Tom Bewick

Academic & Journalist@ The Skills Agenda Substack. Visiting professor of skills & workforce policy. Consult internationally on workforce policy, skills and AI.

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

In the course of writing my book, ‘Skills Policy in Britain’ (forthcoming), I researched and reviewed more than 4000 primary source, declassified, government documents… from Winston Churchill’s views on technical education, to what Tony Blair was being advised about FE colleges.

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@DavidHenigUK Brussels wants the UK making annual multibillion euros to its budget again; and it wants FoM by the back door dressed up as Youth Mobility. The electoral issue for HMG is that there is no democratic mandate for either of these things, unless there is another GE.

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@resfoundation https://t.co/qC7JhTTVHn

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@implausibleblog I suppose we voted for the United States to bring in the ESTA biometrics? And Canada too? Numpty!

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@andrewhesselden The arch Remainer Tony Blair was pretty clear on BBC Radio 4 earlier today, there is no rationale for the UK rejoining the EU. Especially as the next technological breakthroughs will be won by agile states, not an EU albatross around the economy’s neck. Sorry old boy.

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@RichardGCorbett I agree with Tony Blair. It’s the wrong conversation to be having. Even he now accepts that Britain can embrace the technological revolution by remaining outside the bloc — with full regulatory freedoms.

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@andrewhesselden Even if 55% was an accurate reflection of opinion, the EU recently made two things clear: 1) has to be an overwhelming consensus to rejoin, looking at 70% + 2) the UK would have to adopt the Euro and be part of Schengen. Just watch those polling figures fall as reality sinks in.

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@Suewilson91 https://t.co/PAyxchZCDk Once it becomes apparent this fantasy EU is no longer there to join support will drop like a stone: Mortgages set in Euros; complete open borders, including with new Balkan EU members & a loss of and independent trade policy… No thanks!

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@LabourfutureUK Spot on. Streeting is deluded if he thinks he can ignore two thirds of Lab constituencies that voted Leave. Working class people want their reps in Parliament to make the laws, not unelected officials in Brussels. After all it is what our relatives/ ancestors fought for.

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@ajlamesa They would certainly welcome moving a lot of HM Treasury cash in a bank transfer to Brussels to make it happen.

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@IGMansfield @julianHjessop It’s also misguided to think productivity growth only comes from exports.

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@andrewhesselden If that is the case, Burnham should walk it at the upcoming by-election— a key real test — not a dodgy option poll— of whether the country wants back in the EU.

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@DavidKauders @paulmasonnews @wesstreeting 🤣🤣🤣

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@paulmasonnews @wesstreeting Call yourself a socialist, Paul?! But you literally want Britain to rejoin a neo-liberal anti-democratic bankers’ club, whose members include far right governments, rather than focus on domestic policy concerns of working class voters. Then you scratch your head at recent 🗳️ !

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@PeterStefanovi2 @wesstreeting This may help Wes win the Labour membership vote (Starmer used the same playbook), but he is deluded if he thinks the British working class want open borders again and to covert their mortgages into Euros. He’ll find out the hard way, at the ballot box 🗳️!

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@griffitha But all this assumes that Ministers these days actually run their departments. They don’t. Senior civil servants do.

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@Suewilson91 Those red lines are hard baked into the 2016 referendum result and the 2019 and 2024 general election results… If a British government wants to change the red lines then they must go to the country in a general election with this proposal on the ballot. Then hold a rejoin Ref.

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@EULondonMark Keep smoking the wacky backy Mark. For sure, the super high growth, dynamic, democratic EU is the answer to all our problems. 🤣

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@Suewilson91 As a former Labour politician myself @Jonathan_Hinder is absolutely right. Only a party with a death wish would now be calling for closer alignment with the EU and seeking to rejoin. Imagine if in 1951, Churchill had repealed the 1948 free NHS Act… sore losers that don’t care!

[Tom Bewick @TomBewick]

@Suewilson91 You have your FOM. You live in Spain! Let’s be clear, open borders is a neoliberal ideology to keep workers’ wage expectations at bay, and therefore to accept lower living standards. You’re on the side of the big banks and billionaires.
Time to call you out for what you are!