POLITICS CORNER

[plaques]

I've been listening to the reactions of the politicians to the shock of Uxbridge. The consensus in the Tory Party is that green measures should be ditched as it was opposition to the Labour Mayor's Ultra Low Emission Zone that save their bacon. Starmer on the other hand is being mobbed by his backbenchers who want him to order the mayor to hold off on the zone as it is spoiling their election hopes.

As usual people are shooting from the hip. Without a special poll on those who had voted Conservative we will never know why they did it. I think we will just have to accept that some Conservatives like some Labour voters will never change their minds.

Amused to see Jeremy Hunt's comment that since inflation had fallen it was a signal for retailers to lower their prices. This is cart before the horse thinking. Reducing prices will reduce inflation. Not the other way round. But there again he's the Chancellor and knows about these things.

James Cleverly making a very public appeal not to get the push from his job. Pathetic.

Cruise ships for asylum sent back because there is nowhere for them to dock. Suella Braverman " I have a cunning plan" at least she could have packed a few thousand stowaways on board before they returned.

[Stanley]

See THIS for evidence that Keir Starmer is still the master of the bleeding obvious statement.
But see THIS report of the death of Ann Clwyd, a good woman who served her country well for her whole life. Here is her obituary. Well worth a read.

[Stanley]

There is no political news this morning. This is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that the headline news story is Nigel Farage's bank account.
Truly a zombie government.

[plaques]

No real political news but some of the mainline media appear to have found the root cause of our inflation. Its all down to poor people buying cheaper goods and food. Not being able to visit their preferred top market restaurant they have resorted to buying things at supermarkets and Poundland. Following the age old principle of supply and demand these outlets have taken the opportunity to raise their prices shoving up the CPI index. The Bank of England is not happy with this state of affairs have raised interest rates putting a squeeze on mortgages. Although mortgages don't appear in the CPI their affect is to take more money out of circulation indirectly putting further pressure on finances. And so the upward price spiral continues. But never forget that the cause of this problem is poor people buying lower cost foods and goods.

Not everybody will agree with this line of argument but with another year+ to the election they, the media, will gradually be able to drive the message home.

[Stanley]

The trouble with your irony Ken is that so often it is true! Once again you have hit the mail on the head. We are looking at a long steady campaign to 'prove' to the public that black is white and the Tories are indeed the best money managers.
THISheadline news this morning tells us what the latest subject of distraction has been chosen.
(Notice that now the Immigration Bill has been passed and is in the process of becoming law, 'stop the boats' has fallen away from the head of the agenda, a distraction was needed.)
Cue 'housing' as the topic. Yet another area of policy where the Tories have failed miserably on every assessment in the last 13 years.
Michael Gove is to relax planning rules in England in an effort to create more homes in "the hearts of our cities". The levelling up secretary says he wants to make it easier to convert empty retail premises and betting shops into flats and houses. But critics say such conversions are often poor quality. It comes as Rishi Sunak insists his party will meet its commitment to building a million homes before the next election, expected in 2024. A report by the Commons housing committee earlier this month found that while ministers are on track to deliver its one million homes target they are not expected to meet their other commitment to deliver 300,000 new homes every year by the mid-2020s. In addition....
However, in an early sign that Mr Gove's plans may attract criticism from the government's own backbenchers, Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire Anthony Browne has tweeted: "I will do everything I can to stop the government's nonsense plans to impose mass housebuilding on Cambridge, where all major developments are now blocked by the Environment Agency because we have quite literally run out of water."
I have a feeling David can help us on this one......
I have a beef outside current affairs..... Will whoever it is who advises Sunak on personal presentation please tell him to wipe that permanent smile off his face every now and again? I don't know what it does to anyone else but it simply gives me a feeling that this is all an act, a false image, and he actually has a quite different agenda which is solely connected with him and his millionaire wife.

[PanBiker]

I have a beef outside current affairs..... Will whoever it is who advises Sunak on personal presentation please tell him to wipe that permanent smile off his face every now and again? I don't know what it does to anyone else but it simply gives me a feeling that this is all an act, a false image, and he actually has a quite different agenda which is solely connected with him and his millionaire wife.

Have you noticed the striking resemblance to Roland Rat.

[plaques]

Rishi Sunak is a third choice PM doing a third rate performance. His personal appearance, wealth or religion should have no influence on what is good for the country. The problem is that the country is being run for the few by the few. Smoke filled rooms comes to mind. Sunak is being dragged from pillar to post trying to appeased the right-wing Conservative nutters. Unfortunately he seems happy in this role to go along with them. The strategists at No10 are concentrating on diversions, popularisms and someone to blame. The past 13 years or austerity has nothing to do with the government because as we all know its YOUR fault.

[Tripps]

I have a feeling David can help us on this one......

Many things about the Cambridge property market are a mystery to me. I won't go into detail so as not to betray confidences. I do know that Anthony Browne MP is demob happy, and will not be standing again. His majority is small, and the Lib Dems are a formidable electioneering bunch. He has nothing to lose by telling it as it is.


Here's a flavour of it all. Cambs Water

PS - It is never mentioned in the media, on this and other issues, that most situations could be improved by there being fewer people involved. They always look at the 'supply' side and never the 'demand'.

[Stanley]

"The strategists at No10 are concentrating on diversions, popularisms and someone to blame. "
That's a phrase worth remembering. You have the situation in a nutshell Ken.
My attention was grabbed by something I heard yesterday and this morning I see THIS, the BBC report on the same thing.
The number of people living in temporary accommodation in England has hit a 25-year high, according to the latest official figures. Almost 105,000 households were in temporary accommodation, including more than 131,000 children, on 31 March this year. This figure is 10% up on the same day last year, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities data shows. This latest figure for temporary accommodation surpasses a previous high of 101,300 reached in 2004, and is the highest since records began in 1998. The figures also show almost 14,000 households were in hotels or bed and breakfasts in the three months to March.
Apart from the purely financial problem of the burden falling mainly on Local Authorities and in turn leading to cuts in other essential services, this is totally shameful! A government's first duty is the health and welfare of its citizens. On the most basic of these, housing and feeding the children, they are failing totally as apart from the homeless children are going to bed hungry every night.
For a start off, all subsidies must be removed from the catering and boozing facilities in Parliament. I am sure there are other subsidies that we don't know about and these must be stopped as well. Front and centre in any discussions on spending and budgets must be addressing housing seriously. The only way to do this in the long term is to start a modern Council House building programme and finance it adequately.
All other political news is secondary to this one subject. It is a catastrophe and should be treated as such!

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report. Faced with evidence that rogue solicitors are putting forward spurious evidence in asylum claims the minister takes action.... Except that it isn't action, what he has done is urge the regulator to do something. In other words he has done nothing that involves him or his department in any expense or effort. Yet this is headline political news this morning.....
We continue to have a zombie Parliament. Made even worse by the fact that the MPs are on 'summer recess', almost as though everything in the garden is lovely!

[plaques]

Now that we have got the immigration bill through parliament the refugee small boat problem will miraculously disappear. Michael Canute Farage will be staring out to an empty sea wondering how he can cause some more mischief. Suella Braverman will be out of a job with her Rwanda dreams fulfilled turning her attention to becoming Prime Minister and beating the working class into the ground. The general election time table has become something like gambling on a roulette wheel. The thinking is not when the Conservative fortunes will peak but when can they avoid the next avalanche of cock ups and negative news. Meanwhile expect the UK to appear at the bottom of any economic league table that gets published.

[Stanley]

Better have as look at THIS BBC article Ken.
The "routine" housing of unaccompanied child asylum seekers in hotels is unlawful, the High Court has ruled. The charity Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT) brought legal action against the Home Office over the practice. The High Court said children could be placed in hotels for "very short periods in true emergency situations" but not "systematically or routinely". The Home Office said it had "no option" but to temporarily use hotels. A spokeswoman said: "In light of today's judgment, we will continue to work with Kent County Council and local authorities across the UK to ensure suitable local authority placements are provided for unaccompanied children, in line with their duties." The Home Office and Department for Education had opposed the legal challenge, saying the use of hotels for unaccompanied children was lawful and "a matter of necessity". More than 5,400 unaccompanied child asylum seekers have been housed in hotels since July 2021, of whom 32% were under 16. Concerns have been raised after more than 400 children went missing from these hotels, with charities warning some are being groomed by criminal gangs.
Perhaps Suella will have to continue to devote time to the boats..... I noted a couple of days ago that she appeared to be trying to change the subject to 'terrorist threats'.
See THIS also for an example of careless and sloppy procedures at the heart of government.
The Ministry of Defence has launched an investigation after emails containing classified information were sent to a close ally of Russia in a typing error. The emails were intended for the US military, which uses the domain name ".mil". But they missed out the letter i, and so the messages went instead to the West African nation of Mali. Defence officials say the emails did not contain information that could compromise operational security. The mistake, they said, involved only a small number of emails being sent to Mali, whose email domain is ".ml".
Wasn't it lucky the mails didn't contain any important information....
Read further and find we aren't the only ones.......

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC account of the verdict of the High Court yesterday. It's more important than it looks.
The expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) across London can go ahead after the High Court ruled it lawful. Five Conservative-led councils had challenged the Labour mayor of London's plans to charge older, more polluting vehicles £12.50 a day from 29 August. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan told the BBC: "This landmark decision is good news as it means we can proceed with cleaning up the air in outer London." Surrey Council's leader branded the decision "incredibly disappointing".
The councils will claim that this wasn't political and it may have started simply as an attempt to lessen the burden on inhabitants but after Uxbridge it also became intensely political because it seemed it was a way of avoiding annihilation by Labour.
I listened to the professor who is leading research in London into air quality and he said that adoption of ULEV had undoubtedly had a significant affect on pollution levels and after all, that is what is needed.
THIS report demonstrates that the government's shameful foot-dragging over payment of compensation to victims of the blood scandal will go on.
Final compensation for victims of the infected blood scandal could end up costing "very, very large sums of money," the chancellor has said. Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt was giving evidence to the public inquiry into what has been labelled the worst treatment disaster in NHS history. He said the government had accepted the moral case for compensation. But he said no final decisions could be made before the inquiry publishes its findings later this year. It is thought nearly 30,000 people in the UK were given contaminated blood products in the 1970s and '80s.
Some 4,500 victims, and some bereaved partners, receive ongoing financial support and - in October 2022 - also received the first interim compensation payment of £100,000 each. In April, the inquiry recommended the government should establish an "independent, arm's length" body as soon as possible to pay full compensation to the victims, along with others whose lives have been impacted, such as the victims' children and parents.
During questioning, he was asked about a series of newspaper articles published this year, some quoting treasury officials, which estimate the final bill for compensation at between £5bn and £20bn. Mr Hunt described those leaks as "unwelcome", saying the officials responsible "may not be in possession of the full facts".
Rishi Sunak has previously said that full compensation will not be paid until the enquiry has reported. (And then no doubt there would be a further period of reflection before anything was done.) All this is simply kicking the problem of the massive payout down the road and into the long grass. It is shameful, and despite the economic hit, should be dealt with immediately otherwise it smacks of holding back until more claimants die.

[plaques]

Funny how the ULEZ is taking centre place when it appears to be of some political advantage to the Conservatives. Sunak doesn't seem to mind reducing pollution as long as it doesn't cost ordinary people money. Somehow this logic doesn't apply to the obscene profits being made by Centrica jacking up its gas prices to a point where most people can't afford the bills. All this is acceptable to cut down on greenhouse gasses. So there we have it. If prices rise to a point you you can't afford them then that's OK because you haven't spent any money.

Am I missing something? The illegal immigration bill was intended to put a stop to all the rubber boats arriving on our shores but in the background the government is hiring more accommodation barges, more useless cruise ships and is even talking about accommodating them in tents. At the same time they are earmarking old military bases without any cost analysis on their suitability. Somehow I get the feeling that they don't know what they are doing but boats are bad and points can be scored. Cost of living? we'll look at that later.

[Tripps]

Site is a bit quiet - I've been doing a bit of site archaeology. There's some good stuff buried away.
Some prolific posters have fallen by the wayside but it's remarkable that the hard core then, remain much the same today.

There was an indication yesterday of how serious this is. The IMF issued its latest forecasts and is in agreement with Standard and Poors, They have downgraded growth forecasts for the whole of Europe including the UK and flagged up the fact that austerity measures are stopping growth. Basically they forecast that the UK is flat lining and France is shrinking. Add to this the news yesterday that UK debt has hit £1trillion and the GDP figures due out today are expected to show another fall in growth and it's a bit of a headache. The IMF warn that unless the EU gets its act together the most likely outlook is global recession. Not good news lads, get into the bunker!

That's from Stanley in 2012, and apart from the fact that the UK debt is now about £2.5 trillion it could have been written yesterday. Looks like £1.5 billion has been spent on 11 years of austerity?

[Stanley]

"it could have been written yesterday. "
That's something I find myself repeating over and over again David as I re-post Stanley's View.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
HERE'S a good example.
Rishi Sunak has ordered a review of low traffic neighbourhoods, saying that he is on the side of drivers. The prime minister told the Sunday Telegraph he was supporting people to "use their cars to do all the things that matter to them". LTNs aim to reduce traffic, in part by preventing drivers using quieter residential roads as through-routes. But critics, including some Conservatives MPs, argue they reduce the freedom of motorists.
The details change but the politicians first thought is self-preservation. Sunak isn't worried about the voters being able to use their cars. He is driven by two things, first pandering to the wishes of the more rabidly Right wing of his backbenchers. (Because they pose the most danger to him.) And second, because the runes tell him that it may secure some votes, the tide is turning against the costs of greening always falling on the lowest strata in the population.
Have a read of THIS
A senior Conservative MP has urged ministers to change prison compensation rules after it emerged a man who wrongly spent 17 years in jail may have money deducted from his payout. Andrew Malkinson, 57, was cleared of a rape he did not commit. He called the current rules "kind of sick". Under existing rules, savings made on living costs while in prison can be deducted from compensation. Sir Bob Neill said: "Any fair-minded person thinks this is just wrong." The government has no plans for any changes but keeps all laws under review. The rules date back to a decision made in 2007 by the House of Lords. It said that money could be deducted from compensation for "saved living expenses". This refers to costs the prisoner would have incurred if they had not been locked up, such as food and accommodation, according to a House of Commons briefing paper.
I can't imagine what this man has gone through and remember that he served longer because he refused to admit to a crime he did not commit. To charge him bed and breakfast is further torture.
Yes, I can see that there is a case for saying that he was kept free of charge but there is also a case for saying that no amount of compensation is sufficient for a life stolen. As I understand it this is not a given, it is something that has been raised as a possibility. My advice is to scrap the possible charge and absorb the costs in any compensation calculations.

[plaques]

Rishi Sunak has a brand new 'do nothing plan'. This is a step change from shelving promises to do something then doing nothing. This time they promise to do nothing and really mean it. For years local councils have been restricting traffic flow through residential areas, Speed bump, choke points one way sections. Often traffic now has to queue for up to 10 mins waiting to get through traffic lights. Now its back on your heads. Delays cause pollution so the answer is keep traffic flowing.

Meanwhile the HS2 rail line is judged to have no purpose and its aims cannot be met. Too late to cancel the project with £Billions being fed to the white elephant without a murmur.

PS Anybody want to buy a Bibby Stockholm barge?

[Stanley]

I have to agree with you Ken. Sunak and his government are a swamp of failed initiatives and half-cocked aspirations. They can't even get the humanitarian bit right by paying the blood money to the people infected by the NHS and not charging Andrew Malkinson bed and breakfast for the 17 years he spent in prison after being wrongly convicted of rape.
I logged into the BBC news channel hoping to find some evidence of politics happening but THIS is the head of the political news....
The prime minister is expected to announce millions of pounds of funding for a carbon capture project during a visit to the north east of Scotland. Rishi Sunak will emphasise the role the region will play in the UK's wider energy security plans as he meets industry figures this week. The UK government said Scottish schemes will help it grow the economy and meet its 2050 net zero commitment.
Note the continuing aspiration to 'grow the economy'. Like the rest of the five promises there isn't any evidence yet that anything is happening and I can't help wondering how spending a few millions on an experimental carbon storage project is going to help things!
I can't remember where I heard it but the white elephant aircraft carrier with the poorly prop shaft is in dry dock at Rosyth contributing to the Scottish Domestic economy. I wonder if anyone will ever tell us the full story or give us a final cost..... (Don't bother. I think I can guess the answer to that one!)

[plaques]

Truly amazing really. The oil companies dig big holes under the North sea creating unknown amounts of pollutants as they do so. They then draw of loads of fossil fuels which when burnt create even more greenhouse gasses. Fortunately most of these polluting fuels are burnt abroad so the problem doesn't directly affect the UK but just to show that we care we will somehow try to extract the carbon dioxide out of the air compress it, transport it back to the hole it came from, then pump it down to fill the space it occupied in the first place. All this will be done as efficiently as possible by using wind energy electricity. Please don't ask the question 'why not start with wind energy in the first place?

I did my own bit of carbon capture yesterday. Dug a hole in the garden waited until the carbon dioxide, being heavier than air, filled the hole then replaced the soil. Am I eligible for a grant?

[Stanley]

It really is as circular a process as that! Ken is quite right. And we will now pay the oil companies money to help us get the gas underground again, they are the only people with the sites and equipment. This is the bit they keep blackmailing the government with every time somebody mentions taxing them on windfall profits. We really are dumb suckers!
See THIS report on Sunak defending granting drilling licences. Best to pander to the only people who can make carbon capture work!

[plaques]

Starting with the simple fact that ALL the gas and North sea oil fields are privately owned. None of which is ours which we have a direct claim on. Whatever comes out of the ground is sold on the international markets at international prices. Part of the smokescreen is that gas some is piped directly to the UK at international prices but technically is not imported because its here to start with. Sunak is proposing extra exploration which again will be sold at international prices so unless the UK nationalises these firms it is never OURS. The holes left behind after extraction are being promoted as somewhere to store the burnt gases that is IF we,the UK, can invent a way of capturing their pollutants from the power stations and pump it down their holes for which we will pay £Millions. Sunak's plan smells of a big con based on aspirations that fits exactly the term 'Black Hole'.

[Stanley]

The spiel is that the system is proved because there is a CO2 capture operation already running successfully in the North Sea. Our operations in Scotland and at Hull simply have to duplicate this operation.
If that's the case, why hasn't it been done already?
THIS BBC report caught my eye this morning.
The UK government has decided to recognise the EU's product safety symbol indefinitely, in a post-Brexit climbdown. From the end of next year, goods such as light bulbs and toys were meant to carry a new UK-only mark to be sold in Great Britain. However, the business department has now confirmed the EU symbol will continue to be accepted on most goods. Trade body Make UK welcomed the move, saying it would increase certainty. But the manufacturing group criticised ministers' handling of the issue, saying a history of "last-minute policy changes" had created unnecessary costs.
Another bid to exercise 'sovereignty' is abandoned. Can anyone show me what parts of Brexit are actually functioning and benefiting UK PLC?
See THIS report on the Newport barge. The Home Office were hoping to start using it this week but the necessary safety certificates have not been achieved and some describe it as a death trap. This hitch is delaying the deployment of at least two more of the barges. (No news on the deployment of the tents that the Home Office were reported to have bought.)
I note that a by-election will now take place after 11,896 people in Rutherglen and Hamilton West signed a petition to remove Margaret Ferrier from office. The importance of this is that it puts pressure on Starmer. He has to show he can win seats like this.

[Tizer]

The spiel is that the system is proved because there is a CO2 capture operation already running successfully in the North Sea. Our operations in Scotland and at Hull simply have to duplicate this operation.
If that's the case, why hasn't it been done already?

A March 2022 article...
`What is happening with Carbon Capture and Storage?' LINK
An interesting article on CCS but note the final paragraph...
None of the CCS experts interviewed for this series said they felt optimistic about CCS’s future, despite most saying it was necessary to meet net zero targets. Dr. Herzog said he was “optimistic technically, but policy wise, also political wise, public acceptance wise…there’s all of these things. If we really get serious about getting to net zero, make it a high priority, I would be very optimistic. But, you know, we’re not. We’re nowhere near that point.”

[plaques]

There are a number of small specialist recovery projects but none on the scale the North Sea would require.

Alcohol duty raised to protect the vulnerable who drink too much. I won't affect the cost of living because you don't need to buy it?

Can't introduce a sugar tax to protect the obese who eat too much sugar because this would put prices up.

Am I missing something?

[Stanley]

No Ken. Like everyone else you are baffled by incoherent policies that are being spewed out almost daily to try to give the impression that this apology for a government is actually doing something.