Treachery from No. 10

Some might say that treachery is too harsh a word but I use this with intent.  The dictionary definitions all talk about betrayal of trust, deception, disloyalty and bad faith.  That seems to be a clear description of what has just transpired in London.

Charitably, we might say that the treachery came from over-zealous Number 10 speechwriters though I am minded to think that the words were all pre-approved by David Cameron, himself.

From Barack Obama, I didn’t expect anything positive.  Nothing to represent the wishes of the people of Britain.  After all, he is a strong proponent of the elite running the world rather than the voice of the people being heard.  Consider how he ignores the wishes of the American people and tries to rule by ‘Executive Order’ like a latter-day emperor.  I have long suspected Obama of being anti-British and his latest statements support my belief. 

I suppose he was influenced by his Kenyan father.  An awful lot of Africans raised in the colonial era, turned to the left for their political teaching and sought to blame their previous colonial  for the ills that befell their country, especially, post-independence.  It never occurs, to these people that having now enjoyed independence for 50+ years the mess that their countries are in, can be traced back to the imposition of left-wing ideologies that were not suited to Africa and, being left-wing, were always doomed to failure. 

But I digress.

Obama’s words and particularly the use of the British word ‘queue’, instead of the American ‘line’  are redolent of Cameron’s Project Fear team.  Number 10’s fingerprints are all over Obama’s threat to put a UK trade deal at the back of the line.  This man talks of a ‘special relationship’ and then threatens?  That is not the tone that Americans use, when talking to friends.  Obama’s words shame Americans. 

That won’t come as a surprise to many right-thinking Americans.  The Nobel Peace prize winner has a highly vindictive streak which he has displayed on many occasions, though mostly to his domestic ‘enemies’ (those who dare to disagree with the sainted Barack).

So back to Project Fear.

As has been said before, without a trade deal, UK exports to, and imports from, the US would be subject, under World Trade Organisation tariffs, to rates of 0-4%.  Hardly significant.  Indeed, one might wonder why we would even bother with a trade agreement.  But think of this another way, too.  The UK is the 5^th largest export market for the USA.  Exports total $56.4 billion or 3.8% of total US exports.  Germany represents a $49.9 billion market for American goods or 3.3% of total.  However, the UK exports $58.8 billion to the USA or 2.5% of US imports.  Germany, on the other hand exports $126.5 billion to the USA.  So the UK has a miniscule trade surplus with the USA of $2.4 billion while Germany has a surplus of $76.6 billion.  Put another way, British and American workers benefit, just about equally from the trade between the two countries, however, American workers are severely disadvantaged by the heavy trade imbalance it has with Germany.

Many people who voted Conservative in the May 2015 General Election, will have done so because they trusted the Tories.  They trusted their economic competence, probably above all else.  However,  I am sure that many didn’t migrate in droves to UKIP because they saw that only the Conservatives could actually deliver a referendum on EU membership.  At the same time, they would have expected that when the choice was presented to the British people, then something approaching fair play, would be deployed. 

Instead, we are seeing more and more dirty tricks being used.  Obama’s threat is just the latest in a long line of statements and half truths and out-right lies that are being pedalled by the Remain campaign. 

So let’s be clear, since we are talking about trade and I apologise to regular readers, for having to repeat it. 

Without a formal trade treaty , WTO tariffs apply and these range from 0-4%.

Remainians need to explain why, Germany and France, indeed the  whole EU would not seek to swiftly conclude a trade deal with an independent-again UK.  The UK represents a very large existing export market  for both of those countries.  Who, in their right mind (so that caveat probably excludes the In crowd) would throw away such an advantage?  You will have seen French farmers protesting, in the past and seen how disruptive they are.  Imagine the protests when a major market becomes shut to them, because of a fit of pique from the Eurocrats in Brussels.

The big issue with trade isn’t that a treaty couldn’t be concluded, within the self-imposed 2 year time-frame.  The big issue is why, no preliminary steps are being taken on this matter.  I know that some might say ‘well if we vote to remain, then we will have wasted money’ but please – suddenly we are worried about government waste?  What about flipping that on its head and saying that any prudent government has a duty to consider and plan for all possible outcomes. Instead of Cameron stacking the deck against a Leave vote and seconding civil servants to the In campaign, resources should be assigned to the ‘what if’ camp.  As in ‘what if the UK votes to regain its independence, what are the implications and what do we do’?

Obama has failed in the USA – he has spent the best part of eight years, creating division in America.  Destroying the US economy, politicising appointments and public discourse, like no other President before him.  That is the ‘legacy’ for which he will be remembered.  Fortunately, his term of office has less than a year to run.  You will have noted though, his presumption that even out of office, he can dictate that any UK treaty request will be ‘back of the queue’.  At least he thinks he can.  The problem with jumped-up emperors is that they start to believe their own narrative – there is no delusion like self-delusion.

So Obama’s threat is anyway empty.  It is unbecoming America but there you go.

The treachery from Number 10 is far worse though.  Many Conservatives will struggle to forgive the badly-advised Cameron.  He has said he will resign as PM before the next election – no doubt in time (if he delivers an In vote) to take-up his reward as the next EU President!.  The prospects for George Osborne to succeed him are fading fast.  Theresa May and Philip Hammond too.   Maybe Boris Johnson will get the nod from the Conservative Party, though I wouldn’t discount Michael Gove’s chances.

My advice to Conservative voters, in the upcoming local elections is don’t vote or vote UKIP.  Cameron and his clique do not represent Conservative values and, just as importantly, don’t listen to those that do.  Their actions, since before the launch of the official EU Referendum campaigns has been all about doing what is right for themselves and not doing what is right for the country.  The negotiations were a farce, from start to finish.  The end result? A worthless document that was being rubbished before the press release was even wet off the presses.  And has continued to be down-played by the EU elite, ever since.  You would know this if the UK media hadn’t already bought into Cameron’s lies and deceit, from day one.

The treachery of Cameron and Co. cannot go unpunished.  Patriots who have faith in the UK to stand as an independent nation, as we have done so for so much of our history, only have their vote with which to punish Cameron.  Use it wisely and vote Brexit.  And it wouldn’t be a bad thing to give them a hammering at the local elections, either!

EU half-truths

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 getting my response to their one-sided  and factually dubious document.

If you do bother to read this, you will immediately notice the innuendo and half-truths that run throughout.

The document states that 3 million jobs depend on the EU.  That is simply not true.  It has been estimated that 3 million jobs are dependent upon trade with the EU.  The fear that this so called ‘fact’ seeks to generate is that these jobs will disappear if Britons vote to leave the EU.  This is complete poppycock, utter rubbish, totally false – choose your own understanding.  As stated, these jobs are based on trade with the EU.  They are not dependent on membership of the EU.  The EU nations who trade with the UK do so on the basis of merit not charity.  They buy goods and services from the UK because those goods and services are offered at an acceptable level of quality and price.  If you read this leaflet you won’t find that in there.  You will just find the hint that these jobs will suddenly disappear if you vote leave.  This is shoddy and unbecoming a UK government.

The UK has attracted £540 billion of foreign direct investment over the last 10 years.  This  investment came about because of the UK’s pro-business policies not because of the EU. Policies that encourage businesses and allow for things like ‘zero hour’ contracts.  Policies that have led to a diminishing of union power, such that strikes are now a rarity, most obviously within the private sector.  Policies that allow for a reasonable relationship between employer and employee.  In certain EU countries, an employer doesn’t so much employ a worker as adopt them – it can be next to impossible to terminate employees when times get hard.   The UK is also moving towards a low company tax position, which also helps investment, though, meddling with other ‘taxes’ might erode this plus point.

The leaflet suggests that on balance and on the judgment of the UK government, the UK gets a good deal from the EU.  Consider, the UK contributes £350 million each week to the EU budget.  Of this, something less than half returns as grants and subsidies.  That means that around £175 million stays in the EU.  This pays for the fat cat tax free salaries and very generous pensions of the Eurocrats in Brussels.  It also subsidises certain EU industries, particularly otherwise inefficient ones, such as agriculture.  Irony alert.  The EU subsidises EU agriculture and puts trade barriers in the way of imports from developing countries.  Then because these countries, in Africa, for example, cannot export to the EU, their farmers suffer and so the EU then gives them aid.  Lewis Carroll couldn’t have dreamt up such idiocy!

Suppose that this £175 million was instead spent in the UK.  Or rather used to pay down the UK National Debt.  This currently stands at £1.6 trillion.  In a year, the UK could reduce this by £9.1 billion – not a huge amount but a start.  Further reductions could be made, because NHS spending and spending on schools and housing and welfare, would not need to be an increasing spiral to meet the demands of a rapidly rising immigrant influx.  This surely is the best way to secure the future for our children and grand children.  Far, far better a solution than shackling our country to the EU where, in countries such as Spain and Greece, youth unemployment is in excess of 50% - is that the future we want?  The EU is failing the old, failing the taxpayers and failing the youth and future generations.

Much is made by the UK government and various international organisations and of course the world’s former darling, President Obama, of the risk to the world economy from a ‘leave’ vote.  Inflation in the UK is threatened because of the instability.  At other times and when not discussing the EU vote, inflation is being positively encouraged by economists and world leaders as a cure to the stagflation that is facing world economies.  Go figure!

As per the leaflet, supposedly losing the UK’s full access to the EU’s Single Market would make exports to Europe ‘harder and would increase costs’.  Note the conflation of Europe and the EU.  The EU is not Europe it just contains a number of European countries, not all of them.  Note also the certainty.  Not might make exports hard but definitely would.   How on earth can anyone say that?  No discussions on a post-Brexit settlement have been undertaken so how can anyone say with such certainty that this would be the case?  Pure and simple, scare-mongering.

Then the leaflet claims that the rise of budget airlines and cheaper flights is down to the EU.  Even if it were true (and I seem to recall that the USA and Asia have such low-cost carriers without the aid of the EU), does anyone really believe that post-Brexit, airfares throughout Europe will suddenly increase and we would be back to the highly inefficient state-run monopoly airlines, of the past?

Now look at the benefits of the renegotiation that Cameron’s government ‘achieved’.

The UK now has a ‘special status’ in a reformed EU.  This special status means that we will not have to join the Euro.  We will not be part of further political integration, we will be able to impose ‘tough (their words, not mine) restrictions on welfare immigrants who have not contributed to the UK social security system and there is a commitment to reduce ‘red tape’.

When I read of the victories and major concessions I seethe.  That we have come to this.  The UK is allowed to not join the Euro or follow further political integration.  The UK is an independent sovereign nation.  The UK has been such an entity for hundreds of years before many of these countries existed!  But now we are to be allowed.  Excuse me if I sound less than grateful.  The UK doesn’t need to be allowed such concessions.  We have them by right.  They have been hard-won and paid for in blood through wars and struggle.  I hate to hark back to the second world war but the UK then stood alone in Europe, against the Nazis.  Without the UK and its allies from its colonies and dominions, Europe would have been under the Nazi boot, for ever.  No bureaucrat in Brussels or newly established democracy can give us these rights.  Nor can they take them away.

This document has cost something like £9.3 million to publish and distribute.  Cameron’s government spuriously claim that it is not unfair to publish this at taxpayer expense, because the ‘government has a view’ and wants to push that view.  Can you imagine the outcry there would be if, going into a General Election, which is a referendum on the governing party, the government of the day, published, at taxpayer expense, a defence of its policies and its future political programme?  Everyone would see it for what it is.  Government propaganda more usually associated with tin-pot dictators in banana republics.

This leaflet shames British democracy.   In a recent poll by YouGov, 53% of those people that expressed a definite opinion, said that the government’s actions were unfair.  Much is made of Cameron’s public school education (Eton) – well he doesn’t seem to have picked-up the sense of fair play that is supposed to epitomise such institutions.

I suppose, as an ever more committed ‘Brexiteer’, I should be happy.  This document and the secondment of government officials to bolster the ‘In’ campaign speak to the desperation of that campaign.  Lies aren’t working, unfair play isn’t working.  No matter how they bend the rules to try and achieve an ‘In’ vote, the people are stubbornly sticking to their guns.  At the moment, Brexit and In are neck and neck.  More immigration stories and such and the argument swings more and more in favour of the UK regaining control of our country, once more.

The only choice now, is Brexit.  Use your vote and use it correctly.