Across the Pond by Steve Parkhurst

Week of Dec 3 – 9

Read Time:6 Minute, 12 Second

By Steve Parkhurst, Senior Editor,  USDR.

Looking at the news and opinion out of London each day. *The UK has a national leadership election on December 12*

12-9-19

Boris Johnson is on the verge of breaking Theresa May’s curse by winning a majority

The party remains firmly ahead of Labour, with days to go until the British people go to the polls.

Boris Johnson says he is ‘looking at’ reforming licence fee in impromptu attack on BBC

Boris Johnson has launched an impromptu attack on the BBC licence fee on the campaign trail, telling a voter he was “certainly looking” wholesale reform to the national broadcaster’s funding model.

12-8-19

Labour has built up a world of alternative facts – but we can see Britain is no Dickensian slum

Deep down, we can’t really imagine it happening in Britain. We tell ourselves that extremism is something that afflicts more excitable people. A PM who took the Kremlin line during the Cold War? A grimly unfunny Citizen Smith bent on expropriating private pensions, private schools and private companies? A leader who has never backed his own country in a quarrel with others? We are surely a more level-headed nation than that. Aren’t we?

It’s time for Nigel to back Boris and get us Brexit

Enoch Powell famously said that all political careers end in failure.

The Tories have stifled Boris’s jokes and survived Trump. The danger now is T’n’T — turnout and tactical voters

The moment one Tory campaign veteran concluded that Boris Johnson was ready to win came two Fridays ago when he made a speech pledging that a government under his command would “buy British” and tweak state aid rules when the UK has left the EU.

It’s time to boost the government’s puny aid for local journalism

Industry schemes have been encouraging, but understaffed newsrooms face a real crisis

Corbyn’s Brexit plan is not leadership, it’s cowardice-we must take control

In four days’ time, we have a final chance to take back control and get Brexit done. We must not let this opportunity slip.

Iain Duncan Smith is sent dead decomposing rat in post

Tory MP takes to social media to condemn ‘act of intimidation’

12-7-19

Tony Blair tells voters it may not be best to vote Labour in every constituency

Tony Blair has told voters it may not be best to vote Labour in every constituency as he begs them to “choose wisely” to stop Brexit.

The Tories must use victory as a chance to make the fresh case for freedom

This being my last column before the election I will reiterate the prediction I made all those weeks ago (or maybe it was months ago – I’ve lost track of time), and state baldly that the Conservatives will win with a comfortable majority. That expectation was, back then, a political assessment of public opinion. Now it is a moral imperative. The idea that large numbers of British voters could contemplate the possibility of an anti-Semitic prime minister is simply insupportable.

12-6-19

Has Boris Johnson changed his campaign strategy?

Stump speeches and battle bus stop-offs are a staple of political campaigning.

Sturgeon’s disastrous Scottish record is a foretaste of life under Corbyn

Scotland provides the perfect example of the errors of a centralising tax-and-spend agenda

How to boost rehabilitation and prevent another London Bridge

Too many deradicalisation schemes are unfortunately open to offenders “duping” counsellors

Channel 4 Smears Boris with False Quote

Channel 4 have been caught out smearing Boris – by mis-captioning his speech from yesterday and replacing the word ‘talent’ for ‘colour’. Is it any wonder the Tories are waging war with the propagandists…

Trade deals – again

Labour, Lib Dems and Greens continue with their mantra – EU trade deal good, US trade deal bad. It is so silly. We trade successfully with the USA, China and others today without the benefit of a specific Free Trade deal. Were we to be able to negotiate a Free Trade Deal with countries like them we would be able to improve a bit on the current strong trade flows by cutting tariffs and removing some other barriers.

Save lives by tackling extremism at its source

Put simply, as with other forms of violent crime, it’s far more effective to tackle the problem at its root by diverting those vulnerable to malign influences before they act, rather than trying to reform and contain them once they have.

12-5-19

PM makes his pitch as election day gets close

He’s ending the campaign by trying to appeal to wavering voters by promising to return to a centrist, One Nation agenda — building on a Conservative manifesto which, were it not for Brexit, would see his party rooted firmly in the mainstream of politics.

Lack of trust stifles debate

Listening to the interviews on the main media is a frustrating experience. The interviewers assume all politicians are telling fibs, so they keep asking the same questions over and over again. The politicians expecting to be on trial usually play safe and stick to a few sound bites their party wants to get across.

12-4-19

Winter may be coming for the Conservatives in London

We have reached that time in the general election timetable when waves of anxiety sweep through campaign headquarters. It always happens, but it’s easy to see why this time all parties are worried. The Liberals are going backwards, Labour is hurting in its heartlands, and the Conservatives are petrified Labour is closing the gap and may yet deny them a majority.

Labour’s nonsense about the cost of the state

Less than the cost of a Spotify subscription. Less than Netflix charges you every month. True, you might not be able to get the latest Taylor Swift remix or episodes of Stranger Thingsbut the Labour Party is trying to reach out to the streaming generation with the claim that the state costs you less than either your music or TV fix.

Brussels or Washington? Brexit means we must decide whose side we’re on

The Nato summit has underlined a problem both Johnson and Corbyn deny – the cost in power and influence of leaving the EU

12-3-19

How might a big Boris victory change Britain?

If Boris Johnson wins a clear majority on 12 December, it could mark a big turning point in British history.

The Tories are spending much less than Labour online – for a good reason

What the Tories have learned from Vote Leave about effective online messaging

Will Madrid just offer more hot air on climate change?

With the opening of yet another summit on climate change, the warnings about the impact of global warming are becoming increasingly apocalyptic. The word “emergency” is now associated with policies designed to arrest the rise in temperatures, with the implication that unless more is done soon it will be too late.

Free Exchange: Raoul Ruparel on how to negotiate a Brexit deal (PODCAST)

Getting a trade deal with the EU in 11 months is going to be a historic challenge

– – – – – –

Across The Pond is edited daily by Steve Parkhurst. Steve is a political consultant, a baseball beat writer, a writer at his blog as well as a Senior Editor here at US Daily Review. Follow Steve on Twitter  @SteveParkhurst

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