Interim Venezuelan president Delcy Rodriguez has passed a new law opening the country’s oil production to privatisation. For the first time in nearly 30 years…
The US eased sanctions at the same time. American firms can now sell, buy, refine, and transport crude. Sanctions on production persist for now. So ends the PDVSA nightmare…
Venezuelan oil is of poor quality and the sector has been decimated to such an extent that it will take a huge amount of investment to get it back on its feet. Expansive new legislation is intended to wrestle control of the sector from the state and allow for independent legal dispute arbitration – so the courts can’t expropriate assets again. Rubio added this week that China will still be able to buy Venezuelan oil – but only at market prices…
Rubio added that he wants opposition leader María Corina Machado to be part of a transition process and run for elections eventually. The long road to liberal democracy…
IEA Director-General Lord Frost joins Adam Cherry on the Guido Fawkes Show to discuss why the right needs to win the ‘battle of ideas’, why he thinks the Tories are no longer a national force in British politics, and whether he’d join Reform UK. Watch the full video on YouTube now…
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Starmer was asked in China if he would support a US strike on Iran:
“The goal or the aim here is that Iran shouldn’t be able to develop nuclear weapons and that is hugely important and, of course, we need to deal with the fact they are repressing protesters, killing protesters, it is grotesque what is happening so that is where our focus is and we are working with allies to that end.”
Asked if that meant yes, he said: “I am saying we support the goal and we are talking to allies about how we get to that goal.” Coy, typical…
Entries in the comments…
Starmer has confirmed that Beijing has lifted sanctions on British lawmakers. China had imposed sanctions on four MPs and two peers in 2021 who had criticised Beijing over human rights…
Starmer told Times Radio:
“The question of our parliamentarians has been a huge issue back in our Parliament and therefore I did raise it. And the response has been that the restrictions no longer apply. And President Xi said to me ‘what that means is that all parliamentarians are free to travel to China.’ It underscores the point that I’ve been making all along, which is that it’s only by coming and engaging and having a leader to leader discussion that high can both take the opportunities – which have been really material in this visit – but also raise the sensitive issues. Some of my critics say ‘no, you’re better off at home, sticking your head in the sand and talking to no one’. That doesn’t resolve anything. We’ve made real progress on this visit.”
It was reported in June that this could happen. At the time, sanctioned MP Iain Duncan Smith told Guido it was “an offering from China” to Labour to grease the wheels for their mega-embassy at Royal Mint Court. Signed off now…
UPDATE: The sanctioned parliamentarians have issued a statement. Read it below:
Continue reading “Starmer: Beijing Has Lifted Sanctions on British MPs and Peers”
Here is the ‘substantial’ material agreed during Starmer’s trip to China:
- Visa free travel for UK citizens. Value: £0. Also brings UK in line with more than 50 other countries including France, Germany etc.
- Scotch whisky tariff reduction. Value: £250 million over five years.
- Feasibility study for a possible trade in services agreement. Value: £0
- Co-operation on organised crime. Value: £0
- Strengthening the UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission. Value: £0. It’s one of those fake padding announcements…
- Agreements to co-operate on standards. Value: £0. Just promises so far…
- Easing rules for exports to China. Value: N.A.
So the whisky deal was the only costed announcement. Basically Starmer will return from China holding the world’s smallest goldfish in a Safeways bag…
The India trade deal by the government’s estimation will boost trade by £25.5 billion per year. So Starmer’s trip has managed to secure 0.2% of the stated value of that deal this time round…
There could be more last-minute announcements to come – were there anything really big Downing Street would have partially briefed it already in a panic because hacks are dumping on Starmer’s give-everything-and-get-nothing trip. Even Reeves managed to get a pitiful £600 million when she travelled to China in January last year. Maybe the Chancellor should have been put on the trip after all…
In return the Chinese got a palatial spy hub. What else did Starmer give away…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”
