Brexit’s no small deal
He's no stranger to a fib or two, but Boris Johnson’s biggest lie of all may be pretending that crashing out of the EU without a deal wouldn’t be catastrophic.
Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers pointed out the obvious when he said that a “desperate” Brexit Britain would be taken for a ride by Donald “America First” Trump when it comes to a trade arrangement.
We will have nothing to leverage, and we are weaker alone than as part of the EU bloc of 28.
So Johnson can suck up to Trump all he wants, but it won’t be worth a dime.
The US President has his eyes on lucrative private contracts with the NHS, in exchange for which we’ll be force-fed chlorinated chicken.
It would be disastrous to leave without a deal, and it is dishonest of Tory ideologues like Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to pretend that they raised the idea before the 2016 vote.
Three years ago, Johnson was driving home the shameful side-of-a-bus lie that leaving the EU would win back £350million a week for the NHS.
Now the same man, as PM, is threatening to ignore Parliament’s wishes so he can crash Britain out of Europe without a deal.
For Brexit to work, for Britain to thrive, for democracy to flourish, we need an agreement.
Pension plots
Pension scammers are a callous, unscrupulous bunch, cheating ordinary grafters of their hard-earned nest eggs.
The smooth-talking crooks are taking advantage of their victims’ trusting nature, and they need to feel the full force of the law.
If you receive a cold call, hang up.
If you get an unsolicited letter, throw it out.
Or, better still, ring the regulator or the police.
If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
The lucky lads
Lottery winner Dean Weymes will share his good fortune with his severely autistic brother, whose welfare is now assured.
But his generosity underlines the need for us as a society to take better care of every vulnerable person, instead of leaving it to luck.
