Money squandered as investment needed
ALTHOUGH I did not exist at the time, the views expressed by some current, or aspiring, politicians are reminiscent of the heads-inthe-sand European society of the “Roaring Twenties” whose mass unemployment was followed by World War Two.
As has always been the case, wars are the product of claimed superiority and rivalry for world domination.
The seeds of World War Two were sown by hardship inflicted on the German man in the street by the settlement made at the end of the First: the result was the rise of the Nazi Party. In today’s vernacular, the Nazis were populists, as indeed are those here and elsewhere in Europe railing against the EU now.
Speaking of war, what separates
most of today’s politicians from those politicians who actually served in World War Two is that they have never put their lives on the line: nor have I, thank God. I suspect that, just like Mr Trump, and his UK counterparts, today’s populists have also not experienced a war: nor for that matter did Messrs. Blair and Bush Jr., whose exploits in the Middle East set off a chain reaction of refugees from across the region to swell the numbers of immigrants from EU countries accused of taking British jobs.
It was Mr Blair and his government’s “third way” that also triggered the economic collapse that the Tories/Lib Dems tackled with the austerity that it seems the current Tory administration is going to lift with some sweeteners.
Albeit to meet the demand of a looming World War Two, the construction of RNAD Trecwn in north Pembrokeshire provided employment opportunities that my 21/22-year-old father had never previously experienced; nor had his mother’s lodger, Phil Davies.
Luckily they both survived the war, and on returning home, would eventually establish businesses that provided apprenticeships and employment opportunities for decades thereafter: as did their wives.
This was in an economy boosted on the demand side by “the depot”, “the harbour” and the “railway”: the last two serving passengers and freight moving between Cork, Waterford and Rosslare to the Great Smoke’s Paddington Station and vice-versa.
Before the demise of all these sources of employment, leaving only the Rosslare ferry and drastically reduced rail service, my generation and some later ones enjoyed a booming economy that manifested itself on Thursday’s market day and on Saturday nights. My impression is that it is no longer the case as many of the pubs and once-locally owned shops no longer exist. The cause cannot be visited on the EU, but on the lack of investment in the area by successive British governments and private enterprise on a scale big enough to regenerate the economy. It is the same lack of investment that has haunted those bigger constituencies across the UK that voted for Brexit.
Moving to the present, I believe the best trade deal is the one we have now with Europe. Apart from any other consideration, this is because I know of not one deal that has been agreed, even in principle, to replace it. This is despite Dr Fox and co faffing around the world trying to clinch them.
The Brexiteers have persuaded a lot of people that it will be all right on the night. It certainly will be for the likes of Johnson, ReesMogg and Farage, but the evidence to date shows that not to be the case for everyone. In addition to Dr Fox’s empty tray we must add in the vast sums of money wasted by the former Transport Secretary Chris Grayling in planning (if it can be called that) the transport arrangements needed to effect a smooth Brexit. This is the same Mr Grayling who was overseeing the plan to deliver Crossrail and HS2 on time and within budget. One shudders to think about how much money will have been wasted that could have been more wisely and evenly invested elsewhere in the UK: particularly in its more distanced areas like north Pembrokeshire. Derek Griffiths Cardiff