POLITICS CORNER

[Tizer]

That Robert Peston TV programme about China was an eye opener. All those empty factories, homes, hotels etc in towns built recently, just before the mood changed. Just after watching it I read about the Chinese premier making visits to the major media offices to tell them what news to put out, how they must promote China etc. And this is the country that Ossie wants to cuddle up to.

[Stanley]

I don't think he is bothered about 'cuddling up', all he's after is the money. They call it 'inward investment' and crow about it. Look what it has done to London property prices and the dodgy participants in the scramble for the high end properties using anonymous off-shore funds. Private Eye blew the lid of that can of worms and Ossie is busy trying to stem the flow of information about it. He's going to sell off the rights to the Land Registry which will then cease to be free access. Ever get the feeling that it's a puzzle as to who the biggest crooks are?

[Stanley]

See THIS for an example of the level of debate in Parliament triggered yesterday by Dave being heckled about the fact his mother is complaining about child care provision being shut down. (Due to her son's policies on local funding.) I don't mind how childish or rude politicians are in private but object to serious debate in the house being dragged down to this level. All down to the fact that Jeremy asked an awkward question about the NHS which Dave didn't want to answer because it's too close to the truth, that the NHS is slowly regressing under the pressure of underfunding. This erosion of the cornerstone of social responsibility in the UK is a disaster and I have difficulty in comprehending how any responsible government can allow it to happen. Unless that is that the secret agenda is to drag the condition of the poor back to the worst days of the 19th century laisser faire ethos.
Gove appears to have put his foot in it with his effort to rubbish his mate Dave by saying that the European courts could throw out the advantages Cameron claims to have gained. Donald Tusk says this is not true and that Gove is wrong. (LINK) There will be a lot more misinformation like this before we get to June.....
Report that Donald Trump has tweeted on the subject of Apple fighting against re-writing their software to allow the FBI (and hackers) access to encrypted messages recommending a boycott of Apple. The message ended with the usual "Sent from my i.phone".

[Bruff]

The Guardian Parliamentary sketch-writer has it right today, and it’s something I’ve picked up on in the past.

His ‘clothes’ jibe at Mr Corbyn yesterday was one of those occasions where Mr Cameron’s mask slips and the real Mr Cameron emerges, a person he is very keen to keep under wraps. The real Mr Cameron emerges when he tells grown women to ‘calm down dear’; when he sniggeringly suggests women of a certain age are ‘frustrated’; when he talks about hanging about with ‘a bunch of migrants’; when he mocks the merits of ‘Indian’ dance; when he casually lobs insults at Mr Skinner MP due to his age.

This is true ‘Dave’: a snobbish, sneering, entitled, childish brat frankly, who really does it seems believe one should know one’s place and that place is defined by the cut of your jib and the like; in effect you should keep quiet and speak when spoken to, especially when it’s the likes of him doing the talking. He is also a man of deeply held prejudices. Quite appalling, and even more appalling that the nodding-dogs behind roar their approval.

Richard Broughton

[Tizer]

I was tempted to call the clash over Cameron and Corbyn's mothers `childish' but I heard children interviewed on the Today programme this morning and they were appalled by the politicians' behaviour. One of them pointed out that they aren't supposed to be rude to each other so why is it allowed to happen?

[PanBiker]

They kicked the possibility of further debate into Women's pension rights into touch again yesterday. This was about all those born around 1953 or 1954 who have had the gateposts moved twice on them now. My wife Sally is one of these and although told at 15 years of age when she started work that she would retire with a pension at 60 she now will not get her dues until she is 66. These same women are the ones that predate maternity allowances so on top of being expected to work an extra 6 years they have missed out on being able to take paid leave and quite a few other benefits. The motion was to discuss some form of interim payments for them, not back dated compensation but the Tories were having none of it.

[Stanley]

Richard, I agree as usual. One opposition MP shouted 'Bullingdon' during the exchange..... That's accurate I think. My first real clash with 'The Officer Class' came in the army when Lt. Philip Oulton (He of Oulton Park) put me on a charge for pointing out that water wouldn't run uphill. (Silly me!) I subsequently worked out that some officers were OK because they were gentlemen and had brains. The rest were 'Bullingdon'. In my book Cameron is no gentleman, he is an example of the most arrogant type who apart from being thick, believe that the Empire really was built on the playing fields of Eton. Exactly as you said....
Later, after reading the BET. The main story of course is that the cuts are now official but what struck me was the fact that Councillor Joe Cooney accuses the Council of overcharging, failing to support services and not listening to the Tory proposals. In addition our caring MP Andrew Stephenson berates the council for not subsidising bus services. The first word that springs to mind is hypocrisy but that is overridden by pure anger. On the one hand Mr Stephenson thinks the most important matter is his decision to support Brexit and on the other he completely ignores the fact that the cuts Pendle now face are deliberate policy emanating from his party who trumpet the 'economic miracle', support the bankers and the rich and ignore the terrible damage their social budget cuts are causing throughout the UK in that the hit the most vulnerable and needy. The message is clear, of you are poor, old, disabled in any way or living North of Watford you are expendable. I have never seen such barefaced discrimination in my lifetime and the terrible thing is that it is no longer noteworthy in the media, it has become the accepted norm. Thatcher said there is no such thing as society, this government is hell-bent on destroying those parts of it that don't directly benefit them. I hope I am still around to see them reap the whirlwind because what they are doing is going to hit them as well in the end.

[Stanley]

How long can the media sustain the referendum 'news'?
In the US it looks as though the presidential contest is going to be between the dreadful Trump and the ageing Hilary Clinton. Time they had a woman in charge I think.

[Tizer]

I wonder if the real reason Trump appears to be doing so well is that there are powerful people promoting him in the knowledge they'll be able to use him as a puppet and exert control covertly from the background?

[Stanley]

Almost certainly Tiz. That was how Thatcher got the leadership of the Tories, the grandees thought they could control her. Her first action was to scrap controls on the movement of capital which suited them but as she got on her feet she went off piste as far as they were concerned.
Warnings that Gove's strategy to take teacher training away from the Lefties in the universities has failed miserably and with a growing school population education authorities are warning that we are in trouble even if we act now.
General opinion in the Westminster Village is that normal legislation is on hold until June when we get a result from the referendum. Only exception is the Snooper's Charter which is itself in trouble because it need extensive re-drafting.
The Retailer's council is warning that 900,000 of the 3million jobs in small shops could vanish as the retailers come under the cosh from the new minimum wage and pension regulations plus the impact of online shopping.
Warnings also of growing staff shortages in the NHS. This means that the only way out is agency staff at inflated prices. The Trusts are trying to recruit abroad but there is growing resistance to working in the NHS. (LINK to BBC report)

[Tizer]

Oliver Kamm did a good job showing people that Gove's favourite English language grammar guru, N.M. Gwynne, doesn't know what he's talking about. Gove wanted Gwynne's book used in all schools to drum ill-founded pedantic rules into young brains. An example of what Kamm has written:

"NM Gwynne, a septuagenarian pedant, had an unlikely bestseller last year with Gwynne's Grammar, published by Ebury. Unnoticed by admirers of that book, who include Michael Gove and Prince Charles, Gwynne has a history of self-published crankery. In a three-part essay (undated, but apparently from the 1980s), Gwynne purports to disprove Galileo, Newton and Einstein. He maintains that the Sun orbits the Earth, which is the fixed and non-rotating centre of the Universe." Kamm on Gwynne

[PanBiker]

According to current figures the NHS requires over 30,000 trained staff to make up shortfalls across the various hospital trusts around the country. 6,500 doctors and over 23,000 nurses. Various trusts are looking towards the Philippines for recruitment as they train over 100,000 nurses per year. They are actively recruiting from these areas. Nothing wrong with this but was it not this Tory Government that deported hundreds of Philippino nurses home last year as their three year work visas had expired? Surely it would be lot easier to renew a piece of paper to retain fully up to speed personnel than have to recruit again and train to our working practices. It beggars belief really.

[plaques]

We don't mind them coming here working for us but to have them stopping here permanently is beyond the pale.
Quote;
;Work permit extensions: As with the initial application, extensions of work permission can be requested for up to five years. All applications for extension must be made before the current leave to remain expires. Note that extensions cannot be applied for in the case of Multiple Entry Work Permits but a fresh application for a further permit can be made once the individual concerned is outside the UK.

Indefinite leave to remain: As with other employment-based categories, individuals who have spent five continuous years in the UK as a work permit holder will usually become eligible for indefinite leave to remain ("ILR"), subject to meeting all the relevant criteria. As noted above, time spent in the UK with a Multiple Entry Work Permit does not count towards indefinite leave to remain.

[PanBiker]

Where's the quote from Plaques?

[Stanley]

"but a fresh application for a further permit can be made once the individual concerned is outside the UK."
So we make someone go home and then say they can go through the whole complicated process of application again. Where is the sense in this? As for doctors, all my eye surgery was done by consultants whose families originated abroad, they may of course have been born here, I didn't ask them, all I was interested in was their competence and the results. They were all brilliant, I can see.
As for Gove, I had hopes for him after his flashes of common sense when he became Justice Secretary but now it looks as though he was simply attacking his disastrous predecessor....
I watched Nicola Sturgeon being interviewed on Channel 4 news last night. I wish she was our PM! Open, transparent, perfectly natural and a breath of political fresh air.

[plaques]

Sorry PanBiler I should have included the URL. Permits. . All this is a total nonsense. We know years in advance that there is going to be a shortage. If the hospitals that employ them think they are good enough to keep then then let them stay permanently. This may upset the nice little earner that the agencies have going but so what!

[Tizer]

It's Super Tuesday in the USA! A few cracks are appearing in Trump's tectonic plate but will they be enough to make a difference? Some Republicans are beginning to realise that Trump may be good for promoting the Republican brand to the disaffected segment of the public but now they have to start thinking about him as a President. He's not so much anti-Democrat as anti-government, more a looney rich anarchist. He's made mistakes but so far has survived like a cat with nine lives. I'm hoping he'll run out of those nine lives soon and make an almighty clanger! Super Tuesday

[Stanley]

P, your point about the agencies is a good one I think. Too often, 'outsourcing' simply encourages leeches on the system and is driven by the modern business and political ploy of divesting responsibility for key roles wherever possible. McKinsey rules!
Tiz, what we are seeing with Trump is the worst manifestation of a system of choosing a Presidential candidate which favours wealth and the lowest common denominator. As you say, he would be a disaster as President because he is only interested in getting elected and has no discernible policies. As far as I can see there are only two hopeful scenarios. The first is that the Republican Party comes to its collective senses and realises that choosing Trump is almost certainly a suicide note. The other is that the public do the same and back Hilary Clinton when it comes to a vote.
One is forced to wonder about the US collective IQ.

[plaques]

One is forced to wonder about the US collective IQ.

Probably the defective DNA was imported from England.

[Tizer]

Trump is getting strong support from black Americans and I don't think that DNA came from English people - but if you are using the word `import' I suppose you could argue that it was taken there on English ships (among others).

Stanley hopes that: "..the Republican Party comes to its collective senses and realises that choosing Trump is almost certainly a suicide note". From what I hear, the senior bods in the Republican Party already are aware that Trump is "a suicide note". Their problem is what to do about him, he seems unstoppable. But a phrase comes to mind, "Give him enough rope..."

[Pluggy]

One is forced to wonder about the US collective IQ.

[bigot_rant] I've been saying for a while that if they are even entertaining a p*llock like Trump as their leader it makes them the most stupid nation on Earth. Its high time we got out of bed with America, [/bigot_rant]

[Stanley]

I've written to Uncle Bob and asked him for an analysis of the situation, I think we all need guidance. Bob is probably the most well informed liberal I know and I hope he responds. I saw a woman who support Trump being interviewed on Channel 4 News last night and I can only describe her as rabid and totally incoherent. She supported 'bombing the ass off IS' but said that America wanted no more foreign wars.
Looking at the escalation in the rhetoric here in the 'debate' on the referendum I wonder how bad it will get before June! I don't believe for one moment that internal Tory dissensions, greed and naked political ladder climbing has nothing to do with it. Once again, what would the Tory press be saying if this was the Labour Party? Just for once I think they are doing exactly the right thing by staying out of this messy scrap and simply reasserting the Party view.
North Korea..... If you are a student of escalation, there is a perfect case study. So dangerous!

[Bruff]

I have never visited the US and so so cannot speak from any direct experience. I have heard it said though that one can get a very incomplete picture of the US from TV, films and the goings on in cities like New York, Boston, San Fransisco, all the cities on or near the coasts. In the middle (the flyover states I think they are called), there is a huge area of millions population that is extremely religious and evangelical believing (truly believing) very often in creationism and the notion of the ‘rapture’. These are people who do not hold passports, haven’t travelled out of thier State (often the county) and are wholly ignorant of the wider world believing America to really be the ‘greatest country on earth’ and unbelieving as to why anyone would even counter that. In effect, there is a great mass of extremely unworldly people. You can see why Mr Trump has traction with these people. And you perhaps wonder how on earth the same country produced some of the finest writers, scientists, engineers, musicians etc. we have ever known.

I detect some of this exceptionalism in arguments of some of the Brexiters in our EU debate. Mr Duncan-Smith’s latest intervention was to note that all would be well post-Brexit as we would be able to have a agreements on ‘our own terms’. I’m sorry, but agreements tend to be on ‘agreed’ terms and this notion of our exceptionalism, that we are somehow special, is quite ridiculous when not arrogant. People are in for an almighty shock when and if this becomes crystal clear but look on the bright side: it will hopefully confirm once and for all that we are in reality a middling, damp, windswept archipeligo up in the NE Atlantic with a flair for creativity and not much else but hey, there’s nothing wrong at all with that in my book.

Richard Broughton

[Stanley]

I agree Richard on both counts. Bob has sent a reply to my request. I told him that Trump had alarmed and puzzled some of us and asked if he would write a brief for us. He replied "I will do this. Partly to sort out my own views, which could use some sorting out. Stand by." As soon as I get it I'll post what he says. I trust his judgement.

[Stanley]

I see that (belatedly) the Republican Party in the US is attacking Trump. See separate topic 'US Presidential elections' for what Bob wrote.....