“The Financial Jigsaw” has been serialised here and now is replaced by this weekly “Letter from Great Britain.”
NOTE – If anyone would like an electronic copy of the complete book, I should be pleased to email a free PDF on request to: [email protected]. Also a hardcopy of the book, “The Financial Jigsaw” is available priced at £25 GBP plus P&P in A4, workbook format, bound with clear plastic covers, printed locally on demand.
* COVID CHRISTMAS EDITION *
Happy Christmas to all; which I trust will go better with you than with us on this side of the pond. Christmas in UK was effectively cancelled last Saturday afternoon when Boris suddenly announced yet another ‘U’-turn removing the 5 days allowed to mix over the holidays. Now, only Christmas day is allowed for some of us which has caused all sorts of chaos as people’s travel plans will change with lots of food, presents and supplies held in limbo, in the wrong location, and going begging.
However, it is not only this blow impacting Britain because Boris has also declared London and the South East in lockdown to tier 4 (extreme lockdown) immediately meaning all shops to close over their busiest trading period – you can’t make this up. This is all blamed on a new mutation of Covid running wild in the area and which government says is out-of-control. And later in the week more areas were added to the higher tiers, wrecking Christmas even further for millions of Brits with effect from Boxing Day (the day after Christmas).
“I think, though, that many will suspect that the real reason for abolishing Christmas in a vast area of England may have something to do with the difficulties that current censorship is having in suppressing the increasingly large body of pandemic sceptics. What else could the Lord Protector do to keep us safe?” https://off-guardian.org/2020/12/21/the-lord-protector-abolishes-christmas/
“It means people in a swathe of the south-east and east England and London will not be able to mix with other households at all over Christmas. A stay-at-home message will be enshrined in law, and non-essential shops, as well as indoor leisure and entertainment venues, will close. The measures will be reviewed in two weeks, and significant policing is being planned for New Year’s Eve.
Across the rest of the country, plans for five-day Christmas bubbles of up to three households have been dramatically scaled back. The rules will now only cover Christmas day in England, with Johnson urging all gatherings to be kept short and small.
Speaking from No 10 on Saturday night, the prime minster said that without action “infections would soar, hospitals would become overwhelmed and many thousands more would lose their lives”. He added: “Yes, Christmas this year will be different, very different. We’re sacrificing the chance to see loved ones so we have a better chance of protecting their lives, so we can see them at future Christmases.”
Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, urged anyone who was packing a bag ready to leave tier 4: “Please unpack it”. He said the rate of hospital admissions in areas where the variant was prominent was increasing quickly, with tier 3 measures unable to curb the rise in cases. He said anyone travelling despite his advice was creating “a significant risk” of spreading the new strain.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/19/johnson-u-turn-leaves-nations-plans-for-christmas-in-tatters
In UK we are being bombarded by edicts that our politicians are ‘following the science’. The purpose of ‘following the science’ in every field is best captured in the immortal words of Ben Franklin: to be “healthy, wealthy, and wise.” But to be frank, not everyone shares these goals or wants this kind of world, for it is a world that only reason, science, liberty, and capitalism can deliver; as Alfred Pennington once observed: “Some men just want to watch the world burn.”
Today’s most vocal admonishers condone political-bureaucratic micromanaging and controls; they seem to love shaming innocent people into obeying draconian, life-stifling edicts; if millions must sacrifice and suffer, so what? Most religions (secular and otherwise) say that this signifies “virtue.” Covid-19 bullies use science language to shield themselves from criticism and cloak their nefarious designs; they seem to sense that most people still respect science (not despotism).
Sadly, in 2020 we have not seen policymakers (or advisors) ‘follow the science’ of economics. Lockdowns have been accompanied by a widespread violation of property and commercial rights, including the right to own, open and operate businesses, the right to work and exchange, to shop in person, to travel or congregate, to enjoy public entertainments.
Licenses to do business – which already abridge rights per se – have been routinely revoked as a means of punishing and criminalizing the recalcitrant (those who wish to keep working for a living). There is no scientific evidence whatsoever that mandatory business closures materially mitigates Covid-19 lethality; but there is ample evidence that closures erode liberty, prosperity, solvency, and sanity. The science of economics is clear: the production of money and debt is not equivalent to the production of real wealth. To claim otherwise is to follow fantasy, not reality – nor science.
On the bright side, we may be thankful that some people still appeal to science instead of faith, revelation, or fantasy. But how many are genuine? The art of deception is practiced by control freaks, charlatans, and group-thinkers who wish to impose their will for “the good of society.” “You never want a crisis to go to waste,” meaning “an opportunity to do things that you could not do before.” In short, reckless policies which would be rejected in normal, reasonable times are more easily adopted amid phobias and chaotic times – when fear and mere surmise replace reason and science. Welcome to 2021.
BUT Covid is not the only crisis we are facing over the holiday period in Britain. With this new virus mutant, bringing its own version of transport and supplies disruption, many EU countries have banned all travel to UK including goods. It’s going to be a time of shortages all round as we pass into the New Year with no relief for months at best.
“France’s decision to block lorries arriving from the UK for 48 hours in response to the emergence of a new strain of Covid-19 will have a “devastating effect” on the supply of food and other consumer goods to Britain, industry representatives have warned. The French government said on Sunday that all passenger and human-handled freight transport from the UK to France would be suspended for 48 hours from 11pm GMT. Eurotunnel said access to its Folkestone terminal would be suspended for passenger and freight traffic from 11pm, adding: “Customers with bookings after this time are advised NOT to travel to the terminal as they will not be able to cross to France. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/20/frances-covid-freight-ban-to-have-devastating-effect-on-uk-sector
In response to the travel disruptions, Boris Johnson, chaired a ‘Cobra’ meeting last Monday to address “the steady flow of freight into and out of the UK”, a number 10 spokesperson said, amid expected significant disruption at ports in the south-east. The European Union is to hold a similar crisis meeting to coordinate its response to concerns about a fast-spreading new strain of Covid-19 after countries across the continent banned UK flight arrivals.
The UK transport secretary, Grant Shapps, warned of “significant disruption” following the snap travel ban that came into force last Sunday night. As a result of the announcement from Paris, Kent police implemented Operation Stack, where lorries will queue between junctions eight and 11 of the M20, southbound, to avoid gridlock on the county’s roads.
Britain’s retailers continue to suffer amid the hospitality meltdown. Now the current disruption to the supply lines is making matters even worse. Research by the insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor found that 39,232 retailers – both online and bricks and mortar operations – were experiencing severe financial problems in the three months to 9 December. This was up 11% on the previous three months and 24% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Julie Palmer, a partner at Begbies Traynor, said the retail sector had been shaken to its foundations and she expected more chains to follow Arcadia Group and Debenhams into administration. “Without doubt this has been one of the toughest years ever experienced in the retail sector,” she said. The research found that while the worst of the problems have focused on the high street, almost 11,500 online-only retailers were also facing financial difficulties.
Palmer said: “While many industries have been hit hard, retail, which was already suffering a crisis of confidence, has been shaken to its foundations. High-profile administrations such as Arcadia Group and Debenhams not only threaten thousands of jobs, they also raise questions over the future of the high street as we know it, and I expect there to be more as we enter the new year.”
Pubs, restaurants and other hospitality businesses are also struggling to keep going through the rolling coronavirus lockdowns. The research found that more than 7,500 such businesses were in significant distress, a rise of 34% on this time last year and up 20% on the previous quarter of 2020. “The hospitality sector has been brought to its knees by the Covid-19 restrictions, with many operators either having to shut or completely change their business models to suit differing tier-based restrictions,” Palmer said. “The Christmas and new year period is a crucial revenue driver for these businesses, which is why we’re seeing such significant increases in the numbers in distress this year.
Now that UK has left the EU, I will comment on relevant EU – UK events as they arise:
On Tuesday evening France lifted its ban on UK travel but subject to Covid tests. In Britain we have an expression: “if it doesn’t rain, it pours” and this is a good example of it. Brexit is now confused with the coronavirus – anything is possible now – and many drivers will tragically miss Christmas with their families.
“A mass Covid-19 testing programme for lorry drivers is to get under way to relieve congestion at British ports following an agreement to reopen the border between France and the UK. The Department for Transport made the announcement late on Tuesday; hours after Paris said passengers from Britain could enter France following a 48-hour blockade, aimed at stopping the spread of a new coronavirus variant that left thousands of HGVs stranded outside UK ports before Christmas.
Under the new French measures, which will remain in place at least until 6 January unless reviewed following bilateral UK-France or EU-wide talks, negative tests have to be presented before boarding a train, plane or ferry in the UK, with no possibility to test on arrival. The agreement also followed a recommendation on Tuesday from the European commission that all 27 member states should discontinue bans on flights and trains from the UK and reopen freight routes to “ensure essential supply chains continue to function”, including for Covid vaccines.”
BUT, among all the chaos, Boris finally announced on Thursday that we have a Brexit Deal at last. This is a long and complicated document but here are the main points for those who might be interested: “The Brexit trade and security deal, finalised on Christmas Eve, runs to 2,000 pages, including annexes. It will enter into force once approved by both sides. The devil of what has been agreed will be in the detail – and will be pored over in the days to come:” https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/dec/24/from-tariffs-to-visas-heres-whats-in-the-brexit-deal
Could this chaotic, French initiated, border closure have been an opportune time for the EU to press for a conclusion of Brexit on their terms? If so, it seems to have worked.
To be continued next week.
Thanks for the update… am sending a package to my friend in Ireland. Hopefully, they are safe and secure.