Monday 17-06-26 Achievements and Challenges

To record my achievements today, I have read #5 and #6 of the current Daredevil series. It's good to see the writers address the big challenges first; already The Hand and Elektra have appeared. Elektra's story arc has just started in #6, but I am looking forward to it.

I'm also nearly up to date on the current Private Eye, which is supposed to cover up to 29th June or so.

The challenges I want to record are not mine, they are the challenges facing the current Conservative government. I am not sure that any government has faced the number of challenges that the current government is facing. To enumerate those challenges, they are:

1. A minority government. Totally self-inflicted this one, they will need to (and have) guaranteed the support of the DUP. As a result of this, challenge #2 is


2. Keeping the Scots and the Welsh onside. By handing out large sums to N. Ireland, the current govt. have opened the doors to the "provinces" to request extra funding. Not to mention


3. The Good Friday Agreement. By bringing the DUP into a "confidence and supply" (I'm not too sure either, but stay with me) agreement, they have upset Sinn Fein, the Nationalist / Catholic faction in Northern Ireland. Currently DUP and Sinn Fein are supposed to be sharing power in Northern Ireland, but due to a bit of posturing - in my opinion - the power-sharing agreement collapsed in March or so and is still inactive. Possibly we may have to reimpose direct rule on Northern Ireland, which would be a step backwards. The British Government is supposed to act as a neutral arbiter, and that would seem to be difficult when the DUP are supporting the British Government and giving them legitimacy in Westminster.


4. Brexit. The first item for discussion has been the status of EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU. The UK offering seems to be that EU citizens will be treated the same as non-EU citizens, i.e., the individual will need to build up five years' worth of residency before they are seen as equivalent to UK citizens. In my view, if the offer to the EU is not different to the offer to non-EU countries, we may as well revert to WTO terms now. From this particular issue, if you extrapolate attitudes, it would seem that the negotiation teams are adopting a "hard Brexit" approach.


5. The Corbyn Surge. In the recent General Election (GE), Corbyn & Labour did very well versus expectations. I think that because "the Nation" has seen that Labour were "successful" in this GE, if there is another one then more voters will be persuaded to vote for Labour. In my part of the world, I think that the campaign for school funding (Save Our Schools) certainly had an impact on voting patterns - although, as a corollary, the Conservative vote in my area also increased.


6. Fallback to Conservative support. In the recent GE approx. 40% voted Conservative and 40% voted Labour. There have been a number of articles written about how we as a Nation have reverted to a two party system. The result of the GE was a Hung Parliament, and as a result Theresa May reached out to a more "conservative" party for support rather than one of the "progressive" parties, such as the Greens (one individual), or the LibDems, or the SNP. By reverting to socially conservative support, I think Theresa May and the Conservative party open themselves to accusations of non-inclusiveness.


7. Lame duck leadership. Theresa May went into the GE stating that she wanted to cement her mandate for Brexit; instead, she lost her majority and so we are left with a hung parliament. As a result, she is seen as a "caretaker PM" at best and at worst other candidates are being suggested as a "stalking horse" or a "caretaker PM" (e.g., Hammond). Johnson is of course being touted as a successor, albeit a divisive one, and it was even suggested on Robert Peston's show that Priti Patel might throw her hat into the ring. From my outsider perspective, I can't see that there is any definite replacement for May.

Jeez, did we get up to seven? Like I said, Theresa May faces challenges on a number of different fronts. On The Last Leg they tried to demonstrate this by having a Theresa May lookalike juggle a number of balls. It was a good visual demonstration of the challenges she faces. However,  these challenges may fade, it may be that these will resolve themselves.

 

As a footnote, I'm not a Labour party member. I voted for the Labour party in 1997, but I am probably a natural LibDem supporter. I thought David Cameron was a good thing for the Tory party when he took the leadership, but he became a bit dismissive towards the end of his premiership. I'd like to think that I have an even view over the political landscape, but I would take the fair accusation that I have less time to entertain right-wing arguments. I respect rightwingers such as Tim Montgomerie, Dan Hannan, and Douglas Carswell, they fully believe what they are arguing; I just think that they are arguing from the wrong starting point. But that is a personal perspective, and of course it is open to challenge.

 

TTFN

Sunday 17-06-25 Tablet Lust

It's got to that time again, where I am casting around for a new(-ish) tablet. You may be aware that I quite like the Microsoft Surface line, and I actually bought a broken one a couple of weeks ago. It's currently back on sale on eBay here.

But I have decided that the tablet that I would really quite like is this one: the Samsung Tab A 10.1" :



I was watching one of these on eBay again and it eventually sold, at the last minute, for £130. The RRP is £230 for the wi-fi version, or £280 for the 4G model. The trouble was that the seller hadn't included any pictures, or I may have bid on it. Someone got a bargain, I hope.

So I shall save up some money, maybe, and see what I can get. To be honest though, I don't really use my current tablet often enough to warrant spending £230 on a new one. That won't stop me lusting after a new shiny though...!

17-06-19 Brexit Again

I've seen a lot of political commentators over the past few days state that 85% of the UK population voted for Brexit in the General Election that happened a few days ago.

I've got to say, I reckon that is rubbish.

A lot of people voted Conservative, and a lot of people voted Labour. I have to assume that Labour voters wanted to remove the Conservatives from power, and the fact that Brexit was part of their manifesto was a minor consideration if at all.

Before we started discussing Brexit and before we scheduled the Referendum, our membership of the European Union was irrelevant to most people. A couple of headbangers in the Conservative party, and UKIP, were obsessed by it, but to the rest of us, laws were laws and it was irrelevant where they came from, whether Parliament or the EU via the UK Parliament.

Since the Referendum was settled I think the issue has become less important again. A lot of people who voted Remain think we should proceed with Brexit anyway. In their view, it is settled. We voted, the majority voted Leave, so let's get on with it.

I don't see how we can avoid Brexit without a second referendum. I would be happy to see a second referendum, but I don't see how such a referendum could be called.

But I didn't vote the way I did because the party promised Brexit. I voted because I wanted domestic change. If there were a way to engineer Remaining, I would support that.

So I, for one, didn't vote for Brexit.

TTFN.

Monday 17-06-19 London to Brighton Bike Ride

Really proud of TW, she did the London to Brighton bike ride yesterday. She trained properly, did a number of long cycle rides, especially along the Downs Link. The only thing she didn't account for was the extreme heat - it must have been 30 degrees at least. Here is her post about why she did it and what she achieved. I was happy to be able to support her, to take her to Clapham on Saturday night, to make sure that we were all (Mum & Dad, the MiL and GiL, our kids - 2 out of 3 ain't bad - and friends) there to see her as she crossed the line. She did a great thing, she's raised over a thousand pounds for the BHF and she had a good time too. I gave her a little massage last night as she was getting ready for bed, I don't know if it helped (I really hate massages) but she seemed her usual chipper self today, and had no complaints. She went swimming this afternoon. Apparently she nearly signed up for next year's ride, since the link is now open, but I think she probably won't do it. Her next aim is a triathlon. Fair play, I hope she enjoys it as much as she did the L2B and the Park Runs she's been putting in recently.

TTFN.

Saturday 17-06-03 Leaders' Question Time

Well, I think that was an unedifying experience. Neither May nor Corbyn will have attracted new voters. May didn't seem to make an emotional attachment with the audience, and whereas Corbyn was more engaged he took a hammering on the nuclear question.

May told a nurse that there was "no magic money tree", which seems to be the new Tory catchphrase, either replacing or complementing "strong & stable". The Tories have been in government for seven years, so they should have shaped the economy by now so that there is extra money to at least keep nurses on a steady wage. And we wake up to Fallon's promise not to raise taxes, which is a blow to low earners and those who rely on the state to top up their meagre earnings.

If we don't have enough money to provide the level of public services which we have come to expect, then I think the only option is to raise taxes. Our continental cousins pay higher tax rates, and they invest a higher percentage of their GDP in public services - maybe it is time we took a closer look at that. I for one am surprised that "social care" and "health care" are two different services, and in my opinion they should be combined. I would also be prepared to pay more tax over my lifetime to avoid a "death tax" or a "dementia tax".

Corbyn had one line that cut through, when he was talking about terrorism and using nuclear weapons, and that was that sometimes you do have to talk to people you don't like, in order to bring about peace. He did look uncomfortable by the end of the session, but that may have been the lights and the heat of the studio.

On a related note, the protest song "Liar Liar" has reached number four in the UK charts, so it will be in the top ten next Thursday, the day of the General Election.