• Contact
  • About
  • Authors
DONATE
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
  • Login
Central Bylines
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Brexit
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Transport
    • World
    Handshake with Europe

    Always with EU? Some realism about rejoining

    Protester

    Roe v Wade: men benefit from abortion rights too – and should speak about them more

    Bruce Kent at a Stop Trident rally

    Bruce Kent (1929 – 2022) – a personal view

    Factory

    Cutting emissions from construction and automotive materials by a third

    child labour

    World losing fight to end child labour

    Protester and injunction

    Jesus wept: meet Mark Coleman, retired vicar and Just Stop Oil activist

    Cotton mill

    Gardens of the revolution: Fashion revolution at the Chelsea flower show

    Flowers

    This writer’s life: a diary. Part 3: Garden blessings

    Vigil for Visas

    Vigil for Visas: delays in issuing visas to refugees from the war in Ukraine cause misery and fear

    Trending Tags

    • Johnson
    • Ukraine Conflict
    • Brexit
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Transport
    • World
  • Politics
    Power to the people

    Power to the people

    Patriotism in the UK

    Johnson isn’t a patriot, he’s a pariah

    Return to imperial measures

    The return of imperial measurements?

    Gun Control

    ‘Gun Free Zone’ (a ‘Found’ poem, extracted from Trump’s NRA conference speech in Houston, a few days later)

    Statue of a bishop

    Johnson can’t govern so he lies instead

    Fraud and government schemes

    Fraud and government schemes

    East midlands greatest hits

    East Midlands Conservative greatest hits, Spring 2022

    Voting

    Boris Johnson won’t remove himself – we all have to help

    Anti-rascism protest

    Anti-racism campaigners in Stoke-on-Trent demand change

    Trending Tags

    • Levelling up
  • Opinion
    Adobe stock licensed image by Jorm S

    Freedom and conservatism

    This work is from the National Child Labor Committee collection at the Library of Congress. According to the library, there are no known copyright restrictions on the use of this work.

    Reflections on Boris Johnson’s ‘high skill, high wage future’ speech. Fashion – Fix up, look smart! 

    Adobe Stock licensed image by motortion

    Reflections on Boris Johnson’s ‘high skill, high wage future’ speech: the invisible half of the population

    Official United Kingdom Parliamentary photographs 2020 Tom Randall (politician) - CC-BY-3.0

    Why do people become MPs?

    Image by Central Bylines Team - derived from eligible Creative Commons sources

    Gaslighting an electorate – the moral bankruptcy of Edward Leigh 

    Adobe Stock licensed: Gibberish
by egokhan

    Lucy Allan talks gibberish

    Image by Number 10 for flickr licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

    Red wall voters to Johnson: in the name of God, go!

    Say no to the elections bill

    Say no to the Elections Bill

    Trending Tags

    • Lifestyle
      • All
      • Art
      • Books
      • Dance
      • Festivals
      • Fun & Games
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Poetry
      • Sport
      • Theatre
      • TV
      Image by author

      Anne Boleyn

      Portrait of William Byrd by The Trustees of the British Museum ©, licensed by CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

      William Byrd – “a Father of Musick”

      Waverly community garden

      Launch of Better Together Community Garden in Clayton

      Illustration by AB Wyze

      Here I’m sat

      Liverpool in Paris

      Gun Control

      ‘Gun Free Zone’ (a ‘Found’ poem, extracted from Trump’s NRA conference speech in Houston, a few days later)

      Bally Gill, David Morrissey, James Graham and Joanne Froggatt - sherwood cast

      Sherwood: what lies beneath?

      O'Rourke

      O’Rourke

      Fighter,Pilots,Cockpit,View,Under,Cloudy,Blue,Sky

      Top Gun, I feel the need…..

      Trending Tags

        • Dance
        • Food
        • Music
        • Poetry
        • Recipes
        • Sport
      • Business
        • All
        • Economy
        • Technology
        • Trade
        cloudy beer

        UK’s first cloudy beer

        Cost of living crisis

        Crisis? What crisis? The cost of living crisis and political responses

        Adobe Stock licensed image by hanohiki

        Bad news for Newark: 110 jobs lost as town’s top employer withdraws to the EU 

        Promotion image from Colleague Box website

        Pandemic start-up success story hampered by Brexit barriers

        Image licensed by Pixabay

        Information is power: its loss can be devastating

        Photo by Matt Bango on StockSnap

        Hassle in High Peak: Robert Largan’s solar farm shenanigans

        Adobe Stock licensed - image by blackday

        British Gas-lighting a nation: how energy companies are exploiting their customers with increased prices

        circular economy

        Reflections on Boris Johnson’s ‘high skill, high wage future’ speech

        Dog wrapped in a blanket, luckily he does not have to pay the bill.

        Fuel bills and service blunders as energy prices start to bite

        Trending Tags

        • Levelling up
        • Economy
        • Technology
      • Region
        • All
        • East Midlands
        • West Midlands
        Image by Number 10 used under CC2 - Prime Minister Boris Johnson met Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on 10 October 2019 to discuss the UK's Brexit proposals.

        The Northern Ireland protocol

        Waverly community garden

        Launch of Better Together Community Garden in Clayton

        Rent seeking

        A ‘high skill, high wage future’? Rentier capitalism: who owns the future?

        Liverpool in Paris

        Mark Serwotka

        Trades unionists demand action on the cost-of-living crisis at rally in Stoke-on-Trent

        East midlands greatest hits

        East Midlands Conservative greatest hits, Spring 2022

        Allens Cross Community Centre

        St Bart’s Pantry, open for business!

        women in power 2

        Women in power

        Vera Brittain plaque

        Midlands blue plaques part 1: Vera Brittain in Buxton

        Trending Tags

          • East Midlands
          • West Midlands
        • Events
        No Result
        View All Result
        • Home
        • News
          • All
          • Brexit
          • Education
          • Environment
          • Health
          • Transport
          • World
          Handshake with Europe

          Always with EU? Some realism about rejoining

          Protester

          Roe v Wade: men benefit from abortion rights too – and should speak about them more

          Bruce Kent at a Stop Trident rally

          Bruce Kent (1929 – 2022) – a personal view

          Factory

          Cutting emissions from construction and automotive materials by a third

          child labour

          World losing fight to end child labour

          Protester and injunction

          Jesus wept: meet Mark Coleman, retired vicar and Just Stop Oil activist

          Cotton mill

          Gardens of the revolution: Fashion revolution at the Chelsea flower show

          Flowers

          This writer’s life: a diary. Part 3: Garden blessings

          Vigil for Visas

          Vigil for Visas: delays in issuing visas to refugees from the war in Ukraine cause misery and fear

          Trending Tags

          • Johnson
          • Ukraine Conflict
          • Brexit
          • Education
          • Environment
          • Health
          • Transport
          • World
        • Politics
          Power to the people

          Power to the people

          Patriotism in the UK

          Johnson isn’t a patriot, he’s a pariah

          Return to imperial measures

          The return of imperial measurements?

          Gun Control

          ‘Gun Free Zone’ (a ‘Found’ poem, extracted from Trump’s NRA conference speech in Houston, a few days later)

          Statue of a bishop

          Johnson can’t govern so he lies instead

          Fraud and government schemes

          Fraud and government schemes

          East midlands greatest hits

          East Midlands Conservative greatest hits, Spring 2022

          Voting

          Boris Johnson won’t remove himself – we all have to help

          Anti-rascism protest

          Anti-racism campaigners in Stoke-on-Trent demand change

          Trending Tags

          • Levelling up
        • Opinion
          Adobe stock licensed image by Jorm S

          Freedom and conservatism

          This work is from the National Child Labor Committee collection at the Library of Congress. According to the library, there are no known copyright restrictions on the use of this work.

          Reflections on Boris Johnson’s ‘high skill, high wage future’ speech. Fashion – Fix up, look smart! 

          Adobe Stock licensed image by motortion

          Reflections on Boris Johnson’s ‘high skill, high wage future’ speech: the invisible half of the population

          Official United Kingdom Parliamentary photographs 2020 Tom Randall (politician) - CC-BY-3.0

          Why do people become MPs?

          Image by Central Bylines Team - derived from eligible Creative Commons sources

          Gaslighting an electorate – the moral bankruptcy of Edward Leigh 

          Adobe Stock licensed: Gibberish
by egokhan

          Lucy Allan talks gibberish

          Image by Number 10 for flickr licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

          Red wall voters to Johnson: in the name of God, go!

          Say no to the elections bill

          Say no to the Elections Bill

          Trending Tags

          • Lifestyle
            • All
            • Art
            • Books
            • Dance
            • Festivals
            • Fun & Games
            • Movies
            • Music
            • Poetry
            • Sport
            • Theatre
            • TV
            Image by author

            Anne Boleyn

            Portrait of William Byrd by The Trustees of the British Museum ©, licensed by CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

            William Byrd – “a Father of Musick”

            Waverly community garden

            Launch of Better Together Community Garden in Clayton

            Illustration by AB Wyze

            Here I’m sat

            Liverpool in Paris

            Gun Control

            ‘Gun Free Zone’ (a ‘Found’ poem, extracted from Trump’s NRA conference speech in Houston, a few days later)

            Bally Gill, David Morrissey, James Graham and Joanne Froggatt - sherwood cast

            Sherwood: what lies beneath?

            O'Rourke

            O’Rourke

            Fighter,Pilots,Cockpit,View,Under,Cloudy,Blue,Sky

            Top Gun, I feel the need…..

            Trending Tags

              • Dance
              • Food
              • Music
              • Poetry
              • Recipes
              • Sport
            • Business
              • All
              • Economy
              • Technology
              • Trade
              cloudy beer

              UK’s first cloudy beer

              Cost of living crisis

              Crisis? What crisis? The cost of living crisis and political responses

              Adobe Stock licensed image by hanohiki

              Bad news for Newark: 110 jobs lost as town’s top employer withdraws to the EU 

              Promotion image from Colleague Box website

              Pandemic start-up success story hampered by Brexit barriers

              Image licensed by Pixabay

              Information is power: its loss can be devastating

              Photo by Matt Bango on StockSnap

              Hassle in High Peak: Robert Largan’s solar farm shenanigans

              Adobe Stock licensed - image by blackday

              British Gas-lighting a nation: how energy companies are exploiting their customers with increased prices

              circular economy

              Reflections on Boris Johnson’s ‘high skill, high wage future’ speech

              Dog wrapped in a blanket, luckily he does not have to pay the bill.

              Fuel bills and service blunders as energy prices start to bite

              Trending Tags

              • Levelling up
              • Economy
              • Technology
            • Region
              • All
              • East Midlands
              • West Midlands
              Image by Number 10 used under CC2 - Prime Minister Boris Johnson met Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on 10 October 2019 to discuss the UK's Brexit proposals.

              The Northern Ireland protocol

              Waverly community garden

              Launch of Better Together Community Garden in Clayton

              Rent seeking

              A ‘high skill, high wage future’? Rentier capitalism: who owns the future?

              Liverpool in Paris

              Mark Serwotka

              Trades unionists demand action on the cost-of-living crisis at rally in Stoke-on-Trent

              East midlands greatest hits

              East Midlands Conservative greatest hits, Spring 2022

              Allens Cross Community Centre

              St Bart’s Pantry, open for business!

              women in power 2

              Women in power

              Vera Brittain plaque

              Midlands blue plaques part 1: Vera Brittain in Buxton

              Trending Tags

                • East Midlands
                • West Midlands
              • Events
              No Result
              View All Result
              Central Bylines
              No Result
              View All Result
              Home UK

              Carry on abroad?

              Carry on abroad as Liz Truss announces list of jobs for the boys as International Trade Envoys with no skills for the job.

              Bryan Manley-GreenbyBryan Manley-Green
              27-08-2021 09:36
              in UK, World
              Carry on abroad

              Carry on abroad

              Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
              ADVERTISEMENT

              It all sounds more like a script from a new Carry On film rather than a political masterstroke. Not only do we have to contend with the hapless Dominic Raab as Foreign Secretary, we apparently now have a list of our brightest and best to truly show off Global Britain. The raft of new trade envoys announced by Trade Secretary Liz Truss to great fanfare might make those with the appropriate education in international relations wonder why they bothered studying in the first place.

              Ashes to envoys

              The main headline is that Beefy Botham is responsible for our trade relations with Australia. Beef is probably the last word that our farmers want to hear in light of the new Australian trade deal which puts their very existence in jeopardy. At least the deal gives them fifteen years to learn how to drive a lorry or perhaps take over from the prisoners working in our abattoirs.

              What people don’t seem to be asking is why someone whose whole career was geared to beating the Australians at cricket would be seen as someone to help smooth the machinations of international trade between our two countries. Perhaps it’s to be hoped that most Australians won’t have a clue who he is (after all he did retire from the sport in 1993) and he’ll concentrate on talking about his wine business. At least the trade deal should make it more profitable for him to import wine from Australia. Oh, hang on, whose envoy is he? Anyway, enough sour, sweet or alcoholic grapes about Lord Botham. Let’s move on, especially as Ms Truss has already cracked the “bat for our country” joke.

              With this Hoey you are spoiling us

              Next on the list comes Lady Hoey. Yes, Kate Hoey, former MP and Brexit cheerleader, now as unhappy as most with the Northern Ireland Protocol. I’ve no idea what Ghana has done to deserve her (thankfully the country is free of sectarian divisions but nonetheless one hopes Hoey will keep her matches away), but I wonder if the people of Ireland are breathing a sigh of relief that her energy will be used elsewhere, especially after once being accused of taking diplomacy lessons from Donald Trump. Perhaps this appointment – and that of DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson in Cameroon – might help stop exacerbating the problems their pro-Brexit stance has caused by averting their gaze away from the Northern Ireland Protocol.

              No-one would ever suggest that trade envoys should be elected. In reality, these “unelected bureaucrats” like Lord Botham and Lady Hoey can be seen simply as following in the footsteps of people like Prince Andrew and doing their duty for the country. The roles are honorary and unpaid, after all. However, many on this list are indeed elected. That’s elected to do a job as an MP. Now they’re being asked to do additional duties which might take them far and wide, hardly helping to facilitate dealing with the problems of their constituents. There again, we’re talking about a government hell bent on making it as difficult as possible to trade with our neighbours whilst trying to forge deeper links with countries the other side of the world.

              Carry on camping

              When it comes to gay MPs, the Tories surprisingly lead the way, with 23 to Labour’s 21, although the Tories are exclusively gay men. David Mundell and Conor Burns have been given responsibility for New Zealand and Canada respectively and, at first glance, this would seem a lot more sensible than giving either the remit for places like Cameroon or Egypt. These countries get the aforementioned Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.  But why not give a gay man a homophobic country to deal with so human rights issues can be dealt with head on? Surely diplomatic immunity would make it safer for the role to be carried out and at the same time allow the envoy to ask some difficult questions. With Lady Hoey’s rather patchy record on LGBT rights, I doubt she’ll focus on Ghana’s current attempt to criminalise not only LGBT people but also their allies with prison sentences of up to ten years. 

              Trade envoys have always come from a wide range, so the list also includes a Labour MP, Stephen Timms who becomes trade envoy for both Switzerland and the increasingly important microstate of Liechtenstein (frequently mentioned by the government in these post-EU times). However, why it is now mentioned so often rather confuses me. After all, its GDP is around £5bn and its tiny population of around 38,000 is about a tenth the size of Dudley. 


              More from Central Bylines

              "hgv vehicle training" by slickimages is licensed under CC BY 2.0
              Brexit

              Where have all the HGV drivers gone?

              21 July 2021
              Decline and fall
              UK

              Decline and fall of Brexit Britain

              21 August 2021

              The boys from Brazil

              Speaking of Dudley, that brings us nicely to the regional interest. Dudley MP Marco Longhi in particular. Who better to do the honours in Brazil? After all, he actually used to work in the country, even meeting his wife there. Who knows, this appointment might even have some merit as the newly elected MP climbs the greasy pole of politics. Although I’ve never met Mr Longhi in person, my spies tell me he might just be the sort of man to get on famously with President Bolsinaro. Of course, my spies might be wrong.

              The list continues, but surely the real conundrum for all the new appointees will be the vexed question of what we can actually sell to these countries. How can other countries have any faith in the promises made by our envoys when they can clearly see that we can’t even move goods around our own country? Nando’s has had to close down due to a lack of chicken and McDonald’s has ran out of milkshakes?

              Much more importantly, how will leaving EU standards organisations and “taking back control” work? Will goods made in GB still have the same quality and cachet as those with a CE mark? Some of the countries to which the envoys have been allocated are former British colonies, still trying to come to terms with their colonial past. Maybe Brexit now makes it possible for us to sell a new range of Union Flags which can actually burn since we no longer have to follow EU Fire Regulations. 

              Seemingly not all is lost. According to the Express, it appears the extra Air-miles that will no doubt be earned by these new trade envoys will come to very little and hopefully won’t do any harm. Amazingly, the Express actually decided to ask an actual expert on such matters. How times change!

              Anyway, here’s wishing them all “the best of British”, carry on and safe travels. Deep down, part of me wonders if this is an elaborate plan by Ms Truss to rub the noses of some of these new envoys in the mess of their own making. But that’s more likely to be wishful thinking and now it’s much more likely her main aim is to concentrate on a new trade deal with Afghanistan which will surprise us all and counter all of the money we’ve lost not trading with our neighbours due to Brexit.

              ADVERTISEMENT
              Previous Post

              Slavery in the Midlands

              Next Post

              Robert Jenrick – more than a little help for his friends

              Bryan Manley-Green

              Bryan Manley-Green

              Related Posts

              child labour
              Human interest

              World losing fight to end child labour

              byTrevor Russel
              10 June 2022
              Vigil for Visas
              World

              Vigil for Visas: delays in issuing visas to refugees from the war in Ukraine cause misery and fear

              byKitty Hamilton
              26 May 2022
              The motherland calls
              World

              Your Deed Is Immortal: Russia’s obsession with her WWII past and her war against Ukraine

              byClark Renney
              24 May 2022
              Gates of Downing St
              Covid

              No excuses Boris. Most people obeyed  lockdown rules

              byEdward Cartwright
              24 April 2022
              Photo by RODRIGO GONZALEZ on Unsplash
              Covid

              The challenges faced by long covid sufferers as we “learn to live” with covid

              byKelly Heath
              23 April 2022
              Next Post
              Official portrait of Robert Jenrick

              Robert Jenrick - more than a little help for his friends

              Want to support us?

              Can you help Central Bylines to grow and become more sustainable with a regular donation, no matter how small?  

              DONATE

              Sign up to our newsletter

              If you would like to receive the Central Bylines regular newsletter, straight talking direct to your inbox, click the button below.

              NEWSLETTER

              LATEST

              Handshake with Europe

              Always with EU? Some realism about rejoining

              1 July 2022
              Protester

              Roe v Wade: men benefit from abortion rights too – and should speak about them more

              28 June 2022
              Power to the people

              Power to the people

              28 June 2022
              Image by Number 10 used under CC2 - Prime Minister Boris Johnson met Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on 10 October 2019 to discuss the UK's Brexit proposals.

              The Northern Ireland protocol

              27 June 2022

              MOST READ

              Handshake with Europe

              Always with EU? Some realism about rejoining

              1 July 2022
              Image by Number 10 used under CC2 - Prime Minister Boris Johnson met Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on 10 October 2019 to discuss the UK's Brexit proposals.

              The Northern Ireland protocol

              27 June 2022
              Protester

              Roe v Wade: men benefit from abortion rights too – and should speak about them more

              28 June 2022
              Official_portrait_of_Angela_Rayner_MP

              Angela Rayner has class, her attackers have none

              6 May 2022

              BROWSE BY TAGS

              Blue Plaques Climate change Community Cost of living crisis Covid Energy Farming Johnson Latest Levelling up My Little Town Rwanda Ukraine Conflict Voting Whistleblower
              Central Bylines

              Central Bylines is a regional online newspaper that supports citizen journalism. Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in Central England and beyond.



              Learn more about us

              No Result
              View All Result
              • Contact
              • About
              • Donate
              • Privacy policy
              • Bylines network
              • Back Editions
              • Shop

              © 2022 Central Bylines. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

              No Result
              View All Result
              • Home
              • News
                • Brexit
                • Education
                • Environment
                • Health
                • Transport
                • World
              • Politics
              • Back in the news
              • Opinion
              • Lifestyle
                • Dance
                • Food
                • Music
                • Poetry
                • Recipes
                • Sport
              • Business
                • Economy
                • Technology
                • Trade
              • Regional Events
              • Donate
              • Newsletter sign up
              • A Cotswold Diary
              • Authors
              • BYLINES NETWORK
              • Contact

              © 2022 Central Bylines. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

              Welcome Back!

              Login to your account below

              Forgotten Password?

              Retrieve your password

              Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

              Log In
              X