SNP plans for EU membership dismantled as Scotland to lose clear benefits of UK allegiance

Political commentator John Lloyd told Roundtable that Scotland's level of exports to countries outside the United Kingdom is quite small as 60 percent of their trade is with the rest of Britain. He added that it would be very hard for Scotland to reach their current level of exporting if the nation were to leave the United Kingdom.

Mr Lloyd said: "If Scotland gets into the European Union, it will certainly not be in a fiscal union because the EU cannot create one. This is not a harbour where Scotland can sit back and have a better time than it did in the UK. Scotland is also a place where its exports are quite small, around 60 percent go to the rest of the UK. They will probably grow but it is a tough world out there. It will be tougher after the end of Covid and to get to levels it has got with the UK would be very hard indeed."

Scottish Conservative Councillor Tony Miklinski has also warned the SNP that an independent Scotland would not be accepted into the European Union without severe constraints imposed on the country.

During an interview with The Express, Mr Miklinski hit out at the current state of Scotland's economy as he highlighted the struggles Ms Sturgeon would face trying to join the EU.

He added that the United Kingdom is stronger together and Scotland's economy greatly benefits from being supported by the Westminster Government.

Mr Miklinski said: "The EU rules that they apply to everybody is a GDP deficit gap of no more than three percent. Scotland’s is currently seven percent it is just about the worst in the existing European countries. Therefore, the rules that they have, especially post-pandemic when all economies are struggling means I can see no scenario where they would welcome effectively a sick orphan, the Scottish economy, into their midst. If they did, they would impose strict and severe constraints on how the economy would have to be handled. That would mean closing the deficit gap and that can only be done through increased taxation, cutting spending or massive borrowing."

He added: "By the way, the SNP talk about, 'give us the powers and we can do this for ourselves, for example, the UK’s support from the pandemic,' of course that is not true. There is no way that a Scottish economy which does not really exist in isolation because it is supported by Westminster, would be given rates anywhere as good as the UK Government can negotiate.

Basically better together means it, we are better as a union with the strengths of the UK meshing with what we offer."

Source: Daily Express

UK military delegation to Egypt seeks to strengthen ties as rights abuses worsen

A UK military delegation has just finished a three-day official visit to Egypt to reinforce bilateral cooperation, enhance joint training and enforce the armament partnership.

UK Chief of Defence Staff's Senior Adviser to the MENA region Lieutenant General Sir John Lorimer and Air Marshal Martin Sampson met with top Egyptian defence officials from the Navy, Air Force and armament authority.

Sampson said that the cooperation is a reflection of mutual respect and ambition between the two countries.

Rights groups have continually called on the UK government to halt military cooperation with Egypt, in particular arms sales, in light of the severe human rights abuses taking place in the country.

Since the 2011 January revolution, the UK government has licenced $297.6 million worth of arms to Egypt and singled it out as a "core market" for arms sales.

Since General-turned President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's rise to power, Egypt has been fighting a war in the North Sinai Peninsula which has killed children, razed houses to the ground and forcibly displaced thousands.

The army forcibly breaks up protests across the country, most notably during the August 2013 Rabaa massacre when they killed some 1,000 demonstrators.

The UK has refused to leverage its arms sales to the country based on Egypt's ability to abide by human rights, suspending arms licences to the North African state in the wake of the massacre and then reinstating the majority of them just two months later.

Egypt is living through its worst years in terms of human rights abuses. Political prisoners are forcibly disappeared, systematically tortured and the death penalty is soaring.

On the ten-year anniversary of the Egyptian revolution the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) called on the UK government to end arms sales and support for the Egyptian regime.

Source: Muddle East Monitor

for arms sales.

UK has enough Covid jabs on order to vaccinate ALL adults by end of June

Some 100 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine are reportedly due to be delivered in the first half of the year.

The UK also has millions more jabs from Pfizer and Moderna.

This means the UK will have enough to give at least one dose to all 53 million adults by the end of June.

A senior Government source confirmed AstraZeneca is expected to deliver the 100 million doses in the first half of 2021.

A No 10 source said: “Depending on supplies, we are hopeful that the vaccines roll-out will continue to accelerate. But as with all highly complex programmes, it remains possible that it will be disrupted at some point.”

Source: Daily Express