Here's what Nigel Farage is up to this weekend.

[RobinInTheCrabApple]

Nigel Farage is flying more than 3,000 miles to speak at a pro-Trump U.S. think tank.

For around 12 hours’ work this Saturday the Reform UK leader is expected to collect £27,856.88 from the Club for Growth, a Washington-based anti-tax lobby group that has pledged to work closely with Donald Trump ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterms.

This group helped raise £120m for Republican candidates in the 2024 election.

So while people in Clacton deal with rising costs, poverty and cuts Farage is being paid the equivalent of many people’s yearly salary to give a single speech in America.

when "little damage" is trumpeted as a success you are definitely on a sticky wicket.

The NBER is one of the most prestigious economic research organisations in the world! Not for profit. Non partisan. Of course people will take it seriously.

"The NBER is the USA's leading nonprofit economic research organization. Twelve of the 31 American Nobel Prize winners in Economics and three of the past Chairmen of the President's Council of Economic Advisers have been researchers at the NBER. The more than 600 professors of economics and business now teaching at universities around the country who are NBER researchers are the leading scholars in their fields. These Bureau associates concentrate on four types of empirical research: developing new statistical measurements, estimating quantitative models of economic behavior, assessing the effects of public policies on the U.S. economy, and projecting the effects of alternative policy proposals."
(from the IFS)

Clav, you post so much and meander a lot, so it makes it difficult to pin point exactly which remarks you mean. If you can't be arsed to write a few words to clarify, then I certainly can't be arsed to go through all your posts.

It's quite a fall from sunlit uplands to little damage.

Both of these are behind paywalls.

Quelle surprise

Obviously. Nige is only there for Nige. And maybe his male buddies.

Quite

Can you name anyone apart from Jessop who claims Brexit has not damaged GDP?

Even Julian Jessop has stated that 'Brexit uncertainty' damaged GDP. As I posted up thread, he seems to write very balanced articles.

You must have missed all the other studies

When you say all the other studies, I can only think of half a dozen or so, a tiny number. Several of those have been classed as exaggerated or nonsense by even pro-Remain economists, e.g. the study commissioned by Sadiq Khan headlined as 'Khan's Brexit Baloney' in the New Statesman.

Oh well.

The '75 Brexit Benefits' by Gully Foyle has been debunked as fantasy

You still believe in Brexit, that is ok, so does Farage.

Plenty decided it was worth the journey;

British backpackers head to Australia in record breaking numbers

[2024] was the first time young Brits were no longer required to work and live in regional Australia to extend their stay. The number of visas issued to working holidaymakers from the UK soared from 47,000 in 2023-34 to a record 79,000 in 2024-25.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/british-backpackers-head-australia-record-36317351

has been debunked

Oh yes, I remember, you previously linked to something that was half-completed, had multiple duplications and the debunker couldn't spell Keir Starmer's name.

A lot more sources have appeared since

Really? It was only last night. Why did you refer to my posts on Kenyon if you can't even remember what I posted.

I’m talking about young people who want to get jobs and build lives and careers not backpacking.

Well, in fact, out of four young people I know in Australia now, three have jobs: one working for a pharmaceutical company, one in advertising and one in hospitality - all on short term 'working holiday visas' - two of whom I think will try and stay.

countrygirl99
I know loads who worked in hospitality in the EU

What jobs are they doing now?

Young people went to Australia when we were in the EU.

Brexit has limited their choice, put all kind of obstacles in the way.

Freedom of Movement flowed both ways.

All sorts. Some did it as a gap year before university or apprenticeship. One was manager at a Middle East hotel until the US attacked Iran. None that I still have knowledge of are unemployed and all found it helpful. Some ended up settling overseas like a friends son who is a manager for a German IT company.

Apparently, the number of UK students moving to the EU for the whole of their degree has remained relatively stable over the last decade, despite Brexit - illustrating that not many took the opportunity to do so pre-Brexit;

The number of UK students moving abroad for the whole of a degree did not change in the same way – remaining relatively stable over the past decade. This is perhaps unsurprising given that very few UK students study abroad for the entirety of a degree anyway (particularly in Europe), and those that do so are unlikely to have been severely disadvantaged by the financial changes wrought by Brexit: although they now have to pay ‘international’ fees in Europe, these are typically less than the ‘home’ fees they would have paid in the UK.

Rachel Brooks, Professor of Higher Education and Fellow of Linacre College, University of Oxford.

Young people went to Australia when we were in the EU

The age limit was raised by 5 years as part of the UK/Australia trade deal and the scope of the visa broadened.

As explained in the article.

There was no need for visa or age restrictions when in the EU.

The new Yourh Mobility deal between the EU and UK does have those restrictions.

Brexit obstacles.

The NBER is one of the most prestigious economic research organisations in the world!

Indeed. However, I doubt that 600 professors of economics and business in the United States all have a hive mind, otherwise there would be no discussion of ideas.

In fact, only one of the five authors of the paper appears to be a current NBER professor and a note on the research paper states;

NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer-reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications.

The only peer review I have seen is written by Julian Jessop.