Absolutely Not The Daily Troll-o-Graph

This carnage isn’t stopping. SOURCE -The Specator - 30/05/20 https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/america-s-immune-system-is-failing This American carnage stops right here and stops right now,’ said President Donald Trump in his inauguration speech on January 20, 2017. Three and a half years later, in the early summer of 2020, a bout of heavy riots has broken out, like a virus spreading, in cities across America. Minneapolis rioted for days on end. Other cities erupted: in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, New York and Washington. A mob now menaces the White House. Maybe that American carnage is just beginning. We’ve seen plenty of riots in America in the last few decades. But this latest unrest, coming as it does in the middle of an ongoing global health crisis and a concomitant economic recession, feels more devastating. America is sick and its immune system is failing: a healthy society would turn on the rioters and unite against them. But in lar...

Well here we go. By next week we will be less than a month away from the deadline to agree a transition period extension with the EU. Currently there are no signs that the UK will agree to an extension and little possibility in agreeing a fair, mutually beneficial trade deal with the EU which respects our status as a Sovereign Nation. Here's a couple of interesting articles from which we can get an indication of what to expect. Daily Telegraph 29/05/20 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/05/29/no-10s-refusal-bend-cummings-bodes-eu-negotiations/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-rhr No 10's refusal to bend to pressure over Cummings is a warning to Brussels Boris Johnson's resoluteness bodes well for EU negotiations The EU has been watching this week’s Dominic Cummings debacle closely. Whilst figures from Donald Tusk to Guy Verhofstadt have joked about it on their Twitter feeds, the Government's resolve through the crisis is a warning to Brussels abo...

Entrepreneurs are optimists by nature. They’re also intensely focused on perfecting their products, so more able than most of us to tune out the noise around them — much of which, in today’s troubled world, could otherwise be very disturbing. SOURCE - The Spectator - 16/05/20 https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/uncertainty-is-also-an-opportunity So it was no surprise to find Dr Sam Chapman in strikingly calm mode on the phone. Sam is co-founder of The Floow, a Sheffield-based venture that applies big-data analysis to car insurance, with the aim of reducing risks for insurers and premiums for good drivers. ‘We’re a digital business so we’re able to carry on day-to-day, more or less as normal,’ he told me. ‘Our 120 staff are all working from home, but we’re looking towards ramping up again in September. ‘In the meantime, the crisis is certainly impacting what we do, part of which is monitoring driver behaviour through phone apps and on board “black boxes” — and encouraging hi...

The EU's €750bn rescue package makes a break-up of the eurozone much less likely. John Stepek explains why the scheme is such a big deal, and what it means for you. SOURCE - Moneyweek - 28/05/20 https://moneyweek.com/economy/eu-economy/601422/heres-why-investors-should-care-about-the-eus-plan-to-tackle-covid-19?utm_campaign=money-morning-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter Europe has spent a lot of time wrestling with how to deal with the fallout from the Covid-19 outbreak and resulting shutdowns. Yesterday, after much wrangling, European Commission president Ursula von Der Leyen announced a €750bn rescue plan. These days, admittedly, any number announced by a government that doesn’t have “trillion” appended to it just doesn’t look that impressive. But this is a bigger deal than it looks. How the EU’s Covid-19 plan could change everything The key here is how the EU proposes to pay for its €750bn Covid-19 scheme. The European Commission will bo...

The European Union is "open" to a two-year Brexit delay, chief negotiator Michel Barnier has revealed amid continued deadlock. SOURCE - The Press and Journal - 27/05/20 https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/politics/uk-politics/2218634/brexit-michel-barnier-tells-ian-blackford-european-union-open-to-brexit-delay/ The European Union is “open” to a two-year Brexit delay, chief negotiator Michel Barnier has revealed amid continued deadlock. In a letter to SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, the diplomat has said an extension to the Brexit transition period is available if the UK wants it. The Brexit transition began when the UK legally left the EU on January 31. The arrangement – under which the UK is outside the EU but continues to be subject to its rules and a member of the single market and customs union – was negotiated by both sides to smooth the UK’s exit. The transition was also designed to allow the UK to continue much of its previous relationship ...

Slash stamp duty, scrap the pensions lifetime allowance, and bin plans to raise taxes on the self-employed SOURCE - Daily Telegraph - 26/05/20 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tax/tax-hacks/tax-hacks-tax-cuts-rishi-sunak-should-announce-save-economy/ In my last column, I wrote about what the Chancellor might do to raise taxes in an attempt to limit our increased borrowing. Today I'll explain what I think Rishi Sunak should do. In effect, what I would do as Chancellor. I anticipate a response from many readers that it is a good thing I am not. I keep in my wallet a 100 billion dollar bill (drawn on the reserve bank of Zimbabwe) as a constant reminder of what can happen when governments believe they can print their way out of excess debt. I'm concerned about the Bank of England buying large amounts of bonds in the market to help the Debt Management Office achieve a successful gilt auction. It seems to me that these two bodies are essentially different pockets of the sam...

I always have a lot of time for John Redwood. He would have made a great Chancellor but was unfortunately never given the opportunity. Here are a few of his very sensible suggestions about public spending. SOURCE - John Redwood's Diary 22/05/20 http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2020/05/22/public-spending-6/ It is right for the government to cushion individuals and businesses temporarily losing their incomes owing to the lock downs. It is right for the government to provide a fiscal boost to offset some of the massive deflationary forces unleashed by the global anti virus policies. It is not right to waste public money or add to the burden of the debt with marginal or unwise spending. So I renew my list of spending reductions that are even more needed now, given the state of public finances. 1)Reduce overseas aid spending. It will exceed the 0.7%  of GDP legal requirement this year given the fall in GDP unless it is reduced. Start by taking £1bn off plans. 2)Improve collect...

SOURCE - The Spectator 23/05/20 https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/boris-s-next-big-battle-is-against-the-virus-of-socialism We should always avoid misusing history to underpin exaggeration. Covid 19 is not Nazi Germany. However many qualities Boris has, he is not Winston Churchill. But this virus will pass. British politics will then enter a new phase. Oddly enough, there are parallels between likely developments during that future phase and the course of events in 1944/45. There are lessons which the Tory party ought to learn. These divide into three categories: history, vision and personalities. In 1945, the Tories lost the battle of history, partly because their foremost historian, Churchill, had been a critic of the 1930s governments. Leaving the complexities of appeasement to one side, Labour's record on rearmament was shameful. The party opposed it until we were in the very antechamber of war. That did not prevent Labour blaming the Tories in 1945. Moving to futu...

EU chiefs are preparing for a no deal Brexit after the latest round of trade talks collapsed with the UK, a political expert has said. SOURCE Daily Express - 23/05/20 https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1285332/Brexit-news-eu-latest-no-deal-boris-Johnson-david-frost-michel-barnier/amp Professor Anand Menon, Director of the UK in a Changing Europe initiative, said the European Union has already conceded there will not be an extension to the transition period beyond December 31 and will begin preparations for a no deal outcome. Boris Johnson’s Brexit negotiator David Frost and his EU counterpart Michel Barnier failed to make a breakthrough following the third round of heated negotiations last week. Outstanding issues over trade, laws and fishing remained on the table and there is now just one round of talks to go, before both sides must decide whether to extend the negotiations for up to two years. One of the major stumbling blocks to any deal remain...

Prime Minister has instructed civil servants to identify where the UK is vulnerable to potentially hostile foreign governments SOURCE - Daily Telegraph 22/05/20 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/22/boris-johnson-wants-britain-less-reliant-chinese-supplies-wake/ Boris Johnson has instructed civil servants to make plans to end UK's reliance on China for vital medical supplies and other strategic imports in light of the coronavirus outbreak, according to reports. The plans, which have been code named "Project Defend", include identifying Britain's main economic vulnerabilities to potentially hostile foreign governments as part of a broader new approach to national security, The Times reported, adding that the efforts are being led by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. Two working groups have been set up as part of the project, according to the report, with one source telling The Times that the aim was to diversify supply lines to no longer depend on in...

I hear Krankie is recruiting for Thought Police Officers in Scotland. Anyone who believes in common sense and free speech need not apply.This article is written by a former Deputy leader of the SNP ! SOURCE - The Spectator- 20/05/20 https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/beware-scotland-s-hate-crime-bill Burns, Hume, Adam Smith, and others who shone in that remarkable intellectual period in Scotland’s history, were not the cradle of the Enlightenment; but it is indisputable that they were major contributors to its emergence and influence. Now, north of the border, the Scottish government has set out to divorce us from the heritage those minds gave us: to be unafraid of, indeed willing, to discuss, probe, dispute ideas and thoughts in the liberating realm of fearless free speech. Scots are now locked in a woke chamber: virtue signalling, pandering to perceived victimhood, punishing any who assert biological fact, placing a halter of criminality on free thought when articulated b...

Two articles here. One from the Telegraph about fisheries. Whilst not  huge proportion of our economy it's symbolic as regard sovereignty and something the Government are going to be judged on. The second is from the Irish Times about Northern Ireland. If correct the UK are going to adopt a minimalist approach by exception. I expect the EU will not like this as their aim was the annexation of Northern Ireland. I bet if we adopt this approach that in a few years we will hardly notice it. UK tells EU it will take 'any measures necessary' to protect fishing waters UK publishes draft fisheries agreement which had formed basis of tough trade talks with Brussels last week SOURCE - Daily Telegraph 19/05/20 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/05/19/uk-tells-eu-will-take-means-necessary-protect-fishing-waters/ British Brexit negotiators have told the European Union that the UK will take any measures necessary within the limits of international law to protect its fis...

White goods, some cooking products and Christmas trees among items exempted after Dec 31 SOURCE - Daily Telegraph 19/05/20 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/05/19/brexit-boost-government-axe-tariffs-60-per-cent-global-imports/ The Government has said it will eliminate tariffs on 60 per cent of global imports, including white goods and Christmas trees, after the end of the Brexit transition period on Dec 31. A new UK tariff will replace the EU-wide tariff, which is set for the bloc as a whole, from Jan 1 2021. The announcement is a signal to the EU that the transition period will not be extended, despite trade negotiations being deadlocked and slowed by coronavirus. Zero tariffs will be introduced on dishwashers, freezers, tampons, paints, screwdrivers, mirrors, scissors and shears, padlocks, some cooking products like yeast and bay leaves and Christmas trees. The EU had tariffs ranging from 2.7 per cent to 8 per cent for such products. Tariffs are being maintain...

A major clash is underway between the German constitutional court and the ECB and ECJ which could threaten the future of the EU. SOURCE - Daily Telegraph - 17/05/2020 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/05/17/eu-risks-losing-germany-picks-constitutional-fight-death-euro/ Step by step, the EU institutional machine is making the same mistake with the German people that it made with the British people. It is taking a law-abiding and well-meaning nation for granted. It is treating the legitimate sensitivities of a large net contributor with disdain and playing fast and loose with constitutional law. The European Court (ECJ) has acquired the habit of claiming powers that are not rooted in any Treaty text, advancing Monnet federalism by an odd mixture of bravado and stealth. The EU assumed it could get away with this because the German policy class has been broadly complicit - up to a point - but Europe has now run into the unyielding resistance of the German constitutiona...