W
ho will blink first? Boris
Johnson has staked his
premiership on leaving the EU
on October 31, with or without a
deal. He has stated often that he
wants a new agreement but,
should that prove impossible, Brexit will happen
on the appointed day. The EU, on the other hand, is
equally adamant that they will not renegotiate the
deal reached by Theresa May and thrice rejected
by Parliament. They are ready to make some
adjustments to the political declaration but the
three elements of the withdrawal agreement,
including the Irish backstop, remain inviolable.
If we are to avoid the no-deal exit that everyone
says they do not want, something has to give. Mr
Johnson had given the impression that, until the
EU indicated it was prepared to renegotiate, there
would be no point in meeting. We had proposed
that he might be better off visiting Washington
first, since the overtures from the White House
about future relationships are far more promising
than from Brussels. But he has decided instead to
do what his predecessor did and head for the twin
capitals of the EU, Berlin and Paris, for his first
foreign trip since taking office.
These talks are being billed as preliminary
discussions ahead of the G7 summit later this week
in Biarritz, and we are invited by Number 10 to
believe that Brexit will not dominate. But since it is
the most important foreign policy matter of the
moment, both for the UK and the EU, it is
impossible to take such protestations seriously.
However these discussions are dressed up, they
will set the weather for the final stages of Brexit –
framing the parliamentary battle to come next
month and the circumstances in which the UK
finally leaves. No deal would mean no financial
settlement and an end to free movement from
November 1, resulting in an acrimonious and
disruptive departure. This would sour relations
with the European powers for years to come,
which cannot be in the interests of Germany or
France – or Ireland, for that matter.
Equally, however, Mr Johnson cannot be seen to
go to the two capitals as a supplicant and endure
the humiliation inflicted on Mrs May at Salzburg
last year. The EU’s leaders need to appreciate the
new political realities in Britain. If the Prime
Minister receives a “nein” from Angela Merkel, and
a frosty “non” from Emmanuel Macron, they must
understand his only choice then will be no deal.Time for the EU to
take talks seriously
T
his nation now faces a most dreadful curse,
A laureate refusing to pen us new verse.
Alas, he explains, to the people of Britain,
A poem on Brexit he’s already written.
‘Twas done back in March, when we were meant
to go,
It’s not really his fault – Mrs May was too slow.
But when it comes to events of so great a size,
It cannot be too much to ask a reprise.
All poets now ought to be flexing their muscles,
Composing their own special farewell to Brussels.
We on this paper have here done our best,
With these few humble lines, half written in jest.
As Britain breaks free from the EU’s harsh fetter,
Perhaps you, dear reader, might do even better?A Brussels eleg y
T
he appalling bomb attack in Kabul in which
63 wedding guests and others were killed
and hundreds injured comes amid efforts to
broker a peace in Afghanistan between the Taliban
and the government. The alleged perpetrators of
this atrocity were suicide bombers acting for the
Islamic State group (Isil), whose caliphate in Syria
and Iraq has been destroyed but whose malevolent
influence continues to be felt throughout the
region. It is no coincidence this has happened as
the Americans and the Taliban reach some sort of
concordat to allow the remaining US troops to
leave Afghanistan 18 years after their arrival.
Donald Trump indicated at the weekend after a
meeting with Zalmay Khalilzad, his peace envoy to
Kabul, that there had been sufficient progress to
reach an agreement with the Taliban. But the
continuing violence will make this harder, and is
intended to. A bombing of a mosque in Pakistan
two days ago killed the brother of the Taliban
leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, who appears to
have been deliberately targeted.
The framework deal worked out at meetings in
Qatar would allow for the phased withdrawal of
the remaining 14,000 US troops in return for the
Taliban ensuring Afghanistan cannot be used as a
base for extremists to operate from, as Al-Qaeda
once did. Mr Trump made ending the deployment
to Afghanistan – the longest in America’s history – a
key foreign policy objective for his presidency and
is anxious to see it through before the next election
for the White House.
But getting the Taliban and the Afghan
government to agree terms will not be easy and it
is not clear yet whether the US withdrawal is
conditional on an internal settlement. What is
apparent is that the “death cult” of Isil will do as
much as it can to prolong Afghanistan’s misery.Afghanistan’s misery
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W
hen the state old age pension
was introduced in 1909, the
retirement age was 70. In
2019, when people live on average
about 15 years longer, it is 65 (rising to
66 next year).
This is silly, not to mention
punitively expensive. The state
pension was not supposed to create a
whole new era of doing nothing, but
to relieve the want of those no longer
capable of working. The Centre for
Social Justice (CSJ), a conservative
think tank, has noticed this. It thinks
the pension age should rise to 75 by
2042, by which time a quarter of the
adult population will be over 65. In
return, far more effort should be made
to retrain older workers and make
them central to the workforce, instead
of trying to shuffle them off.
I consider myself a bit of an expert
on the ageing process, having
interviewed about 500 people for my
biography of Mrs Thatcher, almost
all of whom are over 60. The great
majority, I have found, fit the CSJ view.
Such people do not want full
retirement until they are truly old –
which nowadays usually means 80
plus. They often want different work,
with shorter, more flexible hours, but
they also feel energetic and capable. If
they are effectively forced out of workjust because they are 65, they tend to
go to pieces and die: the need to get up
in the morning is, oddly, one of the
things which make life worth living.
I should have thought that a higher
pension, collectable at a later stage,
would reflect these desires.
Obviously the wishes of the
older generation are not the only
consideration. One must think about
employers’ needs, too. Here older
persons have an important advantage,
unmentionable by politicians. We
(I am 62) were taught to read, write
and add up properly. Among the
young, these skills are dying out just
as surely as coracle making or
ploughing by hand.
Le Paradis is an odd name for
Hell. On 27 May 1940, the 14th
Company of the SS Death’s Head
division attacked 99 soldiers of the
2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk
Regiment, in that village in Northern
France during the retreat to Dunkirk.
Cut off, the Norfolks occupied a
farmhouse and cowshed. They fought
until all their ammunition was spent.
Then they surrendered.
An SS company disarmed the
Norfolks and marched them down the
road to a barn where two machine
guns were set up. There they
massacred them. All 99 men were
shot; but two, Privates Albert Pooley
and William O’Callaghan, were only
wounded. The latter saved the former,
and both were tended by the farm’s
owner and her son.
Both men were soon captured andmade prisoners of war, so the story
was not known at first. Pooley was
invalided home in 1943, but the British
authorities could not believe the
Germans could have done such a
dreadful thing, and accepted his
account only when O’Callaghan
returned home with victory in 1945
and corroborated it. Eventually, the SS
commander, Knöchlein, was arrested,
tried and, in 1948, hanged.
Oddly, although there are memorials
in France to the men whose lives were
so revoltingly taken, there is none in
Britain. Now the Paradis
Commemoration Group Memorial
Appeal (Memorial4LeParadisHeroes@
gmail.com) is raising the money to
erect one in Norfolk in time for
the 80th anniversary of the massacre
next year.
Men once so dishonoured should
be honoured by us.
Green campaigners are
increasingly attacking consumers
as well as producers about what we
eat, so it is time to take stock.
Many of us who do not believe that
the planet is likely to collapse because
of eating beef may nevertheless
share some disquiet – more aesthetic
than moral or ecological – at our
vast overconsumption.
In my case, it takes the form of
being annoyed by too much choice in
restaurants. If friends kindly invite
you to their houses for lunch or
dinner, you do not ask for a menu.
You eat what you are given (allowing
for some variations, eg, beingcharles moore
notebookMost people would prefer to retire a little later
oore vegetarian). Ninety-nine per cent of
the time, all is well.
If I were an entrepreneur, I would
start a restaurant chain which offered
no choice whatsoever, although the
dishes would change each day. The
chain would be cheap because it
would not have to waste all that money
on procuring, preserving or throwing
away a vast variety of things.
It would be called Hobson’s. The
lack of choice would mean that service
was almost instantaneous. People
would love it.
Speculation builds about how
well Olivia Colman will succeed
Claire Foy as the Queen in the coming
third series of The Crown. Ms Colman
herself has expressed anxiety on this
score. There is no doubt that she is one
of the best actresses of the age, but I
have a doubt, too. She has a distinctly
Left-wing face.
This is hard to describe, but easy to
recognise. It is something to do with
looking slightly resentful and ironic at
the idea of having to play a public role
which satisfies the demands of others.
The real live Queen has no such face- allowing almost no difference
discernible in public between the role
and the person.
I hasten to add that I have no idea
what Olivia Colman’s political views
are. I just have a hunch, which I hope
will be proved wrong.
read more at telegraph.co.uk/opinionsir – How is any “national unity”
government going to explain to
17.4 million people that in fact “national
unity” means ditching the majority
and imposing the minority view?
Is this not how revolutions start?
Alastair Muir
Bearsden, East Dunbartonshiresir – Ken Clarke was the only
Conservative MP to vote against
Article 50, but a few months later
he was allowed to stand in the
general election by his Rushcliffe
Conservative Association.
He should surely have stood as
an independent and made way for
a Conservative candidate who
supported the party’s manifesto.
Conservative Brexiteers would have
voted against him and he might not
have been elected.
In 1832, the Great Reform Act
eliminated rotten boroughs. The antics
of MPs such as Mr Clarke, Dominic
Grieve and Philip Hammond suggest
another act is needed to prevent
MPs who are not Conservatives frombeing allowed to masquerade as such.
Peter Mostyn
Loughborough, Leicestershiresir – Ken Clarke considers me to be
a “hard-line right-wing nationalist”
because I believe the referendum
result should be implemented and
want to leave the European Union on
the best possible terms for Britain.
These are hardly the words of
a moderate.
Paul Gaynor
Troutbeck Bridge, Cumbriasir – The policy of the Government is
crystal clear. It is to leave the European
Union on October 31, preferably with a
deal but, if not, without one.
Those Conservative MPs who defy
the Government on such an issue are
likely to precipitate a general election.
If so, before any such election is called,
why should the party whip not be
withdrawn? Then their constituency
organisations could adopt a new
candidate, and those displaced
members could put their honest caseon Brexit as independents, or under
some other banner, should they wish
to continue in Parliament.
Nicholas Webb
Birminghamsir – Peter Sharp (Letters, August 17) is
incorrect – Parliament may indeed
install a new government without the
need for a general election.
Explanatory notes in the Fixed-Term
Parliaments Act state: “Where the
House of Commons passes a motion of
no-confidence in the Government an
election must be held, unless, within
the period of 14 days, the House passes
a motion expressing confidence in a
government. The intention is to
provide an opportunity for an
alternative government to be formed
without an election.”
This clearly envisages that
Parliament can install a government of
its choosing – not simply reinstall the
incumbent government – without
recourse to a general election.
Neil Oakes
Kirk Ella, East YorkshireThere can be no national unity if the referendum result is not honoured Shire county funding
sir – We welcome Boris Johnson’s
commitment to “levelling up”
government investment in all parts of
the country.
For decades our shire counties have
been left behind urban areas when it
comes to council funding. Counties
receive just £240 for each resident
compared to £449 in urban areas, with
central London receiving £601.
A lack of funding has contributed to
the perverse situation in which some
residents in London pay half the
council tax of those in shire counties.
Counties face a deficit of £11.2 billion- nine times greater than in the capital.
The County Councils Network has
campaigned tirelessly to redress these
funding inequalities and for a bigger
funding pot for all local authorities.
Under the stewardship of Rishi
Sunak – now Chief Secretary to the
Treasury – good progress was made
on the fair funding review. There was
hope that there would be a genuine
balancing of funding. But the changing
of the guard in Westminster has cast
doubt over this.
If the Prime Minister is to fulfil his
pledge to level up opportunity in this
country, we must have a cast-iron
commitment to fair funding for our
overburdened councils.
Mr Johnson knows from his time
as Mayor of London how the capital
benefited from more funding, enabling
him to invest in its infrastructure and
in local services while also cutting
council tax. It is time our shire
counties were given the same
opportunities.
Cllr David Williams
Hertfordshire County Council
Cllr Paul Carter
Kent County Council
Cllr Nick Rushton
Leicestershire County Council
Cllr Peter Nutting
Shropshire Council
and 27 others; see telegraph.co.uk
A-level choices
sir – You ask (Leading article, August
14) why the choice has to be made by
A-level students between Stem
subjects – science, technology,
engineering and maths – and
the humanities.
Perhaps we should consider
moving further towards the
International Baccalaureate (IB).
Maths and English, along with a
second language, must be studied as
well as three other subjects, which can
be drawn either from the sciences or
the humanities. Having seen the
rigorousness of the IB firsthand (my
daughter has just studied for it) I am
convinced of its benefits, despite the
increased workload.
My daughter starts her degree in
medicine next month, but does so with
a solid foundation in English as well as
the sciences the course requires.
Graeme Snell
Ightham, Kentsir – It is concerning that A-level
students have only to answer one
quarter of their exam questions
correctly to achieve a D grade, and that
some universities are accepting
students with three D grades onto
their courses.
It cannot be fair on these students
if they are subsequently going to
struggle with their university
work, drop out, and yet still incur
student debt.
Paul Gallagher
Devizes, WiltshireA meaty dilemma
sir – If beef falling out of favour
results in the renaming of the Tower of
London’s Beefeaters (Letters, August
17), could they become Soy Soldiers?
Ken Stevens
Sonning Common, OxfordshireCharacters Young Stringer and Charlotte Heywood in the new TV version of SanditonHolocaust memorial
sir – We are descendants of Sir
Thomas Fowell Buxton (Letters,
August 8) who led the Slave
Emancipation Act of August 1833,
which abolished slavery and gave
freedom to all slaves in the British
Empire. His achievement is rightly
commemorated by the Buxton
Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens.
We deplore the design, scale and
location in the gardens of the planned
Holocaust Memorial and Learning
Centre. It will destroy the peace of the
park and the special symbolism of its
existing statuary. There are more
appropriate sites for a memorial, such
as the Imperial War Museum.
The project needs fresh thinking.
We trust that ministers will heed the
many objections to the present plans.
Joe Buxton
London SW
Lord Noel-Buxton
London SW
Sir Crispin Buxton
North Walsham, Norfolk
Henry Buxton
Wareside, Hertfordshire
and 10 others; see telegraph.co.ukThe Haddo Madonna
sir – It didn’t need a National Gallery
research programme to establish that
the Haddo Madonna was not a
Raphael (report, August 15), as
proposed on the BBC’s Britain’s Lost
Masterpieces in 2016.
ArtWatch rejected the attribution
because: the work didn’t look like a
Raphael; the Madonna wore an
implausibly racy all’antica dress; the
drawing to which the fragment is said
to relate belongs to Raphael’s early
Perugino-like paintings, not his
mature period; the picture’s only
“provenance” was an English label
on the back of the frame.
The National Trust for Scotland
plans to investigate whether wax seals
on the picture’s back indicate “a
previous owner or... clever piece of
trickery”. They might fear the worst- in 19th-
century
London,
forgery was
so extensive
that
specialist
“sealers”,
replicated
collectors’
wax seals.
Michael
Daley
Director,
ArtWatch
UK London
EN
RED PLANET/ITVsir – Rupert Christiansen (Arts,
August 9) rightly observes that Jane
Austen’s Sanditon, though written
shortly before her death, “reads as
though it was written by someone
young, fearless and energised”.
In 1805 Jane Austen, aged 29 and
full of health, spent the autumn in the
developing resort of Worthing. My
research suggests that she made notesfor her future novel, inspired by the
enthusiasm of Worthing’s townsfolk in
transforming their fishing hamlet into
a leading bathing place.
Sanditon, the precious fragment of
1817, therefore reflects the vitality of
Worthing in 1805 and of its youthful
visitor, Jane Austen.
Janet Clarke
Goring-by-Sea, West SussexThe seaside resort that inspired Jane Austen
sir – Your report on school governors
(“Oxbridge governors ‘help private
school pupils get upper hand’”, August
13) seems to misunderstand their role.
Governors, all of whom are
volunteers, are responsible for
setting strategy and ensuring proper
oversight and accountability. The
preparation and advice given to pupils
regarding university admissions is
dealt with by management, not
individual governors.
Academics from Oxford, Cambridge
and other universities sit not only
on the governing bodies of some
independent schools, but also on the
boards of maintained schools and
academy trusts. This is a positive way
of ensuring strong links between the
secondary and tertiary levels of
education across.
Richard Harman
Chief Executive Association of
Governing Bodies of Independent
Schools (AGBIS)
Welwyn, Hertfordshiresir – The fact that Oxbridge isrelatively well represented on the
governing boards of independent
schools does not confer any actual
advantage on Oxbridge applicants.
Indeed, my experience of such
governors is that they are scrupulously
careful to avoid any possibility of bias.
Thanks to the commitment of one
Oxbridge governor at my own school,
Colfe’s is now at the heart of a strategy
of St Catherine’s College Oxford to
recruit more pupils of potential from
state schools in south-east London.
As an independent school, we share
without reservation the commitment
of both Oxford and Cambridge to
widening access, particularly to
include a higher proportion of
disadvantaged pupils. We believe
strongly that this can be achieved
through partnership with local
state schools and the universities
themselves. Within this context,
Oxbridge representation on our board
is a help, not a hindrance.
Richard Russell
Headmaster, Colfe’s School
London SESchool governors do not decide university places
The Daily Telegraph Monday 19 August 2019 *** 15
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