Merry Christmas: rising Covid cases, No Deal Brexit, recession and maybe lockdown

Merry Christmas: rising Covid cases, No Deal Brexit, recession and maybe lockdown

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Yet the government remains surprisingly popular – for now This is the end. Not the real end, of course. There is no real end; just the start of another chapter. But as far as Brexit goes, that’s it: no more can-kicking, no more transition periods, no more rule-taking. Out. There is a slim chance that the UK and EU might, even at this late stage, strike a trade deal. The two sides are still talking, genuine and quick movement clearly…

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The Supreme Court rejects the move by Texas to overturn Biden’s victory

The Supreme Court rejects the move by Texas to overturn Biden’s victory

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Now there are no barriers to the Electoral College meeting on Monday Overnight (UK time) the Supreme Court in Washington rejected the bid by the State of Texas to overturn President-elect Biden’s election win in what must be seen as a devastating blow to the long-shot legal efforts by Trump and his supporters to stave off his electoral defeat. This comes ahead of the meeting of the Electoral College on Monday where Biden’s victory will be confirmed and hopefully be a…

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This isn’t going to go down well in White House – Trump named “Loser of the Year”

This isn’t going to go down well in White House – Trump named “Loser of the Year”

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This moves comes 5 weeks after it became clear that Trump had lost the election something that he has totally refused to accept. Such is his influence within the Republican party that 100+ party members of the House and the vast majority of members of the Senate feel unable to go on the record of acknowledging that Joe Biden will be next President. As part of his effort to delegitimise the outcome Trump has been maintaining in the key states…

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In other news

In other news

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What important news has slipped by barely noticed recently? The planet continues to warm up If you aren’t worried enough about Covid-19, try a side serving of global warming to keep you awake at night.  This year should have been relatively cool, given that it was a year with La Nina, the converse of El Nino.  But it seems to have been the third warmest on record for the planet. The last decade (2011-2020) was announced as the hottest on…

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What is a level playing field?

What is a level playing field?

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As we approach the ultra-final round of discussions, it may be useful to set out what the level playing field argument is actually about. Leaving emotions aside, it’s not essentially an argument about muscle-flexing or sovereignty, but a practical choice. In general, I’m a reformist – I like seeing countries take the initiative to make changes that other countries may not be ready for. Otherwise, reforms take much longer, as you have to hang around waiting for everyone to agree….

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On the betting markets NO DEAL becomes favourite once again as the Brussels talks flounder

On the betting markets NO DEAL becomes favourite once again as the Brussels talks flounder

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The big news in the UK is that so far Boris Johnson has failed in his attempt to reach an agreement with the EU on the terms of a tree trade deal that would come into effect once the Brexit transition period. The betting chart from the Smarkets exchange shows the movement and things could develop very quickly. I remain of the view that a deal will be reached and what we are seeing is the usual going right to…

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Two warnings for Johnson in today’s YouGov poll

Two warnings for Johnson in today’s YouGov poll

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The gender divides that should concern the Tories There’s a new YouGov poll out with its regular trackers two of which should seriously concern Johnson as the EU discussions reach a critical stage. Brexit Wrong continues to have a double digit lead in the firm’s regular question that has been asked at least twice a month since the 2016 referendum. To the question “In hindsight, do you think Britain was right or wrong to vote to leave the European Union?”…

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