POLITICS CORNER

[Stanley]

Somehow THIS seems like an apt metaphor for the modern world.
Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson had her purse stolen from the hotel where she gave a speech at a conference for senior police officers on Tuesday. Thieves struck while Dame Diana was giving a speech blaming the Conservatives for an “epidemic of antisocial behaviour, theft and shoplifting,” at the annual Police Superintendents' Association (PSA) conference at a hotel in Kenilworth. A member of Home Office staff also had belongings taken. A 56-year-old man from Coventry has been arrested on suspicion of burglary and released on bail in connection to the incident, Warwickshire Police said.
I rather think that might have been 100% police effort!

[Stanley]

See THIS surprising admission from Kier Starmer....
The government did not carry out an impact assessment on cutting winter fuel support for millions of pensioners in England and Wales, the prime minister has said. Sir Keir Starmer said he had not been shown any analysis privately about the possible consequences of his decision to take away the payment from older people who do not receive pension credit. The Liberal Democrats said not carrying out an impact assessment before cutting support was "absolutely unthinkable". The Conservatives have also been calling for an impact assessment. Sir Keir said: “There isn’t a report on my desk which somehow we’re not showing.”
I can believe it though if you consider what such an impact statement would look like. Far better to say that there isn't one than to have to conceal one or obfuscate round it. I think it's pretty likely that any such report would have made dire reading and been useful ammunition for the Opposition.

[Stanley]

THIS is the political news this week, the resurgent Liberal Party.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey is urging the Labour government to “invest more in the NHS or accept continued decline”. Sir Ed is calling for a “budget for the NHS” in October, with more investment in hospitals and training doctors, nurses and dentists. The party says the NHS needs £3.7bn a year extra in day-to-day spending, and a further £1.1bn a year for investment. The NHS and social care are the main focuses of the party’s autumn conference in Brighton.
Apart from the fact it is nice to see the LibDems back on the political stage in quantity (72 seats) it is good to see them pressing Labour to spend money even if they have to borrow it, for this is what this call is. Any successful business will demonstrate that properly calibrated deficit financed spending is an efficient management tool and increases profits eventually. Managing a country is no different, It was how we funded the Second World War!

[Stanley]

See THIS domestic political news.
Sir Keir Starmer said “most” of the stories about his chief of staff Sue Gray are “wildly wrong”, after reports of rifts in No 10. Gray has been the subject of numerous newspaper stories since Labour entered government, including claims she has a fractious relationship with Cabinet Secretary Simon Case and strategy chief Morgan McSweeney. Case is the UK’s most senior civil servant. McSweeney masterminded Labour’s successful general election campaign. A senior government source has told the BBC the claims are “completely and utterly overblown” and “Sue is working with teams throughout civil service and acts with nothing but professionalism”.
I have noticed the attacks on Sue Gray and they were to be expected. Once the attempt to stop her joining the Labour team had failed they were inevitable. The truth is that there are people in opposition who fear and hate Ms Gray and they will continue these attacks on her as long as she is in post. We see here the ugly side of politics. If the enemies weren't attacking her they would be targetting someone else.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report of what Ed Davey is saying at the LibDem's conference.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said he would like to see inheritance tax reformed to “ensure the better-off pay more”. The Lib Dems fought the general election on a promise to increase capital gains tax and reverse Tory cuts to the levy on banks to pay for improvements to the NHS. But in an interview with the BBC's political editor Chris Mason, Sir Ed went further, saying he would also make changes to inheritance tax. He said people with "valuable homes" were “clobbered” by the current inheritance tax system, and that he would “like to see a reform that made it fairer”. Pressed on who would pay the higher rate, he said: "I think those people who aren't inheriting huge amounts - and that money comes primarily from their property - they would see lower inheritance tax and you pay for that by ensuring that the better-off pay more." He also called for the rules to be tightened up so "people who are really wealthy" or who have benefited "from really very vast inheritances" could not use "clever" accountants to "hide the money".
It's good to see Sir Ed raising the matter of wealth distribution because the Liberals are about the only people who take the subject seriously. Ten years ago Thomas Piketty, in his book 'Capital' came to the conclusion that we need a global wealth tax. Since then the gap between rich and poor has widened. (LINK)
This is and always has been, the biggest factor in inequality world wide. More power to Sir Ed and the LibDems but don't hold your breath!

See THIS article about the impact of Brexit three years down the line.
Brexit red tape on British businesses has caused UK-EU goods trade to slump and the problem is getting worse, economists have warned. The findings from a report by the Birmingham-based Aston University Business School cover the three-year period after the Brexit trade deal was signed. The value of UK goods exports to the EU sank 27% and import goods 32%, according to the report, which is the most comprehensive of its kind. However, tobacco, railway, and aircraft goods exports have increased. The report also found the variety of trade export goods has dropped, with 1,645 fewer types of British products exported to every EU country. The report does not include the service sector, which has performed better than many experts had expected since Brexit. The authors said there was a "noticeable worsening of EU-UK trade in 2023".
This will come as no surprise to many of us. Brexit was an enormous mistake and it's worth noting that the most rabid Brexiteers are very quiet these days. In particular the Parliamentary ERG group.

[Stanley]

See Peter's post in the news topic which reinforces the Aston report.

I saw THIS in the politics thread this morning.
Former Prime Minister Sir John Major has criticised the previous government's Rwanda asylum plan, branding it "un-Conservative and un-British". The scheme aimed to deter people crossing the Channel in small boats by sending some migrants who arrived in the UK illegally to the east African country. However, the plan was stalled by legal challenges and scrapped by the new Labour government, with no migrants sent to Rwanda under the scheme. In an interview with the BBC's Amol Rajan, Sir John, who was Tory PM from 1990 to 1997, said he thought the plan was "odious". "I thought it was un-Conservative, un-British, if one dare say in a secular society, un-Christian, and unconscionable and I thought that this is really not the way to treat people," he said.
I agree with him but he reminded me of this rhyme I learned many years ago...
King Solomon and King David had rather pleasant lives. They had ten thousand concubines and twice as many wives. But both when growing old and weak were struck with sudden qualms. King Solomon wrote the Proverbs and David wrote the Psalms.
Quite.... It would have been nice if Mr Major had been as forthright in the event as he is now.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on Sue Gray's salary which heads the political news.
Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff received a pay rise after the election which means she is now paid more than the prime minister. The BBC has been told that Sue Gray asked for and was given a salary of £170,000 - £3,000 more than the PM and more than any cabinet minister – or her Conservative predecessor. One source told the BBC: "It was suggested that she might want to go for a few thousand pounds less than the prime minister to avoid this very story. She declined." A government source close to Ms Gray said this claim was "categorically untrue" and she had "had no involvement in any decision on her pay". The decision has ignited a row within government over Ms Gray, whose report while a senior civil servant into parties in Downing Street during the pandemic contributed to the downfall of Boris Johnson.
Wouldn't it make sense to make her deputy Prime Minister? No wonder she's smiling......

[PanBiker]

She is not an elected MP, just a former civil servant who has held various roles. She only joined the Labour Party in 2023.

[Stanley]

All Starmer would have to do would be to elevate her to the peerage and then she could be PM if required....
I should say I was not serious when I suggested it, Just pointing out she would cost less!

See THIS BBC report of Starmer's reaction to the attacks over Sue Gray.
The prime minister has insisted he is “completely in control” after the BBC revealed a row within government over staff pay. It has emerged Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Sue Gray, received a pay rise which means she is now on a higher salary than him. The story, briefed to the BBC by a number of sources, painted a picture of fractious relationships at the heart of government, less than three months after Labour's general election victory. Challenged by BBC South East political editor Charlotte Wright on a spate of off-the-record briefings about Ms Gray, the PM said: “I'm focused and every day the message from me to the team is exactly the same, which is we have to deliver." He added: "We were elected on a big mandate to deliver change. I am determined that we are going to do that."
I think it's important not to lose sight of the fact that the root of these reports of rifts in Downing Street is the normal propaganda war from opposing political forces. Labour employed the same tactics against the Tories and it is seen as simply a given in political life. I suppose it always has been but now with modern communications it is so much more immediate and cutting.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report about donations that is another example of the incoming fire from the opposition parties. (Although in this case some of the criticism has come from within Labour.....)
Sir Keir Starmer, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves will not accept any further donations for clothing after a row over gifts, a Downing Street source has said. The prime minister has faced growing criticism after it emerged he had received more than £16,000 for work clothing and spectacles for him, and further donations for his wife, from Labour peer Waheed Alli. The Financial Times has reported that Rayner and Reeves declared thousands of pounds in work clothing from wealthy donors as general office support. The prime minister has maintained he has always followed the rules on donations. Labour is trying to draw a line under the controversy as the party heads to Liverpool for its first annual conference since its landslide general election victory in July. On Thursday, former deputy Labour leader Baroness Harman told BBC Newsnight that the prime minister having clothes and spectacles paid for "feels a bit like a misstep because most people have to buy their own clothes to go to work and the prime minister is not low paid".
I think I have to agree with Harriet, it does feel like a misstep.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on the start of the Labour Conference.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said it is his "job to do something" about leaks coming from government, which this week led to his chief adviser's salary being made public. Speaking to the Observer, external ahead of the Labour Party conference which begins in Liverpool on Sunday,, external Sir Keir said leaks "damage everybody" and that it was his "responsibility" to solve the problem. The revelation of chief of staff Sue Gray's £170,000 salary - more than the PM is paid himself - earlier in the week hinted at tensions within government. However, Sir Keir struck a celebratory tone in an address to activists on Saturday, saying his government had "achieved more" in 14 weeks then the Tories managed in 14 years - pointing to an end to the junior doctors strike, setting up a national wealth fund and establishing GB Energy.
However something I note in the YouTube news feeds (And I expect it is the same elsewhere....) is the plethora of Right Wing stories..... They will be attacking non stop.

[PanBiker]

However something I note in the YouTube news feeds (And I expect it is the same elsewhere....) is the plethora of Right Wing stories..... They will be attacking non stop.

Of course they will. In the local constituency I notice that our MP Jonathan has managed to get some movement from the Canal and River Trust regarding the canal leak around the Coates coal bunkers and the area above Roundell Road. It has been going on for a couple of years from memory.

He has been getting about a bit on his weekends, SELRAP also included recently. The canal job has not hit his Facebook page yet but Heather, (Cannula) has mentioned it on one of the local Facebook sites.

Jonathan Hinder MP

[Stanley]

That sounds good Ian.
I hear Starmer denying that Labour has an austerity policy....You could have fooled me! No doubt Angela Raymer will clear all the uncertainties up when she makes her conference speech today.

[Stanley]

The news I have seen from Conference is all about being upbeat and optimistic but that won't cut it. How can you say you are not promoting austerity when you are cutting department budgets and benefits like winter fuel allowance? There is going to have to be something in the budget to support this rhetoric.... If not Labour will be making a big mistake.
Talking about big mistakes.....
Major Labour donor Dale Vince says he wants to talk to the new government about scrapping compulsory meat and dairy in school meals in England. The green entrepreneur, who has donated more than £5m to Labour, says vegan meals are healthier and better for the environment. He is campaigning for an end to all farming of animals, which he says is now the biggest driver of the climate crisis. He told a fringe meeting at Labour's conference that his company, Devil's Kitchen, already supplies vegan food to "one in four" primary schools.
This man should leave nutrition to the experts and not the lunatic fringe who have no idea of the disaster they promote with so called 'animal free farming'.

Listening to the reports from the Labour conference at Liverpool I am struck by the number of tired cliches being used. Light at end of tunnel etc....

[Stanley]

See THIS Item of political news....
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has promised to give all military veterans, young care leavers and victims of domestic abuse a "guaranteed roof over their head". All three groups will be exempt from local connection tests, which most councils use to decide who can qualify for social housing. Currently armed forces veterans are only exempt from the rules for five years. But housing charity Shelter warned changing the rules would not address the shortage of social homes.
I've seen politicians make promises like this before and in the end they rebound on them because they never happen.

See THIS assessment of Starmer's keynote speech yesterday.
This was the first Labour leader’s conference speech delivered as prime minister in 15 years - 5,474 days if any disconsolate party activists have been counting. So it was little wonder that Sir Keir Starmer was so rapturously received in by the rank and file in the hall. The long wait is over. A party leader not castigating the government from the sidelines but describing what the government - a Labour government - will actually do. Well, up to a point. This was a speech relatively light on new policy and heavy on political framing.
Zefferman's assessment of the speech fits in with my opinion that Labour are making the same mistake the Tories have made time and time again. Imposing austerity on the poorest and vowing to make the economy 'sound'. Basically good news for the wealthiest.
This was not the economic strategy that won WW2.

[Stanley]

See THIS report.....
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has denied talking the country down with his repeated warnings about the state of the public finances and the NHS. Some business leaders and economists have accused the government of damaging confidence in the economy by presenting a gloomy picture. The prime minister told the BBC he was making the "difficult decisions" needed to grow the economy and get public services "properly functioning" again. Since winning power, Labour have warned of tough decisions, accusing the previous Conservative government of leaving a £22bn "black hole" of unfunded spending commitments - something the Tories deny.

See also THIS similar report on the NHS.
Wes Streeting says he will not back down in his criticism of the NHS, after the BBC revealed there was growing unease in the service about the "broken" NHS messaging from government. England's health secretary told the Labour Party conference that not acknowledging the problems in the NHS would result in "killing it with kindness". His comments came after senior sources in the health service said they believe some of the claims have gone too far - and may result in patients being put off seeking help and causing lasting damage to staff morale. In recent weeks, the government has claimed cancer is a "death sentence" because of NHS failings, while maternity services "shame" the nation.

In both cases.... of course they are talking us down! Or as my mother would have said, they're 'over egging' the pudding.
I'm all in favour of telling the truth but they are going too far in expecting the whole nation to wear a hair shirt.

[Stanley]

I can't get excited by the headline news that Starmer has met Trump and considers the 'special relationship' to be 'above personalities......
Instead I noted THISreport about Baroness Warsi leaving the Conservatives....
Former Conservative Party chairwoman Baroness Warsi has resigned from the party in the House of Lords, claiming it has moved to the “far right”. The peer, who was Britain's first Muslim cabinet minister during David Cameron's premiership, accused the party of “hypocrisy and double standards in its treatment of different communities”. But the Conservatives say she was about to be investigated for allegedly using "divisive language".
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the affair, it indicates just how divided the rump of the Tories is.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report giving further details about a matter that is dogging the Labour government...
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer received an additional £16,000 worth of clothes from Labour peer Lord Alli, it has emerged. The donations, first reported by the Guardian, external, were initially declared as money for his private office as leader of the opposition. The gifts - of £10,000 in October 2023 and £6,000 in February this year - were declared on time, but will now be re-categorised as donations in kind of clothing. The re-categorisation comes after Downing Street sought advice over the donations. Sir Keir has insisted he has always followed the rules. The prime minister, along with his deputy Angela Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, have said they will no longer accept donations of clothing.
What I want to know is what is the connection between gifts and access to power? Can they be for any other reason? Surely they are bribes and as such should be banned completely. But then that would have to include financial donations to Parties. It seems pretty obvious that the whole subject of donations, for whatever reason, needs to be addressed.
Wasn't it David Cameron who said that lobbying was the next big scandal? This is closely related and 14 years after that, nothing has been done.

[Stanley]

See THIS piece about Rosie Duffield's resignation from Labour.
Rosie Duffield has told the BBC that Sir Keir Starmer’s team cares "more about greed and power than making a difference" in her first broadcast interview since resigning from the Labour Party. In her resignation letter, published by the Sunday Times, external, the Canterbury MP lambasts the prime minister for accepting gifts worth tens of thousands of pounds while scrapping the winter fuel payment and keeping the two-child benefit cap. In an interview appearing on tomorrow’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Duffield said Labour voters and MPs are being "exploited" and "taken for granted". Duffield, who will now sit as an independent MP, said leaving the party was “not at all where I wanted to be".
This is not a good look for a Party aiming to govern for the next five years..... It has to be admitted that Ms Duffield has a point and it is something that the Labour leadership would do well to address.

[Whyperion]

I did warn you about Labour and Starmer.

We dont really have financial education in our treasury chancellors.

So how to do austerity when the NEED to spend more money than the UK can generate in one year ,without it being painful.

I would do as I have said before revise some of the income tax system. clear up the reliefs and chops and changes in it and make a better contributory system. Raise Personal Allowance to £14,400 (apparently this is the min income one needs these days to live on). Add On a Savings Allowance of £4,000 :(down from £5k), for incomes up to £18,400. Basic Rate Tax 20%, Upper Rate 40% Over £44,000 of income,Higher Rate over £74,000 45%. Withdraw the cut downs of personal allowances and so on inc Child Benefit. Withdraw Benefit Cap (but look at Housing Benefit as to rent fairness) withdraw 2 child allowance limit. Make Pensioners Winter Fuel Allowance and some similar benefits into taxable incomes. (and increase it to £200 from £150).
From each, according to their ability, to each, according to their need.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report of Sunach's final speech as Tory Leader.
Rishi Sunak has urged the Conservative Party to unite behind whoever wins the contest to replace him as leader. In a speech at the party's conference in Birmingham, Sunak said: "We must end the division, the backbiting, the squabbling. "We mustn’t nurse old grudges but build new friendships." In a break with tradition, Sunak will not be delivering a big end of conference speech to the party faithful on Wednesday. He said he did not want to be a "distraction" to the four MPs vying to replace him as leader, who will each give a 20 minute speech on Wednesday morning instead. Party members queued for more than an hour to get into Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, which was transformed from a classical music venue to something more like a nightclub for Sunak's farewell speech. The lights were dimmed and two blue neon Conservative logos hung from the ceiling. Former members of Sunak’s Downing Street operation watched on as their old boss bid farewell as the Conservatives’ leader.
I doubt if the world of politics will see a lot of him from now on.... He will not be missed.

[Stanley]

Forgive me if I say that THIS piece of political news seems to be very convenient.....
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has announced he will step down by the end of the year on health grounds. The top civil servant had been undergoing medical treatment for a "neurological condition" over the last 18 months. In a statement he said "whilst the spirit remains willing, the body is not," adding that the decision was "solely to do with health and nothing to do with anything else".

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on Jenrick's attempt to get out of the hole he has created for himself with his inflammatory remarks about special forces being killers.
Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick has stood by his claim that British special forces are “killing rather than capturing terrorists”. The former immigration minister made the comment in a video, external promoting his bid to be the party's leader. Tory leadership rivals James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat, who have both served in the military, are among those who have criticised Jenrick’s comments during their party’s annual conference. When asked if he backed his claim about the conduct of special forces, Jenrick told activists in Birmingham: “I do". Speaking on stage at a conference event, Jenrick said human rights laws would make it “difficult” for British forces to “conduct a similar operation to the one that the United States did to kill or capture Osama bin Laden”. "That's wrong,” Jenrick said. “I don't want our human rights apparatus to be standing in the way of taking the right operational decisions for our national security.” Tugendhat said he was "angry" at Jenrick's comments, adding that the assertion represents a "very serious accusation" and that the position shows "a fundamental lack of awareness of military operations, the command chain, and the nature of the law in the armed forces".
This man triggers my crap detector every time I see or hear him. I hope the Tories suss him out and reject him. The man is a chancer.

[Stanley]

See THIS for news that Starmer is paying back £6,000 received as gifts.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has paid back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality received since becoming prime minister, following a backlash over donations. The prime minister is covering the cost of six Taylor Swift tickets, four tickets to the races and a clothing rental agreement with a high-end designer favoured by his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer. It comes after Sir Keir and other cabinet ministers have faced weeks of criticism for accepting freebies from wealthy donors. Sir Keir has committed to tightening the rules around ministerial hospitality to improve transparency.
My first thought on reading this was "Only £6,000?".
Why should politicians feel free to accept any gifts when the distinction between gift and bribe is so indistinct. Why would anyone give a 'gift' to a politician if it wasn't intended to influence them? Or am I too cynical?

[Tizer]

I missed this while on holiday but have been catching up. I recommend it to everyone - just put aside your political views, whatever they may be and listen to what he has to say (especially about Brexit!). It's excellent.
`Sir John Major - Amol Rajan Interviews' BBC 4