Blog 2023 Malcolm Blair-Robinson

MY LATEST BLOCKBUSTER THRILLER IS NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE AND IN PAPERBACK! GET IT NOW.

It is written in a modern style in a scene by scene format, with punctuation which follows reading flow rather than traditional rules. This creates a compelling  narrative, easy to read and hard to put down. This book is a work of fiction, but at its heart there is a real historical cover-up. This drives the plot, but almost all the events and characters are fictional. Some characters appear also in Hitler’s First Lady, but that is a novel much more closely linked to known historical facts and the true story of a family, which appears in both books as the Benedicts. Here most of their story is fiction, as are all the modern characters within the family and in the world beyond.

 AMAZON.COM                                   AMAZON.UK

About the Book

Dr. Rachael Benedict is an American historian and a best-selling author. She has a British connection through her estranged father Saul, an English thriller writer. Saul, whose parents were of Anglo-German origin, has spent much of his life plotting to expose secrets from World War Two, which are so sensitive they have been subject to an extensive cover-up lasting seventy years. As the time approaches for him to make his move to expose duplicity, murder and lies at the heart of the British State, he seeks Rachael’s help. This provokes a killing spree as parts of the security services of both Britain and the United States become engaged in the drama, with one side determined to get the secrets out and the other determined to keep them hidden.

Set equally in the United States and Britain, the narrative grips from the first page, transporting the reader to the heart of government both in Washington and London and on into the darkest corners of the secret states on each side of the Atlantic. Rachael battles forward to unearth the truth both from intrigues of the Nazi era, but also within her own family, surviving three attempts on her life, before finally achieving her goal. Not only does she expose the truth from history and from her own roots, she has to delve deep into her own emotions to find the truth about herself.

Labour MPs have to stop being silly. To try and change leader now would be an electoral gamble too far, more especially because there is no obvious candidate in sight. Labour’s greatest risk comes from the thirty plus seats it is on target to lose in Scotland and it is there that it has to shore up support.

This is not to say Milliband does not have a credibility problem. He has but he has passed the point of no return and he and his party have now to do the best they can. The elected Senate was a good start for a simple and dramatic policy, but it is a bit outside the sphere of interest of ordinary folk in a cost of living crisis. What is needed now is stuff like taking power generation and network distribution back into public ownership in the style of Railtrack, while leaving retail sales open to competition. Making all doctors NHS employees working exclusively for the NHS would transform the health service and should be on the Labour list. A mansion tax is good as would be a turnover tax replacing corporation tax. What is no good is all the fiddly little tinkerings Labour offers, none of which add up to much and which nobody can remember.

It is worth remembering to that only three Labour leaders have ever won a majority at the ballot box for the Labour Movement. Attlee, Wilson and Blair. And they won because the country had had enough of the Conservatives in 1945, 1964 and 1997. Attlee won one more election. Wilson three more and Blair two more. The two Labour leaders who took over when Labour was in power, Callaghan and Brown, both lost and lost big. By contrast three Conservative leaders who took over power, Eden, Macmillan, and Major all won. Only Lord Home, (later Sir Alec Douglas-Home) lost and then only just.

One of Labour’s strengths is its loyalty to its leaders. The Tories are famous for knifing theirs.

MY LATEST BLOCKBUSTER THRILLER IS NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE AND IN PAPERBACK! GET IT NOW.

It is written in a modern style in a scene by scene format, with punctuation which follows reading flow rather than traditional rules. This creates a compelling  narrative, easy to read and hard to put down. This book is a work of fiction, but at its heart there is a real historical cover-up. This drives the plot, but almost all the events and characters are fictional. Some characters appear also in Hitler’s First Lady, but that is a novel much more closely linked to known historical facts and the true story of a family, which appears in both books as the Benedicts. Here most of their story is fiction, as are all the modern characters within the family and in the world beyond.

 AMAZON.COM                                   AMAZON.UK

About the Book

Dr. Rachael Benedict is an American historian and a best-selling author. She has a British connection through her estranged father Saul, an English thriller writer. Saul, whose parents were of Anglo-German origin, has spent much of his life plotting to expose secrets from World War Two, which are so sensitive they have been subject to an extensive cover-up lasting seventy years. As the time approaches for him to make his move to expose duplicity, murder and lies at the heart of the British State, he seeks Rachael’s help. This provokes a killing spree as parts of the security services of both Britain and the United States become engaged in the drama, with one side determined to get the secrets out and the other determined to keep them hidden.

Set equally in the United States and Britain, the narrative grips from the first page, transporting the reader to the heart of government both in Washington and London and on into the darkest corners of the secret states on each side of the Atlantic. Rachael battles forward to unearth the truth both from intrigues of the Nazi era, but also within her own family, surviving three attempts on her life, before finally achieving her goal. Not only does she expose the truth from history and from her own roots, she has to delve deep into her own emotions to find the truth about herself.

Like many in Europe I used to think (and blog) that the American system of government was dysfunctional and out of date and would only work if one party had a majority in both Houses and occupied the White House. I also thought that there was some kind of ideological divide between Republicans and Democrats, that went beyond the first leaning towards conservatism and the second to a more liberal drive in Federal policy. My grandparents were naturalised Americans, although my widowed grandmother returned to the UK and lived with us in my childhood. I remember her fuming all over the house when news came in that Truman had held onto the Presidency in 1948, in spite of early calling of a Dewey win. My grandparents were Republicans.

I now have a better idea of what is going on because an American friend explained that there are only two drivers in American politics; Government or Opposition. And the Constitution had been so organised at Federal level with so many checks and balances that unless there was either a majority or a consensus, nothing could happen. When I thought about it, everything then made sense. Americans do not like to be governed at all and if it is to happen it must be a deal that everybody buys into. This is not what the spinners proclaim but it is what powers the American heart.

It can be put another way, although this will not be openly proclaimed. The schism which caused the Civil War was about sovereignty and power and it is still there. It was  not just a split in the interpretation of the constitution and the nature of the union; the split exists within the psyche of all Americans outside the big cities. America is a Confederate heart ruled by a Federal head. This strange tension has produced the richest, most advanced and powerful nation on earth. So none can say it does not work. Those Founding Fathers knew their stuff.

MY LATEST BLOCKBUSTER THRILLER IS NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE AND IN PAPERBACK! GET IT NOW.

It is written in a modern style in a scene by scene format, with punctuation which follows reading flow rather than traditional rules. This creates a compelling  narrative, easy to read and hard to put down. This book is a work of fiction, but at its heart there is a real historical cover-up. This drives the plot, but almost all the events and characters are fictional. Some characters appear also in Hitler’s First Lady, but that is a novel much more closely linked to known historical facts and the true story of a family, which appears in both books as the Benedicts. Here most of their story is fiction, as are all the modern characters within the family and in the world beyond.

 AMAZON.COM                                   AMAZON.UK

About the Book

Dr. Rachael Benedict is an American historian and a best-selling author. She has a British connection through her estranged father Saul, an English thriller writer. Saul, whose parents were of Anglo-German origin, has spent much of his life plotting to expose secrets from World War Two, which are so sensitive they have been subject to an extensive cover-up lasting seventy years. As the time approaches for him to make his move to expose duplicity, murder and lies at the heart of the British State, he seeks Rachael’s help. This provokes a killing spree as parts of the security services of both Britain and the United States become engaged in the drama, with one side determined to get the secrets out and the other determined to keep them hidden.

Set equally in the United States and Britain, the narrative grips from the first page, transporting the reader to the heart of government both in Washington and London and on into the darkest corners of the secret states on each side of the Atlantic. Rachael battles forward to unearth the truth both from intrigues of the Nazi era, but also within her own family, surviving three attempts on her life, before finally achieving her goal. Not only does she expose the truth from history and from her own roots, she has to delve deep into her own emotions to find the truth about herself.

Its detractors will say plenty. Yet it remains the most successful grouping of independent nations in human history. Yes it is bureaucratic. It has too many restrictive rules which are hindering its competitiveness in global markets. It’s institutions of governance are peculiar and detached from the people governed. But all of that can be fixed. What cannot be fixed is a spoiler member who is forever out of step. That is Britain. To succeed long term the EU has to have two countries in it. One, Britain, it may be about to lose. The other, Russia, it has been slow to invite in and is now quarrelling with. A good measure of the shuddering halt to growth in the EU stems from its sanctions on Putin.

In judging what to do about these two countries at opposite ends of its landmass, the EU must begin by seeing that its own interests will be served by finding solutions and this will have to go further than laying down conditions. Britain runs a trade deficit with the EU, which is powerful ammunition for those who want it to leave. But Britain is also the EU’s biggest export market upon which four million of EU jobs depend, which is a powerful argument for Brussels to find a way to keep Britain in.

At the heart of the problem lies the failure to persuade the UK to join the single currency at the beginning. Had Britain joined the Euro, the two speed Europe argument would never have developed and with London partnering Frankfurt, a far better economic model for both the EU and the UK would have emerged. At present everybody in the UK lauds the fact that the country kept the pound. Yet the outcome has been exploding house prices and the inability to create economic growth without house price inflation as the driver, making Britain the world’s second most indebted country and debt per household the highest on the planet. Anybody who argues this is good is economically illiterate, however distinguished and lauded an economist they are.

These issues will soon have to be explored in much greater depth as Britain begins to seriously consider its exit. If judgements are made not on hard facts but emotional opinions founded on prejudice and driven by fear, the outcome is likely to be chaos for everybody, in or out of the EU.

one

MY LATEST BLOCKBUSTER THRILLER IS NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE AND IN PAPERBACK! GET IT NOW.

It is written in a modern style in a scene by scene format, with punctuation which follows reading flow rather than traditional rules. This creates a compelling  narrative, easy to read and hard to put down. This book is a work of fiction, but at its heart there is a real historical cover-up. This drives the plot, but almost all the events and characters are fictional. Some characters appear also in Hitler’s First Lady, but that is a novel much more closely linked to known historical facts and the true story of a family, which appears in both books as the Benedicts. Here most of their story is fiction, as are all the modern characters within the family and in the world beyond.

 AMAZON.COM                                   AMAZON.UK

About the Book

Dr. Rachael Benedict is an American historian and a best-selling author. She has a British connection through her estranged father Saul, an English thriller writer. Saul, whose parents were of Anglo-German origin, has spent much of his life plotting to expose secrets from World War Two, which are so sensitive they have been subject to an extensive cover-up lasting seventy years. As the time approaches for him to make his move to expose duplicity, murder and lies at the heart of the British State, he seeks Rachael’s help. This provokes a killing spree as parts of the security services of both Britain and the United States become engaged in the drama, with one side determined to get the secrets out and the other determined to keep them hidden.

Set equally in the United States and Britain, the narrative grips from the first page, transporting the reader to the heart of government both in Washington and London and on into the darkest corners of the secret states on each side of the Atlantic. Rachael battles forward to unearth the truth both from intrigues of the Nazi era, but also within her own family, surviving three attempts on her life, before finally achieving her goal. Not only does she expose the truth from history and from her own roots, she has to delve deep into her own emotions to find the truth about herself.

Norman Baker is a talented and courageous man. He is a politician with a hinterland life of separate achievement. He is not a career politician. On issues of principle he is willing to stand firm. This he has now done. Hats off to him. And if you live in Lewes, back him in the polls. Regardless of party we need more of his kind in the Commons.

As for the coalition, it is out of steam and out of time. It should have ended automatically six months before polling day with a Tory Government sustained by a confidence and supply agreement with the Lib Dems, who should have left the government. The electorate should have an opportunity to see the true colours of each coalition partner. The Tories did not want that because they knew they would be the losers as their right wing flew out of control.

MY LATEST BLOCKBUSTER THRILLER IS NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE AND IN PAPERBACK! GET IT NOW.

It is written in a modern style in a scene by scene format, with punctuation which follows reading flow rather than traditional rules. This creates a compelling  narrative, easy to read and hard to put down. This book is a work of fiction, but at its heart there is a real historical cover-up. This drives the plot, but almost all the events and characters are fictional. Some characters appear also in Hitler’s First Lady, but that is a novel much more closely linked to known historical facts and the true story of a family, which appears in both books as the Benedicts. Here most of their story is fiction, as are all the modern characters within the family and in the world beyond.

 AMAZON.COM                                   AMAZON.UK

About the Book

Dr. Rachael Benedict is an American historian and a best-selling author. She has a British connection through her estranged father Saul, an English thriller writer. Saul, whose parents were of Anglo-German origin, has spent much of his life plotting to expose secrets from World War Two, which are so sensitive they have been subject to an extensive cover-up lasting seventy years. As the time approaches for him to make his move to expose duplicity, murder and lies at the heart of the British State, he seeks Rachael’s help. This provokes a killing spree as parts of the security services of both Britain and the United States become engaged in the drama, with one side determined to get the secrets out and the other determined to keep them hidden.

Set equally in the United States and Britain, the narrative grips from the first page, transporting the reader to the heart of government both in Washington and London and on into the darkest corners of the secret states on each side of the Atlantic. Rachael battles forward to unearth the truth both from intrigues of the Nazi era, but also within her own family, surviving three attempts on her life, before finally achieving her goal. Not only does she expose the truth from history and from her own roots, she has to delve deep into her own emotions to find the truth about herself.

This Blog has long held the view that the outcome, which Thatcher feared when the two Germanys became one after the fall of the Wall, has happened. Germany is the power in Europe. Exasperated by the continuous histrionics about all that does not suit Britain in the EU, Merkel has finally spoken. This is not just about Britain, it is about the whole of the EU. The EU has its principles and Germany will guard them. Among many, one is special. The free movement of people within a free market. That will not change. If you do not like it you can go. Put crudely the message is knuckle down or piss off.

So here we are at last. Britain has to stay in Europe on Germany’s terms. Farage will be thrilled because this makes a vote to leave in a referendum a real possibility. But wait. The British people are a good deal more savvy than their politicians. They know one or two important things. The first is Germany may be right; rules are rules and freedom to go all over Europe brings great benefits to all Brits. The leave Europe camp have a fantasy that Britain will get a trade agreement with the EU which does not require that we adhere to all EU rules about everything; this is as big a non runner as Alex Salmond’s currency union and people know that. The leave Europe camp has no clear idea of an alternative economic path for Britain to tread. Finally if Britain did in fact vote to leave, this would trigger another referendum in Scotland and the Scots would for sure vote to quit the UK.

So we would be back to little England. But then again maybe not. The British did not get to where they did by being silly. Farage may prove to be England’s Salmond, Cameron and the Tory Right may be humiliated and the Brits may see in Merkel a leader with more merit than their own. It has happened before. When the Royal Stuarts finally failed, the Brits chose  a German as King.