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BREXIT Bulletin
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January 4th - January 17th 2017
17 17
January 4th - January 17th 2017
Dark times THE UK will suffer a ‘decade of disruption’ thanks to Brexit, a new report has warned. The IPPR think tank has warned that a slowing economy and an ageing population will bring ma-
Think tank warns of a bleak ten year fall out following the June 23 result jor negative changes. The decision to leave the EU, it says, has delivered
a ‘profound shock’ to the UK’s political and economic order which looks
Brief By Charles Gomez
How the EU may have been holding us back
DO EU REALLY NEED IT?
M
iddle of December 2016. The Gomez annual pilgrimage to London; Harrods, the Christmas lights of Oxford Street and most importantly to me, Mass at Westminster Cathedral. The children have grown up and I am accompanied by Mrs Gomez. I lived in England for five years in the late 1970's and have been visiting the ‘Mother Country’ several times a year for the last four decades. If you want to know what freedom of movement and immigration are in practice then forget all the learned articles and burn your books; travel to London and see for yourself. There may be more cosmopolitan cities in the world but the current demographics of London (Sadiq Khan, Mayor) are a wonder to behold. In the shops and restaurants, attentive eastern Europeans prevail. The only cockney accents that I heard were in the taxis where all the drivers were united in their condemnation of Transport for London's apparently disastrous idea of criss-crossing the capital with bicycle lanes. It occurred to me that the notion that post-Brexit, hundreds of thousands of recent EU immigrants would have to go home is one of the most preposterous notions of recent times. It just ain't going to happen. London is the economic beating heart of the United Kingdom (top of the range sports cars everywhere) and it would suffer a coronary but for the legions of Slavic workers that currently keep it going. So what is my point? I have come to a conclusion that the EU is not essential in order to ensure good relations among the European family of nations. I do not believe that the EU has been responsible for keeping the peace after the Second World War. That peace was the product of exhaustion after the murderous brutality of European wars in the industrial age and the consequent rejection of jingoism. Europeans want to continue to work and live with each other regardless of the Brussels regime. Of course, the EU has assisted countries such as Spain to update their infrastructures. It has done a similar job in friendly neighbouring countries such as Morocco particularly in terms of the building of highways. However, all told one does not associate the EU with the thrusting new economic blocks such as China and India. This really is very
odd given that traditionally, Britain, France, Italy and Germany have always been at the forefront of technological innovation. By rights, therefore the EU should be beating the US, India and China hands down. Instead European economies are for the most part in the doldrums, work ethic seems to be so poor that even in the fatherland of industry and efficiency that is Germany, Chancellor Merkel trumpeted that not just a million but any number of immigrants were required to keep her country going. What does this all tell you? Does it not suggest that it may be the EU that has held Europe back? These are sobering thoughts and propositions that we need to start considering carefully as 2017 unfolds. Separations are often traumatic but in terms of the referendum it could well be that the dismantling of the EU as we know it could well be a liberation, a release of the pent-up energies of the European people and an opportunity. Of course the disentangling of 44 years of legal and political connections is going to be difficult but it is absurd to think that it cannot be done. The latest offering from ‘Project Fear’ is that Theresa May wants Britain to withdraw from the European Convention of Human Rights. Yet it should not be forgotten that the 1952 Convention was principally drafted by common law lawyers to reflect centuries old British jurisprudence. Why should withdrawal from the ECHR be such a calamity? The grey men and women of the EU will rue the day that they rejected David Cameron's proposals for reform and sent him packing. Closer to home (our home) I trust that Gibraltar, the Junta, London and the Spanish central government will be able to work out a modus vivendi that allows Gibraltar, the Campo and the Costa Del Sol not just to survive the coming changes but to make the very best of one of the most strategic and well resourced regions in Europe. History will judge politicians on all sides very harshly indeed if they are not able to make the best of the current situation. Indeed, voters across Europe are already showing dangerous signs that they have lost faith in the political class. This is their opportunity to shine.
Readers of the Olive Press are invited to discuss this or any other legal matter with Charles Gomez by emailing charles@gomezco.gi
CHARLES GOMEZ & COMPANY BARRISTERS AT LAW
likely to set the UK on a path of permanently lower growth and living standards. The country’s rapidly ageing population will only exacerbate the impact, with the number of people aged 65 and over projected to rise by over a third by the end of the next decade, placing added strains on the state. “Brexit is the firing gun on a decade of disruption,” the report said.
Struggle
“Even as what we do and how we work changes, the UK is likely to remain trapped in a low growth, low interest rate decade driven by demographic shifts, productivity trends, weak investment, weak labour power, high levels of debt, and the headwinds of a slowing global economy. “Without reform, our political and social system will struggle to build a more democratic, healthy society in the decades ahead, even as Brexit accelerates us towards a radically different institutional landscape.”
Laugh it off A JOKE about Brexit has been voted the best modern cracker joke in a competition for amateur comedians. The winning submission from Laura McDon, who received a €1,750 holiday voucher, read: How will Christmas dinner be different after Brexit? No Brussels. Critic Bruce Dessau, who headed the judging panel, said: “One thing the British will always be good at is finding the funny side to almost any situation, and it’s no surprise that Brexit featured as one of the dominant topics of this year’s jokes.”
Head in the clouds FABIAN Picardo is living ‘up in the clouds’ when it comes to his Brexit expectations, Spain’s Partido Popular has claimed. Antonio Sanz, the Spanish government’s Andalucian representative, insisted that Madrid’s co-sovereignty proposal was ‘the only realistic solution’ for the Rock to face the challenges posed by the UK’s EU departure. He said: “Mr Picardo is still living in the clouds thinking that what is impossible is possible. “We have to push ahead with the co-sovereignty proposal, which together with a development plan for the Campo de Gibraltar represents a great opportunity.” He added that Spain was committed to investing in the Campo to counteract the impact of Brexit on the area.
Leavers’ remorse SOME 4% of Leave voters regret their decision to leave the EU, a new poll has revealed. The YouGov survey asked participants what the best and worst events of 2016 were. Three per cent of people who voted for Ukip in the last general election also said the nation's Brexit decision was the worst event of the year, according to the survey of 1,649 UK adults, carried out on 11 and 12 December. Some 17% of leavers picked the election of Donald Trump while 12% cited the carnage of the Syrian civil war.
May blast
JEREMY Corbyn has compared Theresa May to an ‘autocratic’ Henry VIII while blasting her refusal to promise Parliament a vote on the final Brexit deal. The Labour leader said any attempt by May to bypass British MPs would be ‘extraordinary’, especially given that parliaments in other EU states will get to vote on the package Corbyn said: “It would have to come to Parliament. “She cannot hide behind Henry VIII and the divine rights of the power of kings on this one.” He added: “The idea that on something as major as this the Prime Minister
would use the royal prerogative to bypass Parliament is extraordinary – I don’t know where she’s coming from.” His comments came after May, while being questioned during a select committee, refused to commit herself to granting Parliament a vote on the final deal expected in 2019.
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