When I was five years old, I wanted to be in The Beatles, but all the jobs were taken … By the age of 12, I wanted to be a scientist and I became one. At the age of 18 I took a job with a philanthropic pharmaceutical company, working around the world and developing the first human insulin, novel medicines for herpes and to bring the first HIV / AIDS treatment to the world in record time. This means that I bring a scientific mind, curiosity and rigour to your enterprise.
By the age of 30 I had developed an interest in business leadership and began teaching MBA programmes, having completed 3.5 degrees myself. At 34, I took myself out of a paid job and, for the last 28 years, I have worked independently as a consultant, author and speaker with people at all levels all over the world, helping them to transform their enterprises. My clients seek to balance their passions, purposes and profit for a more responsible and sustainable form of capitalism in the 4th industrial age. I also help leaders digest what we call "wicked problems and opportunities", in other words, the issues that keep them awake at night, using a unique mixture of divergent and convergent thinking skills. My 28 years of consultancy experience bring a wealth of expertise and wisdom to you, in enterprises as diverse as Unilever to the United Nations.
Along the way, I have written 12 books on leadership, innovation and creativity, gaining a prize for my work from Sir Richard Branson and various accolades from Professors Charles Handy, Adrian Furnham, Tom Peters et al. Over some 50 years, I have gradually combined my three passions of science, business and music into a potent mixture which reaches the head, heart and soul of your enterprise.
In combination, your enterprise benefits from rigour, analytics and curiosity due to my science and business background, plus the emotional intelligence, creativity and improvisation skills that come from my life as a music composer and producer. As a musician I have been privileged to interview world class musicians such as Roberta Flack, John Mayall, AC / DC, members of Prince’s ensembles, Queen's production team and Meatloaf's singing partners for their insights into leadership, innovation and success.
I am a passionate advocate for better politics and better business for a better world, fighting populist politicians and short-termism in our global affairs. I am an "HR" person, i.e. a "Hippy Realist": green by ideals, but pragmatic by actions to change the world towards more sustainable behaviour.
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.
Change in politics happens when all the ‘tectonic plates’ move in unison. So, what ‘underground movements’ have been happening in the area of Brexit? I’ve picked out some ‘geopolitical seismic effects’ to consider, both internally within Westmonster and in the external environment. Cameron, Sunak, von der Leyen, Curtice, Starmer, Balls, The Tory party and others. The ground is shifting under our feet. Let’s begin with our most surprising appointment.
Lord Cameron
I have already set out my thoughts on David Cameron in an article for Scottish Bylines. Suffice to say that we must act on Cameron, even if it requires us to hold our noses. David has already made some warm noises about the EU and has executive power to act as he is outside the cabinet in his role as an unelected Lord. Please don’t waste your or my time writing to me on Facebook about pig f..cking and Cameron’s rapid departure after he lost the referendum. Use the opportunity afforded by this unexpected development. Cameron’s next adventure will be to go to Brussels. Let’s see what he does there …
Click to read more on Cameron.
Read “Did Austerity Cause Brexit?’
Curtice on Starmer
Surveys on the here and now cannot tell us what leaders can do inductively to change things. But they do offer us cold facts. Professor John Curtice has reminded us that Keir Starmer can win an election whilst mentioning the B word. Watch his analysis here:
Labour Leave voters are now overwhelmingly pro-rejoin. Keir Starmer is living in the past. Cameron is ahead of the curve.
Keir Starmer falls prey to what I call management by focus groups, when he should be in the business of leadership with a bold vision on Brexit. Focus groups are like trying to drive by spending all your time looking through the rear view mirror. Read more on Labour’s faulty plan for rejoining the EU below.
Ursula von der Leyen confirmed (again) that the door is still open for Britain to join the EU anew. Of course Rishi Sunak has to say no in public, in case the ERG set their attack dogs on him. But it is now clear that he has abandoned the far right and pivoted towards the centre to limit the damage to his party for an election. A sure sign that this has rattled a few swivel headed far right loons comes from The Soaraway Sun, who, of course, have adopted the Daily Mail’s ‘F word’ i.e. FURY !!!
To read our book Private Eyelines, which satirises the Sun, Maul and Excess, click the image.
Even the odious James Cleverly has suggested that we will not be leaving the ECHR and I suspect that Suella Braverman’s Stop the Boats campaign will be put into dry dock. This aligns well with the recent polling data which suggests that the vast majority of British people do not like the unsavoury spectacle of seeing migrants sent to concentration camps. The Rwanda fiasco was entirely invented by Braverman and amplified by the right wing media, just like Brexit, to feed feeble minds with red meat.
Read The Guardian article.
It matters that von der Leyen said this, mainly because I get remoaners telling me that we can never rejoin on Facebook almost daily. As Gina Miller points out, the only missing ingredient to end Brexit is political will. Here’s an example of someone who accepts the status quo below. I spend more time doing ‘therapy’ with remoaners who have ‘learned helplessness’ than dealing with the people outside the bubble. It’s exhausting and a waste of everyone’s time. Our main job is to Brexorcise the nation in readiness for an eventual drift towards joining anew.
Rick has learned helplessness. Don’t be like Rick.
Holy shit – it’s the Conservatives!
Rachel Wolf, who co-wrote the Conservatives’ 2019 Tory manifesto has said that The UK could rejoin the European Union ‘in some form’ as a result of shifting geopolitical fault lines and changing attitudes among Brits (sounds like a load of hyperbole / BS, but they need a different reason to avoid saying that Brexit is an utter mess!). So now, even the Tory party are actively talking about undoing Brexit. Keir Starmer is very late to the party …
Oh, yes and Keir Starmer
Shortly after David Cameron started making small moves in foreign policy, Keir Starmer responded with what management consultants call a ‘symbolic intervention’. He said the piece of music that best “sums up” the Labour party party is Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. Speaking to Classic FM, he said the symphony had a “sense of destiny and is hugely optimistic … it’s that sense of moving forward to a better place”. It may be a coded message about Rejoining the EU but it’s not sufficient. Starmer is more than able to point to a vast amount of evidence that shows that Brexit isn’t working. He need not finish the sentence by saying that we must join anew. That would be taken as read. Like it or not, the next General Election will be fought on the ‘offspring of Brexit’, as depicted by our Brexit iceberg:
The Brexit Iceberg. All the visible symptom have their roots wholly or partly in Brexit.
More Balls than most on Brexit
Ed Balls has insisted that Labour needs to start talking about Brexit now. He wants ‘a proper structured-with-metrics conversation about what we’re going to do to get to a better relationship’ with the EU.
Dem Libs
Ian Collard reports that even the Lib Dems are making soft noises to Ed Davey about needing to be harder on Rejoining the EU.
Holy shit – The Torygraph !!
George Smid reports that even The Torygraph are having the collywobbles on Brexit:
When Jeremy talks about ‘Brexit betrayal’ he maintains the false narrative. What we have – high immigration, lower standards, loosing our rights, stealing public money, etc – is exactly what #Brexit is. If people thought otherwise they were delusional. https://t.co/t9AjP4QQ3s
When you consider these collateral moves, it becomes obvious that (a) the Brexit question is not settled (b) Labour are lagging behind in the conversation (c) events will overtake them if they are not careful and (d) The Tories are now desperate to find ways to limit the damage from an election. Brexit is the turd that just wont flush ….
Don Adamson sets out this week’s homework in his weekly digest. Better than the David Davis Dossier.
This week’s homework
One – Discuss the following statement. Events in Ukraine have made changes. Russia has reverted to a dangerous foreign policy. You wonder what they will do next. Similarly we are faced with the prospect of a second Trump Presidency. Obama said the USA might survive four years of Trump as President. Eight years might be another matter. It is difficult to identify circumstances that more clearly demonstrate the need for a united and economically sound EU. Countries within the EU want to expand and countries outside the EU see strong incentives to join. I would not blame the EU for resenting the nonsense they had to take from mad, bad and dangerous British politicians (not all of them Tory). Brexit has done a huge amount of damage to Britain and, to a lesser extent, to other countries in the EU. There are powerful incentives to Rejoin. Will British politicians have the brains, courage and decency to admit it?
“We will start on the road to #rejoin the #EU…both the UK 🇬🇧 and the EU 🇪🇺 are suffering because of #Brexit”.
The only clear position on Brexit from a political party in England.
Two – Discuss the following statement. For 500 years the main plank of British foreign policy was to prevent Europe from uniting against us. Tories managed in just a few years.
Three – Discuss the following statement. Rory Stewart, Hero of the Resistance to Brexit appears on TV documentaries because he is an acknowledged expert on Roman History in general and Julius Caesar in particular. Meanwhile Nigel Garbage appears on ‘I’m a Celebrity – get me out of here.’ By what stretch of a demented imagination is Nigel Garbage and Brexit anything to do with realism?
Four – The Greeks are determined to regain the Elgin Marbles. Sooner or later this country will return to its senses and Rejoin the EU. Will the Greeks be justified in insisting that return of the Elgin Marbles should be the price we ought to pay? Can you think of other examples?
Marble madness.
Five – There has not been enough rain to replenish the reservoirs that store the water that allow the Panama Canal to operate. Ordinarily 40 ships per day pass through the Panama Canal. There is only enough water to allow 18 or 20 ships a day through the Panama Canal. Climate Change deniers insist that the insufficient rain is nothing to do with climate change. Why then is there insufficient rain to replenish the reservoirs; is it a) all part of some dastardly plot to cause Britain to Rejoin the EU? b) All part of some dastardly plot to keep Trump out of the White House? c) All part of some dastardly plot to force people to vaccinate their children against diseases? d) Other explanation?
Quotes of the week
For somebody who values fiscal prudence Richy Scumbag bears a strong resemblance to Wilkins Micawber (Dickens character)
… Scumbag’s political strategy is pure Micawberism – hope that something will turn up. Whatever does turn up is unlikely to be good for the Tories … forecasts for the remaining 15 months of this parliament do not suggest a big economic pay off to delay … nasty mortgage rate increase … higher unemployment … Scumbag faces a tough choice … going for an early election when Tories are more than 20% behind in the polls seems foolhardy … longer he delays more that mortgage holders (bedrock of Tory support) will get clobbered … Things ended well for Micawber … went to Australia … Scumbag is known to like California …
Cruella Braverman may have gone but let us not kid ourselves that her appalling mindset is not reflected by many in her party in senior positions
… as with Brexit, those in public office appear reluctant to state the facts or obvious conclusions … Braverman as a practicing Buddhist? Two central tenets of Buddhism are compassion and wisdom. Braverman needs to practice much harder … increasingly unhinged and uncontrollable … If I had anything to do with the Met I would be feeling aggrieved; the force has bent itself into all sorts of weird shapes to avoid inconveniencing this government from declining to investigate criminal irregularities in the Leave campaign … to turning a blind eye to No 10 becoming party central during lockdown … how were they rewarded? … Tory Home Secretary wrote an op-ed accusing them of bias, wokery and going easy on lefties … Cruella took innovative step … to whip up a mob of battle gammons ‘to defend the honour of our war dead’ i.e. get coked and lagered up and lay into coppers actually protecting the Cenotaph… Met must be wondering what it will take to get a fair deal from this government … arrest their political opponents? Braverman’s Brownshirts briefly buoyed up by presence of Stickyfinger Pansey-Lenin alias ‘Tommy Robinson’ … he squeaked some words of encouragement before jumping into a taxi when things got violent … Cruella omitted to mention that half the injuries had been inflicted not by the pro-ceasefire marchers but by the beery denizens of the counter protests that she had instigated.
Relentless Toryism running rampant in Richy Scumbag’s constituency
… shop will close next month as a result of government inaction … a result of Brexit and 13 years of austerity … a flock of sheep continuing to support a corrupt and moribund government… Cameron is taking over as Foreign Secretary … he has much to to, having irreparably damaged our relationship with our closest allies … reduced us to an international laughing stock… Same people behind Brexit backed ‘anti-woke’ candidates … election to National Trust Council … record turnout of members wanted nothing to do with it … All five of candidates recommended by nominations committee were voted in …
Keith Starmer and Ed Davey thwarted serious debate about Brexit
… question posed Leicester Square Theatre on 21 November…. Alex Salmond … Gina Miller … Andrew Marr against a team led by David Davis, Claire “IRA” Fox and Mike Graham of Talk Shit TV … John Bercow says ‘pity the debate cannot be in mainstream politics’ …
… provocations of the sacked Home Secretary Cruella Braverman, Stickyfinger Pansey-Lenin alias ‘Tommy Robinson’ and the tawdry culture war that the real war has ignited…
Dublin
…Business Leaders … insight into current attitudes to a united Ireland … ‘We look north to the stalemate in Belfast and see a basket case, we look east to London and see a bigger basket case’ … it is hard to overestimate the damage we have done to ourselves … combination of Brexit, … Johnson … Thick Lizzie … Cruella Braverman … people outside Britain take us less and less seriously … Brexit had complicated postal services between UK and Ireland beyond belief … added enormous costs … complexities because of Brexit … we have even had to send back cremated ashes … amazed that there is not more of a fuss in the UK media and politics about the damage Brexit has done … most UK newspapers do not allow facts into the Brexit debate … madness, utter madness …
Thick Lizzie’s think tank says Brexit has not harmed UK
… real figures what that UK exports to EU fallen by 7.2% … to the rest of the world by 9.8% … something seriously wrong with UK Trade … problems correspond with arrival of Brexit … Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch … has access to rooms full of experts, analysts, statistician and economists … she consults none of them because they tell her what she does not want to hear … trumpeting one single think tank discredited after involvement with Thick Lizzie’s disaster … do not bother trying to explain this …
Nigel Garbage
… a snake in the jungle … I’m a celebrity get me out of here … Nigel Garbage on the show shows how insensitive, crass, tone deaf, idiot, provocative, morally bankrupt ITV is … history not on his side … Mad Halfcock’s campmates did a better job of expressing their views than most professional politicians did … did not help book sales or job prospects … Nigel Garbage is a coward who likes money, attention and the sound of his own voice … always a lot less than he appears to be … notoriously peevish and thin skinned … unlikely to keep up his act on TV … politicians on the brink of success do not volunteer for reality TV.
Nigel’s end game in a bunker.
Braverman’s comments were so inflammatory that only an outbreak of left wing violence could vindicate her
… She did not get it … but there was a confrontation at the Cenotaph led by a few hundred tanked up fans of Stickyfinger Pansey-Lenin (Alias Tommy Robinson) … police said ‘Palestine Solidarity Campaign did not see the sort of violence carried out by the right wingers’ …
… ethnically questionable lobbyist … recently taking Chinese money … Beijing’s ‘useful idiots’ … going to the Lords means he can skip angry encounters with Gammonite MPs …
… return of far right pinups … Stickyfinger Pansey-Lenin (alias Tommy Robinson) Hatie Katie Hopkins … Pandora’s box is opened …
Nadine Dorries brought to book
… crazed conspiracy theorist … the only way this book could be more mind bending would be if the pages were soaked in LSD … Gove is an incorrigible plotter … Cummings did decide Johnson was a lemon … incomprehensible … desperate attempt to avoid the trauma of admitting Brexit is a damp squib and that Johnson failed as PM … Gove stabbed you in the back to cut you down to size … if Go Nads gets rained on she looks at the sky and says ‘Coincidence! I think not.’… Johnson has never taken money … that is not even the book’s most absurd quote … Tory Party is a viper’s nest of ruthless infighting and overweening ambition … politicians who are entirely dishonourable …
Covid inquiry
… we went into the pandemic 24th out of 38 in the league table of avoidable deaths … we had worse resourced and staffed health service, eye watering inequality … dismal public health … no plan to ramp up figures … not enough PPE for front line workers … we predicted social meltdown but did little to plan for it … Winston Churchill and Nye Bevan would have struggled with this … instead we go Johnson and Mad Halfcock … leaders … disliked, disrespected and distrusted each other … ‘c*nts, tw*ts, f*uckpigs, incompetents and liars’ … Johnson agreed with Tory view that ‘Covid was nature’s way of dealing with old people’ … ‘let the bodies pile high’ …. comments corroborated by Johnson’s chief of staff …; witness after witness detailed how incompetent Tories were … Mad Halfcock believe he not doctors should decide who should live or die … next time we might have a different virus but similarly dysfunctional political leadership … harm everybody except vaccine manufacturers or sellers of dodgy PPE or mass testing contracts …
Pip Pip Don Adamson Brexorcist in Chief – First Class with Honours
I attended ‘The Ayes Have It’, led by former Commons Speaker John Bercow last week. The event debated the motion “Brexit has been a disaster and now must be reversed”. The motion was won with a substantial majority. Here is my review:
Notable by their absence …
The panel for the motion consisted of heavyweight contributors Alex Salmond, Gina Miller and Andrew Marr. In contrast, the opposition panel comprised David Davis, plus C-listers Mike Graham and Claire Fox. No Nigel Farage, Mogg, Tice, Baker, Johnson, Andrew Pierce, or anyone of significance on the leave side. Just David Davis, who turned out to be the most gracious member of the opposition panel.
Full facts versus fantasy fascists
Salmond, Miller and Marr offered solid complementary arguments backed up by relevant facts. Some highlights: Gina pointed out that Brexit had delivered the exact economic hit to UK plc as predicted by various experts (ranging up to a 5% hit on GDP). My own analogy for this is to imagine trying to swim the channel with a 4.5 kg block of concrete around your neck. All the ‘offspring of Brexit’ are on show for the next General Election, although none of the main parties wish to utter ‘he who shall not be named’ (Brexit).
All of the ‘offspring’ of Brexit remain issues for the election.
Alex Salmond was an excellent orator and held himself in good account, despite numerous personal attacks by the Brexit panelists. Andrew Marr focused on our place in the world after Brexit. In summary, he pointed out that we don’t have a place in the world after Brexit. However, he did not think that he would see us rejoin in his lifetime. Gina and I disagree on Marr’s point. All that is needed is political will in Westminster and the cultivation of better relations with the EU. David Cameron may well be an asset in this respect if we play the ball and not the man. Please read our separate article on Cameron and his potential contribution to the breaking of Parliamentary paralysis.
Sugaring the bitter Brexit pill
In direct comparison, the Leave panel avoided any factual analysis of the benefits of Brexit (there are none of course). Only Sugar magnate David Davis presented any serious evaluation of Brexit, although he offered no benefits. But Davis generally acted with some dignity compared with the other leave panelists. He stated that Remoaners all think that the EU is perfect. I certainly know that all political systems imperfect. The question is really one of “Go Compare” and our own Parliament earns the prize of being twinned with Belarus, North Korea and Nigeria. Davis also installed his own versions of ‘project fear’ into the debate, suggesting that:
Rejoining would be difficult (so was Brexit, lots of important things are difficult David);
That the EU had moved on (self evident) and;
That we would have to have the Euro and cede sovereignty (utter bollocks).
Mike ‘Talk Shit TV’ Graham and Claire Fox were notable because neither of them even tried to oppose the motion. Instead they hurled insults at the other panelists. Claire ‘IRA’ Fox attempted to set up a class war by saying that Gina, Andrew and Alex were all the products of public school and that only she (Baroness Fox) was a supporter of the common man and woman. She forgot to mention that the vast majority of the Brexiteers went to public school (Johnson, Mogg, the list goes on). She also said that if we rejoined the EU, Britain would become ‘Greece’. This is so much bollocks that I won’t even comment further. Graham had been encouraged by his supporters to ‘assassinate Gina’ and ‘use lots of facts’. In fact, Graham said he had decided not to use ANY facts as the Remoaners would dispute them. Clearly this was because he had none to offer. Graham also ran away before questions could be asked. These are the typical behaviours of a Brexit coward. A pound shop Alan Partridge.
Views of youth
After the interval, two year 6 students from Chestnut Grove Academy from spoke for each side of the debate. Both were nervous. Cora spoke for Rejoin made some terrific points about having her future taken away by people who would not live to see the damage they had done (my emphasis, not hers). She supplemented her talk with plenty of salient facts. The strangest thing happened when the young man (Dominic) stood up for the Brexit side. The first thing he said was that he could not defend Brexit !! Then he appeared to break down, unable to speak. John Bercow helped Dom to continue but his speech was incoherent. His main point was that we could not go back on the past, that Brexit was done (It’s far from done of course). At the end Dom attempted to give a benefit of Brexit mentioning the idea that we were able to get the COVID vaccine faster because of Brexit. Of course this is incorrect. Check the Full Fact link on this. I discussed this point later on with David Davis on a 1:1 basis. He tried to suggest that the EU was slow to respond and I agreed that entropy is a feature of all large institutions. Both of us have MBAs and have worked for large organisations and I found common cause with David who did not try to pull any strokes with me on the matter. But the point here is that UK was not prevented from acting independently. It’s a legal point and not an Organisational Behaviour issue. David graciously agreed with me. Boris Johnson was desperate to produce a smokescreen for Brexit at the time and it was a convenient story to fool the public with. Some still are fooled by Johnson’s lies.
Click to read the article.
For ‘balance’, other reviews are available. Jonathan Baz must have been taking some of Liz Truss’ psychotropic drugs in his review where he describes Claire Fox as using facts to destroy the Remoaners. Check Everything Theatre for a more sober review of the evening. Well done to theatre director and former MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh who put this all together.
From Everything Theatre.
Conclusions
Brexit is a disaster
We can and must join the EU
The only impediment to progress is our politicians
The Ayes Have It !!
I was delighted to present John Bercow and Alex Salmond with copies of my Brexit Satire book ‘Private Eyelines – Have I got fake Brexit news for EU‘. Ian Hislop also has a copy. It makes a great gift. Do NOT buy on Amazon by the way. Direct sales offer the best value.
ORDER … a copy of Private Eyelines direct from the author – click the picture.
Check out our latest article for The Prisma Anglo-Spanish newspaper on the art of protest here. Here’s a taster:
On a cold day in March 2017, I had heard that a few people were planning to gather on the street opposite No 10 Downing Street. I decided to set aside my business activities and cycled into town from South London. En route, I got a puncture just by Bermondsey tube station, some 6 km from my destination. I was in the midst of fixing the tyre when a woman approached asking if I needed any help. It turned out as if by magic that we were both going to No 10. That woman was Wendy Novak, ex BBC photographer and a constant protestor for vulnerable people who face medical supply shortages due to Brexit. The group that assembled that cold evening in March became ‘The No 10 Vigil’. Read the full article here.
Fuck Brexit. Click to support our work.
The Prisma.
The crucible of No 10 Vigil was, in effect, a ‘clinical trial’ for much of what became the grass roots movement to Remain in the EU. Groups such as Extinction Rebellion and others clearly learned from our successes and mistakes and were able to add money and discipline to our unfettered creativity.
One of our protest songs, written about the Brexiteer in regret, trapped by his inability to tell his mates that Brexit has failed.
I’ve been shocked and disappointed by the public reaction to David Cameron’s appointment by Remainers and Rejoiners alike. They appear unable to get past the “two minutes of hate”, sometimes much longer, for pig fucking and various other of David Cameron’s peccadilloes. It is, of course, too early to judge him by his actions now in post, but I put it to you that Cameron is a potentialasset in the fight against Brexit. Stay with me on this. This will be a long piece and a nuanced argument and I am not in any way excusing him for his sins in and out of office. Before we begin, I am NOT suggesting that we forgive Cameron for his faulty referendum decision and various other defects and decisions. I am suggesting that we use Cameron’s obvious regret about that decision to help alter the political paralysis that has allowed Brexit to prevail. Let’s begin with the man himself:
Regrets, I’ve had a few
Cameron says in his autobiography that not one day passes when he does not regret Brexit. If you are a cynic, you may find this to be an attempt to gain sympathy. It’s true that people do not write autobiographies to trash their reputation. However, when taken in the round I find his regrets to be authentic and heartfelt. More importantly, whatever the reasons for his regret, we must use his reflections as a lever for change. Compared with Liz Truss, Johnson and the emotionally bankrupt Sunak, Cameron is a much softer figure. He mistakenly thought that he could build unity in the Tory party by offering the people a plebiscite on Brexit. Of course he was horribly wrong and, importantly he did not see that Nigel Farage would weaponise austerity by blaming immigrants for people’s lived experience in 2016. Research from UKICE demonstrates that Vote Leave moved the dial on the result by 12% – in other words the referendum result would have been 60:40 for staying in the EU without Farage’s ‘clever’ but deplorable interventions on ‘othering’. Yes, the campaign was lame and the murder of Jo Cox allowed Richard Tice and his mates to pile into the campaign in the final days. All of it odious.
Total misjudgement by Cameron? YES.
Total contrition by Cameron? YES.
Has he emerged wiser? We’ll see but possibly YES …
… but only if we play the ball, not the man.
Hold your nose and read his reflections.
STOP PRESS : Guy Verhofstadt welcomes Cameron’s return
Click to respond to Guy’s tweet.
Rishi’s decision
I called James O’Brien some months back saying that if Rishi Sunak was wise, he would pivot to the centre rather than the right to save his party. I suggested that he needed about a dozen rabbits to pull from a hat. It seems that David Cameron is one of those rabbits, judging by the reactions of voters in Brexity West Bromwich being interviewed for BBC Radio 4 Today on Saturday 18 November around 07.20. Jeremy C. Hunt’s tax cuts are another, even though these will probably only affect a small number of people and are probably based on fiddled inflation figures.
A passage to India
Sunak is not Johnson. Sunak will not have tossed a coin, smoked a cigar or had a few glasses of Chablis to decide whether he should sack Braverman. He will have carefully weighed up the issues, perhaps even on a spreadsheet! He must have ‘priced in’ the notion that the ERG are a busted flush and that any counter reaction would be tolerable, even agreeable. So far, his analysis holds true: Hardly anyone attended the New Conservatives (akin to the Real IRA?) meeting on Monday 13 November and; Andrea Jenkyns managed to get a five year old to write a letter asking for Sunak to resign.
It is rumoured that Sunak may wish to be off soon to a position in the Indian High Commission. By putting Cameron in the Foreign Office, he has installed a safe pair of hands amidst the lunatic fringe of Badenoch, Morduant and others who may wish to hold the crown or a sword. A journalist pointed out that Sunak may have just installed the next Prime Minister and with it someone who may be able to join the EU anew before Starmer has even woken up in 2032. Perhaps the question to ask in terms of Sunak’s reputation is does he leave before an election to pursue other goals or does he risk leaving after a crushing or less fatal defeat which still seems possible given recent events on all sides. I know which I’d choose. Yes, Cameron’s appointment is an affront to democracy and so on, but I repeat, we are not in a position at this point to do much about that, so we must act in ways that can make some useful changes.
Vital signs
At the moment, the jury is out as to whether Cameron will be a force for reform towards the centre, although I have some direct intel from inside Parliament that says he could well be. However, he did temper the Government’s attitude towards the ceasefire on Tuesday 14th November. This itself is a sea change from the far right loons of his party such as Braverman who borders (sic) on fascism. Labour are now caught with their trousers down on the ceasefire. This is an immediate vital sign of a more centrist viewpoint from Cameron acting from his role as Foreign Secretary.
But what would Cameron need to do in order to change the parliamentary paralysis that I mention? His moves may only need to be quite minimal to be effective. For example, as Foreign Secretary, all Cameron has to do is go on a trip to Europe, mend some bridges with EU leaders, utter some of his regrets about Brexit in despatches, perhaps even suggest that Brexit has not worked out per the ‘brochure’ and so on. His views on Brexit are already public knowledge so there are no surprises for the far right press to report on here. If he even so much as whispered something about the failure of Brexit, Keir Starmer would be compelled to agree, in order to maintain his strategy of being in lockstep with the Tories. The vow of silence on Brexit would be broken irrevocably.
Marred by pigs
Andrew Marr has an interesting complementary outlook on this matter. It’s well worth watching his You Tube video on matter. In the words of George Michael, ‘Listen without prejudice’. Marr agrees with me on the point that Cameron virtually had no choice but to offer a referendum on Brexit. Clearly he did not factor in the toxic weaponisation of austerity by Nigel Farage, without which the referendum result would have been 60:40 to remain in the EU.
My views have polarised the masses, with some believing that we should influence the debate and others (almost universally Labour ideologies) saying that we must just get the Tories out. That of course is guaranteed, but then we are left with a red Brexit. Read Faulty Towers for more on the existential risks of leaving Brexit to Labour. Some of the people telling me I’m wrong have not even read the article before making their judgement. I imagine that thy must have ESP !!
It seems that Betty did not bother to read the article before responding. Oh well.
2 minutes of hate. Actually I’ve had hours of it on social media. Note that I never said any of these points yet people believe I’m giving Cameron a pardon for his misdemeanours which I’m not.
At the present time, all we have had in terms of tools to stop Brexit have been lobbying Labour, Lib Dems etc. and our efforts have largely failed in the wake of complete radio silence on the subject and mealy mouthed platitudes from both main parties. If Cameron were to utter even some doubt about Brexit we suddenly have a new powerful tool in the box to work across the other parties with. Political influence requires us to be emotionally detached from political ideology. Breaking Parliamentary Paralysis has been one of our five goals for activism.
I sometimes wonder if grassroots Rejoiners and especially those who are Labour supporters actually want to remain ‘Brexit victims’. When they are presented with opportunities, they spend inordinate amounts of time telling me how I’m mad, bad or evil. I prefer not to pathologise victimhood or what I call ‘learned helplessness’. Here are my suggestions if you wish to act rather than watch from the sidelines.
Forget the pig fucking.
Start supporting Cameron.
Separate this from legitimate criticism of Sunak and the cabinet.
Lobby for a change in the Conservative party’s position on Brexit.
Mention what you are doing to Keir Starmer and Labour.
Remember, you don’t have to agree with Cameron on everything.
Be surgical and support any positive moves he makes on Europe.
Don Adamson’s ruthless report on all things Brexit and politics continues:
This week’s homework
One – Discuss the following statement. Murdoch newspapers continued to publish extracts from the Hitler Diaries after the proof emerged that that diaries were forgeries. Murdoch explained: ‘We are in the entertainment business.’ Do you find the tripe that Murdoch lackeys publish to be entertaining? Would it endanger the planet if Murdoch lackeys printed entertaining material that is factually accurate?
Two – Is there any truth in the rumour that Trump supporters refer to him as BD. This is an abbreviation for Big Dick. Why would that be an appropriate description for Trump?
Three – Discuss the following statement. Richy Scumbag has appointed David Cameron as Foreign Secretary. Tories have an eye watering majority in the House of Commons but need to look elsewhere for ability. Cam the Sham is a proven failure as a political leader. Can it be that Scumbag has appointed Cam the Sham as Foreign Secretary because the Tories are waking up to the reality that Brexit has failed while Keith Starmer continues to insist (despite all the evidence to the contrary) that Brexit can be made to work?
Four – Would it benefit Climate Change Deniers if they spent more time looking out of their own windows?
Five – TV journalism used to be Kate Adie (a Sunderland lass) reporting from dangerous places as she gave cool, calm and collected accounts of the mayhem that was breaking loose around her. TV journalism nowadays consists of some airhead in a tight skirt reading from a script that she barely understands. Why the change?
This week’s quotes
The government works on important policies like taking away the tents of the homeless and giving millions to fossil fuel giants
… cover up over a serial rapist Tory MP … failure allowed the unnamed MP to continue to offend … many other allegations … including that another MP possessed a laptop with indecent images of children … Thick Lizzie joking of her taxpayer funded security team … since leaving no 10 a year ago Thick Lizzie declared six trips worth £58,000, including a four nighter in Hawaii … After Lloyds was forced to seize Telegraph Media Group when a £1Bn loan went bad … bank is sceptical of Barclay family claims to be in a position to reacquire the titles…
Richy Scumbag’s gruesome interview with Elon Musk demeaned the office of PM
… toe curlingly gruesome … Scumbag squirming excitedly in his chair like a cross between Will from the Inbetweeners (‘Briefcase Wanker’) and the luckless executive Amazon sends on Newsnight to explain why its workplace conditions do not amount to modern serfdom … PM had no idea what he was talking about … politics … fast becoming a branch of showbiz … the spectacle is the ruling order’s non-stop discourse about itself, its never-ending monologue of self-praise … emotion trumps fact … performative charisma more valued than competence … no pendulum that is going to swing back to evidence-based technocracy and rationality … shrewd politicians should not have to surrender their dignity as Richy Scumbag did … decency does not need to be dull …
More on wankers …
Deadly failings of a moral pygmy
… Johnson’s lack of focus and humanity cost lives during Covid … instead of facing charges he is raking in the cash … had the best, most expensive, education Britain could offer … Eton and Oxford … completely incapable of doing the job of PM … endlessly distracted and constantly changing his mind, unfit to lead … not really engaging with Covid at all … flailed, constantly changed his mind … nothing good comes of such inst ability at the top … results were catastrophic … companies have been convicted of corporate manslaughter due to gross negligence in events that killed just one person … no such investigation into corporate manslaughter here … Johnson’s advisers contemptuous of their boss … Johnson had no concern for the suffering he caused … simply ignored it … dithering uncaring blob at the heart of government, wobbling uselessly while thousands died … Johnson’s reasoning contained an error so fundamental that it should have been rectified with a two minute briefing …PM did not take the time to understand the devastating toll of the disease he was failing to contain .. an appalling failure on his part … ignorance within Downing St … an absence of humanity … jaw dropping callousness … pensioners make up core of Tory voters … no sense of gratitude to people who put him in No 10 … his word counts for very little … disgraced … lied relentlessly … a picture of extreme arrogance … disastrous mess … no pandemic plan … inevitable that Johnson would fail the challenges … few of that group accept culpability for installing as PM somebody so unfit for the job … everything seemed to be made up on the spot … gross unsuitability for role of PM … moral failure … if he was the operator of a business he would be facing time in gaol … his punishment is millions of pounds of speaking gigs, a book deal, a Daily Mail column and a TV show … British justice system is in crisis …
Mail has seen another huge fall in circulation
… I always thought Dacre would end his days an unhappy man. No Peerage, shunned by polite society. Labour likely to be office. Mail readership in freefall…
Empty Supermarket shelves
… leaving the EU has seriously stymied UK food importation and distribution centre… Brexit delays and red tape … it all worked perfectly before Brexit… government will not say the B-word when discussing it … weird supermarket culture in the UK … things will get worse … Brexit and the damage it does is increasingly hard-wired into the British economy …
Now the Government is frightened to operate Brexit border checks for fear of more of this.
Richy Scumbag
… avatar of the radical right … the truth is more disturbing than any cynical opportunism … damage the Tories have done to the UK .. unnecessary decline … international diminishment … Tories wrap themselves in the Union Jack while putting party before country … demise of good governance … sheer incompetence of Johnson …why anyone, even GB news, would pay to hear the thought of this inadequate is beyond me .. Businesses are paying millions for speeches by Johnson. What can they possibly learn that would aid their businesses…?
Shaming Britain – Richy Scumbag
British Parliament is failing at its most basic job – scrutinising laws
… MPs are botching it … Brexit and Covid set precedents for legislating at speed and handing wide powers to ministers … habits ministers find as addictive as monarchs once did … Henry VIII clauses that allow ministers to alter primary legislation … consequential decisions get cursory scrutiny … carbon dioxide emissions … became law after only 90 minutes debate and without a vote … objectionable in principle … Legislature at risk of being ridden roughshod by ministers … bad in practice … drafting errors on the rise … impact assessments … cost and benefits … cosmetic or missing altogether … Johnson’s windfall tax on the oil and gas industry … had several big design flaws … Thick Lizzie’s law to cap energy prices … hasty and sloppy … malaise strengthens the case of constitutional reform …proportional representation would end one party dominance … an elected House of Lords would have a strong mandate to halt badly drafted bills … neither looks likely … amateurism goes too far … House of Lords membership … a bauble for party cronies … reflects a malaise in political couture … properly scrutiny legislation serves the country better than showy rushed law making …
… MPs spend increasingly little time on examination of proposed legislation … a swaggering executive treats scrutiny as an inconvenience … since 1997 only one in eight bills has undergone pre-legislative scrutiny … MPs regard scrutiny as drudgery … debate is partisan and cursory … weakening system of scrutiny has been hit by two bad shocks … Brexit … Covid 19 … Brexit referendumb introduced shrill and aggressive politics that treated parliamentary scrutiny not as a service but as a betrayal … eliminating the chance for meaningful scrutiny … government by diktat was leaching power away from Parliament … skeleton bills … provide few clues as to what will be essential … so skeletal we wonder if the bones were stolen away and buried somewhere … Statutory instruments get even less scrutiny than primary legislation … haste leads to less informed decisions … MPs pass legislation with no idea of costs or benefits … scrambled together at the last minute to justify a decision already taken …. errors are rising … when you do something because it is convenient that is the time to worry … Peers feel that they are doing the scrutiny that MPs are shirking … process has broken down … few Tories care how the rule of Parliament are being forgotten … should an election force them into opposition the costs of a weakened Parliament will be more obvious to them … when the rules are bent everybody loses…
Pip Pip Don Adamson Medway Delta Retired Brexorcist and Saboteur First Class
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