Adversity brings out the peculiarities of the British character. There is often a traditional response that we “mustn’t grumble”. There is even an old song from the Cockney rhymesters, Chas and Dave:
“Well I had an old uncle – was mean as can be
He said – ‘When I die you'll get nothin' from me.’
Mustn't grumble, mustn't grumble…”
The Brexit deal triumphantly announced by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is at least better than nothing but – outside Mr Johnson's supporters in some British newspapers – the sense is not of victory but merely relief. Mustn't grumble. A thin deal is better than no deal and an agreement which is much less beneficial to the British economy than existing agreements with the EU is the price for achieving what Brexit campaigners say is British "sovereignty".
In this bleak midwinter there is no sense of national jubilation or celebration, which is perhaps just as well. In another tradition, British celebrations organised by governments have often been fairly cheerless. The Victorian prime minister Lord Salisbury commented sourly on the state opening of the British parliament in 1860. He said: “Some nations have a gift for ceremonial… In England the case is exactly the reverse… some malignant spell broods over our most solemn ceremonials and inserts into them some feature which makes them all ridiculous… something always breaks down, somebody contrives to escape doing his part.”
After four and a half years of Brexit negotiations the "malignant spell" on proposed celebrations remains. There was an ill-fated plan to ring out the bells of Big Ben when the UK formally left the EU in January. Unfortunately Big Ben could not bong. It was silenced for repairs. Then there was a suggestion that church bells all over England should ring out. The church authorities said no, we don't do political bell-ringing. Then there were plans for a "Festival of Brexit". Britain's creative communities didn't much like that idea. And so it has been renamed, rebranded and repurposed into something different, sometime in the future. Besides, before you celebrate Brexit, you have to be clear what it is. And despite those years of rancorous discussions, the "it" of Brexit still remains hazy. Britain is definitely out of the EU, but – as Spain's foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya pointed out – a trade agreement is a symbol not of independence but interdependence.
Despite all the supposedly regained “sovereignty”, the Johnson deal links the UK to the EU in a massive new bureaucratic framework. The key British minister involved in Brexit planning, Michael Gove, claims that Britain now has a new “special relationship” with the EU, an echo of the UK’s supposed “special relationship” with the US. But the British-American “special relationship” these days might be “special” in London, but it will be much less “special” in US President Joe Biden’s Washington.
Meanwhile the new UK-EU deal is vast and complex – 1200 pages long. British MPs have until Wednesday to read and understand its dense trade and legal jargon then vote to accept it. It is difficult to see how such haste can allow MPs any real understanding of what they will agree.
Something similar happened in Washington in the 1990s. Hillary Clinton tried to reform the US healthcare system and produced an astounding document which ran to 13,000 pages. The Republican leader, Senator Bob Dole, told me a plan of such complexity was dead on arrival in Congress. I told him I doubted he had read all 13,000 pages.
“Read it?” Dole laughed. “I couldn’t even pick it up.”
If the battle with the EU is paused, the battle for another Union, the union of the United Kingdom itself, is about to begin
What we do know is that the 1200 page UK-EU deal breaks Mr Johnson’s earlier promises. In the 2016 Brexit campaign he insisted British people would retain their rights to travel, work, study and settle within the EU and the UK would remain part of the single market and customs union. None of that is in the deal.
Moreover, if the battle with the EU is paused, the battle for another Union, the union of the United Kingdom itself, is about to begin. The Brexit co-ordinator Mr Gove congratulated those who made the EU trade deal possible by saying that the British people had now “taken back control.”
Being in the EU meant “laws were made by people they hadn’t elected, rules were made by institutions they couldn’t change, power was exercised without accountability”. Ironically exactly the same argument is now being made for Scottish independence.
In May 2021 Scots will vote for a new parliament in Edinburgh and polls suggest the Scottish National Party will do well. Most Scots want to remain in the EU, and many now wonder whether a Conservative government they did not elect, a prime minister many dislike, in a Westminster system they cannot change, can truly represent their interests. Large numbers of Scottish voters want to “take back control” from Mr Johnson and Westminster by supporting independence. To misquote Winston Churchill in 1940, the battle for Europe has ended. The battle for Britain has just begun. Still, mustn’t grumble, eh?
Gavin Esler is a broadcaster and UK columnist for The National
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Series info
Test series schedule 1st Test, Abu Dhabi: Sri Lanka won by 21 runs; 2nd Test, Dubai: Play starts at 2pm, Friday-Tuesday
ODI series schedule 1st ODI, Dubai: October 13; 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 16; 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 18; 4th ODI, Sharjah: October 20; 5th ODI, Sharjah: October 23
T20 series schedule 1st T20, Abu Dhabi: October 26; 2nd T20, Abu Dhabi: October 27; 3rd T20, Lahore: October 29
Tickets Available at www.q-tickets.com
Stat Fourteen Fourteen of the past 15 Test matches in the UAE have been decided on the final day. Both of the previous two Tests at Dubai International Stadium have been settled in the last session. Pakistan won with less than an hour to go against West Indies last year. Against England in 2015, there were just three balls left.
Key battle - Azhar Ali v Rangana Herath Herath may not quite be as flash as Muttiah Muralitharan, his former spin-twin who ended his career by taking his 800th wicket with his final delivery in Tests. He still has a decent sense of an ending, though. He won the Abu Dhabi match for his side with 11 wickets, the last of which was his 400th in Tests. It was not the first time he has owned Pakistan, either. A quarter of all his Test victims have been Pakistani. If Pakistan are going to avoid a first ever series defeat in the UAE, Azhar, their senior batsman, needs to stand up and show the way to blunt Herath.
Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Essentials
The flights
Etihad (etihad.ae) and flydubai (flydubai.com) fly direct to Baku three times a week from Dh1,250 return, including taxes.
The stay
A seven-night “Fundamental Detox” programme at the Chenot Palace (chenotpalace.com/en) costs from €3,000 (Dh13,197) per person, including taxes, accommodation, 3 medical consultations, 2 nutritional consultations, a detox diet, a body composition analysis, a bio-energetic check-up, four Chenot bio-energetic treatments, six Chenot energetic massages, six hydro-aromatherapy treatments, six phyto-mud treatments, six hydro-jet treatments and access to the gym, indoor pool, sauna and steam room. Additional tests and treatments cost extra.
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Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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RESULTS
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Results
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Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
