Baroness Kate Hoey nominated as trade envoy for Ghana

[Nick]

I never thought of Kate Hoey as one of our "best and brightest". In July this year Ghana signed a major trade agreement with the EU. If we'd still been in the EU we'd have been part of that. Now we've got to play catch-up with people who no longer need to play ball with us. Neat!

https://www.pubaffairsbruxelles.eu/the-eu-welcomes-the-start-of-trading-under-the-eu-ghana-interim-economic-partnership-agreement-eu-commission-press/

The U.K. deal with Ghana is almost identical to the one we had through the EU except for 2 or 3 clauses. Recognition of origin of goods and services a small quota on sugar. So no, we're not playing catch up, we have a lot more deals than the EU have and it doesn't take the U.K. 6 years to make a deal.

[HDQQ]

I have one of those feelings this will turn into a Left and Right discussion, while completely ignoring the fact, the Westminster party is corrupt to its core.

There's only a couple of us on here of a left-wing persuasion, so it's more likely to turn into an traditional Tory vs. alt-right didcussion!

[HDQQ]

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1484052/brexit-news-global-trade-options-ghana-kate-hoey-eu-exit-latest

The pieces are moving into place. After the excellent Beefy Botham has been nominated as trade envoy for our colony down under, Kate Hoey is now leading the charge in opening up new markets in Ghana.
It's good to see that Boris is nominating our best and brightest for the most important positions so we can once more become the world's chief trading nation.

I never thought of Kate Hoey as one of our "best and brightest". In July this year Ghana signed a major trade agreement with the EU. If we'd still been in the EU we'd have been part of that. Now we've got to play catch-up with people who no longer need to play ball with us. Neat!

https://www.pubaffairsbruxelles.eu/the-eu-welcomes-the-start-of-trading-under-the-eu-ghana-interim-economic-partnership-agreement-eu-commission-press/

[johnofgwent]

I have one of those feelings this will turn into a Left and Right discussion, while completely ignoring the fact, the Westminster party is corrupt to its core.

I don't see that. I see all parties as deeply corrupt to the core. Including the one I stood as a candidate for, one of the other two I have in the past joined, and one I was interested in


It's called politics

[Borchester]

Its this never ending blind defence of the uk governments ( and that includes labour too in the past) over certain issues like the  mismanagement of a precious resource that makes a mockery of you borkie.

That is me Tommy. I see myself as Mr Deeply Dim and obedient to such instructions as given to me by my betters. That said, the Norwegians pump around twice as much oil as we do and have only a thirteen the population. So the way I see it, the Norwegians have ended up with sackloads of cash per head while, as John has already said, Maggie decided to piss away our modest honorarium on paying the bills.

But don't worry on it. I am old and bent and poor, but take my word for it, I won't go short 

[Sheepy]

Norway was taxing shell £4.5 billion while the london clowns gave shell £179 million.

I have one of those feelings this will turn into a Left and Right discussion, while completely ignoring the fact, the Westminster party is corrupt to its core.

[johnofgwent]

Production is for each country to arrange and manage. Norway and the UK have each currently identified around 5bn barrels of petroleum to draw on. Norway put its maximised income to amassing a fund to develop its economy. The UK used its licensing and taxation income on day-to-day expenditure...

I thought Maggie pumped quite a lot of it into reducing the National Debt.

[Thomas]

The UK produces half as much oil as Norway and has a population thirteen times bigger.

If we squirreled away the oil revenues it would still not be enough to provide us with a round of bread and dripping sandwiches for Christmas lunch.

Its this never ending blind defence of the uk governments ( and that includes labour too in the past) over certain issues like the  mismanagement of a precious resource that makes a mockery of you borkie.

Norway has produced broadly similar amounts of oil to  the  uk , and generated tens of billions of government revenue , while, at times, the uk actually lost money.

The population difference and bread and dripping sandwiches are a red herring. The point is the collosul mismanagement of oil by the uk government has cost us all a massive fortune.

Even during the 2015 oil crash norway , producing broadly similar amounts , made £29 billion while the uk mismanagement lost £23 million over same period.

Norway was taxing shell £4.5 billion while the london clowns gave shell £179 million.

Your "nuggets of conservative wisdom " as laid down by the tory bible the telegraph wont let you wriggile out of this brokie.

Its an incontestable fact that the uk governments in london over the decades since oil was discovered have terribly mismanaged oil revenue in comparison to other states who benefitted massively from this bounty.

Norway's $885bn-nil advantage in Britain's sea of social troubles

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/15/land-reforms-and-a-sovereign-fund-could-secure-uks-long-term-future

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2016/09/24/how-to-not-spend-it?fsrc=scn%2Ftw%2Fte%2Fbl%2Fed%2F

[Borchester]

TBH the point is a valuable asset was frittered away without much thought.

I can't see that there was much to think on to be honest.

For every pound the Norwegians  make the Brits get 4p. Even the Stamford Hill Frumas could not do much with that.

[HallowedBrexit]

Well having met one of Vauxhalls finest on a couple of occasions I have to say she should have had then and possibly now a higher ranking job than trade envoy . That she calls a spade a spade , supported leave and belongs to the wrong party has almost certainly been the reason her career in politics never really took off  as it should have .

An excellent MP that deserves more than a holiday in Africa

Don't forget her excellent stance on fox hunting and the Irish border.

[patman post]

The UK produces half as much oil as Norway and has a population thirteen times bigger.

If we squirreled away the oil revenues it would still not be enough to provide us with a round of bread and dripping sandwiches for Christmas lunch.

Production is for each country to arrange and manage. Norway and the UK have each currently identified around 5bn barrels of petroleum to draw on. Norway put its maximised income to amassing a fund to develop its economy. The UK used its licensing and taxation income on day-to-day expenditure...

[cromwell]

The UK produces half as much oil as Norway and has a population thirteen times bigger.

If we squirreled away the oil revenues it would still not be enough to provide us with a round of bread and dripping sandwiches for Christmas lunch.

TBH the point is a valuable asset was frittered away without much thought.

[Borchester]

∆∆∆ 

I guess that's the "can't be bothered/it's too hard/we know best" answers — and probably indicative  of why Norway created a whole sovereign wealth fund from its state-controlled off-shore oil and gas industry, while dear old UK sat on its butt and collected the rental income and let others come in and extract the major profits. 

The UK produces half as much oil as Norway and has a population thirteen times bigger.

If we squirreled away the oil revenues it would still not be enough to provide us with a round of bread and dripping sandwiches for Christmas lunch.

[Streetwalker]

Well having met one of Vauxhalls finest on a couple of occasions I have to say she should have had then and possibly now a higher ranking job than trade envoy . That she calls a spade a spade , supported leave and belongs to the wrong party has almost certainly been the reason her career in politics never really took off  as it should have .

An excellent MP that deserves more than a holiday in Africa

[patman post]

∆∆∆ 

I guess that's the "can't be bothered/it's too hard/we know best" answers — and probably indicative  of why Norway created a whole sovereign wealth fund from its state-controlled off-shore oil and gas industry, while dear old UK sat on its butt and collected the rental income and let others come in and extract the major profits. 


Believing itself a master of international politics, while letting the City dictate business and industrial policy has led to the present UK house of cards — once more dependent on overseas investment and ownership for its industry, while the pension funds and home grown money men look for ever higher dividends, or new ownership when that's not delivered...