The 2017 Parliament needs to see through the twin tasks of economic recovery and the successful negotiation of a new relationship with the EU.
Both these mighty tasks were started before. The task of economic rescue began in 2010.
We have seen through the first long part of the recovery, cutting the deficit and creating conditions for many new jobs to be generated. Today many more people are in work, and more have better paid jobs. We now need to raise our sights, to work smarter so more people can be better paid. We need to continue the good progress to getting more people into work. Once in work we need to help them train, improve, and gain promotion. We also need to be encouraging of enterprise, making it easier for people to set up their own businesses, and to grow those businesses.
The task of leaving the EU whilst improving our relationship with Europe began last summer after the vote. We now need to bring people together to back a vision of what an independent UK looks like. It can be so much better. We want to be open to the world and a leader of freer world trade. We want to increase our collaborations on research, culture, investment and enterprise with the whole world, not turn our backs on European joint ventures. We do not wish to close our borders, but to welcome students, tourists, people of talent, executives of large global companies and those with the skills we need at home.
The overriding task is to get the law through to complete our exit from the EU, and to negotiate a friendly Agreement on our future trade and relations with the EU that helps them as well as us. The new Parliament will then need to move on to make those changes to our laws we need to make so that our newfound freedom leads to some improvement. The Conservatives have made clear we do not intend to remove any of the employment rights or environmental protections that have come from the EU, but to incorporate them in UK law. There they are safe, unless a party in the future with a majority wants to amend or change them having stated so in a Manifesto.
We do wish to plan for changes to the current EU laws over fishing and farming. We think we need a fishing policy that is kinder to both our fish and our fishermen than the present policy. We want an agriculture policy that helps UK farmers produce more of our food, and supports landscapes where the farmer has costs to maintain them.
I am conscious that people who voted Remain were worried about possible economic damage. So far the UK economy has continued to grow, to generate more jobs, and to only suffer the same uptick in inflation that Germany and the USA have suffered, mainly owing to oil prices. I will work tirelessly in the new Parliament if elected to see through policies that put continued growth and prosperity first.
Promoted by Fraser McFarland on behalf of John Redwood, both of 30 Rose Street Wokingham RG40 1XU
May 3, 2017
On the issue of “improving our relationship with Europe” and the recent coverage of the PM’s meeting with the President of the European Commission, I am surprised that the media does not seem to have reviewed the story of Mr Juncker’s appointment in mid 2014. What seemed to be a case of the Abilene Paradox took place, and seemed to harden ex-PM’s Cameron’s position w.r.t. the EU. Following on from the Lisbon Treaty the process of the appointment of Mr Juncker probably contributed a great deal to where the current relationship is.
The media really ought not be questioning the current PM after the meeting with Mr Juncker, it needs to be recapping the June 2014 stories and questioning EU leaders about Mr Juncker’s appointment.
May 3, 2017
Those who have been up in arms over Russia’s supposed interference in the US election need to turn their attention to the EU & German Govt’s clear effort to interfere in ours. The twitch up of the May-Juncker dinner and orchestrated leak in a friendly German newspaper is clearly calculated to undermine the Conservatives with a view to getting a hung parliament.
May 3, 2017
Stitch up.
I assume an ideal EU outcome would be Tim Farron as PM and Keir Starmer in charge of ‘negotiations’ with the EU
May 3, 2017
Indeed, the Laurel & Hardy combination without the comedy!
zorro
May 4, 2017
JR, car registration numbers down by nearly 20 percent. May and Zgrayling should be proud of themselves for their continued gree stupidity. Why would people buy cars when Grayling warned them to beware if buying diesels! Yet shipping, trains and lorrys somehow are different in his deluded mind! Diesel powered generators back up for wind farms. Are they really that stupid to want to harm the economy?
May 3, 2017
Dear Caterpillar–The PM should state unequivocally, loudly and clearly in the Tory Manifesto that we shall not be paying one brass farthing and when she wins, probably by an increased landslide, she should, that very day, inform the Brussels cast of characters that negotiation has ended. It is pitiful that they should think that obligations are obligations just because they say so. Juncker doesn’t like the idea of his wonderful EU being equated to a Golf Club but so what?”Legal precision” is what Barnier just said he wants so he should be asked where in the Treaties it says, legally and precisely of course, what he thinks we owe. The EU incurred and signed up for the liabilities without too much doubt I should have thought.
May 3, 2017
Indeed, it is time to be very precise and very legal. We do not pay a penny to leave and we will no longer contribute to projects which will not benefit the UK whether existing or not, and demand recompense for those assets which we can no longer use and which will solely be used by the EU. They will have to find alternative funding for their schemes. No economic deal would make up for any exit fee, and we should rely on MFN WTO. I no longer see any point in negotiations. The situation has changed, and, to be frank, I do not trust them. I look at what happened to Greece, these Eurocrats do not give a damn. Let us see what happens when we give them a date and turn off the tap…..
zorro
May 3, 2017
And they ought to be scrutinising the EU’s attempts at interference in our election: Frau Merkel’s unhelpful remarks (which were uncharacteristically outspoken for her), M Hollande’s repeated threats, the leak to the German press about the Downing St dinner, the upping to 100 bn euros of the ransom etc. – and all after their holier than thou protestations about the Russians!
May 3, 2017
Rose, “Ransom” is the right term, how does that fit in with their cosy treaty statements?
May 4, 2017
Brown signed the Lisbon Treaty, He was not elected and Blair had promised a referendum on the agreement, I don’t think the English owe anything promised by a Scottish Usurper
May 3, 2017
Listening to Laura Kuenssberg one would think that the EU had never done anything wrong – that the tough talker is Theresa May and no-one else. Kuenssberg seems determine to make news rather than report it, so I no longer want to hear what she says and will not listen.
May 3, 2017
The Conservatives have made clear they do not intend to remove any of the employment rights or environmental protections that have come from the EU, but to incorporate them in UK law – and May even wants to build on them.
Another huge mistake by May. Her appointment of the lefty dope Mathew Taylor is yet another, as is her & Osborne’s price and wage controls, her expensive energy policy another, her attacks on the self employed, her enforced gender pay reporting, her endless waste on HS2, green crap, Hinkley the list is endles.
The over protection of employees kills jobs, deters companies from every taking people on and stops people leaning how to work. This harms the choice of jobs available to them, which is the real protection for employees.
If they do not like a job they can take another. Easy hire and fire is really the best protection for workers in the end, best for companies and best for the economy too. Time for May to get real and grow up at her age.
May 3, 2017
@lifelogic
wholeheartedly agree.
If an employee decides to leave it’s their decision, no compensation to the employer, no need to justify their decision, no unfair termination claims or tribunals, they just walk away.
If an employer wants to terminate, they’ll need to think a hundred times and make sure they have a bundle of cash to cover the legal expenses and the practically inevitable compensation award. That’s not to mention the amount of time that will be expended in their attempt to defend their decision.
May 3, 2017
There is something that could be added to Zero Hours contracts, namely that when a company books a worker for a particular shift, then that company honours that commitment fully
I have seen cases where a shift is booked and because of a downturn in business, for whatever reason, that shift has been cancelled to the detriment of the worker…
May 3, 2017
LL, well said. But her appalling record goes before her. Remember she claimed the Tories were the nasty party. In her deluded mind she thinks swinging her party to left to the New Labour position some how rectifies this!
Do not expect anything over than EU light and a lot of spin to falsely claim otherwise.
JR, you are incorrect on a number of points in your blog. The exit did not start last summer, the letter was not even sent as promise last year. Do not represent the deficit reduction as an achievement, Osborne failed every target and prediction. He falsely pegged the reduction to GDP when that was not his promise. The structural deficit was going to be balanced by 2015, then revised then revised again and now kicked into the never never by Hammond. Hardly the success you portray.
Leaving the EU is not as difficult as remainers or the EU would like us to believe. Nor do we have to accept threats by the EU, France and Germany. Nor the interfering in our elections as they are doing to dilute Brexit. May should cancel any further meetings with Junker, he demonstrated a distinct lack of trust and should be treated with disdain for doing so. Start responding like for like. Stand up for our country unlike the weasel Cameron, Blaire etc.
May 3, 2017
Sometimes you make some extremely salient points LL , but I also wonder why you bother involving yourself in humanities and politics( which of course are the arts ) at all since you despise ‘the Arts’ ,and all the people concerned so vehemently.
May 3, 2017
Dear Margaret–The way I see it is that the “Arts” are (I generalise of course) jolly fine as a hobby but not much else. And that applies to “Art”, in the singular, especially at School. I find it very odd the waste of time at School spent splashing paint around. The Arts being held to be on a par with Science in this hard to understand ever so technical age is a bit of a joke.
May 3, 2017
No, I do not despise, “The Arts”. Not at all, just the state subsidised lefty loon arts, the BBC and most lefty “actors”. “The Arts” should compete for customers, for sponsorship or for charitable donations from individuals and that is just fine with me. It is when government intervenes it usually all goes wrong.
My personal taste is for early music, choral music, Monteverde, William Byrd plus perhaps some Bach, Mozart, Vaughan Williams & Wagner. I also love visiting some of the many fabulous gardens in France, Italy, England and Wales.
May 3, 2017
Lifelogic: your frequent bluster and dashes to the keyboard are leading you astray. As Mr Redwood has frequently explained, the point is to take on all the legislation you refer to and then gradually remove what is not considered necessary, as the whole Parliamentary process will then be quicker and simpler.
May 3, 2017
“Very Rapidly” would be far better than “gradually”.
May 3, 2017
Isn’t this essentially the same comment you’ve made to each daily post by JR for the last 2 weeks (and maybe more) ?
Not that I entirely disagree with your libertarian ideals, but you offer no explicit alternative. Just accusing anyone who operates in any shade of regulation or compromise as being a ‘lefty’ is simply as crass as those who accuse anyone who dislikes the EU of being a ‘racist’.
I don’t mean to start any conflict, but you’re using JRs blog comments as a platform, perhaps start your own blog, I’d certainly read it.
May 3, 2017
Following Indian independence, they maintained British law, unchanged, for 8 years.
And that was a semi violent break from a semi colonial regime.
Its.unwise to change law quockly be ausr you dont like who wrote it.
May 3, 2017
More potty discussions on the BBC’s lefty Newsnight program. With Evan Davis, Yanis Varoufakis, Mariana Mazzucato why do they never have a sensible economist on? Or indeed almost anyone sensible? Daft questions and daft answers from beginning to end.
May 3, 2017
Lifelogic
I started to view it (not much else on) but soon changed channel, and then viewed a prerecorded film.
Its not only the guests, Evan Davis is rather too fond of his own voice and opinions, even if on a rare occasion he does have someone interesting on, over half the programme is about him, with his constant interruptions and views.
May 3, 2017
BBC Licence Fee debate cancelled.
The petition debate about TV licences (which was due to happen on Monday 8 May) has had to be cancelled because of the general election.
I hope that you will push for this to be reinstated once when you get back Mr Redwood.
May 3, 2017
My goodness, the BBC is acting like a mouthpiece for the EU.
Abolish TV Licences and let the EU pay the Piper, since they’re already calling the tune.
May 3, 2017
3 lefties . Varoufakis is at least offering some interesting insights re EU negotiations, albeit his objective presumably was Eurozone taxpayers would give Greece an enormous bung which he and his big spending left wing colleagues would then have splurged in Brown-like ‘investment’
May 3, 2017
But at least Yanis Varoufakis has told us not to get involved with EU negotiations as they are a bunch of gangsters.
Lord Lawson has it right: just offer them free trade with no strings attached and then wait out the two years patiently before leaving.
May 3, 2017
Only if it is our long term interest and the EU nations demonstrably & democratically regain control of the unaccountable bureaucrats.
Otherwise we revert WTO terms sooner rather than invest our energy elsewhere. Spending effort on the EU as is not the best choice.
We need to stand firm and see it through before EU unaccountables have control of a putative military. That is scary.
May 3, 2017
Sainsbury’s profits ,I believe are down by 8.2%. This is being blamed on Brexit. My financial skills are desperately lacking, however I simply don’t understand how Brexit can be the trigger to make people spend less at Sainsburys. Many are spending more at stores such as Lidl and Aldi . I can make a connection here as far as the reduction in Sainsbury’s profits go , but perhaps I am missing something. Blame is an illogical pursuit when the reverse argument is posited as a reality. Desire and preference should not be mistaken for logic. Logic takes into account all facts and input and to be logical they must be synchronically be reversible.
I was on Twitter last night reading some comments and fatuous arguments were put forward such as ‘ Mrs May embarrasses him’ . These are educated people. Do they not understand that embarrassment is a state of mind engendered by their own psyche and not a foible of the object they are pointing their innermost perceptions of how people should behave, project politics.
Reply Overall food sales are up, with the discounters gaining market share. Prices are competitive eroding profit margins. THis was a trend well before the vote.
May 3, 2017
margaret
In certain areas of the UK and by certain people, stores such a Sainsbury’s and M&S were regarded as more upper class. I met one lady for instance who used to shop at a discount retailer in her lunch break but carefully placed her shopping in a “higher class” bag before she returned to quite a humble office job. Sad but true I assure you!!
There are still many thousands of shoppers who would give you a dirty look if you suggested they shop in a cheapo shop.
May 3, 2017
Sainsbury’s used to have good wine buyers, I remember. But that was 50 years ago. Gosh I’m getting old!
May 3, 2017
Lidl- need to speed checkout thoroughput. Cant speak for Aldi. Its almost a queue to take money from punters. Dont understand why they dont “queue bust”. The only reason i don’t go more often or spend more is the queues!
May 3, 2017
Sainbury’s has seen a downturn in profits for the last 3-4 years, so as said probably down to the Lidl & Aldi effect…
May 3, 2017
Much product is imported and the pound fell, making them more expensive. The supermarkets were unable to raise prices much due to fierce competition.
May 3, 2017
Sainsbury is a public listed company and when results are down shareholders wish to know why! Therefore, Brexit is a ready-made excuse for the Board of Directors to use in their excuses to the shareholders. Fun and games…..expect much more? Right, John?
Reply Did Sainsburys refer to Brexit? Several of the main food retailers have been reporting volume and margin problems for many months, which is more to do with discounter competition than with politics.
May 3, 2017
I’d also like to see a rejuvenation of independent UK diplomacy worldwide.
Like you, I look forward to a new ‘friendly agreement’ with the EU, but more importantly with the countries that comprise the EU – how long they exist as countries is up for debate. But unfortunately, like the weak bureaucracy it is, the EU is not displaying the same attitude towards us. Let’s hope that our patience and steadfastness (which made our diplomacy so effective) remains intact throughout these negotiations.
May 3, 2017
And the opening gambit from the Japanese owned FT we have a new divorce bill totalling €100 billion.
What planet are these people on.
As for getting people into better jobs etc this will never happen whilst we keep importing half a million immigrants annually.
May 3, 2017
This info is on most business news (CNBC around midnight on 2/05, all other channels have been getting it during the night).
Don’t you think your dig at Japanese-owned FT says more about you than about the FT (which after all is a financial/business daily)?
May 3, 2017
As read somewhere else: “weighing up policy implementation” should give people “time to develop considered rather than knee-jerk view about politics”.
How good if such a mantra could be used more widely.
May 3, 2017
Are you saying that the FT does not have a political bias hef?
May 3, 2017
The enormous size of the EU’s requested exit bill is either an indication of just how expensive it would have been for us to have remained in the EU or else an attempt to punish us.
May 3, 2017
The more unreasonable the better, actually.
If they want the money to be worth the paper it’s printed on then they’d better leave us in a fit state to pay.
May 3, 2017
Half a million immigrants? Don’t forget the vast majority of those who come illegally are single males. Once here and the uncheckable story is told to ensure they stay here . . .the claim to bring their ( again uncheckable ) extended family get the thumbs up to join the one who committed the criminal act to start with. No wonder they are so desperate to go through many other safe countries to reach here, knowing our govt has a bottomless bucket of taxpayer’s cash to give them everything that most of us have had to work all our lives for.
May 3, 2017
Common sense points to those that arent paid by vested interests needing low paid or subsidized labour.
May 4, 2017
bigneil
The reason the immigration figures are at odds with National insurance numbers is simple.
It is reported that they do not actually count people coming in, they simply check a random sample number at airports during part of a 24 hour cycle, and then make an estimate.
Amazing when you consider all passports are swiped, (or should be) so the count could be accurate if they really wanted it to be.
You would have to include sea ports and private airports as well of course.
May 6, 2017
According to UNHCR, immigrants crossing the Med were: women 17%, children 25%, men 58%.
May 3, 2017
As for getting people into better jobs etc this will never happen whilst we keep importing half a million immigrants annually Quite right and in all the discussions about freedom of movement no mention has ever been made about Inter-Company Transfer (ICT) or Tier 2 visa abuse, why not?
May 3, 2017
Why not? Because it is irrelevant for Brexit: ICT Tier 2 visa only applies to non-EEA staff.
May 4, 2017
I am well aware that ICT and Tier 2 visas only apply to none EU people. My point being bigneil quoted the following Don’t forget the vast majority of those who come illegally are single males if they are coming from the EU they cannot be illegals! So my point stands!
May 5, 2017
So the question should be: how many single males from the EU, how many from the RotW in the half a million immigrants.
And quoting BigNeil “the vast majority of those who come illegally are single males”.
Maybe my distorted logics would indicate that these illegal immigrants are non-EU, following your own statement.
You cannot have it both ways. Sorry.
May 3, 2017
But it is already more than 1/2 a million and those are only the ones accounted for by NINOs. What about all the overstayers and other illegals, all the asylum seekers who aren’t counted, and all the children?
May 3, 2017
If you believe the films this is how the Mafia goes about striking bargains – they make a starting offer, and if that offer is refused they may make another offer but it will be worse than the original offer, and so on. No doubt if the UK government continues to defy the EU then they will continue recalculating the “Brexit bill” upwards. That is despite this morning’s denials that there is any “Brexit bill”, or indeed any intent to punish the UK for its refusal to become a subject of a European federation.
May 3, 2017
They imagine by putting out nonsense figures they’ll somehow scare us into changing our minds. Even more proof that they REALLY don’t know us at all.
May 3, 2017
A decent article from Anthony Hilton in The Standard yesterday :- “The hit from hard Brexit could be softer than feared” based on academic research soon to be published by Policy Exchange.
“The coming curbs on unskilled immigration make it likely that many low-paid jobs….will disappear-the firms will have to automate or go out of business.This will hit overall growth but counter-intuitively because it is the below average low-paid jobs to go first,the average of what is left will be higher.
Which leads the academics to conclude that though a hard Brexit falling back on WTO rules might cause a drop by 2025 of perhaps 2% in total output as measured by GDP,most will probably not notice any difference because per capita GDP will hardly fall at all”.
Will the government be able to wean itself off Ponzi economics though?
May 3, 2017
About 2% is the EU Commission’s estimate of the increase in collective GDP of the member states which has been brought about by the Single Market. For the UK the benefit has been below that average, more like 1%.
May 3, 2017
Mrs May is in a unique position. Never before has a Prime Minister sought re-election on a platform of doing what the people have told her to. It’s good to see the EU campaigning so vigorously for her, even if that wasn’t what they intended.
JR hopes for a “friendly” agreement. Well, he’s an optimist. I suspect there’ll be no agreement, and it won’t be friendly. There’s nothing like money for generating bad blood.
Mrs May has few friends among those who comment here. Now the election’s on, however, her wisdom in seeking to fill the working-class vote vacuum should be amply justified. I wish her, JR and their party every success and beg to add that you can still get useful odds on a Tory landslide.
May 3, 2017
@eeyore; “Never before has a Prime Minister sought re-election on a platform of doing what the people have told her to.”
Not quite, Mr Heath sought re-election in Feb 1974 on such a platform, the voters told him they had changed their minds! Then in Oct 1974 Mr Wilson also sought re-election asking if they still happy for him to carry on with his manifesto mandate and they said yes.
Both leaders, as Mrs May has done, want to the country well before they needed to, without having lost the confidence of the HoC.
May 3, 2017
Didn’t Enoch and the Ulster unionists have something to do with it? Enoch was telling people to vote Labour if they wanted out of the EEC, and the Ulstermen regarded Heath as a traitor on the Union too.
May 3, 2017
@rose; No, the incident you refer to was after the GE had been called and only five days before polling day!
Heath called the Feb ’74 election because of the NUM industrial action that had all but brought the country to a halt, he asked “Who should govern Britain” in effect, elected politicians or unelected union barons.
May 3, 2017
Jerry
Neither Heath or Wilson had referendums prior to election, they had manifestos so if you count those every PM every elected would fall into that category
May 3, 2017
An election is not the same as a singular binary referendum. So i gather you support direct democracy?
May 5, 2017
@anon (and Walter); Mrs May has not asked for a renewed referendum mandate, she has asked for a renewed manifesto mandate, to do the former would mean holding a second Brexit referendum, not holding a GE.
May 3, 2017
Mrs May is clearly a lefty socialist ex(?) remainer and does not deserve any friends as her misguided Milibandesque economic policies (tax borrow & waste, daft grand projects, big government, high tax, high regulation, more religeous discriminatory schools, interventions, price and wage & controls, gender pay drivel, the virtual state monopoly at the NHS and in Education) are all extremely damaging.
The Tories, even one led by May, is however a far better option than a Jeremy Corbyn government wagged by the tail by the dire Nicola Sturgeon & SNP. Hopefully the sensible wing of the Tories will get some sense into her head somehow or replace her.
Reply The aim is for Mrs May to get an enhanced majority in her own name which will give her more authority.
May 3, 2017
I hope she does indeed win an enhanced majority. Also that after the election she remembers that she is supposed to be a Conservative and not Ed Milliband in drag.
No one sensible wants the alternative of a Corbyn dog wagged by Nicola Sturgeon & the Libdims.
Her remarks about the Brussels bureaucrats intervening in UK democracy today are spot on. Well done Theresa May today at least!
May 3, 2017
I am unsure about Mrs May. It is not clear exactly what deal she will accept from the EU. That is probably good as they don’t know either. What I do know is that in the election she is the least worst option by some considerable distance.
On another topic, UK’s net contribution to EU is about 10 billion Euros per year so how the EU have come up with a divorce settlement of 10 years of contributions is perplexing. Still, I’m sure they can point to the relevant legal agreements to justify it eh ?
May 3, 2017
Two things we have learnt recently from the gratuitous comments of others: –
1. That Mrs. May lives in a different galaxy to Mr. Juncker, and
2. The more Conservative MPs that are elected, the worse it will be for Scotland
are not really believable but I figure why take the risk so shall be supporting your Party in the hope they are true.
May 3, 2017
Different galaxy depends on where you are viewing it from…
Junker and Mrs May ARE in different galaxies – Junker is clearly not in OUR galaxy or on planet earth…
May 3, 2017
Everyone lives in a different galaxy to Juncker!
May 3, 2017
Nice to see a positive posting at election time, lets hope the next Government and Chancellor who ever they may be, agrees with the points you make.
For too long the self employed and the small businesses in this Country have been harassed beyond frustration with regulation, health and safety, and constantly changing tax rates and complicated tax schemes.
For too long the message has gone out to the population from Governments of all colours, that they know how best to manage our lives with financial incentives, Benefits and subsidies which have discouraged work and rewarded some of the feckless and lazy, and at the same time, they have put financial obstacles and social schemes in the way of necessary help for the genuinely sick and disabled.
Time for change.
As a local constituent, you have my vote, not because there is no viable alternative, but because I prefer your vision of how the future of this Country can be.
May 3, 2017
I wish the Tory party were more like yourself John.
Sadly, Mrs May is going to keep the environmental protection laws but I hope this does not mean she will have a change of heart over renewables and bringing forward a more sensible approach to energy.
For me, a Tory vote is the only way forward.
May 3, 2017
We either have socialist T May or the even dafte socialist J Corbyn a dog wagged by the SNP. May is clearly the lesser of two evils and by a considerable magin.
May 3, 2017
The Conservative party and Brexit will supply us with a fairer and more prosperous country. Even if elements of it are edging too far to the left because they are not the left and so will implement more prudent economic and fewer counterproductive social policies. However it can be that much better if Theresa May and the rest of the party acknowledged that the greatest drag on achieving that is the state. Government has it place and uses but they are limited and when those limits are breached they become not the solution but the problem.
I understand why they do not not overtly at least because to do so would be political suicide. The left have created and are promising more rights, privileges and largess which once given or promised will not be readily relinquished. Culminating in an entitlement and dependency culture and a multiplicity of vested interests who sole aim is to grow fat off the largess. A decadence that the populace are happy to embrace and promote despite that it can only end in abject failure at some point in the not too distant future. A taste of which we have consistently been subject to at the end of the frequent busts at the end of booms. Each one becoming more onerous that those that went before.
May 3, 2017
Allow me to quote passages from the above article. I thoroughly agree with every single word. They are important because they summarize the fears and hopes of both Brexiteers and Remainers perfectly.
“We now need to bring people together to back a vision of what an independent UK looks like. It can be so much better. We want to be open to the world and a leader of freer world trade. We want to increase our collaborations on research, culture, investment and enterprise with the whole world, not turn our backs on European joint ventures. We do not wish to close our borders, but to welcome students, tourists, people of talent, executives of large global companies and those with the skills we need at home.
“The overriding task is to get the law through to complete our exit from the EU, and to negotiate a friendly Agreement on our future trade and relations with the EU that helps them as well as us.
“We do wish to plan for changes to the current EU laws over fishing and farming. We think we need a fishing policy that is kinder to both our fish and our fishermen than the present policy. We want an agriculture policy that helps UK farmers produce more of our food, and supports landscapes where the farmer has costs to maintain them.”
My question: Can any of this be achieved by negotiating with the EU while we are still in the EU or the Single Market? No? If we leave the single market, will there be “possible economic damage.”? You betcha! Mr Juncker has promised that already.
So two choices: leave the “EU Single Market” and do all the things you suggest, Mr Redwood, and crash the economy as we become a “third country”, or stay in and betray the British electorate.
There is another possibility: Join EFTA and stay in the EEA. But – hey – nobody has considered that yet because it is… erm… because it is…
May 3, 2017
The aims and objectives in this morning’s blog I support wholeheartedly . A Conservative manifesto based on this would win any election . The longer term aim to rid ourselves of the National Debt is also laudable – no-one in their right mind would argue against this . The question is – ” What is the most effective and expedient way to achieve this ?”. As a long term believer in low taxation I would recommend this approach ; it is an incentive to everyone and always creates more revenue .
May 3, 2017
Mr. Redwood,
Your principles and effort are most encouraging, lets hope your colleagues in government think likewise.
May I respectfully add one more principle; make government smaller. That means less tax, less intrusion into normal peoples responsibilities, and stop trying to do all things for everybody. If government gets out of the way, your ideals will stand a greater chance of success.
May 3, 2017
As an outsider who has worked with British companies for over fifty years in the import/export business I am heartily sorry to see Britain in this fix. Brexit is going to happen but the degree of separation and renewal depends very much now on the actors in place and regret to say that I don’t think the UK side has sufficient expertise out there at this time to negotiate its way out of this mess and so come up with some sort of acceptable deal. We are all heading for the most awful crash out if this keeps up.
So sorry for the UK where I have a lot of good decent friends. Pat Murphy Co.Cork
May 3, 2017
Pat, we (the UK) are leaving the EU not leaving Europe.
I have friends in Dublin and Galway and they will continue to be friends, leaving the EU will not change that.
Many thanks for your concerns in any case.
May 3, 2017
Dear Pat Murphy,
That’s interesting – is this down to incompetence or an attempt by the establishment to discredit brexit and it’s supporters such as John Redwood.?
My view is they are being led into an almighty elephant trap that will settle the Eu debate (in the way that David Cameron intended when he agreed to the referendum.)
Brexit means Brexit..but impossible (to agree a bespoke trade deal in less than 2 years) also means impossible…
May 3, 2017
Why crash out and not soar out? Why don’t you join us?
You can do without the bullying over your taxation and we won’t be there any more to stick up for you. You aren’t a net recipient any more. Your trade is mostly with us and the USA so no point in staying in the Protection Racket. You followed us in; you followed us in not joing the Schengen area; why not follow us out? You would keep the CTA etc without the EU insisting on a hard border with Ulster. You would regain your own properly valued currency to help your economy. You know it makes sense. Only your politicians get anything out of it, prancing around on the EU stage giving themselves delusions of grandeur, but they would still have the UN for that.
May 3, 2017
Thank you for your goodwill Pat (not widely shared by commentators on Irish blogs I notice), but we are not in a fix. We are leaving a project for a United Europe and seeking to get back control of immigration which has been at a level set (too high ed). That is what a majority voted for. If there is a price to pay for independence and survival as a recognisable nation it will be worth it. Previous generations paid a much higher one.
May 4, 2017
Thankyou for your kind comment please consider the “free trade” alternatives outside the EU at some point.
May 4, 2017
Cometh the hour cometh the man.
Great Britain has great talent. The political system does not allow it to rise to the top – yet.
May 4, 2017
Yes Murph you have a different agenda and yes you are an “outsider” so there is no ‘we’ in all of this. Butt Out!
May 4, 2017
Please – we are not in a fix – the EU is.
AND we are glad to be getting out of a dictatorship they call the EU.
Remember what happened to your own referenda on the Euro ?
May 4, 2017
Thanks. And how is Greece doing, being in the Euro and all ?
May 3, 2017
It will be interesting to judge how local elections caught up in the General Election campaign and vice-versa cross pollinate the voter. Will local turnout be up? It could do with it purely for democracy’s sake.
I do hope we are in a time where tribal voting for one Party will lessen. I have never lived in a Tory or LibDem “heartland” , I guess it is the same as with a Labour rock-solid area where many people “always” vote Labour and refer to their home sometimes when campaigners call as “A Labour House” irrespective of candidate, manifesto or whether the local Labour Councillor and Labour MP have just rubbed their noses it it.
May 3, 2017
I think people underestimate Mrs Merkel .
She asserts that ‘No one should [or will be allowed to ?] be better off outside the EU than inside ‘
She has form on the application of discipline within the EU to ensure her dream of a EUSSR :
– the abandonment of a young generation of S Europeans as a price worth paying to preserve the Euro.
– the subjugation of Greece
-the election of PMs who toe the Brussels /Berlin line. Look out May !
-tearing up the Dublin Treaty unilaterally by inviting in a million ‘refugees ‘to Germany
to correct German demographics .
-doing a deal with Turkey to look after ‘refugees ‘ at great expense to the EU.
The EUSSR and a Greater Germany are one and the same .
She will stop at nothing [except war at this time ] to achieve this.
We assume she will eventually act rationally in trade terms to protect German and EU
interests .
But what if she believes that German industry can bear some pain with a reduction in exports and we cannot ? Napoleon made this sort of calculation with his Continental System .
In 1805 at the Lord Mayor’s dinner Pitt was toasted by the Mayor for the victory at Trafalgar , just a few days before , as the ‘saviour of Europe ‘ He responded ,
” I return you many thanks for the honour you have done me,
but Europe is not to be saved by any single man.
England has saved herself by her exertions ,and will, as I trust ,
save Europe by her example . ”
England saved herself from the fear of invasion [Martello towers /Royal military canal]
but it took a further 10 years of setting an example to save Europe .
May 3, 2017
I for one am increasingly supportive of Mrs May in her endeavours. I suspect she wishes to create an entrepreneurial society in which the enterprising do well but very few get left behind in a workless dependency state. If she can support and encourage wealth creation while curbing the excesses of those who would give enterprise a bad name, then she has my support.
Everyone needs to accept that as long as we are in the EU, her and our hands are tied on matters of climate change and energy creation. To those in the know I suspect that there are many more aspects of our life in the UK where the virus of the EU has taken hold.
Played intelligently, I see many positives in our exit from the EU, an ill conceived marriage that in much of Europe has destroyed peoples lives, and is now giving space for extreme and violent reaction. I remain positive even if EU intransigence ends free trade, which I would see as a self inflicted wound, and one more vote for the eventual breakup of the EU.
May 3, 2017
I’m supportive too, and agree with most of what she says….apart from the bit about wanting the EU to succeed – I like Europe too much for that.
May 3, 2017
Why is the EU allowed to attempt to interfere, undermine our General Election?
If Russia were to engage in a running commentary on issues of our election under a threadbare cover of talking “about trading relationships ” our diplomats and media would tell Russia that there would be a UK boycott and blackout on their statements. Indeed, vice-versa.
There is international agreement as to the level and nature one state may comment upon another in regard to its internal political processes. Why is the EU, as it regards itself a state,not subject to keeping its mouth shut? If this continues when purdah kicks in then we should impose sanctions on the EU both economic, political and military. It can start by restricting travel to EU personalities and their families on and to our territory.
May 3, 2017
Not to mention N Ireland. True colours now emerging by the hour.
May 3, 2017
The economy is faring well and full marks to the BoE and the Government for their part in this. Full marks too to British Industry and Commerce. Today Sainsbury’s reduced profits are reported by BBC Breakfast as a direct result of Brexit hitting the exchange rate and working through to inflation so we buy less. That being the case why aren’t prices 14% higher now instead of 1-2%? Why am I not eating 14% less? Reason – we adapt, just as we do to climate change, new competitors, new technologies, new circumstances, new outlets like Lidl and Aldi, we can make or grow more at home than import, that will improve our balance of payments and help reduce the deficit. It’s time the BBC’s presenters were sent on a “how to succeed in the 21st Century” course, thank goodness our businesses don’t stand still like the BBC does.
Clegg is also reporting that the pound is 20% weaker than before the Referendum vote. Why don’t Conservative politicians and the media challenge this out-of-date nonsense. As of today the pound is down 9% against the Euro and under 13% against the dollar and John you have pointed out that the oil price has much to do with that. But then the FTSE index is 14% up on 23rd June 2016 so net we’re up a tad and FTSE gains are great for pensions and other investments.
May 3, 2017
Why do we have so many POTTY people in politics both here and the EU? (meaning: silly or slightly crazy).
Good article by Szu Ping Chan in Telegraph Business. Belgian finance minister warns EU: change or die.
Johan Van Overtveldt said there was “clearly a problem” with the European Union, as he called for a quick, comprehensive trade deal with the UK and warned that punishing Britain would be counterproductive.
“Sixty years after signing the Treaty of Rome, and 25 years after the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union is in trouble and is certainly in need of new inspiration and new directions. The EU cannot continue operating the way it does today,” he said at an event organised by the European Economics and Financial Centre in London.
He also called on the rest of the EU to be pragmatic about Brexit, adding that smaller states such as Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands had much to lose from a so-called hard Brexit where the UK was forced to trade under World Trade Organisation rules.
“Everything in my way of thinking argues to get a good deal for the British and not have as an ultimate objective to punish them. This is democracy. We should respect that. We should strike a good deal and be reasonable people – on both sides – and then go on.”
Not much chance with Chancellor Merkel and the three Presidents dictating (claiming unity) to the other 26 members.
May 3, 2017
It takes two to tango, and if those dominating the EU don’t want it to have an improved relationship with the UK there is not too much our leaders can do about that destructive attitude. The EU can in any case rely upon a small but influential fifth column in the UK constantly seeking to sow disunity and undermine morale.
For sure there is absolutely no point in us grovelling in the hope of appeasing them, that will merely encourage them to make fresh demands which will be even more outrageous. Sooner or later refusing any further concessions will become unavoidable.
May 3, 2017
There will be a lot of economic nonsense coming at you, from politicians and the media, up till the general election – and after. The ONS Dashboard, http://visual.ons.gov.uk /dashboard/ is worth a look at. All flavours from these sources, will be peddling the neo-liberal myth to some extent. That is, they want you to keep believing the government’s debt, is the same as a household’s debt.
There is a link on the above to the “Economic Review Analysis of the UK economic landscape”. It contains an analysis of the UK’s poor business management / poor productivity, particularly for small family owned outfits.
Economies with large quantities of under financed self employed; micro and small businesses, don’t go anywhere fast, ask the Greeks.
May 3, 2017
acorn
“Economies with large quantities of under financed self employed; micro and small businesses, don’t go anywhere fast, ask the Greeks.”
Total cobblers ( in this country they are the main reason behind the jobs boom for a start)
May 3, 2017
I read (between the lines) in George Osborne’s first London Evening Standard editorial yesterday that Mrs May is going to have to set out, very clearly and unequivocally, a manifesto for Hard Brexit otherwise this will not be accepted as a mandate for it.
The public:
– didn’t know what they were voting for in the referendum
– did not give their consent for leaving the single market
– are divided (according to an article later in the paper) as to what controlled immigration means
Remain/Miller are maneuvering to allow the soon-to-be-elected majority of Tory Europhile MPs to resist a tough Brexit stance.
—
In a sly dig at Brexiters The Standard claimed the moral high ground over diversity, insinuating that Brexiters are racists.
We are not and this is highly insulting.
Immigration without limits is unreasonable. To call a person worried about overcrowding a ‘racist’ is like calling a drowning man a hydrophobic.
May 3, 2017
The overriding task is to get the law through to complete our exit from the EU, and to negotiate a friendly Agreement on our future trade and relations with the EU that helps them as well as us.
The EU haven’t any intention of negotiating “a friendly Agreement”. We might as well spend the next 2 years preparing the way for a WTO trade arrangement with Europe.
May 3, 2017
Time to tell the world about the EU’s various treaty obligations which require it to negotiate seriously and not mess us about. If they still carry on as they have started then there will inevitably come a point at which we walk away.
May 4, 2017
The EU but not the democratic expressed wll of the peoples of Europe.
May 3, 2017
As I’ve said before there is an ongoing propaganda war, and so far we are losing it:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/02/germany-interfering-general-election-undermine-theresa-may/
“Germany ‘interfering in General Election in attempt to undermine Theresa May'”
This should come as no great surprise; by any measure the EU has huge sums of taxpayers’ available for propaganda purposes:
https://fullfact.org/europe/how-much-does-eu-spend-promoting-itself/
and that’s before adding in the efforts of national governments.
May 3, 2017
Good afternoon.
Am I to take it the disastrous Climate Change Act is to remain ? Because once President Trump leaves the Paris Accords the USA economy will be free to use very vheap energy undermining both the EU and the UK.
May 3, 2017
A very measured, well constructed, articulate, strong speech by Mrs May after returning from her visit to HM the Queen.
Mrs May gets better and better.
May 3, 2017
“We think we need a fishing policy that is kinder to both our fish and our fishermen than the present policy. ”
That doesn’t sound the same as getting back our fishing grounds. We need to reverse completely, not partly, Heath’s last minute betrayal last time around.
May 3, 2017
We do indeed.
May 3, 2017
The relationship between the UK and EU is so bad now that it is unlikely to improve. In fact things will probably get much worse as time goes by, so we should think about cutting our links altogether right now with the EU and consolidate our position and then start to look for new worldwide trade deals. We should forget about ever having deals with european countries again. By going this way we can probably save a 100 billion to start with and maybe more and use this to fund our new worldwide trade relationships. We may even need to invest in ship building and extra warehousing etc, so lets get along with it- we have no time to waste.
May 4, 2017
Avoiding payment of £100bn does not mean we have £100bn sitting around to spend.
May 3, 2017
Dont know how anyone including the PM could possibly think that any other party or combination of parties could win enough seats to win the election, not even by chance.
Therefore mrs May, should stop making speeches about outside bodies trying to interfere with the electoon as this is just spreading more fake news and people can see right throuh it – it is not very helpful
May 3, 2017
There are a couple of related issues that do not seem to be fully exploited by the brexiters. The remoaner’s ‘project fear’ warned us just how bad brexit might be, but brexiters did not warn of how badly we would be treated in the future United States of Europe as second class citizens were we to refuse to surrender to the Euro. Now we can see how the EU wants to treat us when we to leave, but anyone who thinks we would be welcomed back if we were to recant and say sorry cannot have studied Machiavelli’s ‘Prince’.
Article 50 is clear that we have no continuing legal obligations if we do not agree by the end of two years. And the Civitas report “It’s Quite OK to Walk Away” (http://www.civitas.org.uk/content/files/itsquiteoktowalkaway.pdf) demonstrates that life is not so bad on WTO terms. If nothing else read ‘Scotch versus Bourbon: exports of an EU member and a ‘most favoured nation’
May 3, 2017
Sorry JR but this government and the last has done absolutely nothing to create the job boom. They dont even know why its happening. In fact they have tried very hard to derail it with their incessant attacks on self employed and SME’s. If the government 1) Got out of the way we would create even more jobs, 2) If they actually bought education into 21st century we might actually have more employable young people 3) What on earth is the employer apprenticeship levy supposed to encourage?
This government has been yet another socialism, big state, tax until the pips squeak government
May 4, 2017
Lord Lawson’s suggestion is, in essence, a repeat of what John has suggested here many times previously and, given recent developments, is now the obvious way to go. Each side in the negotiations will be releasing an opening position and that should be ours.
When the 27 turn our offer down, they will have to explain their position to French agricultural and German car workers . We in turn will be able to quote chapter and verse from their own treaties because they will be acting in direct contradiction to what they say.
Their demands for money, continuing involvement of the ECJ etc are getting ever more onerous and, frankly, undeliverable by any UK Government. Because they appear to be very publicly painting themselves into a corner and will not be able to back down, we may well end up just leaving without a deal or at some kind of arbitration tribunal. Either way, we will be able to take the moral high ground and the 27 will be on the back foot.
As for the money, I am increasingly convinced that we should pay nothing whatsoever past the date we leave. Merkel seems to be saying we can’t opt back in to any institutions of the EU so there will be no ongoing payments for those either.
It is important to note that organisations such as The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol, are not EU institutions. It was established in 1960 and currently has 41 member countries not 28. Air traffic control and many other sectors will therefore not be affected by us leaving.
Merkel will presumably be happy for security cooperation with MI6 and GCHQ to end, even though we know she takes advice from them from time to time. Fortress Britain seems perfectly capable of defending us against terrorism with our excellent security services, GCHQ, and the intense cooperation with our fellow Anglo-Saxon countries. Our border protection can easily be reinforced with a tiny fraction of the money we would otherwise be paying the EU.
Trade will not stop. Despite the threats, bluff and bluster coming from the mainland, there will not be queues of lorries at Calais and Dover because a solution will be found.
May 4, 2017
Possibly for the first time ever I agree with the CBI on this:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/05/03/ignore-100bn-brexit-bill-focus-trade-deal-cbi-tells-london-eu/
“Ignore €100bn Brexit bill and focus on trade deal, CBI tells London and EU”
“Britain and Brussels will both be better off if they stop wrangling over an enormous Brexit divorce bill and instead focus on the real prize – a trade deal to preserve the £600bn of trade which flows back and forth across the Channel each year.
Business group the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) wants the negotiators to prioritise jobs and economic growth, and to avoid becoming bogged down in hostile rhetoric at the start of the Brexit talks.”
Well, of course that would be the obvious common sense approach, and in fact the UK government has always wanted to proceed in precisely that way, so there was really no need for the CBI to include London in its admonition.
It is Brussels and Berlin and Paris they should tell, because it is the EU which has said that extortion of as much money as possible from the UK is far more important than keeping two way trade flowing without unnecessary impediments, and there can be no discussion of post-Brexit trading arrangements until the UK has capitulated on that.
In fact they have gone further than that, by laying down that any new trade deal will only be acceptable if it damages to our economy, and inevitably theirs as well.
That is the implication of the crazy precondition set by Hollande that:
“A country that leaves the EU cannot be in a better position outside the EU than it was in the EU”.
Interestingly I can’t find anything like that absurd precondition stated in Article 50 TEU or anywhere else in the EU treaties, in fact more to the opposite.
May 4, 2017
JR ‘cutting the deficit and creating conditions for many new jobs to be generated’
Inflating GDP by borrowing money and giving the nod to extreme levels of immigration so that the deficit as a proportion of GDP reduces isn’t really a cut. It’s insanity.
May 4, 2017
An excellent performance by David Davies on Question Time on Thursday Evening.
Paul Nuttall also gave a good account of himself and was at times very supportive of David Davies if not of Theresa May.
The Labour representative, shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, was as ineffective as she usually is, a perfect example of the very low standard of Corbyn’s Shadow cabinet. As for Leanne Wood, the less said the better.
For once even the audience appeared to be evenly split across the political divide.