Category Archives: Politics

Britain, Economic, European Union, Government, Politics, Society

Leavers say a Brexit no-deal would not be a disaster

BREXIT

LEADING Brexiteers have declared that there is nothing to fear if Britain leaves the EU without a deal.

After a tumultuous last few days in which Theresa May’s Chequers plan has been under fire from Remainers and Leavers alike, a poll shows growing public support for walking away from the negotiations.

It found twice as many voters now back leaving the EU without a deal.

Senior Eurosceptic MPs said it was proof that the PM should accelerate contingency planning for a no-deal scenario.

Remainers have long argued that the consequences of a no deal would be catastrophic for the economy. But leading Brexiteers have admitted that, although it could be bumpy in the short term, Britain could thrive in the long run. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said: “If we don’t have a trade deal with the EU then we simply trade on World Trade Organisation terms, which is how most countries trade with each other.

“It wouldn’t be bedlam. All this talk about crashing out with no deal – we’re not crashing, we’re moving to WTO rules, which is how all EU-US trade is governed at the moment.”

Former Cabinet minister Priti Patel said: “We should be free to forge new trade deals around the world and leave the protectionism of the EU. This is a positive thing we should be celebrating.”

The ComRes poll found 39 per cent think the Prime Minister “should accept a no-deal and the UK simply leave the EU”. Just 20 per cent want her to push on with the White Paper, which critics say is a “half in, half out” Brexit.

More than half of Tory voters (51 per cent) back no deal, compared to one in four (26 percent) of Labour supporters.

A quarter of voters want the PM to ask for an extension to the March deadline for a deal.

John Longworth, of Leave Means Leave, and a former head of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “There would be a little border disruption if we leave without a deal, but nothing like as bad as Remainers say it would be – and the upsides would be considerable.

“We could free our economy from EU regulations and do huge free-trade deals with the US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.”

What would happen if we just walked away?

. The Divorce Bill

Leaving without a deal would mean an immediate Brexit on March 29 after tearing up a 21-month transition agreement. This included giving £39billion to the EU, which ministers would no longer have to pay, a House of Lords report claims.

. Customs & Trade

The Chequers agreement effectively proposed keeping Britain in the single market for goods and agriculture to preserve “frictionless” trade and to protect the economy.

Customs checks on cross-Channel freight would cause havoc at ports, hitting food supplies and other goods.

Britain could waive customs checks on EU produce to free up backlogs, but it is equitable to ask whether Brussels would do the same for us?

. Tariffs

All EU-UK trade in goods is free of tariffs in the single market.

Trade would revert to World Trade Organisation Rules. The EU would charge import tariffs averaging 2-3 per cent on goods, but up to 60 per cent for some agricultural produce, damaging UK exporters.

We have a trade deficit with the EU of some £71billion – they sell us more than we sell them – so the EU overall would lose out.

German cars and French agriculture would be worst hit, as would UK regions with large export industries. Tariffs could also mean price inflation. But UK trade with the EU is 13 per cent of GDP and falling compared to non-EU trade, which generates a surplus and is likely to grow. The outlook would be boosted by Britain’s ability to strike trade deals.

. Immigration

The UK would immediately have control over its borders and freedom to set migration policy on all EU migrants.

UK nationals would likely lose their right to live and work in the EU. There would be legal uncertainty for the 1.3million Britons living in the EU and the 3.7million EU nationals here.

. City of London

Many firms have already made contingency plans for a no deal, but there would probably be a significant degree of disruption and an economic hit.

Ministers would likely take an axe to tax and regulations to preserve the UK’s economic advantage.

. Aeroplanes

Fears of planes not being able to fly appear far-fetched – unless the EU is determined to destroy both business and tourism. Rules to keep planes in the air are likely to be agreed. The EU has many deals with non-EU countries as part of its Open Skies regime.

. European Courts

Britain would be free from the edicts of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and all EU laws. Parliament would be sovereign.

. Farming & Fishing

The UK would quit the Common Agricultural Policy, which gives farmers and landowners £3billion in subsidies. Ministers would come under pressure to continue a form of subsidy.

. Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland would be outside the EU, with no arrangements on how to manage 300 crossing points on the 310-mile border.

The EU would want Ireland to impose customs and other checks to protect the bloc’s borders – something it has said it will not do. No deal could blow a hole in the Good Friday Agreement, with pressure on all sides to find a compromise.

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Business, Economic, Government, Politics, Society

A cultural shift is needed to end gender discrimination

GENDER EQUALITY

IF we truly wanted to tackle the gender pay gap, we should be focussing on our biggest challenge: by encouraging women into the highest paid positions across all aspects of industry and employment.

In Scotland, only about a quarter of FTSE 100 company directors, public body chief executives, university principals, sheriffs and councillors are women. There are no female editors of major newspapers, or chief executives of FTSE 100 companies. Only seven per cent of senior police officers are women.

A way needs to be found to give women and men the same opportunities, and to create a pathway of equal chances. The senior management posts and highest-level specialist posts in so many fields are still significantly dominated by men.

One way to do this is by changing the grass roots narrative. Girls should be told from the earliest age that they can be anything they want to be; from train driver to football player; and from nuclear scientist to chief executive. Young girls should only be limited by their ability and their desire: never by their gender.

Our society needs to change its attitude, and in many cases its practices. If we are to ensure that girls get to progress in significantly growing numbers, starting in the home and then through pre-school, school and further education, these changes must now be our priority.

It is widely acknowledged that STEM careers are male-dominated. In the UK, just 15 per cent of engineering graduates are female. The figures are 19% for computer studies and 38% for maths. The shortfall is hardly surprising when we consider that only 13% of the overall UK STEM workforce is female and there are relatively few female STEM role models as a consequence.

We all need to embrace and encourage a fundamental change in attitude, and deliver a new atmosphere of equality – not just in business, but across all areas of society. By creating senior role models across traditionally male dominated sectors, we can foster a new attitude in young women, by encouraging them to pursue careers that they may not have originally considered.

Some of this change will evolve naturally through time, but society needs it sooner rather than in a generation or two. Women need to be correctly recognised and valued, and their potential realised for the benefit of our economy.

Research generated in 2015 showed that a more diverse and inclusive workforce helps business by bringing new skills, creativity and innovation, and achieving higher staff retention. Moving towards parity at top positions is not only likely to help the company’s performance; it could bring in added tax revenue. The same study estimated that closing gender pay gaps in work could add £150billion to UK gross domestic product in 2025.

Yet, there are still businesses in Scotland that pay male staff a higher rate than their female colleagues for the same job. We should be tracking down the offenders in this area, where like for like jobs are not paid the same. These disparities are unacceptable.

The Institute of Directors strongly supports the principle of equal pay and the need to create a better balance between male and female participation in the workforce so as to broaden the talent pool available to firms and employers.

Measuring pay gaps is very complex, and the use of averages can be misleading as peculiarities of industry, the nature of companies, geographies or circumstances make such comparisons unfair.

Governments should focus more on affordable and accessible childcare, encouraging more girls to study STEM subjects and providing better careers advice in schools. Policymakers should also focus on provision of leave and other measures which could help spread the strain of caring for children or the elderly.

Ultimately, a concerted effort must now be made to challenge the cultural norms: by encouraging more men and women to enter jobs that are outside conventional gender roles. Publishing crude averages alone will not tackle the root causes of the gender pay gap. There are numerous ways to improve the prospects of women in business and in other walks of life, but these must be done as part of a package of complementary measures designed to aid real and lasting change. Advancing the cause of women in the workplace and dealing with the gender pay gap are issues that aren’t going to go away until they are properly dealt with.

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Britain, Government, Health, Politics, Society

NHS at 70: The Health Service faces tough choices to survive

THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE

Intro: The NHS is creaking under the strain of an ageing and unfit population

The natural lifespan of a human being was once viewed as being three score years and ten. But while a baby girl born in 1948 could reasonably look forward to a life that long, the life expectancy of a boy was less than 66.

How times have changed. Today, the respective figures for either gender are about 10 years longer, thanks in large part to the National Health Service which turned 70 on the 5 July.

Among its major achievements, the NHS has saved countless lives from infection or injury, eliminated horrific diseases like polio from the UK, introduced comprehensive vaccination programmes, and enabled the birth of the world’s first IVF baby. It has many other successes to its name.

NHS staff have become the heroes of modern-day Britain: nurses were last year voted the most trusted profession, with doctors a close second. Nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone, recently told of how she was “astounded” by the level of care she received, with medical staff “putting their lives on hold and working round the clock” to save her.

And she is certainly not alone. The Commonwealth Fund, a US think tank, last year ranked the NHS as the best healthcare system in 11 leading countries, including the US, France, Germany and Australia.

The UK’s total spending on public and private healthcare is about 10 per cent of national income. This is lower than in the US (16%), as well as Japan, France and Germany (11%). The simple comparisons would suggest we are getting a top-class health service on the cheap; indeed, the NHS has been described in the British Medical Journal as the “world’s most cost-effective healthcare system.”

Yet, for all that, the NHS is clearly showing signs of decrepitude as it moves on from its 70th anniversary. Its success at enabling the average person to live an extra decade has created a vast amount of new work to keep the diseases of old age at bay. Meanwhile, poor trends of bad diets and physical inactivity have produced a surge in rates of obesity and associated illnesses, some of which are threatening to overwhelm the NHS.

While healthcare funding has been increased by both Labour and Conservative governments, the extra cash has failed to keep pace with the rise in demand, leaving doctors and nurses increasingly overworked and stressed as waiting times for treatment have increased.

However, whilst governments and health secretaries can change, we, the public, must share some of the blame. Most people bang the table to demand appointments and yet a staggering 1.7million, about 10 per cent, of them were missed over the last decade at a cost of some £200million. Many also insist on antibiotics when they are not needed.

If we wish the NHS to continue as part of the societal fabric of the UK, then some tough choices may need to be made. And, on this, the public may be more accepting of the need for change than politicians realise.

A recent poll found 75 per cent of respondents backed fining patients who repeatedly missed appointments. Plastic surgery for purely cosmetic reasons and other non-vital procedures may need to be cut or scrapped completely.

Laws that were enacted in applying a 5p charge for plastic bags resulted in an 80-90 per cent fall in their use. So, unless we can be persuaded to stop putting so much pressure on the NHS, perhaps the time has come to consider small charges for prescriptions and even GP appointments to make us all value them more.

For if the NHS is ever lost, we will rue the day we lost sight of just how worthwhile it is.

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