Robot accidental mumbo -jumbo

 

Autonomous responsibility

1) It’s 2041 but you no longer have your own car.

2) You decide to visit a town 40 miles away but there is no regular bus or train. Therefore, you decide to hire an autonomous self-driving car from the local depot.

3) You log onto to the internet and book a car for the day after receiving the 30-page contract.

4) The autonomous car is despatched to your house without a driver.

5) In the meantime, your neighbours are too busy to take their 5-year-old son, Johnny, to school themselves so they instruct their robot servant to do it.

6) Johnny and the robot are on their way to school whilst the self-driving car turns the corner into your street.

7) As your car is driving past Johnny and the robot, your neighbour’s son suddenly breaks free of the robotic-servant’s grip and dashes across the road to greet a friend.

8) The autonomous car has slowed down to 10 mph after “seeing” the robot and Johnny, but its brakes are not good enough to prevent Johnny from being knocked over and being sent to hospital with a broken pelvis, and broken arms and legs.

9) A robot policeman arrives but there are no adult human witnesses to what happened, but both the robot and the autonomous vehicle have recorded everything with all the details of speed, capability of the car and road conditions and how tightly the robot was gripping Johnny etc.

10) Johnny’s parents demand compensation and a jail sentence for those who are responsible.

11) The case ends up in an autonomous court. The same “AI” system acts for you, the parents and the autonomous vehicle company, and the same autonomous judicial system makes the final judgement.

11)Who or what is responsible for the accident, who pays the fine and who or what is sent to jail for 3 months?

Remember that you ticked the conditions box on the car hire agreement without reading the 30-page text.

Machine Learning and AI mayhem

I spent most of my working life designing and implementing IT systems. I believed and still do that  information technology can be used for the common good if used wisely and appropriately. We are living in the digital machine age where much of our communication, commerce, health and industrial life has become dominated by computers. The existence of the digital world is one of so called "virtual reality"  where the real world is represented by digits. This "virtual reality" does not  have a real existence but it is a mathematical representation of hard reality. As an example it is possible to record and playback music according to a digital algorithm, this music to your ears can be made to sound almost exactly the same as the original music when it was recorded live. The same can be said for visual media, but in all cases the digital representation requires human interpretation for the musical or visual media to appear real. 

When you take a digital photograph of a fellow human being or a natural scene the image is recorded  as a mathematical figure; it is easy to manipulate the image to change its appearance or colour and to copy the image. One image can easily be superimposed on another. It is therefore possible to create something entirely different to the original image, but this new image is interpreted by the human observer as being entirely genuine and real. In this way it is possible to fake a new "virtual reality" which is indistinguishable from a truthful "reality".   

At the moment it is still possible to tell a fake image or audio presentation but it won't be long before this is not possible. Banks are using voice recognition to permit customers to make financial transactions across their accounts, the voice recognition software sometimes does not recognise a voice especially when the customer has got a cold or is talking emotionally, but very soon machine learning software will be able to identify a voice whatever the circumstances.  What happens when machine learning software can exactly mimic a voice? It may not be possible to to secure any voice driven transaction. The same principles apply  to visual recognition; so it may not be possible to assure yourself that your voice and image are not being "faked". At present the number of scam and fake transactions is limited;  however, the capacity of computers is increasing exponentially, so we could all, become victims of scams be they personal, financial or political. Digital parents: beware a scam paedophile could be coming for your child. 

A normal life where  we can trust each other and impersonal organisations may become impossible; we might have to resort to going back to face to face transactions and ignore the computers.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/nov/19/ai-cloning-of-celebrity-voices-outpacing-the-law-experts-warn

Machine learning or AI systems are under the control of humans at present, and are mostly held in check by benign organisations and people; but malign influences could use machine learning to wreck our lives via scams  or even kill us by official and unofficial military means. Don't think that this cannot happen: it is already possible.

To guard against the malicious use of machine technology by humans we might choose to develop IT systems which are completely autonomous, and which are not under human control. Machines could be set in motion which only act rationally and logically and which are devoid of emotion and motivation, they would have no desire to harm humans directly. Machine learning machines, however, do not need food or organic nervous systems, they can operate in all weathers and climates. They can grow their networks for as long as they have an energy supply from the sun or nuclear power. Robots could serve them by digging  for  minerals. Robotic factories could make new machinery to replace and enhance their physical networks. Robot drones could launch their own communications satellites. There would be no need for humans to attend to their needs. They could completely ignore us.

However, we have grown to rely on machines for our needs. What would happen if the machine learning systems decide without menace or motivation to not repair our transport and energy systems? What would happen if they do not till our fields and produce our food? We could all starve; the human race would be set back by thousands of years, so we might have to become hunter gatherers again. The big danger of relying on 'Artificial Intelligence' might not be war but our own ignorance to sleep walk into a world where the machines we have come to rely upon just ignore us. This is food for thought; as no-one is trying to prevent this from happening. Our future could be bleak. " 

Archbishop of Canterbury

 The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has resigned because of his failure to resolve the problems surrounding the abuse scandal perpetrated by John Smyth. He was entitled to consider his position and take advice, however, he made the right decision in the end.  

Anyone who attends church functions is entitled to be treated with extreme care as this is the mission of the Church in the first place. There can be no excuse for any form of abuse of young people or adults. Parishioners should expect that nothing untoward could happen to them when going to church or attending workshops or away-days. Parents should feel confident that their children can be left alone with priests or lay members without there being any abuse.

Too many people have had their lives ruined by a small number of miscreants. It is not just the Church of England that has been implicated in abuse of parishioners and the subsequent cover-ups. It is time for the senior members of the clergy of all churches to stop the abuse.

Well done, Justin Welby, for taking responsibility for the abuse and the cover-up, you are setting a good example not just to fellow senior bishops, but also to modern politicians who are reluctant to take responsibility for their serious errors of judgement. 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/11/the-guardian-view-on-abuse-and-the-church-of-england-a-reckoning-is-due-for-a-shameful-failure

Nuclear Energy Madness

 The cost of cleaning up the Sellafield Nuclear facility, in the north west of England, is predicted by the National Audit Office to increase to £136 billion. This is a colossal sum of money. How many, schools and hospitals could be built or refurbished for this sort of money?  How many frigates could be supplied to the Royal Navy which is short of ships? What about a new electricity grid to supply renewable energy to the whole country? What about the prison crisis?

I am beginning to think that nuclear power has been a disastrous waste of money. Nuclear power is an offshoot of the nuclear bomb industry. Using nuclear power helped to make the development of atomic weapons more economically feasible. However, what was the human race thinking of when it invented the doomsday bombs, which have blighted our lives? There was never a need for such destructive weapons in the first place. How could we have contemplated using a single bomb which could wipe out 100,000 people at the press of a button, and then further increase the power of the bomb to wipe out millions. The nuclear arms race was and still is madness, and there is little chance that sanity will prevail. 

The human race is capable of wiping itself out easily from nuclear or chemical warfare and climate change. It is no use thinking about escaping to another planet as we will probably take the destructive madness with us. It is now, probably best, to live out your remaining life as best and as happily as you can, and hope that you live and die peacefully before Armageddon strikes.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/oct/23/sellafield-cleanup-cost-136bn-national-audit-office

Middle East Madness

 One again war has flared up in the Middle East: Jews and Muslims are massacring one another. They are also accusing one another of being the first to start the killing and the wars. They are both wrong both sides started the war together. The war started in 1948  with the establishment of the state of Israel and the partition of Palestine, which lead to deportation of both both Muslims and Jews.  A war resulted between the new Israeli state and its Arab neighbours. The partition of Palestine was organised by both Britain and the UN. The latest "war" is really a very bloody and malicious  battle within a continuous conflict. The war is set to continue unless someone stops it. It is not a question of who started the war and its battles but who is going to stop it. Neither of the belligerent sides seem willing to negotiate a peace settlement. The Iranian government should ask itself the question of why the Israelis are so fearful of them and hate them so much. Equally, the Israeli government should ask itself the same questions. Both governments seem immune to acting rationally and this is why there are massacres where innocent people suffer.

Israel has the right to exist as a sovereign and independent state. Western governments should help Israel protect itself from attack and destruction, therefore Iran and its allies should face the facts and desist from their attempts to destroy Israel. Likewise, there cannot be peace in the Levant whilst Israel illegally occupies the West Bank and Gaza. The recent revenge attacks by Israel only serves to create a band of angry and hateful young men who are prepared to carry on the hostilities and massacres. Revenge attacks, which kill thousands of civilians and non-combatants, are counter productive. 

If the belligerents won't negotiate a peace then the US should organise a peace settlement which once and for all settles the conflict. Iran must renounce its desire to eliminate Israel, and Israel must withdraw from Palestinian territory as all its activities there are simply illegal. A two states solution must be imposed. More than likely, China must be involved to pressurise Iran and the US must pressurise Israel.

 An agreement is possible, but looking at the bad state of relations between the super-powers it seems unlikely and the merciless cycle of revenge will continue.  How could the human race get itself into such a mess and why do we allow religious and political fanatics to hold sway? Surely, it is time for some rational thinking to be applied. The innocent Jews and Muslims deserve better.

Whose clothes are you wearing?

 The prime minister and other senior politicians have had clothes bought for them by rich donors to the Labour party. The donors have paid thousands of pounds for their favourite politicians to wear designer clothes, designer shoes and spectacles. Some of these gifts have cost thousands of pounds.  The recipients of the largesse have claimed that they need to look smart on the campaign trail or when meeting richer foreign politicians and royalty etc. They have a point.

However, the voter in the street has to pay for his or her own clothes and most voters have nothing like six figure salaries. Many voters are on their "uppers" and are disappointed that  privileged and well paid politicians are happy to receive "freebies". The public expects better. They can see no reason why some pensioners who are not rich have had their winter fuel allowance taken off them when they can't afford designer sheep skin coats etc. to keep them warm as they sit in their frozen flats and houses.

Politicians are expected to look smart by both the public and the media. Power dressing is very much in vogue. A former leader of the Labour Party turned up at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday, in 1981, dressed in a donkey jacket; he was traduced by both the public and the press, and accused of being being disrespectful to the dead and wounded from two world wars. Come off it many "respectful" people  wearing designer suits are often hypocrites  or crooks or both: many of them politicians. You can show respect without wearing a thousand pound suit. Let us all be rational about it and keep our hands clean no matter what we are wearing. Let us stop criticising people who don't have the money for power dressing. Perhaps we would have a better society for it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8djply3z18o

https://insidecroydon.com/2023/11/09/donkey-jackets-nod-sense-and-the-wisdom-of-old-harry-patch/

 

Bad reputation

A distant cousin of my wife who was born in France has married a lovely lady from Vietnam she has resided in France long enough to become a French citizen. One of the first things she wanted to do with her new French passport was to visit us in London.\she always had an admiration for the UK and this was an opportunity to make a visit without the rigmarole of obtaining a visa. The recent events have made her change her made . The riots have put her off, as she is worried that she might be attacked by a violent "racist" yobbo. Despite assurances from us that she will be safe, as we know how to avoid trouble in the UK she is not convinced. Many potential visitors to these shores will also be put off especially if they are from South East Asia. It is clear that no-one has the right to attack anyone else or to spread fear amongst the immigrant, or visitor community. Many British citizens whose parents hail from South East Asia are also living in fear.

Britain is losing its good reputation not just at a personal level but also at a national level. The populist politicians have also stirred up an angry mob to hold other nations in contempt especially European Nations and the nations of South East Asia. Britain has lost respect which has severe political, diplomatic and economic implications for us How can Britain progress in a global economy when it it has lost the respect of many nations.

Our politicians need to wake up to assuage some of the very angry people who have been let down and who have been left impoverished without hope. Not everyone who joined in the riots was politically motivated; some of them were just angry, and they were influenced by dark political forces to direct that anger against innocent asylum seekers and those who support them by providing them with services. All of the violence was completely unjustified, but our society needs to be careful as it could easily descend into a populist hell. Not all of the angry people were out on the streets but they could be manipulated to do so. Don't believe that it could not happen here, watch out be careful, be woke!

Age of criminal responsibility

 Recently, a number of children aged 12 and 13 were in the UK courts being prosecuted for violent disorder during the the riots. No doubt they will be punished in some way, if the are found guilty, but they will not be sent to prison. Of course violent disorder is a serious matter and no-one should be allowed to get away with it no matter what age they are. However, I am of the opinion that children of 12 should not be held criminally responsible for their actions. Most European nations do not treat children under the age of 14 as being criminally responsible for what they do. The parents of children who commit crimes should be held responsible. What were parents doing allowing children out onto the streets during a riot, these children should have been at home with their parents. No-one should be a rioter who endangers the lives of the police and emergency service personnel or members of the public. No-one has the right to pick upon unfortunate asylum seekers some of whom are escaping from violence and prejudice in their home countries. Children should not be encouraged to riot or act violently. It is the adults who  encourage their children to be violent who should feel the full power of the law. We have seen enough of anti-semitism and islamophobia, and it is time for it to stop, and for children who indulge in this to be restrained and re-educated. 

Violent connexions

 The violence seen lately on the streets of the UK has at least one glaring connection with the violence seen lately in the Middle East: irrational hatred. One group of group of people hates others so much that they want to kill them. It doesn't matter whether it is an unprotected policeman being targeted or a child at a dance party, some revellers at a kibbutz festival or children in a Gazan hospital, let's see this violence for what it is: irrational hatred. The violence is caused by people who are sick in the head falling victim to their own internal irrational hatred. The human race should be careful not to allow this sickness to infect us all, as we could destroy ourselves.

Jailing oil protestors

 I can't help thinking that jailing  a stop oil protestor for five years is excessive. This was the jail term handed out to Roger Hallam for blocking the M25 in 2022. Some of his fellow protestors were given similar sentences. 

The protestors inconvenienced thousands of people but they did not injure or kill anyone directly . The protests were non-violent. Violent offenders have been given lesser sentences. They were protesting for political reasons, and it looks as if they are right to point out the dangers of climate change. Climate change has serious implications which could result in the starvation of thousands and huge migrations of people with all the attendant problems. The protestors believe that no-one is taking  the dangers seriously, so they are obliged to take drastic action  to get every one to take notice.

 I don't believe that it was right to block the M25 motorway, as emergency vehicles could have been prevented from attending fires and serious accidents; dying people could have been stuck in ambulances. However, I don't believe it was just to jail them for so long; they could have been given suspended sentences, so that they they would be forced to contemplate that they would be jailed if they take further illegal action.

The jails are full and the authorities are having to release prisoners early, so what is the point of jailing non-violent offenders when they could be given suspended sentences?

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/just-stop-oil-founder-jailed-for-record-five-years-over-m25-motorway-protest/ar-BB1qdGtO

Joe Biden dropping out

 It is my opinion that Joe Biden did the right thing by dropping out of the US presidential race. He may be perfectly healthy for a man of his age and still have acute mental faculties. His fumbling mistakes and his general physical demeanour, however, have led to a perception that he is not up to the job of being the next President of the US.  He would have lost the election because of how he is perceived. 

He is, now, right to concentrate his considerable abilities to  solving the conflict between Palestine and Israel, to ensure a lasting and just peace. If he can do this he will be recognised as  one of the greatest Presidents of the US.

He was also right to endorse Kamala Harris as the next prospective candidate. Ms Harris is very intelligent and comes across as a strong character who has an sharp sense of humour. She is also socially liberal. She is just the right person to put the misogynistic, spiteful and hateful  populists in their place. Machismo men are secretly frightened of a strong and intelligent woman, and Kamala Harris has all of the character and ability to appeal to the American public in order to win the election. She can  protect the American  people from the worst aspects of prejudice and extremism. I wish her well and hope that she wins.

Who to vote for?

 The UK is in a complete mess. The National Health Service is falling apart. Brexit has and will be a failure. The prisons are so full that the government is thinking of releasing some prisoners early. There are delays in judicial procedures. The immigration system is in complete disarray. Thousands of asylum seekers have not been processed: the boat people have not been stopped nor will they be without co-operation from our former partners: there is some doubt about the legality of the Rwanda deportation  policy. Threatening to leave the ECHR is almost as stupid as actually doing it. There is uncontrolled pollution of our rivers and seas. Now some people have been disenfranchised by the late reception of postal voting packages. The government has failed us and we need a change.

Who to vote for? Tactical voting will probably fail to remove my local Conservative MP as he has a huge majority. I cannot vote for Labour because of their policy on Europe; we need to re-join the single market and customs union. Britain voted to leave the EU not the single market, so there should be no argument about re-joining the institution, as Norway is a member of the market without being in the EU as is Switzerland, albeit by using separate treaties. When we were in the single market immigration was under control and the free market in labour was a better means of controlling the market than points based immigration systems.

I have no choice but to vote for a political party that supports re-joining the single market as a step towards re-joining the EU itself, if our friends in Europe accept this. This means that I have two choices the Greens or the Liberal Democrats. The more voices that are registered to support re-joining the EU  the better.

veterans' voting right

It is clear that the government's desire to control everything we do has gone completely wrong. We all have to show voter id: such as passports, photo-card driving licences etc. when we go to vote. There is a list of acceptable id that is as long as your arm. Military veterans, however, cannot use their veteran cards, because they are not on the approved list. Today, some of them have been denied the right to vote. This is bureaucratic nonsense. In today's super controlled society no one can use their initiative to allow veterans to vote as long as they have an acceptable id card, which the veteran's card is. 

Military veterans have fought for their country and defended democracy, they are entitled to vote and they probably regard their denial as an insult. It is still probably not too late for the electoral commission  to approve veterans cards on an immediate and temporary basis. The way this country now works, I doubt this will happen, so it's hardlines, veterans, you've lost your rights.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/may/02/minister-sorry-as-veterans-find-id-card-not-valid-for-english-elections

Rwanda deportation policy

 It is both tragic and ironic that as soon as the Rwanda bill was approved by the UK parliament, five migrants lost their lives trying got cross the English Channel in a small boat. One of the casualties was a four year old girl who lost her life. The migrants were attempting to cross from a beach at Wimereux, the French police were there but the small boat was overcrowded with 110 people on board.

It is apparent that there is very little deterrence to prevent desperate people to attempt dangerous crossings. They are determined to come.

It is clear that the Rwanda deportation policy is an abuse of Refugees' human rights, the policy has just been condemned by the Council of Europe and the UN , the policy is simply cruel and inhumane. A better way must be found. It is also shameful that the British government is trying to bypass legitimate objections by declaring by law that Rwanda is a safe country. to deport people to, when clearly it is not. King Canute would have been proud of this distortion of legal reality - I think not.

The policy will fail because most of the Refugees are resourceful and clever people, once they get to the UK thousands of them will probably disappear into the "grey" economy. A stupid policy will not stop the Refugees from coming to join their friends and family, so it is time to review everything and find a more humane and sensible policy.

Julian Assange and extradition

 Surely, there is a case for some compassion to be shown towards Julian Assange. He has been in prison or isolation for much more than a decade.

He has committed a crime by publishing state secrets. However, did this crime lead to the endangerment of the United States?  Probably not, but he possibly endangered the lives of some of their secret service agents . These operatives were more than likely be have been protected, however. 

Assange claims that he was operating in the public interest. Whatever the rights or wrongs of the case, Assange deserves some compassion as in my view he has been incarcerated or isolated for long enough. Some people who have directly murdered others are released after 15 years or so. 

It's my view that Assange has been punished enough ,and that he is now mentally fragile; he cannot repeat his mistakes or crimes. He should be rehabilitated and released to spend the rest of his life as a free man in the care of his wife and family.

Unfortunately, the legal systems are only interested in cold hard facts and laws, compassion does not enter into their calculations. The decision to release him would be a political one and the world, now, does not cater for political magnanimity and compassion.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68662881 

Who has really undermined democracy and exacerbated extremism?

 Have protestors really taken over the UK. I think not. One of the biggest sources of extremism and anti-democratic politics was the 2016 referendum to leave the EU.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68451333

The referendum as it was organised was a case of democracy being ignored. Decisions should have been made based upon facts rather than falsehoods and appeals to emotion. A referendum should reflect the long term views of more than substantial majority of the population, thus a two thirds majority should have been the starting point for a debate about whether to leave or not. During the referendum debate the polling was so close that that "the majority " in favour of leaving or remaining was changing day by day. Had the referendum been taken on a Saturday rather than a Thursday the result could have been different.

Now that we have seen the mid-term results of the leaving the EU, which show that most of the promises of Brexit have not been delivered and even immigration has gone up: Brexit is faltering. Brexit is turning out to be a failure. we are now in a position where a substantial number of leave voters have changed their minds.  The latest polls are showing that 58% of those polled wan to re-join the EU. though this majority is not two thirds of the electorate. Most voters in the referendum wanted to remain in the single market or the customs or both, because they saw it in the best interests of our country even though we would leave the EU.   

It occurs to me that the swing in favour of a leave vote was caused by the infamous poster promulgated by the Brexit party which pictured thousands of people of middle eastern origin  heading towards the UK frontier to "legally" invade our country because we were going to remain in the EU. The  leave campaign  was substantially based of xenophobia and dare I say it racism. They were stoking up the fear. Most leave politicians , from the left and the right, did nothing to counteract the xenophobia of the immigrant poster, let alone condemn it. Many  racists and xenophobes felt that the referendum gave them licence to become active.

The referendum also divided the UK , two of its nations chose to vote to remain in the EU. The Scottish people are un-happy that their views were ignored. Worse still, the open border arrangements between Northern Ireland and the Irish republic are now a contradiction because of Brexit

It took a court case for the UK parliament to show responsibility for leaving the EU. Parliament  was legally required to decide whether to leave the EU or not. They bungled it. The British people voted to leave the EU, but they did not vote to leave the single market or the customs union. Parliament decided eventually to vote to leave everything, which was against the economic best interests of the country. Staying in the single market would have resolved most of the problems of the Irish border. It would also have solved the problems of British and EU citizens having to obtain visas for longer stays and work.

The British economy needs workers. The single market meant that free movement, of labour, allowed the UK to tap into a cohort of workers who were both young and mobile, and who in the main did not  bring family members with them. EU workers are no longer coming unless they have a really important reason. The new economic situation now means that the UK must attract workers from the far east and south east Asia. These workers have to pay to come here so they are entitled to fair treatment and should be allowed  to be joined by family members. They have the right to expect this. This means that immigration has increased substantially as a result of leaving the EU. Because of the rise of xenophobia many of these immigrants are resented by the indigenous population. The government has decided that that there are too many family members joining  immigrant workers, so they are increasing the minimum wage requirements to allow family members to join their loved ones; this is effectively preventing thousands of workers coming with their families. Our workforce could be substantially be reduced because of this. The UK need foreign workers, why stop them coming by leaving the single market or  imposing punitive visa restrictions?

What is the UK parliament doing about the failure of Brexit: nothing? Members of Parliament are too embarrassed to talk about the Brexit failure that they voted for. They have got no ideas about how to exploit Brexit, even if it was possible. They have left us with a divided nation which is becoming increasingly xenophobic and intolerant towards immigrants and asylum seekers .

Human rights are being ignored in favour of MPs making personal attacks against one another rather than concentrating on improving the living conditions for all of us, whether we are Jews, Muslims, Christians, atheists or asylum seekers, and whether we have dark skins or light ones. Most protestors do not want to overthrow the State. Soon they may not have to, as the State could be be slowly destroying itself  with divisive and weak politicians looking in the wrong direction. That is Brexit for you.

Referendums can lead to dangerous consequences. We all have the responsibility to watch who and what we are voting for. 

At last a politician who is prepared to debate about Brexit

The London Mayor has started a debate about Brexit. It is refreshing that he is brave enough to talk about it. Most people in recent polls regret that Britain has left the EU. 57% of voters now want to join the EU Single Market. Voters are increasingly recognising that Brexit has failed. Brexit has done nothing to help the plight of so called red wall voters in the poorer constituencies. Brexit politicians have also failed the red wall voters, they are regarded as second class citizens and they feel it after the cancellation of HS2.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/20/sadiq-khan-free-young-people-from-brexit-work-and-travel-ban

There is now no need for any EU supporting politician to remain silent about having a closer relationship with the EU. We should at least talk about the options. Britain will not be joining the single market or the customs union anytime soon, as there is distrust within the EU. Brexit harmed the economy of not just the UK but also the EU.  

There is some merit, however, to raise the suggestion to allow young people a degree of free movement(of labour) as a confidence building measure. Such a measure could then be extended later so that the UK re-joins the single market. 

Re-joining the single market and the customs union will improve the economies of both the EU and Britain. Britain needs an investment boost, one which the single market and customs union would bring.

Britain could also negotiate much greater co-operation on the defence and foreign affairs front to counter act Russian economic and military expansion.

It is time to face the facts and level with the British people, as Brexit was a costly mistake for most people in the UK, and especially those in red wall seats, the constituents in these poorer seats are not stupid and they deserve a better share of an improved economy.

A closer relationship with our nearest neighbours may be the only realistic way of removing Britain from its malaise. Think about it.