The Reason Review—October 2016
As summer gives way to autumn, some of the stories that have dominated this year’s news cycle finally seem to be reaching some kind of resolution. The epicentre of the refugee crisis, the Jungle Camp, has been evicted and almost completely demolished, the presidential race is only days away from its conclusion, and the government has started to get to grips with Brexit… or at least it had, until yesterday’s High Court ruling put a fresh cat among the pigeons.
More Grief for Orgreave
The Battle of Orgreave was one of the defining moments of the 1984 miners’ strike; a brutal clash between BSC miners and riot police, described by Labour MP Tristram Hunt as “almost medieval in its choreography… at various stages a siege, a battle, a chase, a rout and, finally, a brutal example of legalised state violence.”
This idea of legalised state violence has been at the heart of a campaign to hold a public inquiry into the events surrounding Orgreave, and offer justice to miners who were allegedly victims not only of violence, but also “police lies and cover ups.”
In the wake of recent developments in the Hillsborough inquest, the work of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign looked to be gaining momentum in 2016, as growing pressure was put upon the government to finally make amends for one of the most violent occurrences in British industrial history. But this month Home Secretary Amber Rudd ruled out an inquiry for good, saying that few lessons for today’s policing system could be learned by reviewing events of over 30 years ago.
“This has been a difficult decision to make,” she said, “and one which I have thought about very carefully. I have now concluded that there is not a sufficient basis for me to instigate either a statutory inquiry or an independent review.”
The decision came as a huge blow to members of Orgreave Justice, but they defiantly tweeted “We don’t take no for an answer.” as soon as the verdict was announced. The group is continuing its campaigning work, and welcomes support from anyone, regardless of political bent, financial or otherwise.
CETA Signed
Just as you thought you’d seen the last of TTIP, CETA shows up to make trans-Atlantic trade more complex again. CETA stands for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, and seeks to support tariff-free trade between Canada and Europe. So far so good, but as with TTIP, the deal makes provisions for a “corporate court” system, allowing foreign investors the legal process to sue governments over legislation that they perceive to be harmful of their profit margins.
CETA was heavily road-blocked in October as the Belgian region of Wallonia refused to sign the agreement, demanding stronger safeguards on labour, environmental and consumer standards. They, like those previously opposed to TTIP, also feared the increased power offered to multinationals by deals like CETA, and what that could mean for the future of governments.
However, after the addition of a four-page addendum to the 1,600 page deal, Wallonia agreed to sign, along with ambassadors from 28 other EU member states and, of course, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. The deal eliminates 99% of trade tariffs between Canada and the EU, supposedly saving EU exporters some €500 million in annual duties. How the deal plays out in terms of these corporate courts remains to be seen, but CETA is already being suggested as a potential model for Brexit.
Hard Brexit, Soft Brexit, Complex Brexit
Speaking of Brexit, an independent think tank, The UK in a Changing Europe, has released a report that suggests Brexit may be too complex for politicians and civil servants to fathom due to numerous uncertainties in Britain’s constitutional framework when it does finally leave. Also of concern is the lack of provision made by Article 50 to broker new relationships between the UK and EU while the separation process takes place.
Professor Anand Menon said “Brexit has the potential to test the UK’s constitutional settlement, legal framework, political process and bureaucratic capacities to their limits — and possibly beyond.”
The transferral of decision-making processes from the EU to UK is one area in which particular complexity lies. While Europe has typically legislated Britain’s agriculture, environment and higher education services, reapropriating sovereignty in those areas of policy to Westminster will likely upset the balance of power between the UK’s devolved parliaments — a subject that has yet to be breached in public.
“An irritating aspect of the current debate,” said Menon, “is the tendency of Brexiters to accuse those who warn of difficulties of ‘talking Britain down’. It’s a good line but a pathetic argument. Since when was rational debate a bad thing? Forewarned, surely, is forearmed, and this report will help identify potential stumbling blocks ahead.”
Farewell to the Jungle
October finally saw the eviction and destruction of Calais’ infamous Jungle Camp, a makeshift settlement of refugees, predominantly victims of conflicts in the Middle East. The first attempted evictions took place between January and March 2016, at which point the population numbered some 5,700, but the camp has been continually reestablished and grown to around 8,000 people.
The camp gained notoriety during the EU referendum, during which it was used as a bargaining tool by the European Parliament and French government, who suggested that, should the UK leave the EU, existing border restrictions would be null and void, and the camp would, in all likelihood, move across the Channel into England.
Of course his has yet to happen, but the arrival of minors from the camp earlier in October provoked migrant hysteria in the tabloids, with Welsh MP David Davies later calling for dental examinations to prove the age of migrants entering the UK. After demolition, only 300 female migrants now remain near the site of the Jungle camp, some of whom are mothers travelling with children.
Rehab With Rodrigo
As one overcrowded internment camp is disbanded, others swell, as Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s four-month old war on narcotics gains momentum. Duterte, known for his strong-man posturing, homophobic rhetoric, and empathy with the Third Reich, has vowed to rid his country of drug abuse, demanding that users and dealers alike hand themselves over to the authorities.
The crack-down has lead to the processing of some 730,000 people. Many of those who handed themselves in have been sent home, but the sheer volume of internments is pushing the Philippine prison system to breaking point.
In the Tondo region of the nation’s capital, Manila, inmates are so tightly packed into cells that they’re forced to sleep in four-hour shifts while they wait to be processed for transfer to different prisons or rehabilitation units.
But the problem extends beyond overcrowding; in a country with a population of over 100 million, only 3,216 beds currently exist for narcotics rehabilitation. It seems the cramped inmates will just have to wait it out.
Bad Air
The High Court has ruled for the second time in 18 months that the UK government isn’t doing enough to combat air pollution. Dozens of towns and cities currently experience illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide that risk the health of British citizens. The case was brought by legal NGO ClientEarth, who argued that most of the government’s plans to combat air pollution placed too much emphasis on cost and not effectiveness.
The case brought to light proposed measures previously vetoed by Treasury ministers, including charging diesel vehicles to enter polluted towns. It also revealed that the government has been working for pollution reduction on timetables based on projected EU commission fines instead of dealing with the problem immediately.
The government said that it would not appeal the decision and is now planning a more realistic response to combat pollution levels. If no satisfactory timetable is reached within the week, the High Court may impose their own.
State of Nature
This is one that we missed last month, but is too important to pass up: the RSPB has released its State of Nature Report 2016. The report, in collaboration with numerous environmental charities and NGOs, assesses the state of wildlife in the UK today and utilises 7.5 million hours of volunteer wildlife research per year.
The report tracks the state of wildlife in the UK since the 1960s and is only the second of it’s kind to be produced. Unfortunately it documents severe trends of decline in ecological diversity and resilience, although many conservation projects have been brought about since the inaugural edition in 2013. Well worth a spare hour of your time.
Weapons of Reason issue #3: The New Old, is available to order now.
