COVID 19 and the British Government

There is no doubt in my mind Britain now has the worst government in living memory. There is no minister who gives any confidence in their decision making. As for their leader, our PM, this is not a man I'd follow in any circumstances. Asking the question of how the hell they got in power gets nowhere, it was because they pumped one issue and played on those in society who believed they'd been left out, blaming the EU for all their troubles. Yet, a Tory government has been in power 10 years prior so if those voters were missing out surely it would of been down to the very same political party who'd ensured they'd missed out over this time period. The Tory press has a lot to do with it, or rather the Conservative, with a big Con press. The decisions of government impact every individual in society yet, it is obvious there is only one group of individuals who win out with a right wing government, it's those who have never wanted in their lives.

Oddly now though we are starting to see even the right win press give the government a bashing for their obtuse stewardship. Presenters on talk radio who'd normally be sympathetic begin to ask probing questions. Why is it in this time of crisis, the government lost valuable weeks on the notion Britian should undergo a living experiment in herd immunity. The theory being if enough people get Coronavirus (Covid 19) then it will provide a protection for those who don't get it. The madness began to be seen for what it was at the point they realised hospitals would be inundated with dead. They'd become the latter day morgues. As for the morgues, they'd be overwhelmed and mobile freezer lorries would be organized, not forgetting the odd ice rink to keep bodies from piling up and stinking. Such a disaster they would not be able to walk away from. The indiscriminate nature of this virus would even scare the rich. What's the use of having a few million in your bank account if you then get sick and die? So momentarily a little sanity crept back into the madness. Perhaps it saved a few lives, but now with the UK likely to have the highest European death toll the realisation was a little late. But hey, what does it matter the most vulnerable are those who take the most resources out of society. For them our taxes are spent on, care packages galore, hospital admissions by the millions in every year. The elderly and the disabled, it's pretty convenient you can hear ministers say in secret. Lets reduce pension spending and NHS spending, just by letting this little thing run on for longer than necessary. They'll spin it in the end to make it seem a lot was done, but when it's done late then it's a second thought rather than a first thought.

So it is Johnson recovers from the lurgies, in consideration he went to hospitals where patients were and shook their hands its almost like he wanted to catch it in the first place. I'm sure going to ICU was a bit of a scare, yet blindly and with jolly vigor he would not believe this was a deadly illness. He thought in his mind it was just like a strong flu. Will it of taught him a lesson? Who knows?  We'll see. But one thing's for sure, we'll still be coming out of Europe, regardless of the need to get PPE supplies and save lives, heavens above, a delay would be out of the question.

The greatest challenge to political leadership

This perhaps goes for every form of leadership, whether it is a mother who is taking a bunch of noisy children to the park, a manager in an organization but in particular the leader of a country. To lead from the front becomes more relevant and essential during a time of crisis. It is also the time when leadership is under the greatest of judgements both by those internal to an organization and those external. Today we see the likes of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson take on the Corona virus crisis. This is no ordinary crisis, it is one which will have an enduring impact on their countries, one which will cost lives and one which will show the failings of leadership and government strategy.

In Britain the National Health Service has been underfunded for decades by successive governments, health care has become more expensive, more extensive and more burdensome on the state. A truism of any government is they can with hand on heart say they've spent more on the NHS than the government before. But this doesn't mean anything, it has to be put into context, especially of the ever increasing number of elderly patients which require long term care until their dying day. There are not enough care homes to house them, so they lay in hospital beds blocking other patients who require the service. Monetary value then goes on maintaining the last years of health for a pensioner who is no longer contributing the same taxation to the economy as they did when many years younger and working. Something is wrong. It is wrong with how our economy works, how we pay taxes, on the type of capitalism and democracy we have in play. A look around the world sees different forms of democracy and capitalism from one country to the next. Perhaps they are on an scale between capitalism which ultimately is so egotistical it is only what the individual personally makes that matters against the tyranny of authoritarian autocracy or authoritarian communism.

A group of individuals working together is called a team, the best teams have clear lines of responsibility and work co dependently not independently. They communicate and have a joint goal they are proud of, one they all agree on and each and every member is unafraid to state what is on their mind, they know reaching their goal is what matters, but a democracy where one is valued above the other by what they can earn is not a democracy, yet it is the reality of today. Education and understanding of political systems is what holds societies together. So one faction can feed a less education to another and in so doing manipulate them into constantly voting against their own interests. As with truth, there is no white blanket of what a truth is, it comes in many shades and depends on which flavour is preferred. Human beings inherently like to confirm what their own bias shows to reveal their own truth. The moment we let go of such bias is the moment we begin to think for ourselves, the moment we filter through information and re-assemble it, and remove the qualities which exist to manipulate us the clearer our understanding becomes.

Today, the most powerful leader in the Western world advocates his ratings as a key indicator of how well he is doing. The political stage is a serious one, it costs lives, and what Trump doesn't understand is the morbid curiosity of those who are watching the American car crash happen before their eyes. The great American black comedy show, one in which the most incompetent man possible is no where near capable of dealing with the greatest challenge the Western world is facing. We may elect politicians on a single issue of importance, somehow they then come into power and this is often against the majority of voters. A single issue does not mean they are competent with the whole gamut of problems the world has, such is clear today. As Britain now also descends in the the worst econmic, health and social crisis it has ever had. We will not live long an prosper that's for sure.

Pinning the tail on the political donkey

So we come into 2020 with the last part of the decade being the most politically toxic it has been for

many years. It is easy for me to say Cameron who was full of arrogance and no substance, May the uptight leather jean wearing recluse and now Johnson the narcissic PM were not and are not my representatives of good politicians or heads of the British political system. None of them deserve a place in history none of them have the qualities of a leader I'd follow in any situation. Unless it just happened to be a clown show. Johnson's run has only just began and the worst part of all he has managed to pull on board voters over from Labour to Tory. Voters who will over the next 5 years have much time to realise the mistake of their ways. It's been stated madness is doing the same thing over and over again and hoping there will be a different result. Since 2008 the Tories have been in power and the stagnation of the UK economy continues, it's not getting better for anyone unless you happen to be a millionaire megalomaniac sitting in the highest seat of power we have, i.e. parliament.

If there were a hell, in December 2019, a very special place was made for those incumbent Labour voters who changed their mind and voted the Tories into power. A strength which has seen them now gain an 80 plus seat majority. This is in my mind the most disgraceful behaviour a traditional Labour voter can have and with no doubt such voters will have to contend with the deceased souls of their families who are no doubt raging with fury. Those ghosts will become poltergeists in the next few months. I personally feel each one of these individuals will in some way get to feel the results of their actions pretty soon, but will likely deny those results.

Getting the Tories into power has never been about Brexit, this is just what Hitchcock would call the McGovern. A reason for the story to be strung along. The Tories being in power is to as usual ensure Tories are better off in this world than those who they see as plebs. With the next 5 years they will financially kill Britain, selling off everything they possibly can and making money on everything they possibly can and say it is an efficiency measure. The death of the NHS is but a 1000 sword strikes away, as they under fund it yet at the same time say it has the biggest injection of cash resources it's ever had. A true statement which can be said every single year by every single government, easily satisfied by just giving the NHS more money but ensuring it is below inflationary measures. Effectively the NHS will be starved of resources, if you want health care you will have to personally buy into private health care which costs on average £1500 per year per member of your family. Of course if you have a pre-existing illness this will not be treated.  At present we have suffered 10 years of austerity now we're about to leave the EU then our free trading agreements will also end, so will the quick entry and exit of goods and services from and into the UK as tariffs will need to be added. Tariffs which the purchaser will be required to pay for not the government, so wait and see your shopping basket go up.

The right wing tabloid media had a wonderful time in the election of December 2019, they touted fear politics and Corbyn was the easiest target to hit. Democracy has been attacked successfully. This was not a game of pin the tail on the donkey blindfolded. In this scenario the donkey was endowed with the biggest backside in the world and the blindfold was lost, a huge spot light focused on that bottom and with the stench of a recent big shite even the visually impaired didn't have a problem hitting the mark. However, the thing with the tabloid media is it eats up news more readily than any machine can make news. It doesn't take long before the same tabloid media starts to throw out verbal crap on the disgraceful behaviour of their own Tory MPs, who will with no doubt provide lots of news worthy items. Very much like being stuck on an island of cannibals who've just finished of their rival tribe now looking eye fully at their over fat great uncle who will nicely fit in next week's cooking pot.

As the children's party ends each beautiful little child walks away with a goody bag, a little cake some sweets and perhaps a small prize they won from the events of the afternoon. Maybe even a paper cut out donkey tail, they are happy. However, for those who voted Tory but live ordinary working class lives, those who believe in a just and equal society but still voted for this government their disappointment or perhaps guilt for doing so will become a large burden on their back to carry around. They are not going to be able to seek medical attention for it because there will be no GP surgery there to attend. Maybe we'll see a resurgence of modern day witch craft, a return to ignorance and bigotry long ago removed through education. But of course there will be little education about either as classroom sizes increase. Oh dear what Britain becomes in the future will be something Hercules would have a problem carrying on his back.

The Brexit Election, a divided country.

Britain has just come out of yet another election and there is a lot to be learnt from the result. It would be easy to say the main focus of the election was Brexit, but it's one of many variables to be considered. Many times the argument was put forward the people had voted, they had decided we should get out of the EU. Other arguments were against Corbyn the MP who historically had made some controversial remarks and supported causes which were vilified. The election was nasty, Johnson used emotive terms which grabbed easy headlines, his was a populist tabloid retort to anything he could. Whereas Corbyn did not simplify arguments against the individual known as ad hominem and tried to position facts. Public image wise Corbyn came across as a rather stiff, teacher like figure who occasionally got uptight and spoke through clenched teeth. Whilst Johnson did his best to be calm, show humorous outrage, was bumbling, likeable and reasoned. Johnson's message was clear, it was a single message, whereas Corbyn's was difficult to understand because it prevaricated, it was neither yes nor no, and the public wanted a dramatic finish to the debate.

However, true in itself, the referendum should of never taken place, it was put into action by a self-centred Tory PM who cared more for washing out the in-fighting with his own party than the reality of a vote which went against his own arrogance. Voters went against Cameron not just for Brexit, they were fed up with austerity, fed up with the political elites not getting it, they thought this country is capable it can pick itself up, be great, have full employment and be doing something. Brexit was a scapegoating event, put the blame on the foreigners not on our own politicians, nor blame the voters for putting the Tories in power in the first place. Further to this those who voted Brexit and those who voted Remain had become two divided camps both dug into their opinion and even if one side of debate was more logical and valid than the other, neither could turn back, there was too much commitment. Then between the 2016 and 2019 a war waged, online, in parliament and on the streets.

The issue of Brexit gets blown up, in reality it is highly complex. Yet the country was given just a dichotomy to consider "in" or "out" nothing else. How could anyone  abandon 50 years of trade agreements, laws and treaties with just a simplified binary vote? For this is exactly what happened when Brexit took place, it was way too complex an issue to be put on the table for fair-weather friends to decide on a whim what impacted on them. The highest level of hubris brought Cameron down, the best ever thing he did was resign, but out of the ashes of resignation came forth a new phoenix, his name brushed off the incompetence of May to become PM Johnson. A man who no matter how much he'd been proven to lie during his career somehow adapted himself yet again to another lie, changed his stance from originally advocating Remain to leaving. This man had no scruples about making money in his career as a pop political journalist, being an MP and also being Mayor of London. His record of cuts and austerity to London has scared it. What he played was a figure head, a focal point for the Brexit voter, something to look towards, someone with just a single message. The election became about Brexit and nothing else, because of those stuck in the ground views by both sides, a binary decision had become one of who is to win which was more important than being right.  When an election should be fought on policies not just a single issue.

Corbyn has history, he has too much political history, but more than this some of his views have been considered extremist, to the extent the average voter could not tolerate voting for him, even though he was the man leading the Labour party. The pictures of him with Gerry Adams and other IRA members are enough to make anyone who remembers the troubles from that time to cuss Corbyn and never let his name be spoken before. No wonder at one point his face was put on dummy training targets for fresh army recruit firing practice. Speaking up for terrorists is always a bad thing when at war with them. He'd been a back bencher for most of his political life and this is probably a place he should stay for a little longer. He believed in nuclear disarmament, nationalisation, getting the rich to pay more in taxes.  Yet, it was Corbyn the man who lost it for Labour, his public image his views and the plethora of material tabloid newspapers were able to find and regurgitate to the public.  In the active pursuit of votes, every nasty vile thing was going to be said about Corbyn and they were going to swing the Labour heartlands over, forced them to face up to it, their man was not up to scratch. He was a London luvie and didn't represent the northern worker.  Corbyn became toxic easily.

At some point Johnson will push the UK out of Europe, yet when this happens how do his voters think Britain will be become better than it is? Some are locked in the belief the Great British spirit will soldier on, will take us through this bad time, that we can make things, we can do things and become Great, it is as though they have been imprisoned in a time capsule from the 1800s when Britain ruled the world and let out again. Britain is not Great, and it never will be, this dangerous word should be removed from all literature because it gives a false notion to the general population we as in Britain were great together. A look at history will tell you, we were not. Britain was good for the wealthy but it has never tugged up the living standards of the poorest. Until that is the welfare state came about and the national health service. Both of which are now going to be pushed to the brink of non-existence. As foreign nationals who work in it begin to leave, all those thousands of nurses from other countries and doctors will now consider their position. Waiting lists will increase and the common British population are doomed to die, little by little. Hospitals will become places of death, the elderly who have no social care will block beds, the frail will die, those who may be of working age but needing an operation to get back into society again and earning a wage will not. They will wait for years on end, they will then receive little to no benefits because the Universal Credit system has been made to only be available to those who are working on the lowest incomes and does it's best to prevent the disabled from applying for benefits, rejecting them and making them jump through a thousand hoops, even the critically ill don't get benefits until they have died. And what is the use then? The system has done it's deed.

The Tory camp went on an offensive, with Johnson pushing for an election as soon as he got into power as a PM. However, he also lowered the tone of debate and played to the silent racist who is always afraid to open their mouth in fear of being found out 

Those voters who indeed lent their vote to the Tories just on the single issue of Brexit have been disillusioned with politics and politicians. But what they don't understand is they have also been used by them, used and now they will be abused for a further 5 years until the penny drops. Then perhaps after a friend or relative has been buried six feet under, or some kind of self realisation kicks in and a light bulb moment comes into awareness. Whereas those who did vote Labour now feel betrayed by what their family, friends and colleagues have done, there will be bitterness and divide to such a deep level many of us will no longer associate or be family to those we once loved. This discord is the very thing the Tories will feed on and enjoy, because it will break up the working classes and as the old saying goes, divide and conquer. They certainly have done that today.

Jacob Reece-Mogg the Disgrace of an MP

JRM or Lord Fonteroy to his mates, is an out and out rich man and believer in the idea some are born to govern. Just like Cameron is known to be. Except in the case of Reece-Mogg archaic behaviour and one's own superiority is worn on his cuff and displayed with free abandon. This man has come to be one of the many focal points of our government. He hopes to make hundreds of millions in the great British pound as soon as he can get the UK out of the EU. It doesn't matter about the effect it will have on the nation, but JRM will be fine. As a hedge fund manager and as an MP he's in the perfect place to push politics in a way to benefit himself. This is what we see now. It is one might consider a form of playing the dark art of politics for one's self. 

Jacob Reece-Mogg is the MP for North East Somerset, which is a very safe Tory seat. However, his behaviour has been disgusting, especially when he implied the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire were lacking in common sense. This he did on a radio program while being interviewed. Soon after he tried to apologise. However, what had been said has such impact and significance it cannot be ignored. There was no taking into account the situation, the advice the fire service had given residents of the Tower, or that it was equal common sense towers of this nature should not be fitted with highly flammable materials which makes them no longer fire safe. Towers which were designed to originally section a fire to the flat it originated from and not allow it to spread. JRM would of known this, he would of been exposed to the media and read the headlines in the newspapers. For of all the things he is, it is not stupid. Yet he has made one very stupid comment. These individuals were different from him and he knew best.

If the residents of North East Sommerset vote this disgraceful MP back into power, it is because they are mindful of keeping a Tory in power, regardless of what he says or does. It would be through ignorance of knowing, this is a man who should not be a representative of a constituency. For sure, there must be blocks of flats in his own constituency and so those occupants may change their view on him. Fingers crossed he is no longer in the next parliament, however given the ten thousand majority he has, it's wishful thinking.

Robert Mugabe, traitor, dictator and theif to Zimbarbe

Sometimes when a politician dies, there is relief, with Robert Mugabe it is not just relief but stunned questioning. Where did he hive off all the billions he stole from Zimbabwe? It is likely some numbered Swiss account is holding it. Why grieve a dictator? Probably because those who grieve are in fear of their lives. In the West there will be no sorrow, and as for Zimbabwe, many of those inhabitants will continue to live in poverty, have no health care and likely die young.

Good riddance Mugabe, unfortunately your legacy will live on, as the bread basket of Africa has now become the waste land.

Trade with a lunatic they call a president, ha!

It is beyond belief America has an orange turd as president, one who can barely read, is a narcissist and believes he has a hot line to a non-existent super entity many refer to as god. Oh dear. Lately as Britain moves towards the inevitable cliff edge we call BREXIT, which is the ultimate in self-flagellation in my opinion, the notion has been we can negotiate a trade agreement with said turd. The erroneous justification is to have respect for the office of president. Even if there is no respect in the actual holder. Lets get this absolutely straight, a corrupt villain who loves to negotiate hard deals with those who are in desperate situations rubs his hands together in anticipation he is about to shaft the entire UK and fist pump his way to heaven, is this who you would have us negotiate with?  Whether Bozo Johnson will have any insight into the obnoxious idea of do or die, and die being a hell of a more salient reality is also another dilemma. For the single reason of having to deal with the orange turd we should just call the whole thing off and stay in the EU. Until said lummox has been put to rest and with such permanence we'll know he'll never return. Perhaps on a never ending golf course where he can cheat at every hole and is always declared the winner. It's not just that he's president, his craving for attention is greater than a toddler who is running off with it's parent's shoe and thinks it's fun.

Nobody really knows what WTO rules mean, lets face it. Life is short and nobody in their right mind would bother to look them up. Yet this seems to be the get out of jail excuse for those who have voted to leave the EU. Unfortunately, they to have not the inkling of what WTO rules mean. They are pulled out of a hat as if to say, this is the end of the conversation, I've won and you are the loser. The issue is we will all be losers and the country will become a much less of a financial powerhouse, even if the same voters believe we are a power house. Fact is, we do an awful lot of trade in the world but this doesn't make us rich, because the deficit is increasing. Our borrowing continues and equanimity still has not been reached. Perhaps the reality is, it never can be reached the way we are going. The economic model this country is living on is dying. The constitutional model our political system is run on is also in the last throws of a poisoning. Each and every inhabitant of this country wallows in ignorance, or should I say some a lot more than others. There are 66 million people here, our elderly population is growing disproportionately, our working population doesn't earn enough to pay the taxes to look after said elderly. Something has got to give. Maybe a cliff edge BREXIT will do it. There will be less access to medical supplies from the EU and there will be less access to food from the EU. The ultimate result will be an increased mortality rate, the vulnerable, elderly, young and disabled will surely be picked off as casualty figures. This is a very real issue. I don't understand why those who voted just don't get it. My prediction is, a substantial increase in mortality during the first years of BREXIT, an increase in poverty and the gradual re emigration of EEA nationals back to their own countries to get away from a UK which will effectively become a developing or rather declining sick man out of Europe.