Thank you for an excellent outline of the Special Relationship. It seemed to me that the defection of Burgess, MacLean and Philby was an extremely low point in that relationship and it took quite a long time to heal the rift. Until now, I have thought of Starmer as a useless nincompoop, but his initial position on the US using British bases in order to curry favour with his party's left was utterly despicable. This was especially so when he knew full well the lasting harm it could do to the country. Trump may occasionally forgive but he does not forget. Starmer could have asked Carney, whose offense to Trump has cost Canada very dearly. That was another case of a weak, narcissistic leader putting party before country. His running the Canadian campaign against Trump won him the election, but has since seen him frozen out of all relations with the USA , and economic indicators now show the country in woeful condition. This can only get worse as Carney is maintaining his popularity by doubling down on anti Trump rhetoric. As a whole, I think politicians have an unfairly bad reputation. It is caused by people like Starmer and Carney who are beneath contempt.
It is very good, Jacob, to have the rational argument for our special relationship with America as opposed to the emotional argument which is used for less than worthy purposes by the anti-Trumpers among others! People misunderstand the term ‘special relationship’ thinking that it should mean cronyism but the best leaders abhor cronyism and expect people to do what’s right and to be able to defend their actions rationally. So many of today’s leaders, in the EU especially, look and act like children in the playground while the grown-ups like D Trump, B Johnson and V Zelenskyy do grown-up things like standing up to bullies who want to prey on neighbours and smaller countries as a show of strength!
Thank you, I agree with you about Trump, Johnson and Zelenskyy. Johnson has an excellent article in today's Daily Mail explaining how Starmer has made us irrelevant.
With good reason, I believe that Direct Democracy is more effective, more efficient and more humane than Parliamentary Democracy. The most serious problems we face are created by Parliament as it acts as a de facto dictatorship by putting its short-term interests before the long-term interests of the nation. People are very desperate. Parliament's days could be numbered. A peaceful solution is to convert to a Direct Democracy with a written Bill of Rights. My aim is inform the public so they can make an informed choice. I've tried various ways, but I have no voice unlike yourself and other influencers. If commentators like you debated this subject in public continually, then you would be performing an urgent public service.
The relationship between the UK and the United States is undoubtedly an important one. But please can we put to rest this absurd idea of the so called “special relationship.” There never has been a special relationship between the UK and the USA. The relationship between our two countries has worked best when we have a US President and a British Prime Minister who get on well at a personal level. Margaret Thatcher and Ronal Reagan did get on very well which facilitated a smooth relationship between our two countries. But even then; it never stopped the USA from invading Grenada in 1983 – a Commonwealth country to which Queen Elizabeth II was head of state. Moreover the invasion went ahead without any consultation with the British government. Where was the special relationship then? In truth, the USA only has a special relationship with one country, and that country is not the UK: it is Israel.
Thank you for an excellent outline of the Special Relationship. It seemed to me that the defection of Burgess, MacLean and Philby was an extremely low point in that relationship and it took quite a long time to heal the rift. Until now, I have thought of Starmer as a useless nincompoop, but his initial position on the US using British bases in order to curry favour with his party's left was utterly despicable. This was especially so when he knew full well the lasting harm it could do to the country. Trump may occasionally forgive but he does not forget. Starmer could have asked Carney, whose offense to Trump has cost Canada very dearly. That was another case of a weak, narcissistic leader putting party before country. His running the Canadian campaign against Trump won him the election, but has since seen him frozen out of all relations with the USA , and economic indicators now show the country in woeful condition. This can only get worse as Carney is maintaining his popularity by doubling down on anti Trump rhetoric. As a whole, I think politicians have an unfairly bad reputation. It is caused by people like Starmer and Carney who are beneath contempt.
I fear you are right, I think Starmer has permanently damaged the special relationship and made the UK look irrelevant.
It is very good, Jacob, to have the rational argument for our special relationship with America as opposed to the emotional argument which is used for less than worthy purposes by the anti-Trumpers among others! People misunderstand the term ‘special relationship’ thinking that it should mean cronyism but the best leaders abhor cronyism and expect people to do what’s right and to be able to defend their actions rationally. So many of today’s leaders, in the EU especially, look and act like children in the playground while the grown-ups like D Trump, B Johnson and V Zelenskyy do grown-up things like standing up to bullies who want to prey on neighbours and smaller countries as a show of strength!
Thank you, I agree with you about Trump, Johnson and Zelenskyy. Johnson has an excellent article in today's Daily Mail explaining how Starmer has made us irrelevant.
Thank you.
Our President loves and revels in his unpredictability. We wake up in the morning and think, "Oh golly. What now? What's he doing?"
Not everyone thinks Golly. They conjure more colorful language,
With good reason, I believe that Direct Democracy is more effective, more efficient and more humane than Parliamentary Democracy. The most serious problems we face are created by Parliament as it acts as a de facto dictatorship by putting its short-term interests before the long-term interests of the nation. People are very desperate. Parliament's days could be numbered. A peaceful solution is to convert to a Direct Democracy with a written Bill of Rights. My aim is inform the public so they can make an informed choice. I've tried various ways, but I have no voice unlike yourself and other influencers. If commentators like you debated this subject in public continually, then you would be performing an urgent public service.
The relationship between the UK and the United States is undoubtedly an important one. But please can we put to rest this absurd idea of the so called “special relationship.” There never has been a special relationship between the UK and the USA. The relationship between our two countries has worked best when we have a US President and a British Prime Minister who get on well at a personal level. Margaret Thatcher and Ronal Reagan did get on very well which facilitated a smooth relationship between our two countries. But even then; it never stopped the USA from invading Grenada in 1983 – a Commonwealth country to which Queen Elizabeth II was head of state. Moreover the invasion went ahead without any consultation with the British government. Where was the special relationship then? In truth, the USA only has a special relationship with one country, and that country is not the UK: it is Israel.
Many thanks, I think we broadly agree.