A Miscellany Lemme tell you a story (or how Remain blew it) My colleague, Paul Ryder, has written two blistering pieces about the Great Tory betrayal over the Referendum. (https://westenglandbylines.co.uk/the-great-brexit-hijack-the-great-conservative-party-betrayal/). Lemme tell you a story. Those of us who stood on the street before June 2016, with our banners and leaflets, constantly heard the ‘what […]
If we can’t agree by [15 October], then I do not see that there will be a free trade agreement between us, and we should both accept that and move on,’– Boris Johnson, 7 September 2020. “Opportunties” outside the EU? ‘There are huge opportunities for a sovereign independent UK to cut free trade deals very […]
Dear Social Liberals, Thank you to all of you who have been kind and accepting. I thought you should know that a few of you are not. There is a beleaguered minority in the UK that feels it is coming under increasing attack. And the malign source is not just from bigots on the political […]
New Bond film postponed! Cinemas closing! ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ re-make cancelled! But, good news! The staff here at Spoof News have been secretly collaborating with a Westminster Film Club to review a re-make of ‘The Green Mile’ film, in which a condemned inmate, walks to his demise followed by the incessant chants […]
Since last Sunday I have had my eyes glued to this very screen in which I am now endeavouring to write this piece. Whilst physically I have crossed from the West of England to the East and am back within the brick walls of my university accommodation, most of my classes languish on the virtual […]
A socially-distanced public protest organized by Oxford for Europe took place at the BMW Mini Plant, Cowley on Thursday 8th October 2020. Key city figures back protest calling for deal to save Cowley. Key figures in Oxford’s community, academia, local government, Labour and business have welcomed UNITE’s new campaign for a Brexit deal. Several major […]
“For thousands more years the mighty ships tore across the empty wastes of space and finally dived screaming on to the first planet they came across – which happened to be the Earth – where due to a terrible miscalculation of scale the entire battle fleet was accidentally swallowed by a small dog.”Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide […]
By late August, despite all the difficulties in the summer, little seemed to have changed. The negotiations were stuck and it was widely acknowledged that top level political intervention would be necessary in the Autumn to kick-start the process. Well, the UK Internal Market Bill has certainly been a top level political intervention. Introduced in […]
Part Two – Referendum Lies Ed: After Paul’s popular review of the saga of the EU Referendum Leave Campaign, he lists the lies that sustained it. Here is some of what, informally, I remember from the Leave campaign during the Referendum: ‘£350 million every week for the NHS’ (Cummings, Johnson etc.). Clearly untrue from the […]
The Cartoon Times has obtained exclusive access to a childhood picture of our leader Boris. Has this spoilt baby turned into the politician who only cares for himself and flouts all the rules going. Will he learn that in the real world rules must be followed and leaders must set an example. Let’s hope our […]
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (Ed: Only for Star Wars fans) Once upon a time, a long time ago, it was quite possible to respect some or most of the government or opposition regardless of how you voted. You could imagine having a chat, a coffee, a beer. You’d probably […]
Ed: We have reproduced this letter from 1st October in full and added our own cartoon to illustrate some of the issues. Dear [Ms Smyth} We are a group of south Bristol parents whose children are at university in different locations across the country (Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bournemouth, Belfast, Glasgow, London, with friends at many […]
The Cartoon Times takes an exclusive look at an article by Sarah Whine, the Daily Wail’s top journalist, in which she reported back from her recent, exclusive interview with Michael Gove. Of her no-punches-pulled interview, Sarah said, ‘I had to track Govey down to his own home to get this interview’. According to Sarah, ‘Michael […]
The Annual Representative Meeting (ARM) of the British Medical Association was held online on 15th September. One of the motions selected by participants was the following: Motion by South Central Regional Council: That this meeting is concerned that a further peak of COVID-19 infection may occur at the same time as the Brexit transition period […]
Could the UK and EU still agree to extend the Brexit transition period? Perhaps.In desperate situations, all escape routes are a least worth checking. It might be helpful if experts gave these options a closer look. During the months between the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and 30 June 2020 there was a period of […]
To protect the quality of our food, the Lords have voted for a crucial amendment to the Agriculture Bill to enshrine in law the principle that food imports should meet domestic standards. This is strongly supported by the National Farmers Union (NFU) and by the British Veterinary Association (BVA). See Food Manufacture 24 September 2020. […]
Part One – How it all happened The United Kingdom has left the European Union, after around five decades. On December 31 2020 we will be at the end of the Transition Period. All our existing national mutual arrangements, treaties and deals with the EU on all matters will end. Unless there is a Deal. […]
Last week, I learned that one-third of British musicians could quit the music industry due to a lack of support during this coronavirus crisis. Some 2,000 members of the Musicians’ Union were recently surveyed on the issue in the UK. According to the results of the report, 34% of respondents are considering giving up their professional careers […]
Dr Monica Horten, a policy analyst specialising in Internet governance & European policy, has recently published a damning article on the procurement of a share in the OneWeb satellite system. We quote this in full from her www.iptegrity.com site. Last week, the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee called in satellite industry experts to […]
The Government’s track record on “Track and Trace” gives us no grounds for believing that “Operation Moonshot” will be any different. “Track and Trace” The following letter on “Track and Trace” has been sent to many local newspapers, including several in Wiltshire as well as the regional papers, Western Daily Press and Western Morning Press. […]
Starmer’s near silence on Brexit is not all bad news for pro-Europeans. Events will soon force him to say more. The full text of the short section devoted to Europe and Brexit in Keir Starmer’s speech yesterday to the virtual Labour Party conference is as follows: “The grown-up way to deal with Brexit is to […]
How can a government expect the people to follow the rules when the prime minister, MPs and Dominic Cummings are seen to openly flout them? Johnson and his supporters have a long track record. They have undermined the judicial system and the judges. They have lied to the Queen about the proroguing of parliament. Now […]
First up – Rugby … The Cock Up Times in a special rugby feature includes an interview with loose forward, Cunning Cummings. In the interview he reveals how he likes to pretend to play on the blindside and is happy to work round any law that doesn’t suit him He thinks being offside is a […]
During the First and Second World Wars, we had Governments of National Unity to guide us through those awful times and rise to the challenges of those dreadful crises. By and large, these governments worked successfully. We are now faced in this country with four major crises which together are of comparable severity and difficulty, […]
Ireland. So often a question and rarely the answer. Back in the mists of time, maybe 2018, Theresa May’s government was mired in the “Irish Backstop”. It’s difficult to remember it now, so much has happened since. Whichever way she turned, her road was blocked. I don’t need to rehearse the old arguments that eventually […]
The look on Johnson’s face, as he is being told some home truths by Ed Milliband in the debate, says it all. “Dear Vote Leave activists: don’t worry about the so-called ‘permanent’ commitments this historically abysmal Cabinet are trying to make on our behalf. They are not ‘permanent’ and a serious government – one not […]
In decarbonisation lessons, one of the first thing you learn is a simple rule: with respect to greenhouse gas emissions coal is worse than oil, which is worse than gas. As a result, policy makers have consciously encouraged switching to lower emitting fossil fuels. This is low-hanging fruit: greenhouse gas emissions reduce without the cost […]
A London based individual, Mr PM Bumble, has reported experiencing considerable reliability issues with the car that he has been driving since December. Mr Bumble complained, ‘I had only been in charge of driving since July last year but took procession of this new car in December confident that it had over eighty improvements on […]
In addition to the disorderly handling of Covid-19, the UK is experiencing the worst economic crisis since the 1970s. With job opportunities dwindling, an increasing number of graduates and skilled workers tell me they are considering leaving the country. The phenomenon is made worse by the consequences of Brexit. The outcome has prompted tens of […]
