Category: Politics

Obviously not a science but several things have been pointed out recently. First that giving public sector workers a 10% pay rise would have little effect on inflation as the cost of teachers, nurses, doctors, etc. are not passed on.

The second was new to me, and is verified by Bank Of England documents. That is that if the extra money printed is used to increase productivity and health it is not inflationary. I admit that I do not understand the printing money bit! But it would seem, if the 2 pieces of information are true, that a new government could invest in the NHS and education, new green infrastructure and projects without it being inflationary. Maybe Starmer understands this, and also realises that it is beyond the comprehension of many voters (especially the older, no university education, ones!). Abolishing the 2 child benefit would produce no discernable benefit to society. Increasing child nursery places would.

Just folding the dough to make baguettes!

So Rachel Reeves says that labour will build a strong economy. In my opinion we have a strong, if distorted economy altready. Unemployment is low, the stock market buoyant, the pound strong against other currencies. We have a huge debt and balance of payments deficit. Tjhe natiral environment is suffering enough, as are the poor. What is needed is a realignment of economic policy into sustainable growth, more equitable distribution of resources. A radical rethink of a Britain that benefits ALL its inhabitants is needed. Labour did this after WW2 – can it do it again?

So Sunak wants to limit numbers on “low value degrees”. Who will decide on these degrees? Some pompous Old Etonian no doubt! Will this list include economics which has been found to have caused chaos to the economy and lives of many. Given that the jobs available today include many that did not exist 20 years ago this would seem to be a terribly short sighted approach. Why is it ok to interfere with market economics in education but not in the financial sector. maybe the idea will be to get potential students to enlist for zero hours contracts in care homes and pick fruit and vegetables? They really do not care about people – just profit! Ghis compounds Gove’s outburst against the 4 day week experiment, rather than Dorries zero hours work for £70 grand contract with the Conservative Party.

He says he cannot remember his access code for the phone. I do not believe him. The access code is not loke a rarely used password, but a code used many times a day. If he had a weak memory it would be written down as presumably the phone was used for importyant government business. I also find it hard to elieve that experts cannot unlock it. As the number had been known publicly for a while I am sure that the Chinese or Israeli security had hacked it – ask them. Or demand the phones of all the relevant people who would have had communications with him.

Why has his solicitor not been arrested for not handing the phone over – the deadline was 4pm last Monday.

The Sun is desperately back tracking on the Huw Edwatds story. Ot now claims that it did not refer to criminal activity. Basically it seems that they saw the opportunity to stick the knife into the BBC without checking their facts properly, but then facts have never been important to them. They also claimed the story was ‘squarly in the public interest’. They seem to have got confused between the public being interested, and in the public interest. The latter cannot be true – no criminal activity, maybe a very sad of a person unable to handle the power and riches thast Juw achieved. With no crime having occured we need to offer our sympathy to him and the families concerned. Will the Sun now print details of the allegations made against 15 Conservative MP’s to the Speaker? Will it now re[port on Jihnson failing to meet a court order to hand over his phone to the Covid Inquiry.

By the way the Times (another Murdoch paper) did refer to criminal activity.

Meanwhile upsteps the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to publically make public comments that should have been kept private. he might be correct in saying that the Ukraine is treasting the west like an Amazon Warehouse – but he seems to forget the huge death toll they are experiencing. Dorries is being reported to the speaker for inappropriate emails and messages she has sent; Jenrick has not been sensued for his crass and insensitive mural affair; Hunt looks like failing to get National Debt down as the governments borrowing interest rate rises; strikes look like increasing as he fails to meet public sector pay demands and blocks increases for schools; Gove hands back £1.9billion intended to help the housing crisis claiming tat he could not find anything worth spending it on – berefit of ideasand compassion.

I find the sensationalist news about a BBC presenter rather unsettling. Firstly it could be that Murdoch is using the Sun to have a go at the BBC which he hates. Secondly it is quite possible that no crime has been committed? And this whilst 15 MP’s have been investigated for misconduct including one accused of rape (who has not even had the whip removed). The Sun claims that no money was paid to the mother and step-father who are making the accusations. The Sun us milking it by claiming that the presenter met someone during gthe lockdown – hypocracy or what? It has defended Johnson and now seems intent of pursuing the presenter. Third it has been front page news for 2 days – is there nothing more important happening – are the paper buying public so stupid? Probably, they are mostly old, often racist, mainly Tory!

Meanwhile – the woman who drove into the school children has not been named. 2 dead and still not named. If she has an alibi she should state it, if not she deserves whatever she gets! Presumably there is an injunction to stop her being named? Is she famous or related to someone important?