“The New Conservatives” want to stop your aspirations of a university education and basically force you to become careers!. Being a career is a much needed job, but maybe not an aspirational one? Or fruit and vegetable pickers! The next logical step would be to save money on education by replacing GCSE’s and A level’s with a lowering of the leaving age for children (14 anyone?). Only Public Schools would be allowed to offer qualifications leading to Universities. I totally agree that education shoulkd fit the needs of society as well as that of the individual. That would require proper renumeration for practical skills, along with a societal adjustment of the regard we have for electricians and plumbers, etc.
ENVIRONMENT
The Mail has got Dorries to. slag off electric cars – basically fuck the environment, lets use up oil and gas and pretend that the sea ice around Antarctica is not melting or that sea temperatures around Britain are not at record highs. And Tessla anounce a record 466000 cars sold worldwide in the last 3 months. Whatever MadNads complaints the government needs to up the number of charging points and increase generation of clean electricity. A trade in scheme for old deisel cars would be good. It is all part of the culture wars theme – it is almost an anti-young war, after all the young are the most concerned about the environment.
TEACHERS
£622 million was spent on supply cover teachers last year whilst a net loss of 7838 teachers will exaserbate the problem. The government quites increased dpending on education and health but fails to say how much goes directly into cover payments. having been a supply teacher for a while and worked closely with many tye following statements are true: Students see a supply teacher as game on time; many supply teachers (not all) are doing it because they are not good enough to get a full time job; schools do not care about the quality as long as no problems are created.
Raise the wages and attract a higher quality of teacher and health workers. The money is there – it is just going to the wrong places! Secretarial costs have spiralled at at one time my old school had more than 10 on the SMT with commensurate salaries. Those at the “chalk face” are those deserving the pay rise – we promote the best teachers so they can teach less! Nonsensical! And they are promoted to use skills they have no training or experience of!
CULTURE WARS
You know when the Tories have fukced up – The press pursue culture wars. the Telegrapgh has a new appproach claiming proliferation of electricity pylons due to electric vehicles! The Mail sticks to woke and police being banned from wearing ‘thin blue line badges’ whilst the Express claims that £1.5billion of tax payers money has been spent to prevent the illegal Rwanda scheme. Nothing on front pages of these about the cost of living crisis and the water scandal.
WILDLIFE GARDENING
I have been much criticised for the front garden – they should see the back one! Whilst raspberries have made a bid to take over, I have left some stinging nettles and thistles and buddleja for the butterflies and tiday saw a small tortishell on the buddleja flowers. The grape vine looks rather dead – i forgot to water it during a dry spell – I will have another go! the honeysuckle and wisteria are doing their best to take over having done their bit with flowers and scents. The apple tree looks good and the new apricot is ok I think? The olive tree had mites but is outside and seems ok, the surprise is te avocado which had outgrown the conservatory window sill – I put it outside and it seems ok with. new leaves. The jury is out on the lemon which I put out for the same reason. The table is full of plants hardening up – Hungarian Echinops, Chinese Meadow Rue, Sweet Coneflower, Pale-Purple Cone flower and Mexican Feather Grass. I think these will. go in pots when putting out – which means more bags of soil/grow stuff! But hopefully they will thrive and set seeds for next year, and along the street! Chickory and fennel have already escaped! I have not noticed any Evening Primrose yet this year? But hopefully it will magically appear. Mist of mints and thymes have survived and I think I only lost one lavender due to my awful neglect. Roses are looking different! A bush yellow one is 1.5m high and proliferate, whilst the 2 others bought and planted at gthe same time are 50cm with only te occasional flower – maybe they will get going later. Tje Shropsire Boy rose is also looking a bit sad! I will feed it tomorrow with chicken shit – that should do the trick!. Inside mother-on-laws tongue and aloe vera are doing great, others less so! Most are OK but not on steroids!
Chillies looking okay but i might need to spread them out. The tomatoes are looking good with. the bush ones (small cherry?) covered in flowers and the others all having tomatoes growing, but nothing ripe yet. hanging baskets are fantastic.
ENVIRONMENT
So Zac Goldsmith has resigned with a bang! He has spelt out the PM’s indifference and eregious apathy to climate change, animal welfare and international treaties. What this means on a practical level is a set back for the endangered wildlife of this country. Is it too much to surmise that he will now put all his eggs into the culture wars and migration issues? People may be subsumed by the credit crisis and the cost of living but they are not blind to the woes of our planet? The LibDems are ably placed to pick up votes from environmentally minded toriesm whilst Starmer will need to stop pandering to the economic growth at all costs element of the centerist Labour Party.
The main stream right wing media will continue to bang on about “Just Stop Oil” whose rather childish tactics are seen to be futile. Jeremy Corbyn will be criticised for his allotment whilst Sunak may offer a bail out the sewage shovelers.