Brexit, or rather the Brexit process has brought both the best and the worst out of almost everybody who has anything remotely to do with it.

Yes, I include not only the Politicians, but also the commentators and journalists – or rather the opinionators, many of whom have lost any sense of coherent reality when it comes to democracy, instead mistaking their own priorities for being the very same thing.

Having held a genuine people’s vote on Membership of the European Union on 23^rd June 2016, the idea that holding another Referendum fits completely with this now obsessive behaviour, but is dangerous in the extreme as if carried out, it has the potential to create many more problems for this Country and our population than it ever has the potential to solve.

Whilst we are continually being told by those with vested interests that the Public have changed their minds about Leaving the EU, it is in fact their frustration at the lack of real action and attempts by Remainers to ignore democracy and derail it which has tired people to the people where they really feel no compunction to be involved.

The reality is that nobody could have changed their mind about what Leaving the EU would actually feel like, because to date, it is simply not something that we have even experienced or tried.

To be in a position where it could be genuinely argued that people have changed their mind about being Independent from the EU, the UK must first carry out the Instruction of the People; implement Brexit properly in every meaningful way, give it time for the changes to be experienced and only then could there potentially exist the circumstances where evidence might exist to even suggest that a return to EU Membership of the EU is something that might again be seen as beneficial and as such something to which the UK is once again inclined.

The binary choice of the EU Referendum made clear that the people’s vote was a majority decision to Leave, rather than Remain.

Therefore to Leave on the Terms that the People have instructed, we must depart from the EU on WTO Terms.

Thereafter, with the wheels of Government turning very slowly, it is unreasonable to expect that the necessary chnagess to Legislation would have worked their way into implementation for at least 2 years and probably several more beyond.

It is only then that the British People will really be in any position to even begin experiencing the result of the required Brexit, to have lived with it for a meaningful and unhindered few years, and are therefore be in a position to provide real feedback upon any question of changing their minds over leaving, if by that point there is any chance that they would wish to return to EU Membership and actually perceive that there could be any benefit to the UK doing so.

To overturn the process any sooner would be undemocratic, remove legitimacy from our whole political process and place the UK at the will of forces which will be the complete antithesis of anything that we have come to recognise as coming from the democratic mould.

 

To hear Theresa May and her coterie of die-hard Remainist Ministers speak, you would think that the UK is backward in just about every respect and incapable of making its way in the World without the stewardship and direction of a load of unelected bureaucrats shouting demands at us from an office across the English Channel and somewhere in the EU.

With the history we have – some of which will still be within the living memory of the Politicians who surround her – it is as amazing as it is sickening that people elected to the highest positions of power in the UK, could have not only adopted, but are hell bent on convincing everyone else of the validity of this view.

Yet this is where we are, and for as long as people who can only prioritise themselves are able to influence our destiny as a Nation, there remains a risk that they will take the UK and our people to places that we never belonged.

Security is once again a multifaceted and complex issue relating to Brexit which many of us do not understand.

In reality, we should never need to do so as we should be able to trust our decision makers to have a complete and objective view of everything which has happened, is happening and of course, that which either wont be or simply hasn’t yet come into view.

Regrettably they don’t.

This means that we are yet again being sold a story of our place in the World which is thoroughly demeaning. One that is only ever intended to convince us wrongly, that the UK risks finding itself out in the cold and that we have a dependence on the EU which has never ever had any reason to exist.

Defence & The Armed Forces

The EU now has very ambitious and documented designs on developing a Euro-Army of its own. A clear sign that the plan for a United States of Europe is clearly manifesting itself and one which makes clear that it would be foolish to believe that the phyrric freedoms that Theresa May is trying to tell us she has won, would continue to exist for very long.

Militarily, the World is an increasingly dangerous place. The Russians are already testing borders around Eastern Europe itself, but are also parked on our doorstep, even testing the airspace which is above the UK itself.

Meanwhile the USA and China are on a competitive journey both in trade and in places like the South China Sea which in less than a decade could escalate to a level which leaves military action the only way it can be resolved.

With the seemingly limitless level of chutzpa that the EU leadership already employs, it is clear that their own ambition for power and control and to be seen as a de facto world player will soon get them into significant trouble if they are ceded power over so much military power.

If we were to be tied in on the Terms of any form of Remain or May’s Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, it is almost certain that we would be dragged in and inevitably involved in anything that the unelected bureaucrats with power over 28 different Countries decide that they we and other Member States would be required to do.

The only way that we can guarantee complete control over the use of our Armed Forces and the choice over what future wars we may or may not wish to become involved with is to Leave the EU without an unnecessary and avoidable deal. We must take back control of everything with the first step being the reestablishment of trade with everyone – i.e. Leaving on WTO Terms.

Intelligence

On the gathering and use of security intelligence, Theresa May and her Remain-bent supporters are selling the UK very short too.

We have one of the best security and intelligence services in the World. We were at the forefront of intelligence service development and many Countries – not least of all the USA – have developed their own abilities based on the ground breaking and innovative work that we have done historically here in the UK.

There is and has never been any need for the UK to operate in any way other than alone.

We have always shared data with our allies and we survived very well indeed before the EU and its fearful disciples came along.

It is ridiculous to believe that we can improve the security of the UK by removing borders and harmonising everything that we do and have with foreign powers.

Those Remainers who read this and suggest that simply remaining would have meant that everything would stay the same as it is now are being either ignorant or disingenuous at best.

The evolution of the EU is and has only ever been one way. That is the centralisation of power of all kinds in Brussels and the removal of localised – ergo Nationally identifiable structures which could be used to initiate a democratic claw back by Nation States or in any other way get in their way.

Remember that it is not we the UK who are threatening to withdraw cooperation with the EU once we have finally rescinded our Membership.

It is the EU that is creating the problems.

It is the EU’s desire for overall control which is overriding the continuing benefits of working together sensibly.

It is the EU that has so much more to loose.

Cyber Security

Whilst the topic still remains without great attention from the media, it is the area of cyber security where the benefits of our continuing to work alone and without the dilution of other misleading interests that tell us the UK must continue to steer its ship and be happy standing out in the World alone.

We face threats of a technological kind, leveled at us from World players who in conventional military terms are not even on the risk list. Yet in terms of their current and developing abilities to access and potentially disrupt vital infrastructure at the touch of a button, they may already have the power to affect this and other Western Countries in ways which could only be more severe if we were to experience the fallout of a full scale nuclear war.

Joking aside, countering such threats is not something to be all communal about and leave to people who have no interest in the people and businesses of the UK.

We simply cannot trust the EU to protect us from the threats that we are already working against in the UK and have been for a considerably long time.

Terrorism

Terrorism is the final thing that we hear scare stories about that are used as a basis for our Independence to be denied. Yet returning our own borders is a much safer option for us to ensure that both malevolent would-be terrorists, foreign actors and arms shipments will be continually denied and not made more likely by the mission creep of the EU to abolish any form of meaningful self-government, its policy and rule.

Yes, we must continue to collaborate with our friends wherever possible. But giving them control over our future security is foolishness in the extreme. We must take back all power that has already been granted to foreign powers and share whatever we can when it is possible, whilst accepting that it will always be best to keep security as a key policy for our own Government to determine and decide.

 

Image thanks to unknown source (From the Film ‘War Games’)

 

 

Like a real-life game of consequences, nobody can predict what the reality and fall out will be from the mess our Politicians have made of Brexit.

No matter what the intention of individual MP’s and influencers, their input has only ever been contributory rather than conclusive.

As I wrote recently, they have no control over the ultimate outcome even when they believe they have won battles as they have tried to control the direction of Brexit from the point of the Referendum Vote, to the serving of Article 50, the UK’s departure date and the entire process in between.

The self interest and contempt for the Electorate throughout all of this has been breathtaking. The lies formed and propagated based at best upon the political culture of promoting ignorance and at worst deceit and treachery have demonstrated a disease and rot being rampant throughout British Politics which is in no way friendly to Voters, is thoroughly insidious and is an institutional malevolence of the very worst kind.

The lie is given to this whole cultural malaise through actions such as giving out gongs and Knighthoods to Politicians who are now so detached from the realities of the people who elected them, that their principles and therefore their votes can simply be bought as the need to consider the consequences of every action upon the Public are brushed aside.

No, this is not confined to the actions of just one Party – even though this truth is one that the self-serving nature of today’s Politicians will require them all to immediately deny.

Through action and inaction alike over Brexit, many of our MP’s and the people who closely support them are feeding a hatred and distrust of everything that Westminster represents, that the mess our Parliament is now creating will leave it impossible for them to deny.

Many of them will simply lack the credibility to maintain their positions for the future. Their hands are bloodied, they are selling us out and will not be able to simply attribute blame to the poor leadership that their choices based on self interest has kept in place and fuelled. Ineptitude in leadership which they have and continue to contribute to which will leave them with no place to hide.

Politics as we have for so long known it will soon be over. There will be a new guard coming to guide us and even if it wears the clothes of the Parties which currently exist around us, the content and the people who drive them will be very different. They will look on their roles very differently, respect their responsibility to the people who elected them and work together to deliver solutions which work for everyone, irrespective of noise and biased voices. They will genuinely recognise Mutual Aims.

 

images thanks to unknown

Right now, we are all feeling the fallout from an indefinite bout of issue fatigue. The cause being the endless blame game which has taken over news channels at every turn, making us question and in many cases overlook so much of what we now hear.

In amongst the continual barrage of Brexit-esque mischief making currently absorbing everything and highlighted with the ever-present shout-out for Remain, there lies a developing story about another abuse of political power, which yet again should be deeply concerning for us all.

Right at the heart of British Politics, stories of bullying, poor people management and abuse of responsibility are growing, as is yet another tale of the Parliamentary Establishment failing us all by failing to act.

Horrible as it is, bullying can exist within any workplace.

But whether bullying is deliberate and enacted through malevolent intent, is unconscious and reflective more of poor management and social skills on the part of the bully themselves, or more a reflection of how direct management instruction can now be misinterpreted by people who want to brush the realities and requirements of a job description to one side, its presence or the perception of it being so should never go unquestioned. And particularly so when it is our legislators themselves who are intimately involved.

Events that have taken place already are one thing, and there is no doubt that The Speaker should facilitate proper scrutiny of all that has taken place immediately and ensure appropriate responses and transparency throughout.

But work must also be carried out to address the potential for bullying in the future, and to do this it really is important that the impact of the career politics gravy train is made clear openly and the dark realities which influence behaviour in Parliament spelled out.

Regrettably, the evolution of the Political Party System to what it is today has not only made, but actively encourages politics to be an aggressively ambitious place.

However, before running away with the immediate impression that I am focusing just on the behaviour of MP’s and Politicians themselves, it is also important to recognise the roles that they will have played before their own election. Roles which are often subordinate to MP’s, which form the basis and lifeblood of Parliamentary Staff, Jobs that are filled with a plethora of political aspirants who are just as focused on the end game and what is in it for them, albeit at a much earlier developmental stage.

Politics has become all about the job and not about the responsibility. In such an environment, it is inevitable that the aggressiveness which accompanies people on this pathway will win-out, no matter what the stage.

What is not inevitable however, and what is just a sign of the times, is the reliance which has fallen into place, on there being some kind of quasi-dependence on there being a career pathway to a job being an MP at all.

And whilst for the various reasons and for the interpretations of bullying outlined above which make it likely that it will always in some form in the workplace always continue to exist, the return of politicians to the Parliamentary Estate who see their role as a gifted responsibility from and on behalf of the Electorate, rather than a job, a career and therefore a right, will go a considerable way to heading off even the chance of behaviour which has little to do with the impact of decisions and of actions in sight.

 

 

 

 

 

Somewhere, there was a cheer last week. Quieter than the Government was expecting. Bringing noises that didn’t sound quite as expected.

Yes, the dropping of Tuition Fees does sound good. But the question we should all be asking – just as we should have when they were first brought into being is ‘at what cost?’.

Living in the age of political idealism made manifest as we currently do, it is all too easy to get distracted by the noise from the media as new public policies are launched.

We fail to look beyond and see the true consequences of what the Government of the day is doing with our money, and what the legacy – and yes, what the fallout will actually be from everything they do.

The creation of Tuition Fees was one of the biggest travesties of them all, simply because it all sounded so good, whilst the negative impact and knock on effects across so many different areas of policy were simply too-far reaching to justify anything about it which was tangibly good.

The UK’s Education System has been failing us all for a long while anyway. But the impact from Tuition Fees was never going to deliver much that really helped anyone in the way that the genuine concept of equality in education for all really should.

That so many former, existing and future students are now destined to have a lifetime of debt must surely now be a given.

Yet it is through the accompanying shift of emphasis from quality of teaching to fee-generation and profit alone within the Further and Higher Education Sectors which has secured the Blair era one of its darkest, yet most unrecognisable legacies as the true cost of ‘degrees for everyone’ becomes manifest and begins to become widely known.

It should come as little surprise that the leaders of the Institutions in these Sectors are now worried that a restriction on Fees may begin a process where ‘struggling’ universities are set to close.

That is the true price of making education a business, where money should never have been the target of a reprioritisation of direction. And certainly not in a place where the benefit to the student, our industries and the National interest itself are so very closely entwined.

Beware the siren calls and suggestion of this being an attack on Social Mobilty too. Academic qualifications have only ever been a very small part of what it takes to get any one person through the perceptual barriers which hold so many people back. Whether they be school-age students, young people, graduates, career changers, returners or retirees, we all have a part to play in everyone else’s future too.

The reality is that the State should pay for everyone’s education. But in doing so, we must be practical and realistic about how access to education is applied and how much benefit is derived to us all from the provision of each and every course.

We must recognise that there is just as much value to be gained by opening up truly vocational opportunities for the less-academically-inclined at the age of 14.

And that as a result of doing so, not only would we release many young people from the painful and unnecessary realities of being in debt, we can also exploit the opportunity to create a parallel track of time-served and experienced trainees to support all of our businesses in a way that the obsession with degree level education has all but denied.

It would be far more sensible to begin this process of change now, accepting that neither the student nor the Nation itself can afford the process of awarding superfluous and non-beneficial degrees. And help the Sector to change through reform, rather than through a process brought on by necessity, which is what is currently sure to happen, if Politicians continue to think that money is the only benchmark by which the future of education can and should be defined.