Recent content by mattgbell

Asked whether the 'good outcome' of keeping deaths below 20,000 was still a possibility, Hancock replied: "The future path of this pandemic in this country is determined by how people act. "That's why it's so important that people follow the social-distancing guidelines. "Predictions are not...

The Wine Society has now reopened for deliveries, though only of full unmixed cases.

This thread. Bloody waste of time.

There’s a difference between (i) holding a settled belief that X is right, but deciding to do non-X for reasons of electoral popularity and (ii) changing one’s mind about X on grounds of principle. It seems clear to me that Johnson’s change of direction on Brexit was a case of (i). This was...

Hard to answer that. At the time I thought he was a comical figure. I’d never met anyone like him. Never met anyone with such immense chutzpah. But the disappointment at hearing him speak in tutorials was the big thing. So much confidence and so little substance. So it wasn’t a matter of...

I’ve expressed my good wishes to the PM upstream. It's good to hear he's now out of intensive care. Now that he seems to be on the mend, here are a few things I’d like to get off my chest about Johnson. I first met him in my first week at uni in October 1983. It was the first time I’d...

I have a stutter. I've suffered from an inability to finish sentences since childhood. It's a nightmare when I'm speaking German!

OK. Have a good day.

You didn't explain what your grounds were for thinking that May's withdrawal agreement kept the UK in the customs union and single market; you just restated your belief. You didn't address any of the points in my post #2156.

Well, you did say "as I understand it, and I'm ok with being corrected ...". But if it doesn't matter what you believe, then I guess our work is done here.

That is certainly not my understanding. The May withdrawal agreement only kept the UK within certain strictly defined aspects of the customs union and single market for a limited period (the “NI backstop”). The time limitation on the period was subject to the UK developing technology that...

a koshern un freilichen Pesach

I'd be interested to know (genuinely) what your grounds are for thinking that May's exit deal was the same as remaining in the EU, and why you think Norway and Switzerland as non-members of the EU are different from what May's deal would have entailed.

I do get hauled up for dadsplaining by my daughters now and again. It's one of the joys of having daughters.

The logic of demanding that the opposition vote with the government is the logic of a one-party state, that's all. I expect the opposition to vote according to their policies which should in turn be based on their principles. May's deal was only not a leave deal if Norway and Switzerland are...