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Johnson’s PMQ response here on the ending ERASMUS looks set to be an initial challenge for the PM –
Johnson’s PMQ response here on the ending ERASMUS looks set to be an initial challenge for the PM – politicalbetting.com
Boris Johnson has stripped our youth of the enrichment of Erasmus Here is the truth twisting charlatan promising Parliament that we would stay part of Erasmus.Please do your job @BBCNews & put this on the ten o’clock news #Erasmus #BorisJohnsonLiesAgain pic.twitter.com/ksfCKv9cmo
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A Labour frontbench rebellion is building - as mentioned earier, I think this will be Starnmer's second qualifying mistake of an overall excellent year. He's lost a couple of points to the Greens and others from the Corbyn issue, and I think if the rebellion is reasonably visible, he'll lose a couple of points to the LD's here.
I think, too, that having started well and briefly enjoying the privileges of appearing able to sweep all before him, like Macron, he'll gradually learn the benefits of tempering a more autocratic leadership style.
Shock news
It will work, because values.
Most people don't care about it, and never would have used it anyway, and those who do hyperventilate about it will be met by shrugs and pointing to Turing instead.
They do seem to be a little light on brickbats to throw, in the last day or two.
'But what about Erasmus?' is a killer argument only if you're already a fully paid-up FBPE-er.
I fully expect there to be other bigger issues but the numpties who cried wolf on this will be ignored
As for Erasmus itself, no doubt its practical importance is marginal, certainly compared to many other Brexit changes, but it has symbolic power as a firm statement of intent that this Brit Nat manifestation of the Tory party holds little truck with something it used to preach as a core value - personal aspiration to challenge and better oneself.
If I said I wanted a new car for 20k and but then I could only get the car for 30k so I bought a second hand car I wouldn't have been lying about wanting the new car.
At what multiple of the original cost would it have been reasonable to withdraw?
Now don't get me wrong Boris is a liar, but the real horrendous stuff in the deal, which should be rightly scrutinized, shod not be obscured by this non issue.
But I suppose the Labour's not for Turing?
To be honest we just need to move on, some will never do so, but I suspect the vast majority will be pleased it has been brought to a deal conclusion
Of course in all deals there are wins and losses but I fully expect Boris to embrace a very pro climate change pro sustainable farming policy and through climate change strike up a relationship with Joe Biden impossible with Trump
As far as Eramus is concerned my granddaughter was due to study in Italy in 2023 but I have little doubt the Turing replacement will provide opportunities not only within Europe but world wide
And as far as Boris is concerned his detractors and enemies may have to get used to him being PM for quite a long time
However, I agree that Bozo's cack-handed effort in the Commons is typically buffoonery from our embarrassment of a PM.
Re your last sentence, 100% agree. Boris "80 seat" Johnson is going precisely nowhere. My biggest current political bet is on him still being PM on 1st July 2022. I'm on at an average 1.85 and I'm treating it mentally like money in the bank. You can get 1.72 or something now and I simply cannot recommend that bet enough. It's outstanding value. If you don't want to wait 18 months for the full return it will be layable back at 1.4 or less by Easter.
The big one though is the general direction of travel. Accepting the LPF with all its European standards etc closes down the Libertarian trashing of regulation, in favour of one of two options: Standstill in alignment (in which case why did we bother?) or a shift in the direction of protectionism and autarky, though even that is constrained too.
I have always expected for Brexit to end with a whimper rather than a bang, and rusting out rather than busting out.
1 The name of the new scheme and
2 The cost of the old scheme has gone up threefold (meaningless without context; 3x a bargain might still be a bargain, and a la carte is always more expensive than menu del dia)
It's clearly a dead cat. Clearly released so that those who question it look like out-of-touch cosmopolitans. Clever, if nasty, short-term politics.
Unless you are studying one of those languages, natch!
I hope you and your good lady enjoyed your Christmas Day and trust the new year will be good for you both, especially health wise
It will be interesting to see if the UK replacement will fund students both ways, that is funding for our students to enjoy a year abroad and for EU students to come here. I hope so and it would not be the worst thing if the EU realises that overpricing Erasmus is a mistake that should be reversed.
Politicians can't win. If the evade questions they are slippery but if they answer them they are inept.
But let's not imagine political deceit is a new thing. Labour increased income taxes contrary to a manifesto promise. And all three parties had a promise to hold a referendum on Lisbon, and reneged.
The so-called "Turing Programme" is Johnson's usual humbug and the great man, if he were still alive, should be outraged by being coopted into it. National programmes have always existed, eg through the British Council, Goethe Institut etc. The point about Erasmus is that it is an international exchange. I wouldn't be surprised if the "Turing Programme" is allowed to die a neglected death, once its propaganda usefulness is expended.
FPT. My company no longer allows work assignments out of the UK into Europe unless you are an Irish citizen. New policy this month. It is not going down the visa route. We can say there is a pecking order of passport desirability:
It would be good to see the numbers, and even better to check that the claim is right once the Turing scheme is up & running.
In many of these things, the appropriate basemark for the UK fee is Switzerland or Norway. Was the EU offering the same terms (per capita) to us for Erasmus? If not, the EU was being unreasonable.
Ultimately, everyone agrees that an exchange scheme like this is excellent. The argument is all about the cost -- and so it should be pretty straightforward to establish whether (i) the EU was indeed overcharging the UK and (ii) whether the UK can do better (in terms of the students) by running its own scheme.
Boris caught lying -- well, pols lie.
Just before the general election in 1997, the then leader of the Opposition said "Labour has no plans to introduce tuition fees for higher education". He went on to win another three general elections, memorably saying before the second victory in 2001 in his manifesto "We will not introduce top-up fees and have legislated against them."
Lies work. That is why pols lie.
Students have had 30 years of pols of all parties lying to them.
As for Boris he has never been stronger in his party and he does seem to be rediscovering his mojo.
The climate conference is a huge world event here in Glasgow and he is the host, so I cannot imagine he will move on before that and indeed it is even possible he may contest the 2024 election
If he had been responsible for a no deal I believe he would not have lasted long into 2021
so having left Council and the Commission - this trade and cooperation agreement has something called a “Partnership Council” with 19 sub committees eg on Trade, energy, and four working groups on organic, cars etc, a Parliamentary Partnership assembly, Civil Society Forum etc
example of why its not Canada
There is something called an “arbitration tribunal” with wide ranging powers to allow say retaliatory tariffs or more in “rebalancing” of future divergence... also referred to in eg fishing annexe..in fact 324 mentions in agreement text.
Not in CETA
Also, of course, it is not true for some EU countries, e.g., la belle France.
It varies by course and institution, but the ballpark increase is about 9k to about 20-30k. More than doubling, close to tripling for practical courses.
Anyway, what is the attraction of the Turing scheme, apart from 'being British'. AFAICS it's a one-way scheme, to somewhere.
I think we are clear that the LPF provisions will have independent international arbitration with no role for the CJEU.
We have no tariffs and no quotas and neither does the EU so we will presumably continue to run a substantial deficit.
The deal doesn't cover mutual recognition of services, clearly its biggest drawback, but it appears that we are back in the security/Schengen systems that was causing so much angst in the days before.
The sad truth is that at over 1200 pages with 800 pages of annexes I and 99.9% of the population are never going to read it. The reports I have seen so far have been little more than headlines. Has anyone come across a reasonably detailed and neutral evaluation of the deal yet?
I read leaving Erasmus as political act to weaken ties with the continent in favour of the Anglo sphere. The sort of crass politics you get from people like Gove.
The BBC has a summary of the full deal:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/dec/26/full-brexit-trade-deal-goes-beyond-canada-style-accord
Still hard to spot the potentail controversial details. This is the bit which will get most scrutiny, probably:
'There is also a commitment not to lower standards on the environment, workers’ rights and climate change, with mechanisms to enforce this.
There is a mutual right to “rebalance” the agreement if there are “significant divergences” in future that are capable of “impacting trade”.'
Agreement not to roll back current standards is uncontroversial and was settled early on. If this merely means that "if one side spurts ahead on standards and the other declines to follow, then neutral arbitration will follow to see if it's impacting trade; if so, the side suffering can revisit tariffs", that's hard to argue with. The only problem for the UK is that it circumscribes what can be conceded in a US deal, which is fine by me but might not be seen as welcome by the more dogged free-traders.
The "no electric cars after 6 years unless mostly EU parts" sounds possibly significant since everyone's gradually going all-electric, but I don't know what the current prtoportion of EU parts is?
And on that note, have a happy Boxing Day, all.
If only we could return higher education to BB (before Blair).
You’ll be asked to cough up. You might like to contact an equity release firm.
A Europe only ERASMUS scheme is being replaced with a newer, potentially better global Turing scheme.
And that's supposed to be a problem? 🤔
Is it the lack of a dedication to Europe that is the issue? Or the successor being open globally that is the problem?
Global is better than Europe only.
I'm prepared to move on from Brexit and have but this is an utterly crap, nasty, decision.
And thank you for your kind wishes for 2021 - vaccination for all will be joyous
If this opens up opportunities in more of the world's best universities would that not be a good thing?
By your logic, you would demolish Stonehenge or Buckingham Palace, to make way for something newer and potentially better.
But surely, though he didn't have it quite pat, it was carefully designed to mislead Parliament.
But there will certainly be press statements, moonshots and repeatedly announced spending. Everything short of actual delivery.
My starter for 10: subsidies. A lot of people directly or indirectly benefited from a lot of European subsidies - regions and farmers. I did enjoy seeing Vote Leave signs on roads paid for by the EU when touring the Outer Hebrides for example. Lewis residents may be OK in that the Scottish government will chuck money at them. In England? Too bad - the Tories will not be stumping up the cash you have just lost. They are suggesting they will find a replacement for regions and farmers but in practice very sorry but Covid, so we're replacing your previous Pound with 10p. What do you mean that isn't enough? Bloody peasants.
But whatever.
There has historically been an imbalance in Erasmus - many more students wish to study in the UK than UK students want to study abroad.