The 'B' Word
This week, Labour leader Keir Starmer doubled down on distancing himself from renegotiating Boris Johnson’s thin Brexit deal. He stated that renegotiating the deal would “lead to years more wrangling, years more uncertainty”, ruling out any free movement and single market options, even though the most recent November 2022 poll from YouGov shows 56% said Brexit was wrong, while only 32% said it was right. In other words, in just over six years there has been a decrease of 14% in the proportion of people who support Brexit.
Another YouGov Poll conducted on November 29-30 found that the Tories were down three points compared to a poll conducted on November 22-23, with Reform UK appearing to be benefitting from the fall in support for the Tories and Labour, increasing their share of the vote to 9% (on par with the LibDems), up by four points.
Prime Minister Sunak is therefore facing a challenge and is likely to react to secure the backing of all right-of-centre Conservative voters as he tries to reel in Labour and a surging Reform UK, leaving many centrist, one-nation Tories politically homeless.
True & Fair’s policy would be to use the existing framework in the Withdrawal Agreement and Trade & Co-operation Agreement to mitigate the damage Brexit is doing to almost all sectors of British society. A detailed analysis of our position will be published in the New Year. But rebuilding trust with the EU is clearly a necessary first step, and one that the current PM is struggling with, given his party’s capitulation to its Europhobic minority, and its pathological opposition to the seeking of any common ground with the EU, even where it clearly benefits the UK.
Out & About
Last Friday, the True & Fair Team spent the day campaigning with June Davies, our candidate for Monmouth. We listened to local dairy farmers on the difficulties of competing with large farming concerns in the modern market, leafletted Monmouth town centre, met with campaigners for cleaning up the Usk and Wye rivers, and debated with local candidates and stakeholders of competitor parties.
Message from Gina Miller on Farming After Her Visit to Monmouth with Candidate June Davies:
The Conservatives promised to support farmers through Brexit, but it is clear they have failed. Mark Tufnell, the President of the Country Land & Business Association, told the group’s annual meeting that in 12 years of Conservative government, he cannot see how farming policy has improved. “In some cases, it is worse,” he said, as Environment Secretary Therese Coffey looked on dispassionately.
I saw the harsh conditions faced by farmers for myself when visiting with June Davies, our True & Fair Party parliamentary candidate in Monmouth. We spoke to a small family dairy farmer, who told us they fully support seasonal farming and food sustainability, which presents great opportunities to revitalise UK farming. But without tax breaks or incentives to support farmers in making the responsible transition to new sustainable practices, this shift becomes close to impossible.
In essence, under current conditions farming simply does not pay for many small and medium-size farmers. For example, if a farmer wants to put up a £100k shed for pig bed & breakfasting – which is profitable and helps other farmers, they must pay first and then claim later. The current financial farming model does not work. The next generation of farmers, often from families who have tilled the soil for generations, are leaving the life they love due to financial uncertainty.
Things could get even worse, as delays to the already disastrous Environmental Land Management Scheme continue to leave farmers in the dark about what tax they will be required to pay on their land.
Farming urgently needs a plan that addresses all the issues faced by the sector. It’s not just about the widely reported lack of fruit and vegetable pickers. There is also a shortage of engineers, blacksmiths and other farming skills. Farmers are tired of being overlooked. Our rural communities should be treated with the dignity they deserve against the backdrop of Britain needing a sustainable food strategy and to work in partnership with farmers to safeguard our planet.
In June Davies, farmers and voters in Monmouth have a candidate who will fight for their livelihoods, for a level playing field, and to protect the land and the rivers that are vital to life. https://www.trueandfairparty.uk/june-davies
Gina Miller meets students at the UCL
On Monday 28 November, Gina was invited to speak at a University College London event organised many months ago. The timing was a bit unfortunate, clashing with the England vs Wales World Cup match but we were pleasantly surprised that nearly 70 history, politics and law students still turned up – and that we finished in time to catch the second-half goals scored by Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden.
Politics rarely trumps football, but it was encouraging that so many young people wanted to talk about the challenges facing our democracy, that mainstream politicians are neglecting them and their concerns for the future. They were demanding a politics built on opportunity rather than cronyism, honesty not obfuscation, and compassion not consumerism.
A repeated comment was that our body politic does not care about them – understandable! That they are a generation burdened with debt, priced out of the housing market, and entering the workforce in the midst of the digital and technology revolution and at a time when the UK has never been more isolated, and so pitied on the world stage.
Their enthusiasm for Gina, True & Fair and our policy agenda was not just encouraging but emphasised to us the importance of our work.
Candidate Event – York Outer, Monday 5th December
On Monday, our candidate for York Outer, Dr Daniel Roy Connelly will be participating in Huntingdon School's annual Question Time alongside Julian Sturdy, the local Conservative MP, and the local Labour and Green party candidates. Look out for coverage of the event next week.
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Dominic Raab should be suspended whilst the inquiry into his behaviour is conducted
True & Fair is taking a stand against the Deputy PM, Dominic Raab who is facing fresh bullying complaints from senior civil servants across the different government departments he headed up.
Our petition is calling for:
- Mr Raab to be suspended whilst the inquiry is conducted to protect people working with him.
- The terms of reference for the inquiry must be extended to cover all allegations and use of his private email for government business.
- Assurance from the PM that taxpayers' money is not used to pay for this inquiry, requested by Mr Raab himself, especially as it appears Mr Sunak knew about the complaints before appointing Raab to the cabinet, and as Deputy Prime Minister.
Many Thanks,