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Once upon a time some people started to make a fuss about traffic lights. Plenty of people thought traffic lights were ok and actually helped people to get around smoothly and safely. But there were some who said “We never voted for traffic lights. Plus, when they first came in, it was just red, amber, green; now we have green right filters, green left filters, pedestrian crossings, timers, buttons for pedestrians to push - it’s never-ending. We even hear that there’s going to be a traffic-light army”. "We don't want to controlled by unelected red lights" Those who wanted to Remain with traffic lights felt that they could make gradual improvements to traffic light systems where necessary, but that there was no need to scrap them all. But their opponents told people that the traffic had flowed much better before there had been so many traffic lights. They also said we could save a lot of money if we didn’t need the electricity for the lights, and lies about how m...

I am genuinely puzzled as to how anyone of reasonably good character can consider voting Tory now. Can anyone clarify? A. QUICK CHECKS – are you ok with points 1-6; read on if you are Let’s get a few things out of the way quickly. 1. This is a political (and moral)   post. See note 1. 2. The post may be considered controversial/ challenging. See note 2 . Lies are lies and I refer to them as such. 3. The post   is specifically and solely about Tories. See note 3. 4. Feedback (recognising points 1 to 3) is definitely hoped for and welcomed if it’s reasonable,   reliable, respectful and relevant.   Can be face to face, phone skype etc, or written comment. "Relevant" is very important See previous point and   Note 4. 5. Comments out of scope will therefore be deleted after flagging the issue. See Note 5. 6. If you think "Mike would say that, wouldn’t he?",   I encourage you to focus instead on the issues, but if in doubt please see point 6 ...

Irrespective of what is the "best" politically, the question of technical feasibility should be considered. The Withdrawal Agreement results in an unachievable timetable Without considering the political desirability at all, in my view the new Withdrawal Agreement is unachievable in the time . The new proposals mean that there would be a new business need to track whether products coming into Northern Ireland are for consumption there, or export, or inclusion in manufacture, in which case the destination of the manufa ctured item becomes important. Indeed the item might become part of a unit which is not exported but which becomes part of a larger product which is exported. This creates a need for new cross-organisational and cross-border disclosure and monitoring arrangements. There would need to be cross-organisational information systems, otherwise the administrative burden would be intolerable. Disagreement about the requirement EDIT: Questions would arise a...

For too long we have allowed liars to win. There is a better way. People have found this “better way” to be empowering. Read on. The lies show what truth the liars are very afraid of. The fact that they lie shows how powerful that truth is. This assists us to construct hypotheses that our opponents seem to believe. The lies are an indication of the truth that the liars fear. Examples of such hypotheses: 1. Very many of the British people do not want Brexit. 2. James Cleverley knows that Keir Starmer speaks convincingly about Labour’s Brexit policy. 3. Boris Johnson is very worried about the report on Russian interference in the 2016 referendum becoming public before the General Election. 4. The Leave campaigners who spoke about trade deals in 2016 knew that those Trade Deals would be very difficult. To start with number 4: if Gove, Davis etc had believed in a real Brexit then they would have campaigned for a real Brexit. So we can tell from the lies that they had other motiv...

IT'S NOT 48% VERSUS 52%       (copied into the blog from where I first posted it - in "Brexit's a Trick not a Treat" Facebook page). Who feels cheated by what's happened with Brexit? I found myself pondering this question again in writing the foreword to "Brexit's a Trick, not a Treat", and in the work on designing the cover and talking to the designer. Most people who voted Remain feel cheated for very well documented reasons, including the lies that were used during the campaign. Those who voted Leave may well feel cheated, because they are not seeing what was promised to them in return for their votes ( "easiest trade deals in history", money for the NHS etc,) We should not demonise those who disagree with us. At the time of writing, the outcome is still undetermined, largely because those who support to Leave cannot agree on what sort of Leave they feel would fulfil the wishes that they now have. There are still differing vie...

Competence Regarding competence, you could take the view that this is the application of the Peter Principle Peter principle - Wikipedia This says that people are promoted based on some degree of competence, but when they get to a level at which they are completely incompetent promotions cease and (in the corporate world when the book was written) they stay there. It's a theory which provides a rational explanation for many managers being incompetent. Boris Johnson clearly does not have the competence or integrity to be Prime Minister. For evidence of this, look at any news story about Boris Johnson this month (September 2019). His case does not fully fit the Peter Principle model, because he was dreadfully incompetent as a Foreign Secretary, but was elevated by the Tory Party as a vote-winner. Honesty The  "Boris Johnson Prime Minister"  brand is now firmly associated with dishonesty. Now it is true to say that that was also true of the  "...

What reasons might there be for a Christian Faith to influence us to support Brexit now? This is a puzzle. I know a number of Christians who support Brexit, and have sought to understand whether there are reasons why their Christian faith might lead them that way. Of course, there might be none – some might view it as a morally neutral decision on which they have made a political, economic or constitutional judgement. Also, they are not obliged to tell me their reasons. That’s fair enough.  But I have searched for faith-related reasons, which I could listen to and understand, that influence Christian friends to support Brexit, and my efforts have not been very fruitful. This article presents the reasons that I have heard, bolstered by some I have read in r elevant blogs, and with one extrapolated reason at the end. Now I need to say at the start that I may not be the best person to present those reasons, and others may do this much better – this is not surprising, bearing...