A Peculiar Ritual

Emmanuel Igwe has an interesting Critic piece on the gap between the Starmer/Blob narrative on UK-EU trade and ONS data. 


Brexit was not an act of economic self-harm

Whatever you have heard, UK-EU trade is doing just fine

Some circles of the British commentariat have perfected a peculiar ritual: that of prodding through good economic news, only to declare such news as bad. A major target for such investigation is Britain’s post-Brexit data. The latest data released by the Office for National Statistics quietly refutes the established narrative that “Brexit did deep damage to our economy”, as our Prime Minister said on 1st April. I promise you, it was not an April Fool’s joke.

When measured in real terms, after Brexit total exports rose by more than 23 percent, from £735 billion in 2015 to £905 billion in 2025. Meanwhile, the fact that Britain’s trade has grown faster than GDP in the same period is an even sharper rebuttal of assertion by erstwhile Remainers that Brexit was an act of economic self-harm. These numbers are empirically robust, unarguable, and yet noticeably avoided in mainstream political discourse.

The whole piece is well worth reading as yet another indicator that Starmer/Bob has yet to get over their hatred of Brexit and those who voted for it.

Despite the growing prevalence of non-EU trade for Britain, our current Labour government continues to insist on the importance of “dynamic alignment” with various EU standards and regimes — that is, mirroring EU regulations onto British statute books whenever the EU changes them. Under dynamic alignment, Britain’s regulatory scope would be defined in offices it cannot enter and decided by parliamentarians not elected by the British people.

Canada Bids for the Rabbit Hole Record

 

Paying bureaucrats to define marmalade

Marmalade may need to be relabelled as part of post-Brexit deal

Marmalade may need to be relabelled if a post-Brexit food deal is a agreed with the European Union as part of the government’s attempt to slash red tape and reduce trade friction with the bloc.

The spread will need to be sold as “citrus marmalade” if the agreement - which would see Britain readopt EU food regulations to boost trade - goes ahead.

The name change would reportedly be required because the EU is relaxing its labelling rules to widen the legal definition of marmalade across Europe.


We're used to this of course, it's just one of an uncountable number of EU petty bureaucracy stories we've been treated to over the years.

Oh well, it's worth reminding ourselves that there are bureaucrats paid to perform excitingly vital tasks such as relaxing the legal definition of marmalade. After previous bureaucrats were paid to make it tight of course. 

Yet it would surprise nobody at all if the relaxed legal definition has to be tightened again when a marmalade scandal erupts. The Tight Marmaladians could yet win.

Relaxing the marmalade definition doesn't quite put the Artemis II project in the shade, but it seems to be closer to the kind of adventure Keir Starmer favours. I bet he's a closet Tight Marmaladian though.

Dyson on Miliband's destruction of our energy assets

Sir James Dyson accuses Rachel Reeves of 'revenge economics' with taxes on farms and delays in North Sea gas drilling damaging nation and its security

So far, Sir Keir Starmer has declined to comment publicly on the debate over expanding North Sea operations.

Sir James described this as ‘folly.’

He said: 'As President Trump likes to remind us, the US has its own energy so can survive without the Strait of Hormuz being open, while Britain, under Ed Miliband's perverse destruction of our energy assets, cannot.'

It's far worse than perverse of course, it's hopelessly deranged as the consequences have been obvious for such a long time. Evil too - that's in the Miliband mix.

The Helen Keller story doesn't add up

Below is an interesting video on why the Helen Keller story could reasonably be classed as dubious. It doesn't add up as the video title says.

Also interesting is that Wikipedia gives no real hint that there are good reasons to doubt the validity of the Helen Keller story while Grokipedia gives those doubts reasonable coverage. 

 

Something none of us believe

M&S boss issues stark warning over worsening crime

Retail director Thinus Keeve has demanded action after groups of young people wreaked havoc in south London over the past week...

He also questioned claims that crime rates are falling in the capital.

He said: "I keep hearing crime is falling, especially in London - something none of us believe, and very few people working in retail would see."

It's the problem with politically important statistics, to believe them is to invite deception. 

Sadiq Khan warns Londoners

Vote Labour or risk Farage, warns Sadiq Khan as party launches London elections campaign amid dire approval ratings

The Mayor launched Labour’s London local elections campaign in Peckham after poll showing party could lose all but two of its councils

Sadiq Khan has warned Londoners that backing smaller parties at the local elections could pave the way for Nigel Farage to become prime minister, as Labour faces a difficult set of polls.

The Mayor of London launched Labour’s local election campaign in Peckham on Thursday.

Calm down Sadiq, these are council elections, not the general election. 

He knows this of course, but once Labour strategic "thinkers" have decided to demonise someone for political advantage then that's it - they demonise away like crazy.

Fortunately Labour spin doctors stopped short of claiming a Labour vote would help keep Donald Trump out of No.10 but I bet it was a closely fought argument.