POLITICS CORNER

[Stanley]

I like that P. Very accurate. You could be writing for Dead Ringers....

[plaques]

Both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt promising big spending reviews should they be elected first minister. Philip Hammond doing his best to restrain excessive promises and keep the deficit down.
Back in 2010 When David Cameron and Nick Clegg both agreed on austerity to bring down the deficit. The Liberals thought that two years was too optimistic to show any positive results but 4 years should place them in good standing for the next general election. As we know both the Liberals and Labour were routed in these 2015 elections. The Tories then being free to continue with austerity. Roll on to 2017, Mrs May thought that she could increase her already substantial majority but finished up with a minority government with austerity still the name of the game. 2018 saw a slight promise that austerity was coming to an end but nothing changed. Brexit uncertainties are putting pressure on revenues with the prospect of more austerity. Now 2019 heading for a no deal Brexit plus the US /Chinna trade spat the overall consensus is that the UK will see a further dip in trade. In all probability this will take us through to the next general election 2012. So what started of as a 2 year measure could finish up as 12 years.

[Tizer]

Time for a lecture on Erskine May I think.

`'Parliamentary bible' Erskine May available online for free' LINK
`Erskine May - the "bible" of Parliamentary procedure - is now available to read for free and in full online for the first time. The book is the go-to guide for anyone in British politics and is often referred to by Speaker John Bercow. Previous editions had only been available in print - with the most recent publication priced at £329.99. Parliamentary authorities have also confirmed that future updates to the book will be available online. The newest edition - the 25th - is now on the parliament.uk website and is fully accessible and searchable. ..' Erskine May Online

[Stanley]

"So what started of as a 2 year measure could finish up as 12 years."
That could be optimistic P.....
I have a copy of Erskine May.... I think it cost me 50p.
Can't understand why anyone should give credence to Laurel and Hardy. They are operating in La La Land.
I like the nominations for the high posts in the EU. Two women is good, I've always admired Christine Lagarde and from what I have heard of the Belgian PM, he talks sense! I know nothing about the German lady....

[plaques]

Brexit heading for a 3 year recession, a possible £90b bill for leaving and here we are talking about whether to tax milk shakes. Look out another flying pig. Please wake me up and tell me its not true.

[Tizer]

La La Land and Flying Pigs sums up the situation perfectly.

[Stanley]

All the media seems to be plugging a Boris 'win'. I wonder if that's true. Could be if the vox pops I have seen on TV are representative...
But we aren't there yet. I don't think we are the only ones who have smelt a rat.. May standing in PMQs repeats all the old mantras and ignores Spreadsheet Phil who is the only Tory talking sense at the moment.
Back rooms must be busy and they are all keeping stum.
Thed Tory Leadership race gets even more surreal. See THIS BBC report. Hunt has promised a free vote on fox-hunting!! What next? The same for capital punishment? I think they both regard their campaigns as not manifestos and so they don't need to worry too much about keeping promises. Pantomime season.....

[Tripps]

All the media seems to be plugging a Boris 'win

The betting odds have hardened to 1/10 (from 1/5).

As Damon Runyan once said -

"The race may not always be to the swift nor the victory to the strong, but that's how you bet".

[Stanley]

Cameron's Catastrophe....
We definitely need a miracle now.

[plaques]

Taken from a You Tube Hunt. Jeremy Hunt trying to do a bit of point scoring relating Auschwitz to Corbyn.



Will this ever get into the British media? I doubt it

[Tizer]

`Boris Johnson's campaign funded by billionaires behind £100m development he approved. Super-rich family fund Boris Johnson's campaign to be PM after he approves their luxury development that had no social housing as London Mayor' LINK

[Tripps]

Whilst seeking information on John McCririck - stay with me on this one - I recalled he wrote what I thought at the time, were actionable things about Woodrow Wyatt - Lord Wyatt of Weeford. He was never sued so perhaps it was true. This led me to his daughter Petronella Wyatt and the distant connection with Boris Johnson. Remember when they used to call him 'bonking Boris'? Here's why.

Remember this guy is just about to become leader of the Conservative Party, and subject to the pulling of any last minute strokes by Mrs May, our next Prime Minister.

Remember also he is 55 years old ( not 15! ), and still 'at it'.

Now must decide whether to continue the search for McCriricks book or buy another from Abebooks for £2.09.

11.30 pm. Stop Press :- Boris now at 1/40 to win, Hunt 12/1. Look like a lot of the votes are in and someone has leaked the score. The next few months should be ' interesting'.

[Stanley]

That's terrible P. Thank you for drawing my attention to it.
Thank you also David. I have never taken any heed of Boris's goings on and it was all news to me.
Please tell me it isn't happening......

[Tizer]

Sir John Sawers, former head of MI6, was on Today this morning and criticised Trump's treatment of Iran. It was the best assessment I've heard of the Iran situation so far.

[Stanley]

He also said "Former intelligence chief Sir John Sawers accused Britain of having a ‘political nervous breakdown’ about leaving the EU in an extraordinary public intervention.

The former head of MI6 hit out at ‘unwise’ David Cameron for giving the public a say on the UK’s EU membership, adding: ‘That decision now taken, the country is very badly divided and our standing in the world is severely diminished as a consequence of the way in which we are handling all that.

‘I think there is a lot of anxiety. As we leave the European Union, we take a huge risk to our international standing; to the strength of the British economy.’

He said many within the Government agreed with him, adding: ‘It is not surprising that the people who have devoted themselves to serving the interests of this country are concerned about the direction in which the country is going." Adding his opinion that none of today's contenders for PM were of a high enough calibre.
Later.
Breaking news of the leaking of emails sent by our ambassador to the US criticising Trump. The Foreign Office has admitted they exist. All in the Mail on Sunday but not on the web yet.
A bit later.... LINK to the article. Explosive stuff!

[Whyperion]

Maybe BBC news over summerised the report of the leaks, but overall while Trump may, or may not, have a plan, he has managed to do some things that could be benefical for Americans, has shakily got some kind of relationship with Korea, and what anyone could do with Iran or much of the Middle East that was different I don't know, American Presidents dont have a good track record from either party, or any varied approach. Only thing I dont like is his support for Israel desire for building in the Golan Heights and Recognising Jerusalem as Capital of the State of Israel (Having said that by doing so that might actually reduce the likelyhood of severe military action in the Middle East and any moral worries I have and alternative ideas on the administration of such areas might have to be set aside)

[Whyperion]

More on the Ambassador's notes. If Trump is inept ? Then how ept is Boris, Gove, Hunt, Cameron. Trump apparently does not have a plan. Thatcher and May had Plans and varied not from them until the rug pulled from under them. Maybe there is much to be thought of allowing an opinion to be changed in the light of further and better (and accepting it may not be correct though) information.

[PanBiker]

Only thing I dont like is his support for Israel desire for building in the Golan Heights and Recognising Jerusalem as Capital of the State of Israel (Having said that by doing so that might actually reduce the likelyhood of severe military action in the Middle East and any moral worries I have and alternative ideas on the administration of such areas might have to be set aside)

The only trouble with your closing words is that it is only but a small step from that to genocide. It was setting aside moral worries that allowed the idea of "the final solution" in Germany and "year zero" in Cambodia and many more incidents too numerous to mention.

[plaques]

The Ambassador's notes were made two years ago. I wonder what Mrs May's reaction to them were?
On Korea, Trump would have been quite happy for North Korea to starve hadn't it been for the fact that they had developed a nuclear war head and a delivery system that could in theory reach Hawaii. Yes he was thinking about the American people but not in the altruistic sense. Trumps actions on Iran are totally destabilising and are aimed at minimizing Iran's influence in the region. America are more than supportive in letting Israel attack Iran and take a contrary position to the United Nations on Israel's occupation of the Golan Heights Syrian territory. Which brings us nicely to our special relationship and doing what we are told. The supertanker now held for to be taking heavy Iranian crude oil to Syria has America's fingerprints all over it. Not being able to go through the Suez with a full load of heavy crude it took the long way round. The Americans took the opportunity to get us to do their dirty work for them, Syria being backed by Russia. In all events it would have been better to have been lost at sea or kicked into the long grass.

[Tizer]

It seems odd to have taken over the tanker when it was so far from Syria - if that's really where it was going. It's too easy for the Iranians to say it was going somewhere else. Better to have tracked it until it was obviously going to Syria. At present it looks, to the outsider, like the Royal Navy has gone back to the days of Drake grabbing Spanish ships.

[Stanley]

Ian is quite right about escalation to Genocide when the moral compass is lost or in Trump's case, seems absent.
If you fire a shotgun at a pinhead you might hit it but the question is where does the rest of the charge go? That's the problem with Trump, Dubya had the same problem. Put quite simply Trump is not intelligent but cunning, add to that a lack of moral compass and you do not have an ideal candidate for high office of any sort. Add to all that the fact that he has difficulty concentrating long enough to read a briefing note let alone an analytical thesis or book and you reach the point where he has to ring his mates for input. Remind you of anyone?
On another matter but relevant because it is another example of a political decision trumping analysis... I noted a discussion yesterday about the Labour Policy to regenerate Ravenscraig in Scotland, it has never recovered from the scrapping of the massive steel plant there built under the Macmillan government because Harold saw the political dangers of concentrating the major steel output in South Wales. This was in itself a political decision which ignored the fact that it had been obvious since the 1930s that the prime site in the UK for such an investment was Jarrow which had all the attributes needed but was never pursued. (In itself a political decision as the scars of the Depression were still raw.) By building Ravenscraig Harold ensured that British Steel had too much capacity and both South Wales and Ravenscraig suffered in consequence. In the end the economics won and that was why Ravenscraig had to go.
What is attractive in political terms is not always the most sensible course of action. Cameron's Catastrophe is a supreme example.

[Tizer]

The ERG have done very well for themselves and their camp followers. First they engineered a situation where the original problem (Cameron choosing to have a referendum that wasn't needed) has been forgotten in the frenzy to avoid a no-deal Brexit, then followed it up by installing Boris so that a no-deal outcome was inevitable and they can replace him later. In the meantime HM Opposition flounders as the leader can't make his mind up whether he's a Leaver or Remainer. All this because our politicians don't have a proper understanding of representative democracy. And then go on holiday when the crisis is coming to a climax. It's now difficult to distinguish it all from an escaped Dead Ringers sketch!

[Stanley]

I agree totally Tiz and for light relief note that my favourite Greek politician, Yanis Varoufakis, has returned to politics after the snap election as leader of a new party.

[Tizer]

`Conservatives: Members see Islam as 'threat to British life', poll suggests' LINK
`More than half of Conservative members questioned for a new poll believe Islam is a threat to British life. YouGov was commissioned by Channel 4's Dispatches programme to carry out a survey among the members who will decide whether Jeremy Hunt or Boris Johnson becomes the next Tory leader. Of the 892 members questioned, 56% said Islam threatened British values.'

`[The Party's] former chair Sayeeda Warsi, one of the party's most outspoken critics, said the findings of the poll were "disturbing" and pointed to a "lurch to the right" at grass-roots level.'

`Among the other findings of the YouGov poll, 58% of respondents thought the death penalty should be allowed for certain crimes, while 46% thought concerns about climate change were exaggerated.'

Meanwhile, `Labour could shift position on Brexit referendum' LINK
`Could' is the significant word here!

[plaques]

Boris Johnson has gone from bumbling buffoon to political genius within three ringwing newspaper comments. Not only that he will sort out all the failings of the NHS, ensure there is adequate funding for social care and strike trade deals to our advantage making sure that the highest standard of food quality will be maintained. All this within about 17 working days available in parliament sittings to the Halloween day. Should any recalcitrant Tory 'remainers' upset the applecart by forcing a vote resulting in a general election he will produce a 40 seat majority. No need for Labour to worry their silly heads about a new referendum it won't happen. What could go wrong?