Is it time UK stopped turning a blind eye to Saudi executions?

[unbeliever]

Somebody please explain exactly how the UK is supposed to take a stand against Saudi.

 

 

If it's to stop buying oil and selling arms.

 

 

The UK is reputed to keep a 90 day oil reserve. It seems unlikely that Saudi will care if we don't buy their oil for a few weeks. They won't run put of money and can look forward to a hiked price when the UK crawls back begging for more.

 

If the west and anybody else we can bring along, collectively spurned Saudi Arabia, it would hurt them more than us. We could invest heavily in alternative oil sources in advance, but we've already done a lot of that. Oil should remain affordable (just) even if OPEC sides with the Saudis.

It's not at all clear what this would achieve though. Bring down the government? We could arrange free elections, but the most likely successor to the monarchy in Saudi Arabia would be straight up Islamic fundamentalists and I doubt that democracy would survive long enough for the second scheduled democratic election to take place. Still, in principle they deserve a chance to prove me wrong.

I don't have the solution. But that doesn't stop me recognising the problem. Saudi Arabia is the enemy of peace and of self-determination. It's likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.

[Bob Arctor]

If the west and anybody else we can bring along, collectively spurned Saudi Arabia, it would hurt them more than us. We could invest heavily in alternative oil sources in advance, but we've already done a lot of that. Oil should remain affordable (just) even if OPEC sides with the Saudis.

It's not at all clear what this would achieve though. Bring down the government? We could arrange free elections, but the most likely successor to the monarchy in Saudi Arabia would be straight up Islamic fundamentalists and I doubt that democracy would survive long enough for the second scheduled democratic election to take place. Still, in principle they deserve a chance to prove me wrong.

I don't have the solution. But that doesn't stop me recognising the problem. Saudi Arabia is the enemy of peace and of self-determination. It's likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.

 

Every time the UK government reduces investment in renewables it boosts Islamists. Every time it does a trade deal with the Saudis or Qataris it boosts Islamists.

[unbeliever]

Every time the UK government reduces investment in renewables it boosts Islamists. Every time it does a trade deal with the Saudis or Qataris it boosts Islamists.

 

The products of Saudi Arabia are used for transport, agriculture and chemistry in general. Renewables are supposed to generate electricity as an alternative to coal and natural gas. There's some overlap but it's very weak.

 

Renewables are a waste of money. Research into genuine alternatives to fossil fuels for electricity such as cleaner nuclear would be better, but still not really relevant to Saudi Arabia. Research into batteries and such is useful for reducing (but certainly not eliminating) our oil requirements in the long term. In the short to medium term, getting better at sourcing oil from elsewhere is much more useful.

[Eric Arthur]

The Middle East is one of the world's largest investors and producers of renewable tech.