Friday , March 29 2024

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Be Careful what you Wish For

It has been evident for some time that the EU Referendum could be overturned.  This is still not certain but possible. Things looked bleak from the very beginning because the government that was to negotiate Leaving had a Remain Prime Minister and a Remain Chancellor.  This was not surprising because …

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Dying in a ditch

Parliament has passed a bill which forbids the Prime Minister from leaving the EU without a deal. If he is unable to come to an agreement with the EU, or if that deal is not agreed by Parliament then he has to ask the EU for an extension. What happens …

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Another fine mess

From the outside looking in, the House of Commons has become a comedy. It is hard to pick a genre, farce, slapstick, Month Python – or is it the theatre of the absurd? The government, even given a confidence and supply agreement with the DUP, is technically in a minority. …

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British Politics in 2019

All the shenanigans of the past 3 years have explained British politics. The country is split between its main regions and split internally.  It is the internal split that is most important and interesting. In the 2016 EU Referendum about half of the population voted to leave the EU and …

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Even if we leave the EU with No Deal, the “Cliff Edge” doesn’t exist

With Boris Johnson becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in late July 2019, fear of a “no deal” Brexit has markedly increased. “Project Fear” has been ramped back up, and with Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement supposedly dead, rhetoric about “crashing out” and a “no deal cliff edge” is now …

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Remaining in the sickbed

I haven’t seen Britain in such a fever since Diana died. What happened to the traditional British virtues of calmness, humour and restraint? The present fever will reach a crisis and then either we will get better, we will remain ill, or we will die. There are only three political …

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Prorogation – some perspectives

Boris has made the decision to seek prorogation of Parliament. Voices from all political parties, including elements of his own, have screamed outrage. Is prorogation a political necessity or are the cynics right? History might provide some perspective. Prorogation is the process of ending one session of Parliament in order …

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Wasn’t “Nick” just saying “Me Too”?

The debate between Left and Right used to be about economics, now it is about truth. The distinction between objective truth and subjective opinion founded the scientific revolution and was so uncontroversial that it would have been hard fifty or sixty years ago to find anyone who didn’t recognise it …

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A plague of yellowhammers

If Remainers were bookmakers, they would have been out of business long ago. Their ability to predict future events ranks with prophets predicting the end of the world is nigh. Next time you see someone ranting in the street calling on you to repent your sins because the world is …

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Movement of Goods after a No Deal Brexit

UK ports imported 248m tonnes of produce and exported 138m tonnes in 2017. (See UK Port Freight Statistics 2017). Click to enlarge. Dover was responsible for only 26m tonnes of the total 386m tonnes of international freight transported in 2017. Top 10 major ports + All other tonnage Dover moved 15.5m …

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All the First Minister’s men

Imagine if sometime in mid-2014 we had discovered that Alex Salmond had been accused of committing a serious crime in 2013. What sort of effect would this have had on the independence referendum? Imagine too if between the alleged crime and the summer of 2014 the SNP Government had made …

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Why does the UK import meat?

Why does the UK import and export meat? The world around us sparks up curiosities. Twitter is a mine for curiosity, throwing up some great questions which sometimes we take for granted. Recently, this question appeared: “Can someone explain to me why we import meat please?” Going beyond the brief, …

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Only Euronationalism could make Tories vote for Corbyn

I’ve been trying to think of what would make Tory MPs bring down a Conservative Government. What would make them contemplate making Jeremy Corbyn Prime Minister? Well it’s August. This is supposed to be the silly season. Perhaps alternatively Ken Clarke, Dominic Grieve, Oliver Letwin et al have all been …

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No Deal Fake News

This article will provide clear, click through links to all of its source data.  Click on these links whenever you feel that you must check a source. First of all, what are the current economists’ predictions for the UK economy for 2019 to 2020? These predictions are all sourced, click …

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“No deal” or Withdrawal Agreement?

The new Prime Minister appears to be standing his ground that the backstop must go. The EU’s key players still insist that the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) can not be changed. A key Remainer, Dominic Grieve appears publicly to accept that Brexit will happen. Philip Hammond argues that Boris is asking too …

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The danger of not leaving

It’s not accidental that truly democratic government is rare. Most of us don’t like to lose and democracy always involves the risk of losing. The acceptance of loss and the ability to change who rules us is what distinguishes democracy from autocracy. If we are very lucky indeed Britain will …

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