It’s the Queen’s platinum jubilee and the Brexit gammon are high. On Saturday 28 May I met one of the Brexit flagshaggers at 7am in the morning, at my train station in Kent, en-route to Brighton to give a masterclass on rejoining the EU. I decided to perform a miniature Street Brexorcism. The conversation went something like this:
HIM: Oh, I suppose you are off to one of those remoaner protests in London again, having fucked the country up (he had noticed my Break Brexit Before Brexit Breaks Britain t-shirt).
ME: Not exactly. I’m off to talk to a bunch of entitled lefty twats in Brighton about my latest book.
HIM: That’s not very nice.
ME: Nah, it’s OK. People in Brighton can probably afford to ride the storm of Brexit. It’s the people who live here in Medway like you and me that I feel sorry for. They must bear the consequences.
HIM: Nah. We’d have been alright if it had not been you lot stopping us getting Brexit done properly.
ME: But you have a pretty hard Brexit. Boris popped in the oven and it’s done. What did you get from Brexit by the way?
HIM (dithering slightly and getting a bit angry): It’s too soon to say (obviously he could name nothing).
ME: OK, but what did you want from Brexit?
HIM (calming a little): Well, I wanted local democracy rather than being told what to do?
ME: Have you got that?
HIM (confused): Too soon to say. You lot spoiled it anyway.
ME: We can agree that we have not got more local democracy. But you give me too much power by assuming that I can change anything. We are all ignored by politicians. I’m sure you realise that Brexit was not for us. It was for them. You do realise that Johnson cancelled democracy yesterday when he put himself beyond the law by cancelling the ministerial code?
HIM (he did not know about the changes to the ministerial code): I don’t care about Boris. He can fuck off.
ME: Anyway, I must be off to talk to the ‘entitled lefty pricks’ of Brighton. Nice to speak.
HIM: That’s rude. You are not going to call them that are you?
ME: Of course. They know who they are, as we do. I’m just intelligent scum. Anyway, thank you for speaking with me.
I met Simon Calder again on Saturday at St Pancras en route to Paris. Had a great conversation about The #Beatles and #Brexit. He pointed out that all the queues were down to Brexit
— Reboot Britain – Rage Against The Brexit Machine (@BrexitRage) May 31, 2022
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In this edition of the Daily Excess we focus on the effects of Brexit on food price rises and the extraordinary statements by Tories blaming the poor for their plight.
FACT: Lee Anderson claimed that people on low wages were not able to cook economically and said that he could cook a meal from scratch for 30 pence[1]. The Trussell Trust replied: “Cooking from scratch won’t help families keep the lights on or put food on the table, if they don’t have enough money in their pockets”.
FACT: A snickers bar, a curly wurly, a finger of fudge or a raw egg are not a substantial meal. Remember however that a Scotch egg was classified as a substantial meal[2] when Rishi Sunak wanted to encourage people to ‘eat out to help out’ in 2020. However the benchmark price of a Scotch egg in a pub is £5.00 and it would have to be consumed with a pint of beer to be considered a ‘substantial meal’. This is somewhat more than 30 pence.
FICTION: Various Tory MPs have started blaming Ukraine for food price rises, when, apart from just a few items, these price rises have not fed through the food chain at the time of writing in May 2022. Food inflation due to Brexit[3] accounts for some 6% and, in some areas such as meat, the rises have been substantial. It is despicable behaviour by Tory MPs to blame Ukraine but, of course, totally true to form to blame someone or something else.
FACT: By the same token, they have blamed oil and gas rises on Ukraine when these price rises were factored in before the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. In fact, money saving expert Martin Lewis[4] warned as early as late 2021 on the matter.
FICTION: Liz Truss has not so far recommended that the poor begin cooking their pets to cope with food poverty. Give her time. She did recently get her picture taken with Larry the cat, perhaps to improve her popularity with old ladies, or perhaps in preparation for Larry’s sacrifice at some point in the future.
FICTION: If Boris had written The F Plan diet, the word F would not have stood for fibre! Nor has Boris ever had a meal for 30 pence.
FACT: The recent emergency budget measures set out by Rishi Sunak will not address the needs of people at the edge of poverty through Brexit assisted price rises. It is yet another example of a ‘too little, too late’ strategy by the Conservative government.
FACT: Grilled wasps are neither tasty nor nutritious.
In this Irish special we focus on the U2 question posed by Liz Truss “With or Without EU”. It becomes clear that she still hasn’t found what she’s looking for with Brexit.
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As things continue to become more bizarre by the day in Brexit Britain, we focus on the Irish question in this fake version of The Mail on Sunday.
FACT: Liz Truss is prepared to risk the breakdown of the Good Friday Agreement and 30 years of peace on the island of Ireland to improve her chances of becoming PM. In 2019 the Conservatives said that peace in Northern Ireland and independence for Scotland were prices worth paying to “Get Brexit Done”. One of the few truths they told.
FACT : It was the BRITISH government that signed the Brexit deal which required the border in the sea between Britain and the island of Ireland. Blaming the EU is simply gaslighting. We are a third country and, to quote the Brexiteers we should “Get over it”
FACT : ‘Sir’ David Frost read the deal and then ignored it in order to “Get Brexit Done”. This problem is ENTIRELY of our own Government’s making and Frost’s squirming is pathetic. He’s not even elected.
FACT : Boris Johnson said that a border between Ireland and Britain would only happen over his dead body. We note that he is still alive.
FACT : The majority of people and politicians in Northern Ireland want to keep the Northern Ireland Protocol. Some 70% of people voted for parties that support peace on the island or Ireland.
FACT : ‘Sir’ David Frost is now pretending he was railroaded into signing the deal. The word scum is not bad enough for someone who refuses to own his Brexshit.
FACT : Johnson needs this distraction to ensure people don’t think about unnecessary COVID deaths, Leadership failures via Partygate, the cost of living crisis, Brexit carnage, Levelling down, NI rises, Pension unlocking, killing bees, killing kids by encouraging them to eat more junk food, the list goes on.
FICTION : Whereas Coleen Rooney has not shagged Johnson, Arlene would do anything to restore the troubles to Northern Ireland, including a performance with Dolly Parton if one could be arranged.
Whilst the EU are the adults in the room, they should respond to this childish behaviour by our adapted children in Government.
Rejoin EU and Brexorcism masterclass 10.30 – 12.00 Saturday 28 May Brighton followed by lunch – Friends Meeting House, BN1 1AF – contact us to book your space
Guest article from Jean-Pierre Feyaerts on electoral reform. In the wake of some seismic changes to the political landscape in Britain it is time to consider this. I’m especially delighted that Reboot Britain contributed to the loss of 10 Tory councillors in Royal Tunbridge Wells and this demonstrates that we can still achieve impact with a faulty electoral system. TEN !!!
We contributed to this result at Reboot Britain along with others
An alternative to the British ‘First-Past-the-Post’ system – A Belgian perspective
People, even in England, are finally starting to see the limitation of the old fashion FPTS electoral system.
In principle that system, especially at the end of the Middle Age and Renaissance made sense when it was very important to safeguard local interests, with a special interest to the financing of wars and more generally the public finances.
With time, the system was regarded as safeguarding rather stable majorities in Parliament, at least for the duration of a legislature and avoid the need to have repeated elections before the end of the said legislature.
One (if not the major) shortcoming of the system is that it provides an over representation of a part of the population. Furthermore, the culture of compromise was replaced by the law of the strongest (with derivation to the spoiling system, like in the USA).
For the British citizen however (and probably more for the English citizen) it remains difficult to accept a proportional system and even more difficult to find an agreement on a type of proportionality (for example as used for the former election of the British members of the European Parliament).
In theory, the elected members of the Parliament (of the House of Commons), are there to represent the citizen of their constituency, not only those who voted for them but any citizen of the constituency, regardless of its preferred party. In practice, they are just the local representative of a doctrine (which use to differ from the manifesto of the party). If this is the case, the approach of one single representative has no more sense.
At least, for an interim period, it does not seem possible to move to the current political system to a political system adapted to the XXIst century (rather than the end of the XIXth – beginning of the XXth) in one stage. UK need at least to adopt a phased approach.
A rather simple one, but not used elsewhere, to my best knowledge, would be to divide the number of constituencies by two and to elect two representatives instead of one. As such, it is easy to understand, does not require too much changes (except grouping the current constituencies by groups of 2[1]).
The difference with the current system is that rather the first past the post, here it would be the two first past the post[2].
This is simple, but it changes a lot for the strategy of the parties and may give more importance to local interests.
British (in particular English) have no tradition and expertise on how to find agreements and compromises and it will take surely more than one legislature to can be accustomed to it, and the same is even more true for the voters! The experience with the Eastern European countries for returning to democracy proves that both categories needs to learn how to behave in such new environment but it cold be easier than the reform proposed in 2011. Britain needs electoral reform. It will be difficult all the while both sides of our binary politics believe they can win, but Thursday’s local elections have disrupted the cosy arrangement.
[1] In real exceptional cases, a constituency with one single representative could be envisaged or a constituency grouping three former ones with eventually, for one legislature, 3 representatives as a transitional measure)
[2] Possibly, this is the case for one or another State of the USA for the Senate election.
It’s Europe Day … a brief reminder, lest we forget.
It cost each of us 37 pence a day (or half a Mars bar) to belong to the World’s greatest peace project. I can think of nothing one could buy with 37 pence that would amount to what we got by being part of the EU, faults and all.
Now we left via Brexit, Putin’s plan to create war in Europe continues and our Government plan to restart the troubles in Northern Ireland.
What did we leave for? I’m still waiting for answers beyond mythical notions of freedom. Answers on a postcard.
Footnote : I watched The Killing Fields yesterday afternoon for a reminder of how far we have travelled and just how easy it is to return to a world of violence inspired by ideology.
It’s Party Party Party in the Telegravda. Come on down and celebrate death by Brexit. Taken from a forthcoming book on the Kafka-esque political world in which we now operate.
FACT: Drivers stuck on the M20 [1]are not allowed to leave their cabins to urinate or defecate by Kent Police, so that traffic can continue its slow grind towards Dover. It’s not Party Party Party if you are stuck in your cab with a bottle of urine and a pile of Brexshit on the floor.
FICTION: The M20 has not been turned into a rave venue and the drivers are not drinking their own urine during ‘Operation Pisspot’[2].
FICTION: Sue Gray has not shown up in Ibiza. On the other hand, her report on leadership failures has disappeared without trace.
Chilled – Sue Gray
FACT: Johnson needs the Russian war to deflect attention from Brexit carnage, now that he has cancelled COVID, his leadership, gas, oil, petrol and food prices, national insurance, NHS backlogs, COVID … the list goes on.
Brexorcism masterclass 7 pm Thursday 21 April via ZOOM
FACT: Johnson’s leadership is disliked by 72% of the population with the most frequent word mentioned about him being LIAR.
Liar in Chief
FACT: Let’s play the party game of ‘closets and skeletons’ whilst the drinking continue into the night:
Rishi Sunak defended Mrs S of her absolute right to legally pay as little tax as possible to the country that supplies her with the house she lives in. She was part owner of Lava Mayfair Club Ltd[3] (a private membership gym), which collapsed last year, owing almost £44 million to creditors, including £374,000 to HMRC.
Another of Mrs S’s ventures, education firm ‘Mrs Wordsmith[4]‘, went into administration last year owing £16.3 million … after receiving a £1.3 million loan from the Government’s Future Fund.
Digme Fitness, of which Mrs Rishi owns, received up to £635,000 of furlough money before it closed its eight studios in London and Oxford still owing HMRC £415,000. In case of doubt, 635 is more than 415.
So, Sunak introduces the furlough scheme … and the woman he’s sleeping with benefits by up to £635,000.
Sunak oversees the UK rules regarding non-Dom status[5] … and the woman he’s sleeping with benefits by over £20 million.
Sunak is supposed to be in charge of ensuring that the UK maximises its tax take…yet the woman he’s sleeping with has overseen companies going bust owing £789,000 to HMRC.
Sunak says his wife’s tax affairs are none of our business! Never mind, let’s party like it’s 1999!
P&O is one of the finest names in British maritime history, dating back to 1837 when the name was chosen to mean Peninsula & Orient; where Peninsula refers to the Iberian Peninsula, and Orient refers to the Eastern Mediterranean. Not much is written about the early years including its service to supply troop ships during WWII, but its current structure dates back to 2002 when P&O Ferries was formed as a Company in its own right, followed by its purchase by DP World in 2019.
In common with the Maritime Industry in general, it has always faced challenges and opportunities (none more so than at present); as it is forced to adapt to a changing world. Firstly, the very concept of a RORO ferry, was thought up when the cost of capital was high, meaning the turn-around time at port, and travel time was at a premium; and Carbon (and Sulfur) emissions where hardly on the agenda. Now, fuel costs and environmental legislation (e.g. the Sulfur Cap of 2020) are of prime importance, while the cost of capital is rock-bottom. Sea travel can however still be the cheapest and most environmentally friendly, but only if the ships can enjoy economies of scale, are packed to capacity, and can travel at a speed (sometimes as low as 2 knots) to optimize engine efficiency, tide, and berthing time table. This suits the container ship but is an anathema to the sea passenger. The RORO ferry however still has the edge for perishable goods.
Ferry services on the Dover Calais route have faced other competitive challenges, firstly from the over-priced but even speedier Channel Tunnel, secondly from Irish Ferries being allowed to ply the same route from March 2021, using third country contract seafarers. Brexit and Coronavirus must certainly have had their impact on ticket sales, staff shortages, and boarding delays. All together, these have cost the company £100 Million per year. One response has been in restructuring; another could be outsourcing ship’s construction to the Far East.
P&O Ferries is a British Company, owned by Dubai based DP World. The ships are flagged in Malta, and the staff paid out of Jersey. It is important to note that at sea, the Captain is the Sovereign Authority under the jurisdiction of the flag, and nobody pays tax anywhere. This may change once the ship enters territorial waters, and certainly will change once a crew member steps ashore. Tax arrangements are exceedingly complicated, as they depend on how much time one spends in each zone; with each jurisdiction measuring time differently! A seafarer can find that just one short delay, a change in shift patterns, or an extended shore leave can change his tax liability completely. Jersey is outside the UK and outside the EU. It is therefore an ideal jurisdiction for withholding tax till the year’s returns are completed (it’s very easy to forget or miss a rule). – In the light of seafarers working arrangements, I don’t think it was unreasonable for the CEO of P&O Ferries, Peter Hebblethwaite, to announce the mass sacking of staff by recoded video message. It was the only way to reach everyone fairly and simultaneously.
Malta is an EU Member State, well known as an off-shore tax-haven and easy centre for ships registration. As a new Member State, I have found them very lax in converging to EU Legislation. Because of their special sacrifices in supporting the allies during WWII, Britain is disinclined to find fault with them. And because of their smallness within the big EU picture, Brussels is hardly likely to take notice. But they will converge, eventually.
Dubai, as an Arab State probably has access to the best deals in bunker fuel. But more ominously, DP World has been advising the government on free-ports. DP World also has a majority stake in the container port of Yuzhny about 20 miles East of Odessa in Ukraine (acquired in 2020). Ukraine is the prosperous breadbasket of Europe and the World, and this is likely to be a very profitable asset once the war is over.
Now, what about the new outsourced third party crew, and what is life going to be like for them? Most young men take to sea to see the world, with full board and lodgings paid, and a little bit of pocket-money to boot; but when they come to the UK, they’re going to be very sorry indeed. They’ll be forced to stay on-board without a proper Visa, like any other tourist. (Or will they need the very expensive UK working visa, if they’re deemed to be employed in the UK?) – The EU has been working on this problem for years, trying to ensure that any legitimate seafarer can have shore leave based on his ship’s papers. This is now fairly well harmonized, including the right of transit from airport to duty ship, or between duty ships. The latest EU legislation however, restricts the rights of seafarers taking shore leave to cross Sovereign State boundaries. It is not a Schengen Visa. The UK is no longer party to this agreement, and as a result, third party seafarers may suffer. – The UK Government does have the right to detain a ship once it is in port, and prevent it leaving again; for instance, if debts have not been paid, if the ship has been found to be unseaworthy, or if the crew do not live up to the necessary standard of competence. This is very much the limit of the UK’s authority. Even the right to run a service can only be granted in agreement with the EU counter-party. Parochial British Trade Unions have very little purchase on the problem.
How could this sorry state of affairs have been avoided? In the USA, they have something called the Jones Act, which says that any service run between USA ports must be on ships that have been constructed, owned, and crewed by Americans. A federal Europe could do something similar; sure it is protectionism, but I think we need a bit of protectionism. And if we consider: wages, shipbuilding, and financing skills across Europe, I think there is plenty of scope for reasonable competition. In reviewing the above, it strikes me that we spend too much time and effort on: gaming the system, the tax system, and the shipping regulations. – It would surely be far better if those in the business where given a level playing field so that they could concentrate on what they know best: running a ferry service, or a shipping line. There are plenty of changes that are still needed in the industry.
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We want to explain a long term project to send a potent message to Brexit supporting MPs that Brexit Doesn’t Pay. We will do this by damaging the majorities held by Brexit supporting MPs in Parliament by systematically engaging their constituents in conversation about their record nationally and locally, through information leaflets and on social media. We plan to do this as ‘non party campaigners’ and will offer no guidance as to how people vote. We will just ask them not to vote Tory. By doing this we will leaven their majorities and allow other political parties to do their best.
We have a database that identifies a number of MPs who have:
Slim majorities.
An association with the far right side of the Conservative party and, of course, Brexit.
Some “Trophy Tories” who we would like to send a message of shock and awe to, per Dominic Cummings’ strategy for Brexit.
Find the database at Google Drive. Add your name and mail your details to peter@academy-of-rock.co.uk to help lead the project in your local area.
COUNTY
Constituency
MP first name
MP surname
SOUTH
Hertfordshire
Hitchin and Harpenden
Bim
Afolami
Welwyn Hatfield
Grant
Shapps
Stevenage
Stephen
McPartland
East Sussex
Lewes
Maria
Caulfield
Hampshire
Aldershot
Leo
Docherty
Fareham
Suella
Braverman
New Forest West
Desmond
Swayne
North East Hampshire
Ranil
Jayawardena
North West Hampshire
Kit
Malthouse
Portsmouth North
Penny
Mordaunt
Southampton, Itchen
Royston
Smith
Kent
Dartford
Gareth
Johnson
Dover
Natalie
Elphicke
Gravesham
Adam
Holloway
Sittingbourne and Sheppey
Gordon
Henderson
South Thanet
Craig
Mackinlay
Gillingham and Rainham
Rehman
Chishti
Oxfordshire
Witney
Robert
Courts
Surrey
Carshalton and Wallington
Elliot
Colburn
Epsom and Ewell
Chris
Grayling
Reigate
Crispin
Blunt
Esher and Walton
Dominic
Raab
Surrey Heath
Michael
Gove
Berkshire
Wokingham
John
Redwood
Buckinghamshire
Wycombe
Steve
Baker
Isle of Wight
Isle Of Wight
Bob
Seely
West Sussex
Crawley
Henry
Smith
East Worthing and Shoreham
Tim
Loughton
Horsham
Jeremy
Quin
Bedfordshire
Mid Bedfordshire
Nadine
Dorries
WEST
Avon
North East Somerset
Jacob
Rees-Mogg
North Somerset
Liam
Fox
Weston-Super-Mare
John
Penrose
Cornwall
North Cornwall
Scott
Mann
South East Cornwall
Sheryll
Murray
St Austell and Newquay
Steve
Double
Devon
Newton Abbot
Anne Marie
Morris
Dorset
Christchurch
Christopher
Chope
Mid Dorset and North Poole
Michael
Tomlinson
Somerset
Somerton and Frome
David
Warburton
Yeovil
Marcus
Fysh
NORTH
Northumberland
Blyth Valley
Ian
Levy
Berwick-Upon-Tweed
Anne-Marie
Trevelyan
Humberside
Cleethorpes
Martin
Vickers
Haltemprice and Howden
David
Davis
North Yorkshire
Thirsk and Malton
Kevin
Hollinrake
West Yorkshire
Morley and Outwood
Andrea
Jenkyns
Shipley
Philip
Davies
South Yorkshire
Penistone and Stocksbridge
Miriam
Cates
SCOTLAND
Scotland
Moray
Douglas
Ross
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
Andrew
Bowie
LONDON
Greater London
Chipping Barnet
Theresa
Villiers
Kensington
Felicity
Buchan
Islington North
Jeremy
Corbyn
Hornchurch and Upminster
Julia
Lopez
Uxbridge and South Ruislip
Boris
Johnson
Sutton and Cheam
Paul
Scully
EAST
Norfolk
Great Yarmouth
Brandon
Lewis
South Norfolk
Richard
Bacon
Suffolk
Suffolk Coastal
Thérèse
Coffey
Cambridgeshire
Huntingdon
Jonathan
Djanogly
Essex
Braintree
James
Cleverly
Epping Forest
Eleanor
Laing
Harwich and North Essex
Bernard
Jenkin
Maldon
John
Whittingdale
Rayleigh and Wickford
Mark
Francois
Rochford and Southend East
James
Duddridge
Saffron Walden
Kemi
Badenoch
Thurrock
Jacqueline
Doyle-Price
Chingford and Woodford Green
Iain
Duncan Smith
Witham
Priti
Patel
WALES / NORTH WEST
Clwyd
Clwyd West
David
Jones
South Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
Alun
Cairns
Mid Glamorgan
Bridgend
Jamie
Wallis
Lancashire
Fylde
Mark
Menzies
Merseyside
Southport
Damien
Moore
Cheshire
Macclesfield
David
Rutley
Greater Manchester
Bolton West
Chris
Green
Bury North
James
Daly
Bury South
Christian
Wakeford
Bolton North East
Mark
Logan
Heywood and Middleton
Chris
Clarkson
Blackley and Broughton
Graham
Stringer
Hazel Grove
William
Wragg
MIDLANDS
Northamptonshire
Corby
Tom
Pursglove
Daventry
Chris
Heaton-Harris
Northampton South
Andrew
Lewer
South Northamptonshire
Andrea
Leadsom
Wellingborough
Peter
Bone
Mansfield
Ben
Bradley
Nottinghamshire
Gedling
Tom
Randall
Staffordshire
Lichfield
Michael
Fabricant
South Staffordshire
Gavin
Williamson
Stone
William
Cash
Tamworth
Christopher
Pincher
Stoke-On-Trent North
Jonathan
Gullis
Warwickshire
North Warwickshire
Craig
Tracey
West Midlands
Dudley South
Mike
Wood
Halesowen and Rowley Regis
James
Morris
Solihull
Julian
Knight
Hereford and Worcester
Bromsgrove
Sajid
Javid
North Herefordshire
Bill
Wiggin
Redditch
Rachel
Maclean
Shropshire
Shrewsbury and Atcham
Daniel
Kawczynski
NORTHERN IRELAND – DUP
County Antrim
Lagan Valley
Jeffrey
Donaldson(Sir)
South Antrim
Paul
Girvan
North Antrim
Ian
Paisley(Jr)
East Antrim
Sammy
Wilson
County Down
Upper Bann
Carla
Lockhart
Belfast East
Gavin
Robinson
Strangford
Jim
Shannon
County Londonderry
East Londonderry
Gregory
Campbell
In turn, we will supply support through bringing the team leaders together, supplying leaflets at various points and providing training in the gentle art of Brexorcism. We have just completed our our second book on the subject:
Click to order on Amazon or direct with a discount via e-mail reboot@academy-of-rock.co.uk
Essential reading to change minds about Brexit
What needs to be done?
Study the list of locations and find people who will be willing and support to lead the campaign in the different areas. Both in terms of your real life contacts and via social media. When you get someone who is interested, pl send their details over to me via e-mail reboot@academy-of-rock.co.uk
