Thank heavens for those words of wisdom from a proud working-class mum. What would we do without the Allison Pearson's of this world standing up in defiance against tyranny and hate.

A customs union is limited in scope. Prospect of some additional tariff-free trade on goods (not services), tied to common external tariffs/trade policy but left negotiating for ourselves. It is not currently being offered by the EU. Dynamic alignment is where the real benefits are.

Glad Starmer is taking action. It can't come soon enough. I just hope it isn't another inquiry that drags on until it is inevitably dropped by the next government.

This story is a follow-up from our recent undercover investigation with Led By Donkeys

We posed as an advisor to a Chinese AI company. The whole thing was fake but for £5,000, Howlett introduced us to more than 10 Labour MPs and ministers.
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/breaking-o...

Starmer won't say a thing out of fear it would rupture diplomatic relations. Trump is riding roughshod over this anyway. Reneging on trade deals and NATO commitments. He doesn't care. He got his state visit. He is a narcissist, only after awards and accolades.

Sewell downplays the masculinity that characters like Reacher and Jack Ryan exude. That's not even including the men in Taylor Sheridan shows, like Landman and Yellowstone. He is deliberately trying to provoke outrage with an uniformed opinion. Maybe it's time he stop watching the Kardashians.

In EFTA, UK would be outside common fisheries/agricultural policy. UK would benefit from dynamic alignment on goods and SPS rules. Complete freedom of goods is only eliminated by joining SM and CU. This is currently only available to EU members and is not something being offered to UK at this time.

Norway was used by pro-EU lobby groups pushing a 2nd ref and rejoin. Lunde is often quoted out of context and at times had spoken positively on EFTA being good for Britain. Ex-PM, Solberg, also moved on that position. Norway did not support "Norway for Now", as it could destabilise the group.

Contrary to that, in 2018 Norway said it would be a great idea. However, they were weary of a country like UK throwing its weight around. EFTA would be good for UK if MPs can make a positive case for restoring free movement, even adopting something closer to what Switzerland has.

My parents have a lot to say about the current state of Notts County Council. I'm embarrassed for the city I grew up in that it has swung so far away from decent social values I was brought up to believe.

I'd be happy if they halved the number as a first step instead of tweaking around the edges. Removing hereditary peers and lowering the age is hardly going to make a dent.

There needs to be a concerted effort to move this to a fully elected chamber, if only for efficiency and fair representation.

Between Labour and crossbenchers I'm sure they already have the numbers to introduce substantial reform, beyond removal of life peers. I don't believe that Lords are still blocking legislation on this. In this one instance they shouldn't be allowed to.

Labour have some nerve advocating for Lords reform whilst allowing 34 peers into the chamber. It's bloated and ineffective. Second largest legislative chamber outside China and over 450 more representatives than France. 650 MPs is too many. We certainly don't need 823 unelected peers as well.

How is it a significant step? I don't hear that said about the Turkey-EU agreement. Economic benefits of a simple customs union are small and take years to build upon. What makes UK so special? We are left tied to EU trade policy and MPs get to kick free movement down the road another 10 years.