Was Gordon Brown Partially Responsible For Labour’s Defeat In The 2019 General Election?
When automatic enrolment into pensions came in, I was very much in favour, as I feel everybody should have a pension.
There is a section called Automatic Enrolment in the Wikipedia entry called Pensions in the United Kingdom.
If you read the section, this is the last paragraph.
Between the introduction of auto enrolment and April 2016, “the overall proportion of eligible employees saving into a workplace pension increased from 55% to 78%” with the largest increases found in the private sector.
Consider.
- When I started work in the 1960s, the average man and the few women on the factory floor weren’t very well educated. But now, they are much more likely to have a few good qualifications.
- Most too will be computer-savvy to a level, that would have been unimaginable to their forerunners in the 1960s.
- Newpapers too, from the Sun and the Mirror to the Times, \guardian, Telegraph and FT, now offer easy-to-read financial advice to help everyone manage their money better.
Many working people today have a pension, that although some didn’t want it, they probably feel could be a help in retirement.
So did Labour’s reckless or ambitious spending plans, frighten many of their traditional supporters?
They certainly frightened me!
Would the election result have been different, if Gordon Brown hadn’t started the modern pension with the Pensions Act of 2008 and had left well enough alone?
As my quote said earlier in 2016, just over three-quarters of eligible employees are saving into a workplace pension.
Some may have been subscribing for over ten years now and they will feel protective of that amount pf money!
I’m Fed Up With Former Or Current Labour MPs Saying They Feel Sorry For Their Constituents
They feel sorry, that everybody will now have at least five years of a Tory government.
But surely, these former and current MPs are partly to blame.
Many of my friends, who have been Labour supporters for decades have kept reminding me of the state of the Labour Party for some time and have just given up.
Many of these MPs now feeling sorry, must have know about the incompetents at the top and their suicidal policies that don’t work.
So why didn’t they change the leadership, which even now seems reluctant to go?
But then Marxists don’t resign like other incompetents.
If You’re Gonna Go, You Better Go Now!
Suppose, you ran a public company or perhaps a hospital and you made a very big strategic mistake, you would probably resign.
The classic case is the career of Gerald Ratner, summed up in Wikipedia like this.
Gerald Irving Ratner is a British businessman and motivational speaker. He was formerly chief executive of the major British jewellery company Ratners Group (now the Signet Group). He achieved notoriety after making a speech in which he jokingly denigrated two of the company’s products. He currently speaks around the world at corporate and promotional events.
So wouldn’t you think after his disastrous policies and performance in the 2019 General Election, Jeremy Corbyn should have resigned?
After all in recent times, we have seen these political resignations after performing badly in General Elections or a Referendum.
- David Cameron resigned after the EU Membership Referendum in 2016, went badly wrong.
- Jo Swinson resigned immediately after losing her seat in Parliament last week.
- Michael Foot resigned days after his heavy defeat in the 1983 General Election.
- John Major resigned soon after his heavy defeat in the 1997 General Election.
But you have to remember that Corbyn is a Marxist and Marxists (and Fascists for that matter) hang on until they are forced out, die of natural causes or die of something much worse.
Take your favourite Marxist or Fascist dictator and answer these questions.
- Did they ever moderate their views?
- Did they ever resign gracefully?
- Did they ever accept advice from elder statesmen with experience?
- Do they ever listen to people with opposing views?
- Did their country prosper, whilst they were in charge?
Most usually score straight Nos to all these questions.
Incidentally, I have never heard so many adverse comments about a party leader , who has just lost an election from his fellow MPs, as I have heard and read about Corbyn in the last couple of days.
As an example, the long serving Margaret Hodge said this.
Corbyn talking about a period of ‘reflection’.
I’ve reflected. You failed. Please stand down.
That’s pretty direct.
This saga is better than any soap opera.
Will the new leader support the The People’s Front for Judea?
Jeremy Corbyn: ‘I Will Not Lead Labour At Next Election’
This quote of Jeremy Corbyn is the title of this article on the BBC.
This is the first three paragraphs.
Jeremy Corbyn has said he will not lead Labour into the next election, following a “very disappointing night” for his party.
He said he would stay on as leader during a “process of reflection” on the result, which a BBC forecast says will be its worst for decades.
He added that the issue of Brexit had “polarised” politics and “overridden so much of normal political debate”.
The article also says others in Labour, blame his leadership.
Corbyn should realise that his ultra-Marxist agenda and fence-sitting on Brexit, has been overwhelmingly rejected by the electorate.
He should resign now and retire to his allotment.
But then Marxists don’t resign, they hang on and make matters worse!
Tories Win Blyth Valley
Wikipedia doesn’t say when Blyth Valley, last elected a Tory MP. But it was before 1950.
The Green Party seemed to have polled more votes than was expected.
It has been suggested that the railways through the area, which were closed in the 1960s, when Harold Wilson was Prime Minister, be reopened.
Did this have an effect?
If I was Boris, I’d make sure the railway lines in the area were reopened.
Do The British Like Marxism?
If the Exit Poll produced by the BBC, ITV and Sky is correct, the Tories will have a majority of 86.
In the General Election of 1983, Michael Foot, who was not as far to the left as Jeremy Corbyn won 209 seats.
The Exit Poll is showing that Corbyn will win only 191 seats.
I don’t think the British public like Marxism, especially when it comes from someone in London, who went to a posh school.
A Curious Election
I voted early this morning about 09:30
Because, the usual Polling Station in a school was unavailable, two stations had been combined in a local community hall.
Usually, Labour Party supporters are busy outside making sure that they maximise the vote for Meg Hillier.
But today there was no-one outside and the only greeting was from the Poll Clerk.
There didn’t seem to be too many people voting either. I don’t think it was as busy as 2017. And I always vote early!
Was it the weather, was I too early or was it some other reason?
All very curious.
The betting odds seem carious too! Both Tories and Labour seem to be dropping, with the others steady.
Does this say that the LibDems and others are getting squeezed?
Action This Day!
This was Churchill’s famous phrase and you can read all about it here.
I am getting sick of the indecision of Brexit and I suspect many in this country feel the same.
As I’m retired, it doesn’t make any difference to my business and those that I employ, as there is no business and no employees.
To my mind, Brexit must be sorted by the end of January at the latest, so that we can all move on.
- If we vote in Boris Johnson with a large majority, we might leave, although I suspect there will be challenges in Parliament, the Courts and on the streets.
- If we vote in Jo Swinson with a large majority, she will revoke article 50 and that could be the end of Brexit for at least a few years and hopefully for ever.
- If we vote in Jeremy Corbyn with a large majority, he will dither and prevaricate for a few years years, before we get another close referendum, which gives us more of what we’ve had for the last few years.
As someone, who voted Remain and now quite frankly doesn’t care, I believe the only way to get us out of this mess made by David Cameron, is to hope that Johnson or Swinson get a majority large enough to carry out their stated policies on Brexit.
As for Corbyn, who has a Push-Me-Pull-You policy on Brexit, everybody should make sure, that whoever they vote for, consigns Corbyn, his apparatchiks and their crack-pot policies to the dustbin of history.
Election 2019: DUP Manifesto At A Glance
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is said under Infrastructure.
The infamous bridge from Northern Ireland to Scotland makes an appearance in the manifesto. It has been mooted on a number of occasions, despite a number of potential barriers to its construction.
Not everyone believes those barriers are insurmountable, though.
I don’t and feel strongly, that the bridge should be built and linked to High Speed Two
- London and Belfast in four hours
- London and Dublin in five hours.
- Belfast and Glasgow in under two hours.
Not forgetting, it would become an important freight route..
Labour Pledges To Cut Rail Fares By A Third
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Labour has announced plans to slash rail fares by 33% and simplify ticket prices for part-time workers if it wins the election on 12 December.
The party also wants to make train travel free for young people under the age of 16 and build a central online booking portal with no booking fees.~
In other reports on the Internet, the cost is given at £1.5 billion and it would be paid for from existing transport budgets. Really!
Labour’s plan would have two immediate effects.
- More people would be using the trains and there would a need for much more investment to provide the extra capacity
- But the train companies would be unprofitable and would hand the franchises back, as they would effectively be bankrupt.
The government would probably want that, but would Bombardier, CAF, Siemens et al continue to supply the new trains needed to British Rail at prices determined by the government?
This Labour proposal has echoes of Saddiq Khan’s fare freeze to get elected as London Mayor, which has caused investment in London’s transport system to be delayed or cancelled.
The Anonymous Widower 