When I woke up on the morning of Friday the 24th June 2016 the exchange rate for the Pound against the Euro was £1 for €1.305, by the 30th June 2016 it was €1.209 and by 7th July it fell further to €1. 171 a drop of 10.26% in a fortnight. It now stands at €1.166 after seven years. In November of 2015, eight years ago it had reached €1.4407 per pound. The strength of the currency was such that one could travel into the eurozone and have 20% greater purchasing power than in the UK. It climbed back up to €1.21 in March of 2022 for a brief period but has now dropped again. It was almost at parity in March of 2020 at €1.06. In any event it is clear that the last seven years have hardly been a great success.
I don’t know just what currency exchange rates indicate about economies generally, but when travelling abroad it gave one a certain confidence that one could afford that little bit extra. A nicer hotel, an extra bottle of wine at supper, any number of little treats that make travel much more pleasant. On top of it all, once on the continent one could travel from the tip of Spain to the borders of Belarus, nearly 2500 miles, without the need to show a passport or suffer a customs inspection. You had the freedom to roam about virtually the whole of Europe. Indeed, just over seven years ago a certain Ms Liz Truss stated:
"I don't want my daughters to grow up in a world where they need a visa or permit to work in Europe, or where they are hampered from growing a business because of extortionate call costs and barriers to trade. Every parent wants their children to grow up in a healthy environment with clean water, fresh air and thriving natural wonders. Being part of the EU helps protect these precious resources and spaces."
Just what happened to change her thinking is anybody’s guess, but whatever it was, it must have been something akin to a stroke, given what her eventual premiership led to. On top of this, we recently had the new Prime Minster telling the citizens of Northern Ireland that they have the best of both worlds, almost unfettered access to both Europe and the United Kingdom. How good is that?
The current polls on the relationship with the EU in the United Kingdom are mixed. A rapprochement is most definitely a favoured view, although there are still a number of diehards who cling to a very faded belief that the United Kingdom can go it alone. Perhaps it was that very confidence that one felt in those years of 2015/2016 when the pound was riding high, that gave them the illusion that all was right with the UK and its economic clout, and so they voted to leave. That clout was only possible so long as it remained part of the European Community. It had one at the best seats at the table and could have used that to much greater effect. It whined and moaned about not getting its way on certain matters, gave up on grown-up proper negotiations and diplomacy and arrogantly left the room. Instead of walking out through the front door into the sunlight, it took the wrong door and ended up in the toilet.
I know there are world-wide issues that have greatly affected the United Kingdom as a whole. The war in the Ukraine and the Covid Pandemic. The resulting economic problems have caused severe anxieties across the globe; yet in the United Kingdom, those problems have been exacerbated by the withdrawal from the European Union. It is clear that the eastern European conflict and the pandemic must be resolved on a global basis. In addition, people are being displaced across the world. It is only by coming together that further catastrophe can be avoided or at least made less painful.
Everything that has happened in the last three years has indicated the need for international cooperation; yet, rather than make the effort, the entrenchment of isolationism and self-serving populism is on the rise. Any form of protest is being legislated out of existence through scaremongering bigotry and executive orders by politicians who are without scruple of any kind. How the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom can tolerate Suella Braverman is beyond comprehension. How he can stand in front of people claiming he is delivering for the people of the country by halving inflation, improving the National Health Service, and tackling immigration, is a mystery. It is all words without conviction. The only thing his repeated rhetoric is doing, is disguising the continuing oppressive legislation that is turning this country into an Orwellian nightmare. The Organisation LIBERTY has launched legal action against the Home Secretary for overriding Parliament on protest powers. I would have thought that is where the Labour Party should concentrate its effort.
The Liberty website is worth a look:
Why are we still having this problem?
Elsewhere problems are hotting up for Mr Putin and Mr Trump. Dissension in the ranks and potential mutiny in Russia and early and speedy trial motions for Trump, which may force him to trial in early December. His interview on Fox news with Brett Baier is also causing him some difficulty:
This is an interview with commentary put out by Midas Touch on YouTube:
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