A Small Island Man

I desperately would like to see a more socialist "fairer for all" government. I believe in an ever-shrinking, ever more interconnected world, that that also inevitably means we need to be inside the EU. EU citizens are our neighbours, our friends and our loved ones. A democracy that does not extend its democracy to our neighbours is not really very democratic in my eyes. Labour pledges to never bring back freedom of movement I now am beginning to think that due to the utter hopelessness of an ineffective Labour party the greatest chance of realising that ambition is to vote Tory! Why? Because Labour are so utterly clueless and so utterly lacking in leadership and direction (they actually voted down PR at the conference, despite members overwhelmingly voting for it) that Labour now only serve to keep the Tory party in power.  Labour are too weak to win and too big to let another party try. We need an entirely new left of centre, 21st-century savvy party. One not emasculated by...

Nissan to create thousands of UK jobs in battery investment " The government is contributing to the overall cost of the project, which is expected to cost hundreds of millions. The size of the government contribution has not been disclosed. " This was as expected. For the government to deliver on Brexit, and prevent Nisan from leaving Sunderland. the government had to bribe compensate Nissan for the damage done to Nissan UK's trading relationship inflicted by Brexit. Had Nissan left the UK it would have been a political disaster for Tories that likely would have jeopardized their position on Brexit, which may have lead to a vote of no confidence. and ultimately defeat. And,... this government will hold on to power at all costs, especially when it is you and not them that has to stump up the cost. Brexit means that the UK is now free of the EU's level playing field rules for industrial subsidy. So all is good? Well, not that I have seen the details but: I doubt it las...

If  Labour loses the  Batley & Spen by-election (it's been Labor-held since 1992 ) this July 1st, at a time when the Tories; the most mendacious, lying, cheating, incompetent rogue government in my living memory are embarked on a program of running the country into the ground with their Robin Hood Policy in reverse, then surely, surely in the name of all that is common sense, you have to see it is time for Labour so riddled with internal division and paralysed with confusion to throw itself on its sword and let rise anew a 21st-century-savvy coalition that might have some hope of restoring a fairer for all left-of-center party that is capable of looking forward and LEADING rather than looking back and chasing votes. Labour, currently you are the opposition that is too weak to win and too large to let anyone other than the Tories win. Labour, absurdly you have become the greatest obstacle to the UK achieving a more socialist government!

One Britain One Nation I feel sick that it should be suggested our children should proudly sing rousing patriotic songs about Britain’s inclusivity and openness at a time when that government’s actions in every way have to been to stir up racial tensions, create division and turn its back upon that largest continental peace project of all time. OBON at a time when Dido Harding harps on about reversing the NHS’s dependence on foreign employees is a pure farce. Foreigners who have chosen a career in caring for the UK are justifiably feeling they are receiving a slap in the face. OBON after the UK sent Brexit MEPs to the opening of the European assembly so they could stand and turn their backs to the playing of Ode to Joy is an insult to the UK and the whole world. The 21st-century world is an ever-shrinking, ever more interconnected world and Britains failure to recognise and embrace that is the action of a backwards-looking nation incapable of seeing history without intense nostalgic ...

General Johnson BBC News - Brexit: EU says patience wearing thin with UK in talks to avoid trade war Let's not call it a trade war! Up until 2020 we had a 50-year long successful trading relationship with 27 other European countries. But it was the will of the people to take back control.  So let's part good friends and as autonomous entities of one United Kingdom and one bloc of 27 European countries. Let's boldly and confidently go forward with WTO trade rules. Then we can finally see how Brexit measures up to its promises of the UK being that world-class trading powerhouse. We can look forward to being a nation that prospers mightily. Why not? Europe will have to take a stand on Northern Ireland, in the event of the UK not doing it. But that much was always clear . N. Ireland can remain in the EU and perhaps join with the south, or they can throw their lot in with Great Britain - you can not really have both any more than it can be raining and not raining at the same tim...

This is the  MSC World Europa MSC World Europa The MSC World Europa is not so much a boat as a floating city.  It can accommodate nearly 7,000 passengers in 2,700 cabins It's a thousand foot long and as tall as a skyscraper. It cost a staggering £800,000,000. (1) But it is a drop in the ocean compared to Dido Harding's Track and Trace which cost £37 BILLION, £37,000,000,000. In other words, enough to buy 46 of these behemoth floating cities! But unlike the MSC World Europa, your £37 BILLION, has largely sunk without a track or a trace! "Dido Harding’s test and trace system has swallowed up “unimaginable” amounts of taxpayers’ money with no evidence of any measurable difference on the progress of the coronavirus pandemic, a scathing report by a Westminster spending watchdog has found." (2) That's roughly £2,000 for EVERY family in the UK. The government has no money of its own, it only has your money. And when they shake the magic money tree and print more money, i...

I'm Pro EU. No surprise to anyone who knows me. Indeed everyone who knows me is entirely sick of my ranting about this.  I just hit a page and saw a questionnaire "Should the United Kingdom rejoin the European Union?" It made me immediately back out. How can I put this as delicately as possible? Might it be better phrased "Should the UK apply to rejoin the UK" It is rather assumptive to suggest that we can rejoin based on just what we (the UK) may want. In short, whilst levelling "British Exceptionalism" as a criticism of the leave camp, "Should the United Kingdom rejoin the European Union?"  looks like "British Exceptionalism" at its best! Based on the UK's very 47-year lacklustre participation within the EU, "Should the United Kingdom rejoin the European Union?" looks rather pathetically like the ageing fat slob of an abusive husband scratching his nuts whilst sitting alone in his grimy bedsit and musing on whethe...

Brexit. Leave Means Leave. You Lost - Suck It Up Buttercup. I've been raging against the rabid Brexiteers, the clever ones in parliament and those behind them pulling the strings or the those easily fooled of low education (so often qualified with 1st class honours from the University of Life, almost always proudly sporting a poppy or a Union Jack or St George's cross on their Facebook profile). But it is Eurovision 2021 that convinces me the fight is a lost cause (not that I intend t go quietly). The UK did not do well (we English do like our understatement). Out of 4,524 Eurovision points awarded we took 0. Zero, Zilch, Nada Nil Points. I argued that whilst I did not think the UK's entry was winning material, since Eurovision has always been something of a political grandstand, nil Points surely had in part, to reflect that the rest of Europe is not seeing the UK in a favourable light post Brexit? What dismayed me more than anything, was that pro remainers so often seeme...

Eurovision 2021 Final Results Eurovision has always been political. Neighbouring and allied countries have always supported each other. Personally, I did not much like the UK entry but by no stretch would I say it was the worst. My opinion is neither important nor particularly significant beyond that I will assert that if I thought it was not the worst, then it's statistically unlikely that absolutely everyone voting thought it was the worst. Someone posted that the UK's poor Eurovision result was not at all political and entirely down to 'bland, unappealing singer, poor styling, tacky staging, meaningless lyrics, zero choreography' But these criticism have never been obstacles to songs doing well in Eurovision in the past! Nil Point from panellist and the public is down to how the UK is now perceived after the way it is behaving. UK Brexit MEPs at the opening of the EU Parliament Gunboats to Calais, AirCraft Carriers on world tour, EU persons slammed into prison-like d...