Much of the U.K. media has been Remain and many are keen to back Labour views that we need to cosy up to the EU more. So why do they tell us so little about the politics and economics of the main EU countries? Why do some Remainers think now we are out we should not even talk about EU matters, whilst talking themselves a lot about the US? Â Why did they show little willingness to discuss other EU country policies and economies when we were in the EU and were governed by a Council of EU countries?
Where are the headlines about Euro 60 bn of budget cuts and tax rises in France? Where the story of the French left voting through massive tax rises, with the government saying they will simply ignore those amendments to the budget.? Why no interest in the possible use of a constitutional power for the government to ignore votes in Parliament?
Where are the daily stories about when the broken German government will have to hold an early election, and no attacks on the AFD who are polling well but do not get the Trump treatment? Where are the criticisms of Von Der Leyen, Scholz and Macron refusing to go to COP 29 or to offer more green transition cash to emerging market countries, a cause the mainstream media pursues incessantly? Why little discussion of the border fences around the EU and recent closing of internal borders whilst endless focus on President Trumpâs Mexican fence and wall?
The main countries for Western Europe are stuck with little or no growth, way below the GDP per head and real personal incomes of the US. So we have had daily blasts against Trump and about US politics for the last two months, but are kept in the dark about the political dramas and economic  failures of our near neighbours.
November 14, 2024
Good morning.
I can answer your question, Sir John. It is called, ‘lying by omission’.
November 14, 2024
The majority of the UK media are pro EU so don’t want to highlight its many failures.
Of more interest is why are the channel paddlers in Altrincham being given access to private health care. This again shows the contempt our government has for the voters.
Europe like America is turning sharp right and we are as usual an outlier. Starmergeddon realises this and is intent on inflicting maximum damage before the sheeples cotton on to what is happening.
Luckily our farmers may wake the general public up when they start spraying London with excrement and hopefully they’ll take more notice of what’s happening.
Of course 2TK will label them all far right and use the kangaroo courts to jail them. Good luck with that.
Reply This site does not support criminal damage in protests.
November 14, 2024
âwhy are the channel paddlers in Altrincham being given access to private health careâ
Rather odd since Two Tier Starmer said he would rather let his relatives die than let them have private health care but it is fine for we tax payers to pay for private healthcare for illegal migrants. When they cannot even get to see a doctor themselves.
November 14, 2024
So has Lammy gone yet? âTrump team hostile to Chagos deal, claims Farageâ I assume the deal can still be wound back, but it will be hard to so without some serious and costly political a d other fall out.
November 14, 2024
The simplest answer is usually correct.
Our MSM, presumably reflecting the interests of their viewers, are more interested in footballers and their wives, pop singers with personal problems, TV shows of strangers doing odd things in sunny climes with pretty smiles.
Only when there’s fights or fires on our streets or other social breakdown issues does the MSM show any political interests.
This is why we have GB News and a plethora of ‘intelligent’ conversation blogs and videos.
This is why the BBC must not receive funding by threat.
November 14, 2024
The idea that we have to pay a licence fee to the BBC in order for them to pump blatant propaganda at is and to provide unfair completion the the private sector is profoundly wrong. But two Tier Kier likes his state propaganda outfit.
November 14, 2024
Re. Proposed Pension reform, allowing investment in state infrastructure projects, imagine having your pension fund invested in HS2….
November 14, 2024
Indeed so. This Government sees this as a way to get its hands on money (but off the balance sheet – as taught by G. Brown Esq.) for its money-down-the-drain ‘Green’ policies.
November 14, 2024
So, you find it much better that Canadian and Australian public sector pension funds benefit from the UK utilities? Well, you get what you deserve.
November 14, 2024
Just like the UK invests in overseas companies hefner.
Would you restrict investment in the UK to only UK companies and fund owners?
A sort of financial iron curtain.
November 14, 2024
Sam, Do you know whether these different investments in the UK vs. abroad, are public or private? In which case are their potential results the same? Are the timeline of these investments equivalent? Who benefits from these? Are âpublic sectorâ pensioners from abroad the same as plain vanilla investors in the UK? Have all these investments the same constraints in terms of duration, ESG, (sustained) yield, âŠ?
November 14, 2024
Lots of the expected diverting questions there hefner.
The first one for you to answer is…do you like an open market where most nations allow investments from or do you want the UK to be a country closed to investment from anywhere outside.
Please let us know.
Time to make your mind up.
November 15, 2024
Initially the post was related to the Chancellorâs intent to create bigger pension funds out of the 88 public and para-public pension funds. I thought it made sense. After that as you say anybody willing can invest in them. How these funds are invested, HS2, utilities, âŠ, is another question that potential investors should be able to tackle for themselves.
And in that context âfinancial iron curtainâ is rather comical denoting, as usual, somebody who has not read the post for what it is. But am I surprised?
November 15, 2024
Still refusing to respond to my straightforward original question with more diversionary waffle hefner.
You originally were complaining that Australia and New Zealand investors benefitted from their investments in UK utility companies
So I repeat my question to you.
Open world investment markets or close the UK’s markets to only UK investors?
November 14, 2024
for ‘invested’ I’d prefer honesty ‘ spent’.
November 14, 2024
More honesty still âpissed down the drainâ on HS2, net zero, âloansâ for worthless degrees, renewable subsidies, train subsidies, the dire NHS, the bloated largely unproductive state sectorâŠ
November 14, 2024
Imagine having it in vested by this government. A government where Reeves and Starmer actually think her truly appalling budget of economic vandalism – was a budget for growth AND the think their rip off Net Zero war and harmless CO2 will create jobs! Sunak was wrong on almost everything (especially Covid vaccine safety) but Starmer and Reeves are doing the same even more quickly.
Has Claire Countinho decided to come of the fence on Net Zero. She must know it is B/S and it must be rather painful for her. Does she now admit she and the Tories have been talking total B/S on climate and energy for 14 years or so and it is a total scam or is she still hanging on to the Sunak line it is good to go for net zero but more slowly than Labour lunacy!
November 15, 2024
I don’t think Badenoch will let her fully oppose net zero. I do know Coutinho changed her opinion when presented with facts, I believe at an Energy Institute gathering where she had given a speech and a questioner pointed out that we will still be needing lots of dispatchable (gas) capacity however much is invested in renewables, and the room agreed.
Reply Claire Couthino is very well informed, intelligent and making a difference. Back her as she does wish to challenge the excesses and absurdities of government net zero policy.
November 15, 2024
Reply to reply.
I am always willing to help anyone who is taking up the cudgels of ending net zero policy, using my career knowledge and ongoing analysis of energy systems from a technical standpoint and plans and the workings of energy markets, interactions with regulation and the geopolitics that underpin them, and pointing them to others with relevant analyses and expertise. I have been grateful that you have seen fit to publish many of my comments (and those of others who comment here with good understanding) on these matters: I am sure it helps to keep like minded politicians better informed.
I noticed that when Claire Coutinho was originally appointed as Energy Minister she was initially inclined to regurgitate the positions already taken by DESNZ, but that she soon started to deviate a little. She has some background that doubtless aids her understanding. I suspect that if she had an open remit she might be more forthright, alongside some of the peers who have been been in recent debates. As Shadow Minister, she has a very important position in leading opposition to net zero. If you think it would be useful I would be happy to provide her with supporting material or helping her to hone her positions.
November 18, 2024
I have written to her, offering to help, with the heading
Sir John Redwood asked me to offer you support
Unless they are prompted I am now dependent on her office to draw it to her attention.
November 14, 2024
I guess that includes MPs pensions…they should be worried đ
Unless in the unlikely scenario they wished to “invest” in carbon capture and GB Energy…
November 14, 2024
Let alone Eurotunnel Peter.
November 14, 2024
You should be pleased, I guess, that Eurotunnel is now own by Getlink a French company with brilliant results in 2023 (finance.yahoo.com, 29/02/2024 âGetlink: 2023 Annual results: Historic group performance, boosted by an exceptional contribution by ElecLinkâ)
November 14, 2024
Well invest in them hefner.
ps
It’s a feature of a modern world economy.
November 14, 2024
Just heard Sir John Redwood on radio4. Stella Creasy the labour MP was interviewed at the same time.
She seemed to be allowed to do most of the talking. Basically she said we must pal up to the EU to reduce bureaucracy and improve our exports. She did not address loss of major exports due to running down oil production for Net Zero targets.
Radio 4 giving a platform for rejoiners again; although she might cloak her approach under a different term.
November 14, 2024
It is also called “being economical with the truth” Mark. Great commentary today Sir John. Bang on!
November 14, 2024
Lying by omission is a favourite BBC activity. Currently they are obsessed by Cameron promising to âdecarboniseâ the country in an act of economic and environmental suicide that will do far more harm than good (in-fact it will do no good at all and cost billions). It is not even possible to achieve.
November 14, 2024
I see Lord Frost is leading a debate on net zero costs today in the Lords. One to watch, or at least read in Hansard. A follow up to the one organised by Lord Lilley a couple of weeks ago.
November 14, 2024
The Hansard record.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2024-11-14/debates/28ADB352-9C5F-4ECC-9497-23A21A0E9607/RenewableEnergyCosts
As ever, net zero proponents deny reality. Lord Frost, Lord Rooker and Lord Moynihan managed to lay down some markers.
November 14, 2024
I can answer this one fr you Sir John.
When the truth does not support the preferred narrative of the left wing media which is the vast majority of the MSM then they bury that truth and cover any story but that inconvenient factual truth.
The recent Spanish flooding was covered by the media, claiming it was an example of climate change induced unique weather. The truth is, the protective dams needed to hold back the torrential rains that Spain experiences have been removed as instructed by EU policy, or considered but not built, again by EU policy. Spain has biblical rainfall on occasions and has experienced many events before the recent deluge that impacted Barcelona. Those past events were greater than the recent deluge, They all happened long before the so called man made climate change excuse was even a thing.
See Matt Ridley’s recent piece in the Spectator for details.
Basically, when the truth hurts the EU, it is ignored by the MSM.
November 14, 2024
+1
November 14, 2024
@ Rod Evans
+1 spot on!
November 14, 2024
There needs to be an inquisition into this.
November 14, 2024
Inquisition? Would an investigation not be enough?
November 15, 2024
probably not!
November 14, 2024
If you think the causes of the Spanish flooding are as ‘benign’ as dam removal (on EU orders) and/or climate change, you might like to search for and read the 1996 *unclassified* US government document that included the words ‘owning the weather’. They expected to do so by 2025. It seems a clear prelude to the possibility of weather warfare by large powerful countries against medium-sized, less powerful ones.
Weather modification is hardly new. In 1952 the UK RAF experimented with cloud seeding above Lynmouth, Devon. It went wrong, there was severe flooding and 34 people drowned. The BBC website has a 2001 story more or less admitting what happened. To this day, no Minister has ever stood up in the Commons and apologised.
November 14, 2024
UK media publishes what its owners want and stories consumers are interested and will pay for.
You might as well ask why are there so many online articles on America in the Daily Mail, but no articles about the tax paid in this country by its owner ?
If you want detail on Europe you will need to search further than papers that concentrate on celebrity gossip.
You might as well ask why so many articles on America but nothing on the complete capture of US politics by the Israel Lobby.
Widespread coverage on a few football hooligans in Amsterdam – but little detail about the carnage and ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
November 14, 2024
What is your take on the Free Palestine marches that take over the streets of central London every week, Peter? Do you see them as a few ‘football hooligans’?
November 14, 2024
We also hear plenty about the sale of arms to Israel. How about the sale of arms from Iran to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis? Does that not contravene international law? Yet there is no mention about this.
Is that because everyone knows Iran is bad, so they don’t feel a need to mention it? With Israel on the other hand, not everyone seems to have got their message, so they need to repeat it constantly.
November 14, 2024
I think we get a great deal of coverage of the “carnage” in Gaza Peter. What is missing are answers to questions such as – Where are the civilian air raid shelters? – How many of those killed were Hamas fighters? – Why won’t any of the Arab nations take Palestinian refugees? – How can you have a Two State solution, when one party has sworn to obliterate the other?”
Iran provoked this conflict, probably to stall the Abraham Accords. The Mullahs don’t care about their own people, let alone anyone in Gaza or Lebanon. God forbid they get nuclear weapons. Stop hating the Israelis and start fearing the fanatics.
November 14, 2024
The role of China in orchestrating rapprochement between Iran and Saudi should not be overlooked. Persians and Arabs used to be at loggerheads, partly based on the Sunni/Shia rift.
November 14, 2024
That rift is frequently overstated-usually by western commentators.The Ottoman Turks(who had taken control of the Arab lands with the conquest of the Cairo-based Mamluk Sultanate)and Persians were more likely to be at loggerheads -and that was more about control of territory(specifically the Transcaucasus and Mesopotamia) than religious fervour.Originally Egypt was the Shia centre (the Fatimid Caliphate);I forget what happened in Iran that turned it Shi-ite after the Fatimids were toppled and replaced by a Sunni dynasty in Cairo.
China is a huge buyer of oil from both Iran and Saudi.With regard to Iran I think the figure is c90% of output which will severely limit the Trump scope to further sanction Iran.
November 18, 2024
I don’t think the Iranian attack on the Abqaiq gathering centre a few years ago which badly affected Saudi oil production was just a minor event.
November 14, 2024
IanT,
Israel has never been interested in a two state agreement. They have paid lip service to the idea and held talks for publicity purposes.
In the past Israel has been more circumspect about revealing its position, but under Netanyahu two states is quite openly dismissed.
November 14, 2024
Correct.They condemn themselves from their own mouths-if only the western media would report it.
November 14, 2024
How can you have a two state solution Peter, when one side wants to eliminate every Jewish person in Israel?
November 15, 2024
Just Israel or the wider world?
November 14, 2024
The civilians are in tents on the beach so away from all buildings and tunnels. Thatâs why so few have been killed. It also enables the distribution of the thousands of tons of food and provisions provided overwhelmingly by Israel.
November 14, 2024
âoverwhelmingly by Israelâ, despite your efforts to cloud the waters, dear, most of the food come from the World Food Program, World Central Kitchen, DEC, ⊠arriving via Egypt, Jordan, Ashod, âŠ
1140 Israeli were killed on or immediately after the October 2023, 240 Israeli were taken as captives. Since then (as of 7/10/2024) 41,909 Palestinians were killed with 69% women and children (statista.com 16/10/2024 âNumber of Palestinian and Israeli fatalities and injuries caused by the war between Hamas and Israel since October 7 2023)
November 15, 2024
They are hostages not captives hefner.
PS
You need some DEI training, calling females “dear”
tut tut.
November 15, 2024
You don’t mention the elected leadership passing to Hamas, as a result of the men wanting their claims, the women don’t get allowed opinions – but thats another story.
November 15, 2024
Wasnât it used by PM Cameron?
November 15, 2024
Cameron would be good company for you hefner on your training course.
You two would get along I reckon
November 14, 2024
What do we expect ?
Remainers are firmly in charge of almost our entire media, especially TV and Radio, with the exception of GB news, which they and their friends at Offcom and the BBC are trying to close down. It is only a matter of time before 2TK brings in new parliamentary rules designed specifically to remove Nigel Farage’s interesting programme from our TV screens.
November 14, 2024
At least they can’t close down JR-M and his distinguished Wednesday evening guest, as neither are any longer MPs
GB News certainly gives Jacob more influence than he enjoyed when he was a backbench MP.
November 14, 2024
The latest polling suggests that JRM could win back his seat, with ease – even if Reform stood there. I hope we’ll see this impressive politician back in the Commons, and government,
November 15, 2024
Even better if he saw the future and joined Reform!
November 14, 2024
Because our own government produces sufficient idiocy to keep our media fully occupied. Not so many of us are fluent in german or french to read their media first hand. What happens in the USA, our largest customer I believe, both commercially and politically is much more important.
The USA has gained a president intent on boosting internal use of its own energy resources, destroying woke, stopping illegal migration, boosting the GDP of every citizen, and punishing those on the left who have done the opposite for the last four years. Much more interesting and relevant to us in the UK than the machinations of EU politics, unless you are inclined to rejoin their circus. We were present until 2016, it did us untold damage which we need to clean up, like their rules of operating. Rules that hamper increases in their personal GDP, as they did ours. The light of the future shines from the USA. The EU experiment is over, though they may not yet realise it.
November 14, 2024
Also interesting, Trump has given responsibility to people with detailed and proven knowledge for some tasks.
A green beret, and a special forces soldier, for military and security matters.
A very successful Commercial Business man, to improve Government spending and efficiency.
These people fully aware of excuses, so the wool will not be pulled over their eyes easily.
Time will tell if this is a successful plan, but certainly something desperately needed in most Governments, including our own, where weak management, and who you know not what you know, appears to be more important and the order of the day, rather than proven ability.
November 14, 2024
Interesting interview with Lord Howard last night on GBN. I hope Kemi Badenoch was watching it.
November 14, 2024
We are really kept in the dark about Germany. The attacks on freedom there are astonishing. The Eugyppius column reports them extremely well, but only the Daily Sceptic here picks it up.
The authorities in Germany use lawfare against their opponents on a scale that would put the current US administration to shame. The domestic spy agency admits it targets the AfD, there are a number of laws available for oppression (eg. One that makes it illegal to poke fun at Ministers is being used to threaten someone who re-tweeted a mild comic put-down of a Minister with up to 2 years in prison), standing politicians regularly call on the need to ban the opposition “in order to defend democracy”.
Also Germany is no longer the economic powerhouse that it was 5 years ago. Their self-destruction by net zero-driven de-industrislisation is ahead of the curve and a harbinger of what is happening to us.
I assume our media won’t tell us about all this, because the German example stark would turn our population against the authoritarianism and net zero which is being pushed by our establishment.
November 14, 2024
A majority here is already dead against Starmer, Davie, and Sunaks’ attempts to impoverish us at the altar of net zero
November 14, 2024
Difficult to see where you get that from. 4.1 million voted Reform. The rest voted for net zero supporting parties.
November 14, 2024
But 4m were new voters for Reform, the rest were historical voters for those parties. Millions missing votes were Conservatives with good reasons. Net- zero was an incidental policy after the main ones – Economy, Immigration, failing NHS, failing Justice, failing Services.
November 14, 2024
Yes, Audi profits down by 90%, so it’s not just VW getting hit. I worry that it will take more than the lights going out in peoples homes, to make the lights start going on in their heads.
November 15, 2024
Audi is part of the VW Group. The whole group is in serious trouble thanks to their headlong rush towards EVs.
My local Audi dealer is trying to get me to replace my superb A7 3 litre Twin Turbo diesel coupe. (50mpg, range 640 miles, 4 minutes to “recharge”) Their solution ?
A new EV with a 230 mile range in optimum conditions, costing ÂŁ100,000 with modest extras. The list price of my A7 was ÂŁ62,000 and I obtained a huge discount.
We drive across Europe winter and summer so an EV is definitely not on my shopping list. I’m keeping my current car indefinitely.
November 14, 2024
Indeed. I read that 113 members of the Bundestag have openly said they would vote to ban AfD altogether: they are pushing for a vote ahead of the election. Tagesschau has details. The real purpose of pushing this now is to discourage any possible thoughts by the CDU/CSU that they might entertain of forming a coalition with AfD, despite notionally adopting policies such as ending the renewables preference under Energiewende and tougher border control including a Rwanda style policy. These shifts right by the CDU have bolstered its polling to around 33%, but are obviously incompatible with forming a new government that excludes AfD, since the Greens and Socialists would object. Given that parties who fail to secure 5% of the vote do not get into the Bundestag, AfD’s 19% would be enough for a two party majority coalition.
It rather echoes the say one thing do another attitude of the Tories in recent years. The elections will take place on 23rd February, a month after Trump takes office. I suspect he will have a message for the German people.
November 14, 2024
ban AfD ? there’s German democracy in a nutshell.
November 14, 2024
A government brought down by its obsession with damaging Russia, even at the cost of wrecking the economy and alienating public support – what political agenda would media editors see in that? I don’t see how that would be turned into the kind of message that they want to influence the British public with. It might suggest that stoking up war abroad rather than spending money on improving life for ordinary people here is a bad idea. Likewise in the other case you mention, Sir John, of a government ignoring a vote by representatives of the electorate: what message would media manipulators seek to put across here? That governments should do what people want? Such ideas would be far too dangerous! Media influencers have other agendas to follow.
November 14, 2024
Great quote from President Aliyev of Azerbaijan (which doesn’t seem to have been picked up!) this week:
“At one point,Josep Borrell referred to ‘Europe’ as a garden and the rest of the world as a ‘jungle’.If we are the jungle,then keep your distance and stay out of our affairs.”
Also,a good article in Asia Times recently,8/11/24:”Central Asia’s ripe demographics form a key geopolitical node.China,Russia and Turkey have strong stakes in the youthful region’s development while the US and the West are wholly absent.”Good!Keep it that way!
November 14, 2024
An oil slick of Socialism has spread throughout the Millennials and Generation Z which, in turn, has undermined the impartiality of the British media but has also impacted the education system, civil service and many MPs too.
Why Generation X (ie their parents) presided over this without objection is a separate question.
The contemporary Socialists can only sustain themselves by denial and stubbornness as they are factually wrong almost every time. For example, they will disparage the successful Trump administrations and the accurate Brexiteers to avoid the scrutiny of their own economic deficiency. It is a truly dishonourable way to behave.
It needs to be countered though and just like President Trump we need another Margaret Thatcher in the UK to change the narrative and combat Socialism. This then changes the national culture and puts Socialism back in its box.
November 14, 2024
@Paul Freedman +1
If only
November 14, 2024
It starts in the Universities. They brainwash the teachers, the teachers then brainwash the kids and the kids brainwash the parents. Hence, so called ‘support’ for the climate change nonsense and all the lefty stuff being put about. Wait until the bills hit home, then things will change. On that topic, the Starmergeddon government suggest local authorities can increase their Council Tax by 5 percent next year, with inflation at a so called 2 percent (if you believe that). They will say of course that they can charge less, but does anyone think they will?They seem intent on bankrupting the country.
November 14, 2024
I liked ‘oilslick’ description – usually a result of some sort of crash, or flushing out unmentionables.
November 14, 2024
So I have been running through a little thought experiment. It seems the Remainer establishment are confident that the UK is too small and unimpactful to âgo it aloneâ in the world – so needs to rejoin the EU. If the first statement is true – why not consider alternatives?
Could the UK apply to accede as a state of the US? What would be the pro / con of this? Sure – we would have to move to the USD. But we would join a very large free trade area, one with more impressive growth and prospects across the board than the EU. We would join a federation self-sufficient in energy, food & defense. As we are seeing today – the US federal system is defined and is not on a EU-style âever closer unionâ ratchet. Culturally, linguistically we would be much more aligned. The legal systems share more in common than with the EU. We would perhaps struggle with moving back to Fahrenheit and buying âgasâ in âgallonsâ but other weights and measures would be familiar. Size-wise the UK is perhaps double the size of the USâ largest state – California – but in GDP per capita terms the UK is far poorer. Freedom of movement would likely be welcomed – I know many more (working) people who would prefer to relocate to the US than the EU and I donât suppose millions of Americans would migrate the other way. NHS? Gun culture?
I personally still think that, with the right policies, the UK is easily able to go it alone in the world – but if you accept, as Remainers do, that we cannot – what are the alternatives? The US case seems more compelling than the EU.
November 14, 2024
Swaziland is big enough to go it alone in the world and have a vote in the UN. In what respect is the UK âtoo smallâ?
November 14, 2024
Because lots of Remainers, including those in the media, when it comes to Europe are actually Little Englanders who have no interest at all, and never have had, in what is happening in other European countries. However, they absolutely love the USA and secretly wish they were living there – look at how many people the BBC used to cover the elections there. This makes their claims that our future lies in Europe otherwise we’d just become an adjunct of the USA so laughable, they absolutely love American cultural imperialism and are happy to try to immediately impose USA political issues on the UK (eg. BLM, DEI). As a specific example of them pandering to the USA , look at how many American plays get staged at the Royal National Theatre (loads) compared to how many German plays (none) but despite that the entire executive there regard Brexit as having been a tragedy. As another example look at how they frame the debate on the NHS as being a straight choice between the UK and USA health systems – ask them what they dislike about the Dutch or German system and they’ll have no clue.
November 14, 2024
I would defend media concentration on the U.S.A. rather than European countries though not the prejudiced and partisan reporting against Trump and the Republican Party.
America has the biggest economy in the world (roughly similar in size to the E.U.combined) and is technologically and scientifically the most advanced country in the world which usually other countries must eventually follow. Unlike any European country the U.S.A. is a political superpower.
America is unlike European countries English speaking which enables Britons to follow what is happening there more closely.
Finally political changes in Europe usually occur at a snail’s pace because they generally have Proportional Representation for their Parliaments which usually makes them very resistant to change and tends to keep centrist parties in their governments for practically ever (the Liberal Democrats’ dream over here).
November 14, 2024
It is sometimes reported that there is a widespread feeling of “buyers remorse” and if the Brexit vote was held again, it might not succeed. This is not a view I hold – we’re well out of it. The best chance for remainers is for another vote while this dreadful government is in power; after that, the window probably closes. The remainer press, especially the BBC, thus want to downplay any negative news from Europe. If we were properly informed about the true state of politics and economics in the EU, it would be obvious it’s not a club we want to rejoin. Has it struck you how little real news is broadcast by the BBC these days?
November 14, 2024
Indeed John, and our clown of a leader wants our Country to get closer to Europe, and the way they do things over there..
Eventually the truth of what is happening in Europe will come out that the EU is failing, thank goodness we are not now tied to them financially, although I fear Starmer may have other ideas about that.
November 14, 2024
You can add to your list the treatment of migrants at France’s eastern border. Human rights groups are intimidated by the local authorities from investigating what goes on.
Why does the MSM turn a blind eye to it all? That’s because the EU is their Shangri-La. They defend it with religious zeal and their ears are blocked to criticism.
November 14, 2024
the EU is a happy dream but soon to be woken by the house burning down.
November 14, 2024
I agree. Why no coverage on these topics on the BBC News?
November 14, 2024
Underplay and overplay depending on Brexit opinions.You set us y to answer so.You should have been a solicitor.
November 14, 2024
Is it any wonder that there is a preoccupation with all things âLeftâ and the ideology of the âLeftâ. This Century has seen nothing other the Socialist Governments that have caused our universities to become the same, so left leading media’s studies dominate.
What used to be called Journalist have morphed into Media Studies Story writers, with a separate division to take those stories, create sound-bites and their headlines to cause âclick-baitâ to do nothing other than expose their advertisers (Income Stream) as many viewers as possible.
The EU is wanting to be the new world order of socialism; hence it is run by bureaucrats and not democracy. If money is coming up short for the next ideological indoctrinated project, the bureaucratic way is more Tax, not more productive earnings. Tax as we have seen in this Country during this Century is seen by the Bureaucrats as their real income that they can just keep demanding. The Socialist project canât be seen to fail which is why the big outside sponsors of the WEF etc. keep pushing for more control, more labelling of fascism and more toeing the line by the attendees.
November 14, 2024
You will not see a Media Story where the Headline and the content have the same meaning
November 14, 2024
The media do not wish to report on anything negative happening in the EU – they’d prefer we didn’t know.
Yet, this is how they operate generally – they only provide us with their sanitised version of news, what they want us to know.
If we had an open and honest press so many things that happen would be reported, but we don’t, and in any case the MSM is heavily left leaning and supports any socialist efforts.
We shouldn’t be surprised – we’ve seen it before covid, how warped misinformation has been pushed down our throats, while honest reporting of events that matter is a thing of the past.
Just like the political establishment, our media has fallen into the clutches of the left.
November 14, 2024
In the late Christopher Booker’s book – he describes how the EU was set up to compete with the USA. Unfortunately, it was implemented by stealth over many years. The EU commission was also not particularly democratic … as we have described here and complained about.
Nothing negative has ever really been exposed in our news media. It’s had to come out via other platforms. Now that the USA are on the up again, and Britain is being dismantled – of course we won’t be told how badly Germany and France, in particular, are doing! Perhaps it’s thought we won’t notice the EU is coming apart at the seams?
November 14, 2024
We are also not told that Sweden is paying $35,000 to ânew Swedesâ to give up their Swedish citizenship and return from whence they came.
November 14, 2024
The main 2 stories on BBC website right now:
Reeves’ pension reform. Words used: ‘Radical’, ‘Shake-up’, ‘boost’
Trump Controlling congress. Words used: ‘controversial’, ‘shock’
November 14, 2024
perhaps the words are listed against the wrong person?
November 14, 2024
Worth an Urgent Question in the Commons? I’d love to hear Lammy’s sitrep.
November 14, 2024
Whatâs wrong with Society, the two-tier laws of 2TK. From today’s media
âThe Metropolitan Police has imposed a tractor ban on farmers ahead of a planned protest over the Chancellorâs inheritance tax raid.â
âThis could include the Highways Act 1980, which makes it an offence for a person, without lawful authority, to wilfully obstruct a highway.â
Yet the acts of terrorism by those that support and fund Labour, by way of Just Stop Oil and the Palestine situation get a free pass and no warnings.
Successive Government have festered the entitlement of Socialism above those, that work, contribute, set out on endeavours to be resilient and self-reliant. A worker is someone that enjoys state support – not someone that contributes.
November 14, 2024
The EU Bureaucrat doctrine writ Large reinforced as 2TK sees it by his mentor and guiding light the WEF. The unelected unaccountable Bureaucrats are the guiding ruler that have to be obeyed and never questioned. It is their PR that the Media quotes, proper Journalism is dead
The root of the Problem is that we have had successive Socialist Governments in power this Century (Basically the last 25 year, or as some call it the last generation). These Socialist Governments have seen Tax as earnings, meaning they believe it is something they themselves have earn’t by endeavour, they are not seeing it as something they just âtakeâ, steal even, to stroke their personal egos.
The UK Tax system is flawed top to bottom. The attack on inheritance Tax is just one of those ideological attacks. Yes, the System is flawed and is without balance and meaning. It is additional Tax on earnings and wealth that was created by endeavour, hard work, ups & downs and where the Tax due had been fully paid up over the period of its creation that is warped thinking.
Today the Chancellor is hitting the media with speeches with regard for the need to invest, grow pension funds, create resilience and resources in the market. While at the same time her Socialist Ideology is doing what it can to stem and thwart anyone that should endeavour to provide for their own and their dependantâs future. In her world those that are beholden to the State are âthe Workersâ, âthe entitledâ and she as with those before her, will ensure they receive the same as those that create the same wealth she squanders.
What those of the Political Class that have stolen power this Century have failed to do is to contain, manage, their own spending. They have consistently removed the âseed cornâ of the economy, therefore its growth, then wonder why is it continues to diminish, avenues for tax dry up so more have to be created, layer upon, layer, and it still not enough. Itâs the âEconomy Stupidâ (James Carville in 1992) it was right then and is still the override now and will until someone or everyone wakes up
In the end they have refused to serve those that pay their wages and empower them, they are drunk on their own self-esteem.
November 14, 2024
“The Netherlands will impose land border controls within weeks (December) as part of a wider crackdown on migration proposed by the country’s right-wing coalition.Not a peep from BBC and others.
Meanwhile Khan attacks Trump to divert attention helping Starmer and Labour embarrassment, 180 degrees and thousands of nautical miles away from Europe in the completely opposite direction.
Not a coincidence surely.
November 14, 2024
This information is withheld because it is factual and an embarrassment to their cause. So much for unbiased reporting. They are as bad as the BBC.
November 14, 2024
Why? Because the majority of the MSM, led by the BBC, employ Far Left activists and not journalists. They even pretend to interview âa passing man in the streetâ when they know the person is actually a Far Left activist.
The fact that the BBC, our state broadcaster, refuses to allow discussion on climate change and Net Zero, shows it to be shamefully anti-democratic and consequently makes our country a disgrace in the eyes of true democracies.
Since the BBC says it is always âfighting disinformationâ when will their special disinformation reporter, Marianna Spring (French and Russian at Oxford), be sent to interview the many distinguished scientists who appear in the documentary film âClimate: The Movie (The Cold Truth)â?
November 14, 2024
Every day they’re selling us a future with rationed food, energy and travel. CBDC wih a social credit score, expensive and unreliable renewables coupled with the electrication of everything, are the keys to breaking the population and enforcing total control. Communism and/or WEF Feudaism mean you will own nothing.
Reason : Save the planet!
November 14, 2024
Why?
Because it’s inconvenient for them. It doesn’t fit the narrative …. and the WEF wouldn’t like it.
November 14, 2024
All the good, commenadable qualities and practices of journalism have been forsaken by today’s replacements, the infotainment industry operatives. Beyond that, it is likely too much trouble for them to report on Germany and France when just mentioning Trump’s name is a passport to clickbait.
For those reason, I would never (unless paid handsomely) reveal anthing and certainly not the truth in response to any inqury from an infotainment industry operative.
November 14, 2024
UK energy dashboard as at 13:45hrs https://grid.iamkate.com/
Gas 50%, Wind 10%, Import 10%, Nuclear/Other 30% âŠ.make you think ?
We appear to be getting a lot energy & illegal immigrants from France, and paying a lot for both
November 14, 2024
Dear Sir John,
Sadly, coverage of other member states was paltry even when we were in the EU. That was partly what one might call linguaphobia and partly due to the need for media companies to slash costs because of the multiplication of low-cost competition. So most EU coverage came to be centered on Brussels rather than our fellow members, unless there was a crisis. One or two newspapers still maintain the odd full-time correspondent, most often in Paris, but mostly it is “over to our Europe correspondent” or someone sent from London for the day.
This linguaphobic disinterest was one of the great failures of our EU membership. Instead of looking across the Channel for new ideas and possible answers to knotty domestic problems, we habitually turned to the very different but Anglophone economies of North America or Australasia. How different from Meiji Japan, where young leaders were sent out to find the best the developed world had to offer and ended up, I think, with the German education system, the British navy etc.
Even at the height of the Brexit debate, I recall, one of the most overtly remain-backing companies was offering a competition prize of “free flights to Europe”. Brexit has just given lazy linguaphobic media folk the excuse to sweep the EU 27 into the default category of “foreign-land”.
November 14, 2024
I did see an article in the Telegraph about them wanting to jail Marine Le Pen to end her 2027 election run it didn’t stay on the front page for long.
I read something I think on X that the conservative chancellor candidate Merz has signalled he is open to reform Germany’s strict borrowing limits as long as it is used for investment. That the Euro has dropped to its lowest since October 2023 on macro divergence. The federal election has been called on February 2023. German house prices are climbing despite the economic downturn on newbuilds. Its interesting that we get more information from X now.
November 15, 2024
âOpinion polling for the 2025 German federal electionsâ, wikipedia
As for the trial of the Rassemblement National for its (pseudo EU) parliamentary assistants, this story has been going on for almost ten years (2015) in French papers.
You would get the same (or possibly less biased) information on Reuters or APnews (English) or tagesschau.de (German).
November 14, 2024
There’s good coverage in the Guardian and the Financial times –
November 14, 2024
Am looking forward to hearing what Andrew Baliey has to say this evening when he makes his speech to the bankers and financiers – their response should tell a lot
November 14, 2024
From the Telegraph
“UK must forge closer ties with Europe to stem decline, says Bank of England chief”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/
He literaly says âthe US has a better story to tellâ So letâs cosy up to the EU? Does he even know what heâs talking about?
It would help if he stopped throwing our money away
November 15, 2024
He means the UK is no longer capable of self-government so it would better governed if it were governed by the EU, particularly as it is progressing towards becoming a United States of Europe, or as the EU prefers it, The Federal State of Europe. He has a point. After all that is why the UK first joined the then EEC.
November 15, 2024
Bailey means the UK is no longer capable of self-government so it would better governed if it were governed by the EU, particularly as it is progressing towards becoming a United States of Europe, or as the EU prefers it, The Federal State of Europe. He has a point. After all that is why the UK first joined the then EEC.
November 15, 2024
No it wasn’t. Federalism did not enter the stated reason. It was to economically work together in the members’ best interest as a bigger trading zone.
November 15, 2024
@Peter D Gardner – the UK is more than capable, it is the UK Political Class and its BLOB that fight it they no longer wish the responsibility handed to them by the electorate. In their minds the unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats with guidance from the WEF that know best
November 14, 2024
Sir John,
It is quite clear that Brexit was a HUGE mistake but not because it was the wrong decision.
‘They’ were never going to let us have it.
Look at where we are now. Was it worth it ?
November 15, 2024
The uphill struggle to make BREXIT work as it should is TOTALLY down to the Governments of both hues being full of lies and wanting to refuse the vote by the people.
November 15, 2024
Yes, we are off the hook for 800 billions of euros of debt see Next Generation EU through borrowing from the capital markets (issuing of bonds on behalf of the EU) – look what a mess the BoE is selling off our bonds unnecessarily.
We aren’t paying millions in Erasmus loans each year to EU students who then return home and don’t pay those loans back (Starmer is trying to overturn that, it is a big saving).
We were a net contributor, 12.5% of the Eu budget giving a gross contribution of around 24 billion euros, net contribution around 15 billion euros.
In the customs union we were paying 80% of all customs revenue around 3 billion euros and that’s without the fines the EU imposed on us for Chinese imports that weren’t declared by rogues properly (so we the public pays).
I could go on and onâplastic taxes, Emission Trading Scheme taxes. Reform needs to get its act together because the Tories under Sunak have been useless in pointing out the benefits because they didn’t want to leave, MPs like JR excused, of course.
November 14, 2024
Listening to the Chancellor Reeves and Gov of BoE Bailey speeches with the two calling for a reset in relations with the EU makes sense – I hope they can get easier freedom of movement for UK people again and reduce down the amount of import export paperwork
November 15, 2024
‘reset’ another meaning for PM wishing to ‘rejoin’.
November 15, 2024
Nos 10 and 11 Downing Street, all government offices and most mainstream media offices have been declared safe spaces. The real world is not allowed in. It really is rather like Orwell’s Animal Farm when the four legged animals take over and those on two legs are excluded from decision making.
Since there is no law, only constitutional convention, requiring a general election at roughly five-yearly intervals, the four legged ones may stay in power for a very long time.
November 15, 2024
So from what I’m reading Britain’s rebound GDP has run out of steam – where will it end?
November 15, 2024
I think we have reached the stage where all MP’s, Civil Servants, the Blob, all those that need the taxpayer to fund them, now as with young children need direct permission from their ‘bill payers’ before the are allowed out to ‘play’