If rumours are correct it looks like the UK government are willing to provoke the “ Brexit betrayal “ tirades from the right wing press in an effort to give a boost to growth .
And of course the OBR will factor in any easing of trade barriers with the EU to its forecasts so this could help Reeves .
There are two appropriate ways to engage:
1. To help make the rules, and to be bound by them. 2. To not be involved in making the rules, and to not be bound by them.
Dynamic alignment is not a brexit betrayal. It's a betrayal of democracy.
Staying in the EEA, for example - a very soft brexit - is not betrayal of brexit. So it's not about soft or hard. It's about who governs and on whose authority.
I hope that, if Starmer does sign up to this, he at least gets what the EEA gets - full technical involvement in the rulemaking comittees but no vote.
If rumours are correct it looks like the UK government are willing to provoke the “ Brexit betrayal “ tirades from the right wing press in an effort to give a boost to growth .
And of course the OBR will factor in any easing of trade barriers with the EU to its forecasts so this could help Reeves .
There are two appropriate ways to engage:
1. To help make the rules, and to be bound by them. 2. To not be involved in making the rules, and to not be bound by them.
Dynamic alignment is not a brexit betrayal. It's a betrayal of democracy.
Staying in the EEA, for example - a very soft brexit - is not betrayal of brexit. So it's not about soft or hard. It's about who governs and on whose authority.
I hope that, if Starmer does sign up to this, he at least gets what the EEA gets - full technical involvement in the rulemaking comittees but no vote.
Probably need FoM for that, (which I think would be great, but sadly not politically doable at the moment).
If rumours are correct it looks like the UK government are willing to provoke the “ Brexit betrayal “ tirades from the right wing press in an effort to give a boost to growth .
And of course the OBR will factor in any easing of trade barriers with the EU to its forecasts so this could help Reeves .
There are two appropriate ways to engage:
1. To help make the rules, and to be bound by them. 2. To not be involved in making the rules, and to not be bound by them.
Dynamic alignment is not a brexit betrayal. It's a betrayal of democracy.
Staying in the EEA, for example - a very soft brexit - is not betrayal of brexit. So it's not about soft or hard. It's about who governs and on whose authority.
I hope that, if Starmer does sign up to this, he at least gets what the EEA gets - full technical involvement in the rulemaking comittees but no vote.
The argument against dynamic alignment by the Brexiteers was it would stop the UK making trade deals . Given the India deal this negates that argument somewhat . It’s not clear whether DA would be just for agriculture and fisheries or on goods aswell.
I don’t think the public really care much for the minutiae of trade in terms of DA .
Reeves is desperate for growth and the quickest route to increasing that is with the EU . Nothing else even comes close .
If rumours are correct it looks like the UK government are willing to provoke the “ Brexit betrayal “ tirades from the right wing press in an effort to give a boost to growth .
And of course the OBR will factor in any easing of trade barriers with the EU to its forecasts so this could help Reeves .
There are two appropriate ways to engage:
1. To help make the rules, and to be bound by them. 2. To not be involved in making the rules, and to not be bound by them.
Dynamic alignment is not a brexit betrayal. It's a betrayal of democracy.
Staying in the EEA, for example - a very soft brexit - is not betrayal of brexit. So it's not about soft or hard. It's about who governs and on whose authority.
I hope that, if Starmer does sign up to this, he at least gets what the EEA gets - full technical involvement in the rulemaking comittees but no vote.
Probably need FoM for that, (which I think would be great, but sadly not politically doable at the moment).
Yes, I have no idea if it's technically feasible. The EU has a difficulty in these negotiations in that, sometimes, they simply can't agree to things because of pre-existing treaties or legal structures. We are not so encumbered, because parliament can simply pass what is required.
Sometimes, of course, the EU pretends it can't do something when it means it simply doesn't want to. But that's a slightly separate issue.
If rumours are correct it looks like the UK government are willing to provoke the “ Brexit betrayal “ tirades from the right wing press in an effort to give a boost to growth .
And of course the OBR will factor in any easing of trade barriers with the EU to its forecasts so this could help Reeves .
There are two appropriate ways to engage:
1. To help make the rules, and to be bound by them. 2. To not be involved in making the rules, and to not be bound by them.
Dynamic alignment is not a brexit betrayal. It's a betrayal of democracy.
Staying in the EEA, for example - a very soft brexit - is not betrayal of brexit. So it's not about soft or hard. It's about who governs and on whose authority.
I hope that, if Starmer does sign up to this, he at least gets what the EEA gets - full technical involvement in the rulemaking comittees but no vote.
The argument against dynamic alignment by the Brexiteers was it would stop the UK making trade deals . Given the India deal this negates that argument somewhat . It’s not clear whether DA would be just for agriculture and fisheries or on goods aswell.
I don’t think the public really care much for the minutiae of trade in terms of DA .
Reeves is desperate for growth and the quickest route to increasing that is with the EU . Nothing else even comes close .
The public may not care; but they should.
I suspect the trade deal angle is a little overblown: these countries also trade with the EU after all.
If rumours are correct it looks like the UK government are willing to provoke the “ Brexit betrayal “ tirades from the right wing press in an effort to give a boost to growth .
And of course the OBR will factor in any easing of trade barriers with the EU to its forecasts so this could help Reeves .
There are two appropriate ways to engage:
1. To help make the rules, and to be bound by them. 2. To not be involved in making the rules, and to not be bound by them.
Dynamic alignment is not a brexit betrayal. It's a betrayal of democracy.
Staying in the EEA, for example - a very soft brexit - is not betrayal of brexit. So it's not about soft or hard. It's about who governs and on whose authority.
I hope that, if Starmer does sign up to this, he at least gets what the EEA gets - full technical involvement in the rulemaking comittees but no vote.
The argument against dynamic alignment by the Brexiteers was it would stop the UK making trade deals . Given the India deal this negates that argument somewhat . It’s not clear whether DA would be just for agriculture and fisheries or on goods aswell.
I don’t think the public really care much for the minutiae of trade in terms of DA .
Reeves is desperate for growth and the quickest route to increasing that is with the EU . Nothing else even comes close .
We are predicted to be the fastest growing european G7 member for each of the next five years. Granted, the predictions are for pretty anaemic growth, so I take your point.
Emilia Romagna to Flaine. What’s interesting is there are no direct flights I can see to Geneva from any nearby airports. Flaine is only just over an hour from Geneva. So you either fly somewhere further, like Lyon as @rcs1000 says, or drive.
I’d hire a car and go all the way to Flaine and park. The prices would be way lower even in you don’t use your car for the week (we always use our car when skiing, for little afternoon trips out). If not, drop off the car at Chamonix or Sallanches. But that probably costs more.
Public transport is complicated but you could go to Milan, then Chambery, then get a taxi from there or Annecy.
Or book a ski holiday in Cortina and have a nice shortish taxi ride.
The ski holiday was almost certainly booked before Mr Lammy discovered he would be in Bologna. Otherwise Cortina or Cervinia would make much more sense.
Yes I assume so.
But I love these travel logistics challenges. It’s like race across the world (on in 15 minutes).
Always more fun attempting public transport in these situations. London to Amsterdam is an example: boring flight to Schiphol, or the train to Brussels and change, or for the really adventurous get the Harwich ferry?
EDIT: or by the time I next need to go to Amsterdam in June I might have a new EV, so perhaps I should make it a road trip via Calais.
My son is somehow getting to our house outside Cluny next month with his friends on public transport that I didn’t even realise existed. There’s a bus you have to ring up to book.
I travelled to Lisbon by train a few years ago, even though it was a lot more awkward than flying.
Emilia Romagna to Flaine. What’s interesting is there are no direct flights I can see to Geneva from any nearby airports. Flaine is only just over an hour from Geneva. So you either fly somewhere further, like Lyon as @rcs1000 says, or drive.
I’d hire a car and go all the way to Flaine and park. The prices would be way lower even in you don’t use your car for the week (we always use our car when skiing, for little afternoon trips out). If not, drop off the car at Chamonix or Sallanches. But that probably costs more.
Public transport is complicated but you could go to Milan, then Chambery, then get a taxi from there or Annecy.
Or book a ski holiday in Cortina and have a nice shortish taxi ride.
The ski holiday was almost certainly booked before Mr Lammy discovered he would be in Bologna. Otherwise Cortina or Cervinia would make much more sense.
Yes I assume so.
But I love these travel logistics challenges. It’s like race across the world (on in 15 minutes).
Always more fun attempting public transport in these situations. London to Amsterdam is an example: boring flight to Schiphol, or the train to Brussels and change, or for the really adventurous get the Harwich ferry?
EDIT: or by the time I next need to go to Amsterdam in June I might have a new EV, so perhaps I should make it a road trip via Calais.
My son is somehow getting to our house outside Cluny next month with his friends on public transport that I didn’t even realise existed. There’s a bus you have to ring up to book.
I travelled to Lisbon by train a few years ago, even though it was a lot more awkward than flying.
Surely that depends on where you start from.
Central England. True, the journey from there to London is sometimes unbearable, lol.
Doesn’t include the trains, the Euston bit, or any of the other bits to Manchester, Crewe or Leeds, which it was once said would cost well below £100bn put together.
Why is the UK so utterly hopeless when it comes to rail infrastructure projects or providing a fast and efficient reasonable priced rail service for travellers compared to other countries?
The same reason we fail catastrophically to build enough housing and can't generate sustainable economic growth - we have by far the worst national planning system in the developed world (though some American localities come close), one deliberately designed to stifle development.
And a craven embarrassment of a political class that knows exactly what needs to be done, but is far too spineless to do it.
Comments
1. To help make the rules, and to be bound by them.
2. To not be involved in making the rules, and to not be bound by them.
Dynamic alignment is not a brexit betrayal. It's a betrayal of democracy.
Staying in the EEA, for example - a very soft brexit - is not betrayal of brexit. So it's not about soft or hard. It's about who governs and on whose authority.
I hope that, if Starmer does sign up to this, he at least gets what the EEA gets - full technical involvement in the rulemaking comittees but no vote.
I don’t think the public really care much for the minutiae of trade in terms of DA .
Reeves is desperate for growth and the quickest route to increasing that is with the EU . Nothing else even comes close .
Sometimes, of course, the EU pretends it can't do something when it means it simply doesn't want to. But that's a slightly separate issue.
I suspect the trade deal angle is a little overblown: these countries also trade with the EU after all.
A world without Nigel Farage
British politics hinges on one man’s survival" (£)
https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/05/14/a-world-without-nigel-farage
And a craven embarrassment of a political class that knows exactly what needs to be done, but is far too spineless to do it.