The Bank of England has just announced that European Banks will be allowed to maintain the administrative and commercial status quo when Britain leaves the EU. This means that large European Union based banks will only have to be be represented in London by branches rather than bank subsidiaries which are legally set up in the UK. These branches will be able to keep their assets and liabilities on the books of their Headquarters in Europe. Control of these branches from a risk and liquidity point of view will be from the Head Office in Europe. Britain is too weak to insist that these banks open subsidiaries in the the UK.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42420829
If Britain leaves the EU, without a banking agreement for the "passporting" of financial services, then UK banks will have to set up subsidiaries in the EU. The assets and liabilities and profits will then become under the domain of the EU country where they are resident. So will the staff. Britain loses out. The EU have made it clear that to gain single market access, to the EU financial services market, Britain will have to agree to free movement of labour. Britain will have little choice: it is not powerful enough to insist that we have have complete access to the single market without accepting freedom of movement.
So much for taking back control and sovereignty. The Bank of England has just ceded control and sovereignty to the EU. Who voted for that?
By remaining in the EU, Britain would have had a big say in how European banks should act, we would have pooled our sovereignty. Now we have lost all say and the European Banking Authority is being transferred from London to Paris, and the Authority will only be wrenched back from Paris with extreme difficulty and only if we rejoin the EU. If you voted leave, well done. You have been duped again and our nation will lose billions of pounds worth of financial trade and influence.
Wednesday, 20 December 2017
Monday, 11 December 2017
A wonderful post-Brexit future
What makes anyone think that Britain will be better off if we leave the EU? My experience of working in 30 countries across the world suggests that we shall be in for a hard time.
We shall be throwing ourselves into an environment in which we are not fit to compete. How on earth is Britain going to negotiate and equitable deal with the USA? Britain is a very small nation compared to the USA. Despite the "special relationship", the USA can afford to ignore us. It did not need the UK's support for the invasion of Iraq or Afghanistan. It did not need British support in the Korean war. It would have lost the Vietnam war even if it had British support. The USA hardly needs us and when Britain leaves the EU it won't need us at all. The USA will always look after its own interests just as Britain, France and China do. They will do us no favours when we leave the EU and we should not expect them to. The USA respects power and the UK will have no more power than Malta does when we leave the EU.
American citizens abroad have an easy going self confidence which they know is backed up by a gigantic economic and corporate power. They can fill meetings with experts they can outnumber the British and "outgun us" at anytime. The idea that a "Lord Snooty" or "Roy of the Rovers" character can beat all comers by acting alone is comic book fantasy. The Americans will walk all over us . So will the EU and China; and so will India which is catching up fast with the other economic super-powers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Snooty
http://scotiafile.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/lord-snooty-and-his-pals-beano.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_of_the_Rovers
How on earth can Britain survive in a cruel hard world when the government has no plan for our future relationship with the EU after we have left? And, no plan for our relationship with the rest of the world for that matter. How on earth can Britain prosper when the government has made no assessments - good or bad- of the economic effects of leaving the EU ? How could a government of this nature be trusted to negotiate with any one? How could a government be trusted to exploit any opportunity arising from leaving the EU?
Out in the big wild world many of our citizens are unfit to compete with the competition on a personal basis. I have worked in many countries and with people from all over the world. I have found that none of these world citizens have a self-satisfied sense of entitlement. They work very hard. Many of my fellow Britons could not spell or write coherent English as well as the Indian citizens that I have encountered. Even Russian and Chinese workers can "out-spell" the British.
I have asked Indian workers to write reports for me which I could deliver to senior management with very little correction or alteration. They seem to know the difference between a "blog" and a business report. English is the business language of the world; so isn't it a shame that many British people are unable to exploit their native language? It helps when you are in another country to be able to speak some of the language even if it is just to say: "thank you" or "good morning". The language skills of British young people are appalling. You are not going to make many sales in Japan or China if you cannot even be seen to be polite. Britons will not only be coming up against tariff and non-tariff barriers they will also be coming up against language barriers.
A metropolitan elite has somehow persuaded the British electorate that Britain can easily survive on its own. The trouble is this elite is decadent and lazy and has an undeserved sense of entitlement and superiority It is just the sort of attitude that ruffles feathers in India, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and the US. This elite is now in control of our future. It is this elite that will be sending their own kind out into the rest of the world to struggle for Britain and with their attitude they are dooming us to failure.
This sense of superiority and entitlement will not serve us well. We are on a downward slope and we shall skid along to disaster if we are not careful. The reality is we need our European friends more than they need us. The EU protects us from failure and gives us the opportunity to compete with the rest of the world on an even playing field. We don't need "Roy of the Rovers" we need a sense of realism and team work to progress.
We shall be throwing ourselves into an environment in which we are not fit to compete. How on earth is Britain going to negotiate and equitable deal with the USA? Britain is a very small nation compared to the USA. Despite the "special relationship", the USA can afford to ignore us. It did not need the UK's support for the invasion of Iraq or Afghanistan. It did not need British support in the Korean war. It would have lost the Vietnam war even if it had British support. The USA hardly needs us and when Britain leaves the EU it won't need us at all. The USA will always look after its own interests just as Britain, France and China do. They will do us no favours when we leave the EU and we should not expect them to. The USA respects power and the UK will have no more power than Malta does when we leave the EU.
American citizens abroad have an easy going self confidence which they know is backed up by a gigantic economic and corporate power. They can fill meetings with experts they can outnumber the British and "outgun us" at anytime. The idea that a "Lord Snooty" or "Roy of the Rovers" character can beat all comers by acting alone is comic book fantasy. The Americans will walk all over us . So will the EU and China; and so will India which is catching up fast with the other economic super-powers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Snooty
http://scotiafile.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/lord-snooty-and-his-pals-beano.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_of_the_Rovers
How on earth can Britain survive in a cruel hard world when the government has no plan for our future relationship with the EU after we have left? And, no plan for our relationship with the rest of the world for that matter. How on earth can Britain prosper when the government has made no assessments - good or bad- of the economic effects of leaving the EU ? How could a government of this nature be trusted to negotiate with any one? How could a government be trusted to exploit any opportunity arising from leaving the EU?
Out in the big wild world many of our citizens are unfit to compete with the competition on a personal basis. I have worked in many countries and with people from all over the world. I have found that none of these world citizens have a self-satisfied sense of entitlement. They work very hard. Many of my fellow Britons could not spell or write coherent English as well as the Indian citizens that I have encountered. Even Russian and Chinese workers can "out-spell" the British.
I have asked Indian workers to write reports for me which I could deliver to senior management with very little correction or alteration. They seem to know the difference between a "blog" and a business report. English is the business language of the world; so isn't it a shame that many British people are unable to exploit their native language? It helps when you are in another country to be able to speak some of the language even if it is just to say: "thank you" or "good morning". The language skills of British young people are appalling. You are not going to make many sales in Japan or China if you cannot even be seen to be polite. Britons will not only be coming up against tariff and non-tariff barriers they will also be coming up against language barriers.
A metropolitan elite has somehow persuaded the British electorate that Britain can easily survive on its own. The trouble is this elite is decadent and lazy and has an undeserved sense of entitlement and superiority It is just the sort of attitude that ruffles feathers in India, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and the US. This elite is now in control of our future. It is this elite that will be sending their own kind out into the rest of the world to struggle for Britain and with their attitude they are dooming us to failure.
This sense of superiority and entitlement will not serve us well. We are on a downward slope and we shall skid along to disaster if we are not careful. The reality is we need our European friends more than they need us. The EU protects us from failure and gives us the opportunity to compete with the rest of the world on an even playing field. We don't need "Roy of the Rovers" we need a sense of realism and team work to progress.
Wednesday, 6 December 2017
Time to Call Off Brexit
Nearly every prediction that I have made about Brexit is now coming true. Northern Ireland is now the sticking point. When Ireland and Britain joined the Common Market, way back in 1973, very few people believed that European unity would go some way to helping a peace process in Northern Ireland and on the island of Ireland in general. By 1973, the troubles in Northern Ireland were well underway. By the time that the "civil war" had been resolved in 1998 over 1800 civilians had been killed, the majority of whom were residents of Northern Ireland. The conflict, however, claimed civilian casualties in both the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain.
The EU was part of the solution to centuries of conflict. Free movement of people and trade helped to breakdown the social, economic and political divisions. The Republic of Ireland and the UK became equals and this also helped smooth the way to the Republic of Ireland declaring that it no longer had a unilateral claim to achieve a united Ireland. The UK also declared that it had no interest in preserving a union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain against the wishes of a majority in Northern Ireland. The scene was set for continuing peace.
This peace could easily be unravelled. If the UK leaves the European Union customs treaties and the single market then there will have to be a hard border between the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The people of Northern Ireland voted by a small majority (55%) to remain in the EU and therefore by default to remain in the customs union and single market. It looks as though some political elements in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland want to force the people of Northern Ireland out of the EU and its institutions against their will.
The UK is a sovereign state but any state has to exercise its sovereignty carefully. Britain has to consider the views of the Republic of Ireland and it also has to consider the views of a substantial minority of Northern Irish citizens who either wish for a unified Ireland or very close relations with the Republic. It would also seem that many in the loyalist community also want to maintain close relations with the Republic. The EU allowed for these close relations be maintained on an equitable, legal and peaceful basis. The UK could quite easily jeopardise 20 years of peace by quitting the EU.
It is quite clear that the Republic of Ireland is no longer willing to give in to the UK's economic power to dominate events. The EU gives it the power to challenge us. The UK should learn a lesson from this. By being part of a super power the UK is able to influence events and challenge US and Chinese power.
You, mister voter, were given the power in the referendum to influence the future of all of the nations that make up the United Kingdom. You demanded it and, therefore, it was your duty to research the history of our nation and consider the consequences of your decision to leave the EU. Will you ever be forgiven if conflict returns to Northern Ireland and violence returns not just to Ulster but to the Republic of Ireland too; and of course to the British mainland?
The EU was part of the solution to centuries of conflict. Free movement of people and trade helped to breakdown the social, economic and political divisions. The Republic of Ireland and the UK became equals and this also helped smooth the way to the Republic of Ireland declaring that it no longer had a unilateral claim to achieve a united Ireland. The UK also declared that it had no interest in preserving a union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain against the wishes of a majority in Northern Ireland. The scene was set for continuing peace.
This peace could easily be unravelled. If the UK leaves the European Union customs treaties and the single market then there will have to be a hard border between the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The people of Northern Ireland voted by a small majority (55%) to remain in the EU and therefore by default to remain in the customs union and single market. It looks as though some political elements in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland want to force the people of Northern Ireland out of the EU and its institutions against their will.
The UK is a sovereign state but any state has to exercise its sovereignty carefully. Britain has to consider the views of the Republic of Ireland and it also has to consider the views of a substantial minority of Northern Irish citizens who either wish for a unified Ireland or very close relations with the Republic. It would also seem that many in the loyalist community also want to maintain close relations with the Republic. The EU allowed for these close relations be maintained on an equitable, legal and peaceful basis. The UK could quite easily jeopardise 20 years of peace by quitting the EU.
It is quite clear that the Republic of Ireland is no longer willing to give in to the UK's economic power to dominate events. The EU gives it the power to challenge us. The UK should learn a lesson from this. By being part of a super power the UK is able to influence events and challenge US and Chinese power.
You, mister voter, were given the power in the referendum to influence the future of all of the nations that make up the United Kingdom. You demanded it and, therefore, it was your duty to research the history of our nation and consider the consequences of your decision to leave the EU. Will you ever be forgiven if conflict returns to Northern Ireland and violence returns not just to Ulster but to the Republic of Ireland too; and of course to the British mainland?
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