is beyond the pale; thus they see themselves as represented by the new Brexit party, even though it has no policies beyond (a bellowed) 'Brexit'.

My club won the men's team prize. (No thanks to me, I'm decorating.) A couple of the guys had a word about scrapping Brexit and Teresa agreed. You just need to ask nicely.