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
5th 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!
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