Comments on ‘Lessons for the EU from the Austro-Hungarian Empire’ (The Economist, ‘Charlemagne’ on 01/09/2018). We take issue with the author’s assumptions and the claim that all will be well in the end. Even usually uncritical Remainers have noticed that there is something amiss with the EU. The Economist (TE) has a revealing article on … More Spinning Past the Point
The White Paper (WP), following the agreement of (much of) the Cabinet in early July, sets out the details of the UK Government’s latest proposal for the UK to leave the European Union. This posts offers comments on selected ‘highlights’ from the paper. In her Foreword the Prime Minister refers to the result of the … More Chequers White Paper
This post looks at these two terms as they are applied in practice by the EU. (the first sentence) We illustrate how these terms are used, and often misused, by the EU. This post looks at these two terms as they are applied in practice by the EU. In various posts we have said a … More Subsidiarity and Competence
In this post we continue our commentary on the EU’s draft withdrawal agreement and consider a section of the draft withdrawal agreement that takes up the theme of Ireland. (See Part 1 for how to download the draft agreement.) The Irish question is key to the ‘negotiations’ and has been weaponised against the UK as … More Draft EU/UK Agreement – 2
This draft agreement was prepared by the European Commission and published on 15 March 2018: The 123-page document can be downloaded from here: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/negotiation-agreements-atom-energy-15mar_en.pdf This very long and tedious document translates into legal terms the intention of the EU to prevent the emergence of a dynamic and critical competitor just off its coast. In summary, … More Draft EU/UK Agreement – 1
David Cameron failed to get a fair hearing, let alone a decent deal, after he promised a renegotiation with the EU and a referendum on the outcome. He lost the subsequent Referendum; this was attributed by many as a vote on the big issue he had attempted to get Brussels to accept – immigration. When … More Wisdom and War
A cynic is “a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing” [Oscar Wilde]. In relation to Brexit a typical Whitehall mandarin knows the risk of everything and the opportunity of nothing. Except they don’t know the risks, they are guessing at the cost of Brexit using estimation methods already shown … More Canny or Carney?
Can the market adjust if today’s food supply chains cost more after Brexit? The chances of leaving the EU without a deal are now very serious according to the Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, and Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, agrees. One of the most serious alarms about this possibility was raised a while ago … More Bacon, Lettuce and Tomatoes
Depressing The 1930’s Great Depression hit the USA hard but the suffering was less in the UK because in 1931 the Bank of England abandoned the Gold Standard and the Fed did not until 1933 (although it was only fully abandoned by Nixon in 1971). For the economy to recover, unemployment and low wages persisted; … More Quickies-3
(Sung by Mel Brooks – as Hitler impersonator – in the 1983 film, “To Be Or Not To Be”) If “Nagging is the repetition of unpalatable truths” (Edith Summerskill) then once again we will remind Remainers that the European Union has failed in its original goals. The idealists who conceived and designed the EU wanted … More All I want is peace. Peace! Peace!
This EU Won't Work 