Democracy in the UK... | Page 44 | Vital Football

Democracy in the UK...

https://www.theguardian.com/educati...re-to-apologise-over-free-school-meals-tweets

How about not deleting the tweets and then fully explaining "the context" then?

Still, folks vote for these idiots.

The good people of Mansfield had the opportunity to vote out this shyster in December and get in someone who actually gave a shit about them. But instead they chose to wrap themselves in a flag and pretend to bask in the glories of a long since dead empire. They now can’t complain when a Tory prick turns out to be a Tory prick.
 
The good people of Mansfield had the opportunity to vote out this shyster in December and get in someone who actually gave a shit about them. But instead they chose to wrap themselves in a flag and pretend to bask in the glories of a long since dead empire. They now can’t complain when a Tory prick turns out to be a Tory prick.
The alternative presumably being a Labour prick?
 
The Labour prick that introduced Sure Start and Building Schools for the Future, amongst other things, to help this country to at least try to recover from the ravages of Thatcherism. But yeah, some cheap whataboutery really makes your point compelling.
Tony Blair, Labour really relate to his legacy, don't they. BSF was a well meaning programme but badly managed and wasted millions if not billions. Sure STart is a loss.

As HoofGrantBrown has pointed out, all our current crop of politicians of all parties are crap.
 
Tony Blair, Labour really relate to his legacy, don't they. BSF was a well meaning programme but badly managed and wasted millions if not billions. Sure STart is a loss.

As HoofGrantBrown has pointed out, all our current crop of politicians of all parties are crap.

I don't necessarily disagree, but I also think "all politicians are crap" is an easy way to actually avoid talking about how we can change things for the better.

It's an abdication of individual collective responsibility.

Maybe we should expect better and work for change that delivers that?
 
World Class Freight Tracking System...
https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/25/brexit_travel_permits_software_beta/

A Cabinet Office official told Bloomberg that beta is a standard labelling practice for a digital service that is fully operational. Experienced IT professionals may contest this definition.

Even so, its expected December release leaves only a few weeks for freight firms to ensure they can get their people working to the needs of the new system. They need time to adapt, and the Smart Freight software to work as described, for KAPs to be effective in avoiding miles of lorries clogging Kent's roads come January.
 
Just read this and marvel at the Department for International Trade's utter failure to understand, er, international trade.

https://www.theguardian.com/politic...uce-price-cut-claim-prompts-backlash-bake-off

Still, I'm sure Brexit will go swimmingly.

Amazing ignorance. But we’ve known that all along haven’t we? There’s still a reckoning to come when flag-waving pomposity meets reality. It’d be funny to watch if it wasn’t going to ruin so many people’s lives.
 
Some more good news for post Brexit Britain. It would appear that Canada are not fussed about the UK possibly breaching international law and recognise the desirability of maintaining free trade with an independent (large) G7 economy. Straight forward oven ready trade deal on the way apparently.

Particularly interesting that the comments come from PM Trudeau who is no Anglophile:

“Canada is extremely pleased to be the only G7 country that has a free-trade deal with every other G7 country and we would certainly like to keep that.

There have been many discussions over the past years between myself and Prime Minister Johnson and his predecessor on that seamless transition on a rollover of the CETA between Canada and the European Union to be the basis for a Canada-UK free-trade that would allow certainty for Canadian and British companies going into the future.

I think you’ve heard that there are significant complexities that the UK is grappling with in terms of negotiating the post-Brexit agreement with the European Union. I can highlight that it’s fairly straightforward with Canada and we are certainly very optimistic in the ability to see things roll over smoothly.
The UK is engaged in many different negotiations right now but Canada is certainly there to ensure this certainty that can be given to British companies, at least with Canada, as other things are worked out in a more complex way.”


Source Daily Express.
 
Some more good news for post Brexit Britain. It would appear that Canada are not fussed about the UK possibly breaching international law and recognise the desirability of maintaining free trade with an independent (large) G7 economy. Straight forward oven ready trade deal on the way apparently.

Particularly interesting that the comments come from PM Trudeau who is no Anglophile:

“Canada is extremely pleased to be the only G7 country that has a free-trade deal with every other G7 country and we would certainly like to keep that.

There have been many discussions over the past years between myself and Prime Minister Johnson and his predecessor on that seamless transition on a rollover of the CETA between Canada and the European Union to be the basis for a Canada-UK free-trade that would allow certainty for Canadian and British companies going into the future.

I think you’ve heard that there are significant complexities that the UK is grappling with in terms of negotiating the post-Brexit agreement with the European Union. I can highlight that it’s fairly straightforward with Canada and we are certainly very optimistic in the ability to see things roll over smoothly.
The UK is engaged in many different negotiations right now but Canada is certainly there to ensure this certainty that can be given to British companies, at least with Canada, as other things are worked out in a more complex way.”


Source Daily Express.

Express printing old news from 2018 shock horror. In actual fact according to the original politico article we could have already done this deal?

https://www.politico.eu/article/justin-trudeau-uk-canada-trade-talks-can-begin-day-after-brexit/
 
So even better news then, could be further on than I thought. Thanks for the update Sincilbanks.

Well they are not going that well and they only really re-commenced on 7th September so they haven't had much time to develop the situation...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/monday-brexit-business-groups-1.5732075

"A transitional agreement with Canada in the short term won't be the same as a customized, bilateral agreement. That would take far longer than three months to conclude.
But in a last-minute effort to ensure British businesses weren't harmed by a looming "hard Brexit" (exiting the EU's customs union without deals to replace its benefits), May's government announced dramatic global tariff cuts that made Canada think twice about whether to let some of its CETA concessions stand."


"We continue to urge both the U.K. and the EU to reach an agreement on their future relationship, and ensure that they preserve the gains of the Good Friday Agreement," said Ryan Nearing, Minister Ng's press secretary, in response to a question from CBC News.

"Any future trade agreement between Canada and the U.K. will be influenced by the U.K.-EU trade relationship, as well as any unilateral U.K. trade approaches."


Meanwhile, both governments face the looming expiration of CETA's benefits, without an alternative in hand.
 
Well they are not going that well and they only really re-commenced on 7th September so they haven't had much time to develop the situation...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/monday-brexit-business-groups-1.5732075

"A transitional agreement with Canada in the short term won't be the same as a customized, bilateral agreement. That would take far longer than three months to conclude.
But in a last-minute effort to ensure British businesses weren't harmed by a looming "hard Brexit" (exiting the EU's customs union without deals to replace its benefits), May's government announced dramatic global tariff cuts that made Canada think twice about whether to let some of its CETA concessions stand."


"We continue to urge both the U.K. and the EU to reach an agreement on their future relationship, and ensure that they preserve the gains of the Good Friday Agreement," said Ryan Nearing, Minister Ng's press secretary, in response to a question from CBC News.

"Any future trade agreement between Canada and the U.K. will be influenced by the U.K.-EU trade relationship, as well as any unilateral U.K. trade approaches."

Meanwhile, both governments face the looming expiration of CETA's benefits, without an alternative in hand.

Brexit is indefinite, the EU dalliance was for a mere four decades. It will take a few years to set up all the trade deals but it would appear the UK is already dealing with the world and the world is queueing up to deal with the UK.

Canada, Japan and Australia all already in the bag or undertaking talks, US and New Zealand have expressed interest and it's not even 01/01/21 yet.

Don't get me wrong the flaky Johnson could still sell the UK down the river and I don't doubt he could derail Brexit with such a bad deal it would put us in a worse position than remaining in The EU; but so far so good.

The doom mongers that said countries would no longer trust the UK - wrong. Those that said that countries wouldn't want to trade with the 'small and insignificant' UK (that would be a G7 nation in it's own right then) were wrong.

I guess both sides of the Brexit coin are watching the wholly untrustworthy Johnson with keen interest and it won't be long now before the final score so to speak is in, even if Johnson does have a history of taking it to replays, extra time, penalties and after match appeals.
 
Brexit is indefinite, the EU dalliance was for a mere four decades. It will take a few years to set up all the trade deals but it would appear the UK is already dealing with the world and the world is queueing up to deal with the UK.

Canada, Japan and Australia all already in the bag or undertaking talks, US and New Zealand have expressed interest and it's not even 01/01/21 yet.

Don't get me wrong the flaky Johnson could still sell the UK down the river and I don't doubt he could derail Brexit with such a bad deal it would put us in a worse position than remaining in The EU; but so far so good.

The doom mongers that said countries would no longer trust the UK - wrong. Those that said that countries wouldn't want to trade with the 'small and insignificant' UK (that would be a G7 nation in it's own right then) were wrong.

I guess both sides of the Brexit coin are watching the wholly untrustworthy Johnson with keen interest and it won't be long now before the final score so to speak is in, even if Johnson does have a history of taking it to replays, extra time, penalties and after match appeals.

That's quite a different take from two posts ago:
"Straight forward oven ready trade deal on the way apparently"
 
Brexit is indefinite, the EU dalliance was for a mere four decades. It will take a few years to set up all the trade deals but it would appear the UK is already dealing with the world and the world is queueing up to deal with the UK.

Canada, Japan and Australia all already in the bag or undertaking talks, US and New Zealand have expressed interest and it's not even 01/01/21 yet.

Don't get me wrong the flaky Johnson could still sell the UK down the river and I don't doubt he could derail Brexit with such a bad deal it would put us in a worse position than remaining in The EU; but so far so good.

The doom mongers that said countries would no longer trust the UK - wrong. Those that said that countries wouldn't want to trade with the 'small and insignificant' UK (that would be a G7 nation in it's own right then) were wrong.

I guess both sides of the Brexit coin are watching the wholly untrustworthy Johnson with keen interest and it won't be long now before the final score so to speak is in, even if Johnson does have a history of taking it to replays, extra time, penalties and after match appeals.


For sure, trade deals will be done in time.
But all will, at the very best, only get us back to where we were in the EU. So a pointless exercise if ever there was.
But Brexit has never been about trade (if it was, there would obviously be no point in it at all). For those behind it, it was always about the avoidance of tax scrutiny as well as worsening employment standards and food standards, amongst other things.
 
That's quite a different take from two posts ago:
"Straight forward oven ready trade deal on the way apparently"
As Trudeau has already indicated it's a dotting and crossing exercise once UK and EU finish their negotiations. The deal will be along the lines of the one that exists with some tweaks that specifically benefit the two individual countries.

One country at a time, let's not be impatient. We've got the rest of time to deal with the world, not a mere 40 odd years.