It was easy to fall for the DeLorean dream. The company's sleek sports car, the DMC-12, was built in Belfast. It had a wonderful stainless steel finish, gullwing doors and a stunning design. Its creator, John DeLorean, assured the British government pumping millions into his venture that this high-concept vehicle would create skilled jobs in Northern Ireland and conquer the lucrative US market. DeLorean was like a Hollywood star − tall, handsome in a grizzled kind of way, with a track record in the Detroit motor industry.
As a junior reporter for the BBC in Belfast back in the 1980s, I made films about the venture and interviewed DeLorean several times. I even got to drive a pre-production model around southern California. You, however, may have seen the DeLorean DMC-12 in the movie Back to the Future – but the chances are that you have never seen one on the road.
That’s because the DeLorean dream crashed headfirst into reality. First, the stainless steel bodywork was a nightmare, heavier than planned and difficult to maintain. Second, the engine was underpowered; it was not a very sporty sports car. Third, it was called the DMC-12 because the target price was an affordable $12,000 but ended up being $25,000 − roughly $70,000 in today’s money. Fourth, it was unreliable. When I drove the pre-production model on a TV shoot, the gullwing doors would not open, which was a huge embarrassment. Fifth, the money ran out. The British government lost millions and pulled the plug.
DeLorean’s failure meant a lot to me personally because, in those early reports, I interviewed US automotive experts who predicted more or less everything that went wrong. They said DeLorean was charismatic but had no real experience in the specialised sports car market. They said that the people of Belfast might be wonderful but that the area where the factory was located had no history of building cars and few workers with complex engineering experience. My work was attacked by those − including DeLorean himself − who desperately wanted the car to succeed. I did too but I was not prepared to believe a dream when all the facts suggested that it was never going to come true.
The reason this story comes to mind is that this is crunch week for the British government’s hopes for Brexit. The mistakes of the DeLorean dream are being repeated – all the exaggerated hopes, grand promises, bluster and the sad realities.
British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet EU leaders in Brussels on Wednesday to try to reach a deal. For the millions of decent people who voted for it, the Brexit dream was a bold corrective to many of the problems of contemporary Britain. The reality is that after two years of insistence that "everyone knew what they were voting for", the UK's Conservative government still cannot agree among itself what Brexit should look like.
The promises of independence, "easy" trade deals and a slightly different belief that Britain can go back to the future when it abandons the EU are just not happening. Mrs May could conceivably emerge from Brussels with some kind of deal, just as John DeLorean emerged from Belfast with some kind of car. But neither the deal nor the car resembled the dream people were promised. Mrs May's Brexit dream will cost billions more than we were told. It is underpowered with badly engineered parts and, for all but the most die-hard supporters, has already lost any shine it may have once had. Many Brexit enthusiasts no longer appear to be buying it.
The depressing truth is that those millions of people who voted for Brexit are absolutely right to want big changes in Britain. As the academics Roger Eatwell and Matthew Goodwin rightly point out in their new book National Populism − The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy, the UK's political and economic system is, for many people, broken. Politicians are widely distrusted and while Britain remains a rich country, many of its citizens suffer significant deprivation and fear a loss of identity.
However, Brexit is a symptom, not a cure. I am critical of the European Union but leaving will not in itself solve problems of inequality, social and cultural division and political disengagement.
On immigration – a key issue for many Brexit voters − the truth is that any deal that cuts the number of EU migrants might well increase the number from non-EU nations. On employment and trade, “taking back control” is the slick sales pitch but the reality is one of rising prices, disruptions to trade and jobs under threat.
Far from building trust, Mrs May risks cobbling together a deal no one really wants, further diminishing faith in her government and party while weakening business and making the country poorer.
The moral is clear. We should all have dreams but pursuing an impossible yet obsessive one in the face of all reality is a recipe for disaster. John DeLorean became so fixated upon his that he wound up bankrupt and was forced to sell his enormous estate to an American speculator named Donald Trump. DeLorean and Brexit tell a common story of ill-considered ideas, pursued at great expense, ultimately destined for the scrapheap.
Gavin Esler is a journalist, author and television presenter
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Brief scores:
Juventus 3
Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'
Frosinone 0
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue
Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)
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%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20flag%20was%20first%20unveiled%20on%20December%202%2C%201971%2C%20the%20day%20the%20UAE%20was%20formed.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIt%20was%20designed%20by%20Abdullah%20Mohammed%20Al%20Maainah%2C%2019%2C%20an%20Emirati%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMr%20Al%20Maainah%20said%20in%20an%20interview%20with%20%3Cem%3EThe%20National%3C%2Fem%3E%20in%202011%20he%20chose%20the%20colours%20for%20local%20reasons.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20black%20represents%20the%20oil%20riches%20that%20transformed%20the%20UAE%2C%20green%20stands%20for%20fertility%20and%20the%20red%20and%20white%20colours%20were%20drawn%20from%20those%20found%20in%20existing%20emirate%20flags.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent