As a child I loved magic tricks. One day as we watched a magician on TV, my father pointed out that the most important thing isn’t the magic. It’s the trick. It’s not what you see. It’s how you are skilfully distracted. Another name for magicians, he said, is “illusionists”.
After covering election campaigns around the world, my father’s observation about magicians often seems true of politicians. A political campaign is often in part an illusion, the politics of distraction.
What is largely hidden now in the UK general election campaign, or rarely discussed, is just as revealing as the televised political theatre. Last year, the British Office for National Statistics pointed to the largely unchanging list of policies and issues people care about: “When asked about the important issues facing the UK today, the most commonly reported issues continue to be the cost of living [93 per cent], the National Health Service [89 per cent], the economy [76 per cent], and climate change and the environment [59 per cent].”
What is sometimes more revealing are those issues that everyone knows exist but few politicians want to talk about. War is one. It’s too shocking and depressing. From Gaza to Ukraine to the complex relationship between China and the US, there is real concern in diplomatic and security circles that we have moved from a post-war world towards a pre-war world. Both major British parties, Labour and Conservatives, say they will spend more on defence, but neither wish to engage in what could be a very problematic second Donald Trump term for Nato, European security and US-China relations.
Whatever the illusionists say, the simple political truth is that in a modern European economy you can have good public services or you can have low taxes
Labour and Conservatives also tend nervously to avoid Brexit. In TV debates – with the exception of the dogged Scottish National Party politician Stephen Flynn – most contributors tend to duck the issue.
For the Conservatives, that’s because Brexit is their 21st-century historic failure. It has divided and haunted them as the Corn Laws – tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn – did from 1815 until their repeal in 1846. A majority of British people now recognise Brexit as a self-inflicted profound mistake. The diminishing band of Brexit enthusiasts blame the Conservatives for “not doing it right”, although – rather like communism – it may be that Brexit is an ideology like Marxism, in the sense that the theory was always doomed to fail in practice.
Many Brexit diehards have drifted off to an upstart new party, Reform UK. It’s the latest vehicle for the ambitions of the long-time anti-EU activist Nigel Farage following the collapse of his previous parties, UK Independence Party and the Brexit Party. Mr Farage is now running to be an MP again, having been rejected by voters for a Westminster seat a remarkable seven times. Perhaps eighth time lucky?
Labour’s reticence about Brexit is more strategic. If it wins the general election, it will have to repair the damage. There is no easy way forward, and in the meantime, it practises Brexit omerta where possible. That’s because Labour desperately wants to win back working-class voters who supported Brexit in the 2016 referendum, and it’s unwise to tell target voters they got it all wrong eight years ago.
The reason the SNP likes to point out the Brexit illusion, however, is also obvious. Scotland voted to stay in the EU. England voted to Leave. The SNP argues that Brexit proves the need for Scottish independence because Scotland was taken out of Europe “by English votes”.
And so right now, we have all the poetry and magical incantations of an election campaign while aware that Britain will return to the prosaic reality of the hard facts about Brexit and national security in a few weeks. And, curiously, the same magical incantations are true of another issue – perhaps the biggest – which underpins all the others: taxation.
Tax policy and the size of the state are discussions in every political campaign, but right now this vital debate is yet another strategic policy of distraction on both sides. The Conservative party raised taxes, yet now as in every election in memory, Conservatives portray Labour as planning to raise taxes on “hard working people”. Labour is always defensive on this. It promises in 2024 more or less what Tony Blair promised in 1997, to wait for more magic, the magic of economic growth, to fill government coffers with money.
Behind the illusions, the simple truth is that since the financial crisis, and especially since 2010, the public sector in the UK has shrunk. It has been defunded and undermined. Nothing therefore much works, from our health service and railways to our shrunken defence forces, our state schools, troubled universities and water supplies to our potholed roads and infrastructure.
There is no magic money tree to fund these public services. There is only taxation. Whatever the illusionists say, and whatever the magical incantations and hocus pocus, the simple political truth is that in a modern European economy you can have good public services or you can have low taxes. You can also have vast private wealth and public squalor.
This is not magic. It is arithmetic. And as my father pointed out, the important bit is not belief in magic. It’s seeing the trick.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
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Price: Dh189,900
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US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
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Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
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- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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ICC T20 Rankings
1. India - 270 ranking points
2. England - 265 points
3. Pakistan - 261 points
4. South Africa - 253 points
5. Australia - 251 points
6. New Zealand - 250 points
7. West Indies - 240 points
8. Bangladesh - 233 points
9. Sri Lanka - 230 points
10. Afghanistan - 226 points
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
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Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
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if you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals (more at www.hertz.com/etihad). A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com
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Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
Cinco in numbers
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The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
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How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
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The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
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The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
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Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
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