The website Facts4eu which has some good material has run a piece adapted from this website today. It can be seen on <a href= ” https://facts4eu.org/news/2019 june redwood on brexit opportunities”>

The Independent says they will be running the first chapter of the book next week on austerity economics as part of an article.

Someone wrote in and said there are no more tickets for my IEA talk based on the book on June 11th at 6.15pm. The IEA assure me that whilst there is strong demand there are still a few tickets left for those interested.

They are on 0207 799 3745 usual business hours Monday to Friday

The book is available on Amazon

“We don’t believe you  Why Populists reject the establishment”   ISBN 9781095 254950

The President is mainly coming to the UK to commemorate 70 years of the NATO alliance. He will be very positive about the UK’s role and contribution. He and his advisers also fully accept the UK’s decision to leave the EU and would be happy to negotiate a free trade agreement as soon as the UK government is willing and able to do so. Mrs May was reluctant all the time we stayed in the EU, wrongly  claiming the EU  Treaty stopped us holding detailed negotiations.

The US has been making it clear for some time that they think Huawei is a threat to their national security, and recommend allies take the same view. As we share many secrets with them they do not want our systems offering access to companies in China that they think operate for the Chinese state.

Mr Trump’s recent imposition of tariffs on Mexico until they do more to control illegal migration into the USA across their border adds to the trade tensions with China. The President is also allowing only 180 days to the Europeans to respond to his claim  that the EU in general and Germany  in particular are cheating in their trade in cars, with asymmetric tariffs against the USA. As soon as the UK is out of the EU we can make our own decisions on a fair tariff regime for vehicles and avoid the likely fall out from a wider trade war if the USA takes action against  the EU as it is doing with China and Mexico.

The markets are not liking the aggressive stance on trade , but Mr Trump does have issues over Mexico and China that resonate with many US voters. It will be interesting to see if and when the President feels he has been offered enough by way of a possible compromise or settlement.

I met around 50 members of the Wokingham Conservatives yesterday evening at a drinks reception. Much of the talk was about the leadership. There was no clear message about which candidates were most favoured, with plenty of questions about the past actions, current positions and likely abilities of those in the news.

It also gave me an opportunity to thank all those  who had helped in the local elections, and to discuss with Councillors the immediate priorities for the two Councils.

One of the best strands of conservatism is the urge to protect and conserve the flora and fauna in  our landscape, to preserve the  best of our built inheritance and to undertake new development in a way that is sympathetic to what has gone  before and to the natural contours of our world.

This is not to say we want a fossil country. Sometimes the best way to conserve and keep an old building is to allow adaptation and renovation for a new purpose. Sometimes we need to build on green fields as well as on regeneration sites. Some modern buildings are fabulous and add to our traditions. Some changes to the way we farm or garden can enhance the natural world around us. Some old buildings are best recorded for history then demolished for a better replacement.

In recent years large scale migration has meant a much faster new build rate, which has upset some local communities and given rise to a wish to adjust the pace of change. It is difficult to follow a convincing green policy if we expand the population too rapidly and have to build on too many fields or fell too many woods. If we want to limit the national  carbon dioxide output we need to limit the  number of people we invite in.

There are good economic and social arguments for allowing reasonable numbers of new people to come and settle with us. We may need their skill  or they may be family members to people already living  here who would like to be reunited with their kith and kin. We will want to take our share of people fleeing war and terror.  In the last century we typically invited in around 50,000 additional people every year. This century it has been five times that amount, which has been far too rapid.

I welcome initiatives to use less energy to cut our bills through insulation, modern controls and more fuel efficient systems. I like the idea that we will clean up our landscape and our seas by being better at limiting the use of plastic and ensuring it is properly handled once it is waste. I am all in favour of recycling and of passing on and re using products that an individual no longer needs or likes. I have found limiting food miles works well, with little need for imported temperate foods in my meal planning. There is good UK food available, and more can be grown if more people want to buy it. I continue to encourage more tree planting as we green our landscape.