POLITICS CORNER

[Tripps]

I think he has just said "cut waiting lists, and stop the boats" as if he had achieved these aims.

The lists are bigger than ever and they haven't stopped a single boat. Nor do they actually wish to do so. The weather is the main factor in the process. Judge their actions - not their words.

"We were the first country to send battle tanks to Kyev. The first to send long range missiles . Slava Ukraine."

I don't remember war being declared on Russia. Must have missed that Parliamentary debate.

Did Suella - a joke until recently - but now the new darling of the party mention Rwanda yesterday? I must have missed that bit too.

PS - quite important - I heard on the radio this morning that the USA national debt is now 33 trillion dollars. It was funded at 0.9 % interest until quite recently, but now the rate is above 4.5 %. What could possibly go wrong? Our debt is only £2.6 trillion - interest up from 0.5% to now above 4%.

USA National Debt Clock

[PanBiker]

So, from the horses mouth so to speak. Cancelling the northern leg of HS2 will see them "investing every penny" in other transport projects in the North, Midlands and "other parts of the country". I wonder where that will be then?

[Big Kev]

I wonder where that will be then?

I couldn't possibly hazard a guess

[Tripps]

Cancelling the northern leg of HS2 will see them "investing every penny"

He speaks as if the money is sitting in a bank account waiting to be spent invested.

All theoretical - as he won't be here much longer. Certainly not in the time frame he envisages. California and the Green Card will win.

PS .
Did you catch Simon Webb yesterday?
He spoke about Olukemi Olufunto "Kemi" Badenoch who is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Business and Trade since 2023 and President of the Board of Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities since 2022.

Apparently her mother flew to England from Nigeria, with the sole intention of giving birth to her child, and securing a British passport for her. She then returned to Nigeria, and the chld stayed 'abroad 'until she was sixteen when she returned for further education.

I think Suella derailed the final planned outcome somewhat yesterday.

[PanBiker]

Bloke on the TV this lunchtime who had his generational family farm compulsory purchased, losing his home and lively hood at the same time. He offered to buy it back but they wont sell, he says the line drawn on the map is still there and will blight properties on the route forever regardless of whether it is built or not.

Apparently Stanley Johnson bought a property on the route specifically to take advantage of the CP payments. Money to money. Bloody Lords of the Universe.

[Stanley]

Entertaining posts, thanks Lads! All I can see is a shambles of a conference, the main elements of which are the campaigns that are being openly pursued by some to oust their Leader. I suspect that if we were ever to be made privy to the true facts, more time and effort was invested by the attendees on networking to assure an income in Life After Parliament.
See THIS for what the BBC see as the main event....
"The facts have changed," the PM has said, as he confirmed the HS2 high-speed rail line from Birmingham to Manchester would be scrapped. Addressing his party conference, Rishi Sunak said the project had come from a "false consensus" that links between big cities were "all that matters". He announced he would instead invest in transport projects across the country. He also set out plans for a a new post-16 qualification and to phase out smoking.
Make no mistake, Rishi Sunak's agenda is unchanged, the Greater Good of Rishi Sunak. He sees his only shot at political success as being 'saving' the Party from defeat at the next General election which everyone agrees is less than 12 months away. His unspecified 'investments in transport' will all be aimed at being the motorists friend, he sees them as a vital source of votes next year.
I have a suggestion..... it has been announced that the lines that were taken into government control are all to be let out again on franchises similar to the ones that failed. When asked why this was going to happen when they have all improved under central control rail minister Huw Merriman claimed it was because there was more chance of investment from the private sector than the government. Obviously simply his best shot at an explanation. Suppose Sunak stepped in and invested his supposed saving in mending some of the holes in John Major's failed privatisation of one of the commanding heights of the economy?
The other notable feature of the conference was THIS, the rise and rise of the extreme Right Wing of the Party.
One by one, Tory MPs filed on stage to moot their ideas for revitalising the party's fortunes ahead of the next general election. Whoops and choruses of "hear hear" follow proposals to slash taxes, curb immigration and ban gender ideology from these self-styled New Conservatives, MPs from the right of the party. In a tub-thumbing speech, one of the speakers, MP Sir John Hayes, issues a rallying cry: "We must be unabashed and unapologetic about our conservatism." So what's "new" about a brand of Conservative politics within a party that's been in power for more than 13 years? The New Conservatives say they represent patriotic, no-nonsense values that stand "in contrast to the politics of metropolitan opinion".
These are the people who gave us Brexit, Austerity and a broken economy. Do they inspire any confidence in you?

[Stanley]

THIS was the first thing to catch my eye this morning. I had forgotten about the Rutherglen election! This really is significant and will give the SNP a lot of reasons to think.
The other thing that caught my attention was a comment I heard yesterday (I forget where or who, sorry...). It noted that the video put out by Sunak's media team immediately after the announcement confirming the cancellation of HS2 beyond Birmingham must have taken a few days to make and therefore contrary to what we were assured of all week, the decision had been made much earlier. This from the man who assures us he will tell the truth about the situation as it actually is.
See THIS also for another hole that has appeared straight away in Sunak's promises about the remaining HS2.
The HS2 rail line will not be extended to London Euston unless enough private investment is secured for the project. If cash is not put forward by private funds, the high-speed line will only run from Birmingham to Old Oak Common in the capital's western suburbs. This would mean passengers travelling to central London would have to change. The government has said it is "getting a grip of plans" for Euston, adding there had been two "unaffordable designs" for a "gold-plated" station. It has already cut the number of planned platforms for high-speed trains from 11 to six. The BBC has been told the project at Euston would be dependent on private investment, with the government stating it would take on the "lessons of success stories" on other schemes such as the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station and King's Cross station. Old Oak Common will be the UK's largest newly built railway station when opened, but there are concerns over the lack of options for onward journeys with government modelling suggests two-thirds of people would prefer to travel to or from Euston.
One last matter that causes me personal disquiet. See THIS report about the cost of Starmer's legal battle with his left-wingers.
Labour could face a multi-million pound legal bill as a result of a bitter internal feud dating back to the Jeremy Corbyn era. Labour has accused Mr Corbyn's former chief of staff Karie Murphy, his former communications director Seumas Milne and three other ex-staff of leaking a controversial document just after Sir Keir Starmer became leader in April 2020. Documents submitted to the High Court this week reveal the party's legal pursuit has cost almost £1.4m so far. And the party's lawyers were estimating that a further £868,000 could be spent on the case, which had yet to come to full trial.
In my opinion this is madness, he is spending money he hasn't got on an internal ideological struggle which will not be settled by the verdict but simply exacerbated and renewed, costing even more money if he pursues it.
But I realise this is a personal opinion and of no great interest to anyone other than paid up members of the Party.

[PanBiker]

Witch hunt Stanley or the expensive modern equivalent, makes no sense but that is par for the course with our current leader. The party is supposed to be a broad church but no room at the Inn for socialism, I doubt if he actually knows what it means. I reckon he will win but only because the Tories have been proved to be incompetent. He is not passionate enough for me and lacks any kind of charisma to fire up support.

Only reason I continue is because you cant do anything from the outside, unless of course you are a tabloid newspaper, it's all very sad.

[Tripps]

There are reports that Rishi Sunak said no decision had been made regarding the HS2 extension, when he had already recorded the video saying it had been cancelled.

How many fingers, Winston?'
'Four! Stop it, stop it! How can you go on? Four! Four!'
'How many fingers, Winston?'
'Five! Five! Five!'
'Four! five! Four! Anything you like. Only stop it, stop the pain!
'You are a slow learner, Winston,' said O'Brien gently.
'How can I help it?' he blubbered. 'How can I help seeing what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four.
Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.'

[plaques]

I can't see any problems cancelling one very expensive promise for several other lightweight promises some of which have already been promised these become double cast iron promises.
What could go wrong?

Rumour has it that Manchester is to get a new block of stables to house hundreds of donkeys this will become the foundation for a network of donkey stations spread across Lancashire. All part of the leveling up.

[Stanley]

Sunak's cunning plan went wrong immediately it was revealed as the fact that No 10 simultaneously put out a video explaining it. Such a video would have taken at least two or three days to produce so the content must have been known while denials were being issued that any decision had been taken. In other words the Tories were lying all week.... (Par for the course?)
See THIS BBC report on the Rutherglen result. Sunak has other things to concern him now!
This result transforms the Scottish political weather - and in so doing changes the forecasts some will make about the next general election. Yes, there are limits to what can be read into any one by-election; Labour's 17,845 votes in South Lanarkshire in a nation of 5.4 million people. And remember, this was a by-election brought about in unusual circumstances - the previous MP's egregious breach of the Covid rules. But, nonetheless, it is the scale of Labour's victory in Rutherglen and Hamilton West that is so, so eye-catching. They won by a mile and with a massive swing of 20.4% from the SNP to Labour.
We are used to hearing inflated forecasts of consequences for a general election vote after massive by-election swings, particularly in LibDem seats but it never seems to happen. However it is generally agreed by commentators that this one is different and it must have given many Tory backbenchers pause for thought this morning.
THIS report caught my eye this morning of yet another example of the deterioration in core political functions that has happened during a time of deep cuts to comply with the policy of Austerity.
Schools may have to redraw budgets for the next academic year after the Department for Education admitted it miscalculated its funding plans. Because the number of pupils was underestimated, an original plan of a 2.7% increase per pupil in England for 2024/25 has now been revised to 1.9%. The leader of the head teachers' union called the mistake "frustrating" for teachers planning for next year. The government has ordered an inquiry and the department has apologised. While the money had not yet been paid out, schools were given an indication of the funding they could expect to receive for 2024/25 in July, based on a national formula that determines how much each gets out of the £59.6bn schools budget. But an update was published on Friday alongside an admission that the original version of the plans contained an incorrect estimate of pupil numbers.

I see that Chris Grayling has cancer and is going to leave Parliament. I sympathise with anyone who has to deal with cancer but in his case I was only reading yesterday of the effects his failed privatisation of the Probation Service and can't forget that it would have been better if he had never held any office. Every post he held was damaged while he was minister. His career as a politician and particularly as a minister has been a disaster.

[Stanley]

The Conservative Conference was a funny affair. Liz Truss there bidding for leadership (Hasn't she got the message yet?) and Nigel Farage making a speech saying the Tories are nowhere near their rivals, Richard Tice's Reform Party. The consequence of the shock Labour win at Rutherglen coming on top of a very uneasy conference is that Number Ten are keeping quiet until they decide what their approach will be to a flood of bad publicity.
Labour start their conference today so we can expect another flood of pledges (which are actually just fancy aspirations and can be ditched if necessary). I don't think they are naïve enough to assume that Rutherglen was a result of their popularity. It wasn't of course, it was a reaction to how bad the SNP are. The same can be said for English politics when comparing Labour with the Tories.

[Stanley]

Listening to the debate on what is happening in Israel I am completely missing one necessary segment of the explanation. For decades the Israelis have virtually imprisoned the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, prohibiting trade and restricting the movements of the inhabitants. Did nobody ever work out that in the end humans tend to revolt against repression. Surely this is what has happened here. I agree that what is happening is wanton and cruel but that's the nature of warfare......

[PanBiker]

Unfortunately lots of individuals including many governments no longer have any regard for the history behind what they see as the main event story. In the current unrest in Palestine and Israel, no mention or regard to the fact that the root of the problem goes back to the formation of Israel by occupation of an area of Palestine. No real difference to what Putin is doing on behalf of Russia in Ukraine. We and many others in the world see that for what it is, invasion of a sovereign country by force. In reply we send millions in support in military hardware. We should be doing the same for Palestine. The U.S. actively supports the main aggressor. Why is it that I can recognise the problem but not folk that we elect and pay for one way or the other?

[Tripps]

Google Palestine If you understand it all - I have some treacle for you to plait.

This may just be the starter, and the main course will come later. In which case a couple of chorus's from Tom Lehrer is appropriate. I read he is still alive at 95 years old. Some fantastic rhyming there.

[Stanley]

Ian has more than a point and it has always puzzled me as well. Tom Lehrer is very witty and also makes a point in a different way.
Looking at this morning's news I see that the death toll in Israel and Gaza is still rising, estimated at 1,000 now. It's too dreadful for an old brain like mine to comprehend. All I can say is that I deplore what's happening and doing what Benjamin Netanyahu has done, shifting even further to the right and further oppressing the Palestinians has made things worse than what they already were.
See THIS BBC report for the level at which I trust myself to comprehend fully.
Boris Johnson's ex-wife Marina Wheeler KC has been appointed as Labour's adviser on protecting women against workplace harassment. Ms Wheeler, an employment lawyer, will look at how to make it easier for workers to blow the whistle on bullying and discrimination at work. Workplace whistleblowers are already protected from unfair dismissal. But the law only applies in certain circumstances - such as when employers have committed criminal offences. Labour wants to extend the protections to cover people who want to go public about unacceptable behaviour they have faced from bosses, something the party says disproportionately affects women.

[PanBiker]

Google Palestine If you understand it all - I have some treacle for you to plait.

No doubt that it's a proper can of worms. Recognised as a sovereign country by the UN. No diplomatic relations or recognition in Western Europe, the UK, North America and Canada, makes no sense to me.

Mind you, our government thinks that it's OK to send political refugees and asylum seekers to dodgy states in Africa.

[Tripps]

Predictable.

The more to the left you are, the more likely to be sympathetic to Palestine/Hamas/Hezbollah
Jeremy Corbyn is the chief candidate here as usual "I condemn all attacks". "I was present but not involved".

The main parties seem to be pro Israel - The Israeli flag was projected onto 10 Downing Street last night - which is no doubt intended to imply national support - and Jeremy has been thrown out of the party for his troubles. I doubt if one in a hundred MP's could explain the history of the situation in any detail. The whole thing is even more historically complex than the Ukraine situation. Check out Transnistria if you doubt me.

What the fighters / terrorists hoped to achieve is unclear - certainy not the total occupation of Israel. What then? They must have known what retaliation would be wreaked on them. Perhaps they want to stymie the proposed agreement involving Saudi Arabia and Gulf States which was pending?

The 'strictly neutral' BBC tied itself in knots to avoid the word 'terrorist' - though what else would you call someone who did what happened on Saturday. I won't even type some of the things that have happened. Their 'neutrality tends just a bit toward the Palestinians. Do some googling on Israel, anti semitism, Zionism etc etc. You will soon get a headache.

It's now almost fifty years since I flew back from our Rome honeymoon, with some nervousness, as the Yom Kippur War had just ended the previous week. The cast has been changed but I don't think the position has improved. They've all got 'God on their side' you see. It was all a bit distant then as we didn't have the 'benefit' of 24hr News or the Interweb thingy.

PS If you haven't been to Rome put it on your bucket list.

[Tizer]

The US already has an aircraft carrier and a missile cruiser in place to defend Israel if Iran gets involved. Did they know something we didn't or is it just coincidence?

[Stanley]

I want to make quite clear David that just because I am classed as 'on the Left' and sympathise with the plight of the Palestinians that doesn't mean I support Hamas or Hezbollah. I know terrorism when I see it and the video of a 12 year old lad being kidnapped as a hostage on BBC TV last night sickened me. But then ask yourself how you classify firing missiles into as densely packed an area as Gaza....?
I agree with you David, I am unclear as to why Hamas unleashed this attack and what they hope to gain. It looks to me like a suicide mission in the long run.....
Have a look at THIS BBC report form Liverpool.
Labour says it will fight the next election on the economy after the shadow chancellor revealed policies to bring in an "era of economic security". Stepping on to traditional Conservative election ground, Rachel Reeves promised to cut waste and drive growth in her speech to Labour conference. "Responsibility must always come first," she said.
That sounds sensible to me, they are following Bill Clinton's dictum; "It's the economy, stupid!"
Rachel Reeves went on to attack all the right targets, everything from non-doms to Sunak's addiction to private jets....
The one jarring note for me came from Labour's own spiv, Mandelson. He popped up from the crypt to warn against getting too cosy with the unions. He got cosy with some very dodgy characters and from the client list of his company he still keeps up the habit. I'd rather not take advice from him thank you.

[PanBiker]

News on my phone this morning says that Israel has secured the Gaza Ghetto border. I say that because the plight of the ordinary Palestinians is no different to the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto. The methods being used are no different to what the Nazi's employed during what we now know as the start of the Holocaust. They have cut off water supplies, electricity and gas, suspended transport links so no one can leave. Why, if the border is secure are they still bombing innocent men women and children? The Prime Minister of Israel said yesterday that he would like to see them wiped of the face of the earth, where have we heard that before?

[Stanley]

I agree Ian, the rhetoric coming out of Israel is frightening. The government describe all Palestinians as animals and therefore they don't need water electricity etc. Hamas talk about killing a hostage for every unannounced air raid on a civilian target. Time for cooler heads to prevail.
In Liverpool I agree with today's cartoon. Starmer is fully committed now to doing a Blair, stealing the Tories policies and painting us all blue. Include me out!
See THIS for the latest BBC news....
Sir Keir Starmer has promised to build "the next generation" of new towns, along with 1.5 million homes, as part of a "decade of renewal under Labour". The Labour leader said he would "bulldoze through" the planning system in England if his party wins power. Without action, he said home ownership would become "a luxury for the few". As Sir Keir readied himself for his conference speech, he was covered in glitter by a demonstrator calling for electoral reform. But he received his biggest applause as he claimed he had moved Labour from a party "of protest" to a government in waiting. Throughout the speech, the Labour leader set himself out as a reformer, promising to deliver economic growth and security.
I can understand unease amongst many loyal Party members, hence the protests. Not simply rabid Lefties.....
Meanwhile, in another part of the Westminster forest see THIS BBC report from the almost forgotten Partygate enquiry...
The Downing Street Partygate scandal has damaged the ability of governments to deal with future health crises, the Covid inquiry has heard. Giving evidence, former cabinet secretary Lord O'Donnell said "under no circumstances" would he have allowed similar parties to take place. Police issued 126 fixed penalty notices to 83 individuals over events held in and around Number 10 in 2020 and 2021. At the time, Boris Johnson said he "fell short" of his own rules.
We must not lose sight of this during the next year of campaigning. There are a lot of loose ends that need tidying up here.

[PanBiker]

I agree Ian, the rhetoric coming out of Israel is frightening. The government describe all Palestinians as animals and therefore they don't need water electricity etc. Hamas talk about killing a hostage for every unannounced air raid on a civilian target. Time for cooler heads to prevail.

It''s actually a worse situation than the Warsaw Ghetto if you look at the numbers. The Nazis captivated 460,000 in the Ghetto, 92,000 perished there, the others were fed to the death camps. Gaza, which is no bigger than the Isle of White has over 2.2 million captive in hundreds of small enclaves. Borders are sealed and under normal conditions only has three crossing places which are now all denied so no one can leave. Israel says that it is going to wipe Hamas from the face of the earth but employs indiscriminate bombing and rocket attacks against the general population. Couple this with what has been declared by the UN as the illegal deprivation of services including food and water and you have what is commonly known as genocide. Total madness, I don't condone the actions that started this but you have to ask yourself what conditions created the "terrorists" in the first place?

[Stanley]

I'm afraid that as usual the disruption in Palestine will have to burn itself out and there will be many more deaths in consequence. I see that Cleverly is in Israel urging moderation and minimising civilian deaths. I suppose they have to be seeing to be doing something but I cant see it making any difference.
Best not to make comparisons with anything Ian, particularly the Warsaw Ghetto, that just inflames tempers. The bottom line is that the establishment of a home land for the Jews was a fine and altruistic act by Balfour but the mistake was in taking the land off the Palestinians. But the Powers were at their wits end....
Back here in our corner of the forest Starmer continues to make what he considers to be the right noises but I have this nagging feeling that the Tories could use exactly the same rhetoric. I don't see anything that marks out what Labour are doing as socialist.... Still I suppose that is the aim, middle of the road and steal the Tory's clothes....
I don't think it is enough.

[PanBiker]

Best not to make comparisons with anything Ian, particularly the Warsaw Ghetto, that just inflames tempers. The bottom line is that the establishment of a home land for the Jews was a fine and altruistic act by Balfour but the mistake was in taking the land off the Palestinians.

Cant help but draw comparisons Stanley it's no different. If folk get angry they should, it's inhumanity on both sides. Israel have secured the border so now is the time for negotiation not indiscriminate bombing and denial of the basics to maintain life. The latter already declared illegal by the UN.

Back here in our corner of the forest Starmer continues to make what he considers to be the right noises but I have this nagging feeling that the Tories could use exactly the same rhetoric. I don't see anything that marks out what Labour are doing as socialist.... Still I suppose that is the aim, middle of the road and steal the Tory's clothes....
I don't think it is enough.

Time will tell on that. I know one thing, Sally is up in arms about the plan to withdraw local planning control. It's the reason she got involved in politics and got herself elected to council. He would have been better prioritising brownfield, developers will always prefer green or the new so called grey field which is just a cover story. Scrub is only a rough covering of a green field. As to socialism, it will need a change of leadership before any socialist principals could be reintroduced.