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Thursday 27 December 2018

Britain - Not a Bumblebee but a Hornet

Without a deal, without a Norway / Canada / EFTA / EEA framework, without subjecting the nation to the hand of trans-European bureaucracy, we are told, our nation is a Bumblebee. The world's top scientists have proven that it is quite impossible for a Bumblebee to fly; the body is too large, the wing area too small. Like the Bumblebee, we are told, the UK will be earthbound, crawling about like a beetle, unless we imprison ourselves in some version of benign State framework. 

But now right at the end of the year, other news is reaching us. The pharma industry has already sorted itself for a no-deal exit, as has the financial sector. Airlines check - now there's time to do the paperwork. Ports OK, with mothballed ports ready to re-open and existing ports upgrading capacity. Bit of a problem with cars, but hey, that's a German worry. 

Even on an individual basis, folk across Europe are sorting themselves out. Well, except for the more hysterical, who tend to be Remainers, and can't think of anything else to do but post increasingly deranged nonsense on Twitter. I've swapped my UK driving licence for an Austrian one; painless. Twelve minutes in a local office without a queue and with a real human on the counter. New one arrived two days later. So I can drive in both the UK and EU for free and without bother and without an additional document or cost. 

The other untruth we are being told is that unless the UK leaves with a formal divorce treaty, the regard in which our nation is held will plummet globally. Our rep will be dust. Britain's good name will be ruined. Total bollocks.

Just as long as we show that we've made adequate preparations to leave on 29th March and go straight to WTO terms, that the Cassandra Remainer media have little red meat to whine about, and that we make a decent fist of a complex and adverse situation, the success with which we leave may actually increase the regard in which we're held. I suspect the news now emerging is that the real Britain is now far better prepared than is the government. And not only prepared to fly like a Bumblebee, but to seek novel and rewarding opportunities across the oceans, to transform the world's fifth largest economy from a satrap State enchained to a sluggard dullard of a failed Federation into an international Hornet. 

No. The only cohort who fear leaving without a deal are the establishment; the political and mandarin elites. Their failure to secure a deal will show the world that neither are any longer fit for purpose. It will be a failure of the Central State, the failure of a grasping power-hoarding Whitehall, the failure of Big Government that sets the statutory calorie value of every fast-food hamburger and legislates to control the size of BBQ sauce portions. It will, with a shove, precipitate the sort of Localism that we desperately need, and force the root and branch reform of our failed senior civil service.

14 comments:

DeeDee99 said...

They've been lying to us about the EEC/EU for 50 years. Why should we expect them to change now? The only deal the Remainer Establishment wants (or will even try)to secure is one that protects them and their vested interests.

The lies about a "No Deal/WTO Rules" Brexit are now being destroyed by reality and the courage of ordinary Brits ... like the lies of the original Project Fear were.

jack ketch said...

Not sure the hornet- ie an oversized, overly aggressive German yellow jacketed WASP, which any sane person has destroyed as soon as they can- is such a good analogy...wasn't the yUK supposed to be full of sparkling magical unicorns after BrexSShite? At least people like and protect the humble bumble.

Mark said...

"Not sure the hornet......."

What!?

Billy Marlene said...

‘Unicorn’

The most over-worked word of 2018.

It was clever and amusing the first thousand or so times it was used. Now it is the hashtag of the sad loser.

Jack the dog said...

Excellent and timely post radders.

This is the message that we have to push with unlimited zeal for the next 90 odd days.

Bring it on.

DiscoveredJoys said...

We need a new measure, imperfect as it might be. Alongside Gross Dpmestic Product (GDP) we need a Gross Bureaucratic Overhead (GBO). Some GBO is necessary and (in the past) widely respected. But since the Common Market there have been many people added to the Bureaucracy, plus the additional EU overhead, and somehow governments and not-quite-an-empire-yet think that an increase in GBO is desirable as a means of progression towards 'ever closer union'.

Successful businesses will tell you that control of overheads is vital. I expect that many Remainers yearn to be, or are already, overheads. Which may be one reason why Remainers can propose no practical reason justifying remaining in the EU.

Dave_G said...


Ketch - the fact that the UK, far from being the swatted insect post-Brexit (vote) managed to boost productivity, investment and trade 'despite the result and establishment warnings' makes your comment look as ridiculous as it sounds.

I've always been puzzled over why there isn't a Project JOY (happiness, inclusion, benefit, etc) as a counter to those that voted to leave.

I mean, with all the obvious advantages of EU membership surely people could be convinced by actual proof that the benefits of EU membership are far, far greater than risking life, liberty and wealth on the great unknown of the 'outside world'?

When a commentator turns up on TV to enforce Project Fear, why aren't they asked the simple and obvious question "ok then, tell us what's so good about staying".

I've yet to hear ONE convincing argument. Even from Ketch.

IcyPurplepants said...

I work for a big Pharma company, we started preparing for Brexit before the referendum and were probably ready more than a year ago.

Talking to the government liason chaps (based in Washington) before Christmas, the official line is that we'd prefer to have a deal in place, but either way is fine.

In fact I was told that we Brits are making a way too big a deal of brexit as far as the rest of the world is concerned. Within our business he reckons brexit is probably 6th or 7th in order of importance in current world issues being dealt with by his team.

Long time reader, first time posting (waiting for something I could post which could be even vaguely relevant!) I do love this blog!

Anonymous said...

And that's the terrible truth in all this - that we have a construct that is self-serving and self-empowering.
A whole tier of UK society that is incapable of providing any useful purpose but that of perpetuating their precious EU.

But....this is a far from won battle; not only are we left with a population that lacks skills and education (mostly wed to the
welfare system) but the remaining tier (ahem) will be dedicated to returning the UK to Brussels control.

I would pray for the return of Grammar Schools and Technical Colleges, and I would hope that our people can step up to
the plate - government also, but I feel that I am hoping in vain.

It is an awful thing to doubt my own country and its people.

Dave_G said...


Project Fear is aimed at the wrong section of society.

It is Politicians who should be in 'fear' of what the electorate could, would, might conceivably do if their democratic wishes aren't brought about in a democratic way.

Politicians should be unable to sleep at night for fear of reprisal - I don't say this lightly or with any degree of assurance but if the establishment want to instill fear in the population then they should be able to face the same level of concerns themselves.

They are the Guardians of Democracy, not the Dictators of Decisions.

Mark The Skint Sailor said...

There has been lots of progress on the "No-Deal" scenario, unreported by the media.

There are various limited agreements in place so that the planes will continue to fly, the ports will not clog up and ex-pats will not be deported. These agreements are time-limited, but give us time for some hard negotiations to occur and a proper mutually beneficial trade agreement to be forged.

Rather than rolling over and giving everything to the EU. Again.

Stephen J said...

@Discovered Joys:

I like your thought, but would raise you to NBO, the N standing for negligible...

As Cowperthwaite, probably the most useful civil servant since the species was first engendered set out, his job was to ensure that EVERYONE had a roof over their head along with a key to the door, and to stop any other department from doing anything else.

The second job was by far the hardest, but a total tax take of 15% helped concentrate the minds.

Anonymous said...

" we have a construct that is self-serving and self-empowering."

This class is a repeat of the huge class of priests, monks, friars and nuns that our ancestors had to support when Europe was ruled by the Pope. We need another Henry VIII to do a general clearout.

They rule by moral blackmail.

Don Cox

Budgie said...

No one should be surprised that we will be able to cope outside the EU. All the problems that Remains highlight have already been solved by other nations such as New Zealand, India, Japan, Canada, etc.

As IcyPurplepants said, "I was told that we Brits are making a way too big a deal of Brexit as far as the rest of the world is concerned". True, except it is not "we Brits", it is the Remain zealots, government, and MPs, who make a fuss.

An example being Philip Hammond who said in China a year ago about Brexit: "But we're committed, as a result of the agreement we've made this week [with the EU], to creating an environment which will effectively replicate the current status quo ..." (Facts4eu website).

That is what we're up against.