Policy in Practice

Many people questioned whether Britain would have any influence outside the EU. Well a week after Brexit it seems we’ve changed the complexion of a whole continent. Britain’s exit from the EU surprised many but the signs were always there, even if a Londoncentric media forgot to cover it. London and the South is a prosperous place, even if many of its workers are treading water. Yet outside the capital, globalised wealth is not the primary driver. Instead it’s the local economy and regional business. And these vital businesses are where the ‘remain’ debate should have focused, questioning whether the EU stifles a more equal distribution of investment. Instead, remain focused on the ‘leave’ argument. With immigration, racism and little England taking centre stage. Yet little England’s groan of restlessness struck a chord internationally, with other EU nations reporting discontent. And at this sensitive time for learning what is our media reporting on? The right wing agenda of co...

The Brexit debate has given me a new focus on what’s important for Britain, and I believe it’s the local and regional economy. Small and medium business (SME) employs over 50% of the UK workforce but they appear fairly hampered by EU regulation. These concerns have also been expressed by leaders of other EU nations, with one being somewhat comparable to Britain. Poland has one of the largest populations in Europe, almost 40 million. Their population increase mirrors the UK until three years ago where the UK spiked. House prices are rising every year in part fuelled by foreign investment. Supply has been constrained and demand has been stoked by Government programmes. Proportionate to population they have similar numbers of MP’s, with similar statistics of female representation. Both nations share similar GDP growth and income equality ratings. Interest rates are at historic lows in both nations and like Britain, keeping their own currency has meant responsible integration. Lik...

The scaremongering has worked; I think we might be better out.  Listening to David Cameron talk about our hopeless potential without Europe reminds me of the 1990’s when car manufacturing decimated my amazing city of Birmingham. I grew up experiencing my father lose his job countless times, manufacturing was dying in my city. When Rover finally fell in 2005, Birmingham’s unemployment levels were at breaking point and reinvigorating manufacturing was deemed impossible. (unsurprisingly the supply chain did come back, but now it's foreign owned). Watching the car industry fall in Birmingham was painful. I understood why it was happening but I've always struggled with why it needed to happen as it did, especially when tax breaks are given to large players in other West Midlands cities. I wondered why the Government couldn't bail them out? Perhaps structuring finance to involve the regions internationally recognised engineering Universities. Now renewable-energy special...

As the profile picture may suggest every now and again I like to chuck a line in the water but have always eaten my catch and generally fish from the shore. Discards have always troubled me, as has the price and availability of fish. We live on an island yet some of our more plentiful fish are treated with premium prices; this of course is in part due to the desire to eat meat but also because we are accustomed to white fish and no bones. Personally I am not, bones melt away or can be taken out with the spine, and a fork is pretty handy for taking away flesh. Fish stocks need preserving but so does our sanity in food consumption, there has to be a middle ground that allows us to support the fishing industry while staying ecologically aware. Hugh's Fish Fight doesn't do ideas, they informed me they are just campaigning on the message so I wanted to outline an idea that last year I sent to Natalia Manas-Sentis the EU Minister for Fisheries and Richard Benyon MP. Idea ...