I like Angela Rayner. See our latest article on her demise. As some who started life in a council house, who pulled myself up by my bootstraps, with a wife from Manchester, I identify with Angela’s straight talk on many things. I was therefore even more dismayed to hear her spinning myths and lies on LBC this week about Brexit. Angela came up with many of the Brexiteer arguments in this interview. Here are some of her ‘whoppers’.
The will of the people must be respected
Horseshit. We are fast approaching the point where 70% of people in Britain believe that Brexit has failed. Angela appears not understand that democracy is NOT a project. It is a process. She would not even be an MP if democracy were a project as women would not have a vote or be able to participate in society. We would be more like Saudi Arabia under Angela’s view of democracy.
We can’t just rejoin
Bollocks. Whilst it’s true that all takes time, the only thing preventing us from starting the process is a backbone in politics. Read our article on the matter at Byline Times.
I met with four Labour Councillors campaigning in my area on Sunday. All said they fundamentally disagreed with the exec. Are they prepared to do anything about it? Of course not. We need ‘different’ and not more of the same. What matters is the beginning of the journey, not the end point.
We can’t rejoin on the same terms
This was perhaps Angela’s cleverest deception. By not being specific, she allowed people to fill in the dots by themselves … for example “oh we’ll lose the pound, Shengen, pints”, and many other myths put forward by the Brexiteers. These feed the Labour project fear narrative and Angela should really know better.
It is true that Old Albion will need to learn some appropriate humility as part of the joining process, instead of the English exceptionalism which characterised the Brexit vote. However, it is unwise to place more constraints in the way of success than is necessary before negotiations begin. When I reflect on the conversation I observed with Barnier, I know that rejoining is possible. Yes, it will be difficult and everything will be on the table. If Britain decided that it must keep the pound for example, I’m sure it would be considered. Since all is a trade, the EU may come with some other things we may have to move on to keep the pound, perhaps in the finance domain, perhaps an asymmetric trade-off. For example, we have just seen concessions on Northern Ireland traded with changes to the Erasmus scheme. Nonetheless, what we must do is establish the principle of rejoining and political will to do so. Once that is secured, we must then leave the negotiators to do the work, as we did in the Brexit negotiations. See our book on Rejoining the EU.
This article in The Guardian is being shared widely by Rejoiners at the moment. It is a good piece of academic analysis. Yet I have some problems with a couple of the points it makes (I guess that’s unsurprising!!). It’s a long piece, so buckle yourself in for a long ride. Here’s what I really like about the piece:
Consonance
The article correctly states that the Brexit mindset is a complex interwoven set of beliefs (coalitions within coalitions) that keep getting reinforced by our populist media. I articulated this via my ‘Brexit Brain’ model below. Quite why I coined the phrase ‘Brexorcism‘ to describe the complex quasi-religious mindset change process in the book Reboot Britain.
“It’s really hard. We see tremendous stability over very long periods of time. A choice like Brexit provides endless stimuli to feed that brain activity. It’s coalitions within coalitions within coalitions…” Darren Schreiber.
The Brexit Brain – Read more by clicking the brain.
Thus, normal approaches to change management are not valid: ‘Carrots and sticks; are often used to change simple levels of behaviour and performance at work. For example, if you pay people more, they might work harder for a while. Put them under threat, they may also work harder, go on strike, work less or leave the company etc. But changing Kwasi-religious beliefs such as Brexit is a whole different ball game. It’s not a rational choice as the Guardian article rightly explains.
Whole brained change
I advocate a blend of so-called left (more analytical) and right brained (more emotional) thinking to reach deep into the Brexit psyche of my ‘clients’, what is known as a ‘hearts and minds’ approach in business consulting circles. Using hard hitting emotional headlines to grab people by the heart and longer more analytical approaches to ensure that their heads fall in line with their hearts. The dual approach is epitomised in the book Private Eyelines, a book targeted at leave voters to help them understand how they were lied to. p.s. DO NOT buy the book on Amazon. I get a £2.00 royalty on a sale of £32.99 for six months work, as Amazon keep all the profits! Whilst I don’t write books as an income source, I also don’t write them to boost Amazon’s profits. If you wish to buy a copy direct at an author’s discount, talk to me direct via reboot@brexitrage.com. By the way the left-right brain divide has been questioned but the idea of whole brain thinking (analytical and emotional) is a handy notion to help us think about the need to reach head and heart.
“A man with a conviction is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point.” Leon Festinger.
Another truism in the article is the belief that all leave voters are unresponsive to dialogue, thick or closed. This reveals itself in oft quoted statements by some Remainers, who say things like “You can’t educate pork”, “I’ve tried everything” and “They are thick as mince”. Truth be told, some Remainers lack the skills, patience and time to conduct effective Brexorcisms. Also it really matters who you choose as your ‘client’. There really is no point working on a ‘Nigel Farage type hardcore Brexiters’ but many leave voters are not hard leavers. Selection of your targets is key, both in terms of where they sit on the Remain – Leave continuum and to what extent they are key opinion formers for others who follow their views.
“When you pathologise the other side, there’s no point in reaching out to them” Brian Hughes.
Relationship and rapport is key
The article goes on to say something terribly important. “If there is a way through this, he suggests, it is to break down the myths of us and them.” A successful Brexorcism only operates on the basis of a strong relationship and a basic bond of trust. If you are going to challenge beliefs, you need a massive ‘bank balance’ of relationship power to succeed. This is why Steve Bray and his cult have changed very few minds by ‘shouting at people’ in Parliament, upsetting sympathetic media people into the process. In case of doubt, I started on the street with Steve at No 10 Vigil. He quickly spotted that the real action was at Parliament instead of Downing Street and set up a splinter group. Later on, I tried to gain him a permanent platform with other figures at Channel 4 News which he rejected. Of course, Steve’s activities outside the House of Commons have other functions. However, his finest moments were when he quietly but firmly ask politicians difficult questions using a Socratic style and a ‘servant leadership’ approach. But everything counts. We need to use all the therapeutic communication styles as discussed by John Heron in Reboot Britain. Social settings such as cafes, pubs etc. are often more helpful than formal settings, hence my comments about the sauna below, although the sauna is not the only environment in which you can change someone’s mind about Brexit!
In the article, Carol Tavris confirms the view that ‘consonance’ or rapport is vital as a starting point for a successful Brexorcism. The conversation is a healthy mixture of what Comms people call ‘pull’ and ‘push’ strategies or what musicians and psychologists call consonance and dissonance. Finding some common ground is extremely important or giving away trivial wins in order to build a connection. One of the difficulties I notice in some activists is their fundamentalist need to ‘win’ all the arguments with leave voters. It’s better to let them have some small wins in the dance of Brexorcism.
“When we argue with somebody about their beliefs, the absolute crucial thing to avoid is making them feel foolish. If you say something like, ‘How could you be so stupid?’, that will almost always make your listener become even more committed to their belief. If you say instead, ‘Well, many of my own expectations turned out not to be the case too’, that might be a place to start.”
Dissonance
The Guardian article suggests that we must fully convert people to become Rejoiners. This is akin to a religious conversion or what I call a 360-degree Brexorcism. This is fundamentally incorrect. All we need to deliver as a ‘MVP‘ (Minimum Viable Product” is to move people from the idea that Brexit is a good idea towards ambivalence or doubt about the value of Brexit, a 180-degree Brexorcism. This is a much easier task. This converts in behavioural terms to people not voting in another referendum / General Election to support a Brexit party or possibly voting for a pro-Rejoin party to balance out their previous vote. Obviously a full conversion to the cause would be a much stronger position but, as the article points out, it is much more difficult. This is like trying convert a moderate Christian to Islamic fundamentalism when we only need to go as far as agnosticism, not even atheism.
Our approach to Brexorcism has validation from low-profile approaches to change which were reported on by the BBC some while back. A Brexorcism blends ideas from psychology, sociology, anthropology and therapeutic interventions. People who tell me that you cannot change the minds of Brexit voters simply have not understood the fundamentals of Brexorcism which requires large doses of skill, patience and time. I’m offering a free masterclass on the topic for North Hertfordshire for Europe on Sunday November 19th at 5.00 pm via ZOOM. Contact me to reserve your place. I am also willing to give keynotes and masterclasses on our UK tour to develop a cadre of Brexorcists. This is vital if we are to move the dial faster on Brexit regret by a General Election.
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Brexorcism
The will of the people has changed
My other major beef with the article is that it suggests that “though there is some anecdotal and polling evidence that there has been a shift in sentiment, and that remain might now prevail, the same polls show very little appetite to reopen the question.” This is incorrect on two levels:
There has been a seismic shift from 4% to 24% of people that believe that Brexit has failed. By 2024 it is quite feasible that 70% of people will believe that Brexit has failed. At that point politicians will no longer be able to look the other way.
Whilst it’s true that there is currently no appetite to reopen the Brexit question, this is merely a feature of where we have got to in the cycle. Also, of course, a sense of foreboding that another referendum would re-open all the family feeds / social angst and so on. However, another bloody referendum is not the only way to settle the matter. It is also quite certain that not opening up the difficult question will mean that the wounds of Brexit will remain with us for generations to come. Some kind of healing could actually take place with a grown-up recognition that Brexit has failed and that rejoining the EU is both possible and desirable. There is an embedded assumption that we MUST do this via a referendum. It ain’t necessarily so. See this article for London for Europe and Reboot Britain on the choices we face.
Myths and Riffs of Brexit
I note that the last remaining Brexiters are putting forward a number of myths to silence debate. Sadly some remainers also buy into these myths due to learned helplessness. For example:
‘Learned helplessness’ on the part of Remainers plays into a passive acceptance of the idea that Brexit is done and it cannot be undone. This is the belief that we don’t deserve to join anew as it might be considered anti-democratic etc. However, a referendum won through fraud, fake social media ads and which was judged illegal by the Supreme Court had it been mandatory is not the high-water mark of democracy. Leavers were not satisfied by a super majority (67.2% on a 64% turnout) in the initial referendum to join the EU in 1975. Nor should we.
Learned Helplessness summed up. We must not subscribe to it.
Indonesia– our structural deficit
Learned helplessness prevails in a vacuum of leadership and a lack of coherent strategy. Whilst the Remain movement was relatively united in the summer of 2019 after a number of victories, the 2019 election fragmented people again along political party lines. There are now as many proposals on how we rejoin as there are pundits. I describe the organisational structure of the Remain movement as being like Indonesia i.e. 17 000 islands and a few bigger ones. But all operating independently. The bigger beasts such as the European Movement compete with other actors such as Best for Britain. Others prefer to plough their own furrow. Some have been asleep at the wheel, calling for Remainers to make the most of Brexit. Yet, the only good Brexit is a dead Brexit. The consequence of being ‘Indonesia’ is that we find it hard to do things at scale. Fragmentation of strategy / structure and poor leadership also mean that we spend as much time arguing internally about strategy as we do in acting on Brexit and Rejoin. I set out five goals which we coalesce around on a monthly basis. It ain’t perfect but we do our best to provide clarity and collaborative leadership across a group of people from Europe. Join us some Mondays at 8 pm UK time via ZOOM. See also our article on Strategies to Join EU anew.
17 000 islands. A few bigger ones.
Five goals to join anew.
Not fade away
One specific point in the article which is not quite correct is the mention of BBC Question Time’s Brexit special event in Clacton. The journalist stated that the audience was made up entirely of those who voted leave. He went on to suggest that this was presumably to ensure the debate would not simply descend into an all-too familiar slanging match. We actually attended the event and talked with people on the street in Clacton. Levels of ‘Bregret’ were widespread in Brexity Clacton outside the event. They were also quite easy to get from people who realised that they had been taken for fools. The Brexit voting audience were also happy to speak with us after the event and many were of the view that Brexit had failed and that they were lied to. It is therefore a mistake to assume that all Brexiters attending BBC QT are now fully committed to Brexit.
This was mirrored in Brexit voting Deal the other week and on BBC Any Questions in Tory voting Southend on 17 August 2023, where the audience failed to applaud any of the statements made by the Tory panel member. Having been at the centre of some extreme nastiness by Brexiters, including the ex Met Policeman who issued threats of violence, spray painted my house and attended with a knife, I observe from Brexit voting Kent that the slanging matches have largely subsided. However, the article is correct when it infers that the products of Brexit won’t go away by not talking about it. See our Brexit iceberg below. Like it or loathe it, Brexit is the smelly dump and stain in the toilet bowel of life that won’t flush.
The Brexit Iceberg.
Brexit will continue to traumatise a generation if we do not burst the boil of Brexit one way or another. I believe in facing problems rather than sweeping them under political carpets. Labour in particular will be culpable for assisting the tragedy of Brexit if they continue to look away. Much in the way that the vast majority of good German people were silenced through fear during Hitler’s populist uprising. Fence sitting on Brexit is assent.
“The Tories will crow about Brexit being done. The Labour frontbench will solemnly observe that past tense, and avoid the B-word, as if it is a triggering trauma for the party and the country, best left undisturbed.”
Brexit is the smelly dump and stain in the toilet bowl of life that won’t flush
Lost consonance
As an aside, I found the opening paragraph about ‘Brexit hard man’ Steve Baker an unusual lead into the Guardian piece. I saw Mr Baker’s attempt to draw sympathy from the public to be a calculated attempt to humanise him as a piece of electioneering and not a window on his tortured Brexit soul. No decent Christian would agree with the human principles on which Brexit is founded. Like everything else with Brexit, it’s just another set of illusions. For example, The European Research Group (ERG) does no research. The weaponisation of asylum seekers to appeal to racists and people with feeble minds is not what Jesus would have done. and so on. Baker uses his faux Christianity as a shield and has now turned into a snowflake to gain sympathy from his constituents using the Brexit confessional box. Baker’s so called mental illness, beard growth and acne were mobilised as excuses. Krishnan Guru-Murphy’s analysis was correct when he pointed out that Baker was a C…nt.
Baker explained “I felt repugnant, hateful, to blame for all of the troubles that we had, absolutely without any joy, constantly worried about everything to the point of mental torment. A constant state of panic attacks and anxiety”. So he should, for all the pain he has inflicted on our children and those having anxiety, depression and lost careers / jobs / livelihoods due to Brexit. In fact, Baker should be in jail alongside Rees-Mogg who promised us cheap training shoes, Farage who promised a boom in fish and chips and Johnson who said that Brexit would make my wife’s breasts bigger. I’ve checked several times. They haven’t.
One of the few remaining arguments of the last Brexiters on planet earth is that it’s too soon to review the benefits of Brexit in 2023. It isn’t. We have had nearly eight years of intention / formulation of Brexit strategy and nearly four years of Brexecution / implementation. Formative evaluation is therefore both possible and necessary. Let’s not forget that we were told that there would be no downsides to Brexit and we would have instant wins from our independence, in terms of ‘taking back control’ of our money, borders and laws. So, how is it all going? What does it mean to the man and woman on the street? Take a look back to my Linkedin article of July 2023 for a bit of nostalgia – Hard Facts about Hard Brexit. It gets worse every month. Header image by the genius Cold War Steve.
Money
On a simple basis, Brexit did not solve our abilities to take back control of our money. Brexit inflicted the Government’s own predictions – a 4.5% resilience shock to GDP or £100 BILLION per year. This is the equivalent to trying to swim the English Channel with a 4.5 kg block of concrete round your neck. Liz Truss’ experiment in Brexonomics added a whopping £74 BILLION in just 49 days, ruining young people’s dreams of home ownership for a generation. Read the Bloomberg report on decline in foreign investment in Brexit Britain. Whilst it is clear that nobody wants to talk about Brexit in 2023 due to radio silence by politicians on all sides, the ‘offspring’ of Brexit are all around us with the cost of living, food inflation and so on. All is depicted by our Brexit iceberg below. Government gaslighting continues with ‘pints of wine’ and other bollocks. Nobody of any intelligence is fooled by this shit. Are you?
The Brexit Iceberg – what’s visible and what’s hidden.
At a more parochial level and as an example of ‘taking back control of our money’, British energy prices in 2023 are 53% more than in France. Yet Gina Miller demonstrated that we have always had our sovereignty without needing to leave the EU. French energy companies are owned by the state and still make a profit at half the prices of British energy companies. When Boris Johnson said ‘take back control’ he forgot to mention WHO would be taking back that control. Clearly it was NOT the taxpayer or the great unwashed.
Longer term, we have only just begun to see the unfolding of a return to slavery in terms of minimum wages and an unwinding of employment standards in Brexit Britain. The drive towards the return to a feudal system continues with no opposition in sight. Read Red Brexit, Blue Brexit for insights into Labour’s failed Brexit strategy. Take a look at this You Tube video below, made earlier this year for insights into Brexonomics and numbers in general.
Clearly Brexit worked from the viewpoint that it discouraged Europeans from wanting to come to Britain. We could have achieved this quite simply by having a Government sponsored campaign of racial hatred in Britain, without needing to break the economy and destroy our reputation in the world as a standard bearer. Oh, wait a minute, we did that! You will notice from the graph below that migration figures from Europe are now in negative numbers. Yet migration from Africa, India and the Far East has increased dramatically.
As well as that, Brexit did not magic away our responsibilities to take in migrants from Hong Kong, Ukraine, Afghanistan and so on. Brexit has worked in exactly the opposite way to that predicted by the Brexiters. This is the perverse law of unintended consequences that arises from shoddy strategy. In short, fail to plan, plan to fail.
For clarity, Non-EU means people OUTSIDE the EU.
Inside the non-EU figures in the graph are people who came from Ukraine, the Hong Kong refugees and other effects, so the figure is temporarily high. Nonetheless, Brexit did not solve migration, nor will it. Britain also relies on foreign students as a source of income, many of who then return to their own countries, so it is all too simple to say that we must ban students. Our Government needs to maintain the illusion of ‘the enemy outside’ in order to win the votes of xenophobic Brits, racists and general shits in elections. Watch our You Tube video on how to address immigration.
Show this to anyone who voted for Brexit to reduce legal migration to the UK.
The red section is Freedom of Movement when the UK was inside the EU.
The yellow section, shows net migration to the UK since we left the EU, where have full control of our borders, where Boris… pic.twitter.com/bk3UI3vIEN
Before Brexit, small boats were not a thing really. The weaponisation of small boats was an invention by a Tory government desperate to distract people from thinking about the real issues facing an island nation with an increasing elderly population with food, skills and other resource insecurities. It is the triumph of marketing via right wing media to feed feeble minds and fill their minds with fury. Nearly every headline in the Mail and the Express has the word FURY in it. This is exactly why I wrote Private Eyelines to highlight how we are being taken for furious fools. In a parallel universe, in 2014 nobody gave a stuff about Europe or the EU. Again, EU fury was steadily manufactured to win a referendum based on lies.
Were you sold a pup when you were told that Brexit would allow us to take back control of our borders?
Laws
In the 14th century it may have been feasible to operate your own laws in your town, fiefdom, region or country as, generally speaking, world trade and travel were not a thing. In 2023, we live in a globally connected world and it becomes increasingly difficult to become a rogue state, unless you are Belarus or North Korea. if we wish to exploit people’s lives and livelihoods we are set on a course to become international pariahs rather than guardians of law and order. People still moan at me about the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) as if it is part of the EU. It is not.
When people talk to me about taking back control of our laws, they often fail to mention which ones are troubling them. We don’t have to drive on the left hand side of the road as part of the EU, nor drink litres of beer. We are still free to conduct barbaric acts such as fox hunting as the Spanish have their bull fighting. We have pounds and the Queen on our money. Just what laws do the Brexiters mean when they claim that they want them back? The law exists to protect people from exploitation. We now see the bizarre spectacle of our Government arguing with the rule of law in order to exploit people or behave unethically.
This is not the high water mark of British justice and not my Brexit. Is it yours?
The boiling frog problem
I’m sure you know the story of the boiling frog. People tell me that “Brexit was done”. “It happened”. Sorry, Brexit was not an event, a newspaper headline or a project with an end point. It was a process. Michael Vail, a ‘farmer’ living in Brisbane, typifies the view that Brexit was an event on his Linkedin ravings. Sure there can be some winners and losers in all changes, such as in the field of disaster capitalism (Michael is a disaster capitalist cum estate agent) but, of course, Brexit was supposed to offer benefits for all not just for people who can play the financial system in the wake of a boom or bust.
Brexit hasn’t delivered the promised benefits except in the case of people who have exploited other people’s misery. I am not in a stage of grief. When someone points to the many benefits of Brexit, I will join the cause. It’s just that Michael and his few remaining Brexiters have nothing to show me socially, economically, politically, environmentally and so on for the positive impacts of Brexit nor any problems that Brexit solves. Read Brexit Freedoms.
Michael resorts to yin and yang rather than a lie on a bus to explain Brexit. I guess it’s a new take on “Que sera sera” which my Brexity sister favours. He also lies about the Cuty (city) who are quietly moving people out of London. It’s easy to say all this when you live in Australia.
In case you are still under any illusions that “Brexit is done”, please see this very long list of Brexit impacts still to come in 2024 – 2027 and beyond. from Edwin Hayward.
Here are just a few of the joys Brexit has in store for us in 2024 and beyond.
(Long tweet. Please expand. Sorry.)
== 1 January 2024 ==
Certain temporary aspects of the UK's trade deal with Canada fall away, such as the tariff-free quotas on cheese. Result? UK exporters face…
In Europe, they have agreed to use one charger to rule all our electronic devices. It means 🔌The same charger for all phones, tablets and cameras ⚡ Harmonised fast-charging technology 🔄Reduced e-waste
In Britain, we’re still talking pints. Soon, we will be introducing bakelite plugs. This brilliant video sums up the fact that Brexit and satire are now indistinguishable.
Don Adamson spreads some Brexit Christmas cheer from his bunker in Barnsley.
This week’s homework
One – Discuss the following statement: The controversy over the Elgin Marbles could have been resolved easily enough if the curators of the British Museum had been allowed to discuss it with their opposite numbers in Athens. Instead Richy Scumbag decided to turn it in an international p*****g to impress Gammons and Flagshaggers.
Two – Did George Orwell write ‘1984’ as a dire warning or as a training manual for Johnsonite Tories?
Three – Princess Nut Nuts (sometimes known as Carrie Johnson) was described in the Covid Inquiry as behaving like Lady Macbeth. Is this a fair comment or was Lady Macbeth a much nicer person?
Four – Recent edition of Question Time was held in Kelso; on the Scottish side of the border. BBC goes to a lot of trouble to ensure that the QT audiences are predominantly pro Brexit and pro Tory. How did they manage that in Scotland?
Five – Johnson has been described as ‘a useless tosser.’ Is that on a good day?
Six – Should Gammons and Tories bog off back to Russia where they belong?
Seven – Gammons and Flagshaggers insist that the world owes them a living for their heroism in wars that ended before they were born. Which bit of that does Biden not get?
Eight – WW2 has been a regular fixture on British television for many years. This explains why lowlifes like Johnson and Nigel Garbage are the misapprehension that they have received multiple awards of the Victoria Cross for their heroism in wars that ended before they were born. The more I see of Brexit the better I understand what happened in pre WW2 Germany. For some reason we do not see many 1950s vintage movies of Churchill roaring defiance at the bad guys. What we do see are TV documentaries that explain in great detail how Nazis nobbled a great country. Why is this happening on a BBC that is strictly under the control of Johnsonite Tories? You would expect this BBC to pander to Johnson’s misapprehension that he is Churchill reincarnated.
This week’s quotes
Thatcher may have come late to Euro scepticism but she certainly threw herself into it
… in thrall to her supposed economic success… Tory Regimes have carried on with this disastrous course … the cupboard is empty and bills are due … Thatcher set in course the destruction of this country …
I wonder how many people who voted for Brexit saw the spike in migration coming
… we are allowing in more non EU migrants … we are also allowing in more overseas students to prop up underfunded university sector … this will increase … How richly ironic. Brexit has opened the door to more immigration, not closed it…
Brexit Migration Algorithm
Covid inquiry has shone a light on government’s pandemic response
… now it is time for a scrutiny of Brexit … same reckless fools were in charge … even Titans would have struggled … dark chaos of Johnson … was frighteningly obvious … casual, complacent, determinedly ignorant and jingoistic leadership … hopeless … bewildered ministers … Brexit deal was being negotiated at the same time … incompetent government … Brexit deal that is as calamitous as response to pandemic … nightmarish … determined by shallow ‘British exceptionalism’ … Johnson struggled to take Covid seriously … at same time did not bother to contemplate the tortuous details of Brexit … Johnson’s erratic attention span taken up wholly with demands of Covid … Lord Frost made Mad Halfcock look like Bismarck and Churchill combined … Cummings encourage out of depth Frost to be aggressive … when EU proposed a deal mutually beneficial … Frost would loftily reject it … Cummings gone by November 2020 leaving bewildered Frost to please Johnson alone … Johnson was indifferent to detail … seeking a fantasy Brexit where Britain would recover past glories … disgracefully doting media elevated Johnson to status of war hero … no discussions in Cabinet … Keith Starmer did not ask a single question about Brexit … serious consequences for UK in many ways for years to come … doubt that Johnson read the deal passed to him on Christmas Eve … was he playing a poker game … bluffing … probably did not know himself … Frost … politically naive … unworkable protocol for Northern Ireland … Johnson ran away from scrutiny all his life … briefly ran a government where he was omnipotent … deeply damaging … sought the hardest of Brexits without knowing what that meant …
A Britastrophe
‘Fearless’ Tory press meekly ducked criticism of Johnson and Richy Scumbag
… ‘let people die’ … ‘They’ve had a good innings’ … Downing St was a hive of tragic chaos … dystopian nightmare … incompetent ministers lied … claimed the authority to play God … orgy of narcissism … toxic culture of misogyny … Johnson incapable of making a decision … bamboozled by statistics and numbers …. hiding behind science which he did not understand … Covid still a factor in 300 deaths a week … sensational and scandalous material … editors spoiled for choice … Johnson did not think old people’s lives mattered … language shocking but not shocking enough to make the Tory Press … possibly because they agreed with the sentiments … Tory Press … did not shine much light on accusations of ministerial dithering … shy away from anything that shows Tories in a less than brilliant light … not one mentioned Johnson wanting to leave old people to die .. Chaos and incompetence…
November 8, the day that Georgia was recommended for EU candidacy status
… obtaining EU candidacy status is not only a significant step towards realising the European aspirations of Georgian but also a vital means of diminishing Russia’s influence in Georgia … support for membership across civil society has always been some of the strongest in the region … after Russia launched its full-scale war in Ukraine, it immediately became clear how much of a threat the Kremlin truly posed … for Georgians joining the EU will have deep consequences. November 8 was a huge day for the people of Georgia, a historic day when my country made a step towards the EU and away from Moscow. It is what we have wanted for decades…
Alastair Darling
… If there is one lesson from his life and times it is this: politics needs good, honest, principled, hard working, serious people more than it has ever needed them…..
Mad Halfcock, as Health Secretary
… assured Dominic Cummings that full pandemic contingency plans were in place – but they claimed under cross examination that they were not up to scratch. This is why Cummings, in June 2021 said no plans had been in place … an assertion that mystified staff at Porton Down … that is the whole reason why we have Porton Down, where they have long recognised that that a pandemic is the number one threat on the risk register … they war gamed pandemics and shared their ideas with Europe, Singapore, the Gulf States etc, … ironically some of them put Porton Down’s ideas into practice and looked back at us mystified why we were not doing what we had advised … Theories abound why the plans were never used … by the time Johnson and co. Took an interest there was little that was still salvageable so they denied they existed …
Breaking the law
Richy Scumbag .. unable to corral the warring factions in the Tory Party
… Keith Starmer has been effective in keeping the outlying far left of the Labour Party in check, Tory factions openly in dispute … Scumbag completely devoid of the power to bring performers into line … Cruella Braverman supporters cannot contain their anger … Cleverly (sic) attempt to reduce the perceived but deeply misplaced believe that Rwanda could solve the small boats problem … ‘Let Markets Rip’ Brigade bemoan the ousting of Thick Lizzie … relics of a bygone era (Deadwood) call for yet more of her disastrous economic enemas … right wing think tanks that begot Thick Lizzie are still in residence in Tufton Street … despair over current divisions … while the damage done by Brexit continues to mount the recriminations seem destined to sour relations for years … Richy Scumbag is desperately trying to appease as many warring tendencies as possible … succeeding only in looking devoid of principles … latest attempt to exert the authority of his office … pathetic, petulant, cause for laughter … turning the Tory Party into a joke is a sacking matter … Tories united by one thing: hunger for power … polls indicate that the challenge is insurmountable …
Sunakered
Peevish toddler in Downing St
… cancelling meeting with Greek PM … Anybody who believes in the rightness of the position is never afraid of confronting arguments … a perfectly routine government meeting became a full scale diplomatic row … clusterf**k … nothing the Greek PM said new or surprising … Elgin Marbles a controversy since 1816 … nothing Mitsotakis could have said should have taken Scumbag by surprise … Instead Scumbag … in a whole of his own digging decided to keep at it …. failed desperately with an ill-focussed attempt to start a culture war … there are artefacts and works of art about which the British feel strongly … The Parthenon Sculptures are not among them, … Scumbag is not a Churchillian defender of the nation … instead a complete fool … King Charles wore a tie with a Greek flag … uncodified constitution prevents the monarch from calling the PM a prat but this is the next best thing…
Pip Pip Don Adamson Medway Delta (Retired) Brexorcist and Saboteur First Class
Don Adamson’s round up of all things politics for the week that was …
This week’s homework
One – Does the existence of pro-Brexit Toryism prove the existence of minus quantity integrity?
Two – Discuss the following statement: Hermann Göring was a slippery character. At the Nuremburg Trials the prosecution struggled to pin down the charges against him. David Maxwell Fyfe, a British trial lawyer cross examined Göring. Fyfe went through Göring testimony detail by detail. In the process he demolished his defence and afterwards he was a broken man. What a pity there are no trial lawyers in the Parliamentary Labour Party who could tear apart the fairy stories that Tory Ministers deliver in the House of Commons.
Three – Discuss the following statement: Andre Philips is the latest ‘mega talent’ to be hired to work for GB News. He would be long forgotten but for the fact that he was one of the gigolos who ill treated Katie Price. Gammonite Balderdash News seems to be only interested in hiring mediocrities and has beens; preferably with dubious reputations.
Four – Discuss the following statement. I would always allow my enemies a way out if they repent their sins and repair the damage they did. Tories are gradually coming to realise that their precious Brexit has gone horrible wrong. It has been at least a couple of years since we heard anything about that Brexit earthly paradise we were promised. Nigel Garbage is telling us that the whole point is that Brexit allows us to live in poverty if that is what we want. Gammons and Tories do not mind being detested but they do mind being the object of ridicule. They are slowly beginning to realise that they are the laughing stock of the entire world. That is not enough to justify Rejoin. Am I alone in thinking that there is a dangerous Betrayal Myth taking hold with Gammons and Tories blaming everybody but themselves for the horrors they have unleashed on us?
Five – Discuss the following statement. Fifteen years ago I would not have thought it possible that a British government could be capable of the horrible things these Tories do regularly and routinely. When challenged the Tories respond: ‘we got the big calls right.’ What on earth is that absurd statement supposed to mean?Six – Police Officers and other officials in occupied countries in wartime were faced with a cruel dilemma. Should they quit and abandon their responsibilities to the enemy? That does not come easily to dedicated public servants. Should they stay put and try to maintain some standards knowing that the stench of collaboration will cling to them. Since 2015 we have seen the most corrupt and incompetent British government for many years, perhaps of time. Since Johnson became PM we seen criminality, false values and a degree of sheer crass, pig headed uselessness that I would not have thought possible in a 21stcentury British government. The PCS, a Civil Service Trade Union has mounted a legal challenge to this government’s disgraceful scheme to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda. Can it really be true that the Civil Service Unions are the only people in government circles with any notion at all of decency?
… autumn budget statement got one thing right. It also handed out illusory windfall … One measure … striking example of sensible policy making. … the rest leaves a mess for the next government … likely to be Labour … what he got right … ‘full expensing’ … the right of businesses to deduct upfront their capital expenditure from taxable profits … probablyby the single greatest pro-growth tax reform possible … Where did the money come from? … *unt said fall in inflation made it possible … in fact close to the opposite is true … Office of Budget Responsibility calculates that some budgets would have to fall by 4.1% per year … not credible … a fiscally responsible government would admit taxes must rise … if *unt’s successors do not reverse his tax cuts then meeting this goal will squeeze cash starved public services even more tightly. … Disappointing legacy after 13 years of Tory government … which has been comically self-contradictory on tax … hard to make sense of what Tories are trying to do other than make trouble for Labour successors…
Tax cuts and fiscal trickery
… ugly prospects for public services … autumn statement by Jeremy 8unt … declaring victory in battle against inflation … questionable accounting. … represent an improvement … only if you assume that higher inflation will have no consequences … real term cuts in public spending in five years to fund a tax give away now … a pre-election give-away, and an especially strange one … giveaway comes from deeps cuts in public services … implausible spending cuts … lots of fiscal trickery
Is the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda salvageable?
.. Supreme Court’s demolition of the plan … so meticulous the policy was ‘probably dead’ … point of the scheme … to deter migrants … no evidence it would have that effect … Rwanda government has said it can only take a few hundred asylum seekers per year (compared to the thousands that make the crossing … Supreme Court’s description … ought to shame the scheme’s champions … only way the scheme might go ahead is if Rwanda cleans up its asylum system … Britain may not be up to the task of making that happen. British government needs to fix its own asylum system … the idea … is for the birds…
Immigration sorted in two minutes.Cynical outgoing ministers make life harder for incoming governments
… Richy Scumbag has been far too keen on wrecking … In Autumn Statement Jeremy *unt put forward preposterous spending plans … a serious government would admit this is implausible … cynical government … budgetary landmine … for the next government … a ‘pro-business’ … would be welcome …
Brexit Benefits
UK Trade Intensity remains 1-7% below its 2019 level … compared to an average increase of 1-9% across other G7 countries. … Forecasters predict … long term view of Brexit to be 15% in the long term…
What next for Michael Gove
… interviewed by the National Crime Agency as part of their investigation into how PPE Medpro, the company in which Tory Peer Michelle Mone was involved, won £200M in contracts during the pandemic …
… Relinquished her morning show on GB News … is retaining weekly column in Daily Express … ministerial code says any minister wishing to practice regular journalism must have prior approval from 10 Downing Street … unusual if not unprecedented for approval to be granted … Even Johnson was obliged to comply … code strictly forbids ministers from being paid for media articles … In the past year McVey paid £22,447 for her jottings…
Sad times for GB News viewers
… audience loudness is disproportionate to its largeness … John Cleese’s much hyped Dinosaur Hour has had its repeat removed due to waning interest … Bosses hope Johnson’s arrival in the new year will shake up ratings … lost more than £30M in first year … owner Paul Marshall hopes to spruce up image in hope of bagging Telegraph titles in New Year…
Read Gammon Brexit News
Covid Inquiry
… Some person has completely rewritten the science advice … cherry picking … Quite extraordinary … breezy confidence. Incredibly alarming … quite extraordinary … all highly political … Johnson is obsessed with older people accepting their fate … quite bonkers … economic predictions from the Treasury based on no evidence, no transparency, pure dogma, and wrong … Richy Scumbag thinks ‘just let people die and that is OK. … Johnson argues for letting it all rip … most people who die have reached their time … right-wing press are culpable… weak and indecisive PM … bring in the pro death squad from the Treasury … scientific advisers … testified that they had not been consulted … it was not sensible … obvious risk … Johnson’s witness statement’ claimed scheme was properly discussed with Chris and Patrick … they have no recollection of this … let the bodies pile high … no appetite to express with clarity what the plan was … government ignored scientists .. She could not understand why the government was doing nothing … did not believe this was enough to prevent NHS being overwhelmed … you could have heard a pin drop … controlling the next pandemic will require early mass testing and surveillance capabilities that have been dismantled… during the pandemic…
A stitch up in time saves nine
Ratings for I’m a celebrity may have plummeted
… Telegraph remains excited about its hero Nigel Garbage appearing on the show … can overdo it … featured a subhead about how Garbage was enjoying himself ‘as another jungle bunny’ … too overtly racist even for the Torygraph…
Newspaper articles never published
… would find room for the wretch that is Johnson. … Unpublished Telegraph article why he has backing Remain might be the last known point he both talked sense and told the truth … alas he sent the other one in the hope it would help him become PM … we are all paying the price …
Pip Pip Don Adamson Medway Delta (Retired) Brexorcist and Saboteur First Class
This from Marc Jarrett – an entrepreneur, people connector and Remainer who wrote this shortly after he fraudulent referendum. Mark now connects people with their passions, projects and profits. Get in touch via Marc Jarrett.
Marc Jarrett. The connection alchemist. Click image to connect with Marc.
My overwhelming emotion on the morning of Friday June 24th when David Dimbleby announced ‘we’re out’ was one of sadness. After all, whether I liked it or not, I am a hardwired European by virtue of my Father who, like Nigel Farage, elected to marry a German national. And liked it I did.
Unfortunately, my parent’s union did not last which resulted in my Mother returning to her native Fatherland when I was 7. I started travelling as an unaccompanied minor between the two countries, spending my time either in the sedate beauty of the Hertfordshire countryside in what was then Broken Britain, or in the brand new shiny modern metropolis of Düsseldorf. The contrast was striking.
Apart from attending an American School in Düsseldorf in 1973, my schooling was in England where I went to several state schools. Aged 11, I was sent to a boarding school in North Norfolk which was to become my new home for the next five years or so.
Back then, the second world war had not been all that long ago and anti-German sentiment was still relatively high. To this end, I distinctly remember trying to keep my German side private, for fear of being called a Nazi.
However, when in Germany and conversing with Germans who learnt I was half English, I always found the reception I got was far more favourable. It’s as if they were grateful to be speaking with an Englishman who accepted them.
In my thirties, moved to a small village called Blankenese on the outskirts of Hamburg where the love of all things British was arguably far greater than within Britain itself. Competition for the apartment was fierce, and I managed to secure it on account of the landlord being an Anglophile. You see, many Germans love the [still, just] United Kingdom and all things British.
In the early nineties, I found myself to be an enthusiastic proponent of the European project. After having spent countless hours waiting at border control in Netherlands, France and elsewhere, I rather liked the idea of free movement throughout all of Europe. I was sold. .
I was dating a MP’s daughter at the time who was kind enough to invite me to the public gallery on the evening that the Maastricht Treaty was ratified. All the top brass were there, and it was fascinating to be at the seat of power on such an historical day.
Over time, I detected less anti-German sentiment this side of the channel and subsequently became less inhibited about my German heritage. On the contrary, I was proud – Germany had become Europe’s economic powerhouse. Plus I love German cars and the fact that there are no speed limits there!
Germany’s hosting of the 2006 FIFA World Cup was a turning point for me since I knew that many Brits visiting the tournament would not have normally have elected to go there. But when they came back, many observed how friendly their hosts were and what a beautiful country is was. From this point forward, I would no longer hide my German side – on the contrary, I would embrace it.
A decade later, the British electorate decided that the European project was not such a good idea after all. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given my intrinsic European credentials, I voted remain.
But I totally ‘get’ some of the arguments that the other side made – the bloated bureaucracy, unelected officials, and the fact that Great Britain has always been an outwardly looking global trading nation.
In the meantime, however, we have to live with Brexit and all its unforeseen consequences. Editor’s note : in 2023 : Brexit’s Breaking Britain.
In recent years, I have been helping North American SME’s make UK their European home. It was an easy pitch: Business friendly, same language, and access to the world’s largest trading bloc.
Now that the UK is not such an attractive proposition, I will be helping UK & US SME’s establish a subsidiary in, you guessed it, Germany. This allows them to structure their affairs in such a way that they do not actually leave the European Union at all and can continue trading freely with the remaining 27 members.
I really hope that the Britain envisioned by those than wanted us to leave comes to pass, but I think it will take a while to get there. In the meantime, we are left pondering if the Le Touquet treaty will hold.
Please read the policy document on the 3Es from Gina Miller’s True and Fair party. Economy, Education, Environment. If we wish to change the state of our country and our politics, we need different and not more of the same. This first report concerns the economy, the main battleground for the forthcoming General Election. Not all political parties are the same although I understand why some would think so. We must expect better from our politics and politicians. To help Gina win in Epsom and Ewell, please go to the True and Fair website.
Gina Miller’s policy toplines.
The full policy document demands full reading. It’s excellent and I cannot convey a good sense of it here. People like to read stuff in a few seconds, but this REALLY needs your time. To whet your appetite, here I include six of the best. Make sure you eat the full meal.
A root and branch reform of taxation in the UK. By the next General Election, taxes will take 37% of our income.
An end to Brexit which has acted to reduce UK plc resilience with no collateral ‘sunny uplands’ in sight. Brexit is costing the UK £100bn a year – it is the economic equivalent of trying to swim the English Channel with a block of concrete around your neck and feet.
Bounce back loans to be written off for the three million people excluded from support during the pandemic.
Revitalise the high street through a series of measures from fairer business rates, seed funding for SMEs and community hubs.
Provide greater access to funding training, and networking opportunities for female entrepreneurs.
Double free childcare hours for low-income families. Introduce High Street childcare hubs and joint child and elderly hubs.
Don Adamson’s weekly roundup in his inimitable style from the Brexit bunker in Barnsley.
This week’s homework
One – Richy Scumbag has started a useless and unnecessary argument with the Greeks over the Elgin Marbles. As if we needed more of that. Would returning the Elgin Marbles to Athens be a fair price to pay to Rejoin the EU?
Two – Discuss the following statement. There is no truth in the rumour that Richy Scumbag is playing politics. He is doing his utmost to avoid getting the Tories re-elected.
Three – Is there any truth in the rumour that there is another nasty respiratory infection emerging in China and the Chinese are, as usual, keeping it secret for much longer than is sensible?
Four – Johnson will appear in front the Covid Inquiry this week. Will he be called upon to testify on oath? Do these Tories understand the significance of testifying on oath?
Five – Is there any truth in the rumour that the evil Barclay family have put together enough money to pay off their debts to Lloyds Band and are regaining control of Telegraph Newspapers? How did they do that since for some considerable time they have been swearing on oath in courts (see above) that they are fearfully pushed for lolly? Is the money coming from respectable sources?
This week’s quotes
Richy Scumbag
… yet another car crash week … Cruella Braverman signalling all out war … resurrection of David Cameron heading into ‘seemed like a good idea at the time’ territory … appointment caught MPs and media by surprise, no mean feat among the leaky dysfunction this government has become … makes it easier for the opposition to make a big deal of austerity when its architect is back on the scene …
… it is not easy these days to find anybody who will speak in defence of Brexit … pro Brexit arguments lost 9-1 … even hard core Brexiters seem to realise that you cannot polish a turd …
BBC tried to fix who chaired Ofcom regulator
… won’t set the record straight … press relations industry complicit in reputation management … well qualified candidates deterred from applying … wholly improper for Robbie Gibb to try to fix who got to be Ofcom regulator … Getting at the truth is what BBC is supposed to be for … Alas, no … cover up …
Foreign Direct Investment is a key economic indicator
… Britain is in big trouble … Foreign Direct Investment into the UK is in serious decline and has been since 2016 … FCI peaked in 2016 … losing FCI at a worrying rate … we are nowhere near as attractive a place to do business as pre-Brexit … seven years of political interference in the economy … foreign investors prefer stability and kept promises … we had been dependent on FDI for many years … car industry … rate of investment by car companies slowing … City of London … Loss of equivalence after Brexit has undermined business model … UK is dependent on people coming here to do business … domestic levels of investment, training and productivity lamentable … UK government needs to take the UK back into the Single Market …
Daily Mail owner, Lord Rothermere, decided against holding his Christmas Party at Claridges
… after a miserable year of declining sales and redundancies … judge’s decision to let 7 high profile individuals the go ahead to bring law suits alleging widespread unlawful behaviour … Tory MPs have expressed concerns about the Barclay family using middle east cash to repurchase Telegraph … Mail on Sunday ‘a nauseating apologist for war crimes and mass murder … Jones … ‘a shit weasel with a rat’s intellect.’ …
Tories are obsessed with tedious nonsense
… says Ken Clarke …Cruella Braverman has not got the large number of supporters in the House of Commons that Daily Mail or Express think she has got … move of extreme right from the margins to the mainstream of British politics … brought to a head disastrous Brexit vote … Clarke refers to as ‘a silly three week opinion poll … politics …. particularly in the Tory Party since the referendumb … has been surreal … worst political periods in my lifetime … particularly bitter inside Tory Party … disastrous governments … Brexit exerted huge strain not only on the country but also the ideological structure of the Tory Party … dividing itself into factions … Richy Scumbag has to get control of these factions … if he is to get the country out of the mess it is in … Dreadful crises … Economy … National Health Service and much else besides … silly politics … scandals, crises, newspaper tripe … Tories incapable of confronting any of the fundamental problems that Britain faces … Conrad Black bought the Telegraph to turn into a raging Europhobe newspaper … then Mail and Express got dodgy … Thatcher’s worst friends persuaded her that hour ousting was a European plot … half remembered Thatcherism is a slew of extreme and damaging ideas …
Britain has paid £140M ($175m) to Rwanda government
… none of the money has been spend on improving the asylum process … it is unclear whether any treaty could satisfy the courts, whether any law could get through the Lords or how the ECHR could be stopped from blocking things … theatrics …
Cameron’s return marks the triumph of image over reality
… Cameron could have been an excellent PM … intelligence, diligence, quick wit, smooth manner … he managed to be one of the worst … a man who bungled foreign policy is will help to shape it again. Government struggling to repair public services has appointed the man who did more than any other to cause the difficulties … appearance of competence is more important than the evidence of it … for half a millennium Britain aimed to ensure Europe did not unite against it … as a result of the referendumb Cameron managed it in three years … one error: the Brexit referendumb … Chaotic Thick Lizzie government … austerity was a radical experiment and it failed … when he would have been most useful he deserted … such a record is no obstacle to high office … Scumbag is desperate … Editor’s note : Other views of Cameron are possible.
Insecurity has become the watchword for British politics
… Britain suffers more deeply and for longer than our international peers…. we are failing … business leaders who want to invest in Britain are put off by Westminster turmoil …13 years of chaos and instability … government incompetence … a drag on economic performance…
‘I was delighted to provide a masterclass on Rejoining the EU and preparing the ground to end Brexit via the gentle art and discipline of “Brexorcism” for North Herts for Europe. Here are the video recordings of both sessions if you missed it.
I have been speaking with Alan Meekings on what he calls a Fresh Start, quite like Reboot Britain and very much in synch with Gina Miller’s True and Fair Party. Alan is an eminent management consultant and systemic thinker. We both plan to stand candidates for election to shake the foundations of our tired Westminster politics if people will support us. I articulated some of the thinking in these articles. Click to read more:
With thanks to Dennis Pitocco in the USA at Business Catalyst 360, Monica del Pilar Uribe Marin at The Prisma Anglo Spanish Magazine and Paolo Bolzoni at Linkedin for publishing these articles and helping us reach outside the bubble.
If you want to make a fresh start on our broken politics, please support this unusual project to ensure an end to Tory Brexit fascism:
Alan Meekings, systems thinker and founder of Landmark Consulting sums the need for a Fresh Start in our electoral system:
“The present system [FPTP] has clearly broken down. The results produced are not fair to any party, nor to any section of the community. In many cases they do not secure majority representation, nor do they secure an intelligent representation of minorities. All they secure is fluke representation, freak representation, capricious representation.”
Last night’s landmark decision on giving justice to those affected by the infected blood disaster shows that good can prevail over evil if people stand up to bullies. We will also see the same level of courage in facing down this Government’s intent to send people fleeing from war to Rwanda.
Things can change if enough of us demand it. I’m delighted that my MP voted against those who would vote to kill children.
Join Gina Miller’s True and Fair party today for a Fresh Start. Click on the bus to support her.
