POLITICS CORNER

[Stanley]

I heard a report on that as well Tiz. Maladministration of company pension funds is one of the most amazing peccadilloes of our times. I can't help wondering why there isn't stronger regulation based in contract law to force the trustees to make sure they can fulfil their promises to the contributors. The companies affected are all paying dividends, there could be a clue there.
The Labour leadership race has settled down to a straight slugging match.
Trump gets even more venomous, he is a disgrace.....

[Tizer]

Trump has replaced two of his top people...again.
`US election 2016: Trump overhauls campaign team again'
"Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has overhauled his election campaign team for the second time in two months, bringing in a new manager and CEO. Pollster Kellyanne Conway becomes campaign manager and Stephen Bannon of Breitbart News the CEO. Paul Manafort remains as campaign chairman." LINK

Note the the bit that says `Paul Manafort remains as campaign chairman' then have a look at this Wall Street Journal page:
`Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump’s Campaign Chief' LINK
"Handwritten ledgers show $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments designated for Mr. Manafort from Mr. Yanukovych’s pro-Russian political party from 2007 to 2012, according to Ukraine’s newly formed National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Investigators assert that the disbursements were part of an illegal off-the-books system whose recipients also included election officials.
In addition, criminal prosecutors are investigating a group of offshore shell companies that helped members of Mr. Yanukovych’s inner circle finance their lavish lifestyles, including a palatial presidential residence with a private zoo, golf course and tennis court. Among the hundreds of murky transactions these companies engaged in was an $18 million deal to sell Ukrainian cable television assets to a partnership put together by Mr. Manafort and a Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, a close ally of President Vladimir V. Putin."

[Stanley]

Trump..... would you buy a used car from this man?
UK domestic politics seems to have gone AWOL. I suspect that the more they learn about the consequences of leaving the more they realise what a horrible mess they have created. Simple souls like me would have thought that by now we would have set a mechanism in place for ratifying the advisory vote by debating in full parliament and accepting or rejecting the advice. I thought it was very foolish when, as soon as she was put in post, Theresa May said "Brexit means Brexit". We have received no other guidance than this and I for one am very confused.
My mind goes back to reading the Crossman Diaries. What struck me was the convoluted internal (and hidden) processes went on when deciding even relative simple matters. What must it be like with something as enormous as this? Have the Civil Servants been given clear instructions or are we no further than the stage of identifying the ramifications of an exit. Remember that officially there can be no converse between us and the EU so how can any sort of clarity be achieved?
I can't remember a time when I was more confused about politics. This is purely due to the fact that I have no information on which to base an understanding. My main fear is that the true state of our economic situation is being hidden from us and this must be true for those having to make decisions about investment. There is no gleam of light in the gloom......

[Stanley]

Theresa is on holiday in Switzerland but there is no danger, she has left Phil Hammond in charge......
Call me an old kill-joy but can she really afford the time to go on holiday when so many vast political matters are pressing in on us?

[Stanley]

I see the London Mayor has at last decided who he will support for the Labour Leadership. He's been a bit of a weathercock on this one, he nominated Jeremy Corbyn, didn't vote for him in the leadership election and has now come out in favour of Smith giving his reason as being that Jeremy is unelectable in a General Election.
I don't see the logic of this, it's not based on the obvious public support for Jeremy but on the professional politician's obsession with winning power. I have constantly argued that the reason why Labour has done so badly in the polls is because the traditional supporters of Labour have been thoroughly disheartened by the Party's swing from principled politics based largely on the old Clause 4 to the slippery slope of the shift to the right for pragmatic reasons under Blair. My opinion is that instead of arguing about who is electable the Party will be best served in the long run by a period of stability under Jeremy and a gradual realignment towards genuine social democratic principles. Sadiq Khan ignores the obvious question marks hanging over Owen Smith's political career and states that he is unelectable. How does he know this? It is time the disloyal Labour MPs did some serious long term thinking and got behind a reversion to genuine principle. My version is that if this isn't done Labour will go the way of the Lib Dems in Parliament and become yet another centrist organisation hoping to grab votes.
The biggest problem facing this country at the moment is inequality due to the unfair distribution of wealth and this gets worse each day. Jeremy is the only person I have heard who recognises this and is prepared to advocate policies aimed at alleviating it. Read Piketty for the arguments in favour of this approach. The current policies ensure that the situation will worsen and in the end damage everyone, including the wealthy....

[Stanley]

Over 640,000 ballot papers go out today for the Labour Leadership election. Ian and I will not get one. If the membership have recognised the concerted attack on Jeremy from all quarters (I am convinced he scares our present breed of politicians) he will get an even bigger majority.
I have a second prediction for you. Watch the German State Elections in early September. Angela Merkel is under attack and may well lose her hold on power. If this happens it will trigger a reaction in the EU which could be significant.
Another prediction, Trump will lose in November.
Mrs May is back home from her hols. I suspect that the Olympics has been used as a foil to keep the public attention off politics and the economy. We have a Jingoistic reaction at the moment to the medal count and a foreign reaction as well, the accusation being that Britain has gained the success by throwing money at the athletes. Normality is about to be resumed and there are plenty of straws in the wind which point to big problems that need addressing. All this without the fact that the hiatus in reaction to the Brexit vote can't be extended much longer. Is she going to go for Statutory Order or full debate in Parliament? My guess is that the preference will be for the former and if it does this will be the equivalent in the long term of Blair making his unilateral decision on Iraq.
Interesting times......

[Tizer]

Paul Manafort remains as [Trump's] campaign chairman.

I noted this in my post on the 17th where I wrote about Manafort's connections with Ukraine and Russia. He has now resigned from the post.

[Stanley]

I remembered that Tiz. Just think of the effort that is being put into digging into the candidates past, looking for the 'smoking gun' that will swing the result. Can you wonder why some of us think that politics is rotten.

[plaques]

Back from Rio, metaphorically speaking, but still keeping up with the rapidly changing events on the politics scene. So what’s new one may ask. Well the rightwing press are still chipping away at Corbyn, regurgitating the same revelations that they ‘discovered’ three months ago. Dragging up some poor Labour MPs or Grandees who are living in the dark ages of Blair politics demonstrating that they have gained the monopoly on stupidity. Yet these same MPs are revelling in statements that Corbyn won’t make a good leader because he cannot control the rabble of MPs that he has inherited. They appear to be totally unaware that they are the problem and not Corbyn. Clinging to an outdated concept of being centralists with red spots instead of blue ones. Presenting an image of being like the Tories but at the same time claiming to be different. Totally oblivious to the fact that this stance has just lost them two elections with an electorate clamouring for something different. So, no change there.
Meanwhile our new Prime Minister, Mrs May, immediately declared an end to any deficit target in 2020. Does this herald an end to austerity? Not on your life. The classic theory of ‘market forces’ still holds prime place in Tory DNA even though John Maynard Keynes demonstrated clearly that making workers poorer in a recession only made the situation worse. We are also promised that the European Human Rights will be scrapped in favour of a British Bill of Rights. Does this mean that the British are no longer to be considered to be human? As a side line Mrs May will try to appease the populous by handing out a few gongs to the Olympic heroes. This will be done partly to get in on the good feeling act and partly to offset the legacy of cronyism that Cameron left with his retirement awards. All in all we will support any changes to reel in tax avoidance and loop holes proving that it is done at international levels first. So, no change there. .

[Stanley]

Lovely post P. Spot on I reckon. The regressive tendency you note in the MPs and the rise of Friedman/Chicago School theory moving away from Keynes and into the arms of Market Forces have at least one thing in common. Both indicate a tendency when assessing a political situation to put the question 'What's in it for me?' first, not what is best for the country and the majority of the electorate. I think this is down to the fundamental change we have seen in the route into politics and the drivers for it. The standard Politics and Economics degree followed by a spell as an intern and then selection as a candidate demands as a starting point an appetite for power and reward. Only focussed and very narrow minded candidates from the upper classes succeed. Cameron is yesterday's man but look at the way he completely misjudged personal relations in his selection of close aides, his ignorance of real life at the base of the economic pyramid and in the end, his catastrophic handling of the awkward squad in the party which led us to Brexit. All backed by what appeared to be a very limited intelligence.
The continuation of media attacks on Jeremy Corbyn is unabated. I am convinced that he frightens the established order to death because he is 'different'. Remember Cameron in the early days telling us he was going to be different? Then he realised that this was too dangerous, it exposed him to attack. The main mistake Jeremy made when he got that massive endorsement from the membership was that he didn't go on the attack and assert his authority over the Right Wing/Blairite members but allowed them a platform to oppose him on the grounds that everyone deserved a voice. I hope he has learned and if and when his leadership is confirmed swings into a less forgiving mode. Not long to go now. I hope he beats Blair2!

[Bruff]

‘’We are also promised that the European Human Rights will be scrapped in favour of a British Bill of Rights. Does this mean that the British are no longer to be considered to be human?’’

Quite.

I would add that scrapping the Human Rights Act would drive a horse and cart through the Good Friday Agreement and through the devolution settlements. Basically, the Scots and the Welsh and the N Irish would never agree to it and so if anything one would only have an English Bill of Rights, and Human Rights in the rest of the UK. Which seems odd to me. The daft lap it up, but Mrs May cannot promise a British Bill of Rights at all. The worry is, she might not know this. But she should. Her colleague, the estimable Dominic Grieve MP, essentially accused Mr Gove of idiocy when he mooted similar a while back. After all, who but an idiot would do anything that essentially rips up the Good Friday Agreement, a UN-sponsored agreement between two sovereign states?

And remember, the Human Rights Act in this country simply enacts legislation that enables Human Rights cases to be heard in the UK and not Strasbourg. Unless we withdraw entirely from Europe’s Human Rights system then folk would just end up going to Strasbourg as they did for years. The intention clearly though is to withdraw from the European Convention which would mean withdrawing from the Council of Europe. There’s an attraction to this I guess: the exceptionalism that comes from sitting alone with the Belorussian dictatorship as the only country outside the Council. Still, it’s another act that would give the rest of Europe and wider world good reason to howl still further with laughter at us. This country is quite frankly, turning into the world’s first idiocracy.

Richard Broughton

[Pluggy]

I voted leave, I regret that decision now. All the Remain prophesies are happening, and all the Leave promises have been largely dismissed as the complete bullsh*t they were. The beeb didn't help running a postmortem program afterwards where the supporters appeared to have the collective IQ of a cocker spaniel.

[Stanley]

"The worry is, she might not know this."
One would hope someone would tell her but you never know these days.

[Tizer]

Well done for owning up, Pluggy - it's OK we still love you!

I'm not impressed with Corbyn but I strongly resent the way he's being treated by the press, especially this business of the train seats. I think he was a bit silly and naive in the way he made his complaint but it doesn't warrant the trashing he got for doing it. A bit of joking or satire is OK and is part of `the British way' but the press immediately made him out to be telling lies.

[Stanley]

You're right Tiz and I agree. It was a bad idea but not worthy of the attacks which have followed. Expect even more if he wins the leadership vote. A lot of people are seriously worried by him because he is doing what Cameron said he would do, changing the way we do politics. The latest line of attack seems to be to try to revive the GMB protest about 'non union security' at the party conference. Every avenue is being explored by the anti-Corbyn campaign.
Meanwhile the question is "Where is the Government?". Downing Street appears to be paralysed.

[plaques]

The travel by train saga rolls on. What the 'in the bubble' people don't seem to appreciate is if you want to experience the trials and tribulations of an ordinary train customer you don't travel by aeroplane, chauffeur driven limousine, first class travel or even a 'reserved' seat. The initial intention to demonstrate the problem was acceptable but the presentation was absolutely terrible.

[PanBiker]

The latest line of attack seems to be to try to revive the GMB protest about 'non union security' at the party conference. Every avenue is being explored by the anti-Corbyn campaign.

Not only that but reports are emerging that the NEC are using comments made by party members on social media as an excuse to revoke membership. They are using the same techniques to deny membership to some who have voiced support for Jeremy Corbyn. They are running wild and roughshod over the constitution to try to maintain the status quo. Ultimately it won't work, the socialist slate was elected in full in the recent election, there is a reckoning to come.

[plaques]

A current "Business Matters" headline 'Brexit fails to stop UK shoppers spending as retail sales rise' Link. The implication being that the British shoppers have shrugged off the Brexit downturn. CBI's analysis welcomed the strong results. Unfortunately the spending spree is also a precursor of an impending recession. The background elements to a downturn are already present. The £(sterling) has dropped against other currencies making imports more expensive. Interest rates at the bank are at near zero. Why bother to save if prices are going to rise. The Government is cutting back on spending and services. The result being less money in circulation and ultimately less money to spend. The pressure will then be on to maintain profits by cutting back on employment and wages. So the downward spiral continues. As Stanley would say " Tin hats on lads".

[Tizer]

The travel by train saga rolls on...first class travel.

We should abolish `classes' of ticket and have a single Standard ticket instead then we could fit more people onto the trains...but don't just do away with First and leave everyone in the current Second level of comfort. Upgrade so that Standard is better than second.

[Whyperion]

The travel by train saga rolls on. What the 'in the bubble' people don't seem to appreciate is if you want to experience the trials and tribulations of an ordinary train customer you don't travel by aeroplane, chauffeur driven limousine, first class travel or even a 'reserved' seat. The initial intention to demonstrate the problem was acceptable but the presentation was absolutely terrible.

Unfortunatley, the turn-up-and-go railway , for longer distances, is a no-go economically (for the operator, and for the customer), it was the same under British Rail , under Mr Bransons brand there is strong marketing of special offers, and flexible , cheaper, fares. Meanwhile in other bits of the industry , some franchises have been quietly getting on with new trains, better track, new stations and routes, and cheaper , standard one time (out of peak) turn up and go fares from London to Birmingham, enhanced by the competitive edge of West Coast routes between same destinations, shows what can be done. Locally single fares Burnley to Preston, Manchester, Leeds or Huddersfield are extortionatlely expensive, and no discount for booking in advance.

[Stanley]

I think you may be right P. One thing is certain, the spin doctors are working overtime to convert every bit of economic news into 'good news' to 'boost confidence'. A better measure would be the level of retail profit.
What has struck me of late is that there is no genuine news of political activity in the Westminster Village. The 'news' that does emerge is either non-Downing Street related or, like the assessments in the NHS, as a result of outside organisations investigating what's going on. The impression I get is that governance is paralysed by indecision.
Later.... Read THIS, a report of Gus O'Donnell speculating about Brexit. This may be more significant than it at first appears. Ex mandarins of his calibre usually have an agenda when they make a public statement and it wouldn't surprise me if this is an indication of what Downing Street is looking at. This is just the way a toe would be put into the water to provoke reaction and give a clue as to what reaction there will be. Watch this space!
Later at 08:50. I've just heard a definitive statement that Mrs May has been advised by the lawyers that no debate in Parliament is needed. She has the necessary executive powers to trigger Article 50 whenever she chooses. I suppose that's progress but it would seem to signal that in due course, Brexit is indeed a reality.

[Stanley]

See THIS for a Guardian report on the reaction to the news that was slipped out yesterday about Theresa May having the power to implement Article 50 without debate or vote. Shades of Blair using executive powers to take us to war. Apart from the obvious (to me!) undemocratic nature of doing this the question arises 'Why'?
I think there is little doubt that if there was a debate the vote would be for Remain. That would solve all the problems we see at the moment and give certainty to industry and the general economy of not only the UK but Europe as well. But! and it's a big but, the Tory hard-liners who caused this catastrophe in the first place would erupt and the consequence would be internal war in the party. If this is what is uppermost in May's thinking it is totally wrong, the driving factors should be the good of the country and not the internal cohesion of the Tories. My fear is that she will trigger this self-inflicted wound and we shall all have to suffer the consequences.
In another part of the forest, read THIS FT article about a dispute that has arisen over the RC cathedral in Cordoba which is a converted Mosque. I remember reading about this in Diarmid McCullough's 'A history of Christianity' and thinking about the discussion we had yesterday about folk memory it seems to me that this is another instance of it. The church's argument in banning Islamic worship in 'their' cathedral is that it is an ISIS ploy and part of their averred aim of taking over the ancient Muslim province of Cordoba. The Muslims of course say that it was stolen in the first place and this theft was legalised by laws made in the 1940s that give the Church the powers.
Is all this significant? I don't know but it proves once more that we ignore history to our peril.

[Tizer]

I agree with your comments on May and Brexit, it shouldn't be decided on the basis of placating Tory hard-liners. I wish we had a strong opposition party to keep the Tories in check when the House of Commons returns a week tomorrow!

[Stanley]

The right wing media are doing their best (with their mates in politics) to make sure that doesn't happen.
I heard a report this morning that the proposals for a Transatlantic Investment and Trade agreement have foundered. Good! I think it was more about the giant American service corporations getting a toehold here, especially in the vast profits they see in health care.....

[Tizer]

I see Ed Balls is having a go at Corbyn, describing his leadership style as a "leftist utopian fantasy". It strikes me as very funny coming from someone who is best known now as a Strictly Come Dancing man! I suppose we'll get wise advice from Russel Brand next?