This country is f****d. And it was the Tories “what done it”! Kick the ruthless, incompetent, greedy “basterds” out! – © Mark Alexander
Showing posts with label UK economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UK economy. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Jonathan Pie: Recession Hits
This country is f****d. And it was the Tories “what done it”! Kick the ruthless, incompetent, greedy “basterds” out! – © Mark Alexander
Saturday, February 17, 2024
Michael Lambert: Rishi's Recession and Chaos - All Part of the Plan?
Feb 17, 2024 | Last week Rishi Sunak repeatedly claimed that the UK had turned the corner and that his unspecified plan was working. It was also announced that the UK had been in recession during the last two quarters of 2023.
Sunak's previous employer, Goldman Sachs, published a damning report blaming Brexit for much of the UK's current economic problems.
Social services, the NHS, schools, the Courts, prisons and the military are all desperately in need of further funding and better management. At the same time businesses continue to suffer.
In two by elections at Wellingborough and at Kingsword, the Tories were trounced whilst Reform UK gained 11% in one and 13% of the votes in the other, showing themselves to be a serious threat to the Conservatives at the general election especially if Nigel Farage returns as leader.
Sunak's previous employer, Goldman Sachs, published a damning report blaming Brexit for much of the UK's current economic problems.
Social services, the NHS, schools, the Courts, prisons and the military are all desperately in need of further funding and better management. At the same time businesses continue to suffer.
In two by elections at Wellingborough and at Kingsword, the Tories were trounced whilst Reform UK gained 11% in one and 13% of the votes in the other, showing themselves to be a serious threat to the Conservatives at the general election especially if Nigel Farage returns as leader.
Saturday, January 06, 2024
Michael Lambert: 'Going for Growth' - Where Is This Growth Coming from?
Jan 6, 2024 | The UK economy is in a terrible state of decline following Brexit. The NHS is in chaos with a waiting list approaching 8 million. Qualified doctors who are known as junior doctors earn £15 per hour and are on strike. Others are leaving the NHS.
The UK has the lowest state pensions in Europe. Real wages have not increased since 2007 and there has been the biggest fall in living standards since the 1950's.
Sewage is routinely tipped into our rivers and sea by private, often foreign-owned water companies. City centres are derelict with boarded up shops, grafitti and rough sleepers. Rishi Sunak continues to rush around telling us that everything is going so well and that he is going to cut taxes despite the dire state of the economy.
Keir Starmer, who will almost certainly be prime minister before the end of this year, continues to claim that he will 'Make Brexit Work' and will do so by going for growth without explaining how that will happen.
In the meantime, the rich are getting richer, inequality is increasing and the government plans to go after the poor by taxing anyone selling goods online and by secretly inspecting the bank accounts of anyone claiming benefits.
Another excellent synopsis of the dystopia that the UK has become under the Tories. Whichever way one slices it, the UK has become a chaotic mess under the Conservatives – the Party which once prided itself on being the serious party that knew how to govern, the serious party one could depend on for sensible politics, the party which cleared up messes created by others. They didn't indulge in making them themselves.
There is absolutely no doubt about it. Brexit has been a disaster; and it will continue to be one for this nation.
Our corrupt and incompetent politicians are living in the land of make-believe. – © Mark Alexander
The UK has the lowest state pensions in Europe. Real wages have not increased since 2007 and there has been the biggest fall in living standards since the 1950's.
Sewage is routinely tipped into our rivers and sea by private, often foreign-owned water companies. City centres are derelict with boarded up shops, grafitti and rough sleepers. Rishi Sunak continues to rush around telling us that everything is going so well and that he is going to cut taxes despite the dire state of the economy.
Keir Starmer, who will almost certainly be prime minister before the end of this year, continues to claim that he will 'Make Brexit Work' and will do so by going for growth without explaining how that will happen.
In the meantime, the rich are getting richer, inequality is increasing and the government plans to go after the poor by taxing anyone selling goods online and by secretly inspecting the bank accounts of anyone claiming benefits.
Another excellent synopsis of the dystopia that the UK has become under the Tories. Whichever way one slices it, the UK has become a chaotic mess under the Conservatives – the Party which once prided itself on being the serious party that knew how to govern, the serious party one could depend on for sensible politics, the party which cleared up messes created by others. They didn't indulge in making them themselves.
There is absolutely no doubt about it. Brexit has been a disaster; and it will continue to be one for this nation.
Our corrupt and incompetent politicians are living in the land of make-believe. – © Mark Alexander
Saturday, December 30, 2023
The Telegraph: “Britain to Outgrow Germany for Years to Come as Eurozone Growth Engine Stutters”
THE TELEGRAPH: High interest rates risk plunging Europe into recession while UK expected to rebound
UK growth will outpace Germany and the eurozone for years to come as the Continent faces a deeper recession caused by higher interest rates.
While both the German and UK economies shrank in the three months to September, putting both at risk of recession, analysts at UBS expect Britain to bounce back within a year.
That is unlike Europe’s largest economy. Berlin is already grappling with a budget crisis after Germany’s top court ruled that the government broke the law by using Covid cash to fund net zero spending.
House prices across the country have also suffered double-digit declines. » | Tim Wallace | Friday, December 29, 2023
If you believe this cr**, you’ll believe ANYTHING! There is no way that the weak UK economy is going to outgrow the much stronger German economy. The only way that this might be made to appear so is by the use of sophistry in statistics.
Diese Behauptung ist lächerlich! Die deutsche Wirtschaft in den kommenden Jahren wird mit geringem Aufwand schneller wachsen als die britische Wirtschaft. Die deutsche Wirtschaft wird in keiner Weise von Großbritannien entwachsen sein. Überhaupt nicht! Schön wäre es für uns Briten; aber dies wird nicht passieren. – © Mark Alexander
UK growth will outpace Germany and the eurozone for years to come as the Continent faces a deeper recession caused by higher interest rates.
While both the German and UK economies shrank in the three months to September, putting both at risk of recession, analysts at UBS expect Britain to bounce back within a year.
That is unlike Europe’s largest economy. Berlin is already grappling with a budget crisis after Germany’s top court ruled that the government broke the law by using Covid cash to fund net zero spending.
House prices across the country have also suffered double-digit declines. » | Tim Wallace | Friday, December 29, 2023
If you believe this cr**, you’ll believe ANYTHING! There is no way that the weak UK economy is going to outgrow the much stronger German economy. The only way that this might be made to appear so is by the use of sophistry in statistics.
Diese Behauptung ist lächerlich! Die deutsche Wirtschaft in den kommenden Jahren wird mit geringem Aufwand schneller wachsen als die britische Wirtschaft. Die deutsche Wirtschaft wird in keiner Weise von Großbritannien entwachsen sein. Überhaupt nicht! Schön wäre es für uns Briten; aber dies wird nicht passieren. – © Mark Alexander
Saturday, December 02, 2023
Michael Lambert: UK Has No Future Outside the EU
Dec 2, 2023 | The UK economy is in a very bad state. Cost of living crisis, high taxes, NHS and other public services in crisis, businesses collapsing and councils going bankrupt.
Rishi Sunak caused a diplomatic incident this week by refusing to meet the Greek Prime Minister after he had responded to a question from Laura Kuenssberg about the Elgin Marbles.
Sunak, King Charles and David Cameron each flew to the Cop28 in the UAE in separate planes where Sunak would be the Prime Minister who had rolled back on EVA's and was presiding over the opening of a new coal mine and giving hundreds of new licences for oil exploration in the North Sea.
Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England said Britain's growth outlook was the worst he had ever seen and that there would be little or no growth for the next two years.
The EU has done a better trade deal with New Zealand than the one negotiated with the UK. Eurozone inflation at 2.4% is half that of the UK.
Sunak for the Conservative Party and Starmer for Labour both say they will resolve the UK's problems with economic growth. But where will this growth come from? The UK is struggling noticeably and, at the same time China is rapidly becoming the world champion of green technology and the U.S. is investing hundreds of billions of dollars.
Alone, outside of the EU, the UK has no future and more and more people are coming to understand this. 92% of young people and over 60% of the population believe that we would be better off inside the EU. Ursula von der Leyen has said that the UK is on a clear direction of travel toward rejoining the EU. Michel Barnier has said repeatedly that the door is always open for the UK to return. It is likely that the UK will begin negotiations towards rejoining the EU sooner rather than later
Michael, this is a superb analysis of the dire situation this country finds itself in. I agree with your conclusion that we will re-join the EU sooner rather than later. If we don't, this country is going to be in deep, deep trouble.
Rishi Sunak, as you rightly say, is pathetic; further, his snubbing of the Greek prime minister was, quite frankly, rude in the extreme. The man has shown a total lack of savoir-vivre. In good, plain English, the man showed his ignorance!
We are living through very depressing times indeed. Our politicians aren't making our lives any easier, either. Never mind! Onwards and upwards! We'll arrive home in the EU sooner than we might think. The hill is steep, so the climb is going to be tough, but it can be climbed. To borrow from the motto of my old grammar school, I will say: We ought. We will. We must. – © Mark Alexander
Rishi Sunak caused a diplomatic incident this week by refusing to meet the Greek Prime Minister after he had responded to a question from Laura Kuenssberg about the Elgin Marbles.
Sunak, King Charles and David Cameron each flew to the Cop28 in the UAE in separate planes where Sunak would be the Prime Minister who had rolled back on EVA's and was presiding over the opening of a new coal mine and giving hundreds of new licences for oil exploration in the North Sea.
Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England said Britain's growth outlook was the worst he had ever seen and that there would be little or no growth for the next two years.
The EU has done a better trade deal with New Zealand than the one negotiated with the UK. Eurozone inflation at 2.4% is half that of the UK.
Sunak for the Conservative Party and Starmer for Labour both say they will resolve the UK's problems with economic growth. But where will this growth come from? The UK is struggling noticeably and, at the same time China is rapidly becoming the world champion of green technology and the U.S. is investing hundreds of billions of dollars.
Alone, outside of the EU, the UK has no future and more and more people are coming to understand this. 92% of young people and over 60% of the population believe that we would be better off inside the EU. Ursula von der Leyen has said that the UK is on a clear direction of travel toward rejoining the EU. Michel Barnier has said repeatedly that the door is always open for the UK to return. It is likely that the UK will begin negotiations towards rejoining the EU sooner rather than later
Michael, this is a superb analysis of the dire situation this country finds itself in. I agree with your conclusion that we will re-join the EU sooner rather than later. If we don't, this country is going to be in deep, deep trouble.
Rishi Sunak, as you rightly say, is pathetic; further, his snubbing of the Greek prime minister was, quite frankly, rude in the extreme. The man has shown a total lack of savoir-vivre. In good, plain English, the man showed his ignorance!
We are living through very depressing times indeed. Our politicians aren't making our lives any easier, either. Never mind! Onwards and upwards! We'll arrive home in the EU sooner than we might think. The hill is steep, so the climb is going to be tough, but it can be climbed. To borrow from the motto of my old grammar school, I will say: We ought. We will. We must. – © Mark Alexander
Saturday, November 18, 2023
Brits on the Edge | ARTE.tv Documentary
WELCOME to TORY Britain after years of Thatcherism and Brexit!
Über die schlechten Umstände in denen so viele Briten nun seit Thatcherismus und Brexit leben müssen, schäme ich mich ganz und gar.
Dies ist nicht das Großbritannien, auf das ich als Kind stolz war und das ich früher verehrte. Aufeinanderfolgende Tory-Regierungen haben so viele Menschen in die Armut und einige sogar ins Elend gestürzt.
Dieses Land muss diese Regierung schleunigst aus dem Amt werfen. Um sich zu erholen, bräuchte es vielleicht sogar eine Revolution. – © Mark Alexander
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
IMF Says UK Faces Five More Years of High Interest Rates
BBC: The UK faces another five years of high interest rates to stem rising prices, an influential global group has warned.
The International Monetary Fund expects the UK to have the highest inflation and slowest growth next year of any G7 economy including the US, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and Japan.
However, the Treasury said recent revisions to UK growth had not been factored in to the IMF's report.
The outlook was drawn up before this weekend's developments in Israel. » | Lucy Hooker & Faisal Islam, BBC News | Tuesday, October 10, 2023
The International Monetary Fund expects the UK to have the highest inflation and slowest growth next year of any G7 economy including the US, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and Japan.
However, the Treasury said recent revisions to UK growth had not been factored in to the IMF's report.
The outlook was drawn up before this weekend's developments in Israel. » | Lucy Hooker & Faisal Islam, BBC News | Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Saturday, September 23, 2023
Michael Lambert: Why the UK Is in Such a MESS
Sep 23, 2023 | This week Rishi Sunak announced that he was cancelling five items of obscure ideas for possible legislation. This was bizarre. He delayed and amended the net zero programme against his manifesto commitments and to the annoyance of many. Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister and a few colleagues took a 160-seat plane to New York to at huge cost to the taxpayer.
Sunak heads a cabinet of 30 which includes 30 ministers, 20 of whom voted to remain in the EU. Keir Starmer heads a shadow cabinet all of whom voted to remain in the EU.
In the meantime, the consequences of Brexit are becoming more and more evident. Businesses are failing, inward investment depends upon huge grants being given to companies such as Tata, owned by a friend of the Prime Minister's father-in-law.
The cost-of-living continues to be a huge problem. The NHS HAS 7 million patients awaiting treatment, the immigration service, the police, crime, education, etc, are all in crisis. Councils ARE going bankrupt; and yet Sunak and Starmer are both preaching support for Brexit.
Sunak heads a cabinet of 30 which includes 30 ministers, 20 of whom voted to remain in the EU. Keir Starmer heads a shadow cabinet all of whom voted to remain in the EU.
In the meantime, the consequences of Brexit are becoming more and more evident. Businesses are failing, inward investment depends upon huge grants being given to companies such as Tata, owned by a friend of the Prime Minister's father-in-law.
The cost-of-living continues to be a huge problem. The NHS HAS 7 million patients awaiting treatment, the immigration service, the police, crime, education, etc, are all in crisis. Councils ARE going bankrupt; and yet Sunak and Starmer are both preaching support for Brexit.
Friday, September 01, 2023
Biggest House Price Fall for 14 Years - with 'Significant' Further Drop Expected
THE TELEGRAPH: Property values are now down 5.3pc from their peak, as interest rate rises bite
House prices have fallen by close to £15,000 in the biggest annual slump for 14 years.
Property values are down 5.3pc from their peak in August last year, leaving the market in its weakest state since 2009, new figures show.
Economists warned the drop marked the start of further “significant” falls to come.
A typical home has lost £14,600 of its value in the past 12 months, following a sharp rise in mortgage rates and a cooling in the market, according to Britain’s biggest building society Nationwide. » | Tom Haynes | Friday, September 1, 2023
House prices have fallen by close to £15,000 in the biggest annual slump for 14 years.
Property values are down 5.3pc from their peak in August last year, leaving the market in its weakest state since 2009, new figures show.
Economists warned the drop marked the start of further “significant” falls to come.
A typical home has lost £14,600 of its value in the past 12 months, following a sharp rise in mortgage rates and a cooling in the market, according to Britain’s biggest building society Nationwide. » | Tom Haynes | Friday, September 1, 2023
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Michael Lambert: Another Week of Chaos and Failure in Brexit Britain
Aug 26, 2023 | This week, there has been a further stream of news stories reflecting the dire state of the UK following Brexit. The government is about to announce a fifth delay to import controls for goods coming into the UK from the EU.
Business confidence is the lowest since 2008: inward investment has just about dried up and our investment in semiconductor research is dwarfed by that of the EU, America and China.
Small firms continue to find it almost impossible to trade with the EU. Musicians and other performers can no longer work in the EU because of new bureaucracy.
The number of asylum seekers waiting for decisions from the Home Office has risen from 7720 in 2010 to over 175,000 now.
Workers from the EU are no longer welcome in the UK and yet the government is advertising in Argentina, Chile, South Korea and in several EU countries for people between the ages of 18 and 30 to come and work in the UK. Furthermore, visas for work, study, healthcare and for families are being granted in ever increasing number to people in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
Rishi Sunak said he had inadvertently mislead the House of Commons Liaison Committee when talking of a scheme which one of his wife's companies was involved in. Also, it was revealed that Liz Truss had spent £1.8 billion on 20 flights whilst Foreign Secretary.
HMRC are about to move 9000 employees into a new office in Newcastle owned by a Tory donor whose business is based in a tax haven.
The LibDems have asked for water companies to cease pouring sewage into the sea for the bank holiday weekend. Thames Water which began with no debt now owes £14.7 billion and has paid out £7.2 billion in dividends over the past few years.
School trips both to and from the EU have virtually come to an end.
The brain drain of scientists, and others, continues. Crime, especially shoplifting, is increasing even in affluent Chiswick. And Michelle Mone has been seen eating in one of Mayfair's most expensive restaurants.
According to Professor John Curtice, in a poll of polls, 64% now believe the leaving the EU was a mistake. Since the majority of those who still believe Brexit was the correct decision are almost certainly Conservative supporters, it seems that Keir Starmer is following a policy designed to appeal to that very tiny minority.
Business confidence is the lowest since 2008: inward investment has just about dried up and our investment in semiconductor research is dwarfed by that of the EU, America and China.
Small firms continue to find it almost impossible to trade with the EU. Musicians and other performers can no longer work in the EU because of new bureaucracy.
The number of asylum seekers waiting for decisions from the Home Office has risen from 7720 in 2010 to over 175,000 now.
Workers from the EU are no longer welcome in the UK and yet the government is advertising in Argentina, Chile, South Korea and in several EU countries for people between the ages of 18 and 30 to come and work in the UK. Furthermore, visas for work, study, healthcare and for families are being granted in ever increasing number to people in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
Rishi Sunak said he had inadvertently mislead the House of Commons Liaison Committee when talking of a scheme which one of his wife's companies was involved in. Also, it was revealed that Liz Truss had spent £1.8 billion on 20 flights whilst Foreign Secretary.
HMRC are about to move 9000 employees into a new office in Newcastle owned by a Tory donor whose business is based in a tax haven.
The LibDems have asked for water companies to cease pouring sewage into the sea for the bank holiday weekend. Thames Water which began with no debt now owes £14.7 billion and has paid out £7.2 billion in dividends over the past few years.
School trips both to and from the EU have virtually come to an end.
The brain drain of scientists, and others, continues. Crime, especially shoplifting, is increasing even in affluent Chiswick. And Michelle Mone has been seen eating in one of Mayfair's most expensive restaurants.
According to Professor John Curtice, in a poll of polls, 64% now believe the leaving the EU was a mistake. Since the majority of those who still believe Brexit was the correct decision are almost certainly Conservative supporters, it seems that Keir Starmer is following a policy designed to appeal to that very tiny minority.
Sunday, August 13, 2023
Let’s Stop Kidding Ourselves We’re a Rich Nation and Get Real… the UK’s Gone Bust
THE OBSERVER – OPINION: Britain depends on the kindness of strangers to get by in the world. It doesn’t have to be like this
ritain has its back against the wall to an extent unparalleled in its peacetime history. In all the other financial struggles we have faced – the currency crises of 1931, 1949, 1976 and 1992 – we could fight our way out by belt-tightening and devaluing the pound within a structure of secure trading relationships, anchored first by empire and later the EU.
Our international assets exceeded our liabilities by a huge degree. Our national debt was well structured, built on long-term bonds whose servicing requirements were always manageable. We retained great industrial strengths. We were fundamentally creditworthy. Even when the financial crisis broke in 2007/8, the low national debt meant the country could put its balance sheet behind its banks and bail them out.
None of that is true today. The UK has been living beyond its means in every way. Internationally, we are no longer a creditor nation. We depend on the “kindness of strangers”, in the famous words of former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, to support our currency, as our liabilities to foreigners exceed our assets by 30% of GDP and growing. Our fading industrial base produces permanent current account deficits, which since 2000 cumulatively exceed £1.5tn: rather than belt tighten, we have chosen to run up debt and sell our assets to foreigners in vast quantities to maintain our living standards. Nor do we have empire or the EU anchoring our trade. We are alone. » | Will Hutton | Sunday, August 13, 2023
ritain has its back against the wall to an extent unparalleled in its peacetime history. In all the other financial struggles we have faced – the currency crises of 1931, 1949, 1976 and 1992 – we could fight our way out by belt-tightening and devaluing the pound within a structure of secure trading relationships, anchored first by empire and later the EU.
Our international assets exceeded our liabilities by a huge degree. Our national debt was well structured, built on long-term bonds whose servicing requirements were always manageable. We retained great industrial strengths. We were fundamentally creditworthy. Even when the financial crisis broke in 2007/8, the low national debt meant the country could put its balance sheet behind its banks and bail them out.
None of that is true today. The UK has been living beyond its means in every way. Internationally, we are no longer a creditor nation. We depend on the “kindness of strangers”, in the famous words of former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, to support our currency, as our liabilities to foreigners exceed our assets by 30% of GDP and growing. Our fading industrial base produces permanent current account deficits, which since 2000 cumulatively exceed £1.5tn: rather than belt tighten, we have chosen to run up debt and sell our assets to foreigners in vast quantities to maintain our living standards. Nor do we have empire or the EU anchoring our trade. We are alone. » | Will Hutton | Sunday, August 13, 2023
Saturday, July 29, 2023
Michael Lambert: Feeble Sunak Unable to Fix Tory Chaos
Jul 29, 2023 | The prime minister Rishi Sunak is weak and pathetic. He is afraid of his backbenchers, the Home Secretary and the press.
With the next general election to be held within the next fifteen months the Tories appear to have decided that having no successes to boast about, their strategy will be to make negative claims about Labour. Rishi Sunak has claimed that Labour are on the side of criminal people smuggling gangs.
In response to the Uxbridge byelection result the Tories announced that they would be modifying their green policies to woo voters whilst Keir Starmer asked Sadiq Khan the mayor of London to reconsider his ULEZ policy.
There are huge problems facing the country, including the economy, interest rates, highest taxes for 70 years, massive public debt, NHS, productivity etc and yet the main story on all channels and the press last week has the bank account of Nigel Farage , the man without whom Brexit would never have happened.
The Home Secretary #suellabraverman continues to persist with her authoritarian policies of making asylum seekers as unwelcome as possible. She and Jenrick appear to enjoy being cruel to unfortunate asylum seekers whilst Sunak says nothing.
My (Michael Lambert’s) book is available from my website. The bucket hats will also be available in a few weeks’ time.
A brilliant synopsis. Thank you!
It has become increasingly obvious to me that I have lived through the best years that I am ever going to live through in my life. I am pretty sure that those good years will never be replicated; they will never return in my lifetime.
I am one of the baby-boomers; so, I had the privilege of growing up in the post-War years, a period which was filled with hope, optimism, increasing openness and tolerance. Most of my parents’ generation who had had to live through the Second World War were determined that their children would never have to live through the dire circumstances and deprivations that so many had had to live through during the War years.
It cannot be said that in post-War Britain life was rosy for everyone; of course, it wasn’t. But I write here about outlook and attitudes rather than material standards. The post-War years is a period I remember well; and what I remember was a general openness and tolerance of others – even foreigners. People lived and let live. What I find so alarming today is observing the very opposite. These days, despite the increased levels of education for so many, everyone thinks they know best how others should lead their lives. In other words, it’s my way or the highway!
I believe that these attitudes manifest themselves in the attitudes of many Brexiteers and modern-day Conservatives. Their mentality is such that they believe that everything British is better (when clearly it is not) and they also have the desire to pull up the drawbridge when clearly, because of working mothers our birthrate is way too low to provide industry and commerce with the manpower industry and commerce so desperately need.
Why Brexiteers had such a problem with Europeans coming to live and work in the United Kingdom defies my comprehension. At least Europeans generally share a very similar heritage to Brits.
All this, of course, would probably go over Rishi Sunak’s head. It will be of no concern to him that Europeans coming here to live and work will be more conducive to social harmony than people from totally different and alien cultures, many of whom are anti-feminism, anti-LGBT rights and anti- other minority rights.
Moreover, that Rishi Sunak is so fabulously wealthy means that he has absolutely no understanding of the needs and tribulations of everyday life for ordinary folk. Furthermore, that he is supposed to be such a clever, intelligent and well-educated man, especially in banking and commerce, makes it all the more difficult for me to understand why and how he could be so pro-Brexit, wishing to turn this country’s back on the biggest single market in the world: the Single Market – a market which is on our doorstep. Sunak must be far more blinkered than many people probably realize.
Further, Sunak has been praised by many for his handling of the furlough scheme during the pandemic. Not by me, however. As far as I am concerned, he could have done a far better job of helping people than he did. His way of dealing with it gave some people huge financial benefits whilst depriving many others of any benefits at all. He didn’t seem to realize that all Brits had to live through the pandemic, not just his Tory cronies.
Increasingly, it is becoming apparent that Rishi Sunak is probably afraid of his own shadow! – © Mark Alexander
With the next general election to be held within the next fifteen months the Tories appear to have decided that having no successes to boast about, their strategy will be to make negative claims about Labour. Rishi Sunak has claimed that Labour are on the side of criminal people smuggling gangs.
In response to the Uxbridge byelection result the Tories announced that they would be modifying their green policies to woo voters whilst Keir Starmer asked Sadiq Khan the mayor of London to reconsider his ULEZ policy.
There are huge problems facing the country, including the economy, interest rates, highest taxes for 70 years, massive public debt, NHS, productivity etc and yet the main story on all channels and the press last week has the bank account of Nigel Farage , the man without whom Brexit would never have happened.
The Home Secretary #suellabraverman continues to persist with her authoritarian policies of making asylum seekers as unwelcome as possible. She and Jenrick appear to enjoy being cruel to unfortunate asylum seekers whilst Sunak says nothing.
My (Michael Lambert’s) book is available from my website. The bucket hats will also be available in a few weeks’ time.
A brilliant synopsis. Thank you!
It has become increasingly obvious to me that I have lived through the best years that I am ever going to live through in my life. I am pretty sure that those good years will never be replicated; they will never return in my lifetime.
I am one of the baby-boomers; so, I had the privilege of growing up in the post-War years, a period which was filled with hope, optimism, increasing openness and tolerance. Most of my parents’ generation who had had to live through the Second World War were determined that their children would never have to live through the dire circumstances and deprivations that so many had had to live through during the War years.
It cannot be said that in post-War Britain life was rosy for everyone; of course, it wasn’t. But I write here about outlook and attitudes rather than material standards. The post-War years is a period I remember well; and what I remember was a general openness and tolerance of others – even foreigners. People lived and let live. What I find so alarming today is observing the very opposite. These days, despite the increased levels of education for so many, everyone thinks they know best how others should lead their lives. In other words, it’s my way or the highway!
I believe that these attitudes manifest themselves in the attitudes of many Brexiteers and modern-day Conservatives. Their mentality is such that they believe that everything British is better (when clearly it is not) and they also have the desire to pull up the drawbridge when clearly, because of working mothers our birthrate is way too low to provide industry and commerce with the manpower industry and commerce so desperately need.
Why Brexiteers had such a problem with Europeans coming to live and work in the United Kingdom defies my comprehension. At least Europeans generally share a very similar heritage to Brits.
All this, of course, would probably go over Rishi Sunak’s head. It will be of no concern to him that Europeans coming here to live and work will be more conducive to social harmony than people from totally different and alien cultures, many of whom are anti-feminism, anti-LGBT rights and anti- other minority rights.
Moreover, that Rishi Sunak is so fabulously wealthy means that he has absolutely no understanding of the needs and tribulations of everyday life for ordinary folk. Furthermore, that he is supposed to be such a clever, intelligent and well-educated man, especially in banking and commerce, makes it all the more difficult for me to understand why and how he could be so pro-Brexit, wishing to turn this country’s back on the biggest single market in the world: the Single Market – a market which is on our doorstep. Sunak must be far more blinkered than many people probably realize.
Further, Sunak has been praised by many for his handling of the furlough scheme during the pandemic. Not by me, however. As far as I am concerned, he could have done a far better job of helping people than he did. His way of dealing with it gave some people huge financial benefits whilst depriving many others of any benefits at all. He didn’t seem to realize that all Brits had to live through the pandemic, not just his Tory cronies.
Increasingly, it is becoming apparent that Rishi Sunak is probably afraid of his own shadow! – © Mark Alexander
Monday, July 17, 2023
Huw Edwards Scandal: 'The BBC Should Stand Up for Itself More,' Says Sir Tony Blair
Is Blair right about Brexit, though? Check this out here.
Saturday, July 01, 2023
Michael Lambert: Is This the Most Incompetent Government Ever?
Jul 1, 2023 | Seven years after the Brexit referendum, the UK economy is in a mess. The five pledges of Rishi Sunak are now 'priorities', most of which he has little chance of delivering. UK inflation is at 8.7% compared with just 5.5% average in Europe . The government appears to have no idea what to do and Sunak seems to have lost heart.
Thames Water is in difficulties, the foreign owners having borrowed enormous amounts of money and having paid out £72 billion in dividends since privatisation.
The story of Boris Johnson having visited the house of Evgeny Lebedev in Italy without any security whilst Foreign Secretary has re-emerged and it seems highly likely that kompromat would have been obtained during the weekend visit after which Johnson was seen dishevelled and apparently hungover and on his own at the airport a day later.
The UK economy continues to decline, with more bad news arriving almost daily.
As always, a brilliant synopsis of the dystopia that is the disUnited Kingdom; and as always, I agree with every word that you uttered. Michael—if I might be so bold as to use your first name— you really do have the happy knack of hitting the nail right on its head.
FYI, yours is one of my very favourite channels on YouTube. I look forward to my dose of 'Michael Lambert's truth-telling' each and every week. I kid you not. This is almost certainly because you say exactly what I've been thinking!
I never thought I would live to see the day in which I am ashamed to call myself British. Sadly, that day has arrived. I am now even beginning to have my doubts about democracy itself!
This country's political system is rotten to its very core. We need a completely new system.
By the way, I would like to say the following about Rishi Sunak: The man is useless as a prime minister and clueless to boot. In my opinion, he is far too rich to be a prime minister. Why? Because when a person is as rich as he is, how can he possibly understand the needs and difficulties of life that most ordinary people have to tolerate? I am not against a man being extremely rich; not at all! But I do believe that it is imperative that the prime minister of a country, any country, be able to understand the needs of ordinary folk. Rishi Sunak cannot. He inhabits a parallel universe.
I never thought I would live to see the day that, in my homeland, so many people have to sleep rough and so many people have to go to foodbanks to be able to put food on the table for their children. It appals me! In fact, it is quite heartbreaking. Most of the blame for this sad situation can be placed on the shoulders of the Tories. These sad circumstances have come about, or at least have been made ten times worse, under the watch of Conservative governments, since the Conservatives have been in power for so long. Yet nobody in government talks about these problems, still less offer solutions to solve them.
It is difficult to have any optimism for the future of this country. The Conservatives are useless and totally corrupt; and Labour seem to be clueless too. In my humble opinion, it is to be rued that the LibDems aren't more on the offensive. That Party is pro-EU, but should be far more assertive about promising to try its best to take us back into the Union as full members. – © Mark Alexander
Thames Water is in difficulties, the foreign owners having borrowed enormous amounts of money and having paid out £72 billion in dividends since privatisation.
The story of Boris Johnson having visited the house of Evgeny Lebedev in Italy without any security whilst Foreign Secretary has re-emerged and it seems highly likely that kompromat would have been obtained during the weekend visit after which Johnson was seen dishevelled and apparently hungover and on his own at the airport a day later.
The UK economy continues to decline, with more bad news arriving almost daily.
As always, a brilliant synopsis of the dystopia that is the disUnited Kingdom; and as always, I agree with every word that you uttered. Michael—if I might be so bold as to use your first name— you really do have the happy knack of hitting the nail right on its head.
FYI, yours is one of my very favourite channels on YouTube. I look forward to my dose of 'Michael Lambert's truth-telling' each and every week. I kid you not. This is almost certainly because you say exactly what I've been thinking!
I never thought I would live to see the day in which I am ashamed to call myself British. Sadly, that day has arrived. I am now even beginning to have my doubts about democracy itself!
This country's political system is rotten to its very core. We need a completely new system.
By the way, I would like to say the following about Rishi Sunak: The man is useless as a prime minister and clueless to boot. In my opinion, he is far too rich to be a prime minister. Why? Because when a person is as rich as he is, how can he possibly understand the needs and difficulties of life that most ordinary people have to tolerate? I am not against a man being extremely rich; not at all! But I do believe that it is imperative that the prime minister of a country, any country, be able to understand the needs of ordinary folk. Rishi Sunak cannot. He inhabits a parallel universe.
I never thought I would live to see the day that, in my homeland, so many people have to sleep rough and so many people have to go to foodbanks to be able to put food on the table for their children. It appals me! In fact, it is quite heartbreaking. Most of the blame for this sad situation can be placed on the shoulders of the Tories. These sad circumstances have come about, or at least have been made ten times worse, under the watch of Conservative governments, since the Conservatives have been in power for so long. Yet nobody in government talks about these problems, still less offer solutions to solve them.
It is difficult to have any optimism for the future of this country. The Conservatives are useless and totally corrupt; and Labour seem to be clueless too. In my humble opinion, it is to be rued that the LibDems aren't more on the offensive. That Party is pro-EU, but should be far more assertive about promising to try its best to take us back into the Union as full members. – © Mark Alexander
Saturday, June 24, 2023
Michael Lambert: 'Global Britain''s Economy Struggles with High Inflation and a Plethora of Other Problems
Jun 24, 2023 | The British economy continues to face seemingly impossible problems: falling exports; little or no inward investment; firms moving to the EU; the biggest fall in living standards since the 50's; the lowest state pensions in the EU; the highest taxes since WW2; and the highest inflation in the the EU. Despite all this, the government shows no sign of having any idea of how to solve the economic problems Britain faces. Rishi Sunak is weak and clueless.
Tuesday, June 06, 2023
Universal Basic Income: The Solution to Inflation in the UK? | Vantage with Palki Sharma
Related.
Hard-pressed UK shoppers feel food ‘shrinkflation’: Consumers increasingly claim that manufacturers are reducing the size of products, Barclays research finds »
Thursday, June 01, 2023
Brexit Will Be Known as ‘Historic Economic Error’, Says Former US Treasury Secretary
THE GUARDIAN: Larry Summers says departure from EU ‘contributed to higher inflation’ and calls economic policy ‘substantially flawed’
Larry Summers told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Brexit has ‘reduced the competitiveness of the UK economy’. Photograph: Manuel Bruque/EPA
Brexit will be remembered as a “historic economic error”, which damaged the UK economy and has helped to drive inflation higher, according to the former US treasury secretary Larry Summers.
Singling out Britain’s departure from the EU as a factor for higher costs, Summers also criticised the UK’s economic policy as “substantially flawed for some years”.
Brexit “reduced the competitiveness of the UK economy, put downwards pressure on the pound and upwards pressure on prices, limited imports of goods and limited in some ways the supply of labour,” Summers told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“All of which contributed to higher inflation,” he added. » | Joanna Partridge | Thursday, June 1, 2023
The Tories once had a fine reputation for being the Party to trust with the economy. Alas, this is no longer the case. The UK economy is no longer safe in the hands of Tories. Brexit has put paid to that notion. – © Mark Alexander
Brexit will be remembered as a “historic economic error”, which damaged the UK economy and has helped to drive inflation higher, according to the former US treasury secretary Larry Summers.
Singling out Britain’s departure from the EU as a factor for higher costs, Summers also criticised the UK’s economic policy as “substantially flawed for some years”.
Brexit “reduced the competitiveness of the UK economy, put downwards pressure on the pound and upwards pressure on prices, limited imports of goods and limited in some ways the supply of labour,” Summers told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“All of which contributed to higher inflation,” he added. » | Joanna Partridge | Thursday, June 1, 2023
The Tories once had a fine reputation for being the Party to trust with the economy. Alas, this is no longer the case. The UK economy is no longer safe in the hands of Tories. Brexit has put paid to that notion. – © Mark Alexander
Friday, May 26, 2023
UK Prepares for Recession amid Rising Interest Rates
Thursday, April 27, 2023
They Wrecked Britain, and They’re Not Going Anywhere
THE NEW YORK TIMES: LONDON — As Britain prepares for the coronation of its new king, an end-of-days feeling is sweeping the nation. In an atmosphere of social unrest, economic dysfunction and government corruption, deep political disillusionment has set in. The Conservative Party is polling 15 points behind the opposition, and the popularity of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the Conservatives’ fifth leader in seven years, remains obstinately low. After years of Tory misrule, the opinion of the British public seems clear: We’ve had enough.
And with good reason. For over a decade, the Conservatives have ransacked the country they claim to love, unmooring it from its foundations and enriching their chums. While the wealth of the very richest rocketed, the party’s program of austerity, begun by David Cameron in 2010 and continued by each Conservative prime minister since, starved public services, created one of the most miserly welfare states in the developed world and contributed to the longest period of wage stagnation — for many, wage regression — since the Napoleonic Wars. Life expectancy is down, child poverty is up, and there are few signs of a reprieve on the horizon. Life under the Tories has become poorer, nastier, more brutish and shorter. » | Samuel Earle | Thursday, April 27, 2023
Saturday, April 22, 2023
Michael Lambert: Britain's Economy Is a Sinking Ship Post Brexit
A very interesting and true analysis, but very depressing to boot. The UK is indeed like a sinking ship. In fact, it resembles the Titanic.
Many of the people who pushed for the madness of Brexit have fallen silent; indeed, so may of them are not to be seen anymore: they are lying low. The reason for this is clear: they can see the damage they have done to the UK economy and, by extension, to people’s lives and living standards.
Many, if not most, of those arch-Brexiteers, the ones pushing so hard for the UK to leave the EU were public school educated. The fiasco of Brexit is no advert for sending one’s child to be educated in such schools. It is clear that despite their outward erudition, they understand little about either economics or geopolitics. One could call them duffers.
Brexit should be reversed as soon as possible. Michel Barnier has stated in an interview that in spite of all, the EU would—surprisingly—accept us back. But clearly not on the favourable terms we had. Personally, I would welcome dumping the pound sterling in favour of the euro. Ever since the Great War, the value of sterling has declined precipitously anyway. Indeed, its value has generally halved every decade ever since about 1918.
Outside of the EU, the UK has no good future. This country belongs to the European family of nations. Vive le Royaume-Uni dans l'Union Européenne ! – © Mark Alexander
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