by Sue Wilson MBE

Dear Liz,

Since our earlier correspondence, (December 2021 and January 2022) it’s good to see that you have finally ditched the multiple hats and roles in favour of focussing on just one job. The big one. I guess I should start by offering my congratulations, but as you have been under-performing so spectacularly, that wouldn’t seem appropriate under the circumstances.

Given that you have only been in the job such a short amount of time, (is it really only a month? – it seems so much longer), I have held off from writing until now. Let’s wait until after the party conference, I told myself, and give her a chance to turn this thing around and show us what she’s got. Sadly, it seems, we had already seen the best you had to offer. Though frankly, you and I had far more in common before the dreaded (don’t worry, I won’t mention the ‘B’ word) referendum.

We are the only party with a clear plan to get Britain moving.

We are the only party with the determination to deliver.

Together, we can unleash the full potential of our great country.

That is how we will build a new Britain for a new era.https://t.co/La6VP8gZV9

— Liz Truss (@trussliz) October 5, 2022

So, let me get to the reason for my missive. I am writing to complain. I appreciate this will not come as a surprise as I imagine the vast majority of your correspondence is made up of complaints of some description. In addition, in light of your recent party conference speech, the list of those with genuine reasons for complaint has increased exponentially.

It seems that the list of your supposed enemies has expanded considerably, and we all share a shiny new label. Not only is the previous insult de jour of “Remainer” no longer in vogue but now I’m a “Br*x*t denier” and a member of the “anti-growth coalition”! At least your name calling is not limited to us pro-Europeans. It now also applies to Labour, the unions, environmentalists, think tanks and talking heads.

I’m sure if you, or your script writers had taken just a bit of time, you could have swept up a lot more supposed enemies in that meaningless list. After all, considering the state of your party at the moment, surely you could have included a few disloyal backbenchers in your catalogue of reprobates.

Voters will have a clear choice. The Pro Growth Government of @trussliz or the Anti Growth Coalition.

— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) October 5, 2022

Of course, there will always be a ready supply of useful idiots, like Nadhim Zahawi, to defend your nonsense, and I can live with that. After all, when you fall, you’ll be taking a lot of them with you. Even your former candidate for the top job, Tom Tugendhat, has been waffling on about growth in your defence. Apparently, growth grows opportunities, lives and futures, and you are right to be focussing on delivering it for everyone. Well, everyone except the poor, the hungry, the disabled, the needy etc., etc. Well, speaking as a non-economist, non-expert I can assure you that is complete “bollocks”, as we’ve been saying about Br*x*t (enter six letter word beginning with ‘Br*’ and ending with ‘x*t’ here).

Growth grows opportunities, grows lives and grows futures. ⁦@trussliz⁩ is right to focus on delivering growth for everyone. #CPC22 pic.twitter.com/WDyH51a9FW

— Tom Tugendhat (@TomTugendhat) October 5, 2022

To your credit, I don’t doubt for one minute that you believe all this rhetorical horse manure you are spouting, even in the face of ample evidence to the contrary. Certainly, the Bank of England doesn’t believe it, nor the financial markets. But I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt as you are still relatively new at this game. After all, it’s only a maximum of two years until the country decides on our next PM, rather than a few thousand elderly, white, wealthy right-wingers. Assuming, of course, that your party doesn’t decide before that to give another ERG supporter a go at running the country.

Another complaint, before I toddle off to count what’s left of my diminishing state pension. Could you please instruct your cabinet and ministers to stop pretending that this is a brand-new government. Anyone would think you were trying to suggest there has been a different party/government running things for the last 12 years. As the longest serving member of the Conservative government that is currently in power, and has been for over a decade, I’m sure you will agree. After all, there is so much (not!) to take credit for.

Finally, could we please stop with the three-word soundbites and slogans like the irritating “getting Britain moving” nonsense. Laxative commercials have had more convincing slogans. As for answering questions, let me be very clear (see what I did there?) – your stock answers are now so familiar that there’s really no point giving any more interviews. The whole country can predict how you will respond with considerably more accuracy than you can predict the economy or public opinion.

Despite your protestations that you are “listening” and you “get it”, I’m afraid I remain (no pun intended) sceptical. I don’t believe you have a “clear plan” (unless you mean one that you can see through), I don’t believe your party has the “determination to deliver” or that you can “unleash the full potential of our great country”.

If I’m being totally honest, I don’t think you do either. So, why not save us all two years more nonsense and go for the mandate from the country you already claim to have. Call an election. Put your money – rather than ours for a change – where your mouth is. If you don’t mind me finishing with one of your own quotes, “that is how we will build a new Britain for a new era”. You know it makes sense, and I’m sure, in the end, you’ll be only too glad to see the back of that wallpaper when you are “moving on up” and out!

Yours hopefully,

Sue Wilson MBE

The crisis is Ukraine has been at the forefront of our minds since the war began over a month ago, writes Bremain Chair Sue Wilson MBE for The Olive Press. In particular, the plight of Ukrainian refugees has seen the governments and the peoples of Europe open their hearts, minds and wallets to help those in desperate need.

In an effort to understand what more could be done to help, and what motivated people to provide support, funding or even accommodation, I spoke to some of those affected.

I met Anastasia Ka and her 11 year old daughter in my home town of Alcossebre.  She had flown into Spain from Poland, having travelled from her home in Lviv. Her parents decided to stay in Ukraine. “They didn’t feel safe, but they did feel comfortable”, Anastasia told me. From the start of the war, life was different. The experience of having to move to safety underground every time a government alert was received – sometimes several times a day, or night – became too much for Anastasia. It was impossible to sleep, to wash her hair, to work or to study. However, Anastasia did manage to volunteer for the Red Cross at the railway station, helping people and their pets to leave. Worried for her daughter, despite it being “difficult to leave the motherland”, she travelled to Poland to start her journey.

As Lviv is a tourist town, and thanks to Anastasia’s intervention, those safety alerts are now in five languages, to keep all in Lviv safe, regardless of nationality. On life in Spain, Anastasia told me, “Everyone here asks me how I am. It is difficult to say “bien” or “good” when every day I hear bad news, bombs are going off and people are dying”. When I asked her what she thought would happen back home she said, “War has taught me not to think too much, not to make plans and to live every day like it’s your last”. Anastasia is making the most of the sun and being by the sea. But her dream is for peace to return and to be able to go home as soon as possible.

Anastasia and her daughter have settled in Alcossebre

Candace and David Edwards have donated beds, a travel cot, bedlinen, a high chair and a bag of towels to a group helping Ukrainian refugees in Nerja, as well as making a generous donation to charity. The Edwards have known 61 year old Tania, a Ukrainian/Russian woman, for the last 17 years, describing her as the hardest working person they know. Tania has a married son with two young children back in Ukraine. When war broke out, Tania’s granddaughter was in Germany with her mother, for special medical treatment. Tania’s son managed to get her grandson to the Polish border and he has been reunited with his mother and sister in Germany. However, Tania’s son had to return home to Zaporizhzhia, north-west of Mariupol, partly to fight, but also to support Tania’s disabled sister who is unable to leave. Tania is very concerned for her sister and her son, as soldiers were seen entering the town a few days ago. Candace told me, “I’ve been giving stuff away to Tania over the years to send on to her family in Ukraine. The whole situation is so desperately sad”. 

On February 24, 39 year old Oksana Panchuk and her 11 year old son were woken by an explosion that shook the windows of their Kyiv apartment. A worried phone call from her parents told her “something incomprehensible” was happening and she should move to their home in Zhytomyr for safety. She started packing immediately. Many other Kyiv residents had the same idea, resulting in huge traffic jams and Oksana and her son having to abandon the car and walk 10 kilometres. After a week in Zhytomyr, it was clear that the war was spreading and civilians were being targeted. It was time to move on as “every night my son trembled with fear”.

With relatives in Palma de Mallorca offering help, Oksana and her son got on a bus for Poland, where they were fed and able to rest. They teamed up with a family travelling to Barcelona, then took a ferry to Mallorca where they were met by relatives, who they stayed with initially. Until they found British Palma resident, Tracey O’Rourke, who offered them a room.

Tracey (L) with Oksana and her son

While Oksana is grateful to feel safe, she is naturally worried about her family back home, who she calls every day. She said, “Every night I wake up and worry about the lives of my parents who stayed in Zhytomyr, my boyfriend who is in Kyiv.” She follows the daily news and “waits for this bloody tragedy to end”. Oksana wants to return home as soon as possible, to help rebuild her country. She added, “we don’t want another country, another life – we want our homeland back”.

Tracey watched and listened to the Ukraine invasion, feeling powerless but determined to act. She felt a connection to the Ukrainian people, with her brother being a historian, a regular visitor to Ukraine and Russia, and her sister-in-law being from Vitebsk. She told me, “I am not simply a horrified observer – I know people in both countries”. When she read that Spain was welcoming fleeing families without visa applications, she made enquiries and started filling out forms. A contact in the Ukrainian church in Palma put her in touch with Oksana’s relatives, whose house was now full of other family members fleeing the war. Tracey said, “this was something practical and meaningful that I was in a position to do”, adding “God forbid, if I was ever in this situation myself, I would hope that someone would do the same for me”.

If these personal stories have inspired you to find out more, or to want to help in any way, then check out the Bremain in Spain dedicated ‘Ukraine in Spain’ page here. On it you will find background information, a list of ways you can help Ukrainian refugees in Spain, plus links to organisations and charities providing much needed aid. Thank you!

For over 100 years, International Women’s Day has celebrated women’s social, economic, cultural and political achievements, writes Bremain Chair Sue Wilson MBE for Olive Press. In that time, the change in the way women are treated, or in the opportunities available to them, has been considerable. Yet in many important respects, women are still far from equal to their male counterparts in society, especially in the workplace.

In politics in the modern world, we are becoming more used to seeing countries led by women. Many of those female leaders have been many particularly noteworthy and inspiring, especially during the pandemic. Angela Merkel, Jacinda Ardern and Ursula von der Leyen are amongst those that have stood out for their compassion, their strength, their intelligence and their determination. However, in terms of the total numbers of politicians, men still make up the vast majority at all political levels.

Spain is leading the way in Europe with the largest number of women in parliament at close to 50%. In Cabinet, that number is even higher, with women taking the majority of ministerial roles, including that of Vice President. Not the top job yet though.

In many respects, Spain is still clinging to its macho past. However, the government are making considerable efforts to change that, and judging by the representation of women in parliament, those efforts are working.

By comparison, the UK is falling behind. Since 1918, there have only been a total of 558 female members of parliament. Until the end of 2016, there had been fewer women sitting in the House of Commons thoughout history than there were men sitting at any one time. 

Although numbers have increased to the current high of 224, currently male MPs outnumber female MPs in the Commons almost two to one. In the House of Lords, the representation of women is even worse, with them making up less than 28% of the total (231 out of 829). In the Cabinet, at the highest levels of British government, that number drops to just 26%, with only six women in ministerial positions.

Inequality for women in politics in Britain is also an issue of party. Adding together the opposition parties, almost 43% of positions are held by women. If you look at Labour on its own, that figure rises to 51%, with half of the Shadow Cabinet being female. By comparison, in the Conservative party, the figure drops to less than a third. Some parties, it would seem, are more equal than others.

Inequality for women in politics in Britain is also an issue of party. Adding together the opposition parties, almost 43% of positions are held by women. If you look at Labour on its own, that figure rises to 51%, with half of the Shadow Cabinet being female. By comparison, in the Conservative party, the figure drops to less than a third. Some parties, it would seem, are more equal than others.

As in Spain, British women make up just over half of the total UK population. Yet we are pitifully unrepresented in British politics and in British decision making. That said, we are not alone. Decisions being made by our government are not representative of the views of the majority of the British public, regardless of their sex. There’s a reason you no longer hear the once infamous cry of the “will of the people”. Even our government don’t try that lie on anymore. 

As long as important decisions affecting the future of our country are being made by rich, middle-aged, white men, its not just women whose voices won’t be heard. Inequality comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. We must fight it in every form, at every opportunity, for the benefit of men and women alike.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/mps-in-parliament-breakdown-of-activities-by-gender-and-party/

The festivities are behind us, and for good or bad, we “got Christmas done”. If only the same could be said for Brexit. Not only is Brexit not “done” but it appears to be rather different to the one the country was promised. It does not do what it says on the side of the tin, or in this case, on the side of a bus.

I’m minded to write a letter to the government’s complaint department – yes, they do have one, I checked – but I think they might be rather overwhelmed at the moment dealing with other dissatisfied customers. Assuming, of course, that they are not all at a party, gathering or meeting.

Whether you voted for or against leaving the EU, there are few that can be happy with the outcome. In fact, public opinion has shifted considerably over the last 12 months, with only 14% of the British public now thinking Brexit is going well. Farmers and fishermen are suffering buyers’ remorse, businesses are concerned about lack of investment and staff and a mountain of red tape, and prices are rising. That’s before the UK have even implemented full customs checks on EU imports. We have yet to see what a full-on Brexit will actually even look like. I think we can be sure it won’t be pretty.

Still, new year, new day, and it’s not all bad news, right? As the first Brexit Secretary, David Davis, said back in October 2016, “there will be no downsides to Brexit at all, and considerable upsides”. He may have been proved slightly wrong about the downsides, but those upsides are SO worth it! Australian wine is going to be 20p a bottle cheaper to import, and who drinks European wine anyway? British fisherman will be able to catch more fish in five years time, assuming they haven’t gone out of business by then. A popular favourite will be the return of imperial measures. Not only will Brits be able to drink pints of beer out of pint glasses again (did they ever stop doing that?), but Champagne is going to be served in pint bottles! I’m not entirely sure the French have been told about this development as yet, but I’m sure they’ll be only too happy to change productions lines just for us. And let’s not forget blue/black passports – the first passport in history to reduce our ability to travel.

Even those responsible for negotiating and implementing Brexit are not faring well. We’re already two Prime Ministers down, and the current incumbent’s position is looking a tad insecure. Then we have the Brexit Ministers – to lose one Brexit Secretary would have been bad enough. To lose four in five years is starting to look like carelessness. Or possibly, even the most devoted Brexit advocates just can’t turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse, no matter how much sovereignty they sprinkle on top.

The latest development saw Lord Frost toddle off into the sunlit uplands/the House of Lords, perhaps to sign up for anger management classes. Frosty the No-Man has become Frosty the Go-Man, to be replaced by wearer of many hats, and many contradictory opinions, Liz Truss. As a former staunch Remainer, and even a Lib-Dem, we can only hope that Truss will take a less belligerent approach to Brexit negotiations, though first appearances would suggest otherwise. Still, in the spirit of New Year, I’d like to suggest a few resolutions she might wish to consider.

Firstly, she could break the habit of her predecessors, learn how the EU functions, and stop treating our European neighbours as the enemy. The role of a negotiator or diplomat, is to be well, diplomatic. Another step forward would be to end the threats and honour international agreements the UK signed up to. The EU can hardly be blamed for Brexit failing to live up to the rose-tinted promises of many a PM and Brexit Minister.

My biggest wish would be for the return of all that Brexit has stolen from us – our rights as EU citizens; our international standing and reputation for honesty, decency and tolerance; and a return to our place as a global economic power.

Brexit isn’t done – it’s not even close. But it is bonkers – for the economy, for jobs, for prices and for business. Brexit was mis-sold, and the country would like its deposit back please.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. A closer, more efficient, economically viable relationship with the EU is not only possible, it’s worth fighting for. I’ll be happy to raise a 0.473 glass of Champagne to that any day of the week! In the meantime, maybe it’s time to send off my letter of complaint and ask for my money back.