Yesterday was a long day, and did not deliver all that I hoped.
Let me be clear, I was treated quite brilliantly by staff who could not have been more helpful or caring. But, and there always seems to be a but about these things, what I learned as a result of the treatment was that this will be the first of potentially three such episodes, and I was warned that the chance that the pain will go away is, at present, quite low.
What I now understand is that my priority for the next week or two is to work out how to manage that, because it is so severe when it happens. There's also a need to get over the sheer fatigue this week, which is not helped by the hot weather.
That said, my head is full of ideas. When you can't do much, you have to work out what your priorities are. At this moment, and I admit that I may not be at my most objective, my sense is that spending a great deal of my time pointing out the failings of our current neoliberal politicians, including Andy Burnham, is not the most useful thing I can do. The existence of these failings is apparent to absolutely everyone, but the reality is that almost no one is talking about what we can do about them.
In that case, I feel I need to focus on where we can go from here, not on what has gone wrong. So, when I can find the energy, that is what I intend to do over the next few days, and beyond.
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You’ve spent 20 years attacking neoliberalism. How about spending the next 20 years attacking communism, the idea of taking private property without compensation. Every council in England is now infested with stealth communists which is the idea of taking private property and/or wealth off you slowly, doing it over less than the course of ones lifetime. It’s a new -ism which we haven’t seen before as far as I know but it’s embedded in every civic hall and I’m sick of it.
Double council tax because you’re providing accommodation for your company’s contractors, that’s about 4% a year of the property value in my patch, run that for 25 years and the house effectively belongs to the council.
Stop being a pratt is my suggestion to you.
Caring is not communism.
Nor is fair taxation.
And presumably you think it funny to post in the name of an SS officer.
Communism?
Where, please?
Where is this ‘communism’ you speak of? North Korea is it? Hmmm – looks like a despotic leadership posing as communist to me.
The only thieving going on around here is the rich plundering that which belonged to all of us through democracy and the vote through their increased finding of politics.
Typical of a Nazi to get your refutation in first – accusing your enemies of your own crimes.
Oh, and a another typicality worthy of the label – kicking someone whilst they are down. How brave of you!!
Pathetic.
Communist my arse. There are hardly any communists in the UK properly deserving the name. Who exactly in the UK in 2026 is calling for common ownership of the means of production, and a revolution of the proletariat to overthrow the bourgeoisie? Almost everyone accepts a mixed economy, and the real argument is about the balance between different sectors and interests.
Where exactly is this “patch” anyway? What is the tax amount and what is the property value? 4% would be almost £11,000 on the UK average house price of £260,000. That more than four times the average Band D council tax of around £2,400.
For comparison, most US states charge a property tax of around 1 to 1.5% of the market value. That would be around £3,000 to £4,000 for an average UK house. Are they communists too?
Thank you
I have noted two things recently that betray the age we live in.
1. The recent Bedford crash on the MML. Why has it taken so long to clear the wreckage (yes, it is potentially a crime scene and the HSE will be there too). Cranes to clear the damaged stock came by road. This was no Harrow & Wealdstone (1952). At one time the railway could clear up its own mess and reopen lines much more quickly than this as it had special rail borne tools to deal with it. I’m not being cruel or uncaring about the fatality or injuries, but talk about taking the long way round to solve a problem.
2. This morning coming into work along the River Derwent I noted how low the river was. But what was more interesting was the shallowness of the revealed river channels. The Derwent regularly floods with really disruptive and expensive consequences. No wonder! The amount of silt means that the shallowness of the river channels are contributing to the flooding. The City of Derby which is downstream of all of this is spending £95 million to defend the city from flooding. But how much would dredging the river regularly cost, or some other mitigation up stream?
So, having done the negative reflection for you, all I can say is that you have the answers already Richard. It is because of problems with management by accounting, austerity, with lobbying (the construction industry and others benefiting from poor management of rivers etc); an obsession with silo thinking (‘cost centres’ ) and the bottom line and NO appreciation of ‘flow’ (or if you like ‘thermo-dynamics’) – how things really work.
Sorry to hear that you are in pain – you are in my thoughts.
Thank you
Dredging simply speeds up the water flow and dumps the problem on someone else downstream. You need mitigation upstream to slow the flow through the catchment. Bogs, vegetation, meanders, beavers, flood plains, etc. all of which are good for the environment and biodiversity too.
To be honest Andrew all of it – dredging, flood defences etc., just passes the problem onto someone else less prepared if they have not made the same plans. It’s not just a lack of money, it is a lack of joined up thinking that is too dependent on the political complexion of local and central leadership at any time.
Bring back beavers!
I am sure you are right that rivers need more management. Some fluvial faults arise because we have engineered rivers to be straighter and more uniform, and restoring them to a natural state, where they can spill onto a rural floodplain, together with reducing grazing on adjacent hills to allow rougher vegetation to slow runoff and increase percolation into the ground, can do wonders. There’s a few jobs for a progressive fearless government to fund.
Ouch, very sorry to hear what you have expect in the short term.
Your plan sounds good, a positive project to focus on, as idleness is not an easy option for you.
Please don’t be concerned with blog posts, I am sure we all miss them, but make getting well and letting your ideas develop as they will your goals. Jacqueline must be exhausted too. I imagine you comfortably reclining and conversing between sleeps. Cooler weather soon. Best wishes.
Thanks
We are discussing the relationship betewwen money and energy and states of conversion right now!
Now there’s an interesting sentence that is a new line of thought for me, I’ll have to trawl the archive…. again!
It occurs to me that this might be a good period to invite a few of your most trusted friends, academic colleagues or long-term blog contributers with relevant experience to pen a guest piece for the blog. Lie back and let someone else do the work for a change.
PS I don’t remember the temperature in England getting anywhere near 30C in the 45 years I lived there, we used to fly to the Greek islands every May to bask in the sweltering 28C sunshine. Have you thought of setting up an air-con installation business?
Thanks
That sentence came out of conversations with John Christensen and Jacqueline yesterday. Jacqueline did most of the heavy lifting.
I think most people recognise the existence of deep or widespread failings, but are themselves so steeped in the neoliberal worldview, and lacking in knowledge and understanding of it, that they blame ‘others’. That might be the Council, or people who are out of work, or trans people, or anyone basically that’s not themselves or their own crowd.
I’ve found it hard to grasp what neoliberalism is over the months but think I’ve got there. Before i came to this i tried to watch that documentary ‘Shifty’ which referenced ‘monetarism’ a lot. At the time i didn’t have a clue what he meant. Must go to glossary.
I think many people are holding out for change but they’re easily spooked into accepting more of the same.
Good point.
THank you.
I started drafting a few suggestions about what Burnham could do but I lost them yesterday because my computer was overheating , I think.
My suggestions are:
1. Concentrate on winning international allies. Co-operation will ne needed to manage Trump, manage the big multinationals, China and big tech. Action will need to be taken to avoid a recession, manage global warming, and changing the rules of the game.
2. Concentrate on identifying changes to rules and constitutional agreements on accounting, monetary matters, international trade, data collection, State aid, co-operation with Europe. Whoever controls the rulebook manages the game. This could mean changing the BOE terms of reference , OBR etc. There should a focus change to planning and delivery rather than control.
3.Acknowledge the democratic pressures for lowering the cost of living ,improving public services and the cost of housing. Burnham should listen but be seen to be listening. The best way would be to to reduce indirect taxation and increase income tax for higher earners .
4. Identify quick wins. Grants for insulation, landlords to repair houses, provision of more public toilets on high streets, subsidies for childcare. Cancel the third London Airport and the Thames crossing schemes. Approve electrification schemes for railways. Grant borrowing powers to local authorities and Public corporations. Take away cash limits as a means of controlling the NHS and local authorities. Cap bus fares at lower rates.
Thank you
There’s always idiots offering suggestions for miracle cures. But my uncle was a founder of Heath and Heather and my mother managed one of his shops. They swore by Parsley Piert which was once called Parsley Breakstone. There’s no clinical evidence it works but plenty anecdotal. One of the GPs near my mother’s shop used to send patients to her for it.
Rockefeller tried to destroy that understanding. I am not nearly so cynical. Thank you.
The placebo effect is a powerful thing. I mean, some people actually do feel better, so there is a psychological benefit to mental health which can have a significant influence on symptoms, or at least on the perception of synptoms, even if the treatment does nothing physically.
Glad things are sort of progressing for you Richard, and hope you will get the appropriate remaining procedures done quickly.<p>
“Focus on where we can go from here” sounds a good idea.<p>
It seems increasingly clear we are subject to a comprehensive propaganda umbrella posing as public service broadcasting – so how can we get ideas out for genuine public debate?<p>
Surprisingly BBC R4 did have a comment from someone from Common-wealth who was allowed to raise the fact that we do have the money for public investment – but one comment in weeks is not going to turn into a debate about whether Burnham will be able to build social housing, set up a national care service etc <p>
Hope you are back up to speed soon – and no more pain.
Thank you
Richard – hope you get the remaining treatments soon and get out of pain<p>
Good idea to concentrate on ‘where we go from here'<p>
But how to get the debate in the open when there is an obvious omerta on public service broadcasters allowing any discussion to stray beyond ‘there is no money’ ‘cant tax’ ‘cant borrow’ ‘cant spend’.<p>
BBC R4 did have someone from Common-Wealth saying yes we could invest in public services – but a rare one off – not part of a debate.<p>
There has to be a coordinated campaign to take politics and dark money out of public service broadcasting – should be fully independent and have proper guidelines which specify a search for truth – not just balancing opinions.<p>
Again Richard get well soon
Thank you