Tag Archives: #Brexit

Harmonisation Harmonisation is a lovely word which has its roots in music. A harmony is defined as “the combination of simultaneously sounded musical notes to produce a pleasing effect”. The process of harmonisation in the EU is “the process of creating common standards across the internal market”. Whether the effect …

This post is mainly addressed to elected MPs of the Conservative persuasion. Whatever the outcome of the EU Referendum, I really think that David Cameron is peddling pure fantasy if he thinks that things can go back to ‘normal’. The party line is that after the vote, Conservatives will come …

The Treasury Select Committee (TSC) has delivered its report on Brexit, or to give the full title, “The economic and financial costs and benefits of the UK’s EU membership”. The result is far reaching, leaving a few questions unanswered. At times, observers might feel that the committee has been uneven …

A careless turn of phrase reveals a poisonous, negative attitude towards Britain held by prominent Remainers and EU apologists What do passionate British europhiles and EU defenders really think about their own country? This question is an eternal puzzle to Brexiteers, who have watched Remainers from the prime minister on down …

George Osborne, as he promised, has released a second dossier on the effects of a no vote on 23rd June. This time, the target of doom and gloom was the first two years after a Brexit vote. Sadly, Osborne decided not to attend the House of Commons to defend the …

I’m naturally a pessimist. I sometimes try to write in an uplifting way as if to encourage the troops. The moral, after all, is to the physical as three to one. But it’s generally me who needs encouraging most of all. I fully expected the SNP to gain a majority …

A further report of doom and gloom after Brexit has been released, this time from the institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), claiming the Brexit would bring two more years of austerity. Is the body of evidence from independent analysts really increasing? The IFS is a charity, based in London specialising …

Fed-up with all of the contradictory forecasts and statements about the referendum on Britain’s continued membership of the European Union?  You probably should look away. I would like to see another forecast – I know, that suggests either some kind of a weird fantasy obsession or that maybe I am …

Somewhere in Rousseau’s Social Contract is the idea that the whole electorate should vote on everything all the time. This would, of course, have been unworkable even in an eighteenth century city state. If the whole population were to spend every day governing the country, who would do any work? …

I came of age in an era of unserious politics. In America, there was George W. Bush, a Republican who preached the platitudes of “compassionate conservatism” and global democracy and left the US poorer and the world more chaotic. In the UK, there was Tony Blair (along with Gordon Brown), …

The SNP’s failure to win an overall majority in Holyrood was a setback for them and their cause. It will be very hard indeed for Scottish nationalists to push for a second independence referendum in the next five years. Importantly, in the present context, this is the case even if …

In the recent past we have heard that Brexit will cause:  Sterling to crash by 20% (1),  Banks to move to EU (2),  Banks on both sides of Atlantic to be struck down by uncertainty (3), London to lose its status as financial capital (4) etc. These were all rumours …

What do you make of all the scare-mongering, AKA Project Fear,  that is coming out of the Remain camp, relating to the European Referendum? I ask because there seems to be something of a contradiction in the whole thing. On the one hand, we have David Cameron and his government …

Don’t worry, this isn’t about circuses or zoos.  Though, before I move on, and given just as something that ‘tickled’ me. I came across a lovely Polish saying, on Twitter.  Not my circus, not my monkeys – so not my problem. Anyway, back to the European Union and Elephants.  Or …

David Cameron yielded to pressure to face the Parliamentary Liaison Committee on the afternoon of 4th May. The committee Chair had previously written to express disappointment that he did not intend to face the committee. Proceedings can be seen here. Following his earlier admonition of the Leader of the opposition about …

Last week George Osborne took centre stage. He started with selective quotes from Emmanuel Macron the French economy minister. Macron told us on the Andrew Marr show that there would be a price for access to the Single European Market (SEM). Macron told us some other things too. Outside, Britain would “killed” …

“For several decades now it has been fashionable to say that those so-called great men and women are just ephiphenomena, meretricious bubbles on the vast tides of social history. Well, I think the story of Winston Churchill is a pretty withering retort to all that malarkey. He and he alone …

Let me lay out my concerns over the upcoming crisis in Libya, one which will break the EU into pieces, if not accepted and addressed immediately. This is simple.  The facts are there.  The debate is just not happening.  Yet. UK media half-heartedly cover the Libyan crisis, in small news …

Why are the SNP so popular? Some pro UK people think it’s because people in Scotland have taken leave of their senses. Opponents of the SNP sometimes describe their supporters as deluded fools. But as SNP support keeps going up, it becomes harder to maintain that over half the population …

Have you received the propaganda leaflet from the UK government yet?  What did you do with it?  Straight in the bin? Read it?  I tore mine up and sent it back to the Conservative party at their FreePost address.  That way, Cameron’s party can pay 70p for the privilege of …