Thursday , March 28 2024

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Why Brexit will be fine – deal or no deal

Since the Referendum we can already see that wages are rising in real terms: The Referendum has brought us the highest level of real earnings since November 2010. According to the BBC article Wage Rises Accelerate to the Fastest Pace since 2008:  ‘Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY Item …

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Discovered…common ground

Like many of you, I have friends and family in both camps Remain and Leave and in the interests of friendship the subject of Brexit is studiously avoided. However I got into a conversation about it with one of them and with great foreboding he asked why I voted Leave …

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What did you learn Nicola?

I don’t want Mrs Sturgeon to click her ruby slippers together while repeating endlessly that there’s no place like Scotland. Nor is it helpful to once more hear nationalists repeat clichés like “A hard Tory Brexit makes independence inevitable.” But it might be useful to revisit Scottish independence in the …

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Let Spring follow Winter

When I write these articles it is the equivalent of public speaking for me, which is terrifying and makes me feel stressed and ill afterwards. Which is why on the run up to the referendum and afterwards I resisted the urge, there were enough people shouting the odds. However I …

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I’m Sorry, Is Brexit Boring You?

Laughing at Britain’s Brexit woes might be justified if other countries were successfully tackling the pre-eminent problem of the early 21st century — reconciling meaningful democracy and self-determination with the imperative for global regulation and governance. But since no-one else has bothered to pick up the torch of destiny, maybe it’s …

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High drama but no progress

Two years on from the Brexit referendum and out of the lull we crash into political upheaval again. At the moment UK politics has more drama in it than your worst soap opera. The trouble is, when the field is evenly split it is going to be a dirty drag …

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The Commonwealth Option

This letter originally fully appeared in the magazine National Review and an abridged version appeared in The Daily Telegraph on 6 December 2018. The Prime Minister’s proposed Brexit deal has been discussed in detail, and to describe it would replicate the excellent work of many journalists. However, we feel that it has …

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“Crashing out” of the EU – how big a crash?

The Bank of England published this graph showing the effect of leaving the EU with no deal in its report: EU withdrawal scenarios and monetary and financial stability: The graph is designed to look as scary as possible.  However, when we read the notes on page 53 we find this little …

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Turning the key

There were always two types of empire. There were those like the British and the French that spread overseas. British and French people would move to Delhi or Saigon and pretend they were living at home only it was rather hotter. These empires were always fragile. The other type of …

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Plan B for Brexit

Any “Plan B” for Brexit must take account of the Referendum result.  The 2016 EU Referendum in the UK was held to determine whether the UK desired to Remain in or Leave the European Union. The result of the Referendum was a convincing majority to Leave the EU in England …

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It is not that complicated

How many times have you thought ‘Why does it have to be so complicated’? Looking for white sauce recipes I was confounded with requests to decide if I was OK with my data being used/searched for a better user experience. No I just want a sauce recipe. In the end …

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Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Yesterday I attended a meeting held by my MP Matt Warman, where he attempted to explain his reasons for voting for Mrs. May’s Draft Agreement. At the end of it I was left feeling confused and depressed, however I did meet people who have far more knowledge on this Agreement …

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Bank of England gives Green Light to WTO Brexit

Coverage in the media of the fact that the Belfast Agreement does NOT specify open borders with frictionless trade in Ireland has been entirely suppressed (read the Belfast Agreement here if you don’t know this) and the news that the Bank of England has calculated that a WTO Brexit with a 21 …

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Sophistation tastes or just snobbery and ignorance

Why do people make judgements based on age, likes, behaviour and opinions? You have a sophisticated palette if you like oysters (and know how to eat them) and foie gras. You are intellectual if you like classical music, read certain books and vote in a certain way. You won’t like …

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The UK must help persecuted religious minorities

My Lords, there is no one better to have opened tonight’s debate than the noble Lord, Lord Dubs. The 80th anniversary of Kindertransport prompts the question: what would Sir Nicholas Winton, Trevor Chadwick, Florence Nankivell, Doreen Warriner, Beatrice Wellington, and others involved in organising escape routes for children threatened by …

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