Before I tell you who I’m voting for in the 2024 General Election, if the cover hasn’t given it away, a reminder of what I believe in. I Am A Liberal I am a liberal. I believe in social liberalism – the right to live your life how you want to, to be free to make the choices within the construct of society (ie you are not free to not pay tax, for example) and law (ie you are not free to steal, etc). I believe in personal responsibility – you have freedom but also you are responsible for your … Continued
Could I vote Conservative in the next general election? No. Blog over. Thanks for reading. Firstly, I’ve not changed politically, at least not much over the last 10 years or so. I still believe that Margaret Thatcher was the best Prime Minister this country had, at least since Winston Churchill – my knowledge of Prime Ministers before then is limited. I still believe in prudent financial management of the economy – I believe in lower deficits (remember that?!), lower debt – and having more money in the long-term to spend on whatever the priorities become. I still believe in individual … Continued
Gutted to see the invasion of a sovereign state start this morning, by the dictator of Russia, Vladimir Putin. I honestly didn’t believe that he would invade. Well, a part of me was unsure, but I was 80/20 convinced that he wouldn’t invade. Why didn’t I think he would invade? Well, I thought it was far too risky an operation. I didn’t see how the Russian people would support an invasion of a neighbouring country and the likely deaths of thousands of people – including from the Russian army. In 2014, there were protests in Russia from the mother’s of … Continued
I have this theory that us British like the idea of chaos. Maybe it isn’t unique to us Brits, but it comes across in a variety of ways, exemplified this year over the excitement of panic buying toilet roll, but also in the annual hope for “snowmaggedon” – in which some seem to be excited to see how we’d cope with 2 metres of snow falling. I profess to being in this group. This isn’t why I am keen on no deal. I’m not really keen on no deal – I think it is a dreadful idea, a dreadful outcome … Continued
I remember just after the financial crisis a decade or so ago, reading a sizable report in the economist about the expected political repercussions. They suggested large-scale protests, a rise of populist leaders and possible government overthrows, all across the world. And this is what we had – from the Occupy protests, to the Arab Spring, to Trump, Brexit & Co, and so much more during the 2010’s – all either directly or indirectly, fully or partly, caused by the financial crisis. Which leads me to wonder what this current major crisis will bring in the way of politics going … Continued
I can hear you now, dear Brexit-voting, Boris-worshipping reader, about to go apoplectic over how I dare to even consider whether there should be some criticism for Saint Boris over this perfectly-handled response to the Covid-19 crisis? Oh wait a minute, you’re actually a leftie and still mourning how the country were duped into not supporting a radical programme of democratic socialism – of course this is nothing less than a Tory Genocide. It seems how you view Boris Johnson and the government’s handling of this crisis is rather closely related to how you voted in December 2019. Those that … Continued
Brexit is over. Brexit is done. I lost. You lost. We lost. (The last two IMHO). Once the Brexit vote had happened there was no turning back. I argued for the hardest Brexit possible – whilst wanting to remain totally in opposition to Brexit. Yet I wasn’t going to totally give up the fight whilst there was still a very tiny chance that the mass of public opinion could sway vehemently against leaving the EU. Which is why I went on the marches and why I continued to argue as often as possible (too often, yeah) that we should not … Continued
1. I struggled to decide who to vote for on Thursday. Really struggled – I expected some kind of support for Liberal Democrats from other remainers, but most plumped for socialism instead. Boris’s behaviour and Brexit were why I turned away from the Conservative Party, but I felt myself coming back to the fold, the more I saw socialist thoughts and general arseholeness from entitled lefties. 2. In the end, I e-mailed both the local Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidate. The Liberal Democrat candidate e-mailed me back – she was honest in her belief for campaigning against house-building that doesn’t … Continued
This is an old blog – created when I was defiantly a Conservative. Possibly the only one from Hull. Hence the name. Now there are more Conservatives in Hull. And I am no longer a Conservative. In my heart I am a Conservative – but as I’ve made clear over the past couple of years, the party has moved so far away from me that I struggle to recognise it at times. I do want to vote Conservative and if I don’t vote for them this time, I want to feel able to in the future. So this page is … Continued
You may have noticed that I haven’t posted on The Only Tory From Hull much over the last year or two. I couldn’t even remember how to log in the other day. My interest in politics has by no means diminished and neither has my passion…the latter has been entrenched. A lot of that has to do with simply being far too busy. But I can always make time to write a blog post if I feel passionate enough about something. The real reason, I feel, comes down to a mixture of confusion and misery. I shall start with the … Continued
I used to be a huge fan of Boris Johnson. Hell, even as recently as 2015, I said (and I cannot quite believe I wrote this), “But I do really want Boris as leader, He would be an inspirational leader. He would really take our country forward and I feel that he would be able to deliver a two-term Conservative majority. He has that common touch.”. After all, he supported immigration, he defended bankers, he attacked murderous bastards like Assad, he supported Britain being in the EU, and especially the Single Market. Didn’t he? He seemed a liberal Conservative, which … Continued
“I’m a remoaner”, as Destiny’s Child may or may not once have sung. Yes proud Remainer here – I unequivocally did not want to leave the EU and still do not want to leave the EU. But hey. It’s happening. I see most of my remainer compadres seem to prefer a soft Brexit, staying in the customs union, staying in the single market, or even the EEA. Hell, even one or two prominent Brexiteers do too. Sometimes, though, you have to play the long game, like the unaffectionately-known “bastards” of the 1990’s, Redwood et al, who spent 25 years agitating … Continued
On the off-chance that someone who doesn’t already know me reads this, a little introduction. I am a lifelong Tory. I have always voted Tory, I am pretty much in love with Margaret Thatcher, I was a great admirer of David Cameron – and I always vote Conservative. More importantly, I am a free-marketeer, I am an economic and social liberal – though I believe in individual responsibility and minimising government spending. Though occasionally the Conservative Party can make me wince socially – they have proven time and again that they are the only political party that will allow a … Continued
I hesitate to repeat the phrase, but “n****r in the woodpile” is not a phrase that you can just come out with inadvertently, as if you have just picked up from popular culture and unintentionally repeated. If you are using it, then surely it is the kind of phrase that you must be aware of, and be familiar with, perhaps even using it within your vocabulary, or at least associating with those who are (her partner has form). I had never heard of the phrase before, but after a quick look into the historical meaning of the phrase one can … Continued
It has been amusing over the last 24 hours to see the incredible hypocrisy from Labour supporters over the deal with the DUP – I don’t recall such opprobrium over Gordon Brown attempting a deal with the DUP in 2010, nor do I recall any Corbynistas disowning themselves from a potential deal with Sinn Fein. Then a complete packet of lies, with the Corbynistas suggesting that there was £1.5bn going straight to the DUP. The money doesn’t go to the DUP – it will be spent on infrastructure, health, education, etc, and the extra amount going to Northern Ireland is … Continued
My two main reasons for wanting a large Conservative majority on Thursday night were to #StopCorbyn and also as an up yours to the vile, nasty left-wing scumbags (not all lefties are scumbags, just like not all Brexiteers are racist). Corbyn is not Prime Minister – albeit like typical socialist dictators, he seems to think he has won the election and should be Prime Minister instead. Not only that, but Theresa May – my least favourite Conservative leader ever – a woman I have consistently criticised, compared to a mixture of Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband, and whom is generally … Continued
Not exactly a surprise, is it? James Winfield, the self-proclaimed ‘only Tory from Hull’, has voted Conservative. But this was actually a tough decision for the first time in my adult voting life. Even a couple of days ago I was having some doubts. This is not a vote for the Conservative Party and the direction it is going in. It is certainly not a vote for Brexit. And it is definitely not a vote for Theresa May – the ghastly leader that I have long been comparing to Gordon Brown (you could call that insightful?). Sadly this is nothing … Continued
I appreciate that this is a bit of a straw-clutching exercise, and that the idea of Corbyn being Prime Minister is still somewhat in the realms of fantasy – I remain hopeful and expectant that the public at large are wise enough not to fall for what is a Chavez-esque strategy of bribing the voters. Maybe it is also a bit of psychological preparation just in case Corbyn follows Trump with a victory for populism. Believe it or not, there is quite a lot in common between Trump and Corbyn, politically. But this is not the blog post for that. … Continued
I wasn’t going to bother writing about the Labour Party’s rediscovery of the magic money tree, but it is such a document of deceit, that seems to be deceiving people – given the polls, that I do need to do my bit to debunk it. You could summarise it by “you can have everything for free because we are going to make the rich pay for it”. Except it simply won’t work. This is back of a cigarette packet economics, and that is probably offensive to cigarette packets. Allegedly the manifesto is fully costed, but I could similarly say that … Continued
I have finally got around to having a decent look at the Conservative Party manifesto. Yes, I know it was launched over a week ago but I’ve been busy. And a lot has happened in the meantime – not only to the manifesto itself. You’ll likely know that I am no fan of Theresa May. I find her a cross between Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband – with a bit of Nigel Farage thrown in for fun. It is absolutely no surprise that she is throwing away the opportunity for a very large majority given her rather ghastly persona – … Continued
Given that I am still undecided, I thought that I should pay the Liberal Democrat manifesto a little more attention than usual. There are some appealing proposals for a liberal such as myself, including the introduction of a regulated cannabis market (why not all drugs?) and the repeal of the Snooper’s Charter. However, any liberalism does not extend to the economy, with large increases in spending on the NHS and education, which are only funded by increasing the debt. There is also the reversal of some benefit cuts. Further to that, they are going to increase income tax by 1p … Continued
Urgh. The nasty party is coming back. Socialism, nationalism, populism and killing animals for sport. Let’s start with fox hunting. I’m neither hare nor there when it comes to the matter. I understand the pomp and revelry, I also understand that there should be some kind of control of the fox population. But why on earth there is need to re-instate it as a sport? I understand killing animals for food, or for pest control. But not for fun. And that includes fishing. And yes, there will be a free vote on it, so bringing fox hunting back is not … Continued
Despite being a life-long Conservative, I would rather not vote Conservative this year, or the Brexit Implementation Party, as I am tending to call them. I am gaining a strong dislike for Theresa May. I find her severely lacking in leadership qualities, poor at debating, slow to react and I struggle to determine a political philosophy. Why is she leader? How does she want to change our country for the better? She reminds me so much of Gordon Brown – someone who wants to be leader because they want to be leader. And the rhetoric, the sound-bites are just cringe-worthy … Continued
So the remain campaigner that became Prime Minister and definitely was not going to call a general election before 2020 has plucked up the courage to call a general election before 2020. You know that I am a life-long Tory. But also a passionate Remainer. And I feel offended, bruised and damaged about Brexit, and the expected destruction to UK society, culture and probably, the economy. For the first time ever, this is a difficult choice for me on who to vote for. In fact, for the first time ever there is actually a choice for me to make. I … Continued
Another example of why I can no longer support this current government occurred this weekend, when we had some horrid comments from Michael Howard suggesting that we would go to war with Spain over Gibraltar. An utterly unnecessary threat to a fellow European country, for which there is a continued long-standing territorial dispute, but one that I believe is a close ally of ours. Sure, if Spain had moved a couple of battalions and its warships within the vicinity of Gibraltar, or there was serious intelligence to suggest that it was about to embark upon a military strategy to conquer … Continued
On Wednesday, shortly after midday, the letter was submitted to the European Union that we were triggering Article 50. Shortly after 10pm, my Margaret Thatcher mug fell down and broke. Normally I would have been annoyed, but I realised that this was a sign from Planet Brexit. This was the culmination of 9 months of being pissed off with the direction of the Conservative Party, particularly under the leadership of Theresa May. It wasn’t exactly something new. It has been a long process of anger and loathing experienced when agreeing with people like Liz Kendall against my own party, over … Continued
It is a major hammer-blow to the ideas of freedom, liberty, tolerance and globalised trade. All the underpinnings of a globalised economy, all the underpinnings of increased prosperity, peace and understanding, are under attack and have been since 2008. They are under attack from both the far-left and the far-right of the political spectrum. Trump is a strange mixture of both. The financial crisis gave birth to the myth that globalisation, capitalism and liberalism were bad for the ordinary person. Sure growth had a significant knock-back and many jobs were lost but this should not detract from the fact that … Continued
I haven’t always been a straight-out for staying in the EU. I once flirted with the idea of leaving the European Union, up until a couple of years ago, and top of my list of reasons for leaving was the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). 40% of the EU budget is spent on farm subsidies – and it used to be more. Historically there was a good reason for this – food became scarce during and after the Second World War, and this policy was brought in during 1962, partly to ensure a continuous supply of food across the European Community. … Continued
No. I guess I should expand upon my conclusion. Noises have been coming from Russia recently and exaggerated in certain elements of the UK/US press that the Russians are preparing for nuclear war – or more accurately, preparing for the west to attack it. Russia has continued to make threatening noises – recently moving nuclear-capable missiles to Kaliningrad, testing nuclear-capable weapons, advising its citizens to be prepared in case of attack, large scale civil defence drills and large scale military drills. This sabre-rattling is likely to be for two reasons: Firstly to stop the west from getting involved in Syria. … Continued
Theresa May always confused me as Home Secretary – authoritarian yet also quite soft and liberal, touching on socially socialist at times. She is proving no different to me as Prime Minister. On the UKIP side, we have grammar schools and cutting immigration. On the socialist side we have industrial strategy and worker’s rights. Her honeymoon is now officially over for me. The two weeks of “thank fuck its not Leadsome” that I enjoyed were washed away with concern as she was trounced at the most recent PMQs by Corbyn, now followed by a tsunami of confusion as I try … Continued
JUL25I had to put up with a lot of bullshit during the EU referendum campaign. We all did, in one way or another. Something that particularly pissed me off was the abuse that I and other remainers would receive within Tory circles. As a member of Tory-only groups on Facebook (allegedly Tory-only as many members seemed to view UKIP very positively, for a party trying to damage the Conservative Party), I watched as relatively sensible discussions about any subject became nasty, vilifying discussions with spurious anti-EU arguments backed up by allegations of those of us that supported remain, such as … Continued
I have awoken to find that the open, welcoming, free-trade loving country that I loved, has been replaced by an insular, backwards-looking nation that I simply do not recognise. Today is a victory for racism. Today is a victory for xenophobia. Today is a victory for lies. And I have never felt less proud to be British. This was utterly avoidable. Firstly, there was no need to call the referendum in the first place. It was David Cameron’s choice out of party management – a need to placate those swaying towards UKIP especially after the two party betrayals from Reckless … Continued
In the final part of my series on why I voted to remain, I am going to change tack – the other 3 posts were about how I saw the European Union affecting the country as a whole. This is about me. I appreciate that the European Union is not perfect. I’d like to scrap the common agricultural policy, it should have more of a pro-business focus and a reduction of regulation where possible. The Eurozone is a large problem. Since around 2010 I’ve been arguing that one of two things needs to happen – either the Eurozone needs to … Continued
I know it isn’t cool to admit it, but I like immigration. In fact, I’d go so far to say that the most important aspect of being a European Union member is the right to live and work in 27 other countries (plus a couple of others with freedom of movement as part of their access deal to the single market). Had David Cameron come back from the negotiation to say that we no longer had this right, then Brexit would have tempted me. I LOVE IMMIGRATION. I LOVE IMMIGRANTS. But I don’t want to make these blogs about me. … Continued
For obvious reasons I didn’t post the second part on Friday as planned. You can read part 1 on economics here if you missed it. As I mentioned last time, I may or may not respond to any comments – any blatant lies I will simply delete. So. Sovereignty. I see polls of Conservative Brexit members in particular who keep stating that sovereignty is by far their number 1 reason for voting to leave. But what does it mean? Travel back thousands upon thousands of years, to cavemen existence (no I’m not saying we will all become cavemen if we … Continued
Over the course of the next week, I am going to explain why I came to my decision to vote to remain in the European Union, in possibly 5 blog posts, separated into distinct chapters. Like many, my mind was made up long before the campaign started – around a year ago for me. There is plenty that I don’t like about the European Union in terms of how it organises itself so myself voting to leave was possible. There was a decision for me to make. The most important part of any voting decision for myself is the economy, … Continued
Remember Labour’s spin machine? Do you remember when our country was run by the likes of Alastair Campbell and Peter Mandelson? It’s back in fine form, with outright lies and disgusting false accusations, this time over spending on the disabled. I’ll outline some facts first, followed by some opinion and a likely outcome. Most importantly, spending on the disabled is not being cut. Categorically, not even in nominal terms (ie before inflation) is spending on the disabled being cut. This is a blatant outright lie. Currently spending on the Personal Independence Payments (PIP) is £16.2 billion. This was expected to … Continued
I am still awaiting my invite to speak at parliament in response to the budget. I am disturbed that they have invited such disluminaries as Corbyn and McDonnell to waffle on but they are still ignoring me. Does the speaker not read my blog? Nevertheless, one or two people will hear my response. The stand-out policy is the Lifetime ISA – at least if you are under 40 and don’t own a house. If you are not in this category you are probably too busy campaigning to make sure no houses are built anywhere in the country to protect the … Continued
Occasionally, I want to go buy something from a shop later on a Sunday afternoon. Currently, I am not allowed to. Many shops close at 4pm. Others at 5pm. If you are lucky, or in central London (also lucky) then 6pm. Many of us across the country work Monday to Friday – many of the shops are closed when we are not at work on these 5 days, unless you happen to live in a vibrant metropolitan area or close to a major shopping centre. Weekends are two precious days filled with a variety of activities for many people – … Continued
OK. I think the Brexit lot are nutcases. Some of them make quite lucid arguments but many are fanciful – seemingly expecting a large pot of gold just for leaving the world’s largest trading club. Not to mention the magical sovereignty – wow. Get in the English Channel. On the other side, the Brexiters amongst you probably think I am crazy for wanting to stay in a club with at least some democratic deficiency, possibly some corruption and some damn irritating rules that we have applied to our law book. Boris used to be one of my favourite politicians but … Continued
I am not convinced of the need for the United Kingdom to carry out airstrikes on IS targets in Syria. I cannot see that a few bombs dropped by us is going to either solve the Syrian civil war, or decapitate IS and stop them from being able to launch terrorist attacks in our or other western countries. I appreciate that we have very-premise weaponry on our tornadoes but I just don’t see it making such a massive difference. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve not gone all Corbyn on you. I can see an argument for being able to take … Continued
I read that Corbyn is disappointed with the likely killing of Jihadi John. Pray, tell me, Jeremy, how were you expecting to capture and arrest him? Are you suggesting that we send in our army to do so? I thought not. Were you expecting him to surrender? Maybe we can invent a drone that arrests terrorists? Totally ridiculous. And this is the perfect example of the lack of judgement which means Corbyn cannot be allowed to be in charge of our country. This man, for want of a better word…oh how about murderous bastard. This murderous bastard executed innocent people … Continued
I am absolutely disgusted by the actions of the unelected House Of Lords last night, with their votes against, and to delay the tax credits legislation. This greatly angers me as a passionate believer in democracy. I am a believer in the upper chamber, as there is a wealth of experience, particularly in law-making, that the House of Commons does not always have in such detail. I do believe that we need the House of Lords to scrutinise and recommend amendments to bills going through parliament. I also agree with it being unelected, on the basis that the general public … Continued
I watched the Corbyn speech. Honestly! Well, in a #newpolitics kind of way anyway. The Daily Politics said they expected him to speak for 30 minutes. After 35 minutes, I had finished my ironing and I had really had enough of him. I stopped and went to make some cheese on crackers. I had seen enough. Now I quite like Jeremy Corbyn a person. He is an affable enough bloke. But then again I like almost all politicians. Yeah I’m strange – either that or the average Joe just blankets them with their lazy brush “oh they’re all the same”. … Continued
So far we have learnt that Corbyn approves of Hamas, Hezbollah, woman-beating, arson, riots and those who want to honour the IRA. I am slightly stretching the facts here (although there is a story behind each of these) however I am not fabricating when I emphasise just how much of a danger this man and his cohort of bankruptcy would be to our economy. Spuriously known as the Shadow Chancellor, McDonnell wants to turn the United Kingdom into a replica of Venezuela. Allegedly he is going to wipe out the budget deficit like George Osborne, and you won’t have to … Continued
I switched on the porn portal the other day, also known as the Islamic State training manual, and occasionally known as the internet, to find the usual keyboard warriors banging on about a lion called Cecil. I rolled my eyes and carried on scrolling down my news feed of infinite wisdom but despite my initial indifference, I kept thinking about it. My questioning mind meant that my first thoughts were to doubt the story, or to question the motives behind those making the story public. Was it another ridiculous conspiracy theory? Was the man in question being targeted for some … Continued
Well, well, well. A Conservative majority. Apparently a shock to everyone. But not myself. I have to admit there were moments that I was concerned disaster could strike. Or perhaps we would fall short of having enough even with the Lib Dems. I did place a bet on a Conservative majority at 11-1 – I always knew it wasn’t the most likely outcome, but I really did believe that we could get that majority and those odds seemed crazy. Perhaps I was deluded, but I really thought that we could pull it out of the bag – 1992 style. It … Continued
Initially I was disappointed after the previous general election, for the Conservative Party not to have won an outright majority. Disappointed, angry and worried that somehow Gordon Brown might sneak his way back in. I was also confused, tired and pretty damn wasted. Once I had slept and dulled the discombobulated pain of a victory-defeat with large amounts of tranquilizer, I realised that maybe a coalition with the Liberal Democrats wouldn’t be so bad. As long as we were in charge of the economy, things would work out well. And after all, I have always been a bit of a … Continued
This is not a party political broadcast. And I will get stuck straight in. I think it is absolutely disgusting that some people cannot be fucked to vote. Today is the last day to register to vote. Clearly I would rather everyone vote Tory, but it is more important that people are involved. It takes just 5 minutes to register. Compared to the sacrifices that those who lived before us have made, it is ever so simple. You can start from the English Civil War. When the King ruled the land but the landowners wanted a say in how the … Continued
It hasn’t been a good week to be a Conservative. There are several points which could be picked up on, and these are my favourites. Or these are possibly my socialist enemies favourites. Firstly the rather unedifying way that it was pointed out that Ed Miliband is a backstabber and could stab the United Kingdom in the back. This is not something I want to hear prominent Conservatives saying – what I wanted to hear was the commitment to renewing our nuclear defence. Which was in there but was rather overshadowed. I’ve had enough of hearing Conservatives talk about what … Continued
So who remembers Cleggmania? Yes there was a time in 2010 when everyone seemed to fall in love with kind-hearted Nick. Something similar seems to have happened this time around – whereas nobody could stand Ed Miliband a week ago, now a few people have changed their minds. He did come across reasonably well on the debate last Thursday night. Whilst the polls showed David Cameron as the marginal victor, and he was, despite a stuttering performance – Ed Miliband didn’t really have anything to lose. At first Paxman obliterated Miliband, but seemed to lose it towards the end of … Continued
At the weekend I heard a uniquely absurd suggestion of a grand coalition between the Conservatives and Labour after the election. But my mind instantly then considered what happened to the Liberal Democrats upon going into coalition – plummeting poll ratings and a likely significant shedding of MPs come May. Anyone who wishes for a strong economy should desire the ultimate destruction of the Labour party, and one questions whether allowing the Liberal Democrats into power with us was just a gift to the Labour Party in 2010 – a party that having caused the worst economic crisis since 2010, … Continued
I noted with disconcertment the announcement the other day that help is to be given to 200,000 first time buyers to help them buy a new-build house. This is hardly the wide-ranging policy that is required to solve the housing crisis – which to me, is second only to the debt/deficit in terms of priority. That it doesn’t show as one of the top voter concerns is because ever-rising house prices are not a problem for those who own their house, which are the majority of the country. I am 35 now and many people of my generation will never … Continued
I am disappointed that David Cameron is refusing to take part in a series of debates. I accept that it probably took away the expected Conservative majority in 2010, allowing the Lib Dems to surge in popularity, though as a Liberal Conservative, the coalition between the two parties is as good as a majority. There was a sensible solution to the debates that nobody seemed to propose. Have a regional round, without the main party leaders. For example in Scotland, you would have the SNP debating with the Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, and the Scottish Labour leader, Jim Murphy, … Continued
I note with some concern the election in Greece of Syriza. Whether it actually proves a disaster will depend on the European Union – and Angela Merkel in particular. I argued when the Euro-crisis first emerged that there were only two broad solutions – either for the countries in trouble to leave the Euro and devalue their currency until they were competitive in the markets again or for the Eurozone to become to become one fiscal unit – a United States of Europe, if you like, with, for example, harmonised tax rates and one collective Euro-debt (not exactly fair on … Continued
I was delighted to see that The Sun was featuring a topless model on page 3 again late last week. Actually I should clarify, I did not see it – I only heard about it. I am too engrossed in John Major’s autobiography and the only newspaper I read is The Economist. I was somewhat discombobulated two days ago when I heard the same commentators that were defending Charlie Hebdo’s right to offend, cheering on the apparent demise of daily boobs on the basis that it is sexist and outdated. It seems a tad contradictory to me. If you don’t … Continued
David Cameron is right to insist on the Green Party being represented in the debates. He has now stated that he will not take part in the debates without them and he is right to do so. It is plainly unfair for Ofcom to grade UKIP and the Liberal Democrats are major parties, without grading the Green Party as a major party. The Green Party also has an MP and is polling slightly higher than the Liberal Democrats on average. As I understand it, there will be 3 debates – one with the 4 leaders, one less Nigel and the … Continued
I think it is about time instead of using the scare-story tactics of Labour on the NHS that we applauded the excellent work that our NHS does. That the NHS is coming slightly short of its 95% target for A&E patients seen within 4 hours should instead be stated as a congratulatory message that 92% of patients into A&E are seen within 4 hours. To me, that is pretty damn impressive. Most other health services in the world don’t dream to meet such a target. You can look close to home where Wales (under Labour) manage just 83%. It is … Continued
I read with disappointment this morning that Theresa May wants to deport foreign students as soon as they their student visa expires, assumedly straight after their course finishes, instead of the current scheme where they are allowed 4 months to find a job. The reason for this is purportedly to stop those on student visas from overstaying their welcome. A quick question to start. How is removing this 4 month buffer going to ensure that no students stay longer than their visa entitles them to? Surely if someone intends on overstaying their visa – they are going to do it … Continued
Back me: Miliband’s plea to plotters” “Miliband fights for his political life” “Miliband bid to disarm his party critics” “Miliband fights off Labour coup” “Bonfire Night Plot To Oust Ed” “Secret plan for end of Miliband” These are the delightful headlines this morning. Delightful to a point. For whilst it is a source of hilarity to find Ed Miliband has become more unpopular than the maligned Nicholas Clegg, we do actually need him as leader of the Labour Party. For Odd Miliband is one of our greatest electoral assets. Many people in the country are aware that him and Balls … Continued
I would like to start by thanking the European Union for making this pro-EU argument so much easier with their £1.7billion bill as our punishment for economic recovery. Really helpful. Merci. Danke. Gracias. Thankfully in Dave we have a LEADER – someone who is not afraid to tell the EU where to stick it when it matters – unlike the Labour party who would probably offer to give them our gold reserves too. Oh wait a minute…they sold the gold at record-low prices. The recalculation is so ridiculous that Germany get a rebate and Greece gets a bill. Yep. I … Continued
You have to give it to Miliband, he does put a rabbit out of his hat at every big conference speech. Credit where credit is due, he is pretty good at this. Last year he led the political weather by promising a crazily dumb policy on freezing energy prices, with the potential to lead to early price hikes for consumers and supply issues – as if the total mismanagement of energy supply under the 13 years of Labour government hadn’t done enough to damage the energy market. Hilariously ironic that he raised this as an issue given that Ed Miliband … Continued
Two years until the Scottish Independence vote. Now I would prefer the United Kingdom to stay together. However, if Scotland becomes independent then Labour would lose all those Scottish MPs and the chances of future Conservative governments and majority governments would become much likelier. Oh no 😉 No more Gordon Brown’s. No more Scottish interference in English (or Welsh or NI) affairs. Hmmm this is very tempting. So we would get less Olympic medals. Oh well. And we would probably lose much of the oil…not that there is that much left. However if independence is won, and granted, it must … Continued
So did anyone watch Ed Miliband’s Labour conference speech? No, thought not. Neither did I. But I did put myself through the highlights, and most notable was that he used the phrase “One Nation” 44 times apparently. I didn’t count but plenty of political observers did. One Nation. From the Labour Party. Oh please. Shut the fuck up. Now I am not a deluded Tory who thinks Cameron & Osborne will ever get the votes of the unions or more than a handful of public sector workers. Certain sectors of society will never vote Conservative. But, wow, Mr Miliband must … Continued
What exactly has he done? Why is the Leveson Inquiry so onerously being banged on about when there are other far more newsworthy items to report, compared to what I might consider of more importance, like the human rights of the citizens of Syria, or good news stories of new jobs created in this country. The BBC is well and truly up its own arse. But yet they do lots of brilliant things – if we privatised it, we could make a lot of money out of it as it is still apparently respected elsewhere. I wish I had a BBC I could respect but … Continued
Sadly for those with a crude mind, I am talking economics not something else. You may be aware that we re-entered recession in the last quarter for the second time in recent years, hence the term ‘double dip recession’. I have to admit that I thought we would escape such a scenario with very minor growth of along the lines of 0.1%. But instead we shrunk by 0.2%. It is far from the end of the world, it is more of a technical recession than anything anyone will notice, but it will reduce confidence and sentiment which are important for … Continued
Sometimes you just have to accept what you have got, and more pertinently what you haven’t got. Especially when you have run out of gold (enfry).
I note that GDP growth for the second quarter of 2011 is only 0.2%. Nobody should be worried about this. As the below historic graph shows, quarterly GDP growth has always been very volatile. Just look at the quarters of very low or no growth after the recession in the early 1980’s for an example. There are many dangers out there to the UK economy in the short-term, mostly external such as potential oil price shocks, a US debt default, further problems in the Euro-zone and most likely a default by at least one of the very heavily indebted countries in the … Continued
I would like to remind everyone that it is the local council elections on Thursday of this week, and also that there is a referendum on our political voting system. As far as I am concerned, the question is do you really want Labour to be running your local council again? And with regards to the referendum on the voting system, do you really want to change it to where the least unpopular candidate will likely win? A lot to think about, this is almost as important as the general election was last year. My recommendation is to ensure that … Continued
Be careful on Thursday, because not taking any notice may mean that you are stumbling into a system of voting that you don’t like. We don’t get referendums very often in the UK, in fact, I think it was in the 1970’s since we last had one, in England at least anyway. So we should not sleepwalk into something we do not want. Personally, I toyed with the idea of AV, but I don’t think it is better than the current system. So I think I am going to vote no to AV. I will explain my thinking later,but I … Continued
Finally something has got my back up. I can understand an element of anger from students who were promised by the Lib Dems that they would not face higher tuition fees if they voted for them and they got into government. Well they have got into government, and realised that we cannot afford the education system as it is, at the moment, and are having to go back on their promises. I can understand why students might feel betrayed, and perhaps the Lib Dems should have done a bit more research into the financial situation of the country…that said, the previous Labour government … Continued
I’m doing politics today. I hesistate at posting anything which may promote the Labour party (or more accurately known as the anti-Tory party…or we need power to finance our houses as we are unable to behave and work to an acceptable standard in the corporate world to get a job like the evil Tories tell you to party), I purposely did not post about their electing of a new leader as I did not want anyone to think Labour were interesting. To clarify, I fully believe that the Labour party have destroyed the economy and society of our once-great country, for their own gain. They … Continued
I wasn’t really bothered about who would be the next Labour leader but I thought it was about time they had one. I’m sure the chance of you caring is pretty limited too. But I like a bit of politics so tough shit if you are not interested – go read The Sun. Or better still, something else on my blog. As a Conservative voter, and strong supporter of the coalition government – I want it to last the full 5 years. I fully believe that this is the best chance of our economy and society being repaired. Labour are … Continued
Oh what a wonderful outcome that would be if the Labour party itself went bankrupt. The party that when in government, contrived to do everything they possibly could to bankrupt the country just to keep themselves in power, and to keep their selfish desires alive – for them to go bankrupt would go some way to compensate for all the economic pain that we are going through thanks to their disastrous mismanagement of the country’s finances. You can see how desperate it is, with them trying to create news stories to unsettle the Liberal Democrats, such as Charles Kennedy allegedly … Continued
According to the attached story, the maximum amount of housing benefit a family will be able to claim next year will be reduced from £103,000 to £20,800 a year. What the fuck? £20,800 a year is nearly twice what the very damn nice 2-bedroom flat I am renting costs a year. What does £103,000 get a year? Why have I been paying towards this as a tax-payer? Two words – Labour government. Howard Farrand, The Chartered Institute of Housing’s president, said: “They [the changes] will impact on the ability of worse-off families to live in more affluent areas”. Oh no. … Continued