and it looks like Astra Zeneca have pulled the plug, at least for now.

What’s this? A voice of reason in these dark days? Surely not….

https://news.gov.scot/speeches-and-briefings/first-minister-speech-at-the-rsa

But SNP….oh the irony!

You can only paint yourself into a corner so far before you realise that your options are limited.

It’s like the most rubbish game of chess ever. Opponent refuses to quit and keeps shuffling the king around for no reason.

and it looks like Astra Zeneca have pulled the plug, at least for now.

Not news. Simply reaffirming position taken last year regarding manufacturing cap ex. Their new R&D site in Cambridge continues to be developed.

I know<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>some people at Medimune, who were supposed to be in there already, but construction delays have been a problem. Not enough EU builders can’t help !</span>

But both them & GSK are having to invest in parelell sites in EU.

So the BBC news has reported that the backstop is agreed, but they couldn’t announce it yet as the DUP would then vote against the budget. Once thats out of the way, they’ll make it public and basically dare them to bring down the government. All while most of the cabinet meet up to plot against May

So once again the future of the country takes a distant second place to the internal machinations of the Tory party clinging on to power by their fingertips

What I find terrifying is that potential chaos, or otherwise, and our countries economic future lies at the mercy of people like Arleen Phillips, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey. I’ve got items of furniture with brighter intellects, and probably more humanity

I’ve got items of furniture with brighter intellects

You should tell the government, they could probably use a decent new cabinet.

Brexit has many downsides but I think it will be nice for the Irish to watch a British famine

— Frankie Boyle (@frankieboyle) October 15, 2018

Frankie Boyle delivers as usual.

Pharma qc testing will be dead in this country within 5 years I think.

Mhra has said it will accept testing performed within the eu for the uk, but Europe will not accept the reverse.

Hence all the companies are creating labs in the eu and once the filing updates are in then testing will transfer. No point duplicating resource. It is a big reason why I am now working on other roles as this will stuff my job

Graham, where are you going? I’m in QA – so bricking it right now as well.

I’ve started a Statistics graduate certificate, but I’m seriously thinking of packing in my job and taking something easier or more closely related to statistics (even something as shit as a data cleanser) – so I can get on with my move. Rip the plaster off etc?

I would move to Ireland right now, but I have a year to go before my missus gets her British passport – which we really need for some stability 🙁 I figure by then, it will be to late to get into the EU.

Above site hopefully, aiming for an oversight role so can be based anywhere. The labs will be toast though. Am lucky as I have a high enough profile and a good enough development plan to be able to get me out before it goes pear shaped I hope.

But who knows really.

I guess QA has an oversight role and I can do a lot of it remotely, I’m just nowhere near the QP level yet and they’re all going to get turfed out to Europe anyway.

What would you be doing if you were a QA Officer with 2 years experience and 5 years in total in the Pharma industry?

Looking bad for accademia too

Life sciences funding is crap enough already!, but double whanmmy of brexit & immigration controls hurting uni recruitment & even giant funders like Welcome threatening to scale back.

Outside of Life sciences even worse, accademic funding for UK archaeology is 40% EU, chances of govermnment funding tha,post brexi

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/oct/16/academics-race-safeguard-research-against-brexit-universities

intentionally or not brexit is damaging UK research

The EU new mega-battery plant plans would surely have had the UK on the shortlist 🙁

Unravelling now

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/oct/16/eu-scraps-plans-for-brexit-summit-statement-on-future-trade-deal

What would you be doing if you were a QA Officer with 2 years experience and 5 years in total in the Pharma industry?

Brush up on languages or retrain/translate your skills.

No reason you couldn’t get roles abroad, also no reason it will go immediately either. I see a lot of roles coming in the eu over the next few years. It does depend on what happens as with everything

Unravelling now

Inevitable.

May doesn’t have the support she needs to push through a backstop agreement (never mind an outline plan for our future relationship with the EU).

This was never going to be a surprise. Cannot imagine what they were thinking.

Awesome news there I’m sure the grown ups are just on a well deserved half term break and will be back next week to sort it all out….

In other news my phone works great here in Germany, I didn’t need a visa to get to this conference unlike the last one I went to with a long immigration chat.

Shame really that nobody can tell me why this is worth throwing away.

Surely this cannot actually be delivered? Has no-one yet realised that it’s basically asking the impossible from the incompetent and apart from a ridiculous “will of the people” thing from 2 years ago there is actually not the appetite for it any longer, the catastrophic harm far outweighs any “good” and someone should just take over all the news channels for a week and put out some actual real statistical facts and then say “you were all conned, we’re staying and that’s final”

Then maybe concentrate on that minor thing of running the country…

Or is that too sensible?

Cheers Mike and Graham – I guess I would love to move nearer to the alps, time to brush up on my French and German. Just in case it all goes wrong over here.

agreed, i wish someone would give the news organisations a bloody good shake. cathy newman down at some leavers conference last night – why? she stood there and listened as some DUP knobber said ‘ in the event of no deal, who will put up a boarder? the british have said they won’t, the irish have said they won’t, and if all those years of the  troubles have taught us one thing, it’s that no amount of surveillance, closing roads, or army watchposts can keep that boarder secure’. there wasn’t even a hint of her saying anything like ‘well if you’re to fall back on WTO we, UK and Eire, need to enforce a boarder, so ‘do nothing’ isn’t a solution, is it? you’re just a fantasist or a lier, which is it?’

heaven forbid these talking heads should actually give these idiots a hard time. jesus!

I’m sure the grown ups are just on a well deserved half term break and will be back next week to sort it all out….

We’re all awaiting tentatively for the redemption of THM and he can save us from this awful fate 😉

People’s vote march in London on Saturday.

I’m unable to go, somewhat annoyingly. I missed the last one as well.

Disappointed to miss the opportunity to annoy the government.

“The Prime Minister will once again be barred from the main discussion of Brexit at the summit, and will have to address the 27 leaders ahead of their dinner in a separate room.”

From The Independent’s piece on tomorrow’s meeting…

No reason you couldn’t get roles abroad,

Err – have you actually been following this Brexit thing? Does the phrase “end freedom of movement” mean anything to you?

I guess I would love to move nearer to the alps, time to brush up on my French and German.

Yes I’m.sure you will find an employer who will give you money while you can’t work properly til you learn the language.

Here we go even the thick as “s***” Brexiteers starting to get “nervous” all that bravado is f***ing off very rapidly.

Not much in life boils my piss but people who talk the talk then **** off when it comes time to stand up convert my internal rage to external physical rage.

I for one am calling them out (on a personal level) each time i run into a brexit **** wit.

Spineless shites.

Ah, yes.  The Cameron Effect.

Shame really that nobody can tell me why this is worth throwing away.

I have seen two BMWs catch fire this week , their engineering (global sweeping statement set to an orchestral sinister soundtrack) has gone down the pan

And for that reason I’m out.

I may just go full “falling down”

F*** me i just dont get how thick people are…

Its sad really sad i mean really ****ing sad.

We as a country dont stand a cat in hells chance of making progress while these people exist.

I am not even sure they have any form of reasoning. They are not safe with a box of matches.

Surely this cannot actually be delivered

Yep this is what I have been thinking since, well, just after the vote really.

Now I am not in the government machine, someone may be along to tell me differently, but I think the only thing that can be delivered in March by UK is a soft brexit (SU&CM / BINO). Or Remain.

Raab has alluded to this himself by saying that even in the event of a no deal Brexit, we will not impose border checks UK side. Yeah I know we won’t Dominic. Because it’s patently obvious that we can’t! So much for control, eh?

I am not so sure EU would stand any much better of a chance applying a hard border in March either (though definitely a better chance than we do, because they are so much less feckwitted than us)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/16/false-promises-brexit-john-major

Major absolutely nails it

I understand the motives of those who voted to leave the European Union: it can – as I well know – be very frustrating. Nonetheless, after weighing its frustrations and opportunities, there is no doubt in my own mind that our decision is a colossal misjudgment that will diminish both the UK and the EU. It will damage our national and personal wealth, and may seriously hamper our future security. It may even, over time, break up our United Kingdom. It will most definitely limit the prospects of our young.

People’s vote march in London on Saturday.

I fly out to see my dad in Spain at crack of sparrows fart on Sunday with wife and kids. I’m going on a march for the first time in my life because this is really important – I don’t want to see my children’s future blighted by the incompetence of the current government, I believe in the EU as a force for good. I’ve seen it dramatically improve the lot of people in Eire and Spain. I’ve talked to Canadians about the carrot and stick that ended the Yugoslavian civil war – Nato force and EU aid if you did the right thing.

just leave without paying the bill we said….

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/10/16/britain-will-face-36-billion-bill-fails-agree-trade-deal-eu/

Err – have you actually been following this Brexit thing? Does the phrase “end freedom of movement” mean anything to you?

The poster is in pharma aren’t they? I’ve only seen the pharma through the scientists world of work via friends (not me, I’m an oik) but it appears to be an incredibly mobile workforce. Lots of scientists making it into and out of the EU very easily, although the ones I’m thinking of in particular are very highly skilled or working towards PHDs. Not sure how mobile the rest of the sector is? Maybe Kimbers can answer that?

At first glance though, if you’re prepared to move it looks one of the better sectors if you want a way out of the U.K. (whatever is left of it when we reach the gammon lit uplands)

Out of curiosity, has anyone seen Jambalaya? Did he give up with this thread or is he preoccupied with moving himself and all his assets back to the U.K. from France?

Did he give up with this thread or is he preoccupied with moving himself and all his assets back to the U.K. from France?

By moving assets back to the UK I am sure you mean offshore to a stable haven. And by relocating himself I am sure you mean applying for citizenship of an EU country….

it is the sensible thing to do…

but it appears to be an incredibly mobile workforce

There is of course a big difference between being in a country on a job related visa and having the right to be there.