We have an extraordinary and dramatic juxtaposition in UK politics. The Conservative government is undergoing a period of collective ideological madness, while the Labour opposition is the very epitome of competence and responsibility.
I had listened to Keir Starmer's speech on Tuesday. It was measured, highly critical of the Conservatives, with promises of an increase in NHS frontline staff, and a new radical idea with the establishment of a state owned Great British Energy company to guide and innovate a massive green industry investment initiative that will leaded to carbon free Britain by 2030. His shadow cabinet members were coming up with initiatives of their own, including a nationalization of the rail industry, and a free breakfast for schoolchildren. I won't say that it was all properly costed, despite their declarations to the contrary, but Starmer and the whole conference exuded confidence, avoited the trap of joing in picket lines and had a large number of corporate stands in the entrance hall.
In the meantime the markets imploded following Kwarteng's uncosted and rash tax breaks, with sterling near enough at parity with the dollar, mortgage rates likely to rise dramatically following the next bank intervention, and even a threat to UK pension funds. Kwarteng had even boasted on Saturday that "you ain't seen nothing yet" and there would be further tax cuts, and I assume that the money markets simply concluded that the government had lost control of the economy. The IMF even called on them to reverse some of their cuts, especially since they had been announced but not yet implemented. So far Truss has avoided any large scale public statement about the crisis, and limited her statements to some pre-conference local radio stations, where she hoped to avoid difficult questions. The Tory spokesmen dwell on the need for the price freeze (which nobody questioned initially, before news of the tax cuts), blamed Putin and said it was part of the overall European energy crisis. I have no doubt she may repeat this at her party conference in Birmingham, but will her party colleagues accept that? Probably not. However, I hear that some 75 MPs, mainly Sunak supporters, will not bother to turn up. This could give Truss a clear run. The conference will probably still be divisive and she must regret not picking a cabinet from a broader front as she had been urged by all sensible Tories. Now the knives are out, but can they afford a bloodletting so soon after her taking over the premiership? It is important however for Starmer to nail her lies and point out that the loss of confidence sprang from the mini-budget and not from the earlier decison to freeze energy prices. She cannot blame anyone else for that.
Starmer has had a good press, except for one stupid incident. My old friend Rupa Huq, the Ealing MP, got so excited over the highly educated posh speaking Kwarteng becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer, that she queried his right to be considered black. Silly girl. The Conference came down very hard on her, accused her of racism and suspended the Labour whip for her. I suppose they had to so, just to mimimize the nuclear fall out from the rabid red top press, who had to concentrate their bile against Rupa alone, and not the Labour Party. I sent a sympathetic email acknowledging that it was a silly mistake emanating from her sense of outrage, but that it was obvious she was no racist. Still Labour activists must get used to the reality that more and more people from various ethnic minorities no longer look exclusively to Labour to represent them. On the other hand, there is bubbling elite of black and brown skinned Tory ministers, now emerging from Cameron's stable, but very few activists in the lower ranks.
Coming back to everyday realities, I am concerned by the results of recent blood tests for Albina. Her creatinine level is high, which suggests a problem with her one surviving healthy kidney. Also her liver function is suspect. She has a hospital visit on October 14th but let's hope this will not impede her plans, including a 3 week visit to a spa on the Polish Baltic coast at the end of October, and of course, eventually our Round the World Trip.
Talking of the Baltic, I am very concerned by the recent explosions on the two Nordstream natural gas pipelines leading from Russia to Germany under the Baltic. The explosives could only have been laid by a submarine crew, so this is a national action.Which country would want to do this? Surely only Russia. Why? To jangle the nerves of German and Scandinavian public opinion. I think though that this is also a warning to Poland because the three explosions were also close to the new Baltic Pipe link between Norway and Poland. The Nordsteam links were commercially inactive, but the Baltic Pipe is a lifeline for Poland and any threat to it cuts at the future energy security of that country.
(Originally published 29/09/22 but in the Polish blog by mistake)
No comments:
Post a Comment