POLITICS CORNER

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report for the latest on Sunak's position vis a vis Richard Sharp. The next thing we will hear is the Sharp has his total confidence. Then he will be sacked.......

[plaques]

Sunak's interview about the 'secret meeting' was met with the usual smokescreen response. First not to acknowledge that a meeting had taken place then launch into to what the government are doing to take advantage of the Brexit opportunities and forge ahead with proposals that will take away peoples rights and in general turn the clock back to the Victorian age by making people poorer. Of course he didn't say this directly but the bills either going through parliament or now in the Lords will result in exactly that. Sunak is still trying to appease the ERG but the longer he maintains the failed hard Brexit stance the more difficult it will become to argue its success at the next general election. The drift will now be that he is doing his best to make Brexit work but they, the Labour opposition, are holding the country back through their intransigence. Unfortunately for Sunak the right-wing media have given him the thumbs down and although not immediately attacking him are not giving him their usual support.

[Stanley]

I have just been listening to Former CBI President Paul Drechsler lambasting the Tory Party for it's stupid policies and actions such as ditching all EU regulations. He says Sunak is being destroyed by the Brexiteers.
But then you all know about this....

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on what Mel Stride said yesterday about 'the disbenefits' of Brexit.
"Brexit created "frictions" in trade that impacted the UK economy, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride has said. The senior Tory told the BBC the UK's exit from the EU had brought "major opportunities" but they were taking time to appear. It comes as Jonathan Haskel, a Bank of England policymaker, said investment in the UK had "stopped in its tracks" after Brexit. He estimated it had deprived the economy of around £29bn in lost growth. The Treasury has said it doesn't recognise the figures quoted for lost growth in the economy. "
But, speaking on the same programme, Paul Drechsler, who chairs the UK's International Chamber of Commerce, said the UK's departure from the EU and the subsequent political turmoil had also reduced the willingness of firms to invest in the UK. Mr Drechsler, who previously advised Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, also criticised the legislation the government has drafted to remove laws put in place during the UK's EU membership. The Retained EU Law Bill was, he said, a new cause of uncertainty for investors. "We're about to bin thousands of EU laws without having any alternative for business to rely on. At a time when businesses around the world have a choice about where to invest."
My assessment is that Mel Stride is admitting that Brexit was a disaster but saying that he believes the advantages of getting rid of the EU regulations will eventually prove to make up for the losses. Problem is that is an aspiration, there are no signs of it happening yet. As far as I can see it is the single greatest handicap we are working under and could conceivably be the reason why we have this stubborn problem of growth.
Once again we see a Tory blustering in an attempt to defend the indefensible. Cameron's Catastrophe rolls on flattening the economy and any prospects of improvement in the future. Self-inflicted injury.....

[plaques]

To hell in a hand cart./ basket. The black death or the guillotine. Either way the Tories are determined to have their way. More and more people are realising Brexit was a mistake, we do not recognise those figures. How do you measure something accurately against something that no longer exists?

Comment by one of those street interviews.
I voted Conservative and bought my council house so I'm OK now but that does mean there's no social housing left for others to do the same thing.

[Big Kev]

I hear Jimmy Krankie oops, Nicola Sturgeon, has thrown in the towel.

[Stanley]

That was uncalled for Kev, Nicola Sturgeon has been a good First Minister and one of the most competent in the UK. I wish we could have had the likes of her down here! See THIS BBC report on her surprise resignation. It reminded me of the lady in New Zealand who did the same thing, decided it was time to go and managed her own exit. Very few politicians escape Enoch Powell's dictum that all political careers end in failure, well done Nicola, she has escaped that ignominy! It will be interesting to see how her party manage electing her replacement.
See THIS BBC account of Starmer's attack on Corbyn. I have to agree with Jeremy.
"Mr Corbyn said: "Keir Starmer's statement about my future is a flagrant attack on the democratic rights of Islington North Labour Party members. It is up to them - not party leaders - to decide who their candidate should be. "Any attempt to block my candidacy is a denial of due process, and should be opposed by anybody who believes in the value of democracy." He described Sir Keir's move as "a divisive distraction from our overriding goal: to defeat the Conservative Party at the next general election".
As far as I can recall this is a unique action, I can't ever remember a former Party Leader being expelled from the party before, for that is what this is, an expulsion.
I have to add that if supporting Israelis and sympathising with the Palestinian Arabs but opposing the reactionary Zionists is grounds for expulsion then Starmer had better expel me. I agree that anti Semitism is hateful and should be stamped out but I also have grave reservations about the actions of the state of Israel against the Palestinians. Let's remember they attacked a refugee camp and killed children.
I make no secret of the fact I dislike Starmer and his policies and have grave doubts about the course he has set the Party on. David asked the other day if Ian had any boundaries and I have to say that speaking for myself I am getting very close to walking away from the Party I have supported all my life. I don't recognise what they are becoming. I suspect I am not alone......

[plaques]

I agree Nicola Sturgeon outclassed all our politicians. Her declaration to stand down may be a wake up call that could signal a review of where the Party is heading.

I think Starmer is wrong to ban Jeremy Corbyn. Equally Corbyn would be a drag on the Labour Party at election time. The right-wing press would have a field day. The election would be about Corbyn, antisemitism, black financial holes and anything but the cost of living and people rights. Remember Pendle is one of the poorest areas in the country and yet we still return a Conservative MP who at every opportunity votes to make people poorer.
Nowt as queer as folk.

[Stanley]

I'm not sure whether the right wing press would see enough copies in slagging Corbyn off now. If they did it would demonstrate how politically bankrupt they are. I see some of them are making fools of themselves about Nicola's resignation. They say it shows Unionism has won, (That is of course the Conservative and Unionist cause) They couldn't be more wrong.
I wish Nicola well in whatever she does next. She's only 53, plenty of time to do something meaningful in the field she really enjoys, the welfare and mentoring of the young.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on the latest shots fired in the action by Starmer to bar Corbyn from the party. I repeat what I said yesterday, Starmer is wrong to unilaterally bar any Labour MP. He should leave that decision to be made by the constituency in a deselection process. The reason he hasn't is that he doesn't trust the members to 'do the right thing'. His idea of Labour is a bland centrist body in which everyone does his bidding and doesn't rock the boat. Tough! Think back through Labour history and recognise that we are a broad church and thrive on dissent and strong local views. Blair et al started the centralist middle of the road attitude and stole the Tory's clothes. Starmer thinks he can do it again just at the time when the Tories have demonstrated quite comprehensively that their clothes aren't worth having.
We need radical changes in politics. What Starmer offers us is not even mildly controversial.

[plaques]

Remember all those NEW hospitals that were going to be built. 40 new aspirational promises given by Billy Liar himself Boris Johnson. Now we hear that not only are they not being built but general maintenance is being cut back making older hospitals unsafe. Delaying maintenance is a typical ploy to make a diminishing budget go further but adding to the cost down the line. Sewage.

Work to replace the Princess Alexandra Hospital was meant to be completed by 2025 - but it has been delayed, with the price of steel being blamed for the projected cost rising by £250m.

The new building was among the 40 new hospitals the government under Boris Johnson promised to build by 2030.

[Stanley]

Indeed Ken. As you say the Buffoon simply talked his way out of trouble with lies as firm promises. Same as the Tory attitude to the NHS since 2010, let it decline until in the end the only way out of the problem is to bring in private money thus opening the UK health market to profit making. We have seen how well this has served utilities,energy, steel, transport and the docks. All have run into trouble under the guidance of private money, shareholders and The Market.
I know I get boring but once more, let's remember Nye Bevan and his dictum to retain control of the commanding heights of the economy. Do we need any more evidence than the rotten state of the country under the Tories to persuade us to change course? (Note that every time a rail franchise is taken under government control because of the failure of the Franchise holder its performance and economic viability improve but they still farm it out back to the investors.)
See THIS BBC report that the Home Office abandons another holiday camp as accommodation for asylum seekers. We continue to pay hotel bills. When will they bite the bullet and admit that the main problem is the fact that post Brexit we can no longer send illegal migrants back to the European country of entrance.
See THIS BBC report of Sunak's continuing quest for a solution to the Irish Problem. How long have we been talking about that? (Answer: Ever since we established colonial rule there in the 17th century!) Think of the political capital being wasted on this while we face immense challenges on every other front.(For instance, When is someone going to come clean about the fact that France is correct, we aren't in a position to act militarily in any sphere. We are short of men, equipment and supplies.)
I make a prediction, whatever form of words is eventually arrived at it will not please all the parties and there will be more problems down the road. Meanwhile, the UK ship of state, far from sailing into a sunlit future a la Buffoon, sinks ever deeper in the water.

[plaques]

Amazing really Boris's oven ready deal together with Get Brexit Done and now three years after leaving the EU Brexit is still not done. Sunak goes to Ireland to see if the DUP will accept his deal and comes back with his tail between his legs. Who is the prime Minister? Sunak or Donaldson. The usual hot air is trotted out, positive talks, more work to be done, we haven't seen the full text yet. Long grass here we come. Over a year ago the EU made proposals to cut the paperwork by 80% this was rejected out of hand by the DUP. They still have their sights on the European Court of Justice who look after the interests of the EU, ie: the International Good Friday agreement and the Oven Ready Deal written and agreed by Boris which in turn means those agreements concerning Northern Ireland. Sunak may have lasted a bit longer than the previous lettuce Prime Minister but his tenure is permanently down hill taking the country with him.

[Tripps]

As I understand it - There is no answer to this conundrum. Politicians will not admit it though.

We cannot at the moment, ship goods from one part of the UK to another without Customs regulation. Anathema to many.

The EU don't want stuff coming in from N. Ireland, unchecked, across the border to the Republic. To prevent this a Customs check would have to be set up at that border. That would be contrary to the Good Friday Agreement which stipulated that the border should be open.

You can't have both.

They tackled the job that couldn't be done - and couldn't do it.

[Stanley]

I'm afraid I have always had an answer to that question David. My answer to your conundrum has always been to stop interfering in Irish affairs. (Which is what we have always done.) Walk away and let them sort it out themselves. I have no doubt that this would entail reunification after a referendum. It could also entail some internal conflict but we have had that anyway doing it our way for over 400 years. The term 'United Kingdom' has been a sick joke for years. The way to sort the border out is to abolish it. (Some of the same problems are rearing their heads in Scotland and Wales but not perhaps to the same degree. Can anyone guarantee the integrity of the Union in fifty years?)
See THIS BBC report about Johnson's interference in the ongoing negotiations which Sunak is pursuing in Ireland.
Boris Johnson has urged Rishi Sunak not to abandon legislation he introduced on how Northern Ireland's post-Brexit trade will work in the long-term. A source close to Mr Johnson said the former PM thought it would be a "great mistake" to move away from his plan. If it concludes its passage through Parliament, it would give the Westminster government the power to unilaterally decide to move away from those current arrangements for Northern Ireland. Many Conservative MPs on the backbenches see the move towards that ultimate position as an important bargaining chip whenever the UK is trying to wring concessions from the EU. The protocol bill is currently paused in parliament while the UK and EU try and hammer out a new deal - one which again aims to resolve longstanding issues like trade across the Irish Sea and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in Northern Ireland.
I wonder whether Mr Sunak expected trouble from this quarter?

[plaques]

Now that we have obtained sovereignty the UK is in a position to alter its standards as it wishes. In particular the Australian deal shows the UK is prepared to import food of a lower standard than that accepted by the EU. At the moment both UK and EU standards are the same so other than the extra rules imposed by being a third country our food industry can export to the EU as prior Brexit. Unfortunately since the UK does not check incoming food from any outside countries we can be importing all sorts of substandard rubbish. The EU is well aware of this failure and is determined not to have its own standards contaminated by that from the UK hence the insistence of proper records. Can the UK keep its word to supply food to Northern Island that meets their standards and not contaminate it with cheaper food from other sources? I doubt it we have never done so in the recent past.

[Tripps]

My answer to your conundrum has always been to stop interfering in Irish affairs.

I agree - but will they stop interfering in ours. This building housed the headquarters of the organsation I used to work for. South Quay Docklands 1996

I've been to meetings there. I've bought a newspaper from the shopkeeper who died. The perpetrator was released under the Good Friday agreement.

[Stanley]

I've always equated the IRA with the Irgun Zvai in Israel and like them I would assume they would stop military activities once they had attained their ends. It's the age old problem isn't it, freedom fighters or terrorists. There are always two opposing points of view.
I suppose that's why I react strongly against THIS BBC account of Starmer getting vocal about not negotiating with the SNP. It's the refusal to negotiate that sows the seed for more violent protest further down the line. These conflicts end either in capitulation of one side or more often negotiations that eventually lead to a settlement. To rule out that negotiation as a starting point is always a mistake and that's what Starmer has done.
Meanwhile, the divisions in the Tory Party are brought into focus by reactions to Johnson's warning not to throw away the ability to fight against concessions on the border if the EU demands them. If it gets to be a straight fight between Sunak and Johnson who is the favourite?

[plaques]

Meanwhile, the divisions in the Tory Party are brought into focus by reactions to Johnson's warning not to throw away the ability to fight against concessions on the border if the EU demands them. If it gets to be a straight fight between Sunak and Johnson who is the favourite?

I fail to see how passing a law in the UK parliament saying in affect the UK will break the international treaty Northern Island protocol can be considered as a 'bargaining chip'. Putting yourself outside international laws is an admission that you are wrong and automatically weakens your position. This is pure huffing and puffing trying to muddy the waters to delay any immediate agreement and bring Sunak down. Nobody has yet seen the protocol modifications and given the nature of our right-wing press if anything is ever published it will wrapped in convoluted explanations suggestion that the EU is wrong and good old oven ready Boris is right again. I'm no fan of Sunak but he is correct in giving it a try and taking some of the steam out of the Northern Island problem.

[Stanley]

"I'm no fan of Sunak but he is correct in giving it a try and taking some of the steam out of the Northern Island problem."
Exactly my point of view as well Ken. As I see it, the problem is that we have too many has-been political heavyweights trying to prove who has the biggest clout and as you say, there has never been so many to choose from! I note we had Mandelson shoving his oar in the other day and expect daily to see the Blessed Tony rising from his coffin.
Meanwhile, it isn't as though we hadn't enough political problems on our hands without manufacturing any more and argue as you will, the whole of 'The Irish Question' is, and always has been, an artificial construct manufactured by an English Parliament. This is true from the 17th century plantations right down to the Good Friday Agreement.
I see that Starmer has kicked off again joining the discussion to prove that Labour has a points of view and as though this wasn't enough, Sunak is giving us his views on the bowdlerising of Roald Dahl (Thanks David )
We should be grateful that the Army is so run down that nobody can even think about sending the troops in!

[plaques]

Boris's Partygate is coming back to bite him. The Commons commission is investigating the 'Abba' party (gathering). Sue Gray didn't investigate it because she thought the MET would take over the investigation. The MET did nothing because Sue Gray found no evidence. I see no ships. Apparently they only work on evidence supplied. Boris will of course go into his PMQs mode and blame Corbyn. All this timed to take place round the May local elections then like a snake devouring itself the Conservatives will all blame each other for the abysmal results. What a bloody mess.

[Stanley]

"What a bloody mess."
Couldn't agree more. See THIS BBC report for Sunak's latest move in public sector pay disputes.... He is offering 3.5% annually which is of course way below inflation and takes no account of the historic shortfall over the last 12 years at least. I am more than ever certain that he is holding back negotiations in the hope that when they do eventually become necessary, he has a lower inflation rate to contend with.
It looks as though the latest news of a meeting with the |Royal College of Nursing is because of the dire warnings given to the government by NHS management. Even Sunak eventually has to recognise the death toll.
See THIS report that the government mood is shifting.
The tone and the tenor of what ministers and their teams are saying feels a little warmer. But that doesn't mean all of these strikes are suddenly going to stop. In the talks ministers have offered, the government is pointedly not saying anything is off the table. "We won't start putting limitations on these talks," is how one senior figure put it to me.
In other words, maybe just maybe, doing something about pay for this financial year as well as next. The Health Secretary for England Steve Barclay will meet the Royal College of Nursing on Wednesday and there will be further meetings in the coming days.
It may be that we are seeing the end of the cynical attitude of government that was designed to limit what the strikes cost the government has gone as far as they dare push it. Don't forget there are elections coming up in May and it wouldn't be a good look for the Tories to go into them with ongoing strikes.
Speaking of elections, have a look at THIS report that only 1% of those without valid documents have signed up to a scheme to allow them to vote. May's local elections will be the first time - outside of trials - that voters will be required to show photo ID. The estimated 2m people without a valid form of ID can sign up for a Voter Authority Certificate. But just 21,300 have applied since the scheme was launched last month.
I agree with those who say this is a way of deterring certain classes of people from voting. There is no evidence that voter fraud is a serious problem and anything that makes voting more difficult should be avoided, turnouts are low enough already. Ask Cathy how voting is managed in Australia!

[Stanley]

What do you do when the volume of work interviewing asylum seekers overwhelms your denuded work force?
See THIS simple solution.....
Some 12,000 asylum seekers to the UK are to be considered for refugee status without face-to-face interviews. A 10-page Home Office questionnaire will decide the cases of people from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria and Yemen who applied before last July. The move aims to reduce the asylum backlog which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to end this year.
Question is, who will check the questionnaires? If this becomes a standard procedure for tackling bottlenecks in administration we could see some big changes!

[plaques]

The Tory zombies are on the march again. The living dead including two ex-Prime Ministers and an ex-Cabinet Minister are rattling Sunak's cage telling him what to do. Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is urging Sunak to continue with The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill that seeks to unilaterally override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, ie: Scrap my oven ready deal because it it useless and run with this one instead. Mary Elizabeth Truss is pushing for UK to supply jets to Ukraine perhaps unaware that we haven't enough ourselves to service the spanking new aircraft carrier. Also there is some doubt that she would send them to Rostov-on-Don thinking its in Ukraine. Jacob William Rees-Mogg appears to be against anything that would ease the Northern Island problems. In Ireland the public elect 90 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) but in spite of the DUP and Nationalists having equal numbers plus 10 neutral he insists that the protocol problem can only be decided by the DUP.
Perhaps Sunak should go for the nuclear option and have a general election but of course he will put Party before Country and let the current deal wither on the vine of party politics.

[Stanley]

Ken, I think he has already triggered the nuclear option by evidently deciding to spend as little Treasury cash as possible, even if it's on ambulances and nurses for the poor. Yesterday he announced he was cutting the essential spend on Science to keep us talking to the EU and he is evidently egging his ministers on to follow suit. See THIS for Therese Coffey's contribution....
"Environment Secretary Therese Coffey has suggested turnips could be a suitable alternative while other vegetables remain in short supply. Some supermarkets have limited sales of cucumbers and tomatoes, following shortages partly caused by extreme weather in Spain and north Africa. Ms Coffey told MPs British consumers should "cherish" home-grown produce. But she added that people wanted "a year-round choice" and supermarkets were trying to meet that demand. Responding to a question from a fellow Tory MP about eating seasonal products, Ms Coffey said: "It's important to make sure that we cherish the specialisms that we have in this country. "A lot of people would be eating turnips right now rather than thinking necessarily about aspects of lettuce and tomatoes and similar, but I'm conscious that consumers want a year-round choice and that is what our supermarkets, food producers and growers around the world try to satisfy. Ms Coffey has also come under fire after appearing to suggest people struggling to afford food could work more hours or improve their skills to get a higher income. "
So no hope of help from that quarter like helping tomato growers in the UK to build more efficient green houses which would make the growing of early veggies much more economical or leaning on supermarkets and telling them to pay UK suppliers the economic price of producing goods. They don't do this because it would push inflation higher and expose the worst aspects of the results of Tory policies.
As I have said in another topic I agree with David, the shortages are because the supermarkets refuse to pay the market price on the grounds they are protecting their customers. Phooey! They are protecting their market share by keeping prices as low as possible.
Have a look at THIS and recognise that Starmer's idea of making Labour electable is to move it into the middle ground and to help do this he tries to steal the Tory's clothes by making policy out of aspirations. I am not excited by his rhetoric....