POLITICS CORNER

[Stanley]

THIS is worrying me today. Have they nobody better than Cressida Dick? I went off her when she was gold commander in the operation that put nine bullets in an unarmed innocent man riding on the tube. (LINK) Nobody is mentioning this.....

[plaques]

Cressida Dick will keep her job for the very same reason that Priti Patel and hundreds of Tory MPs will keep theirs. The do as they are told. Sad but true.

[Whyperion]

More smoke and mirrors. The NI contribution starts at £184 and is 12% of earning thereafter. To say its going up by 1.2 % represents a 10% increase. Sajid Javid Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has stated that there is no actual plan and has no idea how much money will be available and when he will get it. All this in spite of a manifesto statement that there was an existing plan which would be discussed with all parties prior implementation. How much more of these lies and nonsense will the voting public take?

Was there not last year, and will there not be next year a potential allowed extra increase in Council Tax to fund adult social care ? Did no MP notice that ? As to losing everything and not passing some onto ones children, there are some places in the UK where the house has a value of £90,000 or less.

[Stanley]

I think you are right Ken....
I hear that Johnson is talking about being PM longer than Thatcher. Not if the electorate wakes up from what is now its 11 year sleep. (Or Rishi Sunak gives up his ambition.)
Of course the problem remains, who is the alternative candidate?

[Stanley]

See THIS report of Priti Patel having lunch. She can't help putting her foot in it. What do you have to do to get sacked? ( Forget I asked that, its being disloyal to the PM isn't it.)

[Tripps]

The BA executive, Lisa Tremble, who joined the meeting has also denied there was any “hard lobbying” or “set agenda” and said it was just an “informal lunch”. This was echoed by Mr Arora, who insisted he did not do politics. “I’ve known Kwarsi and Priti for years,” he told the Sunday Mirror. “I said pop in and have lunch and see my new hotel. I don’t do politics. I don’t support anyone. There wasn’t any agenda.”

All perfectly open and transparent - can't imagine how you could think otherwise.

More likely she was seeking industrial quantities of hotel bedrooms for the incoming economic asylum seekers. I recall that Sajid Javed when he was Home Secretary interrupted, and returned from a holiday in New Zealand to attend to the urgent problem of dinghy Channel crossers.

Judging them by their actions and not by their words, one can only conclude that they fully approve of the traffic.

[Stanley]

I'm glad David has tidied that one up.....

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on speculation that Johnson is on the verge of taking back the power to initiate a snap election if he so desires. I think this is extremely likely. He can see what is coming down the track towards us with uncertain Covid figures and certain Brexit problems. He has added the fact that there is pressure for an inquiry sooner rather than later into the handling of Covid and the ability to have a snap election must be very tempting.

[plaques]

Our Secretary of State for Pensions Thérèse Coffey is spinning the removal of the £20 a week Universal Credit supplement as only a couple of more hours work a week. As someone with a PhD in chemistry you would think that she would know the minimum wage is £8.91. and that the earnings are on a draw back scale where extra at the top end is reduced for very £: earned. Far from being 2 hours extra work it could be more like 4 extra.
I personally know people trying to juggle extra hours by trying to find other part time work to fit in with what they are trying to do at present.
All these lies of course are to satisfy the Express and Mail readers who only look at the headlines and nod their empty heads in approval.

[PanBiker]

It would be very revealing if we had the statistics for those with proper contracts for a 40 hour week. I think it would be shameful.

[Whyperion]

Dont most Civil Servants work a 35hr week and get a pension from Age 60 ?

[Stanley]

Dead right Ian. I listened to repeated reports that the employment figures are fine and much better than expected. This is of course nonsense because so many of those who are 'employed' are on wages so low they get income credit, or on zero hours and not getting an assured wage or are paid so badly they can't manage off the wage and have to moonlight. As for contracts of employment that give proper protections, conditions and benefits, dream on. I don't think they are compulsory any more. Everyone I talk to says that overtime rates don't exist in their job.
Historically, this country has been run on low wage rates and subsidised food and housing prices. Food housing and all the service and utility prices have increased and the wage has not kept up. In addition the greedy buggers also took away the security and conditions of employment that helped. The system now moves wealth up so successfully that the bottom 85percentile that spend the money are skint and that's why the GDP figures are so lousy. Meanwhile the sales of luxury yachts, cars and high end goods is fine thank you. Our problem was bad enough with distribution of wealth being skewed and having Tories running the show. Brexit and Covid have been added on top. I think we are in deep do do!

[plaques]

The year on year inflation figures are showing a 2.2% increase on last year. The reason being offered up is that the 2% last year was lower than it should have been and we re just making up ground on last year. This explanation is in the 'couldn't make that up' class. Price rises are due to Brexit nothing more nothing less.
Will GDP drop again with the withdrawal of the social credit support ?

[Stanley]

Good question Ken. Every pound taken out of the lower class incomes is a pound taken direct from the spend on the main street and that has its effect on GDP.
I have never heard more desperate 'reasoning' to prove policy is right than the twaddle being peddled by Tory backbenchers backing the government up. Hoping no doubt to catch the PM's ear before any reshuffle. But....
All a bit late as BJ is moving the deckchairs as I write. Young Gavin has shuffled off into outer darkness and my cartoon this morning on clean jokes was appropriate. Word is that DR is in with the PM now and could be moving.....
Could end up being an interesting day in Westminster....

[Tizer]

I hope you're all keeping up with Boris's re-shuffle this afternoon! BBC News

[Big Kev]

I hope you're all keeping up with Boris's re-shuffle this afternoon! BBC News

Nope
Is Baldrick the Minister for Cunning Plans?

[Whyperion]

The whole reshuffle looks like a cunning plan. No one has been moved because of competence, only of obedience. I think Williamson didnt do a bad job as I dont think he was ever in a position to have any kind of useful evidence to base any kind of decision on, and every side was against any move he did in the field of schools education. Take away covid, if not brexit , and he might have done differently. The other troublemakers for society are firmly in place to wreck more damage. Roll on conference season.

[Whyperion]

In mid-august this was the reported satisfaction ratings of conservative higher-ups by a survey of conservative membership

[Stanley]

LAURA is worth a read on the subject of the re-shuffle.

[plaques]

Something unusual for me is to watch Prime Ministers questions. Last nights episode was embarrassing to a point that I'll have to find a new adjective to describe Buffoon Boris. His performance was unbelievable in bluster, diversion, avoidance and unrecognisable spluttering repetition. To think he is in charge of our country doesn't bear thinking about. This Youtube clip should be made compulsory viewing for everyone in the UK.

[Tizer]

Please tell me I'm wrong but I think Priti Patel hasn't been thrown out? I guess Boris is scared of her.

[PanBiker]

No they are keeping her for the jolly game of lets try to drown children in the English Channel.

[Stanley]

I watched the Youtube clip Ken. Thanks for drawing my attention to it. You are quite tight, he is a disgrace. Not only was he using his usual mixture of bluster, incomplete sentences and meaningless gabble, he was telling lies as well. What made it even worse was that little **** Sunak laughing as Kier Starmer made perfectly clear, rational and telling points about what is really happening.
As for leaving Priti in post. Could Carrie have anything to do with that? She is, and always has been, a disaster.
I note that her latest intervention in the Channel, the push back tactic, has sunk without a trace when it became obvious that it couldn't work without the cooperation of the migrants and the French authorities who she has antagonised by threatening to take away promised money from them.
One last point.... how dare Johnson invoke the name of Aneurin Bevan in an argument against Labour. As a politician he wouldn't be fit to lick his boots.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on the ongoing investigations into the use of private emails in the health department which they say was the reason why Lord Bethell left Health.
There is a lot going on at the moment. My version is that the sudden surge in activity by the Tories has a lot to do with the fact that they have realised that things are deteriorating rapidly and they need an early election before things get really bad. Judging by the empty shelves in the Barlick Pioneer Store and Susan's report that Earby is the same, shortages of basic foods are coming through the system and not all down to a shortage of drivers, we are seeing factories closing down because of soaring energy prices, only this morning we have heard warnings that toys could be short this Xmas, toys might not be the only things missing....
In short, a lot of cans that were kicked down the road are having to be addressed and some believe that a perfect storm is on the way spurred on by a combination of Brexit and Covid together with wider problems world wide in supply chains.
At the moment the high pressure and low wind speeds are inhibiting wind power and adding to pressures on energy prices.... As I say, I think Johnson has realised that he needs an early election. Chickens may be coming home to roost.

[Whyperion]

I Thought Gove had been appointed as minister for Christmas (along with Communities and Housing - good grief - first task to remove transferrable vote system for electing mayors)