conservativehome--2020-09-03--Stephen Booth: With four months left to get a Brexit deal, state aid is the major stumbling block fo

Stephen Booth: With four months left to get a Brexit deal, state aid is the major stumbling block for the UK and EU.

Stephen Booth is Head of the Britain in the World Project at Policy Exchange .
At this delicate stage , predictions of whether the Brexit negotiations will conclude with a trade agreement or not are bound to be no more than guesswork .
With only four months until the end of the Brexit transition period , the chances of a UK-EU trade deal being ready for January 1 , 2021 are in fifty-fifty territory .
The EU ’ s “ parallelism ” policy – blocking progress in one area as long as there isn ’ t progress elsewhere – means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ British proposals on fishing until the UK moves on other issues , including the most difficult of them all : the EU ’ s desire to establish a “ level playing field ” for state aid .
It could be argued that Brussels ’ insistence on solving the difficult issues first prevents rather than permits progress .
Ultimately , fishing is not likely to be the deal-breaker .
The eight EU member states with significant fishing fleets will completely lose access to UK waters if there is no deal at all , so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the default , even if it falls well short of the desire for “ relative stability ” for existing EU quotas .
At the start of the summer there were reasons for optimism about a deal .
The EU had signalled a willingness to water down its most ambitious demands on fishing and state aid and the UK had acknowledged the EU ’ s concerns about the overall structure of the agreement .
However , the mood appears to have turned and the last negotiating round yielded very little , according to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jean-Yves Le Drian , the French Foreign Minister , cited the “ intransigent and frankly unrealistic attitude ” of the UK for the lack of progress .
Barnier yesterday gave a speech outlining the continued areas of disagreement .
Equally , recent media reports suggest the UK is preparing the ground to walk away from the talks if the stalemate continues much longer .
State aid is the major stumbling block .
The impasse would appear to be a bigger problem in theory than in practice .
UK orthodoxy has seen past governments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
According to the European Commission ’ s “ State aid Scoreboard ” , the UK spent state aid equivalent to 0.34 per cent of GDP in 2018 , compared to an EU average of 0.76 per cent .
Meanwhile , France spent 0.79 per cent , slightly above the EU average , and Germany spent a much larger per cent .
The perception in Brussels is that this UK Government is different .
David McAllister , the German MEP who chairs the European Parliament ’ s Brexit committee and who is close @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ UK ’ s interest in subsidising sectors ” , such as steel and cars , would have “ direct consequences for EU industries and jobs if these goods have ‘ duty-free , quota-free ’ access to the single market ” .
This precise fear of the UK turning to a historically continental strategy of promoting “ national champions ” may be wide of the mark .
Nevertheless , it is clear that some members of this Government view industrial policy and strategic investment as important levers at its disposal .
In this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the detail .
In the post-Covid world , it is difficult to predict what will be required of the state and nimbleness may be critical .
Therefore , it is understandable that the UK would not want to find itself bound permanently by treaty into the EU state-aid regime , much of which is “ temporarily ” suspended in any case due to the pressures of the crisis on national and regional governments .
Little headway appears likely until the UK sets out its blueprint for domestic state subsidy control , which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At a minimum , the UK will need to comply with WTO rules , but these fall far short of the requirements of the current EU regime .
WTO rules only apply to goods , while the EU rules apply to both goods and services .
The EU rules are prescriptive in what and what is not permitted , whereas , in practice , WTO rules set a high threshold because complainant countries must demonstrate that disputed aid is harmful in its effect .
The EU appears to have walked back from its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Government – that the UK should continue to be bound by EU state aid rules into the future , with the European Court of Justice ( ECJ ) having the final say in respect of enforcement .
In contrast , the EU ’ s agreement with Canada simply uses the WTO model as a basis and expands it to services , but there are limited options for enforcement .
A possible compromise would be for the UK to implement domestic legislation , adopting some aspects of the status quo , enforced by an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Parliament and the UK courts ( not the ECJ ) .
Subject to dispute settlement , set out in the UK-EU trade agreement , the EU ( and the UK ) would retain the right to adopt countermeasures , such as tariffs , against any state aid deemed to be trade-distorting .
Whether this would be acceptable to the EU remains to be seen .
The essential objective from the UK ’ s perspective is to depart from the EU ’ s desire to micromanage the UK ’ s subsidy policy by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to accept the principle that the EU could deal with the consequences of UK subsidies with countermeasures such as retaliatory tariffs .
A bust up in September or October does not necessarily preclude a deal at the last minute .
Weighed against these important , yet technocratic considerations , is the prospect of no agreement at all .
A trade agreement , with no tariffs on UK-EU trade and regulatory cooperation , would better enable the UK to implement the Northern Ireland Protocol in the light-touch way the Government has outlined .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ exit , however transient , would give Keir Starmer ammunition in his continued attack on Government competence .
Against this , the Government is in a much stronger position than it was in the autumn of 2019 when renegotiating the Withdrawal Agreement .
Failure would have economic and geopolitical consequences for the EU too .
The UK may only be Germany ’ s seventh largest trade partner , but it ranks second in contributing to Germany ’ s trade surplus .
It is notable that Tom Tugendhat MP has on this site recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ EU policy on Iran to adopt an approach closer to the United States .
In the event of a breakdown in the trade relationship , Brussels should not be surprised to encounter a more muscularly independent UK in other fields .
We are now approaching the end game .
The technical negotiations have probably achieved as much as they can at this stage .
It will soon be up to the politicians on both sides of the table to make the big call about whether to make the deal or not .

Stephen Booth is Head of the Britain in the World Project at Policy Exchange.
At this delicate stage, predictions of whether the Brexit negotiations will conclude with a trade agreement or not are bound to be no more than guesswork. With only four months until the end of the Brexit transition period, the chances of a UK-EU trade deal being ready for January 1, 2021 are in fifty-fifty territory.
The EU’s “parallelism” policy – blocking progress in one area as long as there isn’t progress elsewhere – means that Michel Barnier is refusing to discuss British proposals on fishing until the UK moves on other issues, including the most difficult of them all: the EU’s desire to establish a “level playing field” for state aid. It could be argued that Brussels’ insistence on solving the difficult issues first prevents rather than permits progress.
Ultimately, fishing is not likely to be the deal-breaker. The eight EU member states with significant fishing fleets will completely lose access to UK waters if there is no deal at all, so cutting a deal is clearly better than the default, even if it falls well short of the desire for “relative stability” for existing EU quotas.
At the start of the summer there were reasons for optimism about a deal. The EU had signalled a willingness to water down its most ambitious demands on fishing and state aid and the UK had acknowledged the EU’s concerns about the overall structure of the agreement.
However, the mood appears to have turned and the last negotiating round yielded very little, according to the readouts from both sides. This week Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Foreign Minister, cited the “intransigent and frankly unrealistic attitude” of the UK for the lack of progress. Barnier yesterday gave a speech outlining the continued areas of disagreement. Equally, recent media reports suggest the UK is preparing the ground to walk away from the talks if the stalemate continues much longer.
State aid is the major stumbling block. The impasse would appear to be a bigger problem in theory than in practice. UK orthodoxy has seen past governments refrain from major interventions in the economy. According to the European Commission’s “State aid Scoreboard”, the UK spent state aid equivalent to 0.34 per cent of GDP in 2018, compared to an EU average of 0.76 per cent. Meanwhile, France spent 0.79 per cent, slightly above the EU average, and Germany spent a much larger per cent.
The perception in Brussels is that this UK Government is different. David McAllister, the German MEP who chairs the European Parliament’s Brexit committee and who is close to Angela Merkel, has said the “UK’s interest in subsidising sectors”, such as steel and cars, would have “direct consequences for EU industries and jobs if these goods have ‘duty-free, quota-free’ access to the single market”.
This precise fear of the UK turning to a historically continental strategy of promoting “national champions” may be wide of the mark. Nevertheless, it is clear that some members of this Government view industrial policy and strategic investment as important levers at its disposal.
In this area, the devil will be in the detail. In the post-Covid world, it is difficult to predict what will be required of the state and nimbleness may be critical. Therefore, it is understandable that the UK would not want to find itself bound permanently by treaty into the EU state-aid regime, much of which is “temporarily” suspended in any case due to the pressures of the crisis on national and regional governments.
Little headway appears likely until the UK sets out its blueprint for domestic state subsidy control, which is expected to be later this month. At a minimum, the UK will need to comply with WTO rules, but these fall far short of the requirements of the current EU regime.
WTO rules only apply to goods, while the EU rules apply to both goods and services. The EU rules are prescriptive in what and what is not permitted, whereas, in practice, WTO rules set a high threshold because complainant countries must demonstrate that disputed aid is harmful in its effect.
The EU appears to have walked back from its initial position – clearly unacceptable to the Government – that the UK should continue to be bound by EU state aid rules into the future, with the European Court of Justice (ECJ) having the final say in respect of enforcement. In contrast, the EU’s agreement with Canada simply uses the WTO model as a basis and expands it to services, but there are limited options for enforcement.
A possible compromise would be for the UK to implement domestic legislation, adopting some aspects of the status quo, enforced by an independent UK authority and subject to review by Parliament and the UK courts (not the ECJ). Subject to dispute settlement, set out in the UK-EU trade agreement, the EU (and the UK) would retain the right to adopt countermeasures, such as tariffs, against any state aid deemed to be trade-distorting.
Whether this would be acceptable to the EU remains to be seen. The essential objective from the UK’s perspective is to depart from the EU’s desire to micromanage the UK’s subsidy policy by treaty. However, the UK would need to accept the principle that the EU could deal with the consequences of UK subsidies with countermeasures such as retaliatory tariffs.
A bust up in September or October does not necessarily preclude a deal at the last minute. Weighed against these important, yet technocratic considerations, is the prospect of no agreement at all.
A trade agreement, with no tariffs on UK-EU trade and regulatory cooperation, would better enable the UK to implement the Northern Ireland Protocol in the light-touch way the Government has outlined.
Any disruption attributed to a no deal exit, however transient, would give Keir Starmer ammunition in his continued attack on Government competence. Against this, the Government is in a much stronger position than it was in the autumn of 2019 when renegotiating the Withdrawal Agreement.
Failure would have economic and geopolitical consequences for the EU too. The UK may only be Germany’s seventh largest trade partner, but it ranks second in contributing to Germany’s trade surplus.
It is notable that Tom Tugendhat MP has on this site recently called for the UK to break with EU policy on Iran to adopt an approach closer to the United States. In the event of a breakdown in the trade relationship, Brussels should not be surprised to encounter a more muscularly independent UK in other fields.
We are now approaching the end game. The technical negotiations have probably achieved as much as they can at this stage. It will soon be up to the politicians on both sides of the table to make the big call about whether to make the deal or not.


conservativehome--2020-09-03--Gareth Lyon: In defence of district councils

Gareth Lyon is a former councillor in Rushmoor and the Chairman of the Aldershot and North Hants Conservative Association .
We are now approaching the inevitable and tragic culmination of efforts to undermine District Councils .
At this stage , to have the opportunity to extol the good that borough and district councils do , feels more like being given the opportunity to bury , rather than to praise them .
It is increasingly regarded as an open secret that the Government sees the future of local government as lying in massive county-wide unitary councils , possibly supplemented by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will come as no surprise to those of us who have followed closely the treatment of district and borough councils over recent decades .
Whist there surely has not been a deliberate strategy to systematically undermine district councils and prevent them from functioning as effectively as they can , it is sometimes hard to discern how such a strategy would manifest itself differently from the effects of the cruel and negligent treatment of this tier of councils by successive Governments .
By way of context , the UK is already something of an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ average size of the lowest tier of local government , its funding and its powers .
France , Spain and Germany in particular , entrust far more responsibility to bodies equal to , or smaller , in size than English district and borough councils .
Yet district and borough councils are a very prominent feature of local political life in the UK , and almost always the arrangement of responsibilities means that they are on a hiding to nothing .
Taking Council Tax as an example .
Being a tax which must specifically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ automatically like PAYE or NI it is consistently amongst the most noticed and most hated taxes in the country .
It is well known that your local council will arrange collection of this ( and other understandably unpopular taxes like business rates ) ; what is less well understood is how little of this tax is actually collected for the district/borough itself to use .
Indeed , many districts and boroughs I know are obliged to hand over more than 90 per cent of what they collect to other less local and less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ council , fire service , or Police and Crime Commissioner .
This may seem like a small point but it should not be underestimated how much responsibility people will ascribe to the authority whose headed notepaper they receive their tax demand on .
In many cases , district and borough councils have managed to freeze or reduce their Council Tax charge without this even being noticed by their electorate as it is more than cancelled out by substantial increases from other authorities .
This leaves districts and boroughs as the unloved collectors of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say in its spend .
The situation is , if anything , even wore on Business Rates .
This absurd tax is divided between the various tiers of Government , with councils facing tax revenues being “ clawed back ” by central Government if they succeed in fostering local businesses , boosting economic activity , and ultimately receipts by too much… yet facing the full force of economic headwinds if substantial local businesses get into trouble , relocate , or downsize .
This awkward position , of being consistently in the frame for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ locally – with districts and borough as the most accessible and identifiable local representation taking the blame is now established in almost every area of council activity .
In key competencies such as planning and development and licensing , councils room for manoeuvre has been strictly limited for some time – with central Government and an army of unaccountable and remote inspectors being able to overrule decisions at the drop of a hat .
Over recent years though this has extended into many new areas by the back door – local councils are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , except that all the decisions about key infrastructure to support businesses are made at a regional or national level .
Local councils usually have responsibility for parking , except that county councils have the ability to use the trump card of responsibility for highways to effectively dictate policy – along of course with the Government ’ s green agenda balancing the scales further against car users .
Councils have responsibility for recycling and numerous environmental matters – but the heavy hand of central Government is starting to fall here too – often @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demographics .
With these and dozens of other wounds being administered to the body of district and borough councils it could be argued that the Government may be considering the right thing in handing everything over to vast unitary authorities – even if they may have been a party to the assassination .
Yet this is to ignore the fact that it is much easier for most people to get to know their local councillor and to raise issues with them .
It is to ignore the fact that there are massive differences @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the New Forest on the other – and that local identities matter in politics .
Ultimately there is a risk that the Government ignores the wishes of local people to have the power to make more of the political decisions which affect their lives .
One could even argue that it is time for those driving such thinking to get out London and meet some people who are not centralising special advisors…

Gareth Lyon is a former councillor in Rushmoor and the Chairman of the Aldershot and North Hants Conservative Association.
We are now approaching the inevitable and tragic culmination of efforts to undermine District Councils.
At this stage, to have the opportunity to extol the good that borough and district councils do, feels more like being given the opportunity to bury, rather than to praise them.
It is increasingly regarded as an open secret that the Government sees the future of local government as lying in massive county-wide unitary councils, possibly supplemented by a patchwork of parish councils.
This outcome will come as no surprise to those of us who have followed closely the treatment of district and borough councils over recent decades.
Whist there surely has not been a deliberate strategy to systematically undermine district councils and prevent them from functioning as effectively as they can, it is sometimes hard to discern how such a strategy would manifest itself differently from the effects of the cruel and negligent treatment of this tier of councils by successive Governments.
By way of context, the UK is already something of an outlier in Europe in terms of the average size of the lowest tier of local government, its funding and its powers. France, Spain and Germany in particular, entrust far more responsibility to bodies equal to, or smaller, in size than English district and borough councils.
Yet district and borough councils are a very prominent feature of local political life in the UK, and almost always the arrangement of responsibilities means that they are on a hiding to nothing.
Taking Council Tax as an example. Being a tax which must specifically be paid as opposed to being deducted automatically like PAYE or NI it is consistently amongst the most noticed and most hated taxes in the country.
It is well known that your local council will arrange collection of this (and other understandably unpopular taxes like business rates); what is less well understood is how little of this tax is actually collected for the district/borough itself to use.
Indeed, many districts and boroughs I know are obliged to hand over more than 90 per cent of what they collect to other less local and less accessible authorities, such as the county council, fire service, or Police and Crime Commissioner.
This may seem like a small point but it should not be underestimated how much responsibility people will ascribe to the authority whose headed notepaper they receive their tax demand on.
In many cases, district and borough councils have managed to freeze or reduce their Council Tax charge without this even being noticed by their electorate as it is more than cancelled out by substantial increases from other authorities.
This leaves districts and boroughs as the unloved collectors of money due to others while having no say in its spend.
The situation is, if anything, even wore on Business Rates. This absurd tax is divided between the various tiers of Government, with councils facing tax revenues being “clawed back” by central Government if they succeed in fostering local businesses, boosting economic activity, and ultimately receipts by too much… yet facing the full force of economic headwinds if substantial local businesses get into trouble, relocate, or downsize.
This awkward position, of being consistently in the frame for decisions which are made elsewhere and imposed locally – with districts and borough as the most accessible and identifiable local representation taking the blame is now established in almost every area of council activity.
In key competencies such as planning and development and licensing, councils room for manoeuvre has been strictly limited for some time – with central Government and an army of unaccountable and remote inspectors being able to overrule decisions at the drop of a hat.
Over recent years though this has extended into many new areas by the back door – local councils are responsible for attracting and fostering local businesses, except that all the decisions about key infrastructure to support businesses are made at a regional or national level.
Local councils usually have responsibility for parking, except that county councils have the ability to use the trump card of responsibility for highways to effectively dictate policy – along of course with the Government’s green agenda balancing the scales further against car users.
Councils have responsibility for recycling and numerous environmental matters – but the heavy hand of central Government is starting to fall here too – often with no appreciation for local factors or demographics.
With these and dozens of other wounds being administered to the body of district and borough councils it could be argued that the Government may be considering the right thing in handing everything over to vast unitary authorities – even if they may have been a party to the assassination.
Yet this is to ignore the fact that it is much easier for most people to get to know their local councillor and to raise issues with them. It is to ignore the fact that there are massive differences between Aldershot at one end of Hampshire and the New Forest on the other – and that local identities matter in politics.
Ultimately there is a risk that the Government ignores the wishes of local people to have the power to make more of the political decisions which affect their lives.
One could even argue that it is time for those driving such thinking to get out London and meet some people who are not centralising special advisors…


conservativehome--2020-09-03--Tony Abbott may have the right expertise for the Board of Trade, but his past comments shouldn’t be

Tony Abbott may have the right expertise for the Board of Trade, but his past comments shouldn’t be downplayed

With everything else going on at the moment – the pandemic , a record number of migrant Channel crossings in one day and the Tory revolt over Huawei – it might come as something of a surprise to ministers to be quizzed over none other than Tony Abbott , the former Australian prime minister .
He ’ s reportedly being considered to be joint president of Britain ’ s relaunched Board of Trade .
There has been some confusion over this , with suggestions he has already accepted the role , but Downing Street has not confirmed it .
Perhaps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bit of controversy .
Keir Starmer has said “ I have real concerns about Tony Abbott and don ’ t think he ’ s the right person for the job “ , and Caroline Noakes wasn ’ t much politer .
On BBC Politics Live she said he was a “ misogynist ” and that it would be “ awful ” for him to represent Britain on the world stage .
While some members of the public may not have heard of , let alone be offended by , Abbott , his past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well documented .
Many will remember Julia Gillard , the 27th prime minister of Australia , giving her famous “ misogyny speech ” of 2012 , in which she said of Abbott : “ If he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia , he doesn ’ t need a motion in the House of Representatives , he needs a mirror .
That ’ s what he needs.
” So what was she referring to ?
Her speech pointed out various examples of when he had offended her , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elsewhere .
In August 2013 , as one example , he was asked what qualities a female candidate , Fiona Scott , had in common with a previous MP , while campaigning in the Western Sydney seat of Lindsay .
In response he said , “ They ’ re young , feisty , I think I can probably say have a bit of sex appeal ” .
Some of his other remarks have been documented by The Washington Post .
In 2010 , he claimed , for instance , “ What the housewives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do the ironing is that if they get it done commercially it ’ s going to go up in price and their own power bills when they switch the iron on are going to go up ” , and he also said “ I probably feel a bit threatened ” by homosexuality .
In 2014 , he was accused of sexism again after he told a local TV station : “ As many of us know… women are particularly focused on the household budget , and the repeal of the carbon tax means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” In short , it ’ s not particularly difficult to find a selection of backwards statements by him .
So it ’ s not surprising the Government is now on the defence .
Matt Hancock is one of the first ministers to be grilled on the reports .
Speaking to Sky News , he said : “ As far as I understand it , the proposal is that Mr Abbott supports the UK on trade policy , which is an area in which he has got a huge area of expertise .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for everybody to love who they love , whoever that is .
But we need to have the best experts in the world working in their field ” .
Liz Truss also said : “ I ’ m not going to spend my time talking about comments other people have made in the past ” when asked about him , and blasted Labour for its hypocrisy , given that the party ’ s former shadow chancellor , John McDonnell , had “ called for the lynching of one of [ Esther McVey ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They ’ re fair responses , and yet it ’ s impossible to get away from that question – should someone who makes these comments be appointed to such an esteemed role ?
Even if their sentiments have nothing to do with trade .
Having just watched Mrs America , a fantastic series on the BBC about the Equal Rights Amendment in America , it struck me how much things have changed for women – especially in how they are viewed – and also , how much some things haven ’ t changed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attitudes that go unchallenged .
It brings me back to Abbott… Some people may dismiss his comments .
They may say “ get over yourself ” , or “ this is just another example of political correctness gone mad ” or that his views simply reflect his Catholicism .
Some people may even like that he ’ s blunt , viewing it as a nice change from the usual sanctimonious remarks of politicians .
And then there are those who he ’ s actually speaking about , wondering why we ’ re still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may be the best candidate for the role .
It ’ s just shame in 2020 that we make these trade-offs .

With everything else going on at the moment – the pandemic, a record number of migrant Channel crossings in one day and the Tory revolt over Huawei – it might come as something of a surprise to ministers to be quizzed over none other than Tony Abbott, the former Australian prime minister.
He’s reportedly being considered to be joint president of Britain’s relaunched Board of Trade. There has been some confusion over this, with suggestions he has already accepted the role, but Downing Street has not confirmed it. Perhaps because the development has caused a fair bit of controversy. Keir Starmer has said “I have real concerns about Tony Abbott and don’t think he’s the right person for the job“, and Caroline Noakes wasn’t much politer. On BBC Politics Live she said he was a “misogynist” and that it would be “awful” for him to represent Britain on the world stage.
While some members of the public may not have heard of, let alone be offended by, Abbott, his past comments on women and homosexuality have been well documented. Many will remember Julia Gillard, the 27th prime minister of Australia, giving her famous “misogyny speech” of 2012, in which she said of Abbott: “If he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia, he doesn’t need a motion in the House of Representatives, he needs a mirror. That’s what he needs.”
So what was she referring to? Her speech pointed out various examples of when he had offended her, and his casual misogyny has been expanded on elsewhere. In August 2013, as one example, he was asked what qualities a female candidate, Fiona Scott, had in common with a previous MP, while campaigning in the Western Sydney seat of Lindsay. In response he said, “They’re young, feisty, I think I can probably say have a bit of sex appeal”.
Some of his other remarks have been documented by The Washington Post. In 2010, he claimed, for instance, “What the housewives of Australia need to understand as they do the ironing is that if they get it done commercially it’s going to go up in price and their own power bills when they switch the iron on are going to go up”, and he also said “I probably feel a bit threatened” by homosexuality.
In 2014, he was accused of sexism again after he told a local TV station: “As many of us know… women are particularly focused on the household budget, and the repeal of the carbon tax means a $550-a-year-benefit for the average family.”
In short, it’s not particularly difficult to find a selection of backwards statements by him. So it’s not surprising the Government is now on the defence.
Matt Hancock is one of the first ministers to be grilled on the reports. Speaking to Sky News, he said: “As far as I understand it, the proposal is that Mr Abbott supports the UK on trade policy, which is an area in which he has got a huge area of expertise. I bow to nobody in my support for everybody to love who they love, whoever that is. But we need to have the best experts in the world working in their field”.
Liz Truss also said: “I’m not going to spend my time talking about comments other people have made in the past” when asked about him, and blasted Labour for its hypocrisy, given that the party’s former shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, had “called for the lynching of one of [Esther McVey] and never apologised for it”.
They’re fair responses, and yet it’s impossible to get away from that question – should someone who makes these comments be appointed to such an esteemed role? Even if their sentiments have nothing to do with trade.
Having just watched Mrs America, a fantastic series on the BBC about the Equal Rights Amendment in America, it struck me how much things have changed for women – especially in how they are viewed – and also, how much some things haven’t changed at all. There are still misogynistic attitudes that go unchallenged.
It brings me back to Abbott… Some people may dismiss his comments. They may say “get over yourself”, or “this is just another example of political correctness gone mad” or that his views simply reflect his Catholicism. Some people may even like that he’s blunt, viewing it as a nice change from the usual sanctimonious remarks of politicians.
And then there are those who he’s actually speaking about, wondering why we’re still hearing these things. Sure, Abbott may be the best candidate for the role. It’s just shame in 2020 that we make these trade-offs.


conservativehome--2020-09-04--Calling Conservatives: New public appointments announced. Children’s Commissioner for England – and

Calling Conservatives: New public appointments announced. Children’s Commissioner for England – and more

Eight years ago , the TaxPayers ’ Alliance reported that “ in the last year , five times more Labour people were appointed to public bodies than Tories ” .
It currently reports that almost half of avowedly political appointees last year owed their allegiance to Labour Party , compared to less than a third for the Conservatives .
Despite the selection of some Party members or supporters to fill important posts , over time , the Conservatives have punched beneath their weight when it comes to public appointments .
One of the reasons seems to be that Tories simply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number as Labour supporters .
To help remedy this , each week we put up links to some of the main public appointments vacancies , so that qualified Conservatives can be aware of the opportunities presented .
“ Joint Nature Conservation Committee ( JNCC ) Framework Document provides the legal , administrative and financial framework within which the Joint Committee operates and the specific functions of the Committee and the Chair .
As Chair you will be responsible to the Defra Secretary of State for the leadership , direction and effectiveness of JNCC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Defra and the Devolved Administrations .
You will be the primary contact with Ministers for the Committee .
You will provide visible leadership and vision for JNCC , setting strategic and operational direction , ensuring good governance and , together with the Joint Committee , holding the executive to account.
” “ Environmental Standards Scotland will be established , initially , on a non-statutory basis from January 2021 .
It will transition to a statutory , independent body over the course of 2021 .
The Board will initially comprise of the Chair @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Standards Scotland becomes established as a statutory organisation , further board appointments are expected .
Members of the Board of Environmental Standards Scotland will shape how the Board performs its role , including by exercising judgement on what information to monitor ; selecting environmental concerns for initial review and for detailed investigation ; resolving these through agreement with public authorities , where possible ; and , highlighting any significant issues to Ministers.
” Time : 8-10 days per month initially , ~4 per month thereafter .
“ This role is therefore an extraordinary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the success of the BFI and the wider British film/screen industry , and who has a track record of board leadership , to support the next chapter of British film and the continued success of the screen sectors .
The selected Board Chair will be expected to work alongside the recently appointed CEO in shaping and delivering an emerging vision for the sectors ’ recovery from Covid-19 , and long-term success thereafter .
To do so , the selected Board Chair must have achieved leadership stature in the film industry , business @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or government.
” Time : Up to two days per month .
“ The Secretary of State for Digital , Culture , Media and Sport is seeking to appoint an outstanding individual to be Chair of the National Lottery Community Fund .
Applications are welcomed from underrepresented groups to ensure the National Lottery Community Fund reflects the diverse society it serves .
The Fund is currently supporting communities across the UK to adjust to and recover from the coronavirus crisis .
It is also a time when the Fund has gone through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making it well placed to deliver our ambitious plans to achieve the Fund ’ s purpose : supporting people and communities thrive .
The Fund has many of the building blocks in place to add even greater value to civil society and public life .
Our contribution is as varied as it is vital.
” Time : Up to two days per week .
“ The Charity Commission has a clear purpose : to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society .
To help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proud commitment to represent the public interest in charity , and meet the challenges we face , in the autumn of 2018 the Board set an ambitious five-year strategic plan… The Secretary of State for the Department of Digital , Culture , Media and Sport , the Rt Hon Oliver Dowden MP , wishes to appoint a Board member to the Charity Commission for England and Wales .
A vacancy for a Non-Executive Director will be created when one member completes their term in October 2020 .
This is a senior role requiring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ skills to support the Chair in providing strategic leadership and oversight of the Charity Commission .
” “ Her Majesty ’ s Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service is supported by an inspectorate : Her Majesty ’ s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate ( HMCPSI ) .
The inspectorate provides independently assessed evidence about the operation , efficiency , and effectiveness of the public prosecutors ( the Crown Prosecution Service ( CPS ) and the Serious Fraud Office ( SFO ) ) .
The purpose of this is to provide the evidence needed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ held to account and to improve , thereby strengthening the public ’ s trust in the prosecution process .
Her Majesty ’ s Chief Inspector and the inspectorate may inspect other prosecuting authorities by invitation.
” “ The Forensic Science Regulator ensures that the provision of forensic science services across the criminal justice system is subject to an appropriate regime of scientific quality standards .
They are responsible for : identifying the requirement for new or improved quality standards ; leading on the development of new standards ; and where necessary , providing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forensic science services can demonstrate compliance with common standards .
The successful candidate will ideally have a substantial background in operating at a senior level in a relevant field , encompassing at least one of the following : leadership in a forensic , or related , scientific discipline ; the development and application of quality standards in a scientific or technical environment ; the regulatory process involving scientific standards ; or the criminal justice system.
” “ The Commissioner operates as a corporation sole , sponsored by the Department for Education and is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Education .
The Commissioner ’ s primary function is promoting and protecting the rights of children in England .
The legislative basis for the office of Children ’ s Commissioner is in Part 1 and Schedule 1 of the Children Act 2004 .
This establishes the independence of the office and the six year tenure of the post holder .
The legislation relating to the Children ’ s Commissioner is permissive , allowing significant flexibility for the Commissioner to determine how best to carry out his or her primary function of promoting and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Commissioner is not an Ombudsman and , in general , can not conduct investigations into the case of an individual child.
” “ We are seeking an inspirational leader with extensive business experience , international standing and a proven track record to lead Innovate UK as its Executive Chair .
The central priority of Innovate UK , under a new Executive Chair , will be to transition from a grant funding body to an agency focused on transforming the UK ’ s innovation capacity and capability , taking full advantage of its considerable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chair will be expected to actively strengthen the organisation ’ s position within key markets , providing impactful thought leadership to the UK ’ s innovation system .
As the pivotal funding body for business R & D , especially for start-ups and SMEs across the country , the Executive Chair will be expected to develop and implement system wide strategies for investment that promote the UK as a global leader in R & D and technologies of the future.
” Remuneration : £180,000 per annum base , up to £37,500 performance-related .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ non-departmental public body under section 46 of the Police Act 1964 , now section 63 of the Police Act 1996 .
Under the remit of the Board , sits the Police Pensions Scheme Advisory Board and the Discipline Sub-Committee .
In addition to this , the Chair has responsibility of chairing the Police Consultative Forum ( PCF ) , a voluntary forum for employer and staff representative bodies that sits outside the statutory functions of the PABEW .
We are seeking a new Chair to lead the organisation forward in a time of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has committed to considerable investment in the police workforce over the coming three years as part of the Police Uplift Programme which will increase officer numbers by 20,000 , the biggest police recruitment drive in decades.
” “ ACOBA provides independent advice on applications submitted under the Business Appointment Rules from former ministers , senior civil servants and other Crown servants .
In doing so it advises on the conditions that should apply to new appointments or employment after individuals have left Crown service .
It plays a vital role in ensuring that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , sensibly and transparently… Members will : play a full and active part in ACOBA ’ s work , engaging in the collective consideration of applications ( usually by email ) ; taking account of the relevant factors and information ; and challenge where necessary the information or recommendations presented ; support the wider aims of the Chair in relation to policy and procedure ; attend and contribute to between 3 and 5 ACOBA meetings per year ( in London or virtually ) , and occasional attendance at casework related meetings arranged where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ applications and associated discussions , whilst operating within the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Data Protection Act 2018 ; [ and ] agree an Annual Report .
”

Eight years ago, the TaxPayers’ Alliance reported that “in the last year, five times more Labour people were appointed to public bodies than Tories”.
It currently reports that almost half of avowedly political appointees last year owed their allegiance to Labour Party, compared to less than a third for the Conservatives.
Despite the selection of some Party members or supporters to fill important posts, over time, the Conservatives have punched beneath their weight when it comes to public appointments. One of the reasons seems to be that Tories simply don’t apply in the same number as Labour supporters.
To help remedy this, each week we put up links to some of the main public appointments vacancies, so that qualified Conservatives can be aware of the opportunities presented.
– – – – – – – – – –
Joint Nature Conservation Committee – Chair
“Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) Framework Document provides the legal, administrative and financial framework within which the Joint Committee operates and the specific functions of the Committee and the Chair. As Chair you will be responsible to the Defra Secretary of State for the leadership, direction and effectiveness of JNCC in line with strategies and plans agreed with Defra and the Devolved Administrations. You will be the primary contact with Ministers for the Committee. You will provide visible leadership and vision for JNCC, setting strategic and operational direction, ensuring good governance and, together with the Joint Committee, holding the executive to account.”
Time: 2.5 days per week.
Remuneration: £40,059 per annum.
Closes: 03 September
– – – – – – – – – –
Environmental Standards Scotland – Chair/Members
“Environmental Standards Scotland will be established, initially, on a non-statutory basis from January 2021. It will transition to a statutory, independent body over the course of 2021. The Board will initially comprise of the Chair and two other members. Once Environmental Standards Scotland becomes established as a statutory organisation, further board appointments are expected. Members of the Board of Environmental Standards Scotland will shape how the Board performs its role, including by exercising judgement on what information to monitor; selecting environmental concerns for initial review and for detailed investigation; resolving these through agreement with public authorities, where possible; and, highlighting any significant issues to Ministers.”
Time: 8-10 days per month initially, ~4 per month thereafter.
Remuneration: £300/£200 per diem.
Closes: 03 September
– – – – – – – – – –
British Film Institute (BFI) – Chair
“This role is therefore an extraordinary opportunity for an individual who is passionate about the success of the BFI and the wider British film/screen industry, and who has a track record of board leadership, to support the next chapter of British film and the continued success of the screen sectors. The selected Board Chair will be expected to work alongside the recently appointed CEO in shaping and delivering an emerging vision for the sectors’ recovery from Covid-19, and long-term success thereafter. To do so, the selected Board Chair must have achieved leadership stature in the film industry, business, a major charitable or cultural institution, or government.”
Time: Up to two days per month.
Remuneration: Expenses.
Closes: 05 September
– – – – – – – – – –
National Lottery Community Fund – Chair of the Board
“The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is seeking to appoint an outstanding individual to be Chair of the National Lottery Community Fund. Applications are welcomed from underrepresented groups to ensure the National Lottery Community Fund reflects the diverse society it serves. The Fund is currently supporting communities across the UK to adjust to and recover from the coronavirus crisis. It is also a time when the Fund has gone through a period of investment and development, making it well placed to deliver our ambitious plans to achieve the Fund’s purpose: supporting people and communities thrive. The Fund has many of the building blocks in place to add even greater value to civil society and public life. Our contribution is as varied as it is vital.”
Time: Up to two days per week.
Remuneration: £40,000 per annum plus expenses.
Closes: 07 September
– – – – – – – – – –
Charity Commission – Board Member
“The Charity Commission has a clear purpose: to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society. To help us meet that purpose, fulfil our proud commitment to represent the public interest in charity, and meet the challenges we face, in the autumn of 2018 the Board set an ambitious five-year strategic plan… The Secretary of State for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the Rt Hon Oliver Dowden MP, wishes to appoint a Board member to the Charity Commission for England and Wales. A vacancy for a Non-Executive Director will be created when one member completes their term in October 2020. This is a senior role requiring someone with the necessary experience and non-executive skills to support the Chair in providing strategic leadership and oversight of the Charity Commission. ”
Time: Approx. 24 days per year.
Remuneration: £350 per diem plus expenses.
Closes: 13 September
– – – – – – – – – –
Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate – Chief Inspector
“Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service is supported by an inspectorate: Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI). The inspectorate provides independently assessed evidence about the operation, efficiency, and effectiveness of the public prosecutors (the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO)). The purpose of this is to provide the evidence needed to allow the public prosecutors to be held to account and to improve, thereby strengthening the public’s trust in the prosecution process. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector and the inspectorate may inspect other prosecuting authorities by invitation.”
Time: Full time.
Remuneration: £125,000 per annum.
Closes: 14 September
– – – – – – – – – –
Home Office – Forensic Science Regulator
“The Forensic Science Regulator ensures that the provision of forensic science services across the criminal justice system is subject to an appropriate regime of scientific quality standards. They are responsible for: identifying the requirement for new or improved quality standards; leading on the development of new standards; and where necessary, providing advice and guidance so that providers of forensic science services can demonstrate compliance with common standards. The successful candidate will ideally have a substantial background in operating at a senior level in a relevant field, encompassing at least one of the following: leadership in a forensic, or related, scientific discipline; the development and application of quality standards in a scientific or technical environment; the regulatory process involving scientific standards; or the criminal justice system.”
Time: 3-4 days per week.
Remuneration: £96,000 per annum FTE.
Closes: 14 September
– – – – – – – – – –
Department for Education – Children’s Commissioner for England
“The Commissioner operates as a corporation sole, sponsored by the Department for Education and is appointed by the Secretary of State for Education. The Commissioner’s primary function is promoting and protecting the rights of children in England. The legislative basis for the office of Children’s Commissioner is in Part 1 and Schedule 1 of the Children Act 2004. This establishes the independence of the office and the six year tenure of the post holder. The legislation relating to the Children’s Commissioner is permissive, allowing significant flexibility for the Commissioner to determine how best to carry out his or her primary function of promoting and protecting children’s rights. The Commissioner is not an Ombudsman and, in general, cannot conduct investigations into the case of an individual child.”
Time: Full time.
Remuneration: £120-130,000 per annum.
Closes: 18 September
– – – – – – – – – –
Innovate UK – Chair
“We are seeking an inspirational leader with extensive business experience, international standing and a proven track record to lead Innovate UK as its Executive Chair. The central priority of Innovate UK, under a new Executive Chair, will be to transition from a grant funding body to an agency focused on transforming the UK’s innovation capacity and capability, taking full advantage of its considerable growth in budget. The new Executive Chair will be expected to actively strengthen the organisation’s position within key markets, providing impactful thought leadership to the UK’s innovation system. As the pivotal funding body for business R&D, especially for start-ups and SMEs across the country, the Executive Chair will be expected to develop and implement system wide strategies for investment that promote the UK as a global leader in R&D and technologies of the future.”
Time: Full time, ‘other arrangements considered’.
Remuneration: £180,000 per annum base, up to £37,500 performance-related.
Closes: 28 September
– – – – – – – – – –
Police Advisory Board for England and Wales – Chair
“The PABEW was established as a non-departmental public body under section 46 of the Police Act 1964, now section 63 of the Police Act 1996. Under the remit of the Board, sits the Police Pensions Scheme Advisory Board and the Discipline Sub-Committee. In addition to this, the Chair has responsibility of chairing the Police Consultative Forum (PCF), a voluntary forum for employer and staff representative bodies that sits outside the statutory functions of the PABEW. We are seeking a new Chair to lead the organisation forward in a time of considerable change for policing. The Government has committed to considerable investment in the police workforce over the coming three years as part of the Police Uplift Programme which will increase officer numbers by 20,000, the biggest police recruitment drive in decades.”
Time: Approx. 21 days per annum.
Remuneration: £437 per diem, plus expenses.
Closes: 28 September
– – – – – – – – – –
Advisory Committee on Business Appointments – Members
“ACOBA provides independent advice on applications submitted under the Business Appointment Rules from former ministers, senior civil servants and other Crown servants. In doing so it advises on the conditions that should apply to new appointments or employment after individuals have left Crown service. It plays a vital role in ensuring that the Business Appointment Rules are implemented fairly, sensibly and transparently… Members will: play a full and active part in ACOBA’s work, engaging in the collective consideration of applications (usually by email); taking account of the relevant factors and information; and challenge where necessary the information or recommendations presented; support the wider aims of the Chair in relation to policy and procedure; attend and contribute to between 3 and 5 ACOBA meetings per year (in London or virtually), and occasional attendance at casework related meetings arranged where necessary; ensure the confidentiality of individual applications and associated discussions, whilst operating within the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Data Protection Act 2018; [and] agree an Annual Report.”
Time: 1-2 days per month.
Remuneration: £3,000 per annum, plus expenses.
Closes: 09 October


conservativehome--2020-09-04--Why the Germans don’t always do it better

Every so often it becomes fashionable to use the understated brilliance and modernity of Germany as a stick with which to beat Britain for holding to absurdly antiquated ways of doing things .
I did it myself a few months ago , in a piece for ConHome suggesting that when the pandemic is over , we will have to look at what the NHS can learn from Germany .
Now John Kampfner has devoted a whole book , Why The Germans Do It Better , to this theme .
It is a good title , but also a hostage to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing it better ?
Nobody knows .
And although the book , which I have not yet had the pleasure of reading , doubtless contains all sorts of prudent qualifications to the bold assertion in the title , it is bound to encourage the kind of Briton who already believes that compared to Germany , the United Kingdom is hopelessly old-fashioned and resistant to change .
I love Germany , and in the 1990s had the pleasure of living for almost six years in Berlin .
During that time , I wondered in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ modern Germany which could be read for pleasure as well as edification .
For in those days , and I fear this is still true , while educated Germans often had an almost perfect grasp of the English language , and a detailed knowledge of British society , the reverse was by no means the case .
In some well-to-do parts of German society , Anglophilia raged almost out of control .
They dispatched their children to fee-paying schools in Britain , followed by British universities .
Even their dogs seemed to come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ author is at work on a study of this phenomenon , entitled Why The British Do It Better , which can sit next to Kampfner ’ s volume on my shelf .
But the truth about Britain and Germany is more complicated than such compliments , or exercises in self-denigration , can convey .
And although it is worth identifying the things the Germans do well , it would be naive to suggest that simply by copying German methods , we can transplant their successes to British soil .
John Major said in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be “ where it belongs , at the very heart of Europe ” .
This always seemed , from a geographical point of view , an implausible goal .
Germany is at the heart of Europe , surrounded by about 20 other countries , all of them smaller than Germany .
This is an inescapable fact , and offers a powerful reason for developing some system of amicable co-operation with those neighbours , so none of them becomes worried by Germany ’ s preponderant size .
The United Kingdom is on the edge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and wider choices .
We may make a dreadful mess of those choices : the Union with Scotland is now in grave danger .
But there is not much profit in trying to deny that the choices exist .
Yet this is what Major and his successors tried to do .
They said it would be mad to adopt any policy other than being at the heart of Europe .
This accusation of madness did not prove a happy way of managing Major ’ s critics within the Conservative Party , who put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policy .
In the eyes of the kind of people who will feel themselves in instinctive agreement with Kampfner ’ s title , this protracted row was an embarrassment .
It showed how backward and barbarous some Tory MPs were .
Individual parliamentarians were held up as examples of complete madness .
None of the care and sympathy which are nowadays supposed to be extended to the mentally ill were extended to these Conservatives .
There was instead a brutal attempt to cast them and their ideas out of polite society .
Germany @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Although the German people wished by a clear majority to keep the German mark , German MPs voted on 23rd April 1998 by 575 to 35 in favour of replacing it with the euro , with no fewer than 27 of the “ no ” votes coming from the PDS , successor to the East German communist party .
Chancellor Helmut Kohl assured German MPs that the euro would make Frankfurt a “ very big financial centre ” , that Britain would be a member of the new currency within a few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ within ten years .
In the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , which I rejoiced to read each morning , learned professors of economics argued with anguished pedantry that the new currency could not work .
Their opinion was widely shared by German voters , who loved going on holiday in Italy , or at least to the local Italian restaurant , but did not think sharing a currency with the Italians was a good idea , and feared German savers and taxpayers were bound to end up subsidising the weaker members of the euro @ @ @ @ @ @ @ groundless , and kept the political class solidly behind the project .
He was a power politician of genius , who exploited the fact that the opposition Social Democrats believed more devoutly in his European policy than his own Christian Democrats did .
Nor was he above maintaining his dominance with the use of illegal bank accounts .
High ideals and low methods were yoked together , but for a long time only the former got much coverage in the German press .
Perhaps it is a good thing that Kohl succeeded : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we have not reached the end of the story .
But it is in some ways a pity that German politicians failed to have the argument among themselves which created such animosity within the Conservative Party .
German public opinion was not prepared , and the assumption took hold that one ’ s duty , as a member of the political class , is not to rock the boat , and to suppress any details which might create the wrong impression .
There wasn ’ t , in Bonn , the open parliamentary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ momentous an experiment as subsuming the national currency , proud symbol of post-war recovery , within a new , supranational currency , as yet unsupported by a new , supranational state .
Dissent was stifled : something more easily done in a system with party lists .
Many Germans saw with indignation the herd mentality that had developed among their representatives .
It has become a commonplace of commentary on foreign affairs that Germany is failing to rise to the great responsibilities which now rest on her shoulders .
Again , one may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : that being undramatic is better than being over-dramatic : that all difficult questions should be left in the calm hands of Angela Merkel , who long ago had the ruthlessness to knife Kohl .
But this preference for a quiet life has its drawbacks too .
For years , Wirecard was held up as a German success story , a rare example of a national tech champion which could beat the Americans at their own game .
German regulators declined to investigate persistent allegations of irregular accounting and the company frightened into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too good to be true .
Only a year ago , Merkel promoted Wirecard ’ s efforts to get a licence to operate in China .
The German press failed in a most lamentable fashion to expose the Wirecard scandal .
That was left to a troublesome newspaper based in London , The Financial Times , which took a courageous , principled , long-term view of the story , and wanted to tell its readers what was actually going on .
Those qualities are not only , or always , found in Germany @

Every so often it becomes fashionable to use the understated brilliance and modernity of Germany as a stick with which to beat Britain for holding to absurdly antiquated ways of doing things.
I did it myself a few months ago, in a piece for ConHome suggesting that when the pandemic is over, we will have to look at what the NHS can learn from Germany.
Now John Kampfner has devoted a whole book, Why The Germans Do It Better, to this theme. It is a good title, but also a hostage to fortune. Will the Germans go on doing it better? Nobody knows.
And although the book, which I have not yet had the pleasure of reading, doubtless contains all sorts of prudent qualifications to the bold assertion in the title, it is bound to encourage the kind of Briton who already believes that compared to Germany, the United Kingdom is hopelessly old-fashioned and resistant to change.
I love Germany, and in the 1990s had the pleasure of living for almost six years in Berlin. During that time, I wondered in vain how to write a book about modern Germany which could be read for pleasure as well as edification.
For in those days, and I fear this is still true, while educated Germans often had an almost perfect grasp of the English language, and a detailed knowledge of British society, the reverse was by no means the case.
In some well-to-do parts of German society, Anglophilia raged almost out of control. They dispatched their children to fee-paying schools in Britain, followed by British universities. Even their dogs seemed to come from Yorkshire.
I hope some German author is at work on a study of this phenomenon, entitled Why The British Do It Better, which can sit next to Kampfner’s volume on my shelf.
But the truth about Britain and Germany is more complicated than such compliments, or exercises in self-denigration, can convey. And although it is worth identifying the things the Germans do well, it would be naive to suggest that simply by copying German methods, we can transplant their successes to British soil.
John Major said in March 1991 that he wanted Britain to be “where it belongs, at the very heart of Europe”. This always seemed, from a geographical point of view, an implausible goal.
Germany is at the heart of Europe, surrounded by about 20 other countries, all of them smaller than Germany. This is an inescapable fact, and offers a powerful reason for developing some system of amicable co-operation with those neighbours, so none of them becomes worried by Germany’s preponderant size.
The United Kingdom is on the edge of Europe. We have fewer neighbours and wider choices. We may make a dreadful mess of those choices: the Union with Scotland is now in grave danger.
But there is not much profit in trying to deny that the choices exist. Yet this is what Major and his successors tried to do. They said it would be mad to adopt any policy other than being at the heart of Europe.
This accusation of madness did not prove a happy way of managing Major’s critics within the Conservative Party, who put up a dogged resistance to his European policy.
In the eyes of the kind of people who will feel themselves in instinctive agreement with Kampfner’s title, this protracted row was an embarrassment.
It showed how backward and barbarous some Tory MPs were. Individual parliamentarians were held up as examples of complete madness. None of the care and sympathy which are nowadays supposed to be extended to the mentally ill were extended to these Conservatives.
There was instead a brutal attempt to cast them and their ideas out of polite society.
Germany did not have an argument like that. Although the German people wished by a clear majority to keep the German mark, German MPs voted on 23rd April 1998 by 575 to 35 in favour of replacing it with the euro, with no fewer than 27 of the “no” votes coming from the PDS, successor to the East German communist party.
Chancellor Helmut Kohl assured German MPs that the euro would make Frankfurt a “very big financial centre”, that Britain would be a member of the new currency within a few years, and that Switzerland would join within ten years.
In the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which I rejoiced to read each morning, learned professors of economics argued with anguished pedantry that the new currency could not work. Their opinion was widely shared by German voters, who loved going on holiday in Italy, or at least to the local Italian restaurant, but did not think sharing a currency with the Italians was a good idea, and feared German savers and taxpayers were bound to end up subsidising the weaker members of the euro.
Kohl promised them their fears were groundless, and kept the political class solidly behind the project. He was a power politician of genius, who exploited the fact that the opposition Social Democrats believed more devoutly in his European policy than his own Christian Democrats did.
Nor was he above maintaining his dominance with the use of illegal bank accounts. High ideals and low methods were yoked together, but for a long time only the former got much coverage in the German press.
Perhaps it is a good thing that Kohl succeeded: it is hard to tell, for we have not reached the end of the story.
But it is in some ways a pity that German politicians failed to have the argument among themselves which created such animosity within the Conservative Party.
German public opinion was not prepared, and the assumption took hold that one’s duty, as a member of the political class, is not to rock the boat, and to suppress any details which might create the wrong impression.
There wasn’t, in Bonn, the open parliamentary debate which should have preceded so a momentous an experiment as subsuming the national currency, proud symbol of post-war recovery, within a new, supranational currency, as yet unsupported by a new, supranational state.
Dissent was stifled: something more easily done in a system with party lists. Many Germans saw with indignation the herd mentality that had developed among their representatives.
It has become a commonplace of commentary on foreign affairs that Germany is failing to rise to the great responsibilities which now rest on her shoulders.
Again, one may argue that this is a good thing: that being undramatic is better than being over-dramatic: that all difficult questions should be left in the calm hands of Angela Merkel, who long ago had the ruthlessness to knife Kohl.
But this preference for a quiet life has its drawbacks too. For years, Wirecard was held up as a German success story, a rare example of a national tech champion which could beat the Americans at their own game.
German regulators declined to investigate persistent allegations of irregular accounting and the company frightened into silence anyone who suggested its figures were too good to be true.
Only a year ago, Merkel promoted Wirecard’s efforts to get a licence to operate in China.
The German press failed in a most lamentable fashion to expose the Wirecard scandal. That was left to a troublesome newspaper based in London, The Financial Times, which took a courageous, principled, long-term view of the story, and wanted to tell its readers what was actually going on. Those qualities are not only, or always, found in Germany.


conservativehome--2020-09-04--Iain Dale: Good luck to Robbie Gibb’s prospective challenger to the BBC and Sky.  And to News UK if

Iain Dale: Good luck to Robbie Gibb’s prospective challenger to the BBC and Sky.  And to News UK if it has a go, too.

Iain Dale presents the evening show on LBC Radio and the For the Many podcast with Jacqui Smith .
On Wednesday , the German government declared that the Russian opposition leader , Alexei Navalny , had indeed be poisoned , and that the nerve agent used was Novichok .
Predictably the Kremlin denied any involvement whatsoever , thereby taking the West for fools yet again .
Novichok appears to have become the poison of choice for the Russian Government ’ s Federal Security Service ( FSB ) .
For an apparently developed country to sanction the use of chemical weapons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and tells us a lot about the ruthlessness of Valdimir Putin .
It is inconceivable that he doesn ’ t know it is going on , whether or not he gives the direct orders or not .
After Salisbury , he could have read the riot act to his former colleagues in the FSB and said : ‘ Never again ’ .
He chose not to – and the poisoning of his main political opponent is the result .
So what should the response be ?
When he was Foreign Secretary , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countries to expel more than 130 Russian diplomats .
That was fine , but it didn ’ t go far enough .
All western countries should now impose the most severe Magnitsky sanctions possible against all senior members of the FSB and every single member of the Russian cabinet , including Putin himself .
Germany will be key here .
Angela Merkel has enjoyed a better relationship with Putin than most western leaders , and Russia and Germany enjoy economic ties which Britain and Russia do not have .
For Germany to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the jolt that Putin needs if he is to re-evaluate his ‘ poison policy ’ .
Or he may respond by threatening to switch off the supply of gas to Western Europe .
If you appease people like Putin , they just laugh at you .
The time for serious action is now .
I ’ ve enjoyed reading Philip Collins in The Times over the last twelve years .
Sadly he ’ s been let go as a weekly columnist , but by most standards he ’ s had a good innings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ email which was particularly ill-judged and ungracious .
Rather than thank The Times for giving him the space to air his views over twelve years , he complained that he ’ d been let go in a thirty second conversation .
Galling , yes , but it ’ s always better to leave with your head held high , even if you think your benefactors have made a huge mistake .
Bitterness is never a good look .
All columnists , and radio presenters for that matter , know that as each hour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ever nearer .
I ’ ve been on LBC for eleven years now .
I hope when my time comes I conduct myself with due decorum , but also hope that day is a long way off !
It is rumoured that two more news channels may appear on our screens before too long .
There ’ s little doubt that there is growing dissatisfaction with the news coverage provided by Sky and the BBC , but there is a big question-mark over whether the news viewing market is big enough to sustain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ channel with a centre-right slant be able to garner enough of an audience to make it commercially viable ?
GB News ( let ’ s hope that if it gets on air it has a snappier name ) is led by Robbie Gibb and an ex-head of Sky Australia .
News UK is also rumoured to be planning something similar .
Both are at pains to say their vision does not involve becoming a UK version of Fox News .
Would conventional advertisers be flocking to advertise on a right of centre TV @ @ @ @ @ @ @ centre newspapers , so there is no reason why not , I suppose , but I suspect they will take some convincing .
Whoever the financial backers of these channels may be will need to have some very deep pockets indeed to get them through the initial few years .
Running costs will go into the tens of millions of pounds .
I wish both enterprises luck , because competition is always good , and new entrants to a market can help shake the existing channels out of their rank complacency .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Montgomerie , Donal Blaney and I started 18 Doughty Street TV in 2006 how difficult it was to build an audience .
In those days few people watched video , live or not , on their laptops .
Smartphones hadn ’ t then been invented .
In retrospect , we were ten years ahead of our time .
Such a channel would do really well nowadays , I suspect .

Iain Dale presents the evening show on LBC Radio and the For the Many podcast with Jacqui Smith.
On Wednesday, the German government declared that the Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, had indeed be poisoned, and that the nerve agent used was Novichok.
Predictably the Kremlin denied any involvement whatsoever, thereby taking the West for fools yet again. Novichok appears to have become the poison of choice for the Russian Government’s Federal Security Service (FSB). For an apparently developed country to sanction the use of chemical weapons against its own citizens is both unconscionable, and tells us a lot about the ruthlessness of Valdimir Putin.
It is inconceivable that he doesn’t know it is going on, whether or not he gives the direct orders or not. After Salisbury, he could have read the riot act to his former colleagues in the FSB and said: ‘Never again’. He chose not to – and the poisoning of his main political opponent is the result.
So what should the response be? When he was Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson did brilliantly to persuade 20 countries to expel more than 130 Russian diplomats. That was fine, but it didn’t go far enough. All western countries should now impose the most severe Magnitsky sanctions possible against all senior members of the FSB and every single member of the Russian cabinet, including Putin himself.
Germany will be key here. Angela Merkel has enjoyed a better relationship with Putin than most western leaders, and Russia and Germany enjoy economic ties which Britain and Russia do not have.
For Germany to take serious measures against the Kremlin may be the jolt that Putin needs if he is to re-evaluate his ‘poison policy’. Or he may respond by threatening to switch off the supply of gas to Western Europe. If you appease people like Putin, they just laugh at you. The time for serious action is now.
– – – – – – – – – –
I’ve enjoyed reading Philip Collins in The Times over the last twelve years. Sadly he’s been let go as a weekly columnist, but by most standards he’s had a good innings.
He fired off a parting shot email which was particularly ill-judged and ungracious. Rather than thank The Times for giving him the space to air his views over twelve years, he complained that he’d been let go in a thirty second conversation.
Galling, yes, but it’s always better to leave with your head held high, even if you think your benefactors have made a huge mistake. Bitterness is never a good look.
All columnists, and radio presenters for that matter, know that as each hour passes, their day of departure looms ever nearer. I’ve been on LBC for eleven years now. I hope when my time comes I conduct myself with due decorum, but also hope that day is a long way off!
– – – – – – – – – –
It is rumoured that two more news channels may appear on our screens before too long. There’s little doubt that there is growing dissatisfaction with the news coverage provided by Sky and the BBC, but there is a big question-mark over whether the news viewing market is big enough to sustain new entrants. And would a news channel with a centre-right slant be able to garner enough of an audience to make it commercially viable?
GB News (let’s hope that if it gets on air it has a snappier name) is led by Robbie Gibb and an ex-head of Sky Australia. News UK is also rumoured to be planning something similar.
Both are at pains to say their vision does not involve becoming a UK version of Fox News. Would conventional advertisers be flocking to advertise on a right of centre TV channel? They advertise in right of centre newspapers, so there is no reason why not, I suppose, but I suspect they will take some convincing.
Whoever the financial backers of these channels may be will need to have some very deep pockets indeed to get them through the initial few years. Running costs will go into the tens of millions of pounds. I wish both enterprises luck, because competition is always good, and new entrants to a market can help shake the existing channels out of their rank complacency.
I remember that when Stephan Shakespeare, Tim Montgomerie, Donal Blaney and I started 18 Doughty Street TV in 2006 how difficult it was to build an audience. In those days few people watched video, live or not, on their laptops. Smartphones hadn’t then been invented. In retrospect, we were ten years ahead of our time. Such a channel would do really well nowadays, I suspect.


conservativehome--2020-09-04--Jay Singh-Sohal: I’m promising our West Midlands communities a robust response to crime

Captain Jay Singh-Sohal works in Strategic Communications for M & C Saatchi and serves as a captain in the Army Reserve .
He is the Conservative candidate for West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner .
It ’ s now been over a year since I was selected as the Conservative candidate for the Police and Crime Commissioner role in the West Midlands .
While the national emergency with Covid 19 has delayed last May ’ s elections to 2021 , I feel as motivated as ever to deliver the change we need in my home region .
That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a new approach and leadership when it comes to local policing .
Labour has been in the role for the entire eight years that it has existed , and over this period we have seen a rise in the local precept as well as a rise in crime .
Ahead of lockdown , crime was already increasing with knife crime and violence of particular concern .
Meanwhile , suspects in the West Midlands are far less likely to be charged or issued with a summons than they were five years ago , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported to police resulting in a court appearance .
Currently , the West Midlands is yet to see the benefit of the extra police officers the government has funded .
We had 366 allocated for the first year , but in the nine months to June 2020 only 27 have been recruited in the region .
Why ?
Meanwhile , the threat to police stations continues with zero clarity on what will happen to those earmarked for closure this year in Aldridge , Sutton Coldfield , Solihull , Tipton , and Wednesfield .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
Priti Patel , our Home Secretary , has delivered the bold and robust measures needed to tackle crime and accompanied this with extra funding .
The West Midlands has certainly benefited with an increase of nearly £50m taking the total funding for 2020/21 to just over £620m .
It ’ s a vast amount of resources with which to set local priorities and targets that tackle rising violence , knife crime , county-lines drugs , theft , and burglary .
What it now needs is a Conservative to target these resources effectively @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Midlands is that the approach to setting the police budget to tackle crime has to change .
The current Labour incumbent is obsessed with using the powerful role to play party politics , constantly lamenting “ austerity ” cuts , shirking responsibility and favouring particular communities over others .
He ’ s even placed himself as an unofficial opposition to our successful Mayor Andy Street and got involved in issues outside of his brief .
What we need is more policing and less politics .
A fresh approach built around my key policy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increasing frontline policing meant we were winning the argument in the West Midlands , and still can .
And so as I reflect upon what has changed since a year ago , the ground appears to be fairly similar to where we were in 2019 .
Although the journey has been anything but ordinary .
When I first considered the PCC role , I , like many other approved Prospective Parliamentary Candidates , was awaiting a general election .
What convinced me to commit to the police and crime role was the opportunity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our six million residents living across twenty-eight Parliamentary constituencies in seven metropolitan boroughs .
Knocking on doors and speaking to residents I have found them ever-ready to give me a chance with their vote , because as a Conservative I put taxpayers money and duty above partisanship .
It also helps that the incumbent is retiring and Labour have selected a Momentum candidate to replace him , a man who joined a Black Lives Matter rally in Birmingham during lockdown – to bend the knee alongside those who seek to defund the police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new generation of pragmatists looking to make positive change happen .
I ’ m half the age of the current Labour PCC and representative of a third of my region that is Black And Minority Ethnic , so I bring new ideas as well as a deeper understanding of issues affecting diverse communities regionally as well as nationally .
I also draw upon more than a decade in the Armed Forces as an active Army Reservist , I see the PCC role as a continuation of my duty to serve in this way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , energy and innovation that we now require to tackle crime .
Indeed , when this year ’ s elections were cancelled back in March , I did not hesitate in voluntarily mobilising with the Army on Operation Rescript , the military response to the pandemic .
Seeing the impact Coronavirus was having from the privileged position of my special role brought home the severity of the situation as well as the knock on effect it would have on law and order .
On many occasions , I saw the challenge presented to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In some instances , I lamented that some PCCs were not being more effective by stepping forward , being more visible in their communities and helping guide their forces to deal with rule-breakers .
It ’ s become cliched to say everything ’ s changed because of Covid 19 .
But returning to the “ civilian ” fold in July and with lockdown easing , I certainly felt it .
There are heightened tensions in diverse communities over the policing of lockdown as well as tensions over alleged racial profiling .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ amount of togetherness in so many communities like mine – both the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield and the Indian community .
I take pride that many have rallied , helping and serving others during this ordeal .
But I fear for what time spent in lockdown has meant for people ’ s mental health in particular , both in terms of their wellbeing and potential knock-on effect into crime .
It is a hidden danger which we might not realise straight away , yet not a day goes by when I am @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the continuing rising crime levels in the West Midlands are manifesting .
Recently , the cross-party Youth Violence Commission reported that there could be a knife crime spike as children who ’ ve witnessed domestic violence are released from lockdown .
While we are seeing lawlessness post-lockdown , with almost a weekly occurrence of shootings in the West Midlands , police officers attacked and the elderly and vulnerable burgled in more horrendous ways .
Illegal raves are on the up , which Nicola Richards , the MP for West Bromwich East , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ West Midlands Police responded by breaking up 125 parties last weekend including one in Birmingham attended by 600 people breaking social distancing rules .
While all this goes on , there is once more a clear lack of leadership from my region ’ s Labour Police and Crime Commissioner , who offers neither a response nor a strategy nor plan for how to tackle these issues .
He is missing from the scene , anonymous to the diverse communities affected by his failed policies who need engagement and reassurance that they and their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is no doubt in my mind from the evidence I ’ ve seen that we need an increased police presence in our communities and a robust response to crimes ranging from violence to anti-social behaviour .
So as I mark a year as PCC candidate , I have reaffirmed my commitment once more to keeping police stations in Aldridge , Solihull , Sutton Coldfield , Tipton , and Wednesfield if elected .
All face closure by Labour , but I would work with local and community groups to get more out of them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police within .
It ’ s far too easy for Labour to blame the government , and sit back and watch the repercussions of rising crime unfold .
This is not leadership .
It is a dereliction of duty .
So for me , the May 2021 PCC elections can not come soon enough ; the West Midlands is crying out for change .

Captain Jay Singh-Sohal works in Strategic Communications for M&C Saatchi and serves as a captain in the Army Reserve. He is the Conservative candidate for West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.
It’s now been over a year since I was selected as the Conservative candidate for the Police and Crime Commissioner role in the West Midlands. While the national emergency with Covid 19 has delayed last May’s elections to 2021, I feel as motivated as ever to deliver the change we need in my home region.
That’s because the West Midlands is crying out for a new approach and leadership when it comes to local policing. Labour has been in the role for the entire eight years that it has existed, and over this period we have seen a rise in the local precept as well as a rise in crime.
Ahead of lockdown, crime was already increasing with knife crime and violence of particular concern. Meanwhile, suspects in the West Midlands are far less likely to be charged or issued with a summons than they were five years ago, with fewer than one in 14 crimes reported to police resulting in a court appearance.
Currently, the West Midlands is yet to see the benefit of the extra police officers the government has funded. We had 366 allocated for the first year, but in the nine months to June 2020 only 27 have been recruited in the region. Why? Meanwhile, the threat to police stations continues with zero clarity on what will happen to those earmarked for closure this year in Aldridge, Sutton Coldfield, Solihull, Tipton, and Wednesfield. All Conservative areas. What a coincidence!
Priti Patel, our Home Secretary, has delivered the bold and robust measures needed to tackle crime and accompanied this with extra funding. The West Midlands has certainly benefited with an increase of nearly £50m taking the total funding for 2020/21 to just over £620m. It’s a vast amount of resources with which to set local priorities and targets that tackle rising violence, knife crime, county-lines drugs, theft, and burglary.
What it now needs is a Conservative to target these resources effectively. The fundamental truth in the West Midlands is that the approach to setting the police budget to tackle crime has to change. The current Labour incumbent is obsessed with using the powerful role to play party politics, constantly lamenting “austerity” cuts, shirking responsibility and favouring particular communities over others. He’s even placed himself as an unofficial opposition to our successful Mayor Andy Street and got involved in issues outside of his brief.
What we need is more policing and less politics. A fresh approach built around my key policy pledges of stopping police station closures and increasing frontline policing meant we were winning the argument in the West Midlands, and still can. And so as I reflect upon what has changed since a year ago, the ground appears to be fairly similar to where we were in 2019. Although the journey has been anything but ordinary.
When I first considered the PCC role, I, like many other approved Prospective Parliamentary Candidates, was awaiting a general election. What convinced me to commit to the police and crime role was the opportunity to deliver a better public service for our six million residents living across twenty-eight Parliamentary constituencies in seven metropolitan boroughs.
Knocking on doors and speaking to residents I have found them ever-ready to give me a chance with their vote, because as a Conservative I put taxpayers money and duty above partisanship. It also helps that the incumbent is retiring and Labour have selected a Momentum candidate to replace him, a man who joined a Black Lives Matter rally in Birmingham during lockdown – to bend the knee alongside those who seek to defund the police.
I stand as one of a new generation of pragmatists looking to make positive change happen. I’m half the age of the current Labour PCC and representative of a third of my region that is Black And Minority Ethnic, so I bring new ideas as well as a deeper understanding of issues affecting diverse communities regionally as well as nationally.
I also draw upon more than a decade in the Armed Forces as an active Army Reservist, I see the PCC role as a continuation of my duty to serve in this way – providing the leadership, new thinking, energy and innovation that we now require to tackle crime.
Indeed, when this year’s elections were cancelled back in March, I did not hesitate in voluntarily mobilising with the Army on Operation Rescript, the military response to the pandemic. Seeing the impact Coronavirus was having from the privileged position of my special role brought home the severity of the situation as well as the knock on effect it would have on law and order. On many occasions, I saw the challenge presented to the government as well as local Commissioners. In some instances, I lamented that some PCCs were not being more effective by stepping forward, being more visible in their communities and helping guide their forces to deal with rule-breakers.
It’s become cliched to say everything’s changed because of Covid 19. But returning to the “civilian” fold in July and with lockdown easing, I certainly felt it. There are heightened tensions in diverse communities over the policing of lockdown as well as tensions over alleged racial profiling. But I’ve also seen a great amount of togetherness in so many communities like mine – both the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield and the Indian community. I take pride that many have rallied, helping and serving others during this ordeal.
But I fear for what time spent in lockdown has meant for people’s mental health in particular, both in terms of their wellbeing and potential knock-on effect into crime. It is a hidden danger which we might not realise straight away, yet not a day goes by when I am not concerned about the manner in which the continuing rising crime levels in the West Midlands are manifesting.
Recently, the cross-party Youth Violence Commission reported that there could be a knife crime spike as children who’ve witnessed domestic violence are released from lockdown. While we are seeing lawlessness post-lockdown, with almost a weekly occurrence of shootings in the West Midlands, police officers attacked and the elderly and vulnerable burgled in more horrendous ways. Illegal raves are on the up, which Nicola Richards, the MP for West Bromwich East, and I recently highlighted on social media. West Midlands Police responded by breaking up 125 parties last weekend including one in Birmingham attended by 600 people breaking social distancing rules.
While all this goes on, there is once more a clear lack of leadership from my region’s Labour Police and Crime Commissioner, who offers neither a response nor a strategy nor plan for how to tackle these issues. He is missing from the scene, anonymous to the diverse communities affected by his failed policies who need engagement and reassurance that they and their families will be kept safe.
There is no doubt in my mind from the evidence I’ve seen that we need an increased police presence in our communities and a robust response to crimes ranging from violence to anti-social behaviour. So as I mark a year as PCC candidate, I have reaffirmed my commitment once more to keeping police stations in Aldridge, Solihull, Sutton Coldfield, Tipton, and Wednesfield if elected. All face closure by Labour, but I would work with local and community groups to get more out of them while increasing trust and engagement with the police within.
It’s far too easy for Labour to blame the government, and sit back and watch the repercussions of rising crime unfold. This is not leadership. It is a dereliction of duty. So for me, the May 2021 PCC elections cannot come soon enough; the West Midlands is crying out for change.