Sunak has cut and is running. The fact that he is heading for certain defeat does not seem to be a factor in his decision-making process. Or, if it is, he is deluding himself about the reality of what people think about him, on this along with so many other things.
If Sunak thinks that claiming credit for today's inflation figure is enough of a basis on which to run a campaign, he is, again, deluded. He should have listened to this morning's news round, in which Jeremy Hunt was slaughtered by all the presenters he sat in front of, all of whom found it ridiculously easy to tear his arguments to shreds.
The Tory campaign is as a result, I suggest, so hopelessly holed below the water line that there is no point paying any attention to it. Whatever they say is utterly inconsequential. All we can say with any confidence is that Sunak will depart the centre of the political scene very soon, to disappear to California soon thereafter. I rather suspect he is hoping he actually does achieve the ignominious outcome .of actually being voted out by his own constituents.
This is, of course, why I have turned my attention to Labour for so long now. There has been no point in doing anything else. But, the result of doing so is that it has also been found to be profoundly wanting.
Labour's economic policies are absurdly bad.
Its social policy is designed to communicate the message that it does not care.
The same is true with regard to its policy in the NHS, justice, social care, education, climate change and much more.
The only thing that matters to Labour now is keeping its wealthy sponsors happy, and taunting Jeremy Corbyn. It takes some skill to transform an organisation built on the foundations of empathy for the underdog in society and turn it into something that is utterly indifferent to the well-being of almost everyone but the select few who are already wealthy in society, but that is what Keir Starmer has done.
The SNP is unprepared for this fight.
The LibDems have good council elections to build on, and are the protest vote in many Tory constituencies. But is that enough?
The Greens are living in hope.
And Reform ate planning their own big announcement in the morning, they tell me. Expect Farage to be back. This could really have an impact.
But nothing is going to change the outcome of this election. Labour already have it and we are headed for a dismal five years of them delivering wholly unnecessary austerity.
I think you san sense my lack of excitement.
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I’m glad the Tories are facing obliteration but I also want to deprive Starmer of a majority. To hell with voting tactically. This is all the more reason for people to vote with their conscience. Hung parliament, please.
What’s going to be tedious is having to listen to the Oligarch Press endlessly repeating any new government can’t do much at all because it has A) run out of money or B) owes too much debt! It will do so based on the knowledge a monetarily illiterate electorate still has no idea how money was created to fight two world wars, a depression, a near banking collapse and a near economy collapsing pandemic!
Who wears the trousers? That is the only question to answer. & at least in the Sunak household it ain’t Rishi, cos whilst he has some money, it is dwarfed by his wifes.
She has had enough, so, “darling, time to call an election”. & I don’t blame her.
Not so sure that LINO have it.
But
If UK citizens do vote en mass for LINO – well there is going to be very very bitter dissapointment.
I just caught a glimpse of the latest Opsi/Mori opinion poll and unsurprisingly considering the MSM Neoliberalist agenda, the least important concern of the voters sampled was the climate/environment! We have an existential threat to humanity and people are so switched off we do not recognise the MOST important dilemma we face!
Worrying, isn’t it?
The complete ignorance of the growing impact of climate change on every area of our lives is staggering. The idea that it is an irrelevance that can wait until we sorted the economy etc. is crazy, but other than the Green party this is the view of all our politicians. We are already seeing big impacts on our farmers ability to grow food.
We seem to be sleep walking into disaster. I’m not involved in direct action and don’t necessarily agree with the way Just Stop Oil work, but the idea that they are causing deaths by their action, whilst the continued inaction of our government is going to cause far more deaths. As the map posted last week showed, large parts of the UK will soon flood so often they will not be habitable, and this includes areas that grow much of our food.
But I expect again climate change will not even get a mention in this election campaign!
As the old adage says you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink it. Soon though in Britain it will be spending more time standing or bogged down in it than it cares to:-
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/22/never-ending-uk-rain-10-times-more-likely-climate-crisis-study
I don’t think he has any intention of winning an election. The campaign from him will be about as enthusiastic as Corbyn’s remain campaign was.
Still, on the one hand I don’t blame him for leaving. He’s captain of a sinking ship, that had thrown out anyone vaguely qualified before he even took the job. He got it through default, had no chance of leading the party in any new direction, and would have been even more hated had he done so. Why’d anyone really want that job for very long is beyond me. Unless it’s just the raw lust for power I suppose.
Also calling the election now gives him a fighting chance of making it to California before the summer is out. Silver linings and all that.
The Greens are more than ‘living in hope’. Even with the iniquities of FPTP they’re doing better and better – and have four stunning candidates in target seats. They also have good candidates elsewhere- and a message of change for the good of humankind.
Adopting Positive Money nonsense isn’t for the good of humankind is it? Why oh why don’t they read some Christine Desan on the historical development of money?
http://positivemoney.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Would_A_Sovereign_Money_System_Be_Flexible_Enough_WEB20140113.pdf
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Making-Money-Currency-Coming-Capitalism/dp/0198709587/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1620BNQYEHUW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.jXhzt9hRXEQjUuMzkdCaa1IvnE2dZt3gZAWmKS0KXpvGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.f0ybR1FlWeRY2lXXDbNxJCoiL86HOdGJH3v-nUBYwqQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=christine+desan+making+money&qid=1716430508&sprefix=Christine+Desan%2Caps%2C152&sr=8-1
The Conservative Party are certainly ready for this election.
I just googled my Council to find out how to get a postal vote as I’ll be away and the first item on the screen was this – taking me straight to the Conservative Party !
Vote by Post | Somerset County
Somerset County | Conservatives
https://www.somersetcountyconservatives.org.uk › vote-…
Applying for a Postal Vote Are you going to be away on Polling Day? too busy during the day to get to a Polling Station? more likely to vote if you could do …
For the first time in my adult life I will not be involved in an election campaign and I will not be campaigning for nor voting Labour.
I remember well the sense of excitement and hope in 1997. 2024 feels more akin to being cured of Typhoid only to be given Cholera
Will Hunt and Sunak pressure Andrew Bailey for a June rate cut close to the élection?
Maybe….
The Greens need to come out fighting.
I was at a talk by George Monbiot promoting his new book when it was announced that the election had been called.
Oh and I did ask, he is aware of your work
George and I know each other and talk occasionally
The waiting is over……and BoE can finally cut base rate….
Things may not get much better but . . . Steve Bray was brilliant this afternoon; he deserves an MBE, at the very least.
It would be good to come up with a few pithy questions to ask candidates (online, at any ‘hustings’ you can get to, on the doorstep) or by proxy, when meeting their party’s people…
A few suggestions:
1) Will you support the Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill, or some re-introduction of it in the new parliament? (Follow-up: would you do so even against your party’s whip, if your party opposed it or introduced amendments to water it down to be ineffective? I think that’s key for all the Labour GND candidates.)
2) Do you accept that climate and nature polycrises are real, caused by us, and are already impacting many aspects of our national life, food security, poverty and health; and what should be done about that?
3) Where do you go for policy advice (on the economy and finance, health, education, food/farming/nature, defence,…)? Who are your trusted advisers?
4) Who is supporting your campaign, with donations, time or other resources? Please briefly summarise who is helping you to pay for it?
Funnily enough I said the same to George Monbiot last night, there will be hustings meetings and letters so we need some questions to ask/standard letters to send etc
So Richard if you have any ideas
Now posted..
Before you asked
The Oligarch Press’s “let’s scare the children” theme for the election has already emerged. It will be “There’s a huge black hole in the government’s finances!” Both main parties will be ramming it down our throats remorselessly!
https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/may/22/things-can-only-get-better-sunak-uk-economy-this-might-be-as-good-as-it-gets
Why now? A possible reason:
The UK imports about 40% of its energy and 40% of its food.
UK harvests are predicted to be particularly poor this year because of flooding and climate change.
More food will need to be imported and, with no compensating increase in exports, the pound will fall in value.
This will lead to a bounce back in inflation.
The BoE will increase interest rates again.
This will temporarily prop up the pound, on the same principle that a stiff drink in the morning is the best cure for a hangover.
Leaving Labour with the mess to clear up and a chncellor who still believes in the hangover cure.
The situation is seriously depressing… (and on Sunday afternoon, I have to give a workshop on ‘finding hope and peace in the midst of the climate and nature crisis’…!! In the context of Christian faith – but not the ‘God will intervene and take us away to heaven’ sort 🙂 )
MSM spouts nonsense and irrelevancies or ‘infotainment’; and all major political players, bar the Greens, are shouting that they have the best answers – mostly, to the wrong questions.
Perhaps some serious events, like repeated extreme weather and food supply issues, painful as they will be (and shamefully, the greatest pain falling on those least able to bear it, the poor and vulnerable) will work like the unhealthy person suffering a minor heart ‘incident’: a wake-up call to rethink and turn life around? I can hope for that…