The big Brexit thread - news, updates and discussion

[belboid]

Oh look, the tories lied about who blocked visa free touring for uk musicians

UK ‘rejected offer’ of visa-free tours by musicians in EU, despite blaming Brussels for permit blow

Exclusive: ‘Standard’ proposal to exempt performers for 90 days was proposed, but ‘the UK said no’

www.independent.co.uk

 

[tommers]

The pandemic has probably chucked quite a spanner in the works, though, and that may reduce the amount of damage they can do before the next election.

Why? Surely that adds more reasons to "cut red tape" and make "great British businesses" competitive again?

"due to the unprecedented situation that we find ourselves in we have decided to temporarily remove the legal requirements on businesses to offer statutory maternity leave. We hope that this and the other relaxations that we recently announced will enable them to be more flexible and adapt more quickly to the fast moving global market" etc etc.

 

[The39thStep]

Why? Surely that adds more reasons to "cut red tape" and make "great British businesses" competitive again?

"due to the unprecedented situation that we find ourselves in we have decided to temporarily remove the legal requirements on businesses to offer statutory maternity leave. We hope that this and the other relaxations that we recently announced will enable them to be more flexible and adapt more quickly to the fast moving global market" etc etc.

Except that hes got to keep one eye on the red wall and the proclaimed levelling up agenda if he wants to retain Tory w/class votes

 

[Roadkill]

Why? Surely that adds more reasons to "cut red tape" and make "great British businesses" competitive again?

"due to the unprecedented situation that we find ourselves in we have decided to temporarily remove the legal requirements on businesses to offer statutory maternity leave. We hope that this and the other relaxations that we recently announced will enable them to be more flexible and adapt more quickly to the fast moving global market" etc etc.

I think that's a possibility in the coming years, but that they might well have started moving in that direction already were it not for the pandemic. Tbh I think in the long run NHS privatisation is lurking as a possibility, and the pandemic - so far at least - will have served to make that politically unthinkable.

 

[two sheds]

They've been privatizing under cover of the pandemic, too, though - test & trace and PPE contracts for their mates for example.

 

[teuchter]

Did the NHS previously manufacture its own PPE?

 

[SpookyFrank]

Did the NHS previously manufacture its own PPE?

They presumably had trusted suppliers, rather than just some jokers who gave some tory MP a few lines at a dinner party once.

 

[brogdale]

Corporate rumblings...

One leading figure involved in the talks with Gove described the new rule book as a “complete shitshow”. Another said Gove seemed “very concerned” at hearing reports of problems, after a week in which Marks & Spencer was among leading companies to warn that more bureaucracy would increase costs. The source added: “He [Gove] seemed to realise the full gravity of the situation that is unfolding and about to get worse.”

 

[Pickman's model]

Corporate rumblings...

View attachment 248125

fuck business

 

[Puddy_Tat]

leave [dot] eu has had to move its registered office to ireland as brexit means you can't have an .eu domain website registered in the uk, apparently

Pro-Brexit campaign Leave.EU relocates to Waterford

Campaign migrates registered office for its website so it can retain .eu internet address

www.irishtimes.com

 

[ska invita]

Two aubergine pack, now £4.25 at my local shop
Supermarket had none

I don't think it's just local to me

 

[The39thStep]

Two aubergine pack, now £4.25 at my local shop
Supermarket had none

I don't think it's just local to me

Might be the fact that there’s a cold front in Southern Europe to the point where it’s snowed in Portugal , Spain and other countries ?

 

[Pickman's model]

Two aubergine pack, now £4.25 at my local shop
Supermarket had none

I don't think it's just local to me

from the sainsbury's website just now


waitrose

 

[gentlegreen]

No shortage of pointy peppers at the moment.
I'm running down my hoard...

 

[Flavour]

A quid fifty for a single aubergine is bloody loads - back to turnips and cauliflower you lot

 

[gentlegreen]

A quid fifty for a single aubergine is bloody loads - back to turnips and cauliflower you lot

I never see turnips in Bristol...just swede that is relatively expensive , or mooli ...

 

[The39thStep]

I never see turnips in Bristol...just swede that is relatively expensive , or mooli ...

Turnip greens are fantastic definitely work growing

 

[gentlegreen]

Turnip greens are fantastic definitely work growing

Doubtless I will be looking for reliable brassicas once I have a decent sized garden.
I'm not sure I ever bought turnips, but have a persistent memory of preparing them for analysis from 40-odd years ago when I briefly worked for the Min of Ag and Fish ...

 

[The39thStep]

Doubtless I will be looking for reliable brassicas once I have a decent sized garden.
I'm not sure I ever bought turnips, but have a persistent memory of preparing them for analysis from 40-odd years ago when I briefly worked for the Min of Ag and Fish ...

The white ones with the crimson tops make a lovely soup and the golden ones are good roasted. You dont need a big space to grown rapini which is very quick to grow looks like miniature broccoli but is more closer to turnip greens . You can get 60 or 90 day versions.

 

[mauvais]

Just got an email from Cotic, a British bike company with another example of the mess we're in:

An update:

EU Export - New Rules

Before I get into this in detail, please remember that this is Cotic specific. We have a particular implementation because of our UK made frames and also because we sell predominantly mountain bikes. This means our bikes generally have very high value suspension bolted to them (the same, if not more than the frame cost sometimes) which is what stops us qualifying for tariff free trade on bicycles in all cases regardless of the origin of the base frame. Some other companies will have different tariff applications, because of their supply and bike spec situation. So, without further ado, this is what you can now expect from Cotic:

UK Made Frames:

UK made frame only orders (so that is currently RocketMAX and Rocket) attract Zero duty when shipped to the EU. This is regardless of the damper specified, and can also stretch to include headset and BB and certain other items usually associated with "frame only" orders, mainly because in the vast majority of cases it involves UK made Hope parts.

Taiwan Made Frames:

All Taiwan made frame only orders will attract 4.7% import duty, and the associated handling fees for customs. As an example, we have calculated that a customer in the EU with a BFeMAX frame ordered will pay EUR40-50 more now.

Complete Bikes:

All Cotic bicycles attract 14% import duty. This means that with handling fees our bikes have become EUR350-600 more expensive depending on specification.

The flip side of this in our home market is that this also works the other way, and our European based competitors bikes have increased in price by 20% or more, which means we are now more price competitive in our home market. Silver linings and all that.....

All purchases made by EU customers are now charged without 20% UK VAT. This means the price you pay Cotic will be much lower initially, but you will have VAT and the import duty and fees applied in transit, which will be payable by the customer to the courier when the frame or bike arrives.

So whichever way you look at it, more expensive to buy a bike. Thanks, Brexit!

 

[teuchter]

An update:
So whichever way you look at it, more expensive to buy a bike. Thanks, Brexit!

More money for the tax man though, which means that hipsters with expensive bikes can support our NHS.

 

[Roadkill]

They've been privatizing under cover of the pandemic, too, though - test & trace and PPE contracts for their mates for example.

Tbf the PPE contracts aren't really an example of privatisation, in that the NHS would have had to buy the PPE from somewhere. What they are is an example of corrupt procurement, with contracts being handed out to cronies and Tory donors with no competitive tendering process.

 

[mauvais]

More money for the tax man though, which means that hipsters with expensive bikes can support our NHS.

Fortunately private cars appear to be a relative bargain at 10% and you get an extra set of wheels thrown in, so perhaps now we can all migrate on to more sensible forms of transportation in line with your goals.

 

[two sheds]

Tbf the PPE contracts aren't really an example of privatisation, in that the NHS would have had to buy the PPE from somewhere. What they are is an example of corrupt procurement, with contracts being handed out to cronies and Tory donors with no competitive tendering process.

Indeed, I was meaning that the NHS would normally have tendered for the PPE itself, eliminating the profit that went to their tory mates.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

More money for the tax man though, which means that hipsters with expensive bikes can support our NHS.

Bike thieves stimulating the economy

 

[Roadkill]

Indeed, I was meaning that the NHS would normally have tendered for the PPE itself, eliminating the profit that went to their tory mates.

Tbh I'm not sure how the procurement process works in normal times, but there's certainly an issue with a lot of the procurement under the emergency covid regulations. Obviously a competitive process takes time and I can see an argument for side-stepping it in the circumstances of last spring, but the fact that they've kept on handing out contracts to manifestly unsuitable firms with close connections to ministers does make the whole thing smell very fishy indeed...

 

[teuchter]

the fact that they've kept on handing out contracts to manifestly unsuitable firms with close connections to ministers does make the whole thing smell very fishy indeed...

To what extent is it actually established that this was a major issue?

 

[Roadkill]

To what extent is it actually established that this was a major issue?

Not was: is. It's neither more nor less than corruption, and on a large scale.

You know this already, though.

 

[teuchter]

Not was: is. It's neither more nor less than corruption, and on a large scale.

You know this already, though.

I've not seen that report before. But I've read its summary document just now.

I don't think its conclusions support a claim that there was corruption on a large scale.

The bit that specifically mentions government ministers passing on leads says:

Notwithstanding the documentation issues, in the examples we examined where there were potential con icts of interest involving ministers, we found that the ministers had properly declared their interests, and we found no evidence of their involvement in procurement decisions or contract management. The ministerial code and other codes of conduct set out how interests should be managed within an individual department, but not where there are cross-government responsibilities or where procurement is carried out across multiple departments. (paragraphs 3.17 to 3.23, and Figures 9, 10 and 11).

There may have been (and probably was) some level of corruption but I've not seen convincing evidence of what scale it was at.

 

[Pickman's model]

I've not seen that report before. But I've read its summary document just now.

I don't think its conclusions support a claim that there was corruption on a large scale.

The bit that specifically mentions government ministers passing on leads says:






There may have been (and probably was) some level of corruption but I've not seen convincing evidence of what scale it was at.

an industrial scale

how many billions of pounds does it have to be?