The U.K. 2022

Imagine a situation where a village uses chocolate money. Everything works fine until there's a heatwave and the money melts. Suddenly, people don't have the money to buy goods and services from others and trade grinds to a halt. The village elders can't tax anybody to pay for services because there isn't any money left.

Somebody comes up with the idea of creating money out of pebbles, which are readily available, and distributing them to all the villagers. People start trading again and can buy the services they need.

A few people are too young, old or disabled/ill to create enough to exchange with others for pebbles, so the village orders some people to help out those in need and to pay for some projects which will improve lives. They create a few more pebble coins to compensate those who have helped out. The village doesn't want too many pebbles in circulation because there isn't enough to buy with all the pebbles now available, so it recalls some of them. They get the people who have acquired most pebbles to pay back more on a sliding scale. They call this process "taxation".

I know that's a very simplistic explanation, but it shows how currency can be created out of thin air (or pebbles) and how services and goods aren't paid for with taxation.

PS. You don't even need pebbles - all you need is bits of paper with "I promise to pay" written on them - somebody decided to call them bank notes.

Mamie

Macron has given a "blood, sweat and tears" speech warning of how hard the coming winter will be with energy shortages and price rises of food and other commodities. He talked about cataclysmic climate change events (of which France has had a few recently) and the impact of the war in Ukraine, empasising the need to keep supporting the fight there.
It is the price of our liberties and values he said.

Not just France of course, and we will all have to accept a lower standard of living for a few years.
As long as those with the very least in society are helped along by government, friends and neighbours and our churches.

“LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The Bank of England said on Thursday that it intends to start active government bond sales worth around 10 billion pounds a quarter from next month, subject to a final go-ahead from policymakers.

The BoE stopped reinvesting gilts that matured from its 875 billion-pound government bond stockpile in February, and the size of its quantitative easing programme - which doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic - has since dropped to 844 billion pounds. LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The Bank of England said on Thursday that it intends to start active government bond sales worth around 10 billion pounds a quarter from next month, subject to a final go-ahead from policymakers.”

The BoE stopped reinvesting gilts that matured from its 875 billion-pound government bond stockpile in February, and the size of its quantitative easing programme - which doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic - has since dropped to 844 billion pounds.”

So the BoE are planning to sell the QE assets month by month they call it Quantitive Tightening.

Almost the entire elected executive of Penrith and the Border constituency Labour party (CLP) has resigned in protest at the party’s ‘toxic’ and factional abuse of disciplinary processes to wage war on left-wing members.

Ten out of eleven CLP officers quit their positions in disgust at the regime’s conduct, as they explained in detail in their letter to the party and others about their decision:

To Whom It May Concern,

It is with great disappointment that Penrith and the Border Constituency Party has learned of the expulsion from the Labour Party, of long-standing member, activist, and Cumbria County councillor, Alan McGuckin. This expulsion, among the recommencement of factionalist exclusion of members, is demonstrative of an unnecessary recommitment to the “toxic culture” described within the findings of the Forde Report (referred to herewith as ‘FR’) (C1.35). At a time when the working class is bearing the brunt of a deepening cost-of-living crisis, when Labour – a democratic socialist party by definition – must embody the most steadfast opposition to the violence of the Tory Party, we find that resources of the Party are being utilised frivolously to exclude experienced, hard-working councillors and members instead (Sec. E, p.101). These expressed concerns are entirely warranted and are supported by the Labour Party Rule Book and by the findings of the Forde Report, commissioned by the Party, that remains unacknowledged, unaddressed, and unacceptably, unacted upon.

I read a article on jeremy Corbyn by Ryan coogan front page on the “. Independent ” common sense of jeremy Corbyn” and how society genuinely needed such a person then and now.

I believe there are splits in CLPs up and down the country and many LP members, such as myself, have left (not expelled) and may explain why the LP is such a weak opposition in the face of such an incompetent government.

Criminal Barristers have overwhelmingly voted to strike from 5 September.

I imagine infighting will always make a party weak Farzanah. Why not go with Starmer but insist on PR. Then they could form their own party. After all, that's what they want.

I think Whitewave that, just as we have had threads asking what we have seen as positive Brexit "rewards", we could have one asking what the Conservative party has improved in the last 12 years, with another list of what they have tried to destroy.

Labour Part CLP’s are often dominated by the most politically active and left leaning. The opposite of the old white men who dominate the shire conservative associations. These people don’t represent the majority

DaisyAnne

I think Whitewave that, just as we have had threads asking what we have seen as positive Brexit "rewards", we could have one asking what the Conservative party has improved in the last 12 years, with another list of what they have tried to destroy.

The outcome would be short but "sweet" - bu..er all.

Farzanah

I believe there are splits in CLPs up and down the country and many LP members, such as myself, have left (not expelled) and may explain why the LP is such a weak opposition in the face of such an incompetent government.

That’s just the narrative from the left though. Last month it was reported to the July NEC that paid-up membership had dropped to 382,000.
In the pre-Corbyn era, Labour membership peaked at around 190,000 under Ed Miliband (which itself reflected a rise from around 140,000 in 2010).

Iam64 That wasn’t the case in my CLP, there was a predominance of the older male stuck in a time warp types, and the “politically active and left leaning” left.

I want to belong to a progressive modern Labour Party, but not a Tory light one. I could never vote anything but Labour, but can’t see me rejoining the Party as it stands right now.

I don’t see what race or age has to do with it. White, black, green or yellow. Competence and goodwill are what I would be looking for.

Farzanah

Iam64 That wasn’t the case in my CLP, there was a predominance of the older male stuck in a time warp types, and the “politically active and left leaning” left.

I want to belong to a progressive modern Labour Party, but not a Tory light one. I could never vote anything but Labour, but can’t see me rejoining the Party as it stands right now.

I understand and respect your pov.

The reality is, that unless the Labour Party comes together, and shows that it is not an extreme Party who will intend to fleece the middle classes and scare business away, it will not be electable- not even after the mess the Tories have made.

It also has to look carefull at working and electoral alliances which will ensure the Tory party is blown to pieces at the next election. And that it is prepared to look at some form of PR.

Fleurpepper, I’m in total agreement with you. History teaches us the LP will never win an election with someone the general public perceives as too left wing. That’s how we ended up with the last 12 years and the devastating result with Johnson and his majority

I simply don’t understand how anyone who identifies as left leaning can vote in a way that enables a Tory victory

Fleurpepper How refreshing to see your comment about respecting a different point of view.

This

“Children over seven whose families earn more than £7,400 a year (after tax and before benefits) do not meet the criteria" for free school meals. The energy price cap is forecast to be £5,800 in April.”

Goodness Whitewave - earning £7400 prevents children getting a free school meal. No wonder some people stay on benefits - free school meals, free prescriptions and minus the expense of child care or buying clothes suitable for work.

Had no idea- shocking.

How do you bring up a child or several, on just over 600 a month? Especially in London or large cities, or any area with high rent, where a 2 bedroom flat can be anything from 700 to 1200 or more!

You wouldn't be bringing them up on £600 a month Fleurpepper, you should be getting benefits on top of your income.

Not that the change is a good thing. It seems only to apply to those on UC, on which there was no income threshold for school meals previously.

Before UC was introduced, most claimants couldn't get free school meals if they were working and claiming working tax credit. The rule about not earning more than £7400 is a follow on from that.

Thank you for your kind reply Fleurpepper and I can see your point of view about alliances.

However I am disappointed that the LP seems to have forgotten its roots and the very word “socialism” has become a turn off, but in these troubled times the unfettered free market has no solutions to our present situation, and a radical rethink is necessary.

I know when a political party is out of power they tend to compromise on traditional ideology, ie LP moves to the right for electability, particularly as most voters don’t traditionally identify as “left”, but I believe that the electorate values are changing, and Starmer is out of step as public dissatisfaction increases. For example recent polls have shown a huge support for public ownership across a range of services, inc water, council services, education, energy, rail and NHS, to name a few.

Sadly I can’t see the present LP grasping the opportunity for structural reform, but merely offering watered down Tory policies.

I will still vote for them, or tactically in order to get rid of the present government, but think they need to be much more progressive.

The Labour Party desperately needs to start telling the truth -

Firstly about Brexit - an unmitigated disaster as most LP MPs, most LP members and most LP voters knew it would be when they voted Remain.

Secondly about the fact that electing a government by FPTP makes the UK a sham democracy along with Belarus as the only two European countries not to use Proportional Representation.

This was highlighted at last years LP conference when 83% of the constituency delegates voted in favour of a change to PR.

If the LP dinosaurs cannot tell the truth about Brexit and back a change to our electoral system we could be condemned to another Tory government elected by a minority - God help us.