WTF is happening in the UK?

[OFSO]

Liz Truss has a deranged plan to ‘save the West’ (who from – herself?)
Her new book – outlining her strategy to ‘save the west’ from the ‘global left’ – bears a remarkable similarity to a dying wasp’s idea of escaping through a shut window, writes Tom Peck. Just keep going at it, harder and harder, over and over again until it works, which it definitely will – and when it doesn’t, it’s the window’s fault anyway

[Woody]

Yet another highly successful privatisation

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-66813440

[PHXPhlyer]

Yet another highly successful privatisation

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-66813440

"Nats are a third world-class provider of air traffic services and London Gatwick's senior management recognises how hard the airport's air traffic controllers are working to keep the operation moving."

PP

[OneHungLow]

Does Charlotte Owen upset you? If not, it’s possible you haven’t been paying attention.

Name doesn’t ring a bell? How about Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge? Still drawing a blank?

It’s not your fault. There is almost nothing to know about Charlotte Owen. She is a blank sheet of paper. She has done very little of note. She has no discernible views about anything. The sum total of her achievements would barely stretch to the full 280 characters of a tweet.

And yet, Britain being Britain – and thank God we took back control from all those unelected foreigners in Brussels! – this blank sheet of paper is now a peer of the realm. She sits as a member of the legislature, making and revising laws for the rest of us until the end of her days. Which, as she was only 29 when nominated, could be a decent 50-year stint.

We can’t vote her out. And we will have to fork out £332 a day every time she sets foot inside the House of Lords, plus travel expenses and subsidised food. It’s called parliamentary sovereignty, I think.

Baroness Owen took her seat in July, and it is fair to say she has made little impact so far. Her parliamentary page is blank – no listed experience, no voting record, no questions, no speeches, no interests to register. There is, it seems, no way of contacting her.

In short, nothing. And perhaps, as Lear tells us, nothing will come of nothing.

An enterprising journalist, Cat Neilan, has nevertheless attempted on our behalf to find out more about Boris’s Baroness for a Tortoise podcast, which has just been released. I mean no disrespect to Neilan to say she added virtually nothing to the nothing we already knew. And yet her investigation is fascinating for precisely that reason.

What did she find out? That Charlotte played the flute at her private school in Alderley Edge, and was a house captain. She got three A-levels and studied at York University, where she was remembered, if at all, as being “friendly and quiet”.

She spoke little in lectures and was a “not very active” member of the Young Conservatives (she was “less interested in politics than networking,” according to a friend.) She dated a boy called James Stanbury, the son of a failed UKIP candidate. So far, so blank.

There followed a series of internships about which, as Neilan drily observes, “recollections may vary”. But she appears to be on solid ground in accusing Charlotte of “that well-known phenomenon, CV inflation”.

She may, or may not, have worked in George Osborne’s constituency office in Tatton, though she did subsequently volunteer in neighbouring Hazel Grove, where her duties were described as seeming “rather menial, but there’s more to it than making cups of tea”. That was early in 2017.

And now she’s a baroness! What happened to propel her from not-just-making-the-tea to making-laws-for-life? Well, recollections again vary. But she set her heart on interning for Boris Johnson. An anonymous source told Tortoise: “The whole persona that Boris Johnson has is very in line with the kind of people Charlotte enjoys being around – very posh, a bit all over the place. It plays to her humour.”

Other internships followed and, before you know it, Charlotte was Johnson’s senior parliamentary assistant and – though her LinkedIn profile does not necessarily match official listings in regard to dates – a special adviser to Johnson, by now prime minister. A source described her as “extraordinarily junior”.

What did she do while at No 10? Said one source: “She would arrange meetings, feed in information for Boris just to have a quick 20 seconds before going in to a meeting to understand what that meeting was going to be about.” More than making the tea, in other words, but some way short of, say, leading on strategy. An accomplished executive assistant would recognise the duties.

When Johnson was out, so was Charlotte. Liz Truss did not, it is said, consider her a “particularly strong asset”. So here we are, with Charlotte in the House of Lords instead of having to tout her CV around in search of work.

In light of Johnson’s own, um, escapades, Neilan felt obliged to address some of the more lurid theories circulating on social media. Her father was a financial consultant called Mike. And there is “no evidence” for what she calls “sexist, cruel scuttlebutt”.

There are not many countries in the world where rulers get to appoint legislators. The King of Bahrain gets to choose the members of the Upper House, but they have a mere four-year fixed term. The President of Belarus has the same power – but, again, with a set timespan. Our arrangements may, in this respect, have more in common with Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), where members of the Upper House are appointed by the king, with no apparent term limit.

Johnson, an amateur historian, presumably knows about the centuries-long struggle by ordinary British citizens for a parliament that was both fair and representative. He will know that untold numbers of people suffered, were tortured, fought and died to help create a better democracy. United Kingdom, mother of parliaments, indeed.

His parting gift to the nation was to nominate a rum bunch of cronies, donors, timeservers and toadies to the peerage. At least eight of them were deemed unappointable. But it was presumably difficult to argue against Charlotte, being such a blank sheet of paper. So we’re stuck with her for the rest of her life.

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/bo ... ml?r=15043

[OneHungLow]

Well he has finally got one thing right!

Both of them ideologues, who should have been given the sack before they became rats fighting in a sack.

Kwasi Kwarteng has said Liz Truss was “not wired” to be prime minister, as the former chancellor turned on his old boss on the anniversary on their mini-Budget disaster.

It comes as it emerged a radical “flat tax” that would have seen all workers pay only 20 per cent was considered for their autumn statement which sparked economic and political turmoil.

One year on from Ms Truss’ spree of unfunded tax cuts, the former PM is set to launch an astonishing attack on Rishi Sunak’s government – claiming it has spent £35bn more than she would have, if she had remained at No 10.

The short-lived PM will use a speech on Monday to defend her time in charge, nearly a year on from the ill-fated mini-Budget that helped end her premiership after only six weeks.

In his most frank interview yet, Mr Kwarteng questioned Ms Truss’ temperament and claimed she would have “blown up” something – even if the pair had escaped the mess of the autumn statement.

“I love her dearly, she’s a great person, very sincere and honest,” he told the Telegraph’s political editor in a new book. “But if it hadn’t been the mini-Budget, she would have blown up on something else.”

The former chancellor added: “I just don’t think her temperament was right. She was just not wired to be a prime minister.”

Mr Kwarteng revealed in a new book by Ben Riley-Smith, The Right to Rule, that he thought his sacking by Ms Truss only six days before her own exit was “completely insane”.

Summoned to her office after a trip to Washington DC amid economic turmoil, Ms Truss was said to be in tears at having to fire him. ‘They’re going to come after you now,” Mr Kwarteng.

He added: “They’re going to ask you: If you’ve sacked him for doing what you campaigned on, why are you still there?”

Told Jeremy Hunt was going to replace him, Mr Kwarteng fumed: “Hunt?! He’s going to reverse everything.!” Before leaving he told the PM: “You’ve got three weeks.’”

It also emerged that the Truss government consider a radically right-wing proposal for a flat tax on income of 20 per cent, submitted by then business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg. The idea was reportedly referred to as “full Estonia” by senior Tories – but was rejected by Mr Kwarteng.

Despite a fresh round of scrutiny and criticism of the mini-Budget, Ms Truss is set to defend her ideas at a speech at the Institute for Government and criticise Mr Sunak’s economic policy.

Ms Truss will reportedly point out that under her plans £18.4bn would have been saved in 2023/24, with another £17.1bn in 2024/25.

She will claim the PM was wrong to put more into public services since taking office, and will say she wanted to save money by increasing benefits with wages rather than the higher rate of inflation.

“Even those modest savings did not command the support of the parliamentary party,” Ms Truss is expected to say. “It is a very serious issue for those of us who want to see smaller government that currently making significant changes to spending simply doesn’t have enough political support.”

The comments are set to spark another round of infighting, with some the Tory right keen to see spending cuts to pay for tax reductions.

Andy Street, the influential Tory mayor of the West Midlands, warned Mr Sunak against the idea of a real-terms to benefits – thought to be under consideration. He told the Observer a rise in line with inflation “has to happen again, because that’s a real symbol”.

Meanwhile, Labour said Britain’s homeowners have taken a hit of more than £300bn in the year since the Truss mini-Budget.

The party pointed to a fall of around 5 per cent in house prices since September 2022 – saying it meant UK households have seen £336bn wiped off the value of their property in the last year.

Pat McFadden, Labour’s shadow Cabinet Office minister, said families continued to suffer “thanks to Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous casino economics”.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 13006.html

[Woody]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66852333

Prices will rise faster in the UK than any other advanced economy this year, a forecast suggests.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said UK inflation would average 7.2% in 2023.
The think tank said this would be the highest rate in the G7 group, which includes the US, Germany, France, Japan, Canada and Italy.
The government said it was confident it was "on the right track to halve inflation" by the end of 2023.
It added that the OECD's forecast "illustrates yet again why we need to stick to the plan that we have set out".

[Boac]

So, to use BM's code, 'Steer Calmer' is now positioning himself with clear ?blue? water (if we have any any more) between himself and Risky Shipwreck by speaking 'avec'. I do think Risky needs some ocean-going tugs. However, in true statesman-like manner, Starmer apparently presented the Micron with an Arsenal shirt??

However, in the nick of time, OHL appears to be training up to be our new Ambassador, so all is not perdue.

[Boac]

Which 'advisor' in No10 allowed Shipwreck to use a furrin car (and let's hope it wasn't an electric one, eh...?

Nyh7rbr4.jpg (53.95 KiB) Viewed 558 times

[CharlieOneSix]

The Kia Rio is being discontinued for the 2024 model......probably a similar fate for Sunak?

[OneHungLow]

So, to use BM's code, 'Steer Calmer' is now positioning himself with clear ?blue? water (if we have any any more) between himself and Risky Shipwreck by speaking 'avec'. I do think Risky needs some ocean-going tugs. However, in true statesman-like manner, Starmer apparently presented the Micron with an Arsenal shirt??

However, in the nick of time, OHL appears to be training up to be our new Ambassador, so all is not perdue.

Like Risky Shipwreck, Steer Calmer is also a bit of an arse and all.

As for diplomacy, I salute the image of Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord every evening .

A bientot mes amis!

[Woody]

Can anyone find out when these measures were actually announced, or is Rishi talking complete bollocks again

[OneHungLow]

Wes for PM...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wes_Streeting

[Boac]

The furore over the murder charge against the armed policeman has erupted into 'industrial action' by the force, which I can to some extent understand. It will be revealing to know what orders the policeman was given before he murdered Chris Kaba, and will we have another Jean Charles de Menezes situation? The CPS seem to have sufficient knowledge to bring the charge, but if the policeman had been ordered to use lethal force to stop the vehicle the issue becomes somewhat clouded.

Unfortunately the Met do not shine in terms of organisation and good decisions.

[Woody]

Suella Braverman getting involved, no wonder Officers are so worried.

Suella Braverman has said armed police must not fear "ending up in the dock for carrying out their duties" after a marksman was charged with murder.
The home secretary ordered a review into armed policing after dozens of officers in London handed in their weapons, saying they were worried about the murder charge.
Unarmed Chris Kaba, 24, died after he was shot in south London last year.
A Metropolitan Police officer appeared in court on Thursday.
Ms Braverman said on Sunday that officers have to make "split-second decisions" and risk "their lives to keep us safe".
The Met said many firearms officers were "worried" about how the charging decision "impacts on them".

[OFSO]

I just love the phrase "costs are spiralling out of control". Implied is all by themselves, "Oh my look what the costs are doing to us! Wicked wicked costs! "
No suggestion that bad management is to blame.
In my previous working life I was involved in many space-related projects that took decades to come to fruition and cost millions, sometimes billions. Never knew one that didn't complete on time and on price, and many then enjoyed lifetimes three or four times what was planned.

[OneHungLow]

It seems that the idiot, sometime actor, and would be "musician" Laurence Fox has finally had "the bozo bit flipped!"...

GB News has suspended former actor Laurence Fox following his “vile” and “misogynistic” rant about a female journalist on a segment broadcast by the channel.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, the channel said: “GB News has formally suspended Laurence Fox while we continue our investigation into comments he made on the channel last night.

“Mr Fox’s suspension is effective immediately and he has been taken off air. We will be apologising formally to Ms Evans today.”

It comes after Fox said he stood by “every word” of his “vile” tirade about female journalist Ava Evans, whom he called a “little woman”.

Fox said on X: “I stand by every word of what I said. I am totally within my rights to say that I wouldn’t want to shag a hyper offended 4th wave feminist and not apologise.”

In the segment, Fox said “Show me a single self-respecting man that would like to climb into bed with that woman ever, ever, who wasn’t an incel.”

“We don’t need these sorts of feminist 4.0. They’re pathetic and embarrassing. Who’d want to shag that?”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/h ... 19338.html

[Woody]

GB News has suspended host Laurence Fox after he denigrated a journalist and asked what "self-respecting man" would "climb into bed" with her.
His comments were made in a live discussion after PoliticsJOE reporter Ava Evans said on the BBC that calls for a minister for men "feed into the culture war".
Evans said Fox's remarks made her feel "physically sick".
GB News said it would formally apologise to Evans.
The broadcaster distanced itself from Fox's comments shortly after they were aired, with a statement describing the remarks as "totally unacceptable".
In a later statement issued on Wednesday morning, a GB News spokesperson said: "GB News has formally suspended Laurence Fox while we continue our investigation into comments he made on the channel last night.
"Mr Fox's suspension is effective immediately and he has been taken off air. We will be apologising formally to Ms Evans today."

[Woody]

Bet his bank manager will want him to keep going

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66933825

[tango15]

I suspect that this is one of the reasons why the next stage of HS2 is likely to be cancelled. Whenever there's a huge government contract, it doesn't take long for the snouts to find the trough and begin to pay themselves ridiculous salaries. The next layer of management down says, "I'll have some of that" and so it goes on. Perhaps if nothing else, it will remind some of these people that a considerable portion of what has been spent so far has come from the hard-pressed taxpayer, most of whom would never have a good reason to use the service. I imagine that many taxpayers would prefer to see an improvement in other areas of the transport infrastructure. Mending potholes and totally re-surfacing many roads would be a good start.

[OFSO]

Another child murder, 15 year-old-girl stabbed in the throat with a machete. Enoch was right.