Despite the newspapers splashing with cautious optimism over the Ukraine crisis, a sombre Liz Truss made the media round this morning to rein in expectations. No “peace for our time” cheeriness, even if this does have the whiff of Munich…
Speaking on Sky News, Truss warned the situation is still incredibly delicate, and a Russian invasion is still “highly likely”:
“It’s still the case that an invasion could be imminent and it is highly likely. What we are doing is pursuing the path of deterrence and diplomacy, urging Vladimir Putin to step back from the brink. He currently has 100,000 troops stationed on the Ukrainian border. We want those troops to be moved, but, of course, we are preparing for the worst.”
Truss added she was “very worried about the situation” and warned “we could be on the brink of a war in Europe”. This despite Boris and Biden hosting a 40 minute phone call last night where both agreed there was still a chance for a diplomatic solution. The clock is ticking…
Essentially, pay up, move fast. Whereas the EU haggled about the price, moved slow and did not sign contracts. Political vanity which will cost European lives…
Despite endless rumours that Nissan planned to close its Sunderland manufacturing plant, today its chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta instead raved over the opportunities provided by the Brexit trade agreement, celebrating its potential impact on the British car industry. Telling The Telegraph:
“Brexit for Nissan is a positive. We’ll take this opportunity to redefine the auto industry in the UK. In certain conditions, our competitiveness is improved. For some of the cases, it is at par. It depends on which car, but competitiveness is definitely improved in electric vehicles.”
Gupta also claimed the agreement would protect 75,000 jobs across Britain and Europe, and allow Nissan’s Sunderland plant to double its pre-Covid capacity to meet demand. Despite Brexit, Nissan expects UK car sales to outpace Europe’s in future …
Despite leaving the EU last January, UK tech firms scored a record-breaking £11.2 billion in venture capital funding in 2020. Raising more cash from investors than the rest of Europe combined…
According to Dealroom, new investment funded the creation of seven ‘unicorn’ companies – firms worth over one billion dollars. This is more than any European country, and more than Germany and France put together. Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “The thousands of high-skilled jobs they are creating will be a crucial part of our economic recovery and the government is committed to supporting the tech sector through an unashamedly pro-tech approach.” Despite dire predictions, neither the pandemic nor Brexit scare stories are halting the UK’s tech prowess…
https://twitter.com/rosskempsell/status/1095002665061412865
TalkRADIO have unearthed footage from the Durham Miners Gala in 2010, where Jeremy Corbyn called for the European Union, among a raft of other international organisations to be ‘defeated’.
“They, the world’s bankers, International Monetary Fund, European Union, they are utterly united in what they want. Utterly united in deflation, suppressing the economy, and creating unemployment. Utterly united in that.”
“We will not be silenced by these people. We will win through. We will defeat them”
Less than six years later and he got got his wish…
H/t Ross Kempsell
Guido would like to thank the Belgians for putting our domestic political crisis into perspective. The Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel resigned last night as his government collapsed after he signed the controversial UN migration pact that his coalition partners opposed. Will they beat their 2011 record of going 589 days without an elected government?
The largest party in the coalition, the centre-right Flemish secessionist N-VA stopped supporting the Government, and after Michel attempted to stay in power with a “coalition of good will”, the opposition proposed a no confidence motion and he resigned. At least the UK still has a Government… of sorts…
