Attorney General Geoffrey Cox wasn’t holding back today:
What? “These turkeys won’t be able to prevent Christmas”? Brexit is like Christmas? Is there some pop culture reference at play here that I’m missing? Is it a South Park reference? Or is there some particular British expression or story about a turkey trying to prevent Christmas?
And again: Brexit is like Christmas? With gifts for everyone and a warm family hearth and a sumptuous feast? Is that what he’s saying?
It’s a reference to the phrase “…like turkeys voting for Christmas”, implying that turkeys are stupid enough to vote for an event that will lead to their own death (Turkey being the traditional Christmas meal in many countries). The parallels to Brexit are obvious.
He seems to be saying though that, having voted for it, it’s now too late for the turkeys to save themselves.
There’s a British idiom “Turkeys voting for Christmas” ie doing somethings against ones own self-interest. Cox is just mangling that - his performance became a bit unhinged towards the end, to be honest.
Thank you both for the clarification. I understood the gist, of course, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard the phrase “like turkeys voting for Christmas” before.
So: Brexit is like Christmas?
Well, it’s something a lot of people are looking forward to for some reason, something that we’ll do without really knowing why, will cost a lot of money, and is causing a lot of unnecessary arguments.
I’ve always had the impression this was an American idiom, but it turns out that it’s British, and it was first used in a British political context.
The American equivalent is ‘Turkeys voting for Thanksgiving’.
The American version is “a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders”, if you’re interested.
Cox was referring to a proposed general election. Labour, Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party, and the Greens (not sure about Plaid Cymru) have all called for a general election. However, they’ve also voted against it using the “need to prevent a No-Deal Brexit” as a shield. The reality is that 1) the non-Conservatives would almost surely need to form a coalition government to get a majority, and no-one’s figured out yet how that will work; 2) Labour is in such disarray that they don’t know if they support Brexit or not, want a referendum but aren’t sure what the referendum will be for, and are in a civil war over whether to be a hard-left or centre-left party; and 3) they’re really worried that a combination of traditional Conservative voters and pro-Brexit supporters might actually achieve a majority in Parliament in a general election. Cox is basically making fun of the hypocrisy of the parties calling for a general election while trying to avoid it, and taking the opportunity to call them turkeys. It’s not the greatest oratorical use of the simile, but it works well enough for taking a shot at an opponent.
For those who believe in it (and especially a no-deal Brexit), it certainly involves hoping for some magical overnight surprise treat. For unicorns, read reindeer.
Ha. They even mention Brexit as an example.
Well, I’d listen to the computer, then. I’m sure it knows best.
Don’t forget that Oct 31 is Halloween. Perhaps Johnson will wait in a pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin to rise up at midnight and deliver Brexit to all true believers.
Here’s a little taste of what Parliament has been like today (not an ideal format - a video embedded in a tweet, but at least it isn’t geo-restricted). It’s been a bit feisty.
And this is before Johnson has even entered the chamber.
The usual yells of “Rubbish!” and “Resign!” just aren’t going to cut the mustard anymore, are they?
The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has just made a statement about the collapse of Thomas Cook.
The previous transport secretary, ‘Failing’ Greyling, was widely regarded as the most useless person ever to hold that post. Nevertheless, Shapps decided to take a leaf out his book… literally!
He took one of Greyling’s speeches, and used it verbatim, except for making necessary changes in names and figures.
Yes, it’s an idiocracy. :smack:
It was a generic speech that meant absolutely nothing, so I suppose he thought it didn’t matter, and nobody would notice. Naturally, as transport secretary, he couldn’t really care a stuff about Thomas Cook. He only needed to say some soothing words.
There is a saying “Like turkeys voting for Christmas”.
English families traditionally have turkey for Christmas. That is, Christmas is a particularly bad time for turkeys.
Johnson is expected to say tonight that he will allow a vote of no confidence if a motion is put forward by any party. Note that if Jeremy Corbyn does it, as he’s Leader of the Opposition, then parliamentary time is made automatically, but that doesn’t apply to the smaller parties unless the government makes time available. So, I wonder if the SNP will fancy it?
(Source: every single UK political correspondent)
I’m just waiting for someone to grab the Mace and start swinging it around.
Well, everyone would be relatively safe due to the lack of Kevin Vickers.