Thom Brooks, Professor of Law and Government at Durham Law School, has written a report spelling out the truth about the appalling mismanagement of Brexit by this government in the context of the small boats crisis. Set aside for a moment that Brexit is intrinsically disastrous, you could be forgiven for expecting its slavish, zealous […]
All this week, Jon Danzig is posting videos reminding us of the fatal flaws in the Brexit referendum and demonstrating that it was a sham. Nobody wants to rub the noses of deceived voters in this mess. The blame rests firmly with the politicians, the media and those shadowy proponents of this monumental act of […]
In the space of 24 hours I have read one article about a cross-party meeting on limiting Brexit damage and another about Rishi Sunak wanting to “rebuild UK’s relations with the EU”. Why now, all of a sudden? Bloomberg says: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” I don’t buy it. Surely we heard about the invasion 12 […]
Nobody gave ‘informed consent’ for Brexit. That’s because, in the 2016 referendum, the electorate was not sufficiently informed. On the contrary, we were grossly misinformed. Legally, informed consent means that consent has been given with full knowledge of: ▪ the risks involved,▪ the probable consequences,▪ and the alternatives. – During the referendum, we were not fully aware of all […]
𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗙𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟲: Here’s a question for you, I wrote in my report of February 2016: ‘𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲?’ No, me neither. But that’s what those campaigning for Britain to leave the EU were expecting voters to do – vote to end our membership of the […]
It seems to me that there is very little reason to have confidence in our current government. I mean, how can you have faith in anything they say, and what evidence is there to suggest that they can do anything competently? With this in mind, it is particularly alarming that Conservative MPs are voting through […]
This is a long post from Oct 2019, and some of what it says would have seemed seem hard to believe back then. But now? Now when we see cuts to public services, the increasing wealth gap, steady defunding of council services, the running down of the NHS and talk of the use of artificial […]
The EU referendum was fundamentally flawed according to criteria set by ardent Brexiter and former Brexit Secretary, David Davis, on how referendums should be “done properly”. In July 2016, the Tory MP and then Chief Brexit Negotiator in Theresa May‘s new government, Mr Davis lauded the result of the EU referendum as fair, legal, and democratic. But […]
We face the biggest group of strikes in recent history today. That is not surprising. A belligerent and out-of-touch government is deliberately trying to crush the living standards of public sector workers when paying up makes total sense. Richard Murphy debunks the ‘no money’ myth that government would have us all believe. The government says […]
From 31 January to 1 February 2017, MPs debated the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill on whether to trigger Brexit (the Article 50 notice). MPs overwhelmingly backed the bill, supported by the Labour leadership, by 498 votes FOR, to 114 AGAINST. Ken Clarke was one of the 114 MPs. He was the ONLY Tory MP […]
So, finally, Sunak found himself in a position where sacking Nadhim Zahawi was his only option. It really does not look much like an act of leadership and integrity and, as many have pointed out, it’s not every sacking letter that manages to combine “it’s clear there has been a serious breach of the ministerial […]
For many years, in the UK as well as other countries, progress across a wide range of issues seemed to be the natural order of things. Almost every year, the economy would grow a little and people’s real (inflation-adjusted) wages would grow with them. Almost every year, in other words, most people would become just […]
Note: Names have been changed to protect identity. Ed. After seven years of abuse and apathy, I’ve called time on my local campaign against Brexit. Beyond the bubble They call it reaching “beyond the bubble”. The key to successful campaigning, say social media experts, is to win over new groups of supporters beyond those naturally […]
Richard Murphy has never been enamoured by corruption. His dislike of everything to do with it motivated the work he did on tax havens and the abuses that they permit. He has little more liking of corruption within government either. And it seems like we are plagued with it, again. For those old enough to […]
A sticker with Ukraine appeared on my car just after Russia began its new wave of invasion into Ukraine. I know, it’s just an empty gesture, but I simply wanted to express somehow my solidarity with the victims of Russian imperialism. For the 6 months of 2022, while I still lived in Scotland, this sticker […]
The UK government has been asked by the European Court Of Human Rights (ECHR) to respond to ‘credible allegations’ of Russian interference in the Brexit referendum. The case was brought by a group of cross-party MPs: Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas and Alyn Smith MP of the Scottish National Party (SNP). They lodged the claim with the international court based […]
This is an important summary of the situation from Jacob Öberg: Absolute must-read Brexit newsletter by Peter Foster which this week takes a shot at our ‘beloved’ Retained EU Law Bill (returning to the Commons) which is what Peter calls some ‘pretty crazy baggage’ from the outwardly sensible Sunak Government. Short recall, the REUL Bill […]
Conservative MPs are systematically ripping off Green Party branding in their communications to voters – a new low for a party that is now clearly ashamed to be seen for what it is, writes Tom Scott. What would be your first thought if you received a leaflet like one of those shown above from a […]
Boris Johnson has been urged to make a stunning comeback to frontline politics “for the sake of Britain, Brexit and British people”, reports the Daily Express. The paper (I really can’t bring myself to call it a newspaper) says there have been, “surging calls for the former Prime Minister to make a sensational return, with many Tories warning […]
Has the UK given more military aid to Ukraine than the EU? This is an investigation into a Brexiter’s claim about aid to Ukraine – 4-min video from journalist, Jon Danzig. A former advisor to NATO and the Ministry of Defence, Professor Gwythian Prins, claimed on BBC Radio 5 live that the UK has given […]
So, the new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, is worried that Britons are not numerate enough. He said he wants people to “feel more confident” when it comes to numbers and finances and plans to make maths compulsory study until the age of 18. Mr Sunak added that the UK must “reimagine our approach to numeracy” in […]
It would be easy to feel pretty despairing right now. After all, things have got steadily worse. We thought the NHS was at the brink in 2021. We had no idea how much further this callous government was prepared to push it, how much death and misery it would wilfully ignore, while pumping out propaganda […]
The most difficult thing about writing about economics at the moment is working out why it is that those who are in charge of our economy think that anything that they are doing makes any sense any more. As most economists would agree, when faced with a recession and the likelihood of rapidly falling inflation […]
I had made up my mind last night to write about lying before I read Chris Grey’s superb blog out today, December 16. I strongly recommend you read it, too. “In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”― George Orwell I was provoked into addressing the issue by a clip of last […]
In the bars and tea-rooms of the House of Commons there is always gossip. So when, at times, the level of gossip diminishes, to be replaced by a proportionate increase in discrete whispering, every Westminster watcher will instantly sense that something is afoot. But what? To begin with, that is not at all easy to […]
More than 30,000 people have read the story of the police visit to two women, and if you haven’t – you can catch up here! Fran Swan, of Fishpond, and Beverley Glock, of Lyme Regis, had registered for a public meeting for Chideock residents, which was held on Friday 25 November. They had to give […]
Our social contract – the ‘deal’ that makes us a civilised country – is under grave threat both practically and philosophically. And we are not talking about it. Practically, the UK is in a grave situation. We are in the midst of a serious cost-of-living crisis which will plunge over half of the UK population into fuel poverty […]
Recently I saw a story on West Country Voices. Two women wanted to sign up for a meeting with an MP to ask him an inconvenient question. As a result, they have been paid a visit by the police officer. This story never got attention it deserves. And it should. Because this is not only […]
Tavistock looked at its best this morning, its streets and buildings washed clean by overnight rain and gleaming under late November sun. Appearances are deceptive, though: a local told me the town was in decline, with shops closing and people increasingly resorting to food banks. In this it surely mirrors the fate of once prosperous […]
Following the pop-up ‘General Election Now’ campaigns in other Devon towns, Devon for Europe returned to the county’s capital with its first “proper” street stall to find out how the city’s Saturday shoppers are feeling about the present state of political affairs. Six years ago, Exeter voted to remain in the EU at the 2016 […]