Michael Gove is a slippery customer. Here is one of his latest lies about progress, or lack of it, in GOVErnment negotiations with the EU for a trade deal:
“The terms on which Canada and the EU waive tariffs on each other’s goods is all we seek. That’s what the EU said it would offer us but at the eleventh hour it seems the bloc won’t take yes for an answer.”
No, Michael you have have forgotten important details!
In the Political Declaration accompanying the Withdrawal Agreement, the PM agreed that a level playing field should form part of any new trade agreement. At that point, the EU were willing to offer a Canada style agreement. After the 2019 General Election, Johnson went back on his undertaking. It was then, as a direct reaction to that broken promise, that the offer of a Canada style agreement was withdrawn.
This did not come out of the blue at the 11th hour, as Gove dishonestly suggests.
Theresa May acts as a lie detector for GOVErnment.
Why is a level playing field important? Because it guarantees fair competition between companies, free from distortion created by national barriers and unfair advantages. This is shown clearly in the key issue of disagreement in the negotiations – state subsidies to industry, where propping up failing firms or attracting foreign investment is at stake. In the latter case, there is great temptation for governments to bribe international companies to establish themselves in their countries, particularly where access to a market of big as the EU is involved. That is why such bribes are forbidden under EU law, except for regional development in poorer areas, under common rules.
The UK position is to refuse to abide by the same rules as the EU, arguing that this is a breach of sovereignty. But in reality we are demanding the freedom to offer unlimited investment subsidies, a huge advantage over the EU members which we did not possess before we left. Obviously, the 27 EU states would be out of their mind to allow this !
The UK side often complains that the EU’s level playing field is stricter than the terms in the EU/Canada Agreement. There is some truth in this. It is justified because the UK is a much larger industrial power than Canada and, even more importantly, it is on the EU’s doorstep. Where foreign investment is involved, for example, an Indian company is unlikely to invest in Canada in order to take advantage of free trade under the EU/Canada agreement. The situation is very different with an EU/UK deal, as our success in attracting foreign investment as a result of EU membership proved over the last 40 years.
A Canada deal cannot be “cut and pasted” over to Britain. The levels of trade are different. Our proximity to Europe, with intention to undermine standards, means that the comparison is simply invalid.
Unless our country reverts to negotiating honestly and reasonably with our neighbours, we can expect little more than No Deal, with all the misery which it will bring.
Medway council made a complete cock up when they commissioned an art installation by Glastonbury artist Cold War Steve, but one which I have enjoyed immensely. It seems that the Tory controlled Council thought that it would be a nice idea to cheer their residents up by commissioning an art installation in Medway Country Park, a place for families to walk and cycle, freed from the troubles of the day. Imagine their surprise when they realised that Cold War Steve does surrealistic and satirical art on Brexit? Within hours complaints started to arrive. I heard that the Councillors then started fighting about “who dunnit”.
Brexit Blind Date – Click image to find Cold War Steve’s work.
I was alerted about the installation by someone last Sunday. On Tuesday I had a “Ron Weasley moment” from Harry Potter, having a sudden and compelling need to go down to the installation. I told my wife and we set off. We almost immediately came upon one of the artworks which had been ripped off the stand and thrown into the River Medway. A crowd had assembled around the stand. I decided to shimmy down the bank, realising that I might find it hard to get back up, went out onto the mud and retrieved “Tim Wetherspoon”. I have dubbed Medway Country Park as “Borassic Park” as a result of Steve’s marvellous work.
Gammon in aspic.
I called the Council to retrieve the artwork in case of theft and then called the media. The result was a piece in the Kent Messenger. The comments are hilarious and well worth reading.
An incensed caller to the newsroom said his granddaughter had been left shaken by the image of “a near naked Boris Johnson next to a mass grave”. He said: “What the hell are they playing at having such ‘art’ on display?
Truly offensive – Brexit – Find Cold War Steve’s work by clicking the image.
Some of my fellow residents seem to think that I crave publicity and actually organised the attack. How very sad.
I could not resist a little careful augmentation of a couple of the exhibits with some of The EU Flag Mafia’s Britastrophe Stickers whilst I was down there … placing the stickers carefully for pictures and then removing from the artworks.
Priti Patel welcomes migrants on the Essex coast.
Matt Hancock oversees herd immunity for Old Age Brexiteers at the White Cliffs of Dover.
We have asked Cold War Steve if he would like to work with us on a project at the Gulbenkian Theatre in Canterbury soon. Details to follow.
Fix my bike Dom.
Read up on why Brexit can be suspended at Suspended Animation. Read up on why Rejoining may be a unicorn in the long term at Fool Britannia. Check out the implications of Brexit for Kent and Medway at Not In My Back Yard.
Write to your MP to demand that Brexit be suspended in the wake of Corona.
Snitch on MPs for voting to break international law.
On Monday 5th October, the House of Commons are due to debate the petition to Halt Brexit for a Public Inquiry. It would be very useful if you would write to your MP on the subject. Here are some sample letters to use. To write to your MP, please go to Write to Them.
Dear xxx,
I write to ask you to support the motion to Halt Brexit for a Public Enquiry on Monday 5th October. It must have become obvious to you that Corona crisis + Brexit disaster = a Britastrophe. If you are not convinced, I’d ask you to read the report by LSE, summarised at https://brexitrage.com/brexonomics
Of course, it’s not all about economics. We seem to be headed towards no deal Brexit again, having been deemed illegal by the House of Commons in the last Parliament. It is widely predicted that Brexit will lead to extremely bad social outcomes in the winter of 2021, alongside flu, flooding and the 2nd COVID wave. with medicine and food shortages. Are the deaths of children and vulnerable people to be your epitaph as an MP?
It is time to show that you are able to take principled decisions when the good of the nation is at stake. You will be aware that the Supreme Court stated that Brexit would have been deemed illegal had the referendum been binding, but deferred the judgement because of the non-binding nature of the Brexit vote. We also know that the desire to leave the European Union has now declined to just 35% versus 57% wishing to remain. We are at present in a situation where international law may be breached if we pursue the provisions of the Internal Market Act. I’d hazard a guess that the only trade deals we’ll be pursuing will be with North Korea and Venezuela in such circumstances.
I await your answer.
Yours sincerely
YOUR NAME
Dear xxx
I see that petitions about Brexit are to be debated in Parliament on 5 October. One of them is “Halt Brexit for a Public Enquiry” because the Electoral Commission decided that illegal overspending occurred during the Referendum campaign. Another is about extending the transition period.
At the time of the Brexit referendum, nobody could have foreseen Covid. I have always been a Remainer but I do appreciate that many who voted for Brexit were making the best decision that they could with the knowledge they had at the time. Many, of course, are now changing their minds and I appreciate that it takes a lot of courage for people to say that they think the decision to leave the EU was wrong. I hate all the personal attacks and insults and division in the country.
Times have changed tremendously since the Brexit vote. As you will be well aware, the number of Covid-19 cases is rising nationally. We should be concentrating on defeating Covid and rebuilding Britain.. Brexit on top of Covid will do untold damage that will last for generations.
I believe that you are a hard-working and honest MP. Dominic Cummings’ trip to Durham was a big trigger for those disobeying the Government rules now. I really don’t like the current dishonesty in Government, and am shocked by the idea of breaking international law. At school years ago we were taught that the use of “Conservative” in the party came from the idea of “conserving what is good.” But that is not what’s happening at the moment – many of the elements I have always loved about Britain – the sense of fairness, the honesty, the belief in the rule of law, even the quality of our food, the feeling of “safety”, the availability of medicines – are being jettisoned because of the 2016 vote and determination to stick to the result no matter what the damage to the country.
I hope that debating these petitions will help the Government to reconsider its policy and change its approach.
Very best wishes
YOUR NAME
Dear xxx
Petitions about Brexit are, I understand, to be debated in Parliament on 5 October. One covers extending the Transition period. The other is “Halt Brexit for a Public Enquiry” because the Electoral Commission decided that illegal overspending occurred during the Referendum campaign.
I am aware that H.M. Government were fully aware of the implications of the Withdrawal Agreement via DExEU and that it was fully aware of preparations that needed to be made, and would have a plan to achieve them all in time.
It has become clear that this is not the case. The arrangements (Deal or No Deal) would have needed to be settled at least, say, 6 months at least before the implementation date, and yet we now have only 3 months to go, the possibility of a Deal sabotaged by the Internal Market Bill, and no evident plan that has any measure of bilateral agreement. The evidence for 31st December 2020 being an appropriate date was thin from the beginning. The evidence that it is now the appropriate date does not exist.
Importantly, the proposal now from the Tory Party is unambiguously a proposal for No Deal, because the EU will make no treaties with an organisation that breaks the agreements already made. So we therefore need to discard the suggestion that the “Will of the People” is being carried out, since “No Deal” was never proposed in the referendum. It would be sensible however to investigate the process by which votes were obtained in that referendum, because that will be helpful in any decision to set that result aside and investigate what is truly wanted or wise in 2020 / 2021
I hope that debating these petitions will help the Government to reconsider these points and change its approach.
With best wishes
YOUR NAME
I write to ask you to support the motion to Halt Brexit for a Public Enquiry on Monday 5th October. It must have become obvious to you that Corona crisis + Brexit disaster = a Britastrophe.
A Free-Trade Agreement (FTA) envisaged by Theresa May’s government would have provided 2 years for an orderly transition of business, and government long-term economic analyses are based on this. Since then we have approached a No-Deal precipice three times with another fast approaching, and businesses have not had the time to prepare. The current government, influenced by the coronavirus crisis, has given itself carte blanche to spend whatever it wants on anything at all and is flailing, indecisively wasting huge quantities of money on hypothetical eventualities. There is still no certainty about what comes next and this is going to cause permanent heavy damages to British businesses, far worse than the original long-term analysis predicted.
Please stand up for your country and our children’s futures and support the motion to Halt Brexit for a Public Enquiry.
With best wishes
YOUR NAME
Dear xxx,
I have adopted a ‘wait and see approach’ about the Internal Markets Bill, despite my concerns. With the Bill now having passed through the House of Commons, those concerns were clearly justified.
Surely Conservative backbenchers should have learned by now that reassurances or undertakings from Johnson are worthless? Haven’t the last nine months proved beyond doubt that Johnson agreed the Withdrawal Bill and the Political Declaration merely to persuade critics in his own and other parties to agree to a general election? Having got his majority, he swiftly reneged on the fundamental issue for the EU, the level playing field. Then he selected Mr Frost, a known enemy of the EU and non-believer in regulatory alignment, to ensure a drawn-out unproductive negotiation. Now he is playing the same trick. Unless you and others support the petitions due to be discussed next week in the Commons, he will surely proceed to No Deal and use the illegal measures in the Bill, once it has become law.
Bogus accusations of bad faith by the EU will be the excuse. This process has already begun. I have a seen a reply from another MP. This refers to a nebulous EU threat to block the sale of British agricultural products within the EU. This, it is claimed, ‘would prevent the transfer of animal products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Protocol.’ No information is given as to who made this threat, whether it has formal status and the forum in which it was made. This may be the party line, but without such details, one may doubt whether it was ever made, given the Government’s record of dishonest propaganda. There is also a list of scenarios in which the Bill’s illegal provisions would be used. These assume bad faith or unreasonable actions by the EU in the future , and are highly provocative. As the record clearly shows , it is the British side, not the EU, which has acted in bad faith throughout the negotiations and continues to do so, notably by the mere act of passing an illegal Bill through Parliament.”
In this matter, as in much else, one can seen the hand of Dominic Cummings behind the scenes. This over-powerful adviser has no respect for our Institutions, Parliament, the Constitution or the law itself. He has built a power base at the heart of Government which is already beyond accountability. His activities are not confined to ‘getting Brexit done’. Our planning system, our local democracy and the BBC are under threat. There is a stench of corruption and cronyism emanating from No 10. Irrespective of the outcome of Brexit, it is time for Conservative MPs to act as they did following the 2017 general election. Then they told the Prime Minister that unless she dispensed with her advisors, Nicholas Timothy and Fiona Hill, she would face a leadership challenge. In the name of Britain’s democracy the same needs to be done now in the case of Dominic Cummings and his tribe of aides. If Johnson is unable to do without him, it is time for him to be replaced.
Apologies for the length of this e-mail and all best wishes as ever
YOUR NAME
LETTERS WORK – See this reply – this MP is clearly conflicted but can say no more publicly.
Written by a former Conservative Councillor from Tunbridge Wells.
“I didn’t leave the party. The party left me”
In last week’s article on negotiations with the EU we showed that it was Johnson’s regime which had acted in bad faith up to now. One aspect of the level playing field, state aid, needs to be looked at further. Here, negotiator Frost enlarges on his usual mantra about Britain being an independent country by insisting that it is therefore entitled to spend its own money as it wishes. But there are limits to this seemingly reasonable argument.
As individuals, we all have the right to spend our money as we wish. However, if we do so in a way that gives us unfair advantages over our neighbours and damages them, we should not expect favours from them in return and may face retaliation.
In the case of state aid, Frost is actually demanding a more favourable position for Britain than we had as an EU member.
This is not reasonable.
It does not represent the spirit of Britain in terms of fair play. It is more like Trump’s spoilt child approach.
Click on the image to view last week’s post.
As a member of the EU, we had freedom from tariffs and quotas and had access to the single market. In kind we were expected to comply with EU state aid rules. These ban state aid to attract investment (except in development areas). Now we are demanding these advantages plus the right to offer state aid without limit. This is a benefit which even member states are not allowed to grant to their firms.
It is hardly surprising that this unreasonable demand is a sticking-point for the EU.
Report MP’s for breaking international law using the letters and contact links at Stop Boris’ Junta.
Particularly, since the UK was the top recipient in the EU of overseas investment until very recently. This is no longer so, thanks to Brexit. It could be retrieved if negotiations were not blocked by the inept negotiation skills and the hubris of Frost and the rest of Johnson’s regime.
Instead, however, the Government proceeds with the Internal Market Bill. This contains clauses contrary to the EU Withdrawal Agreement, Johnson’s General Election promises on Brexit. The bill also breaks international law.
Well worth your time.
Tory MPs have deflected the issue by referring to a vague EU threat to block the sale of British agricultural products within the EU. They claim:
“This would prevent the transfer of animal products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Protocol.”
However, no information has been given as to who made this threat, whether it has formal status and the forum in which it was made. Without such details, it is doubtful if this threat was ever made at all, given this government’s record of lies.
The lies, falsehoods and misrepresentations of Boris Johnson and his government https://t.co/VRLlGjnTKt
The Johnson regime also lists scenarios in which the Bill’s illegal provisions would be used. These assume bad faith or unreasonable actions by the EU, and are highly provocative and self-defeating. This game of chicken has provoked the expected reaction from any organisation who is threatened by criminals. In other words, the initiation of legal action against the UK for breaking international law.
Ursula von der Leyen speaks the truth
It is Britain, not the EU, which has acted in bad faith. We continue to do so, notably by the mere act of passing an illegal Bill through Parliament.
Write to your MP. Ask them to suspend Brexit on Monday 5th October via Halt Brexit.
Adrian Ekins-Daukes plans to lead Re-Boot Britain in order to boot Tories out of Local Government in the 2021 elections.
Please support our ongoing journalism and other activism.
In case of doubt, Boris Johnson’s statement about bananas was a big fat LIE.
We have exclusive use of The Gulbenkian Theatre in Canterbury in November on Tuesday November 17th from 6.30-8.30 pm. Futurama – Re-Boot Britain is a multi-media arts event on the future of Britain and the World for our children. “Futurama” covers a range of future based issues for our children:
Climate Change, XR and environment
Brexit, Populism and Pop Art
BLM, racism and xenophobia
Social change, the future of work and living with COVID
All these will be expressed through different artforms. This extraordinary event will be live streamed and captured on film, so it will live beyond the event itself via You Tube etc. To be in the audience, get your free ticket here. To present your work at Futurama read on.
Themes
Media
Join us at Futurama.
Art meets the melting iceberg of politics.
To pitch your idea pleasee-mail me at reboot@brexitrage.com. We expect good media coverage for this event on TV / Radio and in the newspapers / social media. The outputs will last for all time, so your work will gain global coverage.
We will stage an art exhibition in the foyer. We plan the use of digital art / photography exhibition as part of the backdrop to the event in the theatre.
The Gulbenkian Theatre.
Constraints
There is a limit of seven people to be on stage at any one time, five backstage. We will manage this via a comprehensive risk assessment.
We can have an audience of up to 100 people, socially distanced in the Gulbenkian Theatre. This includes performers and any video crew.
I require a professional pitch from people wishing to stage a performance so that I may include in our COVID risk assessment. This will include a thumbnail sketch of what you intend to do, how many people will be involved, how much time is needed and any special considerations you will need to execute your plan (equipment and so on).
Futurama – Reboot Britain comes early to Kent.
Don’t miss it …
Inspiration for your own performances follow:
The Festival Goers – Cold War Steve.
Diversity.
Music and Extinction.
Black Lives Matter and Musical Expression.
“If there ain’t no justice then there ain’t no peace” Prince
I am grateful to Cheryl Noti, New Jersey, USA for writing this excellent reflection on a troublesome conundrum of binary politics which seems to bedevil the world on both sides of the Atlantic. It turns out that Cheryl is a Trumpist but I decided to give her a platform.
We here in America are 33 days away from Election Day, 2020. Not normally significant, except for the fact the country seems to be made up of either those who hate Trump and will vote for anyone else, including a chimpanzee, or those who see Trump as the only real option to Make America Great Again.
There is NO in between.
Editor’s note: It is the same here in Britain with a two horse race between Johnson and Corbyn. Johnson and Brexit did not exactly win, but Corbyn and Brexit apathy lost. Now we live with the consequences.
2020, a year not to be repeated, has brought raging wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, a major pandemic that crippled the economy and forced us to wear masks and live like hermits, the race centric BLM movement, and last but not least the icing on the cake, an election with no real choice.
I, and others like me, have a difficult decision. Do we vote for the self-proclaimed bully, or the creepy old Grandpa who has seen better days?
With all the lies being flung and a media full of forked-tongued devils, it really is a tough call.
Four months ago, if asked would I vote for Trump, the answer would have been NO Way, NO How! His constant tweeting and childish behavior left me wondering could we stand another four years of this man?
Lou Reed often sums up the range of social problems that political leaders face.
As a registered Independent, with no allegiance to either party, I had pretty much bought into the mainstream media rhetoric and thought the choice was an easy one, simply vote along democratic party lines.
Things however changed when I became a “COVID 19 Hermit” with plenty of time to do some fact checking on both parties. And what I found just did not add up.
I, like many others considered to be “The Silent Majority”, those who refuse to buy into the BLM movement, and believe in supporting the police and military, have found ourselves questioning whether Trump could really be as bad as the mainstream media makes him out to be?
The media blamed everything on Trump including the COVID 19 virus. Silly me, I thought that was a China mess up. Well, if the media said it, then gosh it must be true!
Editor’s note: As a scientist, I would point out that Trump’s knowledge on science and the nature of wicked problems don’t impress me much. Regardless of the origins of COVID, the outcome of any situation is the result of leaders’ responses to the challenge. Both Trump and Johnson have undoubtedly contributed to many thousands of unnecessary deaths through their laissez faire approaches and scant disregard for experts:
The problem for me, however, was the facts did not match the rhetoric. Trump was being praised by the Democratic governors in the Northeast, the center of the pandemic, for the outstanding job he and his administration did, yet the media mouthpieces still said he was doing a horrible job.
The left and the media even went so far as to call Trump a Xenophobe and racist for closing the border to China.
Then the whole left back BLM movement and the media coverage really made me wonder if everything being said about Trump was a lie.
As the BLM movement and the so called “peaceful protesters” were burning cities across the U.S., tearing down statues and demanding we get rid of Aunt Jemima, the racist pancake syrup, the media continued to say these were all peaceful protests and again blamed Trump.
It seemed to me that the blame belonged with the radical left and the states and cities. What I, and others like me, began to see is a carefully-architected plan by the left to discredit Trump and his party.
They blamed Trump for stirring up the racial unrest and causing carnage, when in fact, it appeared the opposite was true. It appeared the left had unleashed a monster in BLM and was now unable or unwilling to control the problem.
As the rioting continued, I had to ask myself why wasn’t anyone stopping this? And why did the media and the Democratic party keep saying these were peaceful protesters? I saw with my own eyes the devastation occurring in NYC and Philadelphia. These were not peaceful protesters, and it was no longer about George Floyd, the man killed in Minneapolis, at the hands of the police. Something more sinister was going on.
The “race card” had been thrown by the Democratic party, who declared there was systemic racism throughout the country. BLM and the Democratic party declared all whites were privileged and racists, and we needed to be cleansed. For an organization that talked about ending racism, they seemed to be nothing but a bunch of racists who hated all whites and America.
Red, White and Blue.
I had to question how if we were such a racist country did Obama, a black man, get voted in as President not once, but for two terms? And why hadn’t Obama in his eight years and Biden in his 47 years in office done anything to end this systemic racism?
Editor’s note: I completely resonate on this point. It is said that Obama could not touch the issue as the first black President. Over here we have politicians now running scared from Brexit and outright racism as the far right take over our politics. Someone must stand up.
Something else did not add up. Where was all the money coming from to fund these riots? They were not grass roots. Instead, paid anarchists were being bussed from city to city to wreak havoc and burn down American cities. And why was the left not decrying the destruction of our cities? They seemed to be cheering these anarchists on.
Wow, could I get behind a party that did not believe in law and order? This was so not the party my parents supported. It seemed to have moved so far off center that the party was now being called the party of the radical left and their supporters were referred to as the “Libotards”.
Seemed like the mainstream media was not really telling us the truth about anything. I felt like a sheep going to slaughter.
To Trump or Not to Trump? All indicators seem to be pointing to the right, but to be fair to all involved, I need to wait and see the debates before casting my vote.
Gardening shoes on …
I sit here knowing my last thread of hope for any clarity will come from the soon-to-be televised presidential debates. Would I be swayed by smooth-talking Joe Biden, or would I become a member of the “Silent Majority” who supported Trump and believed in law and order? Only time will tell.
Editor’s notes: This post perfectly sums up the dilemma of voters confounded by fake news on all sides of political debates and the terror of being caught in a binary trap of A or B, Black, or White, On or Off, Yes or No etc. when most issues in life are analogue rather than digital in nature. We need total reform of our politics and political systems and this is why I started Re-Boot Britain. We will have some exciting news on this front shortly. Meanwhile:
Rishi Sunak’s promise of “whatever it takes” ran out yesterday when he suggested that musicians were pointless in a post-COVID society. As someone who bridges the arts and business I find Sunak’s suggestion faintly ridiculous. If musicians, actors, artists et al. are pointless, we may as well also condemn people working in restaurants, nail bars, tattoo parlours etc. The Artful Dodger Sunak is morally bankrupt. Although Sunak retracted the statement, this is the way of our Government, to gaslight the public by making a statement and then take it back. In this case Sunak even deleted his tweet to cover his tracks.
Rishi understands the price of everything and the value of nothing.
I wrote a song for Dishy Rishi and Priti Patel to shine the light on the real issue that they are artfully dodging, that of a “Britastrophe“. Britastrophe is the toxic combination of Corona Crisis + Brexit Disaster. All the while Brexit drags us under, we will never have the capacity or capability to adapt ourselves personally and in business to a post-COVID world.
I invite you to gift copies of the album to MP’s in order to prick their consciences to suspend Brexit in the wake of Corona – much more effective than signing a petition and something different. A sample letter is included on the Britastrophe album page and you can gift the songs via the link on the page. For now enjoy the video:
This version is the “Balti Bojo Bonking Brexit Bhuna Bulldog Bhindi Bhaji Bhangra Beat MIX“. It synthesises the Raj, empire and colonialism in a slightly crazy cocktail, like all things that have emerged from this Government’s Brexit obsession. Of course we know that Boris, Rishi and Priti blame the people for the problems of Britastrophe, when it is they that are making the critical decisions on the future of Brexit Britain.
Free swimming pool with every donation.
There are six uniquely different versions of “Britastrophe” on the album to choose from, from the Carlos Santana “Salsa” Mix through to the Funkadelic inspired “Heaven and Hell” Mix. All proceeds to go towards security equipment for my family in the wake of recent threats of violence by angry Brexiteers in my area.
Boris Johnson is heading an Anti-Conservative Tory Government. Conservatives instinctively want to conserve, as the name implies, but this is an administration of destroyers. Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s senior adviser, is not even a member of the Tory party. He treats its elected representatives with contempt.
Anti-Conservative Tory Government now runs the country and nobody noticed or cared
Conservatives could not give a stuff about Scotland or NI
Munira Mirza, Mr Johnson’s head of policy, used to write for Living Marxism, the in-house magazine of the Revolutionary Communist Party.
Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, had a picture of Vladimir Lenin on his office wall.
These occupants of No 10 reject traditional Tory respect for continuity and compromise in favour of creative destruction. Their current targets are the BBC, the impartial civil service, and the judiciary, with our planning system. Further down the road, they plan to destroy local government.
Managerial capability and economic credibility have been thrown out of the window. This is most recently demonstrated by the extraordinary failure to report and then trace the contacts of almost 16,000 COVID-19 cases. One Tory former cabinet minister robustly denounces the prime minister and his top team.
“I am a Conservative but we don’t have a Conservative government. Conservatives believe in parliament, they don’t try to bypass it, Conservatives believe in the rule of law, they don’t announce to the House of Commons and the world that they are going to break the law. Conservatives believe in the Union and in trying to hold on to the best aspects of diplomacy like the Good Friday agreement. This is a bad English nationalist government with no idea of where it’s going.”
In all this the guiding hand of Cummings is clear. This over-powerful adviser has no respect for our Institutions, Parliament, the Constitution or the law itself. He has built a power base at the heart of Government which is beyond accountability. His activities are not confined to “getting Brexit done”. Our traditions and system of government are being undermined. A stench of corruption and cronyism is emanating from No 10.
Conservative MPs must act as they did following the 2017 general election. They told Theresa May to dispense with her advisors, Nicholas Timothy and Fiona Hill, or face a leadership challenge. In the interests of Britain’s democracy the same needs to be done now with Dominic Cummings and his gang of aides. If Johnson is unable to do without him, it is time for him to go too.
By Adrian Ekins-Daukes : Former Conservative Councillor
“I didn’t leave the Tory party. The Tory party left me”
As negotiations reach another hiatus, it’s a good idea to remind people that Brexit is not inevitable now that less than 37% of people still think that Brexit is a good idea. Here are the Brexit Choices for a Better Britain open to us at the moment.
By the way “probability” is perhaps better expressed as “betting odds” – the numbers do not add up to 100% of course
In case people don’t understand why the EU cannot just give the UK what they want, consider the EU as a golf club with 28 members. One does not want to pay the subscriptions but still wants to use the club for gala dinners, special events and demands a free set of golf clubs every year without paying. The head of the golf club must decline. If he says yes, he will face a backlash from the other 27 paying members who will also want a rebate or more services for less money. The primary job of an enterprise is to protect its members and, regardless of our belligerence in the talks, The EU must set this aside and protect the greater good of the union.
We also have an unlikely ally on our side in the form of Theresa May at the moment, who has rebelled on several occasions taking others with her:
“I might have thought the government would have abandoned algorithms by now.”
Here is a roundup of Brexit news in case you are bored with COVID apathy. Remember COVID is a crisis. Brexit a disaster in slow motion. Brexit will make the bigger impact on our country in the long run. The toxic combination of Corona + Brexit = a Britastrophe. We must pull back from a Do or Die Brexit. Your ditch awaits Mr Johnson.
Down on the farm
I watched with dismay, as Parliament voted to lower our food standards. This opens the door to hormone fed beef, chlorinated chicken and a host of other dodgy practices. In case you think this doesn’t matter, US cases of food poisoning are some 10 times higher than our country.
I have mixed feelings about the farmers. I helped Liz Webster, PPC for Swindon, gain the only TV coverage for the Lib Dems in the entire South West in 2017. Liz organised the farmers marches. I attended the last event to be told that they did not wish to mention Brexit, as the issue was toxic. Instead they protest to save themselves. Parochial self-interest is a hardy perennial problem of Remain. There is a hierarchy of problems here with Brexit at the apex. In other words, stopping Brexit leads to solutions to other issues such as food standards, EU citizens rights and so on. But people would rather form into silos (sic), allowing our Government to operate “divide and rule” politics. Oh well, the farmers have been composted and we all lose.
Die Another Day
We’ve had “Do or Die” and “Die in a Ditch” from Boris Johnson, so we may as well have “Die Another Day” or “Live and Let Die”. Brexit negotiations remain deadlocked. Johnson is trapped by the ERG on one side, funded by Russia and wanting No Deal, which nobody voted for. He is also confounded by the EU, who must satisfy the four freedoms and protect their enterprise. It is always unwise to capitulate to bullies. The EU cannot give Britain a better deal for less money, as it will threaten the cohesion of the other 27 member states. I covered this point in the post Brexit Choices.
Why then are the negotiations deadlocked? Quite simply the “mechanics” of Brexit remain unresolvable. By moving one part of the puzzle to resolve one issue, the other parts become entangled. It’s what we call a “Wicked Problem” in consulting circles. Wicked problem do not lend themselves to simple solutions as Boris Johnson would like to believe. As reported last year, changing the leader or applying more “bluster” does not alter the underlying problems that exist with Brexit.
The Golf Club analogy
BOJONA-20
The latest instalment of industrial scale lies and gaslighting comes from yesterday’s COVID announcements. With £40 Billion worth of tax rises now inevitable, let’s examine some COVID facts that Boris Johnson must have missed whilst chasing a violinist …
Scientists advised the Government to install circuit breakers to stop Corona contagion on September 21, 2020. Ignored.
Keir Starmer has just asked the Prime Minister to follow the science and install a 2-3 week circuit breaker across the UK. I predict he will either be ignored or blamed for the deaths already baked in by Johnson’s lack of action from mid-September, when he was talking about “Getting Christmas Done”. This is a repeat performance from February, when Johnson was more concerned with bonging bells, shaking hands and minting 50 pence coins than running the country.
670 NHS deaths during the first wave due to inaction. 30 000 unnecessary deaths overall
Test and Trace is still not working, despite Matt Hancock promising to get it up and running many months ago. Without measurement, there can be no management of COVID and the idea of “Controlling the Virus” is at best fanciful, at worst dangerous.
Still pursuing Cummings eugenics aka herd immunity model
In case you think that the idea of unnecessary deaths are a feature of Brexit, please read what Wendy Novak has to say on the matter at Brexit : A matter of life or death.
And Johnson now does not want to appear in front of the public, having hired Allegra Stratton to handle “comms” so he can move on to pursue more important matters.
The lesson for us all is neatly summed up by James O’Brien:
The four key lessons of the first lockdown: 1) Going in late makes everything worse. 2) Coming out early makes everything worse. 3) Not using it to get proper Test, Track & Trace in place makes everything worse. 4) Unclear messaging makes everything worse.
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