Such an insightful article - as you say - let’s hope it’s not too late to turn things around before the UK and EU become irredeemably lost forever … 🤦♀️
Brilliant synopsis of the new world order with America showing the way. What does it say about the UK where the overwhelming majority of people claim to loathe Donald Trump? And barely 1/3 want to see sensible immigration controls, an end to net zero madness and re-industrialisation of the country? Woke has taken such a grip that too many people are afraid to say what they really think even in private.
I remember when we got the result of the referendum and the excitement that came with it. People were openly saying “we’ve got our country back”, and at first it truly did feel as if we might. But then we had the conservatives and Theresa May and Boris who were all remainers and did not do Brexit at all how it should have been. Boris of course is a militant net zero nut and is the main reason why we have so many of these poxy electric bikes and scooters all over London, dumped wherever and whenever at the most inconvenient places ie directly outside peoples front doors and gates with zero consideration for people in wheelchairs or pushing babies in prams. Like you quite rightly stated, why did we not concentrate on building up our once great industries rather than closing them down and importing absolutely everything? Our farmers are some of the finest in the world and our food chain doesn’t need to be full of foreign imports. We should and still could be entirely self sufficient in this area. Our infrastructure with regards to transport is a complete and utter joke, albeit one that is far from funny and the most expensive of anywhere I’ve ever been. We actually perform like a 3rd world country now. If you take a bus you are very lucky to reach your destination which is on the front of the bus as it stops and reroutes due to terrible traffic congestion or it runs out of electricity and needs to be towed. I’m not making this up either! It happens all of the time in London. Then there is the crime and the lack of concern from our government/police/politicians. If we do get a Reform government I honestly hope it is sooner than later because the decline is only getting worse and then add to that the sheer number of immigrants who are being given top priority for everything that the native brits are struggling to get in the first place such as housing, places in schools etc, we really are in a very depressing state.
Spot on as usual Pete. Brexit and an 80 seat Tory majority gave us the chance to be the Singapore of Europe but our political class was too lazy, dumb and inept to capitalise. I've seen some comments emerging from Davos that suggest some in Europe are beginning to wake up to the fact that only nation states can bring food, energy and military security, but I doubt they can be weaned off their NATO, UN and NGO dependencies.
Our future is in OUR hands but for too long too many people have sat on them.
It is essential the 'people' wake up and demand more power over their elected representatives and fortunately a template for the necessary reforms was conceived in 2012.
The Brexit comparison cuts deep. The idea that Britain had this exact window and chose managed decline over liberation is brutal. What's intresting is how dependency becomes self-perpetuating, once strategic industries move offshore and energy systems lock into renewables, reversing course gets exponentialy harder. The political class incentive structure probably explains most of this thier careers thrive under international consensus, not disruption.
Sharp take on the Brexit squandered potential. The contrast between what Britain could of done in 2016 versus what Trump is attempting now really captures the diffrence between bold restructuring and managerial timidity. The line about listening to the song not the lyrics is spot on cos Trump's Davos performance was less about facts and more about signaling a wholesale shift in US expectations for allied self-suficiency.
All of Europe's problems stem from the EU. The Dork Right bemoan NATO but pre-EU the European, and Canadian, members of NATO were good at defence. British, French and German tanks and aircraft were some of the best in the world, Belgian and Italian smalls arms are also some of the finest. Even though they're non-NATO countries, Sweden and Austria punched above their weight in terms of defence. It was the EU, and its completely false claim that they have provided peace on the continent, that ruined NATO and European defence. The worst and most corrupt defence minister Germany ever had, a woman who ended up grounding Germany's entire helicopter fleet, is now the President of the EU.
I don't think Reform are going to be able to achieve much, due to the institutions and systems in place. But they are possibly the tip of the spear, which may pierce and fracture the monolithic "blob" and other parasitic institutions. Where others may come and succeed afterwards in dismantling and replacing the existing systems, and paradigms.
You may be right but Trump’s brutal disregard for nicety will give our elites a new boost of self-righteousness and delusion. People who hate Britain and all it stands for can reinvent themselves as patriots and portray their opponents as traitors.
If Trump/Vance continue the power politics aimed at total US primacy when all these parties are in power, and I don't see why they won't, they could well threaten the North Sea or Falklands oil fields. Might is right now and Farage will have to surrender. While the "Trump is satan" crowd will still be background noise, the "Trump is God" crowd are going to have a very difficult time finding ways to justify it all.
"Trump’s brashness and lack of finesse is mistaken for stupidity"
This gets to the heart of why so many are consistently so wrong when it comes to analysing Trump's manoeuvres. Even those who agree with what he might be trying to achieve (albeit and often through gritted teeth) still put it down to luck or some fluke alignment of factors apparently unrelated.
You can disagree with his methods, hate is disregard for diplomatic etiquette - but really most of Europe should be thankful for him for highlighting our inadequacies in such a manner that we have to respond - to our ultimate benefit
One of your finest synopsis to date.
This is the nail bang on the head.
Such an insightful article - as you say - let’s hope it’s not too late to turn things around before the UK and EU become irredeemably lost forever … 🤦♀️
Excellent piece. Trump is the 21st Century avatar of the Gods of the Copybook Headings.
Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew,
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four–
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.
Brilliant synopsis of the new world order with America showing the way. What does it say about the UK where the overwhelming majority of people claim to loathe Donald Trump? And barely 1/3 want to see sensible immigration controls, an end to net zero madness and re-industrialisation of the country? Woke has taken such a grip that too many people are afraid to say what they really think even in private.
I remember when we got the result of the referendum and the excitement that came with it. People were openly saying “we’ve got our country back”, and at first it truly did feel as if we might. But then we had the conservatives and Theresa May and Boris who were all remainers and did not do Brexit at all how it should have been. Boris of course is a militant net zero nut and is the main reason why we have so many of these poxy electric bikes and scooters all over London, dumped wherever and whenever at the most inconvenient places ie directly outside peoples front doors and gates with zero consideration for people in wheelchairs or pushing babies in prams. Like you quite rightly stated, why did we not concentrate on building up our once great industries rather than closing them down and importing absolutely everything? Our farmers are some of the finest in the world and our food chain doesn’t need to be full of foreign imports. We should and still could be entirely self sufficient in this area. Our infrastructure with regards to transport is a complete and utter joke, albeit one that is far from funny and the most expensive of anywhere I’ve ever been. We actually perform like a 3rd world country now. If you take a bus you are very lucky to reach your destination which is on the front of the bus as it stops and reroutes due to terrible traffic congestion or it runs out of electricity and needs to be towed. I’m not making this up either! It happens all of the time in London. Then there is the crime and the lack of concern from our government/police/politicians. If we do get a Reform government I honestly hope it is sooner than later because the decline is only getting worse and then add to that the sheer number of immigrants who are being given top priority for everything that the native brits are struggling to get in the first place such as housing, places in schools etc, we really are in a very depressing state.
Spot on as usual Pete. Brexit and an 80 seat Tory majority gave us the chance to be the Singapore of Europe but our political class was too lazy, dumb and inept to capitalise. I've seen some comments emerging from Davos that suggest some in Europe are beginning to wake up to the fact that only nation states can bring food, energy and military security, but I doubt they can be weaned off their NATO, UN and NGO dependencies.
Our future is in OUR hands but for too long too many people have sat on them.
It is essential the 'people' wake up and demand more power over their elected representatives and fortunately a template for the necessary reforms was conceived in 2012.
https://harrogateagenda.org.uk/
Our politicians need to become our servants instead of being our masters.
The Brexit comparison cuts deep. The idea that Britain had this exact window and chose managed decline over liberation is brutal. What's intresting is how dependency becomes self-perpetuating, once strategic industries move offshore and energy systems lock into renewables, reversing course gets exponentialy harder. The political class incentive structure probably explains most of this thier careers thrive under international consensus, not disruption.
Sharp take on the Brexit squandered potential. The contrast between what Britain could of done in 2016 versus what Trump is attempting now really captures the diffrence between bold restructuring and managerial timidity. The line about listening to the song not the lyrics is spot on cos Trump's Davos performance was less about facts and more about signaling a wholesale shift in US expectations for allied self-suficiency.
All of Europe's problems stem from the EU. The Dork Right bemoan NATO but pre-EU the European, and Canadian, members of NATO were good at defence. British, French and German tanks and aircraft were some of the best in the world, Belgian and Italian smalls arms are also some of the finest. Even though they're non-NATO countries, Sweden and Austria punched above their weight in terms of defence. It was the EU, and its completely false claim that they have provided peace on the continent, that ruined NATO and European defence. The worst and most corrupt defence minister Germany ever had, a woman who ended up grounding Germany's entire helicopter fleet, is now the President of the EU.
💯, well said and true.
I don't think Reform are going to be able to achieve much, due to the institutions and systems in place. But they are possibly the tip of the spear, which may pierce and fracture the monolithic "blob" and other parasitic institutions. Where others may come and succeed afterwards in dismantling and replacing the existing systems, and paradigms.
Brilliant. Even made me feel slightly optimistic, which is some achievement let me tell you
You may be right but Trump’s brutal disregard for nicety will give our elites a new boost of self-righteousness and delusion. People who hate Britain and all it stands for can reinvent themselves as patriots and portray their opponents as traitors.
The EU chose the path of symbolical capital. Now it pays the price.
If Trump/Vance continue the power politics aimed at total US primacy when all these parties are in power, and I don't see why they won't, they could well threaten the North Sea or Falklands oil fields. Might is right now and Farage will have to surrender. While the "Trump is satan" crowd will still be background noise, the "Trump is God" crowd are going to have a very difficult time finding ways to justify it all.
"Trump’s brashness and lack of finesse is mistaken for stupidity"
This gets to the heart of why so many are consistently so wrong when it comes to analysing Trump's manoeuvres. Even those who agree with what he might be trying to achieve (albeit and often through gritted teeth) still put it down to luck or some fluke alignment of factors apparently unrelated.
You can disagree with his methods, hate is disregard for diplomatic etiquette - but really most of Europe should be thankful for him for highlighting our inadequacies in such a manner that we have to respond - to our ultimate benefit