Category: Brexit

We’ve got the F-Word and the C-Word. THIS is the B-Word.

Forming a Disorderly Queue

by andrewcurnow1971, posted in Brexit, Little Bit Of Politics, The C-Word

I wouldn’t normally feel moved to stick up for a feckless, disingenuous chancer. But…

Having unexpectedly found myself in support of Mr Trump last time (well sort of) this week I feel moved to compliment Boris Johnson (well sort of). Not for anything he’s done, things haven’t taken quite as extraordinary a turn as that – but for something he hasn’t done.

That is to say, where we might have expected a misjudged, misplaced, “good old UK/hurrah for Brexit” bit of bragging, he hasn’t made any comment on the EU vaccine row which has variously grumbled, outraged and shocked its way through this week’s news.

I for one can’t remember having as many conversations about drugs as I have this week, not since Zammo’s fall from grace in the mid-80s, but what’s I’ve found especially maddening is the attempt, maybe by the media, maybe by the EU itself filtered through the media, to spin the ‘AstraZeneca EU under-delivery’ debacle into a ‘UK versus EU’ story instead.

At least based on the news reports, you’d be forgiven for thinking Boris had personally blockaded UK shipments headed for the continent. Whereas in fact it’s a business, making a business decision, and deciding NOT to use UK-produced vaccines to top up the lower-than-hoped supply levels from its various plants within the EU. A decision entirely made by AstraZeneca, about an agreement solely with the EU, and so by definition nothing to do with the UK government whatsoever.

Which ought to have been it, really. Until (in a bizarre example of just the sort of arrogant heavy-handedness which ardent Brexiteers used to claim happened all the time (but never actually did)) the EU proceeded to make claim after claim that supplies must be diverted from the UK, that EU requirements must be first priority, and even that they had a contract explicitly saying this must be so.

Fired up with their own indignation, the EU then went too far, when health commissioner Stella Kyriakides rejected ‘first come, first served’ as an acceptable business practice – instantly uniting Brexiteers and Remainers, because if there’s one thing the people of the UK can agree on it’s that we all absolutely respect the principle of the queue.

At the same time, the commissioner seemed to be asserting that ‘might has right’ is acceptable, on the grounds that the EU is 27 countries, and is therefore bigger and more important. Given the choice between that and ‘first come, first served’ I know which feels the less morally dubious.

The EU followed up this public relations triumph by confidently publishing their watertight advanced purchase agreement… which unfortunately demonstrated (despite the bold, but misguided, description of the clause as “crystal clear” by President von der Leyen) that it didn’t actually say what they had been telling us all week it did.

Most shocking of all perhaps (allowing for the fact that I’ve put my bargepole aside so am not even going near the whole Northern Ireland contretemps) is that, with no ill-advised gloating from Boris, and with other ministers making conciliatory comments, it has made our lot look (temporarily I’m sure) like actual grown-ups, with ethics and integrity. (Even, though it pains me to say so, even Michael Gove.)

What’s slipped through the cracks though, amidst all the arguing over who has and hasn’t got how much of which vaccine yet, is that it doesn’t really matter. If by ‘getting back to normal’ we mean an end to restrictions; being able to travel; being able to welcome overseas tourists back to the UK – if we mean getting back to (awkward phrase in the circumstances) free movement, that depends on everyone being vaccinated everywhere.

Of course every government wants to get its own population done as soon as possible (that is, to be fair, sort of their job); but they must know that to genuinely return to where we were, it requires all countries to do the same. So other than getting a headline or two, being the first country to be ‘fully vaccinated’ (whatever that might actually turn out to mean) is a slightly empty achievement.

Tired old phrase, but we are all in it together. Still.

So Shines A Good Deed…

by andrewcurnow1971, posted in Brexit, Little Bit Of Politics, Trump

…In A Weary World.

(I’ll be honest, I thought I was quoting Gene Wilder at the end of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory there. Turns out it’s actually from The Merchant of Venice. Who knew?)

But anyway, and leaving aside my cultural ignorance, and if you don’t want to know the results of the US Presidential election, look away now…

I went to bed Tuesday evening in the expectation that I would wake on Wednesday to a result, and to headlines which were either Mr Trump’s self-congratulation on his victory, or a furious rejection of his defeat.

As it happened, of course, I woke on Wednesday NOT to a result, but unexpectedly to Trump both congratulating himself on his victory AND also furiously rejecting his defeat; and that’s pretty much set the tone for the rest of the week. I mean, I get jittery when I don’t know who the new Doctor Who is, but this…

I feel, to be honest, a little bit sorry for Joe Biden. He first became a senator back in 1972. He was Vice-President for 8 years. He stood as a potential Democratic candidate twice before. No doubt over the decades he’s often thought about being President – sometimes simple daydreaming, but at other times in an actively seeking it, ‘I can almost touch it’, sort of way. Now he’s done it – yet somehow, now that his moment has come, the limelight is still firmly on Mr Trump.

At any other time Biden would have had the dignified concession speech from his opponent, and where he could normally expect a productive, civilised transfer of power, he’s surely in for a rough ride over the next couple of months. Even his inauguration is likely to be overshadowed either by a petulant Trump turning up, or by an even more petulant one deciding to host a different event elsewhere at the same time. Frankly I expect Biden won’t really feel ‘there’ until he’s actually sat in the Oval Office – and to be honest, if Trump hasn’t taken all the headed notepaper with him it’ll be a surprise.

In my opinion (though CNN didn’t ask) it was never going to be a landslide, and to be honest if anyone had pressed me on the issue (although Fox didn’t) this time last week I’d have guessed Mr Trump would just have squeezed back in. It looks like by the time it’s finished Biden will have a definite win, though not a huge one.

Even so, it shows that it is possible to step back from the brink, that the majority has turned away from the bitterly divisive stylings of a President who has been driven by ego and a need for praise, with a largely-misplaced certainty of his own genius, and who considers it acceptable to tell blatant lies, and to make wild and unsubstantiated claims.

In our own way, the UK has also been troubled by something bitterly divisive since 2016. Not an individual in our case, although various individuals have certainly been part of it, similarly driven by ego, and a certainty of their own genius, and the acceptability of telling huge lies. And likewise, at least in its current impending form, Brexit will be over in January. For us it isn’t something we can turn away from or change our minds on – but hopefully when the actual event has passed we can start to ‘get over it’.

In fact, for a brief shining moment earlier this year, in the midst of the growing pandemic, there was a sense that we genuinely were all in it together, and that we would come together, united in the face of this awful crisis. Alas, that good faith has been squandered. By individuals and ego and huge lies…

So, unquestionably, and as I’m sure President-Elect Biden is keenly aware now that he was won the vote, there is a lot of work to be done. But, with a swing away from division, discrimination and vanity, we’ve been shown it is possible.

For today at least, God bless America.

Counting Down The Days

by andrewcurnow1971, posted in Brexit, Confused, Little Bit Of Politics, Moaning, Money

Is everyone getting excited?

Not long to go now! How many more sleeps is it? I hope I get what I want…

Yes the election is almost upon us – and at Curnow Towers the onslaught of party gumph through our letter box, has begun. So far, we’ve had two different Tory ones (one from the candidate, and another not from him but telling us what a nice chap he is) and two Labour ones (both the same – although I’m sure she’s a nice chap too).

It really is a ‘lesser of two evils’ election isn’t it  – or, rather (lack of gumph from the other parties notwithstanding) a ‘least of several evils’. According to the internet, three other  candidates are standing in this area. As well as the aforementioned Blues and Reds, we’ve also got a Yellow, a Green, and an Independent to choose from. Consequently, the arrival of the postman this coming week will be like the worst Advent Calendar ever as we open the door to find yet more electoral literature.

Statistically and historically speaking, our seat is usually Tory – but has occasionally gone Lib Dem, given which the Yellows would be either mad or cocky not to send out any information. And surely the Independent guy will send something too, because without that… well frankly, without that nobody would even know he exists.

As for the Greens, I feel for them rather. On these occasions, they must be deeply conflicted as to whether to send flyers out or not – because not only will that be using up a huge amount of natural resources (which they are very much down on in the Green Party) there’s also the huge carbon footprint involved in delivering to every address.

Curiously, or at least I think it is, of the three leaflets we’ve had so far only one has actually been printed in this constituency, and, credit where it’s due, that one was the Tory guy’s. The second Tory one was printed in Redruth, which is at least in this part of the country, even if not actually in the same county. And the Labour one was printed in Northamptonshire, a mere 260 miles and 5 counties away.

I mentioned this on Twitter, and some wise and insightful person kindly replied to point out that it was probably cheaper. I had in fact worked that out all by myself, not being quite as stupid as you might think, but my point was more that I wouldn’t put much faith in our local MP sticking up for local enterprises if “it will be cheaper up North” is the default winner of any argument.

At the moment, to my surprise, I’m tending towards the Lib Dems. Tactically, they’re the only realistic alternative to the current chap – and although I still can’t entirely get over their extraordinary brass neck in standing on a clear policy of instantly ditching the Brexit referendum result, I do at least commend them for giving a straight answer to a straight question.

Although… in voting that way, I sort of feel I’m doing what Parliament has been doing with Brexit all this time, with its ‘blocking no deal while at the same time not accepting the current deal’ dithering. That is to say, I’m dodging making a real decision.

Frankly, Corbyn’s moment was 2017, he blatantly won’t do as well this time. And the Lib Dems (despite the fevered imaginings of Ms Swinson) are not going to sweep to power on a yellow wave. Which means that in denying the Tories this seat, what I’m really doing is voting for a hung parliament again.

But if (to the great shame of Labour who, as opposition, after nearly a decade ought to be shining like a beacon of hope in the darkness, not coming across as an undecided, dithering shambles)–  if the only alternative to that is a Tory majority, well…

It really IS a ‘lesser evil’ election isn’t it!!

So, yes, Lib Dem. Surprisingly. Probably.

Although if they don’t send me any gumph, or even worse if I find it was printed in Kilmarnock…

It’s My Party and I’ll Cry If I Want To

by andrewcurnow1971, posted in Brexit, Confused, Little Bit Of Politics, Moaning, Money, Trump

Labour should be the obvious choice… Shouldn’t it?

Just across the house from the grim prospect of the Tory Government sits the main Opposition Party, and in the normal course of events I’d have expected them to seen by now like our great golden salvation, a no-brainer option, confidently in line for a clear victory. Like in 1997, when we were so fed up of the Tories after 18 years that of course Labour won by a landslide.

Yet somehow, they… well, he mainly if I’m honest… seem such an unpalatable alternative. Either Corbyn has a plan for Brexit or he doesn’t. If he doesn’t, he probably ought to admit that, rather than making rash “I’ll sort it within 6 months” claims. And if he does… then by crikey, he ought to have shared it long before now. Brexit is not (or at least, it shouldn’t be) a party issue, it’s a national one.

Then there’s the whole antisemitism controversy. I must confess I don’t entirely understand it, but the fact that the story hasn’t been quashed, and that it seems to come from so many sources suggests that even if it’s not Corbyn himself that’s riddled with it, the party under him certainly is. It’s just too wide-ranging, too long-lived to be ‘fake news’. What sort of man would we be letting into Downing Street? I don’t mind him snubbing Trump, but I do wonder what sort of people he would be happy pallying up to.

And then there’s his policies. Don’t get me wrong, there’s something laudable about the suggestion of reduced working hours, about a less-punitive benefits system, about perhaps renationalising the railways (although it’s come too late for our local station, alas, they’ve built a bloody great Waitrose over it), about scrapping university fees…

But there’s also a huge streak of naivete in the old fallback of promising to fund it by putting higher taxes on the rich and on corporations. That’s fine if they have no option but to pay up… but last time I checked, there were other countries with other tax rates, so the chances are that many of the very, very rich who’d be in line to pay very, very high taxes will just hop in their private jets and find somewhere less-taxing to live instead.  

So far, so bad. I’ve talked myself out of the Conservatives – now the Labour Party too!

I wouldn’t want to be accused of favouritism though, so let’s quickly rule the Lib Dems out as well. No doubt they have lots of policies (well, I assume they probably do) but as far as I can see they’re only really standing on a policy of simply scrapping Brexit.

Now, as it happens, I think the decision to leave the EU was the wrong one, but cancelling it is not the same as turning the clock back and undoing the vote – and it is an enormous leap from wishing you could do that, to a political party actually deciding they can choose to ignore it.

If you’re a remainer and you support the Lib Dems in this, then fine – but  next time, when somebody wants to arbitrarily overturn a decision that you agree with, you won’t have much of a leg to stand on. Once there’s a precedent… In effect, and rather ironically, the Liberal Democrats are standing on a ticket of abandoning Democracy for this election.

Alas, my own arbitrary and undemocratic, self-imposed word limit means I don’t have much space left to bemoan the Brexit Party, but in a nutshell my main issues with it are:

1) Nigel Farage

2) The telling fact that Trump likes him

3) Anne Widdecombe

I suppose I should mention the Green Party too, but to be honest I’ve all but lost the will to live – anyway, it’s not like I’m the BBC or anything, obliged to be impartial. They may all be sane, lovely people, but they probably won’t get many votes. (Sorry Greens.)

So that’s the election. Uncaring Tories, amateur-hour Labour, undemocratic Lib Dems, and the hideous Brexit Party. Oh, and the Greens. (Sorry Greens.)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Struggling to Maintain an Election

by andrewcurnow1971, posted in Brexit, Confused, Little Bit Of Politics, Moaning, Trump

So… we’re having an election. (What, another one??!)

I find myself even more than usually conflicted this time, so in a (probably doomed) attempt to bring some clarity to my confusion, I thought I’d spend a little time assessing (by which I expect I probably mean, complaining) about the various options.

In the blue corner, of course, the current Government, Boris Johnson and the Tories. For the record, I didn’t vote for them, and of course never even had the option of voting for him. I think it unfair and simplistic to say he’s our version of Trump (Trump is stupid enough to think he knows everything, but Boris is at least clever enough to know that he doesn’t) but even so I don’t like him. In any normal scenario, it would be a new low to even consider him for the role of PM.

And yet part of me can’t help but wonder… Is he the man for the moment?

His approach to Brexit, coming into number 10, seemed to be to put his head down and charge full-pelt at it, do anything to push it through and leave on 31st October. Considering how divisive it’s all become, how polarised opinions are, how antagonistic and aggressive the opposing sides seem to be, maybe that is the way to go: deal, no deal, whatever, it doesn’t matter, just Leave. (And then work around the clock to solve whatever problems arise.)

‘It’ (by which I mean the constitutional act of leaving the EU) would at least be done. The Leavers would no longer be able to moan about the referendum being ignored; and the Remainers would be perfectly entitled to start the long campaign for a referendum on joining the EU. (And the huge swathe of us who aren’t really all that bothered either way can finally get on with our lives again.) Maybe that’s not a pleasant scenario, but it would at least mean we could begin the long, painful process of getting over it.

The downside of course is that, setting aside Brexit, in every other sense what possible reason could there be to vote Tory?! Punitive reforms to the Welfare State, the constant threat of at least partially-privatising the NHS (fundamentally misunderstanding the word ‘Service’ I think), the constant swingeing cuts to libraries and schools and support services, the huge increase in food banks, the huge decrease in police numbers, an almost complete disinterest and, worse, a fundamental lack of awareness of people’s lives, etc, etc. The track record is hardly encouraging.

Obviously the point of the December 12th exercise is the hope (by the politicians) that the election will deliver a clear result, that it will give one party a majority – meaning in effect that whoever wins can then push their preferred version of Brexit through the Commons regardless of the opposition.

But there’s a strong expectation (by the non-politicians) that there won’t be a definitive result, that we’ll be in for a hung parliament, no clear majority, and a frantic pre-Christmas scrabbling around to form uneasy alliances, maybe even another coalition.

The Lib Dems have already ruled out ‘doing it’ with Labour. Boris has ruled out making any kind of deal with the Brexit Party. And, surely, there can’t be enough billions left in the public coffers to sling the awful DUP and the ghastly Arlene Foster another bribe for their support.

(Maybe I should apologise for that unkind slur, because of course the DUP have only objected to Boris’ deal out of principle, perish the suggestion that they might just be holding out for more money. Because, of course, they’ve always made it abundantly clear that they will not countenance being treated in any way whatsoever differently to any other part of the UK. Well, except when it suits them obviously, you know, little things. Abortion, equal marriage, any civil liberties they don’t take a particular shine to…)

Hmm… I can’t honestly say this has in any way helped sort out my confusion. And I haven’t even insulted the Opposition Parties yet (well, not much).

Maybe this is why I don’t normally do politics…

Number Ten, Number Nine

by andrewcurnow1971, posted in BBC, Brexit, Doctor Who, Little Bit Of Politics, Moaning, TV

As if things weren’t bad enough, now David Cameron has a book out.

I can’t imagine how tedious a book it is, presumably part misplaced-smugness, part retrospective justification for his actions – arguably the only time when it might get insightful is when Brexit kicks off, but of course that happens after he’s already sodded off so presumably the book ends just when things might be in danger of getting interesting.

Not only that, it would seem he can’t even be trusted to keep his mouth shut and has been happy to blab all about supposedly confidential discussions. The minute I saw the headline, of his revealing details of private conversations between him and the Queen, I thought he’d get into trouble for it. (I’m pleased to say that very shortly after, he did.)

Maybe I’m being too hard on him; or maybe a man who, to be frank, was happy to hold a referendum regardless of any damage it might do, not out of any principle but simply to make sure he won an election, deserves not to be especially well-regarded. To make it worse, the moment it all blows up in his face he is able to swan off entirely scot-free, with no recriminations and not even an offer to help sort out the mess he’s left behind. Through gritted teeth, let me say that the final insult is that not only has he got away with it, he’s also secured a no doubt six-figure book deal out of it.

Curiously enough, another book came out the exact same day, another autobiography. Unlike Cameron’s, though, I’d actually like to read Christopher Eccleston’s book – although I suspect it would be hard to convince anybody that I’m not just interested in the Doctor Who stuff.

That’s not to say there isn’t still a fascination in discovering, or deciphering, just what happened, just what went wrong in 2004 that he left Doctor Who after just one year. You could draw the parallel that he too left just as things were getting interesting – but in Chris Eccleston’s case he left things in a healthier state than he’d found them, and since then has shown nothing but tact, discretion and dignity.

The tantalising hints and tidbits that have emerged over the years suggest a falling-out, artistic or personal or both, from which the production team’s relationships never really recovered; with the situation then being made worse by the BBC’s extraordinarily clumsy response when the news broke that Eccleston had already left the show, after only one of his thirteen episodes had aired.

I feel weirdly conflicted whenever I hear Christopher Eccleston talk, even obliquely, about that time. There’s an understandable frustration and resentment on his part at being, in effect, cold-shouldered and hung out to dry by the Beeb, even as his performance was giving them a hit show. I love Doctor Who, the BBC too for that matter, but that affection makes me feel disloyal to a man who inspires loyalty. No, not loyalty exactly – it’s more that in every interview I’ve seen or read of him, he comes across as a man of high standards, of fierce and unbending integrity. And with that comes, somehow, the implicit challenge to try and match up.

An insightful friend, years ago, wrote on a forum that he thought Christopher Eccleston might be like Patrick Troughton – in that, it wouldn’t be until a whole generation later that he would begin to realise how much he meant to us. Now he’s emerged from the silence which has surrounded his time as the Doctor; and at last, it seems, he is becoming aware of, and coming to terms with, the great regard and fondness in which he is still held.

Mind you, I don’t think the book is about Doctor Who as such, it’s much more his life story, his struggles and demons and relationships. Not like Cameron, not looking to justify his actions or put a good spin on his legacy; but to say, plainly and truthfully, here I am, this is me, I don’t always find it easy.

He really does sound like one of the good guys.

Fantastic, even.

Deal or No Deal

by andrewcurnow1971, posted in Brexit, Doctor Who, Little Bit Of Politics

I really wish I was going to spend 700 words moaning about Noel Edmonds.

Alas, it’s not the bearded one (well, not that bearded one) it’s just more bloody Brexit. Hopefully, when it’s all finished and we can finally sit down and do the whole boxset in one go, it won’t seem quite as rambly and all over the place. Maybe we’ll be able to see a clear narrative structure running through it. Heck, there might even be some characters we can actually warm to. Hopefully.

At the moment, though, that’s seeming very unlikely.

In this week’s twist, Jeremy Corbyn has come up with a bizarre plan, which involves him taking over as temporary Prime Minister. I certainly didn’t see that coming, although I’m reluctant to categorically label it as Brexit’s ‘jumping the shark’ moment. There’s always the very real danger that something even dafter might be just around the corner.

As far as I can see, his plan involves getting enough votes to push through a vote of no confidence in the new Prime Minister (as played by Boris Johnson of course) but for some reason that I can’t quite follow, on this occasion it won’t prompt a General Election (cue telecine insert of Brenda from Bristol exclaiming “What? Another one?!”) but will instead mean that Jeremy, along with a mixed bag of opponents-turned-allies, forms a caretaker government.

If I’m honest it reminds me of the penultimate episode of Matt Smith’s first year as Doctor Who, when the Daleks and Cybermen and all the other halfway decent costumes kicking around the BBC Wales costume department, all got together to sort the Doctor out once and for all. (If Boris pops up on the news next week wearing a fez, that will put the tin hat on it. As it were.)

All in all, Jeremy C’s character has been written very differently this season. In earlier runs, he very nearly won the General Election, was hugely popular with the young, I mean blimey, he was even ‘bigged-up’ at Glastonbury! This time round, he’s portrayed as a bumbling, ineffectual nobody and an anti-semite –  and has an obsessive delusion that he can become Prime Minister!

Meanwhile, from almost nowhere Jo Swinson has got her name above the titles (maybe she’s got a new agent). She’s keen on Corbyn’s idea, not so keen on Corbyn – her version of pretty much the same plan means a season finale with Ken Clarke cameoing as celebrity (sorry, I mean caretaker) Prime Minister. (I picture it as being very like William Shatner guesting in Boston Legal – hugely entertaining, utterly unpredictable, and perhaps not entirely politically correct.)

The main (possibly only) point of this proposed replacement government is to ensure there is not No Deal, which is all fine and dandy up to a point – but… Well… The alternative to ‘No Deal’ is surely, in the normal, grammatical way of things, ‘Deal’? Whatever its faults the EU has been commendably consistent in making it clear over the past nine months (I know, it feels like decades, sorry) that the deal as agreed is the only deal available.

It would be an awful (in every sense of the word ‘awful’) waste of time if it turns out that having ensured ‘No Deal’ their only possible alternative is to bring back the deal that Theresa May (you know, she was in it a lot last season) tried three, maybe four, times to get through Parliament. But as far as I can see (and to be fair, as Theresa May said in episode seven) it’s her deal or no deal. So if you don’t want no deal then… well, you can probably work out the rest of that for yourself.

Maybe what’ll happen is, that Theresa May will wake up on 31st October to discover that it was all a terrible dream, that the whole of the last season never happened, that she’s still Prime Minister, and that we’re ready to leave with her original deal all approved.

Mind you, if that means she’ll then be faced with David Cameron coming out of the shower – well, then she has my sympathies.

(Run End Titles)