Further to This Site’s analysis of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s response to a wine importer whose firm is jumping through many more hoops to get, after Brexit, the same result as before, let’s have a couple more perspectives on it.
The first is highly in-depth, courtesy of A Different Bias:
The second is a more personal view, examining a small business owner’s frustrations with Brexit – after being told that European businesses would love to trade with him, but Brexit made it impossible because the bureaucracy involved had increased too much:
None of this helps Rees-Mogg, and there’s a very good reason for it:
He was talking nonsense.
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The director of a company that imports wine from the EU explained to the BBC Question Time audience how terrible bureaucracy has become since Brexit, and how much more difficult it is to do business.
He pointed out that there have been no benefits from Brexit – the promised money for the National Health Service never materialised and the Tories had to increase the amount we all pay in National Insurance in order to provide any more.
Tory panellist Jacob Rees-Mogg tried to fudge his way through by claiming that bureaucracy had been eased by his government’s decisions – but the businessman, who has experience of the reality, said in fact matters have been made 15 times more complicated:
Rees-Mogg clearly subscribes to the Michael Gove attitude that “we’ve had enough of experts”.
It’s because experts are going to hand his backside to him any time he tries to cross them.
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Import checks set to be imposed on EU goods entering the UK have been delayed for a year and a half after arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg admitted they would be an “act of self-harm”.
But the checks were part of the UK’s conditions for leaving the European Union, so Rees-Mogg – now the euphemistically-titled Minister for Brexit Opportunities – is saying that the UK’s departure from the EU is actually harmful to the nation.
That’s a big u-turn from a major supporter of Brexit. We would be justified in asking why he has spent the last seven years (or so) claiming the opposite. Was it a deliberate lie?
“You’re admitting that this could save £1billion, which is admitting that checks would cost £1billion. I thought that post-Brexit checks were not going to be disruptive?” he was asked by [a] reporter.
“That’s why we’re not adopting them,” he replied. “This would have been an act of self-harm if we’d gone ahead with it.
“It would have increased costs for people and we are trying to reduce costs… free trade is hugely advantageous to consumers.”
It means UK exporters are now at a considerable financial disadvantage compared with EU firms importing goods into the UK:
Brexit opportunities Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg says implementing in full the “oven ready Brexit deal” negotiated, signed & sold by Boris Johnson to the public & Parliament as a negotiating triumph would be…
That’s right – EU goods are allowed through into the UK with no checks while UK goods are still subject to comprehensive checks on entering the EU.
It means that the UK will essentially continue to depend on the EU to monitor food safety.
And who’s to say that other things may be imported into the UK, with no checks to stop them?
People, perhaps?
That would really spoil Priti Patel’s party, after she proudly fanfared her plan to deport channel-crossing asylum-seekers to Rwanda. What if they start coming by unchecked food lorry instead?
Port authorities are considering legal action against the Tory government to recover the cost of building border control posts they believe may now never be used, as well.
The simple fact is that Tories like Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson – who was the poster boy of Brexit alongside that other horror, Nigel Farage – never bothered to consider the consequences of their hasty and thoughtless departure from the European Union.
It seems clear that they had been led to believe in some possibly-mythical profit for themselves (Tories never make changes without expecting to make some money out of it, somewhere down the line).
But now they are being forced to work through the consequences of their stupidity as the nation demands that they solve the problems they have created, that are costing us an alleged £800 million per week.
Remember when Theresa Villiers made this promise, back in January?
Here's a government Minister back in January, promising that chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef would not be allowed into the UK. It will. Tory promises mean nothing. pic.twitter.com/RgET68p8KN
The Conservative manifesto promised: "we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards”. Six months later …https://t.co/oxWVHJc5hQ
Britain is prepared to permit imports of chlorinated chicken from the US but will slap high tariffs on cheaply-produced food in order to minimise the impact on British farmers.
The latest Government proposal for a trade deal with the US is for a “dual tariff” regime that imposes different levels of duty on imported foods, depending on whether they comply with UK animal welfare standards.
Hormone-fed beef, chlorinated chicken and other foods that use techniques banned in Britain will be allowed across the Atlantic, but ministers want to use tariffs to make it uneconomical for US producers to export them to the UK.
It’s a classic Tory tactic.
Faced with public opposition to a plan, they say they absolutely will not allow it – not now, not ever, our laws forbid it.
Then they wait a while, before saying: “Oh, we’re going to allow it but with severe restrictions.”
Then when the change comes into effect, they quietly ensure that no restrictions are imposed.
Bear in mind that 14.7 per cent of US citizens suffer from a food-borne illness each year, compared with just 1.5 per cent of UK citizens. Watch the UK percentage skyrocket after this change is imposed.
Today’s announcement means you will be asked to eat chicken and beef that does not meet UK food standards – effectively poisoning yourself so fat Tory businesspeople can have a cosy trade deal with the United States that the majority of people in the UK don’t want. And they won’t be chomping on chlorinated crap!
And… chlorinated is only used as being symbolic of the unacceptable drop in food standards… it’s not the only one. https://t.co/olQBQmI4qT
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You have to admire the “glass half full” reporting style of news pieces covering the UK’s trade deficit.
Every month, every quarter, every year they tell us we’re losing billions, that manufacturing is down and that the services sector is all that’s keeping us from commercial oblivion (due to lack of investment in anything that actually makes anything).
But they always manage to find a bright side – in this case, it’s worse than last month but not as bad as the last quarter. Great!
Who’s fooled?
The UK trade deficit almost doubled in June to £1.6bn, from £885m the previous month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.
A deficit of £9.2bn on goods was partly offset by a £7.6bn surplus on services.
Exports fell slightly, reflecting in part weaker demand in the eurozone.
Despite the sharp monthly increase, the deficit for the second quarter was, at £4.9bn, considerably smaller than the £7.5bn deficit recorded in the first three months of the year.
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It’s a business matter – the business of bloodshed.
Despite the high-profile resignation of Baroness Warsi, despite growing unrest among his own backbenchers, despite public criticism over his government’s failure to support a UN inquiry into possible human rights breaches in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, David Cameron remains resolute in his refusal to speak up against the Israeli government’s use of overwhelmingly superior firepower against Palestinian civilians who have been caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hamas terrorists.
His uncharacteristic silence has made him a laughing-stock in some quarters. The blogger Tom Pride, for example, took great pleasure in pointing out useful things that Cameron hasn’t been saying: “In a dramatic turnaround, Mr Cameron shocked political pundits after he blasted the Israeli Army for massacring civilians in Gaza by not quite saying something not very nice about it.
“And in a devastating speech which he was very nearly on the point of giving today, Cameron bordered on almost telling Israeli premier Benjamin Natanjahu to stop his naughty behaviour at once or face being told to shake hands and make up with the Palestinians.
“Mr Cameron also blasted the Israelis by getting pretty close to claiming there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that innocent civilians in Gaza – including children – had been targeted as a form of collective punishment, which he almost pointed out was not very nice and was even actually rather quite naughty if you think about it.”
The reason for his reticence? The Israelis are using British weapons, bought under contracts that are worth almost £8 billion every year. Cameron doesn’t want to put that kind of income at risk!
The latest development is that the Liberal Democrats have called for the government to suspend the export licences under which these weapons are shipped to Israel. It seems the intention is to put out a clear message that Britain will not tolerate its weapons being used against innocents (and we can debate the possible levels of hypocrisy in that later).
Downing Street has stated that the licences are already under review, with no new licences issued since the Israeli government opened up hostilities last month.
“Suspending export licences is not a decision we take lightly and it is right that we examine the facts fully. This is the approach being taken by the vast majority of countries,” the spokesman said, according to the BBC.
It seems more likely that nothing will be done and the government is hoping this affair will blow itself out before it can affect the balance of import/export payments.
Cameron has been attacked by many – including commenters on this blog – for the apparent failure of his moral compass where money is concerned, and there is evidence that criticising his policy is a bad career move for fellow Conservative Party members.
It seems only people outside the government are allowed to speak their mind. Look at Dominic Grieve, the former Attorney General who was ousted, possibly for criticising plans to limit Legal Aid to those who least deserve it. According to the BBC, he has been heard questioning whether Israel’s actions had been “reasonable, necessary and proportionate”.
Outside the Westminster bubble, high-profile names have been far less reserved about expressing an opinion. Remember when Roger Waters (formerly of Pink Floyd) compared the modern Israeli state with Nazi Germany last year? He was branded as an antisemite at the time.
But take a look at his words now, about Israeli treatment of the Palestinian people on the Gaza Strip: “The parallels with what went on in the 1930s in Geermany are so crushingly obvious… The Holocaust was brutal and disgusting beyond our imagination. We must never forget it. We must always remain vigilant. We must never stand by silent and indifferent to the sufferings of others, whatever their race, colour, ethnic background or religion. All human beings deserve the right to live equally under the law.
“I have nothing against Jews or Israelis, and I am not antisemitic. I deplore the policies of the Israeli government in the occupied territories and Gaza. They are immoral, inhuman and illegal. I will continue my non-violent protests as long as the government of Israel continues with these policies.”
When did we last have a Prime Minister with such principles?
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