Losing The Plot?
David Aaronovitch in The Times today has a piece about the Labour Party and its leadership election.
He says this.
On the very day that Theresa May was, in effect, transfigured into prime minister, Corbyn was at a meeting of the Cuba Solidarity Committee, recommitting to the dynastic dictatorship of the Castros, just as he has been doing these 40 years.
Was Corbyn getting advice?
I am virtually Corbyn’s age and I can remember the ardent, often heavy smoking, left-wingers we had when I was at Liverpool University, in the 1960s. Prominent amongst them was that pillar of the left; Robert Kilroy Silk, who incidentally was C’s tutor and persisted in smoking Capstan |Full Strength all through tutorials, despite C being pregnant at the time.
I have checked the Internet for all the left-wingers, that I remember from that time and all seem to have vanished without trace. I wonder how many are living in semis in Pinner, Mossley Hill and Edgbaston, with a Mondeo outside and 2.4 children?
What Can We Expect From Theresa May?
I remember Margaret Thatcher well and from things I heard at the time, a lot of people felt they’d get the country they wanted, where criminals were hung and flogged and big business could run roughshod over the small man.
What we got from Mrs. Thatcher was not what everybody expected, because mainly she was an intelligent woman, who analysed what was needed in a crisis and then did it.
I always remember my Labour-supporting accountant at the time, saying that Thatcher and her Chancellors may have reduced the tax paid by high-earners, but they had certainly closed a large number of massive tax loopholes. My accountant certainly would have known.
Mrs. Thatcher certainly stood up to the problems, but then other Prime Ministers would. But I think, she did it in a unique way, which probably meant she could carry the country with her more easily.
I’m certain, that all important female leaders because they think differently to men and generally don’t have the massive ego, that many men do, tend to do different things or the same things in different ways.
For a start Angela Merkel always gives me the impression, she’s the wise aunt, that all families need and many have and Golda Meir made out she was tougher than any man.
Mrs. T always came across as the power-dressed professional and I’ve met a few competent female judges, lawyers and accountants, who put forward the same aura.
Theresa May will develop her own style and aura, as all politicians and especially prime ministers do. She’ll need to as, she has been left with a very bad set of cards.
What do I think she’ll do?
- As I pointed out in Small Modular Nuclear Reactors. I think Hinckley Point C will be cancelled.
- HS2 will be cut back in terms of cost, but increased in scope to create a One Nation Railway. As the changes at Sheffield, that I wrote about in HS2 Does The Right Thing At Sheffield, showed, good design of the railway can save a lot of money ande add more stations to the network.
I will add to this list.
Andrea Leadsom’s Lack Of Judgement
Andrea Leadsom may now have apologised to Theresa May according to this article on the BBC, but I believe the whole affair, shows a remarkable lack of judgement on her part.
In some ways it’s personal to me, as my family has a rather unusual genetic trait.
I have traced me male line back to The Tailor of Bexley in 1800 or so, and I’m certain that is where my coeliac disease came from.
What is curious, is that most women born into the direct male line of the family seem unable to have children, although nieces of the direct line have managed it.
It seems that if you’re the daughter of a coeliac in my family, you can’t have children.
You might say, as I’m a man, who only fathered sons, how am I affected?
Looking back on my family history, it has been riven with arguments and at the bottom of this, there has been the problems of some very strong females, both born in and married to the family.
I’ve also met others, who have similar problems in their families, which leads me to the conclusion, that the significant problem of childless women, should be left to themselves, their family and their doctors.
So to bring it up as an election issue, is just not on. In fact, as Michael Gove was adopted, you can accuse her of other things as well. I lived with an adopted woman for forty years and they are both proud and sensitive about their status.
As a Prime Minister, Leadsom will have to deal with lots of sensitive subjects and I don’t think she has the judgement and tact to handle some of the more difficult problems of this country and the wider world.
I’m Rather Pleased We’ve Now Got Fixed Term Parliaments
On Sunday morning, I usually watch the Andrew Marr Show and then listen to Pienaar’s Politics on the radio.
- Jeremy Corbyn didn’t give the sort of performance one would expect from a future Prime Minister.
- Aaron Banks, who supports UKIP, frightened me, with his support for the party of neck-enders.
- I didn’t like the treatment Angela Eagle says she is getting from Corbyn supporters.
The only sane voices were the two women, who reviewed the papers on the Andrew Marr Show.
One was so disillusioned with the Labour Party, she has decided to be a stand-up comedian. She certainly got plenty of material.
At least because we should wait to 2020 for the next General Election, there is time for everything to calm down.
Is Everybody Keeping Calm And Carrying On?
Perhaps, I should have excluded the Welsh from this, as they may be carrying on, but they certainly haven’t kept calm, as the Dragon rampages through France.
I ask this question because since the Brexit vote on June 23rd, there has not been much real news.
There has been no mass redundancies, the financial markets have settled and there have been no pro- or anti-Brexit riots on the streets.
The only real news from the Government was from George Osborne, who made the decision not to balance the budget by 2020.
It’s reported in this article on the BBC, which is entitled Osborne abandons 2020 budget surplus target.
The national media is obsessed with who will be leading the Labour and Tory parties.
I’m actually taking a practical attitude to these elections.
- Who leads the bitterly-divided Labour Party, is about as relevant these days to the UK, as who is the captain of the Mongolian football team.
- When the Tory party is in crisis, a leader usually appears, who although unfancied does at least a competent job for a few years.
The Tory party will still be here in a decade or so, but without the Sword of Europe hanging over it.
As to the Labout Party, who knows? Party members don’t!
We are facing a fascinating remainder of this year, where these important questions will be answered.
- Will Wales win Euro 2016?
- Will Andy Murray win Wimbledon?
- Will Leicester City carry on next season as they did last?
- Will Mo Farah complete a double-double of the five and ten thousand metres?
- Will Chris Froome win a third Tour de France?
- Will the weather improve and the sun break through?
- Will we ever see any electric trains running on the Great Western?
We will just carry on and apply an appropriate demeanour.
Corbyn Courts The Jewish Vote
This article on the Jewish Chronicle is entitled How the unveiling of Labour’s antisemitism report turned into a Corbyn calamity. This is the first paragraph.
It was the political equivalent of running into a burning building with a can of petrol and liberally chucking the fuel over anything you could find.
What Jeremy Corbyn did this morning almost defied belief. Even in these extraordinary times, it was an act of such reckless abandon that veteran political correspondents watched open-mouthed.
Mr Corbyn came to the launch of his party’s report into antisemitism, conducted by Shami Chakrabarti, after the worst week of his decades-long political career.
I’d gone to their web site to get a digest after reading the various tweets after the Jewish MP; Ruth Smeeth was abused.
I’m not Jewish, but I have Jewish genes, so I certainly wouldn’t vote for the Labour Party, even if they were the only non-Fascist candidate.
SNP Seeks To Replace Labour As Official Opposition At Westminster
This is the title of a story on Politics Home today.
I listened to Prime Ministers Questions today from start to finish and it is worth comparing the performance of Angus Robertson and Jeremy Corbyn.
Robertson’s performance was workmanlike and professional, but Corbyn’s contribution was not of the best quality.
I have not really listened to Corbyn’s contributions much in detail much before, but I got the impression, his heart didn’t seem to be in the debate.
I also thought that he was more long-winded than most other party leaders I remember well. Is he always like this, or is it because he has something else on his mind?
He is certainly not fulfilling his royal of leader of Her Maject’s Loyal Opposition.
If he doesn’t want the job, then I’m sure Angus Robertson could fill in!
After Losing 2-1 Roy Hodgson Resigns, So What Does Corbyn Do After Losing 172-40?
I think one man is honourable,
I’ll let others judge JC!
Who Will Join Corbyn’s Shadow Saddle-Bag?
The pool is getting smaller by the hour!
Tarzan Lives!
Tarzan has just been on BBC Breakfast tslking masses of sense on how to get out of the mess. Brilliant!
The Anonymous Widower 