POLITICS CORNER

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report for evidence that there are people who are puzzled and angry about the defection of Ms Elphicke....
Natalie Elphicke, the new Labour MP for Dover, has been accused of lobbying ministers over her husband Charlie's sexual assault case. Ms Elphicke is accused of asking Sir Robert Buckland, the then Justice Secretary, to help move the date of the case, apparently to avoid publicity. A spokesman for Ms Elphicke, who defected from the Conservatives last week, said the claims were "nonsense". Labour questioned why they were not raised earlier. Sir Robert told the Sunday Times: "She was told in no uncertain terms that it would have been completely inappropriate to speak to the judge about the trial at all." The BBC has confirmed Sir Robert's account with him. The trial of Charlie Elphicke was due to be one of the first cases after Covid restrictions were lifted in courts. He was later jailed at Southwark Crown Court for two years for sexually assaulting two women.
It seems to me that the reason why this has suddenly become a matter of concern with some is because of her tergiversation. Some people are out to make things as difficult as possible for her.
Others like me wonder how a far right Tory fits in with the Labour Party. We shut Diane Abbott out while allowing her in. Starmer's version of 'Labour' is obviously a long way from mine.

[Tripps]

Nadhim Zahawi has crawled from under his stone, to declare that his mistakes "were his own" and he wishes he had been "more transparent" about his tax affairs.

Translates as "please buy my forthcoming autiobigraphy, and "please Miss can I have a peerage"?



PS speaking of Dover -when we lived there - the MP was Sir Peter Rees. He was a tax accountant which doesn't get much exposure in the wiki. In his spare time, he made a lot of money by advising wealthy people how to avoid tax. I was next to him in the queue at the local paper shop in Whitfield one day. He had a modest Volvo car with the personalised registration plate TAX 1.

Not a lot of people know that.

[Stanley]

I certainly didn't David....
I think you are spot on with your assessment of Nadhim Zahawi . I reckon Natalie Elphicke is writing one as well. She needed her tergiversation to Labour to build up more material for it.

I see we can expect 'bold ideas' from Mr Sunak in his election pitch. (LINK) I predict the main one will be a last minute bribe of a 2p tax cut.
Rishi Sunak will say the UK "stands at a crossroads" ahead of "some of the most dangerous years", in a pre-election pitch to voters on Monday. In a speech, the prime minister will argue his "bold ideas" can "create a more secure future" for Britons. It will be his biggest intervention since the Conservatives' bleak showing in the local elections. Labour said the Tories cannot fix the UK's problems as "they are the problem".

Laura Kuenssberg makes interesting reading this morning.....
Keir Starmer's success was sketched across the map of England at the local elections last week. The Labour leadership is bouncing from nabbing another of the Tories' MPs, Natalie Elphicke - and polling since the council results puts him further ahead than ever. What could possibly go wrong for him? A lot, actually.
The general election is still months away and there are plenty of potential pitfalls between Starmer and the shiny black door of No 10. First, conversations across the Labour Party suggest the danger of taking victory for granted - being complacent - is the number one risk. A shadow minister warns: "People sometimes act as if it's already happened… not realising the scale of effort required to do that." Second, while the Tories have been stuck in the doldrums in the polls for months, Labour cannot predict or control much of what happens before the election.
I have said this for a while now, there is no guarantee that Labour will get power and it is certainly not going to be 1997 all over again.
The only thing I am sure of is that the Conservative and Unionist Party is in danger of being relegated to the third place in our political league table. I have predicted this ever since they made the massive mistakes of embracing Austerity and leaving Europe but thought I might not live to see the day. With a bit of luck I shall do!

[PanBiker]

Aye, Sunak is about to roll the scare tactics out. Classic tactic to bolster the unfortunate believers and pick up a few more gullible and insecure folk who can't or wont think for themselves. Cleverer folk would have a war which has happened in the past.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC reort about MPs dancing on the head of as pin as Sunak rattles his sabre.
MPs arrested for serious sexual or violent offences could be banned from attending Parliament under new plans approved on Monday. It comes despite the government putting forward a motion that recommended MPs are only barred if they are charged. MPs voted 170 to 169 - a majority of one - for the threshold to be arrest instead. A union representing workers in Parliament said the move was an "overdue victory for common sense". However, some MPs had raised concerns it was unconstitutional and would deny constituents the right to representation in Parliament on the basis of the decision of a committee.
Meanwhile Sunak says that only the Tories can save the country from the perils that beset it. I find it hard to follow his logic because it was the Tories who caused most of our problems in the first place.
I see that the offence of being smelly as well as homeless has been dropped. We should be grateful for small mercies.....

[Stanley]

See THIS for the leading political headline this morning. It's about Labour so this must be an election year.....
Down an unassuming street in south London the man who could be prime minister within months met leaders of some of the country’s biggest trade unions. At Labour’s new headquarters in Southwark they were thrashing out what the party would say it would do about conditions at work and the rights of workers if it won the general election. It gets right to the heart of one of the most important dynamics an incoming Labour government would juggle: its relationship with business and its relationship with, well, labour – i.e workers.
What strikes me is that it is assumed that Labour winning power in the election is a done deal. I realise that this has to happen in order for there to be meaningful discussions and agreements but it's dangerous territory. There is plenty of time between now and Autumn for things to go wrong and as we saw with Starmer's handling of the Gaza problem he is quite capable of making bad decisions.....

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on the latest cunning plan to ease the pressure on the prisons that are running at 98% capacity. They are going to delay court cases that could result in a prison place being needed.
At the same time, in another part of the forest see THIS. They are introducing another offence, 'Death by dangerous cycling'.
Causing death or serious injury by dangerous or careless cycling is set to become an offence, after the government agreed to a change in the law. Under the change, dangerous cyclists could face up to 14 years in prison. It followed campaigning by Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith who said cyclists should be accountable for reckless behaviour.
I'm sure you don't need me to point out the mis-match between these two initiatives.....

[Tripps]

See who your next Mayor will be - tonight at 7.00 pm.

Council Meeting 16 May 2024

[Stanley]

Morning David..... I shall be getting ready to go to bed so I'll leave you to the delights of Mayor Making......

I see that THIS heads the political news.
Labour is leaving absolutely nothing to chance. With four consecutive general election defeats tattooed across its psychology, it is a party now burning with a determination to do what history tells us it manages vastly less often than the Conservatives: win.
It all looks like a direct steal from Blair's 1997 campaign to me and the one thing I don't see a lot of evidence for is Socialism. This could serve equally as a Tory election bid. It is unashamedly Centrist. I realise that this is what they have to do but to an old Labour man who has read the history, it's not very attractive.

Have a look at THIS change to the rules for on-line gambling machines.
The government says it intends to let people use debit cards to gamble on slot machines. The move will allow pubs, casinos and slot venues to compete in an increasingly cashless society, ministers argue. Gamblers will still be banned from using credit cards in the machines. And there will also be a cap on how much they can spend in one gambling session, with staff alerted when limits are hit. Systems that require payment authorisation, such as Apple Pay, will be allowed, but otherwise contactless payments will remain banned. The Betting and Gaming Council, an industry lobby group, welcomed the "much needed" changes and called on ministers to set out a "clear timeline" for the relevant legislation.
One of the biggest changes I have seen in my lifetime has been the transformation of the betting industry into something that can be accessed at any time of day no matter where you are. You don't have to go into a betting shop, just pull your phone out of your pocket. Like tobacco and drink it can be taxed and is a source of government revenue and anything that makes it easier to access is good news, not only for the industry but for the Treasury as well.
How much money is spent daily on betting and booze? It must be enormous.......

[Tripps]

I'll leave you to the delights of Mayor Making...

The meeting is worthy of comment I'd say, though the average audience online was about six. with a peak of ten! The low turnout at the May 2nd 2024 election is also noteworthy.and the fact that there is now not a single Labour Party Councillor on Pendle Council.

There was drama too - David Whipp made explicit claims of anomalies, and law breaking in connection with postal voting. The new Mayor has featured in this site (and Private Eye) recently Mayor Mohammed Aslam

I suggest that a man who at a public meeting whilst legally represented, and in the presence of a Police Officer, admitted threatening a Council employee with violence from his sons and nephews, and admitted giving people an easy ride (no pun intended) through MOT tests should not be in such an office.

[Stanley]

And I agree with you David. It makes you wonder just how high the legal bar is to becoming Mayor!

I've been looking at BBC VERIFY and saw this....
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has unveiled a dossier adding up how much Labour's spending commitments would cost, with a claim that they would leave a £38.5bn black hole in government finances. Labour, which has accused the Tories of their own spending black hole, has criticised the dossier, saying some of the policies cited are wrong and questioning some of the cost calculations. Many of the 19 items on the Tory list of Labour's spending commitments involve relatively small amounts of money. We've looked at the five biggest, which account for two-thirds of the money involved. Some are accurate, others are less reliable.
Have a look at THIS report as well.
Explaining why economic stability was the first of his six priorities in government, Sir Keir Starmer said Rishi Sunak had not learned the lessons from the tax cuts in Liz Truss's mini-budget. "He says he's going to abolish National Insurance. That is a £46bn unfunded tax cut," the Labour leader said in a speech on 16 May. He has said that's how much it would cost to meet the government's ambition to abolish National Insurance (NI) contributions for workers. But the government has said this will not happen before 2030 and only if the economy grows.

I think what is obvious and certain is that the General Election campaign is going to centre on the economy.

Meanwhile if THIS is to be believed, the Sunaks do not have to worry too much about where their next meal is coming from.....
The personal wealth of Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty rose by £122m last year, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. The couple's fortune was estimated at £651m in the latest list, up from £529m in 2023. This was mainly due to Ms Murty's shares in Infosys, the Indian IT giant co-founded by her father. It means they are richer than the King, according to the annual list of the UK's most wealthy people.

[Stanley]

There is no politics news this morning but have a look at THIS and ask yourself how much influence drink has on the way we are governed.

[Stanley]

See THIS report on the delay in compensation in the NHS Blood Scandal.
People affected by the NHS infected blood scandal have waited "far too long" for answers, the defence secretary has said. Grant Shapps told the BBC families had been let down "over decades". The final inquiry report into what is considered to be the worst treatment disaster in the history of the health service is due on Monday. Around 3,000 people given infected blood by the health service in the 1970s and 80s have already died. Mr Shapps said he could not confirm the scale of compensation payments to victims, when asked about a Sunday Times report, external suggesting that they could run to at least £10bn.
I agree with him but I find it strange to hear a Tory minister making this point when the last 14 years of delay has been on their watch.
Perhaps it is just good for a Tory to be able to say something that most people will agree with.

[Stanley]

I was musing yesterday on the cost of alcohol to government because of drinking in the House of Commons.
I see this morning that the cost of alcohol abuse is laid bare in a new study that shows £27bn a year being spent in England on the health and social harms of drinking.
Isn't it about time that it was taxed like tobacco?

[Stanley]

It would be hard to find a more damning verdict from a public enquiry than THIS. It makes grim reading and confirms what we have always suspected.
Now we watch to see what is done about compensation.
(Don't hold your breath!)

[Tripps]

What do we want? . . . .

When do we want it? . . .

sky news are very confidently calling it for July 4th.

Hooray.

5.10 pm. PS They're late, but the lectern is out and there is no Prime Ministerial crest on it so seemingly that is absolute proof he is calling an election. Hooray again.

PPS He's said it - wet through, and failing to compete against some loud music - but he said it.

"We are stopping the boats with our Rwanda partnership" - That should clinch it.

[PanBiker]

I am going to be very busy.

[Tripps]

I can't get the image out of my head, that the man who says he is the one to lead the country for the next five years, has just delivered his speech in the pouring rain, and failed to organise an umbrella for himself.

[Whyperion]

giving people an easy ride (no pun intended) through MOT tests should not be in such an office.

IF there is proof of that you can ask the Dept of Transport Inspectors to check a vehicle that has supposedly passed to carry out a further check. The MOT station will then, if needed, be investigated. If all the MOT station is doing is bits like making sure the washers and lights work (often they are not done by owners on presentation) I cannot see a problem with that even if letter of law says write a fail. then do the work, then re-test to pass . It might be "advisories" are not recorded - and that is a grey area - some MOT places are too hot on surface rust and so on.

[Whyperion]

Wonder who will be in Sunaks outgoing PM's honours lists. Actually would be quite funny if the tories got elected back into govt ( a minority one hopefully )
General Election Called SNP in disarray, Students off home so Bristol wont go Green. Economic percentages all pointing in the right direction (indeed is a Independent Bank of England Interest Rate cut due end of June ?)
All I can see is 4 and a half wasted years under a clueless Tory Party. I hope the 4th July really does see some independents returned but I suspect most folk have made up their mind which way to vote and no significant campaigning will make any difference.

[Stanley]

See THIS for David's video of a rain soaked Sunak. (And I agree about the umbrella....)
Rishi Sunak announces a 4 July general election in a statement outside Downing Street. After discussing the Covid pandemic, the furlough scheme, and the war in Ukraine, he says the question is "who do you trust?" Sunak says he's proud of what his government has achieved, including on NHS spending and education. The PM revealed the date in a rain-soaked Downing Street speech, as Labour's 1997 election anthem Things Can Only Get Better blared from a nearby street. The Labour leader Keir Starmer says the election is the "moment the country's been waiting for" And he says with "patience and determination" there is "so much pride and potential to unlock" in the UK
There is little doubt in my mind that the Tories will get a mauling but no certainty that Labour will get a majority. I still say that Starmer is the wrong leader. The question that floats to the top of my mind is what does Starmer do about Dianne Abbott? (Or even Jeremy Corbyn? )
Whatever the outcome, I am with David, let's get it done!

[Tripps]

The decision "to go" on July 4th seems to have taken everyone (not least his own MP's ) by surprise. Me too.

I listened to Sunak's interview with Nick Ferrari on LBC, and it is obvious that by naming that date, he can continue the Rwanda fantasy. He can say, as he has pledged, that flights will start in July (but not until after the 4th of course) and still present the policy as an asset.

There will of course be no flights, and had he waited till say November, that would have been obvious, and he would have been a laughing stock.

I lost count of how many times he used the words 'plan' and 'deliver'. I think there is now enough evidnce to show he is in a fantasy world, and for his own safety should be sectioned.