SO the lesson is – don’t take your sandwiches into the European Union.
A Polish lorry driver had his confiscated by Dutch border officials.
“British shandwiches! Not allowed,” screeched the Dutchman, before stamping up and down on the bread, spraying ham and mustard all over the place. Probably.
It looks like the EU nations are getting just a little bit arsey with all things British.
As well they might. Because the desire to leave the EU may turn out to be every bit as infectious as Covid. It may soon spread everywhere from Amsterdam to Alicante.
Look at what’s happened so far. We are not starving, as we were told we would be as soon as we left. Produce arrives pretty much the same as ever.
The prices haven’t risen noticeably. Vast lorry queues aren’t happening.
Trade deals are being struck right, left and centre. The forecasts for British economic growth are good.
PAINFULLY SLOW
Meanwhile, over the Channel, the bureaucracy of the EU and European Commission has left citizens furious – and in danger.
The rollout of the Covid vaccine in EU countries has not simply been slow, it’s been on a scale between glacial and non-existent.
And the reason? Bureaucracy and regulations. The very reason so many of us voted to leave.
The independent UK has vaccinated more than double the number of people Germany has. But even Germany’s vaccine programme is in crisis.
In parts of Northern Germany people wanting vaccines apply online and are told: “Thank you for your great interest! Please try again next Tuesday morning.”
We had vaccinated one million people before the French had managed to vaccinate 500. Some countries — Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, for example — have vaccinated only handfuls.
The total number of vaccinations in Germany, France, Italy and Spain — the four largest EU countries — amounts to just 12 per cent more than those carried out by tiny Israel.
The reason is bureaucracy. In the summer when our independent government was busy ordering as many vaccines as possible, the European Commission dithered.
It didn’t know what the hell to do. There was bickering.
Since then, the EU’s European Medical Agency has been painfully slow in approving vaccines for use.
The consequence is a grave shortage of vaccines on the continent.
HILARIOUS DELUSION
That will lead to more deaths, as vulnerable people succumb to the virus.
Remainers argue that the vaccine rollout on the continent is down to member countries and not the fault of the EU.
Balderdash — another hilarious delusion. Each country needs to get the green light from the EU before it proceeds.
And you only get the green light when the medical agency and the commission are agreed.
I don’t think our government has handled this crisis terribly well. We were slow to lock down and slow to close our borders.
I am not convinced by the tier system and still less by the hokey cokey approach to lockdowns.
But there is no doubt that the Government acted quickly in securing vaccines: We are ahead of most of the world (Israel excepted) in that respect.
Being independent enabled us to take decisions quickly. We are now the envy of Europe.
So you can stamp on as many sandwiches as you like, Ruud.
The independence bug is catching on, and you won’t stop it.
Stefan’s bit of bother
STEFAN Thomas is a very rich man.
He has around £180million invested in the digital currency, bitcoins.
Trouble is, he’s forgotten his password. He wrote it down but lost the piece of paper.
And he has two more guesses as to what the password is – or he loses all that money for ever.
He’s had eight attempts at trying to remember.
So I guess he’s already tried his birthday, his dog’s name, various swearwords and the name of the lass he fancied in school.
And I bet it’s the first thing he tried except with a rogue upper case letter in an unexpected place.
Trump silenced
IF I had to make a list of the US Presidents I Think Are Really Bloody Marvellous, Donald Trump would not figure.
The end to his administration brought shame upon him and the Republican Party and the USA.
But he has now been BANNED from Twitter.
And restricted in what he can say on other social media platforms.
And the big tech companies have done this for no reason other than they disagree with him politically.
So they silence him.
These companies are all run by liberals.
And no people on Earth are more totalitarian than liberals.
They have too much power and are too partisan.
