The only area which slipped badly and saw Britain dive to a ranking of 28th, was ‘political risk’! This is understandable as long as there is the slightest risk of Labour and Mr Corbyn winning a General Election in the foreseeable future.
It is essential that the Conservative party regroup, call a truce and allow Mrs May and her team, hopefully fortified by recruiting some heavy weights, to get on and deliver a full Brexit on time.
It would be advisable for the Prime Minster to recognise how valuable it would be to boost her negotiating team by recruiting Nigel Farrage and Danielle Hannan. Their experience as MEPs, and awareness of the complexities of the system, and arrogant individuals, would help counter the ridiculous bullying of Mr Michel Barnier in particular.
The ‘Draft Negotiating Directives’, which Mr Barnier produced before Christmas were both insulting and absurd. He should be in no doubt that in March 2019 we will leave the Single Market, the Customs Union and all existing Union regulatory, budgetary, supervisory, judiciary and enforcement instruments and structures. Particularly the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The UK has outranked all the major developed economies in terms of the number of businesses established last year. There were more than 218,000 started up, a rise of over six per cent over year-on-year.
Enterprise and entrepreneurship has been gathering pace at an impressive speed. And as the corporation tax burden lightens with plans to lower the tax to 17 per cent by 2020, this is helping to attract firms to the UK, as the start-up climate continues to improve.
There are several campaign wagons we must all get on board. The war on plastic is all too obvious, it is criminal that it has taken so long to reach this conclusion.
As David Attenborough has vividly demonstrated as his film crew have circumnavigated the world beneath the waves, plastic is causing devastation, and cruelty to our magnificent sea life.
Images of turtles with their heads trapped and wrapped in plastic, young wales and dolphins entombed within abandoned fine mesh plastic fishing nets and plastic debris are heart rending. These images we see, but there are many more sea creatures suffering because of plastic, including micro beads.
In Britain we throw away £13bn worth of food every year, most of which is discarded needlessly. It seems few of us are aware of the difference between ‘use by’, and ‘best before’. It is about time we learnt, and stopped throwing away perfectly good wholesome food.
The Co-op is leading a campaign in the East of England, where dry products such as rice, pasta and confectionary, once past its ‘best before ‘ date, will be sold at a flat rate of 10p.
Many stores have for some while passed such products on to food banks, or allowed staff to buy at discounted rates, which is commendable.
As a nation we eat too much, we are unfit and overweight. It is essential we cut back and take more exercise. By doing so we would immediately save the NHS millions of pounds and remove the necessity for medics to attempt to rescue us from over indulgence, and all the complications associated with abusing our bodies.
All these campaigns are connected to food. Ninety per cent of plastic waste is food related, including bottled water, and food waste is a scandal.
Ignorance is no excuse, nor idleness and selfishness, our behaviour affects not only individuals, but impacts upon our nation, our reputation and the planet.