Fabian's Blog

The United Kindom and Europe

Tuesday 13th December 2011 9:35 PM

Much is going to be written in the months and years to come about Prime Minister Cameron's decision to veto the EU treaty designed to overcome the problems in countries using the Euro. I find it distressing that the arguments are presented in a manner similar to that describing combatants in a prize fight - Cameron battling with his Party's Eurosceptics - Sarkozy struggling with Merkel over the role of the European Central Bank - MPs and Eurosceptics demanding that there is another referendum over whether or not we stay in Europe.

Britain, Europe and indeed many economies in the world are today in a very precarious position and the issues are so complex and finely balanced that I am immediately distrustful of anyone who stands up and argues a simple point of view. Monetary crisis, our trading with Europe and the rest of the world and indeed the viability of the UK economy and government are not matters that are helped in any way by tub-thumping rhetoric.

In this political maelstrom it would be unwise to forget the reason why the European Union ideal was first created - quite simply it was to ensure peace. For up to one hundred years before the end of World War II, France and Germany had quarrelled over the minerals and resources in Alsace and Lorraine, the two regions next to a long-disputed border. Former European rulers, not least Hitler, deliberately mixed up the concepts of ethnicity and citizenship to capitalize on confused loyalties and feed political ambitions. At the end of the war in 1945 the European Union was conceived as the way to make countries tightly linked and interdependent one with another so that future conflict became not just impossible but inconceivable. Again, I am always mistrustful when I hear politicians from whatever country or political party rant on in words showing that they are ignorant of the ideals of peace.

If, as it now appears, we may find many decisions being taken by a group of European countries in our absence, not only do we risk our views being sidelined, it could feed the flames of national stereotyping and even racial prejudice in ways we cannot predict. In our attempts to protect the profits machine of the City of London and maintain it as the hub of world finance, we risk our neighbours in Europe turning elsewhere for the generation of capital and even building their own institutions to rival ours. What price then for this precious illusion of British Sovereignty? If we vent our frustration at such matters as the Working Time Directive, the Fisheries Policy or even the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights and reject them, what might this be saying about how our national character could be changing? Compassion, fairness, humanity and justice are our values and those at the heart of the European ideal. I do not want to see those eroded.

So we are in the dangerous position of conflicting views on fiscal remedies and prudence needed for today, overturning what I believe has been so carefully nurtured by Europeans working together since 1945. To those who demand we get out of Europe I would say quite simply, "Go and live and try to work for a time in somewhere like Morocco or the Ukraine, countries close to Europe but outside and show me that is better than what you enjoy today in Britain". To those who demand a referendum, I challenge them to argue in front of the employees of British Aerospace (makers of the Airbus) or the workers on the Channel Ferries, both groups amongst the many companies in the UK who understand full well just how important Europe is for our future prosperity.

I am not a historian but I am aware of how some have regarded the intransigence of George III as the reason why America severed its links with England and this changed world history, many might say to our long-term disadvantage. Has Cameron now done something equally grave? I hope not, but I am fearful.

Posted 9:35 PM | 0 Comments | Permalink

Financial Turmoil

Tuesday 29th November 2011 2:21 PM

Worrying news seems to be coming thick and fast. Unemployment is rising. The economy is not growing. We risk being sucked in to the turmoil surrounding the financial profligacy of many Eurozone countries. Prices are rising: the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed inflation at 5% last month. Thomas Cook, the travel company, has needed to refinance its operations with increased bank borrowing. The proportion of people unable to buy even the cheapest home for themselves is growing rapidly. Government borrowing is exceeding forecasts. Yet, while this is happening, tax avoidance by the rich and large companies proceeds on an alarming scale. Millions of people worry about being able to retire at some time in the future. But if ever there was a need for us to feel that our government was in control and could resolve some of these problems it is now. But what have we got? A Chancellor of the Exchequer who is a sorry spectacle, wringing his hands on the sidelines and having to consider some of the very measures that he was advised to do by Labour but so pompously rejected, claiming that the only strategy to be followed was one of slashing government expenditure to stem borrowing.

Guess what? Government strategy is not working - though it's certainly hurting. Already some Conservative MPs will be getting nervous about their prospects at next election so George Osborne is having to back away from his so-called principles and take some steps to spend money to sustain the economy and try and avoid a second recession. The Labour government used to get accused of spinning but just you wait and see what masters of the art the Tories can be as some of Osborne's supposed remedial measures get announced.

I don't want to trivialise the situation that the country faces today. Rescuing the banks, preventing dire recession, safeguarding the key structures of our country such as the NHS, and maintaining high employment meant that governments the world over needed to borrow and spend. So the money has to be paid back. It was always clear to me from the beginning that, silently behind closed doors, many true blue Tories would almost rejoice about this situation because, under cover of necessary austerity, it would allow 'their' government to do what it really believes in and that is to wind back the role, size and importance of the state. Just look at the reductions in the navy when we need more coastal and shipping protection. Staggering decisions on cutting swathes through police forces at a time when social problems are growing. Withdrawing almost completeley from a responsibility to support most students taking first degrees by effectively privatising our universities making undergraduates pay the full costs of their own education. Great headlines on axing the quangos but no considered reflection on the implications for the government work they were set up to undertake.

And the chickens are coming home to roost. Growth has been stalled for 9 months. Job cuts are being announced on a staggering scale - pity the workers at British Aerospace and Bombardier. At a personal level, people are seeking to conserve savings and entrepreneurs find there is no climate to take investment risks. The money is not moving round so quickly and it means less gets made, fewer people can work, tax revenues fall and the government finds itself in a worsening, not an improving situation.

I welcome some of the recent news like the announcement of the electrification of the railway line between Leeds and Manchester. Spending money on civil engineering projects injects activity into the economy at the base level generating jobs and much work before it vanishes out of the country in the purchase of imports. That said it will be all very well having a line to Manchester but what about the lines to Middlesborough, Hull and Scarborough which are the termini of the current Trans Pennine Trains? Will they get electrified? If not we will have a half-baked electrified network. And what about some new electric trains to run on the line? It is, I read, over 1000 days since the last large train order has been placed and our sole surviving manufacturer - Bombardier in Derby - is reeling through lack of orders. Will we end up with second hand stock like last time when the lines to Skipton and Ilkley were electrified?

I also applaud the plans to improve roads such as the M62 and M56 and the idea of encouraging pension schemes to invest directly in such projects but I wait to hear the detail as I just do not trust this government. I fear that in making some correct decisions they will blunder on elsewhere making more cuts especially in the support for the most vulnerable sections of our communities. I'll bet a pound to a penny nothing serious will be done about the many schemes that deprive the UK of billions in tax revenue. Wealthy individuals using companies to buy and sell expensive houses to avoid stamp duty or allowing UK companies to register their operations in tax havens to avoid paying higher levels of corporation tax.

What really appalled me was the positive spin George Osborne tried to put on the announcement about the sale of Northern Rock to Richard Branson's Virgin Money. Northern Rock was at the eye of the storm when the global financial crisis hit the UK. Having borrowed most of the money it was lending on the international market, it could not carry on trading when the supply dried up and so the Labour government had to step in and buy the company to protect investors' savings. Now the government will never get all this money back as the bank has been sold at a loss of between £400 Million and £650 Million. Osborne's spin overlooked the fact that the government is having to retain the bad debt part of Northern Rock's lending. This involves some £21 Billion that is owed by Northern Rock Asset Management much of which may never be repaid.

It is so frustrating to see what is happening and to be unable to do something about it. This is the sad lot of being in opposition. It is much worse of course for those who lose their jobs and businesses because we have a government drawn mostly from the monied classes who cannot comprehend what they are doing.

Posted 2:21 PM | 0 Comments | Permalink

Libya post Ghadaffi

Wednesday 7th September 2011 10:33 AM

When the United Nations authorised action to protect the citizens of Libya from being massacred by the government forces controlled by the tyrant Ghadaffi, I abstained in the Parliamentary vote. I feared for the possible level of collateral damage and the probable risk of UK forces being drawn into another civil war type of conflict. In retrospect it seems that some of my fears were unfounded and I think governments around the world have been surprised at the speed at which the revolution has occurred. Ghadaffi has been routed from Tripoli; most of the country is now under the direction of the National Transitional Council and, by all accounts, Libyans are very pleased to be in that position. Important strongholds of Ghadaffi loyalists remain and some more bloodshed appears inevitable before the situation becomes stable. I do, however, concede that the NATO air and sea support for the rebellion has undoubtedly shortened the conflict and prevented massacres of civilians by enraged Ghadaffi troops who were deprived of their heavy weapons and air power.

During this conflict it has been uplifting to see that the desire of people for freedom, just laws, democracy, educational and career opportunities and prosperity are truly universal and just not some western 'infidel' fad as tyrants like Ghadaffi would have their subjects believe. Now that Ghadaffi is no longer in power the UK must play its full part in helping Libya establish competent and impartial institutions of government and help with the rebuilding of the country. Yes, Libya is rich in oil but I would challenge cynics who might accuse NATO of only being interested in Libya because of that. Yes - the world needs to buy Libyan oil. But - the Libyan people need the profits from its sale. Before the revolution, when Ghadaffi controlled everything, the profits no doubt went straight to him to pay for his private jumbo jet with its jacuzzi and to bankroll his profligate family and hangers on. I hope he is found and captured alive. In the past, he supplied the IRA with Semtex explosives and weapons costing many UK lives. He has propped up cronies in other 'failed state' regions of Africa. He has financed terrorism around the world. His time has come to face justice and I hope it will be at the International Court at The Hague.

I also hope that events in Libya keep the Syrian leadership fearful in their beds at night. In this day and age it's hard to understand how people like Assad and his family can believe that they have an inalienable right to govern and to tyranise a whole nation and to cream off the nation's wealth for themselves. I really hope that the revolution in Syria succeeds and I also hope to see change in Iran. The universal desire for democracy, justice and prosperity reminds me that sins too are universal. The desire for wealth and power is still widespread and it is alive and well in Burma and North Korea to name but two more countries where oppression still reigns. I hope that I live long enough to see change for the better. And it may come sooner than I think! No-one predicted the Arab Spring starting in Tunisia spreading so quickly to Egypt and then to Libya. There have also been some good examples of despotic regimes seeing the writing on the wall and relinquishing power to give way to democracies - Albania, East Germany and some of the countries of the former USSR spring to mind - so maybe it could happen when we least expect, and quickly.

And long live Facebook for spreading good news and confidence among oppressed peoples. History has been made.

Posted 10:33 AM | 0 Comments | Permalink

Bankers protest about proposed reform - what staggering irresponsibility

Wednesday 7th September 2011 10:16 AM

The United Kingdom has a very large banking sector in relation to the size of the country and our economy and it makes a very significant and indispensable contribution to economy. That said our banks must always remember that when their lending went wrong our government bailed them out. Banks with their worldwide connections lent money willy-nilly to clients who were completely unable to contemplate paying them off and then sold on the debt to other banks in the form of toxic bundles of liabilities - money owed that would never be repaid. The support our government gave to the likes of RBS, HBOS, Northern Rock not only saved the UK economy from collapsing but it also saved the institutions themselves, though their directors appear to have forgotten this.

The government has proposed that banks are regulated and required to separate their high street business - looking after the accounts of individuals - from the investment sector that lends to smaller banks and companies. Out of the woodwork has come a chorus of objections from the Confederation of British Industry and the banks themselves citing all kinds of dangers and costs that will arise if the measure goes through. Methinks they do protest too loudly. I am suspicious that vested interests are at play to try and avoid banks having to behave with greater financial responsibility. The government argues that any investment bank that lends unwisely in future must understand that its own failure will be a distinct possibility but that it is determined to maintain and guarantee the money of individual depositors in retail banks and building societies. The only way to do this is for each bank to split or separate its two respective operations into two separate companies.

The banks do not like this idea. Without the knowledge that in the last resort they would be bailed out by the government in order to protect the economy and savers they will have to be more prudent and keep in the bank more money as a buffer against any losses in their investment operations. The CBI argues that this reserve they will carry will mean fewer business loans can be made. I know that most businesses need bank loans in order to carry on trading while they wait for their creditors to pay their bills. I recognise the risks of good businesses being unable to trade because they cannot borrow money to operate. However, I believe that this is a lesser evil than another banking crisis, the inevitable deep recession and the pain of the government having to borrow yet more from overseas and add to world worries on currency stability.

To the banking industry, I say, "shame on you - you have not reformed". Your grotesque salary and bonus culture has not abated. You foreclose loans to businesses prematurely, unnecessarily forcing good job-providing companies to close. You have been getting your bulk money at next to nothing from the Bank of England yet you are charging overdraft and loan interest rates that are exorbitant. You move jobs to cheaper countries overseas and make UK employees redundant. You close bank branches and inconvenience your customers. Your savings products offer lamentably low rates of interest. You have deceived customers by promoting unnecessary and highly priced protection insurance. You have ruined the opportunities for a generation of people to own their own homes. Your previous irresponsibility has threatened the whole pensions industry. You are in no position to expect the government to respond to your bleating about this reform. Bankers, get back behind your counters and start counting out your money again and if you want to make a protest, aim your fire on your friends in the Conservative Party and tell them about the important responsibility of government spending, making money move around to drive the economy forward thus creating the jobs and the productivity our country so desperately needs.

Posted 10:16 AM | 1 Comments | Permalink

Fabian’s Charity Bike Ride to Amsterdam July 14–17 2011

Thursday 28th July 2011 4:19 PM

The Dutch Ambassador, HE Pim Waldeck, saw us off by prior arrangement from the Embassy in Hyde Park Gate, London, at 9am on Thursday 14th July.

My eldest daughter, Ella and my son, Lawrence, accompanied me on the ride which was to end in Amsterdam. Our aim was to raise as much money as possible for the three charities - St Gemma's Hospice in Leeds, the Refugee Council UK and Tong Len, an Indian charity for children in Dharamsala, run by a Tibetan monk. We also hoped to have a good time as well.

The schedule was ambitious: we wanted to get to Amsterdam within four days, which meant averaging around 80 miles, or about 130km, each day. We had pre-booked our accommodation at each stage, hoping to arrive in Canterbury, 20 miles or so north east of Dover Port, on the first evening.

I hadn't really appreciated how far the South East London sprawl extended into Kent and the Medway towns. We stopped for lunch on the first day at a small place called Chalk, just outside Gravesend. This gave us the fuel for the remainder of our ride to Canterbury and we duly arrived almost on schedule at around 7.20pm. Having looked for a decent hotel at a reasonable price, we'd been rather disappointed as our ride clashed with the Golf Open championships in Sandwich, Kent. That meant almost every hotel room in East Kent was booked for that week, so our only option was Kipps Hostel in Canterbury and a shared dormitory - not the most comfortable of nights!

Our pre-booked ferry crossing from Dover to Dunkirk was at 10am the next morning, so after a rapid breakfast we set off in the July sunshine along the cycle route through some small attractive villages towards Dover. It was supposed to be about 20 miles, which we thought we could comfortably achieve in two hours, arriving a good hour before the sailing. However, we got rather lost owing to our dependence upon electronic navigation in the form of a Garmin Edge Cycle SatNav device which appeared to want to take us as far away from Dover as possible.

We missed the ferry. The ferry company, DFDS, were very helpful and simply booked us onto the next sailing at 12 noon. As it's a two hour crossing and the continent is an hour ahead of the UK, that meant we wouldn't be arriving until 3pm. Allowing half an hour to disembark and clear the port, we were going to be well behind our schedule and our hopes to get to Vlissingen in Holland by nightfall, where we had booked into a small local hotel, looked doomed. We thought that Bruges was more realistic, so we booked rooms there in the hope we could arrive in good time.

We hadn't calculated for the fact that Dunkirk port is quite a long way west of the town, so it was past 5pm before we even cleared Dunkirk to be well on our way towards Bruges. However, the going was predictably flat and as we entered Belgium, the cycle lanes improved and we were able to proceed quite quickly along the straight canal routes and in the early and late evening sunshine towards Bruges. We arrived in the stunning city past 9pm, cycling right through the centre and got to our pre-booked hotel by 9.35pm. We had travelled 87 miles under our own steam and were exhausted but delighted.

The hotel was interesting and comfortable and after a hot shower and a cool beer, we took a cab into the centre of Bruges to have a well-deserved meal. A good night's sleep prepared us for the next day, though not for the poor weather. We arrived at Breskens port, after crossing the Belgian/Dutch border just before Sluis, as the rain started. The short crossing to Vlissingen arrived at around 1pm and we stopped at the station restaurant for lunch. The rain became heavier as we set off with some trepidation to try and reach Delft before dark. Thankfully, the waterproof saddle bags on Ella's bike kept most of her clothes and possessions dry, but the covers on my rucksack and Lawrence's did eventually let in some water, so heavy was the torrential rain by mid afternoon. We got a little lost through Middelburg and decided to aim for the small town of Burgh-Hamsteed for coffee and a rest. It looked increasingly unlikely that we were going to make it to Delft that day and we considered whether we should try and catch a train in order to get to our pre-paid hotel rooms, but there was no train to be found in this part of Zeeland.

Taking a train for even part of the trip would, of course, have ruined the whole point of the project, but by 9pm, with darkness approaching, we were getting colder, wetter and desperate. We arrived on the outskirts of a small town called Ouddorp and, with the help of a rather baffled local café owner, found our way to the centre where there was a lively restaurant above which was a hotel. I trudged into the deliciously warm and packed building and went up to the bar, dripping wet and leaving a trail of water behind the puddle I had made where I was standing. The barman shook his head when I asked whether there were any rooms available and asked his wife something in Dutch. To our huge relief, two rooms were free and we were shown to them after taking our bikes to the rear car park. A warm shower and hot meal revived us and although still a bit damp, like the rest of our possessions, we climbed into bed exhausted but warm.

Getting ready to leave Delft: Fabian pictured with Ella at 3.30pm on the last day's ride as they leave the hotel they should have stayed in the night before.

Using the hair dryer to dry out clothes and shoes, we set off after a good breakfast to try and get to Amsterdam - it was Sunday morning, supposedly our last day. Thankfully, the weather was a little better - cloudy with the odd shower but some sun - and that made it far more tolerable and easier to ride. We had a lot to thank the little hotel restaurant in Ouddorp for and the excellent cycle routes in Holland made the going quite rapid. We aimed for the Rozenburg to Maaslius ferry and got to Delft by around 3pm for some late lunch.

We then had to complete the final leg of our journey - Amsterdam. Had we been better organised, we would have realised that all cycle routes to the capital city went via The Hague, or Leiden, but we hadn't brought any paper maps, so a glance at the iPhone Google maps appeared to show the most direct route was via Zoetermeer, adding an extra 15 miles or so by the time we went back to Leiden and found the actual cycle route to Amsterdam. Only 40km left (25 miles) and it was around 7.30pm - we could get there before dark.

The final straight, and well-signposted, route to Amsterdam took every remaining drop of strength, helped by a few energy drinks. We were lucky to have a tail wind for most of the way, so kept a steady pace in spite of the rain now driving in. The open flat road took us through Schiphol, right under the runway just as a jumbo jet was landing. Then left into the Amsterdam Ring Road system and a strong crosswind. Finally, as we got within 2km of Frans Meirisstraat, where our hotel was booked, the uneven paving on the cycle path punctured my front tyre - it was the first bike mishap of the journey and thankfully very close to our destination. A wrong turning on a roundabout elicited a helpful Amsterdammer on his bike offering to help us. He asked where we'd come from and when we told him "London", he asked whether it was a holiday or a charity run. We explained and he gave us 20 Euros towards our good causes - what a wonderful introduction to the citizens of this great city.

Finally, not knowing quite how we'd done it, the Hotel Washington was in front of us. We had made it - almost 320 miles, or 510 km and four days' ride from London - our goal had been achieved.

Dinner in Leidensplein, even at 11 o'clock at night, never seemed so delicious. Washed down with half a litre of local beer, a good night's sleep beckoned. Our journey was over.

Posted 4:19 PM | 0 Comments | Permalink