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.
Reaching a deal with the EU and Boris Johnson’s request to Leavers and Remainers to “move on” did not inhibit his Lying Machine from continuing full blast during the festive period. On Christmas Day, Priti Patel gave us her Christmas message, saying that after Brexit we would all be safer. This lie was unmasked by Sir Ian Blair, former Metropolitan Police commissioner in an interview on Radio 4 on 4 January 2021.
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Sir Ian emphasised the loss of the European Arrest Warrant and of a major EU database which had been accessed more than 500 million times a year by British police.
“We’ve lost powers.”
“We lost full access to Europe-wide, real-time, interrogatable databases on criminal records, DNA, fingerprints, criminal intelligence.”
He added that the police had been emphasising for some time that this would make us less safe. So what did Ms Patel mean in her claim that the nation would be safer after exiting the EU?
Apparently Patel was referring to “even tougher powers”, to be given to the police and security agencies.
However, Patel could have introduced these powers if we had stayed in the EU!
The EU cannot intervene in policing and enforcement of criminal law by Member States.
The EU’s activities are limited to providing services through voluntary co-operation which are beyond the capacity of member states acting individually. This is a good example of how the extremist Brexiteer leadership tries to persuade us that leaving the EU benefits us, through lies, bullying and fake news. This is The mysterious case of Priti Patel indeed. If you are persuaded by the notion that bullies are unaware of their actions, think again about bullying back better.
We will continue to expose them so that their disgraceful record remains fresh in the public mind.
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Outside my life on here, I am a business person so, of course, I’m keen to harvest the benefits of Brexit. I’m impatient to discover what they are, as I have been promised a bright future over many years. First I decided to assess the cost-benefits of our new found sovereignty.
SOVRINTY INNIT
I discovered that Britain always had our sovereignty. This was demonstrated in the Supreme Court by Gina Miller. It was actually stated in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. How else were we able to close our borders for COVID in 2020 without asking the EU? We have kept the Pound. We turned down Billions of Euros of EU assistance for the Corona crisis. Now we even have our own “British sovereign variant” of Corona, according to Boris Johnson. But I am told by Boris Johnson that 67 million of us each now own a great big bag of sovereignty. To assess the value, I have put my bag up for auction on e-bay for £10 000.
Bags ‘o sovrinty – PRICELESS
Sadly, no one has taken up the offer of the bag. I am prepared to take one penny. Does nobody place any value on it? Will it buy a lunch box for a hungry child?
The Hunger Games
Meanwhile, the real Hunger Games are just beginning. In Northern Ireland, supermarket shelves are emptying, as it becomes apparent that frictionless trade was yet another Brexit unicorn sold by serial liar Michael Gove. In schools, our Government has been so possessed by Brexit that it is unable to organise itself to feed children under lockdown.
Perhaps Jacob Rees-Mogg was on the money when he said that he was not troubled by a few smugglers after Brexit. Here is the Brexit Smuggler’s Song after Rudyard Kipling.
Brexit Priorities
Finally, here is a wonderful poem by Barry Fentiman-Hall called “When Brexit comes (you will not be prioritised)”
When Brexit comes You will not be prioritised
White is not the original canvas On which the world was colourized Jim Davidson will not make a comeback Chalky was not really his friend You are not the beginning of anything Nor the default setting You will queue for cabbages With a pantone nation
When Brexit comes You will not be prioritised
God is not an Englishman You are not his messenger Sent to wash the world in shocking pink Dunkirk was a defeat A flotilla of weekend pleasure boats Are not coming to save you And neither is Sir John Mills with a cold Danish beer There are no exceptions You will be on universal credit With Jakub, Karosh, and Li Cheng
When Brexit comes You will not be prioritised
How you voted is irrelevant Maggie and Winston are dead racists and their statues will be pissed on by poodles and shat on by doves Theresa May will never be any more of a statue than she is now Conservatism is not a natural state It does not appear In the periodic table of elements The calcium in your bones Will be at the same levels as your anarchist neighbour
When Brexit comes you will not be prioritised
We are finally all in it together You and I
There will be no further extension Brexit will come It will be televised live from your living room… And you will be the star…
Ending Brexit populism is our priority and those that continue to push it. Join us every Monday at 8 pm on ZOOM.
If we want to affect parliamentary paralysis in the corridors of power, we need to learn the gentle art of influence and persuasion. I wrote an article on the topic just recently. Please read it here.
This simple graphic hides a wealth of detail. Read the article and then get a copy of our book on the topic “Let’s Talk About BREX..it” – Click the image to buy on Amazon
What follows below is a superb example of the principles discussed in the article and the book. It was written by Paul Bowers, one of our colleagues at Re-Boot Britain. Paul has worked inside the parliamentary system for many years. He understands how people may speak truth to power and be heard. To those who say that there’s no point writing letters to MPs, think again.
Please write your own letters on this topic to your MP via Write to Them
Rt Hon Michael Gove MP Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Dear Mr Gove,
“Ugly divisions” of Brexit
You wrote in the Times, 26 December 2020, of divisions and ugliness caused or exacerbated by Brexit, expressing hope that the UK will be animated by a spirit of common endeavour moving forward, its politics reaching a better place.
As a supporter of the UK’s membership of the European Union, I wish to explain why I cannot move on – or rather, from what I must not move on – and why I do not anticipate others doing so.
It may interest you to know that I worked in the House of Commons Library from 1991 to 2018. From Maastricht until 2005 I specialised in foreign affairs, observing political developments in other parts of the world which often implicated the ebb and flow of democracy: from hope in post-Soviet Eastern Europe or the end of apartheid, through calamity in the Balkans, genocide in Rwanda and on to the world of 9/11 and the Iraq War. In more recent years, I specialised in UK constitutional matters. Like everyone else, I was disturbed by the scenes in the US Capitol this week, and by China’s suppression of the Hong Kong democracy movement. The fragility of what we hold dear is apparent throughout recent history.
The special tinge that makes Brexit different from other UK political issues derives from the damage to democracy on which it depended and which it advances. We are ill-advised to take this lightly. While some argue that we can never go back to 2015, I would suggest that we must go back. Back to relatively low levels of corruption, back to respect for the rule of law, back to a sophisticated understanding of democracy as a range of factors through which balanced outcomes in the national interest occur.
In one sense, we have all moved on: from EU citizenship, the rights and freedoms we enjoyed, to a period of economic challenge, and international concern. You will have seen at New Year mocking cartoons from New Zealand, pained journalism from Germany and the USA.
We have moved on to a new reality.
But we should not move on from analysis of that reality.
The referendum was advisory. About 37% of the electorate, 26% of the population, voted to leave. Support was pocketed around the UK, geographically and demographically. London, the capital, with about one eighth of the UK population producing about one fifth of GDP, voted against. Scotland and Northern Ireland, separate constitutional units, voted against. So did the young, and the educated.
Do other voters not matter? Of course they do.
But it is wrong to say that there existed a consensus adequate for a change in national destiny of this magnitude.
The referendum result was unlawfully procured. Vote Leave and Leave.EU were fined by the Electoral Commission for breaking campaign finance rules. The Culture, Media and Sport Committee reported in July 2018 that Arron Banks, believed to have made the largest political donation in British history to Leave campaigners, failed to satisfy them that his funding came from the UK, and that he had close links to the Russian Government. In addition to concerns over Russian money and connections, Russian interference in social media was rife throughout the Brexit period. The Information Commissioner fined a variety of organisations associated with the Leave campaign for breaches of data law. There is evidence that the shift in opinion from a majority for Remain to a majority for Leave just before the referendum correlated with targeted advertising based on unlawfully harvested data, the latter leading to a very substantial fine on Facebook.
In February 2019 Prime Minister Theresa May’s barrister, Sir James Eadie QC, conceded that the referendum met the threshold for illegality and that, had it been binding there would have been a statutory legal mechanism by which it would be annulled. It is disturbing that a British Prime Minister chose to push forward with a policy that was damaging to the economy and the UK’s standing in the world when she knew it was based on corruption.
In my view, cleansing this corruption from British politics should have been the consuming interest of Parliament and Government in the last four years. Instead, it has been placed at the heart, and around it an abscess has formed. The referendum must not be “respected”. Subsequent general elections argued to support Brexit would not have happened without the referendum.
Other states joining the European Union have done so after tragedy and oppression: war, occupation, tyranny. The original members after World War II, Spain and Portugal after domestic fascism, the former Soviet satellites. All joined swiftly to entrench liberty. Perhaps the UK’s attitude to the EU was born of complacency. We saw it in purely economic terms, because that was our purpose in joining.
Today, we in the UK have our time of darkness.
Brexit, under two Conservative Governments, with Farage in the wings, and a Labour Party too divided to oppose, finally endorsing the Government’s 4% reduction of GDP, isolationism and reduction of rights, has brought us far from the democracy I served. As a colleague said in 2016, “things that used to be unthinkable are happening. What are they thinking now?”
A trajectory of decline has indeed played out, each outrage grounding the next.
A referendum that side-lined devolution. The advisory becoming peremptory. Parliament endorsing a corrupt exercise, with senior MPs confessing that they knew what they were doing would harm their constituents, but they would do it anyway. The spike in hate crimes after the referendum. EU nationals being forced to apply for the right to stay in their homes. A Prime Minister trying to action Article 50 without authorisation, then wasting public money contesting an unwinnable court case. The press describing judges as enemies of the people for upholding the law. The Justice Secretary late to defend them. Brexiteer MPs bellowing abuse across the Chamber at those daring to suggest that democracy did not end on 23 June 2016. The Government attempting a breach of procedure to hold a vote on a matter twice, cornering the Speaker into blocking the move, then directing anger against him. MPs being harassed and jostled on their way to Parliament, subject to death threats and presented by the Prime Minister as standing against her and the public. Unlawful suspension of Parliament. Threats to limit judicial review of ministerial excess. Legislation to put the Executive above the law.
The Internal Market Bill was the most disturbing. In my career I lost count of how many times Conservatives cited Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights, important foundations of the principle that the Executive is subject to the law. A Conservative-dominated Parliament legislated to contravene that principle.
Indeed, there seems no principle that Brexiteers are unwilling to jettison in service of their aim. When Parliament’s role in authorising the Article 50 notice was asserted, they decried the very parliamentary sovereignty they so often prayed in aid against the EU.
Since 1 January 2021 we have seen a strategy of lies from the UK Government, consistent with that encouraged in local Conservative association literature. This includes the claim that freeports are possible as a result of Brexit, when they exist in the EU, and the UK had them until 2012. It appears that the Government delayed decisions to end pulse fishing and the “tampon tax” so that it could announce them on 1 January and falsely claim that this was possible only as a result of Brexit.
Perhaps most galling of all: the Prime Minister’s pretence that he would countenance “no deal” in order to encourage the view that the Trade and Cooperation Agreement is better. The comparison is not with WTO terms, which we did not have with the EU. It is with membership, which outclassed his shoddy package. Already unravelling, we see online retailers unwilling to sell to UK consumers, fishing communities enraged by betrayal, their sovereignty rotting on the quayside, hauliers bypassing us, and staggering amounts of financial business fleeing to the Continent.
Strategic lying is the stuff of totalitarianism. Designed to jeopardise confidence in truth, it makes a people supple for manipulation. It is the latest stage in our decline. A free society cannot be expected to embrace such diminishment.
In our latest series of Populist Press Parodies from the Red Tops, we tackle the big issues of the day. In case of confusion in our age of disinformation, please find our fact and fantasy checker at the bottom of the page.
Lunch Box Luxury
Spanish Lies
Page 3 remodelled
FACTS v. FANTASIES
FANTASY Jacob Rees-Mogg did not live in fact live on a diet of Cream Crackers. He did however proclaim that British fish were happier now that they have Brexit. It’s just a matter of time before he asks for the restoration of the birch.
FACT The Government plan to only give one shot of the COVID vaccine. This would provide 70% protection. There is no evidence to suggest that this will lead to herd immunity. It is also feasible that it would mean that insufficient protection is given, providing the Corona virus with an open doorway to the development of a more virulent strain. We will essentially be the clinical trial for this risky experiment.
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FACT A large number of Tory MPs joined banned website Parler.
Shame these MP’s on social media. Request a public apology for their sins
FANTASY There are no Brexit Universities.
FACT British people living in Spain were surprised to learn that they could not stay in their second homes indefinitely and that they needed to make a financial contribution to their country of residence. They failed to understand that freedom of movement works both ways under Brexit.
FACT Just days after we signed the Brexit trade deal we are breaking it. In particular we plan to use neonecotonoids on sugar beet. This chemical is toxic to bees. It is estimated that once the bees die, we are not long for the world either.
FACT The European Union are offering to help Ireland from their fund post Brexit. In the longer term it is probably that Ireland and Northern Ireland will simply cut England out of the equation through their dealings.
FICTION French model Rachelle Gauchette is not travelling to Scotland or Ireland to boost morale for independence or reunification … yet. Napoleon did not have a Napoleon complex. The offer of a night with Nigel Farage is a dirty lie.
Just 20 days into Brexit and it seems that nearly every industry and sector of society are either asking for a hand out or a hand up after Brexit. Some of you will be familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Here’s the Brexit hierarchy of needs:
Working up from the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy, it has become apparent that our so-called free trade deal is not free, nor frictionless. We can already see low-level shortages of fresh food on supermarket shelves. Tony Hale, managing director of London-based DH Foods, said he had five containers of fresh pork sitting at Rotterdam port that was now “completely rotten”. Another mentioned £500 000 worth of meat rotting after being delayed by our ‘frictionless trade’. Fishermen protested in Downing Street on Monday and the Government tried to buy them off by offering £23 million in compensation for losses. Let’s do the math:
£23 million = £19 166 for each fisherman
Our attempts to secure a Brexit deal for the fishermen have cost £7 BILLION. That’s 304 times more than the sum of money being offered !!
£19 K sounds a lot, but of course it’s barely enough to live on for a year, in return for the fishermen’s silence. A fisherman’s friend once said that “a cod in the hand is worth two in the net”, but this is plainly a fobbing-off strategy. Cod only knows what we’d do without EU …
Controversial thought. Should people who largely voted for Brexit be rewarded for that decision? Arguably not.
Sold down the river by Brexit
Scotland did not vote for this
Note that the fishermen did not do this properly as they did not write their slogans on a bus …
These effects are DIRECTLY related to Brexit
The bribe for the fisherman sets an important precedent. If you feel you have been adversely affected by Brexit, simply write to Boris and ask for a ‘bung’.
Breathe
Parliament voted down an amendment to the Brexit Trade Bill which sought to ensure the NHS is excluded from future trade deals. This means that The NHS is once again up for sale on the international markets, breaking yet another Conservative manifesto promise. Expect American styled healthcare charges in the future and the eventual end of our NHS, currently free at the point of delivery. Oh, yes, and the £350 million per week has still not materialised …
Boris Johnson narrowly avoided defeat on a bill to avoid parliamentary scrutiny on trade deals with regimes which commit genocide. One can soon expect Liz Truss to come back from North Korea signing deals for missiles in exchange for cheese.
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Read our satirical spoofs of The Sun, Mail, Express at Private Eyelines
Brain Damage
Maslow did not deal with money in his hierarchy of needs, as it was what fellow traveller Frederick Herzberg termed a ‘dissatisfier’. Simply stated, doubling your salary does not double your motivation, but an inadequate wage is a massive source of dissatisfaction.
Losing your livelihood can also lead to mental health issues, aka what Pink Floyd referred to as ‘brain damage’ on ‘Dark Side of the Moon’. We are currently in the midst of experiencing what could be described as ‘collective PTSD’ in the UK, as lives and livelihoods are destroyed by COVID. Whilst it makes total sense to close down non-essential activities, such as hairdressers, nail bars etc. and to restrict social participation in sports and hospitality, the impacts on mental health are considerable.
Whilst Brexit is not a direct causal factor of these COVID-related closures. Brexit has contributed to our lack of resilience in the UK and therefore our sense of dystopia about the future. Going forward, Brexit will do much more damage to our sense of belonging and place in the world, with impacts on lives and livelihoods. We can only express our sorrow to those people whose lives depend on the resumption of their businesses. All we can do is to point out that the measures taken by Boris Johnson have been too little, too late. This has resulted in repeated lockdowns and restrictions and extended the pain from COVID. Adding Brexit to COVID results in a ‘Britastrophe’.
A stitch in time saves nine – click on the image to save democracy
I am part musician, part scientist, part business academic, so it pains me to say this, but if we had to choose between eating and music, the rational choice would be to eat. Yet our Brexit Government has voted for neither. With shops now emptying of fruit, veg, meat and fish, one could have taken consolation in music. Yet it emerges that Boris Johnson rejected a special deal for musicians working in Europe as part of the Brexit trade deal. I wrote on the issue of musicians working in Europe many years ago, in Voices for Europe and recently the world’s most famous musicians have protested against this criminal assault on the arts by our Government.
Won’t get fooled again (by Brexit) … We’ll be fighting on the streets – click on Roger Daltrey to help Re-Boot Britain – Graphic by Cold War Steve www.coldwarsteve.com
UK culture secretary Oliver Dowden urged musicians to use their ‘star power’ to lobby the EU to ease new visa and work permit rules. Dowden revealed his pathetic idiocy and ignorance in suggesting that musicians should be able to break international trade agreements. In doing so, he made himself and his Government look especially stupid. The fault rests with third-rate negotiator Frost, who, instead of looking after the interests of musicians and others, wasted months of negotiations parroting the words that Britain is a sovereign country.
"France received €170 billion by 2020-end because of Brexit. In spite of the pandemic about 2,500 jobs have already been transferred & about fifty British entities have authorised the relocation of at least €170 billion in assets to France at the end of 2020". Banque de France.
— A C Grayling #FBPE 3.5% #Reform #Rejoin #FBPA 🐟 (@acgrayling) January 20, 2021
HMRC are also charging truckers for delays that THEY are causing in terms of customs checks. This will not go well. There have been several reports on extensive delays for lorry drivers. In case you are confused about why this is happening, this helpful diagram explains all:
Alone again, naturally – our place as a 3rd Country
Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time. Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way The time is gone, the song is over, Thought I’d something more to say.
The Government has ended the restrictions on the 48-hour working week, although employers have not complained of feeling unduly shackled by EU standards and the majority of workers working more than 48 hours a week willingly opted out with better pay conditions. This opens the door to the exploitation of poorly paid workers. This breaks the government’s election manifesto pledge and was a key part of the Tories’ appeal to voters in traditional Labour seats which helped the party to secure its 2019 General Election victory.
Time is of course at the heart of our problems with delivery of fresh food and medicines, many of which require cool chain delivery and which rely on Just In Time manufacturing in order to reach us in good condition. In some cases we have yet to see the impacts of Brexit in these areas but the signs are not good.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson continues to gaslight us into accepting sub-optimal doses of the COVID vaccine. He is going against best advice from the manufacturers and the WHO although they understand our sense of desperation, given the toxic effects of Corona + Brexit. This decision is not risk free and we shall find out the effects by experimentation.
Just 20 days in and Brexit carnage has begun, from the top to the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, as we enter the Winter of Discontent.
Well, this article compiled by Peter Cook summarises some of what has happened in the first 3 weeks of real Brexit. We all need to recognise these real problems that have arisen from the fact of Brexit and from the reckless rushed and incompetent negotiation. No one should refer any more to Project Fear – this is Reality and businesses are facing disaster.
Do we accept that this has happened? Government Ministers consistently refuse to answer questions about reasons for our dreadful situation, whether that is Brexit or Covid. As expected, they have started to blame Covid for Brexit problems.
Will Boris Johnson now move on? Will his Government act honourably, do what the Dutch Government have done and resign en masse with him? Ask your MP.
We finish as we began, with a performance of Pink Floyd’s “Another Prick in the Mall”, on a train after The People’s March:
With thanks to Sy Donne, Irina Fridman, Helga Perry, Adrian Ekins-Daukes, Mike Cashman, Jo Wace, Martin Housden, Lisa Lanfranchi, Carol Fraser, Roger Cracknell, Patricia Manning, Daphne Franks, Peter Daws, June Austin, Greg Newman for helping compile this article.
It’s Sunday. Normally a time for a visit to church and some light chatter in England’s green and pleasant land. No talk of sex, death and politics. But this is Brexit Britain, so I’ll break that rule with a Sunday Roasting of our Government.
This is the official message being given out by Government agencies to businesses who want to trade with Europe. Businesses are being told to open offices in Europe if they want to continue in business. Remember when Johnson said “Fuck Business”? It was one of his rare moments of telling the truth.
Oh wait a minute, did we not get a Brexit deal for frictionless trade?
How are small businesses going to maintain two headquarters just to avoid non-tariff barriers and other delays?
Who is paying for this?
Thom Yorke of Radiohead sums up the Brexit carnage nicely:
Move to EU to avoid Brexit costs, Uk firms told by government. Makes sense … can we go too? https://t.co/Agu9tapF8x
Boris Johnson is NOT taking the doctor’s advice by extending the time between COVID vaccinations. I have the burden of having worked on life saving medicines. We don’t recommend treatment regimes just for a laugh. The impact of Johnson’s careless approach is that vulnerable people who have had one dose of the COVID vaccine are becoming infected. Here is a story from one of my friends who prefers to remain anon, as her mum’s story is too painful to face in public. Her mum went for her first COVID injection in December but then had to attend hospital for a minor issue, returning with COVID:
“The following is what everyone who thinks the vaccine means life can return to normal needs to understand: My mum was admitted to hospital two weeks ago with a severe respiratory infection and related heart and blood sugar problems as she is also diabetic. She has now contracted COVID in hospital, but she doesn’t seem to have any additional symptoms as a result. So it would seem that having had the vaccination has protected her against developing COVID symptoms, but not against catching it, or being able to transmit it. Most importantly, because she is now COVID positive she has had to be transferred from the elderly acute ward to a COVID ward, even though she doesn’t actually have COVID symptoms. She is now surrounded by severely ill people who are gasping for breath and she is being cared for by medical staff in full PPE, so she can’t see their faces. She is utterly traumatised and nobody can visit her, which is also traumatising her husband. I can cope with losing my mother to old age and ill health, it’s the normal cycle of life. But this is no way to go. The vaccination has protected her against developing COVID symptoms, but not against this awful situation”.
Others ignore the idea that once you have had COVID, you will be invincible. Think again. A good friend of mine has COVID for the second time. It is a new infection and not a repeat event. Her illness is just as bad if not worse than the first time some 9 months ago. To those that think that immunisation will make them invincible, think again.
Coming soon – a new 3 track album to reach heads and hearts
In the ultimate mark of shame, Grant Shapps is insisting that DVLA workers in Swansea who are infected with COVID keep going to work. I once worked for a few weeks at DVLA. I opted out from the lucrative contract, as I could not face the ‘behavioural waste’ that went on, due to incompetent management. I have never really believed in what is called ‘sick buildings’, but now Grant Shapps appears to be making DVLA into a ‘death camp’.
500+ cases in one govt building
Workers with symptoms ordered to come into work
Dept refused vulnerable peoples’ requests to isolate
Told to disable test and trace notifications
This is unbelievably bad
500+ cases in one govt building
Workers with symptoms ordered to come into work
Dept refused vulnerable peoples' requests to isolate
Brexit continues to surprise with shipping costs rising more than SIX times in some cases. Firms have the choice to either fold their businesses, pay 600% more in transport costs or relocate to Europe.
NONE of these are the sunny uplands promised by Gove, Johnson et al.
ALL of them are entirely of our OWN government’s making.
Please support our work to Re-Boot Britain – Remove the Conservatives, Renew democracy and Reform our politics
I have been asked to stand as a candidate for the Council of Grassroots for Europe. This is part of a wider initiative to bring together the many organisations that supported Remaining in the EU and is a welcome development.
I therefore ask for your vote. Voting takes place from TODAY Monday 1st Feb 00.01 until Sunday 7th Feb 23.59. Here’s my video pitch. You will find all the details of how to vote on the You Tube description and the list of eligible groups at the bottom of this post.
I presented at the hustings on Friday 29 Jane. You can find all the lovely candidate presentations at HUSTINGS
My presentation begins at just over two hours in. The first 30 minutes of the video is empty so please jump ahead on the link.
My candidate statement is attached below. I am not a continuity candidate but in our 4.5 years, continuity has not exactly got us where we need to be in terms of Brexit, democracy and our place in the world. However I am an extremely skilled person with considerable experience and someone who works to get the best out of others, sometimes against the odds. Grassroots for Europe has emerged as one of the main players in the post Brexit fight to rejoin and re-boot our democracy.
Peter Cook – Grassroots for Europe
I am an unusual mix of scientist, business academic and musician. I have led a variety of grassroots activities from street stalls to writing three albums of political protest songs and got one of them to Number One on the Amazon chart. Aside from that I’ve organised dozens of activities and events both in the street and online, e.g. interviews with MEPs and celebrities about Brexit, restoring democracy and ending populism. Working with a wide variety of groups e.g. EU Flag Mafia, European Movement. I am both a strategist and exceptional mentor / coach and a pragmatist, turning ideas into events with impact across national and international media.
In Limbo reached No 1 on Amazon for several days – all this from a basement with no mainstream record company support
On terms of my work over the last five years, I have led the Rage Against The Brexit Machine project, having written three albums of anti-Brexit protest songs and got one of them to Number One on the Amazon chart. “Brexorcist in Chief” for Mid Kent 4 EU, I wrote a book on the subject of having difficult conversations with Leave voters from many thousands of hours of activity on the street, in cafes and bars. Out of all this time, on one occasion I gained two black eyes for misjudging an interaction with angry leave voters. I was also arrested by Essex Police for driving a Mini Cooper with “B*llocks to Brexit” on the side. They asked me to remove the signage on the hard shoulder of the M25. Sadly for Essex Police I called 999 to have the officer arrested. 250 000 Tweets later, Essex Police had to retreat with an apology for putting their lives and ours at risk. I should emphasise that the vast majority of our dealings with the Police and public have been cordial and uneventful.
With Grassroots for Europe Chair Richard Wilson
I stood a stuffed cat in the 2019 General Election. Although the cat was only there to create tactical voting, to my surprise, Stan the Cat did not come last in the ratings, beating the Christian People’s Alliance who had been campaigning for 15 years with a budget !! Aside from the above sensationalism, I’ve managed to get our cause into the BBC, ITV, Sky, LBC and all major print media from The Guardian to The Express without ANY media agency or budget, just by using a professional approach. Whilst some Remainers consider me “underground”, my approach is much more effective than the blowhards in committees who simply watch things happen.
We organised the relabelling of Kent as the “Toilet of England” – featured on most mainstream media from The New York Times to “Have I Got More News for You”
For nearly 5 years I have acted to dispel the illusions of Brexit. At 62 I am at some risk from Corona and consider that a fitting epitaph for my life would be the destruction of Brexit populism for the sake of future generations. I wrote a requiem for Brexit on 31 January 2020. This explains why Re-Booting Britain matters better than words can manage:
You may vote if you are members of the following groups. Please contact your group leader to express your views.
Bremain in Spain
Oxford For Europe
Brighton & Hove for EU
Leeds for Europe
Liverpool for Europe
Hope for Europe
Merseyside for Europe
EMM European Movement Merseyside
London4Europe
Sevenoaks Swanley and Tonbridge in Europe
Glasgow Loves EU
MoVEM Mole Valley European Movement
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Witney for Europe (formally known as Peoples’ Vote, Witney)
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Veterans For Europe
Suffolk EU Alliance
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European Movement Mendip Branch
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Lincolnshire European Movement
Gwynedd dros Ewrop [Welsh]/Gwynedd for Europe [English]
Jacob Rees-Mogg has been slammed for suggesting the people died in the Grenfell Tower tragedy because they listened to the fire brigade’s orders. Mugged by Mogg, Jacob claimed that they lacked ‘common sense’. The Tory MP told LBC host Nick Ferrari that the victims would have survived if they’d just ignored what they were told. Since when would anyone ignored the advice of someone in charge of saving lives if your house was burning down. The Metro reported that Jacob would have left the building as ‘it just seems the common sense thing to do’.
Mogg Fish
A happy fish
Faced with furious complaints that lorry loads of fish had to be thrown into the sea owing to delays caused by Brexit red tape, Jacob Rees-Mogg replied as follows to questions in the house:
“The key is we’ve got our fish back. They are now British fish and they’re better & happier fish for it”
Toby Earle MP stated that unsold fish are rotting on docks, seafood companies are hitting the wall.
Others pointed out that rotting fish are not happy fish. Also, the happiest of all are those who are not caught and live out their lives peacefully because British fisherman have all gone bankrupt because they have no one to sell their fish to!
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This piece of condescending Etonian humour stands comparison with Mary Antoinette’s remarks about cake eating. It is fit for an audience of three-year-olds only, not grown ups inside or outside the House of Commons.
Suffer little children
Jacob Rees-Mogg is also under fire for accusing UNICEF of a “political stunt” after the UN agency stepped in to help feed deprived children in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Commons leader hit out at Unicef, which provides humanitarian aid to children worldwide, after it launched its first domestic emergency response in the UK in its over 70-year history. He characterised Unicef’s support as “playing politics” and said it should be “ashamed of itself”.
As part of the support programme of more than £700,000 to help fund projects for children and their families, UNICEF has pledged £25,000 to supply nearly 25,000 breakfasts in a south London borough over the Christmas holidays and February half-term.
After UNICEF’s support in the UK was raised in the Commons, Mogg stated:
“I think it’s a real scandal that UNICEF should be playing politics in this way when it is meant to be looking after people in the poorest, the most deprived countries in the world, where people are starving, where there are famines and there are civil wars. And they make cheap political points of this kind, giving, I think, £25,000 to one council. It is a political stunt of the lowest order.”
He defended the government’s response to child poverty, including expanding free school meals, adding: “UNICEF should be ashamed of itself.”
However, the minister’s comments prompted a backlash, with Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner:
She said: “In one of the richest countries in the world, our children should not be forced to rely on a charity that usually works in war zones and in response to humanitarian disasters. The only scandal here is this rotten Tory government leaving 4.2 million children living in poverty, a number that will only rise due to the coronavirus crisis.”
The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, said: “Rees-Mogg’s sneering comments are abhorrent – a modern-day version of ‘let them eat cake’.”
Write to your MP using this as content to complain about the slow creep into fascism as espoused by Jacob Rees-Mogg. Refuse to be mugged by Mogg.
Here’s a couple of songs we wrote which express our views on being mugged by Mogg:
Mogg Chorus – with apologies to Paul McCartney
Jacob Rees- Moog – THE BREX-KIP FAR-RIGHT FAR-AGE DOMINATRIX MIX – PG rated
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BACKGROUND
Anna Kettley, UNICEF UK’s director of programmes and advocacy, said: “UNICEF UK is responding to this unprecedented crisis and building on our 25 years’ experience of working on children’s rights in the UK with a one-off domestic response, launched in August, to provide support to vulnerable children and families around the country during this crisis period.
“In partnership with Sustain, the food and farming alliance, over £700k of UNICEF UK funds is being granted to community groups around the country to support their vital work helping children and families at risk of food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic. UNICEF will continue to spend our international funding helping the world’s poorest children. We believe that every child is important and deserves to survive and thrive no matter where they are born.”
Kettley said UNICEF UK was providing grants of between £5,000 and £25,000, with more than £700,000 being made available in total to 30 community organisations to fund projects for children and families in their area. “For some of the projects, the funding is distributed via a council, but the majority of the grants are being made directly to community organisations,” she said. “In Southwark, the funding has gone directly to School Food Matters, a community organisation.”
UNICEF UK said the first round of grants were confirmed in mid-August and all funded programme activity was due to conclude in February next year.
It has given a £25,000 grant to the community project School Food Matters. The charity says it is working with Premier Foods, Southwark council and Southwark Food Action Alliance – a collective of charitable organisations, residents and community partners – to deliver 18,000 breakfasts to 25 schools for distribution around the borough over the two-week Christmas holidays, as well as an additional 6,750 breakfasts over the February half-term.
The PM’s spokesman declined to comment directly on Rees-Mogg’s remarks, saying: “What we would point towards is the work and the action that we’ve already taken to support the most vulnerable and the poorest families across the country.”
I was somewhat depressed when we ended up with a Brexit deal as I had hoped for no deal on the basis that it would offer people a short sharp dose of Brexit realism. I had thought that the slow death / boiled frog syndrome of a Brexit deal would mean that people would not notice any changes and this piece of trickery would allow Boris Johnson to get Brexit done under cover of the terror of COVID. Just 40 days on and we are already experiencing “The Brexit Bounce”. I am surprised to say that, even with our oven ready Brexit deal, the outcomes are far worse than I expected. Proof positive that nobody in Government read the terms and conditions on the sale of the century. In this piece, we review the Brexit Bounce. Remember, we’ve only just begun …
Selfish about shellfish
Both DEFRA and George Eustace have admitted that the EU were right about the problems of selling shellfish after Brexit. Paul Bowers reports that this ought to be a resigning issue for Eustace, but these are not ordinary times, they are Brexit times and instead he’s trying to distract, by threatening military disruption of French fishing. This is a very dangerous game.
A great exhortation but one without substance now that musicians are working out the true cost of Brexit. NME report on how Brexit will more or less end touring for artists. Classic FM entered the fray in 2019 on this and the impacts were confirmed by one of our members on our Monday ZOOM call, who works for the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Elton John also stepped in recently in The Guardian as did Fish. Of course the issue also applies to others working in the arts. Reports of up to £600 for visas to perform in Europe make it uneconomical for most artists to even consider working outside Britain.
From Carnaby Street to Brexit Street
Down on Brexit Street
The FT reports on impacts in the fashion industry all the while that second hand clothing piles up at the borders, with 5.3% tariff on clothes, making it almost impossible for charities to continue their work.
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Bread and Circuses
Having declared that the activities of Black Lives matter were disagreeable, the Government plans to erect statues of Captain Tom and Margaret Thatcher. Of course, Captain Tom’s work was laudable. It’s just that his efforts would not have been needed if the NHS were to be funded correctly. Now we also hear that the NHS is once again being prepared for eventual sale, following Matt Hancock’s announcement that health is to be taken back into political control in the middle of a pandemic. This is another extremely dangerous move and the timing is catastrophic.
Professor Chris Grey presents the most well balanced appraisal of the European Commission’s mistake with reference to the use of Article 16 on the island of Ireland recently. Proportionality matters.
“In and of itself it was an indefensible error by the EU. But all political systems commit such errors and it was speedily corrected, so whilst there may well be some lessons for the European Commission in what happened the idea that it says anything one way or another about the merits of Brexit is nonsense. Inevitably some Brexiters leapt upon itto claim justification, and some erstwhile remainers professed that it had changed their minds about Brexit. But there was no reason for that except for anyone who imagined that the EU is a perfect institution that never makes any mistakes, which remainers shouldn’t have and Brexiters surely didn’t. And let’s be clear, this episode has not led to the breakdown of trust between the UK and the EU – that was caused by the UK’s behaviour over the last four years or so, years in which the EU has been remarkably consistent and rational. That doesn’t excuse this piece of stupidity but it should put it in perspective.”
Professor Chris Grey
Our own Re-Boot Britain correspondent in Northern Ireland Jane Morrice wrote this piece on the subject, where she proposes a creative compromised with Scotland:
“That creative compromise may lie with Scotland. An independent Scotland welcomed into the EU with open arms would leave England and Wales reminiscent of a headless chicken, cut off from their nearest neighbours, isolated and alone. It would also leave Northern Ireland out on a limb more susceptible than ever to increasing pressure for a move towards a shared or united Ireland. If that were the case, the possibility of the three nations that support EU membership coming together to form an arrangement between Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland could be a worthy alternative.”
Jane Morrice is a former vice-president of the European Economic and Social Committee and deputy speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Lobster Thermostat
Yet more fishermen have been hit by Brexit this week and the damage is not temporary nor anything to do with the EU. 71 pages of paperwork must be filled in for ONE lorry of fish. 71 PAGES !!! Yet again it is Britain’s fault for not reading the contract, whilst promising the earth to fishermen. Mike Cashman has two songs about fishing featured on this week’s 16 Million Rising radio show.
A sad story, needless to say. And far from the last we'll hear. Though to blame the EU for enforcing its longstanding rules is a bit like being angry at the sun for rising in the east. The blame here lies entirely with Leave Liars for their leave lies. https://t.co/ugguwdKf9d
Matt Hancock wants to “take back control” of the NHS. This is quite irresponsible as it is currently at breaking point with COVID. Any sensible person would tell you not to introduce system wide change when the system is operating over capacity. Put simply, more people will die. Also this change is intended to make the NHS more saleable, through giving power to Westminster to make decisions about the everyday management of the NHS.
So, why is he doing this now? Quite simply because they are piling everything that is potentially difficult through Parliament whilst COVID is still driving fear into people’s hearts. There will be no resistance.
Far from The Brexit Bounce, this already looks like The Brexit Flounce
The Brexit Bounce
With thanks to Carol Hudson, Daphne Franks, Adrian Ekins-Daukes, Elwyn Lloyd-Jones, Irina Fridman, Helga Perry, Jo Wace, Lisa Lanfranchi, Louise Hunter, Greg Newman, Mike Cashman, Paul Bowers, Peter Daws, Roger Cracknell, Philip Waller and Ron Tendler for their help in producing this.
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Johnson was sacked twice for lying in his earlier careers as a journalist. He continued the habit in the referendum and as PM, hence his title Lord of the Lies. Two major lies during the referendum merit particular mention:
The ‘battle bus’ lie
Johnson and his team toured England in a bus carrying the message that we paid £350 million per week to the EU, which would be available to improve the NHS after Brexit. This sum amounts to £17.6 billion annually. The true figure was £8.5 billion. This figure was publicly available in the House of Commons library and elsewhere, but Johnson persisted in using his false version, double the true amount …
The Turkey lie
Just before the referendum, Vote Leave began to warn about the supposed dangers of Turkey joining the EU, arousing fears that Turkey, with a population of 76 million was about to join EU. They claimed this would give its citizens the right to live and work in the UK under freedom of movement, resulting in lowering of wages, more crime and the overwhelming of the NHS. The UK would be powerless to prevent this. This was completely untrue since Turkish joining could be vetoed by Britain or any other member state. Johnson has tried to distance himself from this major feature of ‘Leave’ although as a leading figure on its campaign committee he was well aware of it. However, a week before the referendum Johnson wrote in a joint letter with Gove”the only way to avoid having common borders with Turkey is to Vote Leave”.
Lying to the Queen
In September 2019, the Queen, on Johnson’s advice, prorogued Parliament for five weeks, enabling him to prevent parliamentary scrutiny of the government’s decisions on Brexit. Johnson and his Government defended the prorogation of Parliament as a routine political process. On 24 September, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the prorogation had been unlawful and Parliament later deleted it from the record. Johnson had given the Queen false advice, causing her to act illegally.
Lying to The Queen
Lying to the World
Opening his career as PM on the international stage at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, Johnson told the world at large: “We asked the people to vote on whether to stay in or leave the EU,they voted overwhelmingly, they voted very substantially to leave by a big majority.”
The actual figures were: Leave 51.9%, Remain 48.1% a wafer thin majority. This was far from being a majority of the electorate. A minority of UK registered voters had voted for leave – just 37%. 17.04 million Leave voters are not a majority in a country with 46.5 million registered voters, or a country with a population of 65,000,000.
Lying to Parliament
Up to Johnson’s premiership, it was considered dishonourable to lie to Parliament. For ministers, resignation could be required (QV Profumo), and a formal apology to the House at least has been customary. With Johnson, lying to the House has become habitual, and without apology or correction, as the following examples from the May/June Parliamentary session prove:
“Yes, of course it’s true that it would be great to have an app, but no country currently has a functioning track and trace app.” (Reply to Starmer in Parliament. June, 23 2020). At the time, track and trace apps were being used in France, Germany, Australia, Poland, Latvia, Denmark, Japan and Italy. (Full Facts website, June 23, 2020).
“He (Starmer) is completely wrong in what he says about poverty. Absolutely, poverty and relative poverty have both declined under this government and there are hundreds of thousands – I think 400,000 – fewer families living in poverty now than there were in 2010”. (June 17 2020. Response to Starmer in Parliament.) Starmer had quoted from the government’s Social Mobility Commission’s report, that there were now 600,000 more children living in relative poverty. That report was based on the widely accepted definition of poverty generally used in government reports. No 10 could not provide a source for Johnson’s figure. Nor could the BBC’s Reality Check Team find any evidence for it.On July 30 the Office for Statistics regulation agreed with the chair of the End Child Poverty Coalition that Johnson statement was incorrect.
“Of the tests carried out at the 199 testing centres, as well as at the mobile centres, they’re all done within 24 hours”. (June 3, in reply to a question from Jeremy Hunt, chairman of the House of Commons health committee) Johnson’s reply was contradicted by the NHS’s official statistics for the week to June 3. These show that the proportion of people in England receiving their tests within 24 hours was 19% at regional test sites, 5% at mobile test units and 6% at satellite test centres.
Starmer asked whether it was right that care workers from abroad working on the NHS frontline should have to pay a surcharge to use the NHS themselves, Johnson replied: “Those contributions help us to raise about £900 m. It is very difficult to find alternative sources.” (May 21 2020) Johnson’s figure of £900 million is the cumulative total of all such payments from all immigrants, whatever their job, over the past four years. It is estimated that to exempt the care workers in question would cost government about £76m, at the new higher rates to be applied from October.
“97% of the primary schools which have submitted data are now seeing kids come back to school.” (Reply to Starmer in Parliament. June 10, 2020). The true figure from the Department of Education for that day was 69%. In other words, 31% of primary schools had not reopened – 10 times the 3% indicated by Johnson. When Full Facts asked No10 for the source of the 97% figure, no reply was given.
Lord of the Lies
Other Major Lies
“The money going into the NHS is the biggest increase in living memory, a £34 billion increase.” (November 29, 2019, in response to a caller on LBC during the election campaign and on other occasions). Johnson’s figure for the NHS budget for the next 5 years is the ‘cash’ increase, which allows for inflation to prevent NHS from shrinking. The real increase, taking account of inflation, is £20.5 billion, just over half Johnson’s figure. This is far from ‘the biggest increase in living memory.’ There were bigger increases in both cash and real terms during the last Labour government. Indeed, Johnson’s planned increase of 3.2% per year in real terms is below the 3.6% average for the NHS’s 70 year history, as well as barely half of the 6% achieved by Labour. (Source Institute of Fiscal Studies).
The economy of our country under this Conservative government has grown by 73%.” (January 31 2020) Assuming Johnson refers to the period since 2010, the true figure is around 20% (up to the pandemic). 73% is the figure for the whole period since 1990, 13 years of which were under the Labour government.
For more than 24 hours, ministers had been sent to radio and TV studios to defend the government’s decision to reject a proposal by Manchester United football star, Marcus Rashford, to continue free school meals through the summer holidays. On June 16, Johnson stated; “I talked to Marcus Rashford earlier today to congratulate him on his campaign, which to be honest I only became aware of very recently – well, today.” (June 16 2020) Are we really supposed to believe that while this issue was dominating the news and politicians and journalists were talking of little else, Johnson was oblivious to the storm that was raging around him?
When challenged by 4 London MPs about the proposed shake-up of Transport for London and the responsibilities of Sadiq Khan, the London mayor,Johnson alleged Khan had bankrupted the city, he was personally responsible for damage to Hammersmith bridge and Londoners deserved everything that was coming down the road to make their lives more miserable for having backed him. According to TfL’s accounts, since Khan took over from Johnson in 2016 he has reduced the deficit of £1.5b by 71%, to £0.5b and increased cash reserves by 16%. TfL being in trouble is entirely down to the pandemic. Johnson was violently jealous of Khan’s popularity with Londoners which exceeds his own, and Khan’s more successful record. Asking for the country’s trust during a national crisis when you can’t even tell the truth about an audited balance sheet is an uphill struggle.
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