POLITICS CORNER

[Tizer]

You probably heard Frank Luntz, the US public opinion expert, on `Today' this morning saying the US has never been so divided and he's very that it will be extremely difficult to turn around the situation. He finds that 75% of Americans have split from friends or even family on the Trump issue. He also warned that the UK was heading in the same direction. Luntze is a worried man...and he's a Republican.

[plaques]

Trump is a con man, a diversion that discredits his position as the President of the most powerful country in the world. For those who can spare 8 minutes of their time its worth listening to Noam Chomsky on this subject.Trump. Being careful not to fall for all the propaganda hype Putin comes across as a well informed leader who is not afraid of answering questions in a public forum. Of course he will at times lapse into old clichés avoiding direct answers which may take the spotlight away from those who are trying to create a diversion away from themselves.

[Stanley]

Tiz, I heard the interview and was impressed by Lutz. You can get a fair estimate of a man listening to the way he expresses himself and I too was struck by what he said. What shocked me the most was when he said "show me a nation that has turned this sort of change in public discourse round". It took 50 years in Germany to partially alleviate the problem. I agree with him about the UK. It's a moot point where it started but look at the deterioration in transparency and honesty in the financial world and public life in general.
P, I agree with you about Trump and that was indeed the overall message of Woodward's book, 'Fear'. He concluded that he was a liar. He has no concept of the truth or ethics and like all bad liars he has a bad memory, his lies change and grow with time.
I also agree with you about Putin, I don't hold with his views or ambitions but you have to admit that he has played a blinder in political and practical terms.
The scoundrel Green, cheap outdoor weddings and a sop thrown at business rates dominate our political news at possibly the most crucial point since 1939. I said Trump was in Alice in Wonderland territory, so are we.... It's a disgrace.

[Stanley]

Phil will present his budget this afternoon. There have been enough leaks to gather that it is an election budget, or at least one to massage the voters.
However it has a nasty sting in the tail. If Brexit doesn't go well all bets are off and there will be an emergency budget which will not be as benign as this one.....

[plaques]

Watched the CNN interview with the Pittsburgh Mayor, (You Tube) CNN He came across as a very calm rational man. Excellent response under the circumstances. How on earth did America finish up with Trump when City Mayors can out perform him on all counts. Well done that man.

[Stanley]

I heard him as well and had exactly the same thought P.

[Tizer]

The largest US cities (largest metros) voted strongly for Clinton while the so-called sunbelt and rustbelt cities voted for Trump. LINK The author of this article concludes that the US is divided less on Republican versus Democrat and more on metro and suburban/urban/rural.

[Stanley]

I heard the author of the book written on that thesis this morning on Today. He made sense. he was arguing for a metropolitan tax as they benefit so much from the taxpayer. He said they have one in NY City already.

[plaques]

The talk of the day is obviously going to be the Budget and the 'End of Austerity'. The reality being that it all depends what you mean by the end of austerity. Police stations and Libraries will still remain closed. Local authorities, NHS and schools will still be short of funds so that efficiency cuts will continue. People who have lost out on pay rises will still be behind the curve on prices. Universal Credit will still be rolled out putting more people in penury. All this is reminiscent of the Knights of old fighting each other in France. On each summer fighting season they would raid each others peasants, pillaging their farms and houses as they went along. Eventually they realized that this approach wasn't cost effective so they drew up a truce and agreed to hold off until the peasants had accumulated more money then they would start again.

[Tizer]

The Resolution Foundation concludes that it's the well-off who will benefit from the budget.
`Budget 2018: 'Squeeze continues' for lower-income families' LINK

[plaques]

Ask most people what they think of the budget and invariably the reply will be "I can't be bothered". With this in mind a 'Splash' headline on something that will focus their attention will act as a convenient smokescreen from what is really important. McDonnell's refusal to condemn the tax allowances for the higher paid workers has thrown the rightwing press into a frenzy. How can it be right to give the top earners a £500 increase while those at the bottom only get £130 per year? Clearly its not fare but using tax allowances is not as regressive as VAT. A £10 VAT bill has far more meaning to a low income earner than a £50,000 a year man where it is only peanuts. Imagine the headlines if McDonnell had said I'll take this allowance back. This is a Conservative budget favoring those at the top with little sympathy for those at the bottom. Meanwhile austerity continues and will probably get worse in spite of all the 'beginning of the end' rhetoric.

[Tizer]

It's interesting to see here what George Osborne says about the EU referendum result. He was and still is a Remainer but he admits that the Cameron government didn't do enough to explain to people why leaving the EU would be a bad move. Meanwhile Cameron won't comment.
`George Osborne 'regrets' mistakes that led to Brexit vote' LINK

[Stanley]

"Cameron won't comment" My god, imagine the reaction if he did. I have seen no news and heard no radio since I went in to the hospital. I am gradually getting back in but agree with all that I have read on here this morning!
I shall be back!

[Stanley]

There is political news this morning although none of it is concerned with Brexit..... I wonder why?
See THIS BBC report on the principled resignation of Tracey Crouch in protest against the cap on betting machines in bookies being kicked down the road to October next year. Well done that woman!
Also THIS report of the reasons why Amber Rudd resigned as Home Secretary. Another principled decision and an enquiry has revealed that she was completely let down by her civil servants and this was why she misled the House. (The civil servant in charge has been 'moved sideways' to another post) A window has been opened on what was a very bad job of 'advising' the minister. More transparency like this helps! By the way, this report was completed in May but has been sat on for almost five months. Why?
Two refreshing items, God knows we need them!

[Stanley]

I forgot to mention....There are seemingly well-founded rumours that David Cameron's 'friends' are saying that he has finished his book, done his speeches and now wants to get back into public life, most likely as a diplomatic foreign minister.
If this is true, all I can say is Good God! Has he forgotten his last diplomatic triumph? The inception of Brexit? My opinion is that he should be banned from public life simply on that evidence.

[Stanley]

The main news is of course the lack of anything on Brexit apart from criticism of Dominic Rabb on his visit to Ireland.
THIS is the main news and it saddens me that the Labour leaders didn't send the dossier to the police instead of leaving it to be leaked by LBC. Cressida Dick says it appears to be a fact that certain Labour members are guilty of anti-Semitism and these cases will be forwarded to the CPS. She made it clear that this was individuals and not the party. For God's sake! Why didn't the leadership come clean!

[Tizer]

What should have been simply a problem with individuals and dealt with as such long ago has been allowed to taint the image of the Labour Party and ruin the relationship between the Party and Jews. I'm sure the majority of Labour supporters have no problem with Jews but the Party has let a small core of nasties undermine the relationship. Let's hope it gets cleared up quickly.

[Tripps]

leaving it to be leaked by LBC.

I think it was leaked to LBC rather than by LBC, presumably by someone in the Labour Party. Nick Ferrari passed the dossier live on air to Cressida Dick.

[Stanley]

I share that view Tiz, I can't begin to understand the mind set that seems to be "if we ignore it it might go away".
You're right of course David. Sorry for the error......
I'm watching the US elections.....

[Stanley]

I think THIS is well worth a read. The signatories to the letter are advocating another public vote on what is rumoured to be a developing deal with the EU. They say, quite rightly I think, that it is dishonest to use a referendum based on some very dodgy campaigning (see the current investigation into Aaron Banks and the £8million donation) and what we now know were downright lies. They also say that it is undemocratic to keep what looks like a developing exit on very disadvantageous terms secret when we are so close to committing ourselves. I have much sympathy with this view. In democratic terms, the process to date has been deeply flawed and even at this late stage there is a real danger that dissident Tories will torpedo whatever the deal is and take us over the cliff.
We get close to the US mid-term elections. These are going to be crucial, not only for the States but for the rest of the globe as well.

[Stanley]

I think THIS BBC report on the state of play with Brexit by Laura Kuenssberg is worth reading. Basically it tries to make sense of what we do or don't know.
All I can gather is that we are in the end game and what happens in the next month is going to govern the state of the nation for a long time into the future. All of it self-inflicted.
I am not hopeful, there are so many internal obstacles that the most likely outcome I can see is that if there is no sudden rush of common sense, we are not going to get agreement and are going to crash out of the EU in free fall. I'd welcome any counter arguments!

[Tizer]

`Leave.EU and Arron Banks insurance firm face £135,000 in fines' LINK
`Pro-Brexit campaign group Leave.EU and an insurance company owned by its founder Arron Banks face total fines of £135,000 over breaches of data laws. It follows an Information Commissioner investigation into the misuse of personal data by political campaigns. The report says more than a million emails sent to Leave.EU subscribers contained marketing for the Eldon Insurance firm's GoSkippy services....'

[Stanley]

I listened to the reports on the deterioration of children's services and the rise in case load. I wondered how you recognise the breakdown of essential social bonds. Is that what we are looking at? As you know, I have been worrying about the erosion of society ever since Austerity started.
All I can say about the rush of optimism from Downing Street is that it signals to me that the end game has started and we still have no idea of the outcome or the effects on the UK as a whole.The EU stands firm on Ireland and that is going to be the pivot.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report that Jeremy Hunt is to go on a charm offensive with France. I wonder what is going to happen about the UK border being effectively set in Calais and other Channel ports. We are hearing nothing about that. Is this why we are being nice to them?
I note also that amid the clamour by MPs for sight of the proposed deal it seems that even in the draft there is no mention of the Irish problem.
As for any information for the public, forget it, we are passengers not wanted on voyage!

[plaques]

I think you are being a bit negative here Stanley. My understanding from the 'Leaked' draft documents is that everything has been settled and Downing Street are just waiting for the EU to agree to it. Chequers plan B. Just a formality really, no reason to tell anybody else about it.