POLITICS CORNER

[plaques]

Its nostalgia day for the PM contestants. H G Wells 'Time machine' will be dragged out in search of the 'Good Old Days' that never happened. How far do we go and where do we start? Is it the gravy train days of a couple of years ago. The fantasy promises of Brexit which led to less of everything including money in your pocket or 12 years to the start of austerity when things started to go down hill. The grey days of John Major whose most memorial headline was Edwina Currie, if so count me out. Then we arrive at the dark days which can't be mentioned because it covered the Blair years. a bit like the Scottish Play. The the real biggie times of Margaret Thatcher, bash the unions and turn to a market led economy deregulate banks. Which for those who can't remember produced the biggest 2008 banking crash that people have seen. We could have another Falkland type conflict but Russia is a bit to big to be swallowed in one bite. Sorry Mr Wells but your machine is back in the cupboard.

[Stanley]

I've been listening to Tricky Rishi dodging awkward questions, not at all elevating. They all sicken me, even when they play yo a background of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance. (I wonder what he was getting at with that title.... )

[Tizer]

Gavin Williamson and Lord Frost have been doing a whispering campaign against Penny Mordaunt, Frost saying he had to move her on when she worked for him. I'd regard criticism by those two as positive support!

[plaques]

Is levelling up working for you. This chart shows that areas like Burnley and Pendle who have relatively low wages suffer more than more prosperous areas do. The explanation is pretty obvious low wages mean a bigger proportion is spent on essentials like food and basic living costs. A rise in these basic items results in a higher cost of living inflation.

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Cost of living.jpg

[Tizer]

Burnley and Pendle...
Dominic Raab: `Now remind me, are they in Donetsk or Luhansk?'

[Whyperion]

Is levelling up working for you. This chart shows that areas like Burnley and Pendle who have relatively low wages suffer more than more prosperous areas do. The explanation is pretty obvious low wages mean a bigger proportion is spent on essentials like food and basic living costs. A rise in these basic items results in a higher cost of living inflation.

.Cost of living.jpg

But You Dont Get Jack Fultons or The cheaper ranges in Farmfoods down south. ( Though Farmfoods in Burnley is a bit of a walk from the town centre ). Jack Fulton's reasonably located in Colne, (but I have always found their stuff a bit iffy - especially in their Otley branch - a good place for the market on your free bus pass if you fancy a venture beyond Skipton.)

[Whyperion]

Braverman is out.
If Rishi is clever he had better get a few supporters behind Tugenhat , otherwise we could get a Truss vs Mordant fight off

[Tizer]

[Whyperion]

So wishing it was the hunger games. never mind

Anyway anyone agree with me with what Tugenhaut says that there is not a lot of difference between him and Starmer ?

Whoever wins as Tory Leader the biggest opposition to them will remain within the tory ranks (and cabinet)

[Stanley]

Gavin Williamson.... Now there's a political farce, sorry, force to be reckoned with.....
I have a prediction for you. In the TV debate this weekend Sunak will come over as a rich spiv who has too many glib responses when put under pressure. Mordaunt and Truss will reinforce each other ant attract floating votes. In a parliamentary vote on Monday Sunak will come third and drop out. Mordaunt and Truss will do a deal in which Mordaunt drops out but is promised the Foreign Office by Truss. Only one candidate so Truss becomes Thatcher Mk2 by acclamation and the shires don't get a vote. So Truss goes into the Party Conference as a uniting leader and PM.
Of course I could be way off the mark......

[PanBiker]

I wont make any predictions as they are all two faced, more or less the same and all just trying to get their snouts in the trough. Selection system is flawed, OK to elect a leader but not one already in post as a Prime Minister. If it goes to the vote the PM will be chosen by 100,000 or they wish 200,000 of the blue rinse Whoray Henry's. Not representative of the electorate in general. They should elect a leader and be forced to the polls.They will cry wolf and quote mid-term and all that crap, but it is all of their own making by mismanagement, pathologically lying and all round deceit!

[plaques]

All promising to 'fix' the economy. Casting your mind back to Cameron's day when George Osborne was Chancellor. He said he was going to fix the economy while the sun shone. This implied that the economy was sound enough but he was putting money away for the rainy day. Now followed 6 tears of austerity where those at the bottom of the heap paid for the excesses of the banks which nearly crashed the world economy. He was followed by Philip Hammond. (Mr Spread Sheet) who continue with the austerity for 3 years but added market forces into the mix. House prices went sky high. Great if you were already on the ladder but kept the lower orders in their place. A short period of Sajid Javid. ! year where nothing changed Then we got our present Chancellor who put taxes up to pay for what had already been promised on the side of a bus. Its now clear that the economy was never 'fixed' and his period as Chancellor didn't help because by all account it still needs fixing. Now at total of 12 years with more on the cards.
To sum it up the Tory party which prides itself on money management, safe in our hands, has spent 12 years buggering it up. Why should anyone believe that they will perform any better with a new Captain Smith (think Titanic) at the helm.

[Tripps]

I'm watching the candidates debate on Ch4. Unusual for me, but I know little about them really.

Leaving aside the shenanigans of the Tory voting system and judging what I see - I think for me it's Sunak by a mile. I'm still doubtful as to his antecedents and where his ultimate loyalty lies, but he sounds competent and principled, and a lot better than the rest.

Badenoch, and Mordaunt look inexperienced, and out of their depth. God help us one of them scrapes through.

Truss's answer to the question 'Is Boris honest' ? was a masterpiece of avoiding saying yes or no. We've surely had enough of all that. She said 'I've got a record of delivery' in her summing up. Tugendhat who (bravely just shook his head) will be dropped on Monday (correctly).

Sunak was at 3/1 when I looked this afternoon - looks good value - but I rarely bet, and I'm usually wrong in such matters.

PS I'm sure I heard Penny say - I am a woman and if I had a vasectomy. . . . . .

Kemi kept saying 'I'm an engineer and I can take things to pieces and put them together again'.

On that basis Stanley should be standing.

[Stanley]

You're all good value except for the last line of your piece David. No way I would ever volunteer to step into that bear pit.
I was asleep and didn't watch the debate but one exchange reported by BBC news grabbed me.
"Foreign Secretary Liz Truss attacked tax rises introduced under ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak as "wrong" and pledged to reverse them. But Mr Sunak said they were needed to fund the NHS, and accused her of believing in economic "fairy tales"."
That is an outright lie and one they have been peddling along with blaming everything on the pandemic. The NHS is funded out of the general budget, no part of the money is ever from a ring fenced tax. They used that excuse to put up NI which is a tax on jobs and should never have happened.
What has actually happened is that tax receipts have rocketed since lock downs ended and have been further boosted by inflation of essential goods like energy etc. Long term, no tax rises are needed if the economy was encouraged to grow instead of being stifled by letting inflation run riot and increasing the Treasury take even further.

[plaques]

I wont make any predictions as they are all two faced, more or less the same and all just trying to get their snouts in the trough. Selection system is flawed, OK to elect a leader but not one already in post as a Prime Minister. If it goes to the vote the PM will be chosen by 100,000 or they wish 200,000 of the blue rinse Whoray Henry's. Not representative of the electorate in general. They should elect a leader and be forced to the polls. They will cry wolf and quote mid-term and all that crap, but it is all of their own making by mismanagement, pathologically lying and all round deceit!

Exactly, MPs are elected to represent the electoral area's interests in parliament, nothing more nothing less. They don't elect the PM or the Cabinet. Once in parliament their function is convey the area's problems and aspirations irrespective of which political party they belong to. When advising which person would be most suitable for their own electorate it goes without saying it must also include what is best for the country as a whole. Not an easy decision to make but it should be easy enough to report back to their electorate why thy think one particular candidate is better than another. Unfortunately what we have at the moment is that the Conservative MP will lean towards his own party members otherwise he may be de-selected next time, ie: one eye on their own future and at the same time trying to curry favour with the possible winner for further career prospects. Then at the end of it all this positional play the hard core blue rinse members that Ian mentioned who are relative of sound financial standing and tending to be of the older age group will ultimately decide on the basis of what's best for them. A replay of the 'Nothing wrong with a system that put me at the top' syndrome.
To try to dupe the country into thinking that that they are looking after OUR interests in pure nonsense.

[Tizer]

Leaving aside the shenanigans of the Tory voting system and judging what I see - I think for me it's Sunak by a mile. I'm still doubtful as to his antecedents and where his ultimate loyalty lies, but he sounds competent and principled, and a lot better than the rest.

I watched the event and agree with you. Liz Truss in particular came over very badly (`seriously weird' - M. Parris). Sunak is the only one who looks and sounds capable of doing the job well. He was calm while under fire and dealt with criticism better than the others.

PS I'm sure I heard Penny say - I am a woman and if I had a vasectomy. . . . . .

You're right, she did. I wondered if she was confusing `woman' with `trans woman' but I've since looked on google and see this on the NHS web site: What does a female vasectomy do? Female sterilisation is an operation to permanently prevent pregnancy. The fallopian tubes are blocked or sealed to prevent the eggs reaching the sperm and becoming fertilised. To be honest, I can't remember what Mordaunt went on to say, I was so puzzled by her use of the word vasectomy! Perhaps it's wokism - if a man can have a vasectomy then for equality's sake a woman should be able to have one too!

This morning the newspaper front page headlines reveal where their sympathies lie:
Telegraph: `Mordaunt insists she is up for the job'
Times: Sunak's plea for honesty'
Mail: `Liz tax boost for families'

[Tripps]

Tripps wrote: ↑Fri Jul 15, 2022 8:49 pm
PS I'm sure I heard Penny say - I am a woman and if I had a vasectomy. . . . . .

I thought I had corrected that - seems she actually said 'mastectomy'. The perils of declining hearing and late night posting. Your follow up shows what a mess the debate about this 'trans' thing has become. It obsesses a larger group of people than it should. I think Mordaunt's attitude may be influenced by the fact that she has a gay twin brother, and has been close to Stonewall, presumably in solidarity with him. in the past.

This morning the reaction seems to be that Tugendhat did best - as a 'clean skin' who sounded as if he meant what he said. I barely paid attention to what he said - assuming that he would surely be knocked out in the next vote.

Badenoch impressed, and is incredibly clever. Her engineering credentials consist of a masters in IT - she was a systems analyst at a high level - complemented by a Law degree from Birkbeck which she did later in her own time, partly financed by working in Mcdonalds. I doubt she's ever taken anything apart and put it together again though. I know Saffron Walden quite well and was amazed when she became their MP. To choose a Yoruba Nigerian whose birth name was Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke was quite a surprise to me. I think her time will come when she becomes better known, and gets some ministerial experience (which will surely follow) behind her.

Today's betting shows Mordaunt still fav at a shade of odds on, but Rishi has gone from 3/1 to 7/4. Truss (who today has been mainly described as 'wooden') is now 5/1 having been fav at one time. Fascinating - remember those choosing the final two don't decide the outcome. Once again we see a system which in it's absence would be chosen by no one if proposed.

[PanBiker]

Little Moscow

An email from my friend John (Gwyndon) Boardman

"HI
Sometimes I hear the reference to Nelson as being "Little Moscow" The term was actually applied to several towns In Great Britain at various times by the Press.
A few years ago I reproduced a copy of the Gazette from May 1935 which tells the story behind the issue that caused Nelson to be referred to as Little Moscow. What appealed to me was the unity displayed on the front page.

I am circulating it just in case people don't know the story behind the name.

John

TheGazetteMay7_1935.pdf

Recreated from the a photocopy of the original Gazette of this date, by John Boardman, Pendle Labour Party. This document is the intellectual property of Pendle Constituency Labour Party. This document can be copied and printed for ‘fair dealing purposes’ please quote Nelson Labour Party as the source in your work and/or provide a hyperlink to
http://www.pendlelabour.com/ (May 2011).

[Tizer]

Tripps wrote: ↑Fri Jul 15, 2022 8:49 pm
PS I'm sure I heard Penny say - I am a woman and if I had a vasectomy. . . . . .

I thought I had corrected that - seems she actually said 'mastectomy'. The perils of declining hearing and late night posting. Your follow up shows what a mess the debate about this 'trans' thing has become. It obsesses a larger group of people than it should. I think Mordaunt's attitude may be influenced by the fact that she has a gay twin brother, and has been close to Stonewall, presumably in solidarity with him. in the past.

I was sure she said vasectomy - I'd turned the sound up to make sure I didn't miss anything!
Stonewall did a good job on the part of gay people but once they were accepted it looked for some other cause to make money from and found trans people. That was OK until they moved into the gender debate and started `shaming' organisations into paying them large amounts of money every year to have their names associated with Stonewall's rules.

[Tripps]

Fair enough. I saw that in print and assumed I'd misheard.

Check out Andrew Pierce's piece in the Mail . Penny Mordaunt It looks like she lies as fluently as Boris.

Seems she condemns Ain't Half Hot Mum, and Dad's Army - that's her finished as far as I'm concerned

Remarkable that such matters should play such a major part in choosing the next PM.

PS If that hasn't convinced you try this Mordaunt Book

PPS Found the clip Mordaunt - sounds like mastectomy to me. . . .

[Stanley]

Good posts again and in particular thanks Ian for passing on the 1935 Nelson Gazette. Lovely clear principles advocated and defended well. The antithesis of Johnsonian thought and delivery.
Like so many other actions by this government, the idea that 150,000 (or whatever) die hard Tories can choose a PM and it be seen as a democratic choice reflecting 'the mandate' is ridiculous and a fraud.

[plaques]

Like so many other actions by this government, the idea that 150,000 (or whatever) die hard Tories can choose a PM and it be seen as a democratic choice reflecting 'the mandate' is ridiculous and a fraud.

It gets worse. The speculation is that since the pols show that Penny Mordaunt would win the card carriers vote irrespective if she was a poor second. The plan is to make sure she isn't one of the two names submitted. The plot is to push votes towards Liz Truss in the MPs voting list to make sure Mordaunt doesn't move forward. The Blue rinse will therefore pick Sunak as PM.

I reiterate this is only speculation but anything is believable with this Tory party.

Later.
Rishi Sunak vows to scrap hundreds of EU laws and regulations in pitch to Brexiteers

It may be news to Sunak but when we left the EU we left all the EU laws as well. What we are left with are the EU standards that we must meet to trade with the EU or take part in their organisations including travel etc. Cutting standards to a lower level would make it impossible to trade with the EU and make the UK a £Land shop for cheap and shoddy goods. On the other hand we could raise standards above that of the EU but we could have always done that. Sounds like more weasel words to placate the Brexiteers.

[Tizer]

PPS Found the clip Mordaunt - sounds like mastectomy to me. . . .

Thanks for doing the leg work to sort than one out. We have to keep up standards!

In his Times article on Saturday Matthew Parris has gone ballistic over Truss and Mordaunt, with very scathing comments about them (all of which I agree with). Not much easier on Tugenhat and Badenoch either. This morning he'll probably be tearing his hair out over the Sunak headlines too. There's obviously page after page of comment and analysis in The Times but every time the conclusion is that Sunak is the only viable candidate. Parris ends his piece saying this week could well mark the end of the Tory Party (do I hear cheers from the North from some of our members? ) One of the commentators said the winner of Friday's `debate' was Sir Keir Starmer.

[plaques]

The mail news paper must think that Mordaunt will get on the Blue rinse ballet hence the big splash about Trans Gender etc, Tut tut we can't have any of that can we. They must not listen to the Kinks 1970 song 'Lola.

Girls will be boys and boys will be girls
It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world, except for Lola
La-la-la-la Lola

[Tripps]

I started to watch the latest hustings, but a combination of hot weather and a recumbent position in my chair resulted in me nodding off fairly quickly. I saw the following comment on the affair and it seems they needed a simultaneous fact checker. I'd like to see each up against a well briefed (as always) Andrew Neil or Nick Ferrari face to face.

Liz Truss is currently in Boris Johnson's Cabinet, yet she says that she would not have him in hers. He should sack her tonight. Truss also claims to have "faced down Sergei Lavrov", which I doubt is how he remembers it, if he remembers her at all. She purports to have "led the free world". Yes, she really did say that. Repeatedly, and without challenge. Any potential that was wasted at Truss's Leeds comprehensive school was wasted in the third and fourth terms of a Conservative Government, beginning under her heroine, Margaret Thatcher. And that supposedly horrendous school got Truss into Oxford.
Where was Kemi Badenoch flipping burgers and cleaning toilets, that she was earning enough to pay income tax? A privately schooled daughter of a doctor and a professor, no one challenged her either on that, or on her claim to have chosen Britain when she was 16. She was born in Wimbledon. And when, exactly, was Tom Tugendhat "in combat" or "on the frontline" in Afghanistan or Iraq? His attitude to the truth is as elastic as Penny Mordaunt's. As for Rishi Sunak, he knows that he does not have to try very hard, so he is not.

Rishi is now fav in the betting at 7/4 . I thought he was good value yesterday at 3/1. There's a way to go yet though.