The best of Brexit Cartoons

Sometimes we all need a light hearted and satirical view of a serious topic and Brexit is no different. So lets look at some of the best cartoons of the last Six months or so.

 This First one is from Australia and depicts Britain spitting its dummy out and acting like a child.

 One of my personal faves.

Love this, this depicts the reality of the situation.

This final one just about sums it up, an early one, just after the vote.


Jon Davis

Newspaper headlines of the week. Fri 17th march 2017.

Welcome to the rundown of the best and worst newspaper headlines of the week, I hope to make this a weekly feature every Friday. We have 4 papers for you today.

The FT from Thursday lead with the embarrassing U turn on the Budget and really does point to this administrations competence at being able to negotiate their way out of a paper bag, let alone the complexities of a Brexit deal. It also deals with the embarrassment of Phillip Hammond.

The Daily Telegraph on thursday also lead with The Budget U turn, dealing with the fact that Hammond didn't even realise that he had breached their own manifesto promise, until the BBC told him!!

The Express this week spouted its usual utter rubbish regarding the queen signing off the Brexit bill, stating that 'its the moment Britain has been waiting for'? which is a lie. God this paper is awful.

And finally todays Guardian goes with Theresa Mays outrageous blocking of a Scottish referendum, stating that she has sealed the fate of the UK.




More next Friday.


Jon Davis

What on earth is Jeremy Corbyn doing!!!

What is worse than a government bulldozing a Hard Brexit through court and parliament with no idea what they are doing?


The answer is....yes you've guessed it, someone who had the ability to do something about it and doesn't!!!


Jeremy Corbyn! Elected by the Labour party faithful to be a strong opposition leader with forthright views, morals and the ability to hold the government to account, unfortunately he is none of these things and in my opinion he is possibly the worst party leader of any party in history, strong words, I know, but I will explain why.


Being a keen follower of politics, I was interested in finding out about Mr Corbyn when his name was thrown into the hat as a possible leadership contender following the ousting of Ed Milliband after the 2015 general election, what I saw was an idealist who had no credentials whatsoever to lead a major political party, let alone Her majesties opposition.


The thing is, British politics only works if you have strong opposition holding the government of the day to account, it stops it becoming a dictatorship and gives a voice to everyone in the country by challenging unfair decisions, that's democracy in action. Granted we have The Liberal Democrats, who are doing a pretty good job of asking the difficult questions, but at present they have a very small number of seats in parliament and therefore hold little clout, although I think this will change. And the SNP, who are doing a pretty sterling job (forgive the pun).


There is a very long list of awful decisions and (for want of a better phrase) cock ups, that Corbyn has either done himself or presided over, this list is just to long to discuss so I will just discuss his latest pathetic offering.


We all know about Corbyn's whipping of his own politicians to vote for the Brexit bill, that he didn't agree with?? Which is very strange because he said that he wanted to 'Do politics differently' with 'no emphasis on power and corruption' and 'standing up for what he believes' and 'what is right for the country' etc. etc. The list goes on. The thing is, Corbyn is a far left socialist (a communist), or that's what he wants to be and he likes being the dictator of his band of incompetents, so, in order to hang on to any power, he thought that he would pander to the  marginally larger percentage of the voters instead of sticking to his principles, so much for 'no emphasis on power and corruption'.


So after, whipping his party to vote for the Brexit bill with absolutely no opposition at all from the labour benches, you would think he would be championing Brexit, saying what a splendid thing it is!! This isn't the case!! In what has to be the most nonsensical rhetoric I have ever heard, he then starts campaigning against Brexit and the triggering of article 50, I mean you couldn't invent it!!


In other words, instead of making proper grown up decisions in parliament, where it really counts, he hid from it, then makes a big show of being against it after the horse has bolted..it beggars belief.


But the best is saved for last...On Monday 13th March, (one day after the Brexit bill was passed), Mr Corbyn announced a rally....yes, a rally, to object to the amendments to the bill in defending EU citizens living in the UK. The Labour leader had called for supporters to join him at the event in Parliament Square on Monday evening to "defend the rights of EU citizens who have made a life here.". How marvellous.........But he didn't show up to his own rally!!!!!!


I rest my case.


Jon Davis

The Dutch people see sense!

Geert Wilders’s promise to bring a populist “revolution” to Europe fell flat on Wednesday night after his anti-immigrant Party for Freedom failed to live up to supporters’ expectations in a closely-watched Dutch general election.


The possibility that the far-Right firebrand could become the largest party in the Dutch parliament had sent tremors through Europe’s political establishment in recent days fearing yet further destabilisation following the UK vote for Brexit and the election of Donald Trump.


In the event Mr Wilders won just 20 seats, according to several exit polls, and was soundly beaten by Mark Rutte, the incumbent centre-Right Dutch prime minister, whose VVD Party was on track to becoming the largest party in the Netherlands 150-seat parliament with 33 seats.


So what does this mean for Brexit?


Well quite a lot, it makes it harder for the UK to strike any kind of meaningful deal with the EU, in what was going to be impossible anyway. Especially as they will be one of the Major countries that has a vote on any deal that we demand...sorry, negociate. and don't forget 20 out of the 27 countries remaining in the EU have to vote through any deal.


What does this mean for the EU?


France goes to the polls next month to elect a new president, with the far right National Front forecast to increase its vote dramatically.

In Germany, the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) may win seats in parliament for the first time in September's general election.
 
Mr Rutte's victory was warmly greeted by other European leaders and politicians:

• French President Francois Hollande said he had won a "clear victory against extremism"

• German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated Mr Rutte and her chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, tweeted: "The Netherlands, oh the Netherlands you are a champion! Congratulations on this great result"

• Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament until earlier this year, said he was relieved the Freedom Party had lost. "We must continue to fight for an open and free Europe!" he added on Twitter.

So far its just us that have lost the plot, next stop....The French elections.

Jon Davis

Scotland the Brave?

The union that binds together the four political entities within the United Kingdom has never been more at risk. What nobody in the English political and media class seems to have realised is how badly England will fare if Scotland, which is more than likely, and Northern Ireland, which is plausible though by no means certain, split off.


It will be the end of England - the dominant power of the UK, when the term "Little England" will really come into its own.


Almost exactly two and a half years ago, the Scottish electorate decided against leaving the UK. They were told by pro-union campaigners that if they did vote to leave Britain, they would lose their membership of the European Union.


At the time this was probably true. There was no incentive for European decision-makers to allow accession for Scotland, not least because it would embolden Spanish Catalonian independence, and therefore Spain at least - perhaps Belgium too - would veto Scotland's membership.


Now the circumstances have changed. Britain has voted for Brexit, but Scotland did not, with just 38 percent of Scottish people voting to leave the EU. In contrast, 53 percent of the electorate in England voted to leave.


As Brussels reckons with the result, the European project is looking shakier than ever. What better way to bolster its reputation than for European leaders to say: "Well, England - you voted to leave, and best of luck to you. Scotland, welcome to the party."


Talk of a second Scottish independence referendum is everywhere, and English ministers and officials are now quietly briefing the press that a vote on Scottish independence is "inevitable".
The Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has said it would be "absolutely fine" if one took place. The Scottish Nationalist Party leader and First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, has already said a referendum is "highly likely".


Would the independence movement win, though? The prevailing narrative among the chattering classes of London is no; but they are wrong.


They base their arguments largely on the collapse in oil price, an industry upon which the Scottish case for independence had originally rested.


Post-Brexit Scots originally looked as if they would vote pro-union once again in a second referendum but, as the negotiations draw closer, support for independence is now beginning to creep up.


Of course, yes, the oil price has dropped, and of course this means that the presented plans for an independent Scotland look less convincing in the new cheap oil world. But this is easily cancelled out if an independent Scotland has access to the Customs Union, and England does not.


English manufacturers, who are actually benefiting far less from a collapsing pound than was expected, need access to the European single market. Relocating to an independent Scotland, which is close by and helpfully speaks the same language, would be an easy choice.


Unfortunately, for every factory that ups sticks and heads over the border, that is one less factory, and fewer jobs, left in England.


What of Northern Ireland? The case for their independence - or joining Ireland, known as republicanism - is clearly being felt by the public.


The sudden and remarkable rise of Sinn Fein in the recent elections - an explicitly republican party - is perhaps evidence of this. For the first time, parties who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK no longer have an effective majority in the parliament.


Even if Northern Ireland does not gain full independence as a result of historic tensions, those same historic tensions may cause the Northern Irish to get a very good deal from the EU after Brexit anyway. This could take the form of custom spot checks, not dissimilar to arrangements between Norway and Sweden, or it could be that Northern Ireland is given special access to the customs union that England will not enjoy.


The other option, less likely but not implausible, is that Brexit pushes Northern Ireland fully out of the UK. If so, no doubt some of those same manufacturers considering a move to Scotland, not to mention financial firms, might alternatively hop across the Irish Sea.


Already, more than 100 major financial firms are said to have made inquiries with Irish regulators about such a move. Either way, uniquely across the UK as it stands, far better access to the largest free trade bloc in the world will be enjoyed by Northern Ireland than by its English counterparts.


What is remarkable about all this is how little interest the London-centric media is showing in the imminent break-up of our country, not to mention that England is facing a long-lasting economic challenge when compared to her national siblings.


There have been some exceptions. Adam Boulton, a high-profile commentator and columnist, noted after the shock gains of the pro-Remain and pro-republican Sinn Fein party in the Northern Irish elections that "the almost complete absence of reports in London-based 'national' newspapers on the Northern Ireland election shows the capital is barely aware of what's going on across the Irish Sea now the bombs aren't going off," predicting that "restless Ulster may beat Scots to the exit".


The increasingly imperious new Prime Minister, Theresa May, also seems oblivious. "Politics is not a game," she jeered when she visited Scotland for her own party's national conference in early March, as if a country that produced the highest turnout in British electoral history since universal suffrage, at the last independence referendum, needed reminding of this. She chided the SNP for wanting another referendum, accusing them of petty electioneering.


The Labour Party were also in hot water for sending their London mayor north to accuse the Scottish independence movement, which is hugely pro-immigration, of playing the same divisive politics as Donald Trump.


The disconnect is extraordinary, but understandable when you consider how Little England increasingly looks in on itself alone, even to the detriment of the other political entities in the UK. Woe betide their boorish arrogance - Little England may end up being the big loser of Brexit.


Many thanks to Alastair Sloan who covers international affairs, politics and human rights for a variety of British newspapers and magazines, for his great article.

A Bleak Week ahead

It is looking increasingly likely that this week could be the week in which the Government triggers article 50. We all knew it would happen at some point and indeed some will be overjoyed, but for how long?


The fact that it was increasingly inevitable shouldn't let you give up though, it isn't that we are leaving the EU that is the main fighting point here, I am far from happy that we are leaving, but we need to now concentrate on how we leave and how as a country we treat people.


It is fairly obvious that we are going to be poorer as a result and anyone who doesn't think so is clearly very blinkered indeed, how much poorer is to be seen.


So we have started the week with Nicola Sturgeon announcing a likely date for a second Scottish independence referendum and although I was opposed strongly to the first one, I really don't blame her for announcing it this time as there is a very strong mandate for one, and I suspect that they will vote to leave the UK and stay in Europe, that puts us in a very bad place and Scotland in quite a strong one.


Also this week sees the debate on the changes to the Brexit bill and its not looking good. Both the House of Commons and House of Lords will debate and vote on the bill starting today. MPs will go first, and if they reverse the Lords changes it will be passed back to peers to decide whether they want to go against the government's plans again.

The bill travels back and forth between the two chambers until both sides agree - Parliament could sit through the night to try to reach an agreement, and time has also been set aside on Tuesday and Wednesday. Once it is agreed, the bill will go for Royal Assent, after which Mrs May can formally tell the rest of the EU that she is ready to start negotiating.


It is likely that MPs would overturn the Lords' amendments to the bill, and it is not looking likely that peers will try to block the bill any further. This could mean it was all done and dusted by midnight on Monday.. Labour has urged the prime minister to consider keeping the "really important" Lords amendments, saying that EU citizens in the UK had been "left in limbo", waiting to hear if they would have the right to stay.


Its a sorry state of affairs and if you want to get foreign currency, I would buy it now before article 50 is triggered.


Jon Davis

Budget 2017, The Hidden bits.

Yesterday, March 8th 2017 saw Chancellor Phillip Hammond deliver his first Budget.


The country waited with baited breath, wondering what safeguards he was going to put in place for Brexit in the very same month that Article 50 is due to be triggered, we waited and waited and....................Nothing! He didn't mention Brexit once, which is a bit strange giving that there is no doubt that the decision of the UK to leave the EU, particularly the EU single market, is the momentous economic decision of the decade.


Hammond's speech made much of the fact the Office for Budget Responsibility had revised upwards its economic forecast for 2017. But that is only the case if you compared it to the dark days of autumn, not the optimism of last spring, when the UK was still firmly embedded in the EU. Although the OBR report forms the basis of the Budget speech, unlike the Tory Chancellor, it has a mandate to tell it straight, without worrying what Brexiteers in the Shires might think.


So lets take a look at the hidden Budget bad news for Brexit.


1. Economic growth has slowed


Much was made of the fact that UK GDP growth has been revised upwards, from 1.4 per cent to 2 per cent in 2017. But this time last year, when the UK was expected to remain in the EU, the forecast for 2017 was 2.2 per cent.


2. A weaker pound is causing prices to rise.


The OBR noted that sterling “remains significantly lower than at the time of the referendum”, and that this is feeding into prices. This time last year, inflation was expected to be less than 2 per cent until 2018. Now, inflation is expected to rise to 2.4 per cent in 2017, and 2.3 per cent in 2018. As a result, the OBR expects us to buy less in the coming years.


3. And it’s not helping exporters


The flipside of falling sterling is supposed to be that it makes our exports more attractive to consumers abroad. However, the OBR expects the boost to net trade to be “relatively modest”, based on what happened in the financial crisis, when sterling also weakened. Most damningly, it states: “This boost is not sufficient to offset the prospective weakening in domestic demand.”


4. But house prices are still rising


For the younger generation, one of the more appetising elements of Brexit was the prediction that house prices would fall, and they might finally get a chance to find an affordable home.
Well, the OBR has some news for you. It expects house prices to continue to outstrip average earnings for the rest of the decade.


5. UK trade is likely to fall


The OBR notes that the UK has been trading with other countries more and more intensely since the Second World War, but predicts that this trend will “reverse for a period”. Although, it adds reassuringly, “by far less than was seen in the interwar years”.


6. The Brexit effect will leave the government with less tax revenue


The OBR said pay-as-you-earn income tax (automatically deducted from employees’ salaries) is the government’s “single most important source of revenue”. However, it has predicted this tax haul could be affected by leaving the EU, because there may be less high earners in sectors such as the financial services, which are deeply connected to the single market.


7. The dependency ratio is about to get worse


The OBR warns that as baby boomers retire, the government must increase its spending in age-related areas such as health, long-term care and the state pension. It states: “Without changes to policy, these pressures would therefore put public sector debt on an unsustainable upward trajectory.”
Why is this relevant to Brexit? Because the government has pledged to reduce immigration – and immigrants tend to be working-age taxpayers who also take on jobs in sectors such as health and social care.

8. Business investment is likely to fall

The OBR expects that however the Brexit negotiations work out, most scenarios are likely to at least temporarily reduce investment. It expects the fall in business investment to be a gradual slowdown over the next few years.


9. Lower immigration will slow down the economy


The OBR highlights the need to companies to attract skilled workers, in order to compete with other major economies such as Germany. When it considers the economic slowdown, it explains: "We have calibrated this slowdown on the basis... the UK adopts a tighter migration regime than that currently in place, but not sufficiently tight to reduce net inward migration to the desired ‘tens of thousands’."


10. Less EU students are coming


Even though EU students are currently treated as “home” students, they contribute to the economy through paying for university accommodation and spending money in student towns.
The OBR has revised down its expectation of students taking up places in English universities (education is a devolved matter). The number of applications in 2017-18 is also lower than it was assumed in November. It states: “Taken together, these changes reduce our student numbers forecast by 14,000 in 2021-22 relative to November. There is significant uncertainty around our medium-term forecast as the UK exits the EU.”


11. The OBR forecast doesn’t include a “Brexit bill”


It looks increasingly likely that the UK will be expected to settle its debts – in effect be presented with a “Brexit bill” – before it can conclude negotiations of a new trade deal with the EU.

Because the OBR doesn’t know the details of this, however, it has made no allowance for any Brexit-related payments. It’s a bit like spending your holiday money without keeping any back to settle your hotel tab.

12. In fact, the OBR can’t really say much about Brexit at all

Several times in its report, the OBR notes that it asked the government for more information about the Brexit negotiations. However, its team of researchers were only allowed to see information already in the public domain.
The OBR notes:

Parliament requires us to produce our forecasts on the basis of stated Government policy, but not necessarily assuming that particular objectives are achieved. With the negotiations over the UK’s exit from the EU yet even to commence, this is far from straightforward.

In other words, we're know we're heading towards the iceberg, but we don't even know how much of it is there.


Jon Davis


Many thanks to Julia Rampen of The New Statesman for excerpts.