Thoughts on how Brexit made and unmade Starmer, the price of Trump's Middle East surrender, Iran's not-so-revolutionary new leadership, and why the EU chickened out of a trade war
First section is almost perfect. Can’t argue with any of it apart from the thought that it all go backs to 2007/8 financial crisis. It started long before that and was confirmed by the EU referendum. democracy may be the best form of government in theory but it is being tested to destruction.
About Brexit, I have wondered for a while how the 10th anniversary of the referendum will be celebrated by its main cheerleaders. Doubtless we shall see much flag-waving later this week.
I take it back. With the exception if the Express - lots of flag-waving for its 'crusade' - the anniversary seems to have passed largely unnoticed. There is bigger news to cover, with the Starmer and the heat and perhaps most publications are glad to have the distraction.
reforming the planning system to speed up the delivery of housing and infrastructure.
I wish the new PM well. He (or she) will also need to lead far-reaching cultural change.
It will not be enough to scrap certain regulations (and in building I think we need some new ones), for example. He (or she) will also need to lead far-reaching cultural changes in attitudes.
Brexit making and unmaking him on the same anniversary is too clean to be coincidence and too structural to be irony. He won the leadership by promising to "make Brexit work." He lost the premiership because Brexit doesn't work and he'd taken the one fix off the table before he even moved in.
Every candidate replacing him inherits the same trap. The European solution to Britain's trade barriers, workforce shortages, and regulatory divergence exists and everyone in Westminster knows it. Nobody can say it because the press would eat them alive before the policy paper left the printer. So the next leader will also promise to make Brexit work, and they'll also fail, because you can't fix a structural problem when the structural cause has been declared politically unspeakable. The revolving door keeps spinning because every occupant arrives with the same constraint and leaves for the same reason.
Great third section too. Moving from theocratic society and government is positive. Defeat of USA is also good in the long run. For all its good qualities and there are many Trump has demonstrated that the US government can be controlled by a dictator.
Second section also great and the final point about transfer to renewables is spot on. All other options are either distractions or self serving. Of course nobody in their right minds will ever take Trump seriously again. Unfortunately people in their right minds do not include the sycophants who surround him.
"But as the president admitted last week, the SPR has just four weeks’ supply left at current rates."
Holy shit, wasn't aware of that. That's actually catastrophic, it takes longer than 4 weeks for tankers to cross the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf or vice versa.
I was under the impression that most of the released SPR was in effect being exported, it that the case?
First section is almost perfect. Can’t argue with any of it apart from the thought that it all go backs to 2007/8 financial crisis. It started long before that and was confirmed by the EU referendum. democracy may be the best form of government in theory but it is being tested to destruction.
About Brexit, I have wondered for a while how the 10th anniversary of the referendum will be celebrated by its main cheerleaders. Doubtless we shall see much flag-waving later this week.
But I note the headline to a Telegraph editorial comment on June 6, which, like the piece that followed, both said very little and spoke volumes: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2026/06/06/ten-years-after-brexit-its-time-to-seize-its-opportunities/
I take it back. With the exception if the Express - lots of flag-waving for its 'crusade' - the anniversary seems to have passed largely unnoticed. There is bigger news to cover, with the Starmer and the heat and perhaps most publications are glad to have the distraction.
reforming the planning system to speed up the delivery of housing and infrastructure.
I wish the new PM well. He (or she) will also need to lead far-reaching cultural change.
It will not be enough to scrap certain regulations (and in building I think we need some new ones), for example. He (or she) will also need to lead far-reaching cultural changes in attitudes.
Apologies. Posted prematurely...
Brexit making and unmaking him on the same anniversary is too clean to be coincidence and too structural to be irony. He won the leadership by promising to "make Brexit work." He lost the premiership because Brexit doesn't work and he'd taken the one fix off the table before he even moved in.
Every candidate replacing him inherits the same trap. The European solution to Britain's trade barriers, workforce shortages, and regulatory divergence exists and everyone in Westminster knows it. Nobody can say it because the press would eat them alive before the policy paper left the printer. So the next leader will also promise to make Brexit work, and they'll also fail, because you can't fix a structural problem when the structural cause has been declared politically unspeakable. The revolving door keeps spinning because every occupant arrives with the same constraint and leaves for the same reason.
Our piece on this a month ago:
https://scenarica.substack.com/p/the-revolving-door
Thank you for a brilliant synthesis of the latest UK PM brought down* by the consequences of the EU Referendum and Brexit.
* in large part.
Jaw Jaw not War War. Cliche but true. EU have cards but not enough of the right ones.
Great third section too. Moving from theocratic society and government is positive. Defeat of USA is also good in the long run. For all its good qualities and there are many Trump has demonstrated that the US government can be controlled by a dictator.
Second section also great and the final point about transfer to renewables is spot on. All other options are either distractions or self serving. Of course nobody in their right minds will ever take Trump seriously again. Unfortunately people in their right minds do not include the sycophants who surround him.
"But as the president admitted last week, the SPR has just four weeks’ supply left at current rates."
Holy shit, wasn't aware of that. That's actually catastrophic, it takes longer than 4 weeks for tankers to cross the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf or vice versa.
I was under the impression that most of the released SPR was in effect being exported, it that the case?