The British people have spoken and those who willed the country to remain part of the European Union must respect the decision to leave.
That such a high proportion of the electorate, 72 per cent, took part in Thursday’s referendum is worthy of respect. But the same cannot be said of the campaign itself.
Rarely in political history can there have been a debate of such wretchedly low quality, with insults, scaremongering and hyperbole taking the place of rational discussion.
Neither side emerged with much credit.
Prophecies of doom streamed from both camps, leaving voters with an unenviable task of distinguishing trustworthy or at least plausible projections from unsubstantiated polemic.
In the unedifying war of words that characterised the exchanges, rival politicians and pundits traded claim and counterclaim, each purporting to have the definitive answer to making Britain more prosperous and better able to safeguard its borders.
The Remain campaign urged people to vote to stay “to protect jobs, lower prices, workers’ rights and a stronger, safer and better off Britain”. For advocates of withdrawal, a vote to leave ensured a better, friendlier relationship with the EU, “much safer than giving Brussels more power and money every year”.
In the closing stages of the campaign, two senior pro-Brexit politicians, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, both invoked the spectre of Adolf Hitler in their public pronouncements. Mr Johnson said the EU had the same goal as the Nazi leader in trying to create a political superstate, while Gove compared warnings of grave economic consequences of withdrawal with Nazi denunciation of the physicist Albert Einstein in the 1930s. Mr Gove at least had the grace to apologise later for his “clumsy and inappropriate” language. Mr Johnson did not retract a word.
Perhaps even more disturbing was the capital some in the Remain argument sought to make of the vile murder of the pro-Remain MP Jo Cox. One newspaper headline, albeit in the downmarket Daily Star, read: “Labour MP dead after attack by Brexit nut.”
Also questionable was the pro-Brexit Daily Mail’s insistence on emphasising the mental health problems of the suspected killer, understandably seen by many observers as a direct attempt to distance the crime from any connection with arguments for Leave.
It may be nothing the Remain camp could have said or done would have been sufficient to overcome the deep hostility felt by many Britons towards so many aspects of Europe, and especially with regard to the loss of sovereignty and perceived ineptitude in tackling the immigration crisis.
It it certainly true that attempts to portray catastrophic consequences for employment and the economy generally were widely disbelieved or felt to be wildly exaggerated. Time will tell whether the people’s verdict makes life in Britain freer, more successful and safer or imposes new responsibilities and challenges the country will struggle to overcome.
Further sharp differences of opinion are inevitable as Britain works out how to manage withdrawal from the EU.
After arguably failing the country at a time when there was need for cool, respectful discussion, backed by non-sensationalist factual evidence, the political establishment owes it to the public to show a good deal more dignity in the coming months.
Colin Randall is a former executive editor of The National
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
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SPECS
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Naga
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Liverpool’s fixtures until end of 2019
Saturday, November 30, Brighton (h)
Wednesday, December 4, Everton (h)
Saturday, December 7, Bournemouth (a)
Tuesday, December 10, Salzburg (a) CL
Saturday, December 14, Watford (h)
Tuesday, December 17, Aston Villa (a) League Cup
Wednesday, December 18, Club World Cup in Qatar
Saturday, December 21, Club World Cup in Qatar
Thursday, December 26, Leicester (a)
Sunday, December 29, Wolves (h)
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
ANATOMY%20OF%20A%20FALL
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
