Author: Richard

I just went to buy strawberries for jam making. Talking to the farmer he told me that he had sent his labour requirements to the agency as usual, but then the government shut the agency down. Having spent £££’s on plants he is unsure how the produce will be picked. No alternative has been offered.

Basically it comes down to the governments policy of halting immigration despite the shortage of workers. Apparently there are no English Turnips on the market this year. All this whilst the government is paying for a huge barge to house male migrants at great expense and prevent them form working. All because being anti-migrant is seen as a vote winner (not sure about that – local election results did not look good for the government – which also brings into doubt Bravermans plea to send through the illegal Illegal ‘Immigrants Bill’ as being the will of the people).

Found guilty of sexual abuse, fined $5 million and of course he denies it. Well he would because he has already boasted about grabbing a ladies fanny (I think that was the word housed). Like Johnson he does not think he lives in a world where laws apply to him. No doubt many Republicans will support his lies as he is well funded by the looney right wing, but surely his place in running for president is over? For the Republicans the problem is who to replace him with as he has slagged off most of his main contenders like DiSantis.

With the coronation arrests the police seem to have hit a new low. A journalist arrested for filming soeone holding a stop oil banner. We know the police are institutionally racist and misogynistic, they have now shown themselves to be anti-democratic and a tool of the establishment. No wonder they do not catch criminals nowadays! Presumably the orders came from above? The Home Secretary of the Mayor of London. I know who i suspect!

In my local shop the manager was asked if the police could review his CCTV as there had been a break in recently, he asked why they were following up on this when they did nothing when his shop was broken into – the reply was basically that they have had bad publicity recently and need to look. like they are doing something! They issued 95093 speeding tickets in 2022 – How many were actually speeding, as opposed to exceeding the speed limit (by this I mean doing 40mph on a straight road at 3am with no traffic around in a 30mph area – do they get bored avoiding proper policing?

Did they arrest anyone for littering? I suspect not, but it is an offence?

It would seem that the anti-tory vote is coalescing into unofficial compacts. This is not good news for either of the 2 main parties. It does mean that the resurgance of the LDems may put then back into a strong place in Parliament. Scotland did not vote but I wonder of Labour will regain its position there? The SNP are reorganising and a fresh approach may well see them do better than some are predicting. In Wales it is likely that Labour will regain some of the areas it lost, Plaid Cymru do not seem to be catching the imagination of the Welsh.

The basics are: a disaster for the Cons; good for Lab; very good for LDems and Greens.

But how does this equate to a General Election? And how will it affect the Government?

The GE is still presumably a year or more away. Projections suggest that Labour will not get a clear majority so Starmer has work to do. His attempts to appease the centre ground of the public do not seem to be working in the “blue” areas – Lib Dem and Greens may be able to consoldidate a local election triumph and gain seats here. Whilst there is some progress in the “Red wall” seats, it was not great, there is a great deal of fudge arouhnd Starmer (what exactly is his stance on Europe, on tuition fees, on migration, etc.). The time has come for Labour to set out their agenda (and LibD and Green). I suspect the Greens will take many of the ideological left which he purged and which leaves him with a problem – how to get them back! Local votes do not equate perfectly into GE results with. many reverting to their traditional vote when the media get to work! However we should see the Tories lose power, albeit to a coalition. Coalitions may become a thing of the future as factions of both the left and right polarise. Would the greens and LibDems enter into a coalition without PR? I guess that depends on the relative strength of the parties. Would it need a referendum? Could it be roled out piecemeal i.e. If Scotland or the South-West voted for it they could have it?

11500 police and hundreds of soldiers in fancy dress to ensure no legal protests on Saturday. Policing will be robust and tolerance low. Do we live in a democracy? All this so. some privileged nonce can put a silly hat on, have magic oil placed on him – the whole thing is ridiculous.

Why do so many soldiers have the silly hats and red tunics? And why do so many ignoramious idiots give such time to it?

Well I voted – ID shown but I got the impression that they did not know what they were doing! No doubt the Tories will be looking to America to find new ways to disenfranchise people less likely to vote for them, no expense spared. There were 3 people at the poll this morning instead of the usual 2, it also took longer. driving licence photos are notoriously bad and mine was 13 years old. It will be interesting to see if the turnout is substantially down. Voter confidence is politicans is very low anyway due to the slease and corruption and general uselessness of the Government and perceptions of Starmer are not much better.