Thinking about this a bit more, do you think there is any chance of Burnham being compromised by his relationship with the City ownership?
When courting investment, deals can be made more favourable, on the guarantee of further deals.
I maybe over thinking it, but whilst his comment about not being able to intervene further can appear balanced, it just seems strange.
It maybe nothing more than a clumsy comment, but for me this comment can only be directed at Cities Ownership. In that he is confirming publicly, that he is powerless to support them in this fight.
As I say this is a thought, not an accusation.
Sorry, I didnāt notice the memo. Can someone please move this post to the City thread please. Thanks
Actually, I think this is suited to this thread rather than the City one as it is about the wider political ramifications rather than the City case itself.
What you have to look at is the wider case for investments in the UK. These always have a quid pro quo about them. The investor wants a safe haven for their money and a healthy return on investment. For the UK, there is an opportunity to grow the wider economy and provide jobs, infrastructure etc.
There should be a test for any overseas investment that they are a suitable person, but the criteria applied in the UK is very lax.
The case of the UAE reminds me of Donald Trump investing in golf courses in Scotland. Those responsible were warned in advance that he was bad news: a shyster businessman with serial bankrupt businesses. Unfortunately, he had a foothold, and political influence, by the time anyone stood up to him.
Amazed that that bastion of integrity and good faith, the Good Law Project, hasnāt initiated judicial reviews of those Manchester land deals involving the UAEā¦
I rather think he is a busted flush. I had hoped he could change the political discourse, but he doesnāt appear to have any depth outside of soundbites.
Iāve noticed quite a few Green politicians condemning the āZionism is racismā motion. As one of them pointed out, there is so much to condemn the Netanyahu regime for, why revert to nebulous concepts such as Zionism?
I think there are two meaningful counters to that.
One, if you focus only on Netenyahu and somehow get him replaced, what does that change? There isnāt any credible alternative in Israel anymore who will meaningfully change course. He is no longer a bad actor taking a country in the wrong direction, but a representative figure of what the majority want.
Zionism might be nebulous in the fact that different people will have different visions for what it means, but as an actual policy it is firmly rooted in ethnonationalism, the creation of an apartheid state and carried out using a combination of terrorism, war crimes, and increasingly genocide. Some well meaning western jew with an emotional connection to the idea of Israel as a country can say whatever they want about what Zionism means to them, but to the country of Israel its meaning is clear.
I was curious who was Zack Polanski and Google showed me amongst other things that he once offered to enhance breast sizes with hypnosis??? Is that even true?
I think it is an outrageous comment. As you highlighted (referring to a Green politician) there is so much evidence to support a negative stance on the Netanyahu regime and play the long game than call them out publicly. Whatever his thoughts, he should have let Labour or the Tories commit political suicide rather than pull the pin on his own grenade.
I am happy to accept that I am not fully informed on the economics of investment and its potential implications on the wider economy, jobs, etc.
However, I am aware that this comes with positives and negatives.
I understand that there may have been a necessity to encourage foreign investment in the Manchester region and at the time it is possible that both parties were scratching each others backs.
The issue here, is the oversight of the Local Council and Mayor - now acting PM, of ignoring noise about potential ill practices by the City Ownership. It is not as if this has just landed on our lap, this has been in the media for a while and Burnham is fully aware of this. If he is found to be complicit with any ill practice then goodbye PM.
