Tuesday 12 April 2016

An EU Referendum Classic

Back in action properly in a day or so.  Meantime it's hard not to LOL at yesterday's classic RichardNorthism on the subject of some recent interview of Nigel Lawson.  Headed The Limits to Tolerance (!), it includes this:
the arrogant, malign fool that is Lawson had not even finished in his attempt to destroy the campaign. Asked about border controls in Ireland, the idiot told Marr that border checks would have to be resumed. If there could possibly be a more sensitive subject, I would like to know what it is. In one fell swoop, Lawson has just wiped out the Northern Ireland "leave" vote. And what is especially galling on this is that I personally have spent several weeks researching this issue and crafting a sensible "line to take"
... here we have this man, in a matter of seconds, destroy hundreds of hours of work, setting back carefully crafted arguments and possibly wiping out the entire Northern Ireland vote... exactly an example of what I've been complaining about. From a personal perspective, I simply cannot be expected to work hour after hour, week after week – as I have done for years – only to have my efforts destroyed in seconds by idiots such as Lawson, and stay mute. That is the point which so many of my critics seem to miss.
A passage like this could be from one of Craig Brown's brilliant parodies.  Or, sadly, from a clinical textbook.  Laugh?  Actually I nearly wept for the poor man.

ND

19 comments:

david morris said...

Did he stamp his feet after saying this ?

bloke in brum said...

I've been following Scott Adams (Dilbert) blog about Trump. What's clear is that it is not facts that sway people's opinions but persuasive rhetoric and feelings. North's problem is that he believes that simply having the better argument is going to result in Brexit, whereas what the Brexit campaign really needs is an influential and charismatic figure to make the case and grab the headlines.

Raedwald said...

Dr North - a brilliant researcher, possibly the best in the UK - possibly hasn't grasped that the referendum will not be won or lost on facts but on emotion. One can be as cavalier with the facts as one wishes. It will be 95% 'Events, dear boy ...'

However, his Brexit plan is about the most comprehensive in existance, and if we get a 'No' vote I can see it being widely circulated as a base model, at least amongst our civil servants.

Nick Drew said...

DM - I think I heard his stamping from here in France

BiB - Adams is really striken (not to say obsessed) with Trump's 'skills', isn't he? I really like his forensic evaluations of same

it is not facts ... - so right: we may have said something similar ourselves over the past several weeks. Funnily enough, the absence of a charismatic leader (as opposed to charismatic member-of-the-camp, e.g. Boris) doesn't seem to be working against Brexit: Events and the multiple faux pas of the Remainders seem to be giving enough rope & doing the job nicely

@ possibly hasn't grasped ... - delicately put, Mr R

John in Cheshire said...

Raedwald, I agree with you; whatever people think of Dr North, they cannot fault his grasp of all things EU, UNECE and even UN. I believe that the Flexcit document has already been distributed amongst civil servants to help them plan for the (I hope and pray) inevitable withdrawal from the EU. It is someone like Richard North whom I'd expect they'd co-opt onto the subsequent negotiating team because we'll need people like him who understand how the EU bureaucracy functions, so they don't do the usual and run rings around us.

Blue Eyes said...

...doesn't mean he isn't a tit.

Bill Quango MP said...

Agree with the article and with every comment.

The saddest thing is that all these players; North, Lawson, Redmond, Johnson, Farage Cash etc, have waited for decades for this moment. And when it arrived they are so poorly prepared.

Obviously Dr North would argue he has prepared more thoroughly than any individual in Europe and would show his garage full of files to prove it.

But all he has constructed is an impressive, fortified Maginot line that Cameron won't frontally assault in a million years.
"three million jobs lost...three million..." He will hear as Dave's civil service battalions zip by.

"No jobs will be lost! I have the papers!"

"Three million lost..maybe even four...and you'll have to check in a day early for the Eurostar!"

"Nonesense! Protocol 56/5 clearly states that European nations must not restrict..."

"Two day check in for flights to Europe..because we won't be receiving terror reports..don't risk it...six million jobs lost.... Maybe even seven...vote Remain everyone..you know it makes sense...and this time next year, you'll all be millionaires.."

Jeremy Poynton said...

North's problem is his humungous ego, which prompts him to abuse anybody who has any views that differ from his. His articles always refer to "we", which either means the Royal North, or he and his merry band of c30 followers. It may well be that he is spot-on, and that Flexcit is brilliant. Regardless, who could work with such a man?

bloke in brum said...

Dr. North is a necessary but not sufficient element for Brexit. I read Redwoods blog too and it's clear that they both have comprehensive well thought out arguments for leaving the EU. But the Brexiteers will need a 20 point advantage to overcome the status quo, and when the government and the remainder have control of the media, the universities and all the Quangos, that is an almighty Hill to climb. It helps that the EU is imploding slowly, and circumstances favour the outers, but something or someone else is needed...

andrew said...

... the idiot told Marr that border checks would have to be resumed.

Lawson is not an idiot, just pointing out the bleeding obvious.

We would either put checks in place
A-on the border with Southern Ireland,
or
B-at the ferry ports in N. Ireland, or (worse) in the ferry ports in Wales.

A=republicans go nuclear
B=unionists go nuclear

Pick one.

Maybe Mr North is well prepared, but evidence presented here says not so.

This encapsulates all the comprehensive well thought out arguments for Brexit I have seen.
- not comprehensive or well thought out.
Not that the stayers are much better.

Stop trying to change things, they are bad enough already.

Ravenscar said...

If we could reach the point, where Britain was out of the blasted political-corporate stitch-up and totalled car crash, the self inflicted, Internationalist-Gulf inspired migrational disaster unfolding, washing up on the shores of the EU.
Then, post BREXIT and OUT of the EU and thus, fastidiously switching attention to a very necessary reordering of the UK political landscape - to deconstructing the ugly ever growing monster of big state crap which is UK governance, micromanaged NHS et effin cetera, dismantle charidees, quangos, dismiss the local government taliban chieftains.

Dr. Richard North desires all of that.

I've got to say, he is focused, he is cutting, he is dedicated and though on many things we probably disagree, not least as Radders refers to, on 'events'. I will not, do not knock Northy and mostly I try to keep out of his way, I offered to be an outrider and that is what I do.

Bulldog said...

Brexit is too little, too late. We need a full blown restoration of the monarchy. And those that don't like it can bugger of to EU land and leave the true loyal upstanding British to bask in the glory of a new Elizabethan age.

Electro-Kevin said...

Bulldog - For all of the ten minutes she'll be here (I regret to say.)

Then follows the first Charlie age (and I mean proper Charlie - not Charles.)

I don't really care what follows - I don't want a return to the '50s (I wasn't there.) I just want to be out of the EU disaster zone. We'll work the rest out later.

I notice that the broadcast media have gone quiet on the Mediterranian migration crisis and I predicted this would happen in the weeks before the referendum.

Raedwald is right. This will be won or lost on uneducated hysteria on either side and I admit to being undeducated.

The £9m leaflet campaign is actually a good move on the part of the Remains - whether it is illegal or not. It won't do their cause any harm at all and probably a lot of good.

I'd advise against sending it back RTS as the taxpayer will pick up the bill. Any penalties for illegality will be picked up by the taxpayer too, so David Cameron could at least pay the maximum amount of tax he possibly can in view of his use of the taxpayers' money on this and Foreign Aid.

Blue Eyes said...

There is no reason why there should be borders erected between the UK and RoI after a Brexit. Ireland is not in Schengen and has had arrangements with the UK which hugely predate either country's entry into the EU. Lawson is clearly wrong on this. But the idea that everyone speaking his or her mind on the EU Referendum should have to run their view past Sir Richard is beyond hilarious...

Anonymous said...

Switzerland is not in the EU and the only "borders" in place are some mobile customs officers on the main expressway to Italy.

Peter Whale said...

North castigated everyone who had the temerity to suggest that the referendum would take place this year. No he proclaimed it will be in 2017 after the revolving heads of state comes to the UK . You are waisting effort and you should be meticulously planning for that moment in time.. Well the June referendum was announced and North apologised profusely to everyone whom he called an idiot or am I dreaming. No a brusque remark and back to his backbiting ways.

Jan said...

The leaflet which arrived the other day went straight into the recycling box along with all the other junk advertising for pizza etc. I didn't even open it.

Brik said...

The main reason why he was so annoyed was that Owen Patterson had just done a circuit of Northern Ireland reassuring voters and then Lawson undid all that good work without a thought.

Anonymous said...

North only seems to attack his own troops. He's in a foxhole behind his own line taking potshots at anyone going over the top whose uniform is not precisely as it should be (in his mind).

Doesn't it occur to him that every time he takes apart a Leaver he gives ammunition to the Remainers?

I agree with the conclusion here:

http://figures-of-speech.com/2016/04/richard-north.htm

That is, he doesn't want Leave to win the referendum so that he can spend his remaining years, his genius confirmed, vomiting intemperate bile at everyone who was associated with the Leave campaign.

He's also dissembling and mendacious. As already pointed out on this thread, when it turned out that his conviction that the referendum couldn't be held for years proved to be totally wrong we heard not a squeak of apology.

In the same way, we have heard nothing more about his recent Leave Alliance rally in London: the 'professional' photos and videos have not so far appeared, implying to my suspicious mind that the event was a total turkey and he doesn't have the honesty to tell us.