Brexit

[Barrykearley]

shame we missed put on the unity 🤭

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55456795

[Andyww]

5 hours ago, C8RKH said:

You would expect the old Etonian, blonde flop haired to be totally despised by the multi-cultural Londoners, however, I really do believe that history will show that BoJo did more to bring Londoners together, really together, than that left wing socialist Khan could ever do.

 

Yes Boris did absolutely everything he promised to do when mayor. Every one of his manifesto promises were carried out including the "Boris Bikes" which many people, including myself thought would never be viable.

Whenever I put this to my lefty mates they start banging on about the "garden bridge" which was aborted after millions was spent, but that was cancelled by KHAN! Or they go on about the new Routemaster buses being too hot in summer. Because we all know the mayor is responsible for designing bus HVAC systems. 

I am seeing the same thing now. Labour have been on Sky News (which seems to give them double airtime) banging on about the deal being "too last-minute" and their previous disdain for the financial services industry seems to have suddenly disappeared as the deal has apparently destroyed the industry according to them.

I have a feeling I know what the next whinge will be about. Sunak hinted today that he might be looking at free ports in the UK, along the lines of Hong Kong or Singapore. Absolutely spot on! The UK could and should become a tax haven provided it raises the overall tax take which it almost certainly will. But this will result in howls of protest from the left. They should be completely ignored.

[C8RKH]

2 hours ago, pete said:

We are all now 'believers'

Can't stand that Justin bloke.

[pete]

So the SNP are going to vote against the deal. What does that mean,they wanted a no deal or is it like the question" have you stopped beating your wife"

[geartox]

Hope that is the beginning of the end for the EU empire. Show them what freedom is.

 

 

[Andyww]

8 minutes ago, geartox said:

Hope that is the beginning of the end for the EU empire. Show them what freedom is.

 

 

The French would likely vote to leave but they will never get a vote. Germany won't because they are in charge. Most other countries get a net benefit. Or maybe the largesse will reduce without the UK funds, and Germans being less happy about propping other countries up. Perhaps the game is up.

[C8RKH]

8 hours ago, geartox said:

Show them what freedom is

Did somebody mention Freedom?

[C8RKH]

It was not that many weeks ago that UK supermarket bosses were beating the "we are all doomed" drums. Massive increases to price of food. Shortages. Empty shelves etc.

Latest from the Tesco boss is that no issues and people would barely notice a price difference/ the difference would be pennies.

If only we still had the "stocks" to put these guys in so we could throw  our left over Brussels Sprouts from our Crimbo dinners at them.

Boris rhetoric now shifting from "get it done" to "level it up". He has three years to deliver on that, if I was for Labour right now I'd be shitting myself, I mean, at least the Germans kept Checkpoint Charlie when they took their red wall down, there might be nothing left of Labours at all by 2024!

If I was Boris the one thing I would do is a conscious shift to move trade from the French ports. Not in any sort of punishment action  As an independent Island country we cannot be held to ransom by the whims of French strikers and blockades at their ports.  We need to build up ports like Hull/Grimsby to ship even more over to the Netherlands /Belgium and maybe even Denmark and drastically reduce our trade through French ports. I'd refocus efforts on ports to Northern Spain/Portugal from English South coast through investing in a national fleet, of UK built, green hydrogen powered lorry ferries. Dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of our imports/exports, creating UK jobs and reducing the issues at Calais etc from migrants. Trade through French ports would still exist but at a significantly reduced volume and of course people would still use them for holidays.

If we are to make a success of our new place we need to invest in our our peoples skills, our inventiveness and our industries. We need to stop moaning about the "decision" and now get behind the country and invent, build, make and produce like never before. I fear though the rhetoric of doom will remain for some time as any success will be resented by those who only ever saw the negative, the doom, and can't stand to be proven wrong.  I do hope I'm wrong 

[Chillidoggy]

2 hours ago, C8RKH said:

 

If I was Boris the one thing I would do is a conscious shift to move trade from the French ports. Not in any sort of punishment action  As an independent Island country we cannot be held to ransom by the whims of French strikers and blockades at their ports.  We need to build up ports like Hull/Grimsby to ship even more over to the Netherlands /Belgium and maybe even Denmark and drastically reduce our trade through French ports. I'd refocus efforts on ports to Northern Spain/Portugal from English South coast through investing in a national fleet, of UK built, green hydrogen powered lorry ferries. Dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of our imports/exports, creating UK jobs and reducing the issues at Calais etc from migrants. Trade through French ports would still exist but at a significantly reduced volume and of course people would still use them for holidays.

 

The problem with this is one of distance and the high running costs of a ferry or ship. It's the reason why ferries run from Dover to Calais and not Dover to Zeebrugge or Ostend any more. It's also the reason the Dover - Boulogne route was dropped many years ago; the extra distance proved to be too expensive and not enough punters were willing to stump up the extra.

At one time, the road network from Calais up to Belgium and Holland and down the western coast of France was pretty crappy. Now it's very good, so there's no advantage to be gained by operating a ferry service to contend with the road network. Because lorries travel faster than ships, a lorry leaving northern Spain and travelling up through France and then onto a ferry to Dover will be much faster and cheaper than sticking it on a ferry from northern Spain, so that's unlikely to be cost-effective.

Any of the longer ferry routes tend to be used for freight that is less time-sensitive, or 'drops' (an HGV trailer without it's tractor unit).

Bottom line is that the cost of operating ferries on the longer sea routes would almost certainly have to be taxpayer-subsidised, and I can't see that happening. On the other hand, the introduction of 'Free Ports' is in my view, the way to go.

[pete]

Instead of tax payer subsidised why not charge the foreign lorries to use our roads

[Chillidoggy]

49 minutes ago, pete said:

Instead of tax payer subsidised why not charge the foreign lorries to use our roads

Because it would just push up the price of goods as the transport firms passed the levy on.

[SFO]

4 hours ago, C8RKH said:

As an independent Island country we cannot be held to ransom by the whims of French strikers and blockades at their ports.  We need to build up ports like Hull/Grimsby to ship even more over to the Netherlands /Belgium and maybe even Denmark and drastically reduce our trade through French ports. I'd refocus efforts on ports to Northern Spain/Portugal from English South coast through investing in a national fleet, of UK built, green hydrogen powered lorry ferries. Dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of our imports/exports, creating UK jobs and reducing the issues at Calais etc from migrants. Trade through French ports would still exist but at a significantly reduced volume and of course people would still use them for holidays.

diversification and network resilience is exactly what is needed

[Andyww]

4 hours ago, C8RKH said:

It was not that many weeks ago that UK supermarket bosses were beating the "we are all doomed" drums. Massive increases to price of food. Shortages. Empty shelves etc.

 

It was always bollocks even if no deal. Any delays and tariffs on imports would have been entirely down to the UK government and why on earth would the government cause delays and price rises?

Just saw on Sky News a reporter who seemed somewhat bemused saying that trucks will be "waved through". Of course they will, thats how it works. The so-called "paperwork" is automated and done in advance. It seems to be fially dawning on people what a massive lie they were fed.

If these reporters had bothered to do any research they could have gone to Felixtowe and watch containers arriving from China. They are processed through electronically without any human intervention, they really dont have anyone with a clipboard opening boxes. I think they really thought that would happen.

[Bibs]

I dread to think how much this has cost and what's going to happen to it now...

[Barrykearley]

What’s that @Bibs

[Andyww]

Well... those huge lorry parks are for exports of course not imports. Its possible the French could decide to be vindictive and they might be needed. What they might do is have sudden "staff shortages" resulting in closure of some of the lanes at passport control.

 

[Bibs]

Sevington in Ashford. It's been under construction for about 4 month now, was farmland before.

[Barrykearley]

Maybe they could open it up to drag racing or something useful like that

[Andyww]

1 minute ago, Barrykearley said:

Maybe they could open it up to drag racing or something useful like that

Kart circiit please!

[Bibs]

They're HMRC Customs lorry parks and for incoming traffic as I understand it. Surely now we've got a deal any lack of co-operation from them really wouldn't help them would it. 

[pete]

1 hour ago, Chillidoggy said:

Because it would just push up the price of goods as the transport firms passed the levy on.

£100 a lorry wouldn't amount to much of an increase

[Chillidoggy]

9 minutes ago, pete said:

£100 a lorry wouldn't amount to much of an increase

The level of charge is immaterial because whatever happens it won’t be the foreign haulier soaking up the charge, just like any other business they will simply pass it on to the end-user to maintain their profitability. So we will end up paying it in the cost of the goods being transported. No doubt a reciprocal charge to UK hauliers would kick in, and we’re all back to square one.

[pete]

UK haulers are already charged

[Chillidoggy]

44 minutes ago, Bibs said:

They're HMRC Customs lorry parks and for incoming traffic as I understand it. Surely now we've got a deal any lack of co-operation from them really wouldn't help them would it. 

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if those parks are needed at some point in the not too distant future. For example, when the French fisherman kick off about losing their fish quotas.

1 minute ago, pete said:

UK haulers are already charged

And they pass that cost on to our foreign counterparts. 

[Bibs]

Not sure how they'd park all their boats there, it's about 30 miles inland!