A Flower Blooms E-Book

alastair macleod

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Wildflowers are resilient. In this political satire the author imagines what might happen to the nations of the UK in the turmoil of 2016/17 following the Brexit vote.

The United Kingdom: is just that, a unity of four nations, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Southern Ireland left in 1921 and gained its independence, renamed as Eire.

Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have devolved parliaments.

In 2016 it appeared the UK had voted to leave the EU but when the vote is broken down regionally, Scotland voted stay in the EU, Northern Ireland voted to stay in the EU but Wales voted to leave.

Scotland has threatened a second independence vote, to allow it to remain in the EU.

Leseprobe

Alastair Macleod

A Flower Blooms

To the future. The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this story are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

A Flower Blooms

Members of the EU Commission stood round as the New Briton flag was raised; correspondingly the EU flag was lowered.

Briton, a new country, was “at last” free. EU troops were departing after oppressing for several years an insurgency.

The new country was poor; two world wars and several Middle East wars had depleted its treasury.

Its economic future was bleak. Unlike some African nations it had no mineral wealth and few other natural resources.

Its industrial infrastructure was old and in need of repair.

Bravely the new Prime Minister stepped forward.

Madam Bay gave a rousing speech on new beginnings and opportunities but this disguised the fact that business was leaving and exports falling.

The subsidies from the EU were being cut off.

Foreign businessmen like circling wolves sensed the weakness - they were ready to step in and use the country as a cheap tax base then set up gambling and money laundering. Few were planning manufacturing.

The New Briton economy was too unstable for manufacturers to invest.

These entrepreneurs were in service industries, mobile industries that moved electronically - a whiff of problems and they would be off.

Prime Minister Bay was aware that she had a large population and a low income generating economy.

Years of mismanagement of the oil industry had led to the disappearance of any permanent fund to restructure. In contrast Norway had built up a war chest of billions to help it beyond peak oil.

There was, she knew, no golden bullet. This new country would have to establish itself.

If its rulers were not blinkered it could look to Switzerland or Ireland for examples. But the old Tories still dreamt of the former empire - now an illusion. Some of the former colonies under that empire were gleeful at the demise of the old Britain.

The EU platform party made their way to the main airport for a Lufthansa flight to Brussels. They barely made it out of the chaos of Heathrow before the advancing fog.

“There is little to keep us here Herr Ratzen,”said Finance minister Klaus Hoff.

“Ja, we will move everything back to

Germany.”

“Frankfurt?”

“Ja, “

“We can take their skilled professionals, give them special passports.”

“Ja.”

It was inevitable.

“Ja, once their “diamonds” ran out they could not contribute to their membership as a colony in the club.”

“Are their ports useful?”

“Nein, Rotterdam und Hamburg are best suited.”

“We can send them goods that do not meet our high standards.”

“Ja.”

“Without the empire they are f…cked. No cheap raw materials and no cheap labour.”

Kaffe