citizen of nowhere

There's a saying in commodities markets; the best cure for high prices is high prices, they encourage higher production and thereby resolve supply issues that pushed prices higher in the first place. Similarly, it can be argued the best cure for Brexit may be Brexit. The best way to resolve theological arguments about free trade, nasty Europeans and the customs union might be a spell outside the customs union and the European free trade area. Voters could judge for themselves whether they are better off, or not, after a few years outside the hated EU. Discovering the truth of the Leave/Remain arguments through hard experience is the adult equivalent of a child breaking a toy to discover how it works. The mounting evidence of economic, academic and cultural harm can't be ignored. If Britain goes through with separation from the EU it's likely to lead to a lost decade, at least, followed by slow recognition, recrimination and eventual negotiation of re-entry to the EU in ...

Who, in their right mind, would buy a house and fail to inspect the property for two years afterwards? Nobody, you might say but that’s exactly what the Tory government have done, propped-up by their DUP Brexit allies. Now, two years after the EU referendum debate and over a year after issuing the Article 50 notice, the Tory cabinet has divided into factions arguing furiously over the ways and means by which the UK might extract itself from the EU. If you think that debate should have happened before the referendum vote, or the Article 50 notice, there is a good chance you will be accused of being an “enemy of the people”, or “unpatriotic” by Tory Brexit fanatics who still refuse to acknowledge evidence or reason. The DUP are in a very curious position, pushing for a destructive break with Europe at great risk for their constituents. The DUP claim EU exit will not require any new infrastructure or delays at the Irish border, despite masses of evidence to the contrary. Sinn Fein are ...

Thriller movies often end with a post-climax resurrection when the villain, shot in a titanic struggle with the heroic victim, suddenly reappears to strike a final, unexpected blow. Tories must be wondering whether the UKIP monster has truly been slain or is there a risk it might rise again in a deadly sequel? Labour centrists have no such doubts. Their nightmare under the muddled leadership (“muddleship?”) of Jeremy Corbyn is set to continue. Tory and Labour leaders feel bound to go ahead with Brexit, despite their obvious misgivings, officially to keep faith with the “will of the people”. In plain English, both main parties are desperately scheming to prevent a nightmare resurrection of UKIP. The national interest is a secondary concern. The precise form of EU exit is disputed as ferociously as ever. Some aspects of the way ahead are a little clearer after the local elections. BBC and SKY TV have extrapolated voting intentions, showing a broadly similar outcome. Local elections a...

West Tyrone voted 66% for Remain in the EU referendum. The DUP don’t care, they want a hard, destructive Brexit, against the wishes of the people of Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein won’t do anything about it, even though they could use their Westminster seats to kill any prospect of border disruption. Lady Sylvia Hermon is the lone NI voice against Brexit at Westminster. She needs support against the DUP who refuse to recognise the clear Remain vote by the Northern Ireland electorate. The only candidate who promises to oppose Brexit at Westminster, in the interests of Unionists and Nationalists alike, is Daniel McCrossan. Every MP’s vote counts in the hung parliament. Make your vote work for you and tilt the balance against Brexit. Lend your support & vote McCrossan SDLP to ensure action on your behalf against Brexit at Westminster.

Voters in West Tyrone must consider whether their interests are best served by Sinn Fein’s policy of abstention or whether they might be better served by the SDLP who have shown themselves willing to take an active part in Westminster, particularly with Brexit on a knife-edge and every vote in the UK parliament being counted. Citizens of Northern Ireland, of every persuasion, need representatives at Westminster who will take action to stop a hard border. Lady Sylvia Hermon is doing outstanding work in opposing Brexit but she is a lone NI voice against Brexit, at present. She needs support from all shades of opinion to stop Brexit wrecking our future. Sinn Fein has been associated, since its foundation in 1905, with the policy of abstention from Westminster although this is frequently misunderstood. The policy promoted by Arthur Griffith, leader of the party in its early years, was that Irish representatives should transfer to an Irish parliament, ruling over Irish affairs, in Irelan...

Brexit winners ; Farage, JRM, Redwood & hedge fund disaster speculators. Well done Nigel, hope you enjoy your Euro pension. It’s gone up in value since the pound tanked, after the EU advisory referendum. More ups and downs on the financial markets suit Hedge Funds very well, but that’s bad news for the rest of us. Brexit losers ; everyone else. British workers, investors, professionals, academics. pensioners and business owners will be squeezed by the ill-effects of Brexit for years to come. Manufacturers, banks and professional services providers make investment decisions years ahead. Many are now diverting investment to Europe. That will hurt everyone in Britain & pensions linked to these investments will suffer. We have elections every few years so that people can decide who governs Britain, locally and at Westminster. When things change people have the right to think again, that’s democracy. The advisory EU referendum was obscured by lies and misdirection. Get all t...

I've been over to leaver-land recently, to find out what people are saying and thinking. There were some surprises. I believe the tone of debate is changing and there is much evidence of doubt as the grand promises of the Leave campaign are shown to be hollow. Here is a random selection of comments, typical of many I’ve seen, surnames redacted (Leave.EU 2018.04.16); Philip H: Two weeks ago i was angry that my truck driver wage was only 50 pence an hour more than 10 years ago because of a glut of European drivers. Last week i lost that contract because an agency full of European driver offered to do it for £1 an hour less. That why i voted Brexit. Pete A: Wages are going down due to migrant workers taking lower hourly rates of pay...... Mick S: Over supply of cheap labour means lower wages, and people like blair and Miller get richer. Jake S: Everyone said that immigration drives down wages. Roll on Brexit in full, not the watered down lefty version Dominic P: w...

There were tears and regrets among nationalists as Arlene Foster announced she’s preparing to pack up and leave ahead of the imminent arrival of a united Ireland. Mr G. Adams of West Belfast said he’d be “sorry to see Arlene go (not)”. Mrs Michelle O’Neill of Tyrone said, “what will we do without her? We’ll have nobody to hate now. We could try Nigel Dodds but it wouldn’t be the same. He’s too clean-cut and sensible. You just can’t work up as much anger about him. Arlene was outstandin’ with her squandering public money on heating chicken sheds, anti-Irish policy and hatred for the Good Friday Agreement. She’ll be sorely missed by all true Republicans.” There are regrets in Dublin too. There have been rumours Arlene is secretly infatuated with dashing southern leader, Leo Varadkar. Arlene has been making eyes at Leo, sending him flirtatious messages, but his response has been ice-cold. “I did all I could to be nice to him and what did I get? Nothing, not as much as a peck on the che...

Brexit was sold to the British public, partly, on the promise that the UK would take back control of its borders, trade policies, laws and immigration, with no side effects or cost whatsoever. This always looked highly suspect, not least because of open conflicts between ultra Free Trade campaigners like Daniel Hannan who want no immigration controls, and Farage & co who want draconian border restrictions. The Brexit contradictions are becoming increasingly obvious as the “easiest trade deal of all time” fails to materialise, the cost-free EU exit has vanished and other aspects of the Brexit case are unravelling. Ministers tried their utmost to prevent the public, and MPs, seeing internal government assessments of the impact of brexit, all negative. Now we have more evidence that all is not as promised for Brexit. A fine piece of investigative journalism in the Guardian/ Observer has uncovered a series of meetings between Brexit Trade Ministers and officials with the shadowy L...

Shock horror, Senor Portillo of the Brexit Broadcasting Censors, steam railways division, has been revealed as a closet Remainer. Senior BBC executives held an emergency meeting. “This is an intolerable situation. We can’t have someone with pro-EU views corrupting the airwaves and slipping in positive messages about Europe,” said Mr B. Rexit, the BBC’s head of balance and fairness. David Dimblebore has been asked to step in and present a series of illustrated readings from old railway timetables until a suitable, UKIP approved, successor to Senor Portaloo can be found. It’s rumoured there are many more “sleepers” in the Tory party waiting for the moment when they can spring out from behind a curtain and shout “Boooooo”, to scare Theresa Mayhem into flushing her chaotic Brexit down the toilet, where it belongs. Senor Portillo has long been suspected of harbouring Remainer tendencies. "He’s the son of a Spanish immigrant, for heaven’s sake, what more evidence do you need?"...

Chaotic preparations for Brexit are damaging Britain's economic prospects, investment and reputation. With less than a year to go until Brexit there is no clear plan. Government ministers continue to squabble over the basic question; "what kind of Brexit will we have?" The Labour opposition are as confused and divided over Brexit as the Conservative government. Jeremy Corbyn is officially supporting Brexit while ducking the blame, (to avoid antagonising most of his party who supported remain) using the old Leninist trick of giving his Tory opponents enough rope to hang themselves. His now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t version of Brexit requires delicate footwork to keep both Remain and Leave sides on board. Jez kept the illusion alive for a surprisingly long time but Labour unity is beginning to crack as his cynical posturing becomes obvious. The latest sign that all is not well came when Labour's Foreign affairs spokesperson, Emily Thornberry (who, we now discove...

It was all smiles at the EU summit in Brussels, the first time in years British politicians weren't flinging abuse at EU partners. Mrs Mayhem appeared to be entering the spirit of the occasion, for once. “Sacre Bleu”, she exclaimed, as President Macron presented her with a sample of the new Brexit British passport, just delivered from the printers in France. M Junker was in a cheery mood as he proposed a new European public holiday, "from now on, we will celebrate EU fish day each year, in honour of Brexit. In fact let's have it every month! Europe was threatened with a seafood deficit but now, thanks to the negotiating "skills" of our UK chums Madame Mayhem and Monsieurs Davis and Bunter, we'll have all the fish we can eat for years. In fact, I must appeal to Herr Farage and Lord Grease-Smog, please stop throwing fish into your tidal waters. We have more than enough already. EU consumers must get used to eating more fish, much, much more, if we're go...