Absolutely Not The Daily Troll-o-Graph

 Welsh schools are behind the rest of the UK, but plans to address this make for depressing reading   Dumbed-down schools will set Welsh children up to fail   Radical changes to the curriculum are based on a consultation with just 1033 response Source - CAPX - 08/11/21 Devolution has been a disaster for the most vulnerable people in Wales. Despite healthcare spending being higher per person in Wales than in England, the elderly and the ill struggle with NHS waiting lists far longer than those in England. The physical and emotional toll on hundreds of thousands of people is shameful. Many who have had any dealings with the NHS in Wales will have tales of frightening ineptitude and a dereliction of care that is directly attributable to amateurish and irresponsible political decisions taken in the Senedd.  But arguably even worse, with consequences that will stretch far into the future, is the disaster that is afflicting the children who will have the misfortu...

 Should we really be dismayed that 'the best of the recovery' is behind us?  The ‘high unemployment’ and ‘stagnant demand’ parts of traditional ‘stagflation’ are missing  Remember, the UK economy has bounced back far quicker than most analysts expected Source CAPX 12/11/21 Link Most of the coverage of the latest UK GDP figures has been downbeat. Two headlines sum up the responses: ‘the best of the recovery is behind us’, and ‘the UK economy has reclaimed its status as the G7’s laggard’. ‘Stagflation’ is back on the agenda again too. I would rather focus on the positives, but let’s begin with those two takes. The first is little more than a statement of the blindingly obvious: annual growth in 2022 will almost certainly be slower than the 7% or so in 2021, and 2023 will be slower still. However, the recent rapid rates of economic growth – particularly the 5.5% in the second quarter of the year – were never sustainable. This is also an odd way of looking at things. It’s lik...

Guys, I thought this might make a bit of a change. It's quite long for me it starts to get interesting at about the 18 minute mark. For me this explains very nicely why there has been a shift away from Thatcherite Conservatism to the new brand of blue collar Conservatism that brexit has brought about. I think it goes a long way to explain why we are seeing policies which are coming as an uncomfortable surprise for Thatcherite Conservatives  One of the many Remainer takes that has aged terribly is that Brexit will turn Britain into ‘Singapore-on-Thames’ – that leaving the EU will lead to a bonfire of regulations and workers’ rights that would make Margaret Thatcher blush. Of course, the exact opposite has happened. Leaver PM Boris Johnson has ramped up public spending, and the Tories are desperate to pose as the party of workers. As Tim Stanley argues on this week’s edition of The Brendan O’Neill Show, there is much to celebrate in this. Brexit is dispersing political power away fro...

 Source - Daily Express 10/11/21 Link BT and OneWeb have agreed to terms for a new Distribution Partner Agreement (DPA). It will see OneWeb provide Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communication services across BT Group. It builds on the initial Memorandum of Understanding signed in July and means BT is testing how the LEO satellite can improve its service. The agreement will reportedly see BT commence the first live trials with customers from early next year. Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “I am thrilled to see the UK at the forefront of this emerging technology thanks to the Government’s investment in OneWeb a crucial part of our plans to cement our status as a global science and technology superpower.” Digital secretary Nadine Dorries added: “The agreement between OneWeb and BT will help bring fast and reliable global connectivity, from the Highlands to the Himalayas. "I’m delighted these two British companies have joined forces to research the technological benefits of...

Leo Varadkar says that Irish government is dusting down no deal Brexit plans in case Northern Ireland Protocol dispute escalates Source - Daily Telegraph - 09/11/21 Link Dublin is preparing emergency plans for a UK-EU trade war sparked by Britain overriding the Northern Ireland Protocol, Leo Varadkar has warned, The Tánaiste, or deputy prime minister, of Ireland said his government was dusting down no deal Brexit plans prepared in case the UK left the EU without a withdrawal agreement or trade deal. "We’re making preparations. We had a meeting yesterday of the Cabinet sub committee on Brexit essentially to dust down and restart our contingency preparations should we get into difficulty,” Mr Varadkar told the RTE broadcaster. There is building expectation that the UK will trigger Article 16 of the protocol and unilaterally override parts of the treaty imposing checks on British goods entering Northern Ireland. Irish and Belgian ministers have warned that if the UK was to invoke the...

Warsaw has been urged to convene Nato to deal with the latest escalation of Minsk's 'hybrid war' against the EU over sanctions Source - Daily Telegraph 08/11/21 Link Nato has warned it could act against Belarus after the dictatorship tried to force thousands of migrants across Poland's border into the EU. Belarusian soldiers, who reportedly shepherded the migrants to the border, were filmed watching as asylum seekers cut holes in the fence and chopped down trees in an attempt to batter down the barbed wire. The military alliance accused Minsk of attempting to use illegal migration to destabilise the bloc in revenge for sanctions, in a message of support for Warsaw. "Nato stands ready to further assist our Allies, and maintain safety and security in the region," a Nato official said. Yesterday afternoon, migrants were attempting to 'force' their way through the border on the EU's external frontier, the Polish Border Guard said. It added that groups...

  Ministers working on legal changes to regulations in move designed to show EU that UK is serious about altering current trade arrangements Source - Daily Telegraph - 07/11/21 Link Britain is prepared to trigger Article 16 and change laws to ditch customs checks required by the Northern Ireland Protocol before Christmas, The Telegraph has learned. In a move designed to show the EU that the UK is serious about altering the current trade arrangements, ministers are working on legal changes to customs regulations. A decision from the UK on whether to use Article 16 will be taken at the end of November. The move, widely expected both in Brussels and London, would lead to a month of formal talks. But The Telegraph understands that the UK plans to simultaneously lay secondary legislation before Parliament to slash customs checks and have the laws changed before Christmas. The "technical" changes would let businesses know what the new arrangements for goods going from Great Britain...