tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891289711377156224.post2496260224167720473..comments2024-03-28T09:46:24.020+02:00Comments on A Political Refugee From The Global Village : Where Great Britain is nowUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891289711377156224.post-45361463826864883102018-12-11T12:11:34.842+02:002018-12-11T12:11:34.842+02:00I agree with a friend who posted on Facebook that ...I agree with a friend who posted on Facebook that Mrs May yesterday 'admitted in the House of Commons that the European Union ("President Tusk" back in March) offered a Canada style Free Trade agreement - Mrs May is using the Irish border "issue" as an EXCUSE to keep to her "deal" which keeps the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland under the rule of the European Union. The European Union has no jurisdiction on the Belfast Agreement - and should simply have been told that.'Political Refugee from the Global Villagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03523068770529814044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891289711377156224.post-49709414335466776372018-12-11T12:06:54.039+02:002018-12-11T12:06:54.039+02:00I found her performance utterly odious. Mr Gove ac...I found her performance utterly odious. Mr Gove actually said: "I think that the people of this country have had enough of experts from organisations with acronyms saying that they know what is best and getting it consistently wrong, because these people are the same ones who got consistently wrong." He was right and it was an excellent point but I was just reading how much it angered David Cameron who thought ti was a betrayal of the modernisers' creed. If so so much the worse for the modernisers, who were in fact Tory Blairites and did much harm to the country. The referendum was a defeat fro them.Political Refugee from the Global Villagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03523068770529814044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891289711377156224.post-84245455871148808562018-12-11T11:21:34.290+02:002018-12-11T11:21:34.290+02:00"The anthropological rituals and language of ..."The anthropological rituals and language of democracy still exist, and have even been extended in recent years, but they are now largely a charade to camouflage a massive power grab by the bureaucracy." - So true! From Bruxelles via any Government to the smallest City Hall. The political factor (as in the voice of people) is dying. There is not "too much" politics but "too little".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891289711377156224.post-69618961863193967572018-12-11T10:26:10.585+02:002018-12-11T10:26:10.585+02:00No deal just shows how superficial your grasp of w...No deal just shows how superficial your grasp of what that would mean is. It would place the UK at an even worse disadvantage in trading than under Mays cheese fuelled nightmare. As far as dealing with Europe on trade would then be subject not only to the 630 faceless in Geneva but also the ECJ and EC for all rulings on disputes. While the current 27 member states coordinate their position in Brussels and Geneva, the European Commission alone speaks for the EU at almost all WTO meetings. For this reason, in most issues WTO materials refer to the EU or the more legally-correct EC. That includes relationships outside of the EU if you wish to trade with other WTO members. <br /><br />Like Gove though , you are tired of experts. I expect you found Mrs Mays Commons Khe Sahn last night " Thrilling" but it was political theatre of the most odious kind.<br /><br />James K<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891289711377156224.post-38035555088799068442018-12-08T08:15:55.045+02:002018-12-08T08:15:55.045+02:00It goes back to the wartime and post-war years - t...It goes back to the wartime and post-war years - think of Douglas Jay saying "the gentleman in Whitehall really does know better what is good for people than the people know themselves" etc - but it really gets going after the Maastricht treaty and subsequent treaties took power from England to Europe and the coming to power of Mr. Blair in 1997. An important factor is the decline in power and influence of the House of Commons, partly due to it being televised, as Enoch Powell warned, partly due to the creation of select committees, as he also warned, partly due to their fiddling their expenses (they shouldn't have expenses) as governments encouraged them to do. Being an MP is now seen as a job which is absurd because busy Ministers are also MPs. Family friendly hours make it hard for them to have other jobs. The chamber is less and less important. Enoch was the last MP to eschew a secretary and do his work i the library. Baldwin was the last Prime Minister to hang around the tea room chatting up older members. The nadir was when they clapped (sic!) Mr Blair on his resignation after a speech in which he said that he had never cared for the place.<br /><br />With all that, the House of Commons, weakened though it is, is a strong animal and we see this at the moment. The American Congress is a very different place where they sit at desks and the debates are lifeless. European chambers with their circular style are very different and the European parliament chamber is moribund except when enlivened by Ukip MEPs and other mavericks.Political Refugee from the Global Villagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03523068770529814044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891289711377156224.post-91599151718917059312018-12-08T00:24:52.904+02:002018-12-08T00:24:52.904+02:00At some point 10 or 20 years ago, perhaps during t...<em>At some point 10 or 20 years ago, perhaps during the heyday of the New Labour Quangocracy, the British establishment underwent a profound shift. It now sees itself as above the rest, as a cadre of uber-meritocratic technocrat or lawyer-kings who, for the general good, need to take all the real decisions and to socially engineer the country. They are not the public’s servants; they serve a greater purpose.</em><br /><br />That's all true, but I think it happened much earlier than 10 or 20 years ago. I'd say the process was largely completed by around 1945.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.com