NPR

Simian wrote: ↑Thu Dec 28, 2023 11:27 am Tory policy rarely makes much sense (to me, anyhoo), especially over the last few years. But I find the trumpeting of this by them particularly perplexing. Like, I find it hard to believe even their most anti-EU / xenophobic / die hard supporters will care even slightly about this move. Are they now totally out of touch even with those sorts? It’s just dead weird.

Huge surge in demand for British wine after global consumers discover it is finally available by the pint

In an entirely unforeseen Brexit bonanza, the demand for British wine has skyrocketed thanks to the fact it is now available in pint-sized bottles.

The Department for Business and Trade said the new slightly-smaller bottles will be available to British consumers now that the nation is free from the bureaucracy of the EU, which previously prevented them from offering domestic wine in slightly smaller sizes that no one asked for.

The move has led to a huge rise in demand from British wines from wine connoisseurs around the world.

Simon Williams, a wine collector from New Zealand, told us, “I’ve always wanted to try British wine, but I was put off by the fact it was only available in a standard 750ml bottle. I mean, that’s just a bit too much British wine.

“But now that Brexit allows them to make their wine available in a 568ml bottle – otherwise known as a ‘pint’ – I can’t wait to my get lips around a glass of England’s finest wine.”

Meanwhile, French wine manufacturers have reacted with abject horror after learning that their wines may no longer be the preferred tipple around the world, thanks to the innovative Brits exploiting their post-Brexit feedoms.

As one vineyard owner in the Burgundy region of France told us, “Those of us working in the wine industry have spent our entire careers believing that our success in wine production was down to the quality of our product, which is obviously down to our grapes, our geographic location, and our own processes which were refined over decades.
“To learn that we could have been a world-leading wine producer all this time, simply by putting it in a very slightly smaller bottle is a huge disappointment.”

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Thu Dec 28, 2023 1:15 pm

Huge surge in demand for British wine after global consumers discover it is finally available by the pint

In an entirely unforeseen Brexit bonanza, the demand for British wine has skyrocketed thanks to the fact it is now available in pint-sized bottles.

The Department for Business and Trade said the new slightly-smaller bottles will be available to British consumers now that the nation is free from the bureaucracy of the EU, which previously prevented them from offering domestic wine in slightly smaller sizes that no one asked for.

The move has led to a huge rise in demand from British wines from wine connoisseurs around the world.

Simon Williams, a wine collector from New Zealand, told us, “I’ve always wanted to try British wine, but I was put off by the fact it was only available in a standard 750ml bottle. I mean, that’s just a bit too much British wine.

“But now that Brexit allows them to make their wine available in a 568ml bottle – otherwise known as a ‘pint’ – I can’t wait to my get lips around a glass of England’s finest wine.”

Meanwhile, French wine manufacturers have reacted with abject horror after learning that their wines may no longer be the preferred tipple around the world, thanks to the innovative Brits exploiting their post-Brexit feedoms.

As one vineyard owner in the Burgundy region of France told us, “Those of us working in the wine industry have spent our entire careers believing that our success in wine production was down to the quality of our product, which is obviously down to our grapes, our geographic location, and our own processes which were refined over decades.
“To learn that we could have been a world-leading wine producer all this time, simply by putting it in a very slightly smaller bottle is a huge disappointment.”

https://newsthump.com/2023/12/27/huge-s ... -the-pint/

UK manufacturing sector shrinks for 17th month in a row


Output, new orders and employment in the industry all fell last month, according to a closely-watched survey.

The slump in the UK's manufacturing industry continued last month with output, new orders and employment all falling, according to a closely-watched survey.

Business optimism in the sector also slid to a 12-month low in December, amid client closures and high interest rates, S&P Global/CIPS UK found.

The firms' reported that their manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) weakened to 46.2 in December - the 17th month in a row that it has been below a score of 50, which is the threshold for growth.

The figure is also a decline on a slight improvement in November, when the index hit a seven-month high score of 47.2.

...

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Wed Jan 03, 2024 10:39 pm Brexit is going well !

UK manufacturing sector shrinks for 17th month in a row


Output, new orders and employment in the industry all fell last month, according to a closely-watched survey.

The slump in the UK's manufacturing industry continued last month with output, new orders and employment all falling, according to a closely-watched survey.

Business optimism in the sector also slid to a 12-month low in December, amid client closures and high interest rates, S&P Global/CIPS UK found.

The firms' reported that their manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) weakened to 46.2 in December - the 17th month in a row that it has been below a score of 50, which is the threshold for growth.

The figure is also a decline on a slight improvement in November, when the index hit a seven-month high score of 47.2.

...

https://news.sky.com/story/uk-manufactu ... w-13040868

It's almost as if leaving a massive union full of wealthy Countries, to try, & fail to replace them with individual, much poorer Countries is a really, really, shit idea ?

But then again Patrick Minford did say that Brexit meant, "running down", UK Industry, Farming, etc, etc.....

dpedin wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 11:12 am

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Wed Jan 03, 2024 10:39 pm Brexit is going well !

UK manufacturing sector shrinks for 17th month in a row


Output, new orders and employment in the industry all fell last month, according to a closely-watched survey.

The slump in the UK's manufacturing industry continued last month with output, new orders and employment all falling, according to a closely-watched survey.

Business optimism in the sector also slid to a 12-month low in December, amid client closures and high interest rates, S&P Global/CIPS UK found.

The firms' reported that their manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) weakened to 46.2 in December - the 17th month in a row that it has been below a score of 50, which is the threshold for growth.

The figure is also a decline on a slight improvement in November, when the index hit a seven-month high score of 47.2.

...

https://news.sky.com/story/uk-manufactu ... w-13040868

It's almost as if leaving a massive union full of wealthy Countries, to try, & fail to replace them with individual, much poorer Countries is a really, really, shit idea ?

But then again Patrick Minford did say that Brexit meant, "running down", UK Industry, Farming, etc, etc.....

Only going to get worse too - stock up on your Manchego cheese!

https://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/ ... port-rules

Biffer wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 3:50 pm
Also olive oil. You might have noticed it being more expensive and put it down to general inflation and the effect of the war in Ukraine on cooking oil in general, but the olive harvest substantially failed across most of the Mediterranean this year, so it's only going to get more and more expensive for the next 8 months or so. The import rules will only add to it further.

The Indo wrote: Bad news for anyone who believed the Conservatives had got Brexit done.

At the end of the month – in just nine days’ time, in fact – a brand new phase comes into effect. It will surprise next to no one that the UK is unprepared for it, or the impact it will have on our lives.

From 31 January, four years to the day after we left the European Union, imports of fresh food, plant and animal products from the EU will require health certification, for the first time in decades.

The UK imports nearly half of its fresh vegetables and the majority of its fruit, both mainly from the EU. The Tories have so far delayed the start of these import checks five times for the inevitable impact they will have on livelihoods. They know it will hinder deliveries and drive up prices – and during a cost of living crisis.

If the need for everything from French wine and Irish beef to Belgian potatoes and even Dutch daffodil bulbs arriving in the UK to have the correct paperwork isn’t unwelcome enough – and it is estimated the new checks will cost businesses some £330m to administer – we can expect a further ratcheting-up of red tape in April, when physical inspections of imported goods at the UK border will begin.

Things are already more than bad enough. The new border checks on fresh fruit and veg couldn’t have come at a worse time for the nation’s failing health. In the two years since Rishi Sunak became prime minister, tens of thousands in the UK have been diagnosed with Dickensian diseases such as rickets and scurvy, both of which are linked to malnutrition.

Last month, international children’s charity Unicef said the UK has the worst child poverty among rich countries. Industry bodies such as the Fresh Produce Consortium, the British Retail Consortium and the Food and Drink Federation have all said that new checks will add costs and delays to UK food supplies. So how do you think that will affect those kids?

...

Sandstorm wrote: ↑Mon Jan 22, 2024 10:00 pm Turnips, guys. Delicious British turnips.

I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection.

I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricasee, or a ragoust.

UK halts trade negotiations with Canada over hormones in beef ban

The UK has stopped its trade talks with Canada, after nearly two years on a post-Brexit agreement, following a row over beef and cheese.

Trade between the two countries currently takes place under the terms of a deal the UK rolled over from its time as an EU member.

A time-limited agreement allowed the UK to continue to sell cars and cheese without high import taxes.

But talks about extending these as part of a new deal have now broken down.

It marks the first time the UK has formally suspended talks with a trade partner since formally leaving the EU trading regime in 2021.

It will also mean the UK's trading terms with Canada will now be worse than when it was part of the EU's deal with the country.

Canada's government had been facing political pressure from domestic cheese producers.

It had also been pushing for the UK to relax a ban on hormone-treated beef, which its producers say effectively shuts them out of the British market.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68098177

The Torygraph wrote: France blocks plan to scrap 90-day visa rule for British expats

Blow for second home owners as amendment to immigration bill deemed unconstitutional

A French court has blocked efforts to allow British expats to stay in the country for longer than 90 days without a visa.

France’s Constitutional Council today rejected an amendment to the immigration bill that would allow long-stay visas to be automatically issued to British nationals who own a second home in France because it deemed it unconstitutional.

The amendment would have allowed British homeowners in France to spend as much time as they wish in the country after Brexit.

But the amendment’s defeat means all British nationals – including those with a home in France – are only be able to stay 90 days out of every 180 in the country without a visa. If they want to stay longer, Britons have to apply for a temporary long-stay visa of up to six months.

There is no right of appeal against the Constitutional Council, so the decision is final.

Martine Berthet, a French senator representing the Savoie area in the Alps, tabled the amendment to these rules in November after receiving complaints from British second home owners in her region.

Ms Berthet said last year that keeping British citizens from contributing to France’s local economies would just add to an already-rising number of vacant properties in tourist areas.

The defeat of the amendment is a blow to thousands and comes after the number of Britons house-hunting in France has surged six-fold since the law to an “automatic” right to remain in the country was first mooted.

Data from the UK-based international property portal Kyero showed that in the three weeks after the amendment was tabled, there was a 582pc increase in Britons enquiring about French properties on the site.

Jason Porter, a director at tax specialists Blevins Franks, said: “The element [to the immigration bill] for UK second home owners was always going to be rejected as it was not treating everyone equally as it does not apply for the other 61 countries eligible for visa entry into France.”
....

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Fri Jan 26, 2024 9:01 am

UK halts trade negotiations with Canada over hormones in beef ban

The UK has stopped its trade talks with Canada, after nearly two years on a post-Brexit agreement, following a row over beef and cheese.

Trade between the two countries currently takes place under the terms of a deal the UK rolled over from its time as an EU member.

A time-limited agreement allowed the UK to continue to sell cars and cheese without high import taxes.

But talks about extending these as part of a new deal have now broken down.

It marks the first time the UK has formally suspended talks with a trade partner since formally leaving the EU trading regime in 2021.

It will also mean the UK's trading terms with Canada will now be worse than when it was part of the EU's deal with the country.

Canada's government had been facing political pressure from domestic cheese producers.

It had also been pushing for the UK to relax a ban on hormone-treated beef, which its producers say effectively shuts them out of the British market.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68098177

Well this isn't a bad hill to die on TBH, have to assume they were banned by the EU for good reasons and we aren't going to overturn that just because "sovereignty freedom innit!"

Biffer wrote: ↑Fri Jan 26, 2024 3:35 pm

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Fri Jan 26, 2024 9:01 am

UK halts trade negotiations with Canada over hormones in beef ban

The UK has stopped its trade talks with Canada, after nearly two years on a post-Brexit agreement, following a row over beef and cheese.

Trade between the two countries currently takes place under the terms of a deal the UK rolled over from its time as an EU member.

A time-limited agreement allowed the UK to continue to sell cars and cheese without high import taxes.

But talks about extending these as part of a new deal have now broken down.

It marks the first time the UK has formally suspended talks with a trade partner since formally leaving the EU trading regime in 2021.

It will also mean the UK's trading terms with Canada will now be worse than when it was part of the EU's deal with the country.

Canada's government had been facing political pressure from domestic cheese producers.

It had also been pushing for the UK to relax a ban on hormone-treated beef, which its producers say effectively shuts them out of the British market.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68098177

Well this isn't a bad hill to die on TBH, have to assume they were banned by the EU for good reasons and we aren't going to overturn that just because "sovereignty freedom innit!"

If they're doing it out of that principle (no hormone beef). I would think it's more likely that they view the hormone in beef regulations as critical leverage in any future negotiations with the US though, so don't want to throw that card away.

dpedin wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 11:30 am My thinking is that the Gov have gone ahead, at the 5th time of asking, with the border controls on EU goods at the end of this month because they are still planning on a May election and they hope the inflationary and supply chain impact won't be felt until a few months later once the election is out of the way. In this way the consequences will be Labour's to manage, salting the earth in retreat!

petej wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 12:07 pm

dpedin wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 11:30 am My thinking is that the Gov have gone ahead, at the 5th time of asking, with the border controls on EU goods at the end of this month because they are still planning on a May election and they hope the inflationary and supply chain impact won't be felt until a few months later once the election is out of the way. In this way the consequences will be Labour's to manage, salting the earth in retreat!

Sounds a bit advanced for them. More likely been forced by the EU and others. Some of this is quite easy to reverse with pretty quick benefit to the economy for an incoming government.

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 2:42 pm

petej wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 12:07 pm

dpedin wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 11:30 am My thinking is that the Gov have gone ahead, at the 5th time of asking, with the border controls on EU goods at the end of this month because they are still planning on a May election and they hope the inflationary and supply chain impact won't be felt until a few months later once the election is out of the way. In this way the consequences will be Labour's to manage, salting the earth in retreat!

Sounds a bit advanced for them. More likely been forced by the EU and others. Some of this is quite easy to reverse with pretty quick benefit to the economy for an incoming government.

Yeah, an easy win is to agree to harmonize on veterinary rules, that any UK divergences can only be to have stricter rules than the EU. Just that step will remove a huge cost on exporters.

There are other measures like ditching the moronic idea to have a separate Chemical registry, & Quality mark, which industry have wasted billions on, & no-one actually wants

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 2:42 pm

petej wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 12:07 pm

dpedin wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 11:30 am My thinking is that the Gov have gone ahead, at the 5th time of asking, with the border controls on EU goods at the end of this month because they are still planning on a May election and they hope the inflationary and supply chain impact won't be felt until a few months later once the election is out of the way. In this way the consequences will be Labour's to manage, salting the earth in retreat!

Sounds a bit advanced for them. More likely been forced by the EU and others. Some of this is quite easy to reverse with pretty quick benefit to the economy for an incoming government.

Yeah, an easy win is to agree to harmonize on veterinary rules, that any UK divergences can only be to have stricter rules than the EU. Just that step will remove a huge cost on exporters.

There are other measures like ditching the moronic idea to have a separate Chemical registry, & Quality mark, which industry have wasted billions on, & no-one actually wants

dpedin wrote: ↑Sun Jan 28, 2024 8:46 am

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 2:42 pm

petej wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 12:07 pm
Sounds a bit advanced for them. More likely been forced by the EU and others. Some of this is quite easy to reverse with pretty quick benefit to the economy for an incoming government.

Yeah, an easy win is to agree to harmonize on veterinary rules, that any UK divergences can only be to have stricter rules than the EU. Just that step will remove a huge cost on exporters.

There are other measures like ditching the moronic idea to have a separate Chemical registry, & Quality mark, which industry have wasted billions on, & no-one actually wants

Yes but if next Labour in Gov do all of this, which they have to, then it will be portrayed by the Tories as Labour selling out on Brexit and the will of the people, giving into the EU and a first step to rejoining the EU. The whole Brexit thing will once again become the vehicle for the increasingly right wing Tory Twats again to fight the following election on and to stir up even more populist nonsense ie if only they had been allowed to implement Brexit properly by the woke, aubergine eating illiterati when they were in power, etc etc then they would still be in power - it was Labour, the judges, the courts, leftie lawyers, the woke blob, the north London elite, the secret Gates/Soros funded think tanks, etc who are to blame for surrendering the UK Sovereignty.

petej wrote: ↑Sun Jan 28, 2024 5:02 pm

dpedin wrote: ↑Sun Jan 28, 2024 8:46 am

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 2:42 pm

Yeah, an easy win is to agree to harmonize on veterinary rules, that any UK divergences can only be to have stricter rules than the EU. Just that step will remove a huge cost on exporters.

There are other measures like ditching the moronic idea to have a separate Chemical registry, & Quality mark, which industry have wasted billions on, & no-one actually wants

Yes but if next Labour in Gov do all of this, which they have to, then it will be portrayed by the Tories as Labour selling out on Brexit and the will of the people, giving into the EU and a first step to rejoining the EU. The whole Brexit thing will once again become the vehicle for the increasingly right wing Tory Twats again to fight the following election on and to stir up even more populist nonsense ie if only they had been allowed to implement Brexit properly by the woke, aubergine eating illiterati when they were in power, etc etc then they would still be in power - it was Labour, the judges, the courts, leftie lawyers, the woke blob, the north London elite, the secret Gates/Soros funded think tanks, etc who are to blame for surrendering the UK Sovereignty.

That bullshit has worn pretty thin with the population. It is widely accepted as a massive turd. I don't think i've heard anyone admit to voting for it for a long time. They are going to flail about and stir up populist nonsense regardless. The subtleties of harmonizing rules won't register with most of the population.

Uncle fester wrote: ↑Mon Feb 05, 2024 10:31 am

Hal Jordan wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 12:09 pm I love Maiden, but they always were a bit twatrioty.

dpedin wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 11:07 am Get ready for rancid infected meats and even African Swine Fever in the UK. You honestly couldn't make it up - it seems taking back control over our own borders means asking lorry drivers nicely if they wouldn't mind stopping off after 22 miles into the UK to have their load checked but if they cant be bothered then that's ok. It is also ok apparently to meet up with some mates and offload anything in the 22 miles! Oh and checks for African Swine flu to be cut by 70% at the same time. Just brilliant - sunny uplands indeed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68244374