RayC

Well said. Unfortunately, your request seems to have fallen on some deaf ears.

However, the more pertinent question still remains i.e would the UK have been better off economically if it had remained in the EU? Most commentators believe that the answer is 'Yes'. Example link below. https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/impact-brexit-uk-economy-reviewing-evidence

It might well be construed as that, so just as well that's not what I am saying. It's obviously unclear what race the anonymous Tory quoted in the link below belongs to but I take his/her accusation seriously as well. Just a shame that they didn't have the courage to make themselves known. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/suella-braverman-home-secretary-dolls-essex-pub-rishi-sunak-racist-rhetoric-grooming-gangs-b1074141.html

No, pointing out that "Pakistani grooming gangs are Pakistani" isn't racist. It's a tautology. However, when an Asian, right-wing Tory accuses another Asian, right-wing Tory of using racist rhetoric, I'm inclined to think that there may be a case to answer.

Jokes aside. What practical benefits will this MoU bring to either side? I can only assume that this is an election ploy by both Sunak and the Governor of Washington ("Look what I've done for you. I've signed an agreement with a billion/trillion dollar economy"). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-and-washington-state-trade-cooperation-innovation-and-clean-energy-memorandum-of-understanding#:~:text=Policy paper-,UK and Washington State trade cooperation%2C innovation and clean energy,US%2C signed 25 September 2023.

Please see my previous post and link.

Steady on. We didn't leave the EU just to replace it with a different set of faceless bureaucrats from Beijing, Bombay, Brasilia or Babayeva telling us what to do! (Confession time: Yes, I know Bombay is now called Mumbai. I also admit that I had to search for "Cities in Russia beginning with B").

Agreed but it is isolationist and insular to seek to withdraw from international partnerships, conventions and agreements, especially when you seemingly have no idea what or how to replace their functions. Are you inferring that Indians are incapable of being racist? Her fellow Tory, Baroness Warsi, who I doubt is herself a member of the ".. Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati" seems to disagree. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/baroness-sayeeda-warsi-tory-peer-comments-suella-braverman-racist-b1073500.html Imo Braverman is a simply a nasty piece of work.

I find the prospect that the insular, isolationist, borderline racist homophobe Braverman might end up as leader of one of the two major UK-wide political parties truly horrific. I live in hope that having got their fingers burnt when they elected Truss, surely even Tory MPs and members wouldn't be stupid enough to appoint another mad woman to be party leader. (Before I'm accused of sexism, I fully accept that there are also plenty of madmen in the ERG)..

The aims of the 'levelling up' initiative might be a bit nebulous, but I doubt that they include rampant localised inflation. However, I do agree that the priority should have been on improving local transport links in the north, rather than shaving 20 mins off of a London - B'ham trip. Moreover, the spiralling costs cause a doubt over the Business Case for the HS2 project.

Thanks for the clarification; I'd forgotten about that incident. It seemed like a sensible decision to ensure that the EU agreed with May's proposal to the UK cabinet, although I'll admit that her flying to Berlin, rather than Brussels, does suggest that Germany were driving things at that moment.

As you infer, introducing a system of elected Commissioners would be far from straightforward, but I don't understand why you say that it would de facto generate a federal state? The nomination of Commissioners by member states is usually made according to party lines, so the problem you outline currently exists.

Indeed but the strategic direction of the EU is set by the European Council (Heads of Government of the member states). Again, agreed. It is very unlikely that a decision covering 27 member states will be optimal. Hopefully, it will be the best compromise decision. Agreed. Imo there is a strong argument for Commissioners, especially the President, to be directly elected. However, let's not pretend that UK national politics is any more democratic and doesn't itself throw up some poor results. You only need look at the membership of any UK cabinet this century. Imo V.d. Leyen was a strange choice. A judgement on her performance will be delivered next year when she is up for re-election. That Germany wields enormous influence within the EU shouldn't be a surprise. So too does France, as did the UK when it was a member. I don't understand the Theresa May reference? Most Commission Presidents and Commissioners emerge during the nomination period. Most candidates aren't widely known outside of their home country. Imo that's not a particular problem currently, but I accept that if they were to be elected directly by the public then something would need to be done to change the situation. However, surely the main thing is that the President and Commissioners are competent and on top of their respective briefs. I'm sure that you would agree that the same criteria should be applied to UK cabinet ministers.

So you consider the allegations outlined in this article to be "questionable to ridiculous"? How do you reach that conclusion? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66838794 It seems that you cannot differentiate between consensual sex and rape.

Imo unless you want the UK to shut itself off from the rest of the world like North Korea, 'taking back control' and the purity of national sovereignty is a myth. All political and trade deals have a cost; it just depends what price a nation is willing to pay. The idea that EU member states are ruled by "faceless men in Brussels" is nonsense. https://european-union.europa.eu/institutions-law-budget/law/how-eu-policy-decided_en#:~:text=EU decision-making process,representing the EU's overall interests

London - Delhi and Istanbul - Bangkok are both 9+ hour flights.

Boris Johnson, July '22?

Yes, the migrant issue is difficult and yes, 27 individual EU member states have different ideas of how it should be managed. Why should that be a surprise? How would Germany leaving the EU solve its' current economic problems? https://www.euronews.com/2023/05/26/why-has-germany-gone-into-recession#:~:text=The country's trading partners imported,to the DIHK economic institute. How has leaving the EU benefitted the UK economically?

I posted this in another thread but it is also relevant here ------- The suggestion that nothing is being done to prevent illegal migration is nonsense. Whether the measures are effective and the money is being as well-spent as it might be are different questions. https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/irregular-migration-and-return_en https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2023/07/04/money-spent-by-eu-on-migration-policy-becoming-complex-to-track-expert

"Hoist the drawbridge!"

The suggestion that nothing is being done to prevent illegal migration is nonsense. Whether the measures are effective and the money is being as well-spent as it might be are different questions. https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/irregular-migration-and-return_en https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2023/07/04/money-spent-by-eu-on-migration-policy-becoming-complex-to-track-expert

A bit stupid spending all this time, money and effort trying to prevent illegal migration if that is the case.

Presumably you felt the same way when the allegations about Saville, Glitter, Epstein, Weinstein, etc came out? If the UK/ US authorities had adopted your view, two of those named above would be free and, in all probability, committing more crimes today. I agree and pre-internet that was pretty much the case, however, difficult to see how it might be achieved nowadays. No doubt some have. Harvey Proctor springs to mind recently. A lot? There are already avenues open to the CPS and individuals in the UK to bring cases against individuals making false accusations. Traditionally in the UK, the CPS are reluctant to prosecute alleged rape cases because it is difficult to secure a conviction. Therefore, if a not guilty is reached, it is likely that there was a case to be answered. Imo no reason to go further. Imo there is more false information to be found on the wider internet than there is in newspapers such as 'The Times'.

She'll be changing her name to TINA next.

Trans, Didn't think that I would ever respond to one of your posts in this way but, spot on. Wrt to other posters' concerns about those falsely accused, yes it is an issue. Imo it should be pretty simple - through legal channels - to financially compensate such individuals for loss of earnings, etc. Compensating them for the effects on their mental well-being, family, etc is a whole lot more difficult (impossible?). No easy answers but, as Trans infers, I guess that the question that we all have to answer for ourselves is along the lines of: "Is it better for some to be falsely accused if it means that the likes of Saville are stopped in their tracks and punished?"