Posts

Will #British #food and #farming die at #Russia's hand or the #Commonwealth's after #Brexit?

There are only two "benefits" from Brexit that might be concrete rather than flag waving vapourware about "sovereignty" without power. One is changing the source of unskilled immigrants from Eastern Europe back to the Commonwealth which will be addressed in another blog. The other benefit might be cheap food. After two major wars where political survival depended on convoys of food crossing the ocean, British farmers have been heavily subsidised. The Common Agricultural Policy of the EU replaced earlier forms of subsidy and now the average UK subsidy is about the same as the average UK farm's net income (link at bottom). Senior Leavers from the Tories and UKIP have promised to maintain these subsidies (so much for £350m to the NHS anyway). However, there two other forms of protection for farmers. Tariffs and regulations. Tariffs are far more significant. There are tariffs against imported food to protect EU farmers from low cost foreign products. Althoug

Why not the #Commonwealth?

Surely the obvious choice for the UK's international partnerships should be countries of the British Commonwealth. Some are settled by British people with as near identical ties of culture and law as can be imagined. Many others have inherited legal and business practices and the English language from the days of Empire. Commonwealth countries more or less by definition, have more positive than negative attitudes to the UK. Only the French have something similar. The Spanish, Portugese and Dutch have no such thing. The Russian experience to try to create something similar through various measures has had very partial success. The British Empire was largely about trade, not conquest and tribute. Most conflict took place as a struggle for power between local elites when the British were withdrawing. We have fought and died together in the same causes. Until 1968, we had total freedom of movement for Commonwealth citizens. There are ties of shared blood sacrifice between Britain

Major #inventions in #Wales that built the modern world

This is a work in progress. There will be additions and alterations. What is this list about? English historians usually do not write the histories of the other members of the UK as if they were separate entities and, a few nods to Scotland aside, the progress they make is ignored. One field that suffers is the role of Wales in the industrial revolution and beyond. Wales took perhaps the earliest part in the industrial revolution. The physical evidence of prior prosperity is there to see for example, in the big medieval ironworks in South Wales built by Cistercian monks. The copper industry was already active on an industrial by the 17th C both around Swansea Bay and in North Wales. In the late 18th C the iron industry exploded upon the world especially around Merthyr Tydfil. The world's first passenger railway and steam locomotive were from Wales as was the precision engineering to make the steam engines. This early activity led to invention and innovation of world significance.

Peace or why I voted #Remain.

When serving my apprenticeship, I was the Young Liberal representative on the Keep Rugby in Europe campaign in 1975 for the first European referendum. We discussed every issue discussed in 2016 except for immigration, then seen as a Commonwealth issue. Although the formal vote was about trade, Peace was a significant part of the discussion. so was the end of the nation state. It is material to note that the generations that actually fought in the two World Wars helped to provide a 2:1 majority for Europe. They were largely gone in 2016. So, it is not true to claim that 1975 was about a trade deal. It is one of the many lies promoted by the UKIP Leavers in particular. The end of the nation state was discussed at serious length. Enoch Powell himself was gracious enough to acknowledge the point as the results came in. (Link at end). UKIP campaigners lied directly about the content of the 1975 referendum campaign saying that it was exclusively about the Common Market. For many voters I m

The #Queen on #Europe. What the Mail and Express won't tell you.

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In 2015, before the date for the referendum was set and the campaign began, HM Queen Elizabeth II, made a speech in Germany unifying the subjects of this blog. Europe, Russia and indeed Wales and industrial history. I am not particularly a Monarchist (except that the alternatives seem worse) but the speech is definitely worthy of attention for its subject matter Link at end). In the speech, Her Majesty makes strong statements in favour of European unity without mentioning specific institutions such as the EU, as is customary but her discussion of unity following war is plain. It is also very noteworthy that she discusses not just the UK and Germany, the countries involved in the state visit but also the Russian borderlands, in particular Konigsberg and Donetsk. Places which have not benefited from the unity and peace created by the EU. She points out the Welsh involvement in setting up the Donbass as well as claiming Immanuel Kant as a Scot. Significantly, the Crimea was not menti