Another spectacular week in Toryland!

Every time you think it can’t get any more stupid or sleazy, it just does….

55% of people think that the government is sleaze ridden and corrupt.

They've just appointed the 10th Children's minister in 10 years! He's actually the 5th in 2 years and the 7th to oversee the new SEND regulations announced in 2019. It really gives you confidence in them and shows how much they care about children doesn't it??

Add driving tests to the list:

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/03/an-absolute-mess-learner-drivers-forced-to-buy-tests-on-black-market-as-companies-block-book-slots

The centrist backbenchers are threatening to revolt over Sunak”s (for that read Braverman) plan to leave the ECHR. There are whispers that there will be sufficient letters for a vote of no confidence.

Not sure how reliable that rumour is.

I suspect however, that many backbenchers have worked out the immigration is not the main or even a minor issue with the voting public. People want to be able to afford food, to heat their homes, to educate their children, and to have timely medical care, along with roads that don’t trash their cars, air that is fit to breath, and rivers and seas fit to swim in, - all these take priority over Braverman’s dream of trashing Britains moral standing in the world over 300 asylum seekers she intends to transport to Rwanda.

The Tories know it and the voting public know it.

One Tory centrist backbencher is one of my former pupils. She was a decent human being - and I think she still is. I am fairly sure she would have sent a letter. If she hasn't, I think her mother would have something to say about it!

We are in you couldn’t make it up territory. We’ve been here so long, it’s become the norm to feel we’re without a functioning government
It’s almost at the point where it’s easy to believe that the conservatives have a cunning plan to let Labour win the next election. For the following four years they can develop the narrative it isn’t that the LP inherited their mess, irs that they’re wasting money re-building public services

OK. This might be where I bore you all with my adherence to none mainstream economics again.

In my emails today was one from Prof. Steve Keen, whose blog I subscribe to.

His latest blog is called The Failure of Neoliberalism

Keen has built a computer model which analyses countries' performance on a number of levels; growth, inflation, private debt, public debt, unemployment and others. He inputs real data for analysis.

What he has found is that, ever since the mid 1970s, when Keynesianism was abandoned by very many countries in favour of monetarism, neo liberal economic theory their performance has diminished by most measures and have failed to achieve the same levels as when previously informed by Keynesian economics.

This is the preamble to his reporting

Several common themes turn up in almost all countries in these plots. First and foremost, the shift from so-called "Keynesian" to "Neoclassical/Neoliberal" economic policies that began in the mid-1970s, which was supposed to unleash the private sector from the shackles of the State, has failed on its own terms. The rate of economic growth under Neoliberalism—which I date from the beginning of 1975, when a surge in inflation empowered the political and academic rise of Milton Friedman's "Monetarism"—has been lower for every country in this database. Rather than the Neoclassicals showing the Keynesians how to promote growth, the Neoclassicals have shown how to turn real economic performance into permanent financial speculation:

A reminder. Keynes basically said that state spending would drive growth and that full employment was an essential part of that.

Neoliberal economics are based on minimal state spending, restriction of the money supply, the primacy of markets and private enterprise, and the use of unemployment to reduce demand in the event of inflation.

I don't like copying and pasting large chunks of other people's blogs. It is here if you want more detail (you may have to subscribe to read it, but he allows 'free' subscriptions which give access to selected posts)

profstevekeen.substack.com/p/the-failure-of-neoliberalism

We just aren't going to get out of the current economic mess that we are in until the government abandons it neoliberal economic thinking (and that would apply to any incoming Labour or coalition government)

Government will have to spend and would be wise to stop telling us that taxation funds spending and we can't afford to spend without raising taxes. Because it is not true.

I wonder who will be given the contracts for building and the supply of Portakabins.

growstuff

I wonder who will be given the contracts for building and the supply of Portakabins.

Has Sunak's wife got a company who could do it? If not I suppose she could acquire one.

This is going to be an interesting week, as so many outlets are reporting that letters of no confidence are flying into the 1922.

It remains to be seen what happens, but I can’t see how the Tory party can possibly inflict yet another unelected PM on the country!

Wwm2 what outlets are reporting this?

Well, we had Tory NHS Week, then Tory Crime Week and now it's Tory Schools Week. Next week, who knows. They are so inventive.

Oh well it’s good to see David Blunkett writing about the next election results - telling it as it is.

ronib

Wwm2 what outlets are reporting this?

The London Economic
Politics U.K.
Angela Eagle has said that she knows of backbenchers who are submitting them.

There is loads if you look.

ronib

Oh well it’s good to see David Blunkett writing about the next election results - telling it as it is.

You are funny ronib, asking Whitewavemark2 to post her sources, then not posting your own!

Casdon - just following example of there’s loads if you look. Well I have looked and there isn’t any evidence of backbenchers writing to the 1922 Committee .
David Blunkett writing in Telegraph - surprisingly!

Casdon

ronib

Oh well it’s good to see David Blunkett writing about the next election results - telling it as it is.

You are funny ronib, asking Whitewavemark2 to post her sources, then not posting your own!

Oh, come on, Casdon. By 9 o'clock in the morning we've surely all had time to read all the daily media resources and be completely familiar with them....

Posting links is so boring and what is wrong with google... [heavy sarcasm emoji]

Yup, it annoyed me. too...

ronib

Casdon - just following example of there’s loads if you look. Well I have looked and there isn’t any evidence of backbenchers writing to the 1922 Committee .
David Blunkett writing in Telegraph - surprisingly!

It was just the fact that your own post was immediately after hers that made me smile, I thought you were being ironic. The Telegraph is behind a paywall unfortunately, so you’ll have to tell us what David Blunkett said.

Honestly! The least we have to worry about are links which anyone if us can find if we wish or if not simply ask!

Worry about the way this country is crumbling before our eyes

It’s safe to conclude that the 1922 Committee is not receiving anywhere near sufficient letters to remove the current PM.
I don’t subscribe to the Daily Telegraph but the headline that David Blunkett thinks it will take a miracle for Labour to win a majority at the next election doesn’t leave much to my imagination.

Whitewavemark2

Honestly! The least we have to worry about are links which anyone if us can find if we wish or if not simply ask!

Worry about the way this country is crumbling before our eyes

Sorry, I think I’ve got a warped sense of humour this morning, it just struck me as funny because it was within three posts. I do prefer it when people put links in personally, because if something is portrayed as News but isn’t on the mainstream channels or reliable news sources the veracity is obviously questionable.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t take what’s going on at the moment very seriously - and yes, I would like to know what David Blunkett had to say.

Whitewavemark2

Honestly! The least we have to worry about are links which anyone if us can find if we wish or if not simply ask!

Worry about the way this country is crumbling before our eyes

I spend so much time worrying that I really appreciate it when people at least tell us a little bit about what they have read.Not having to scrabble around with google gives me more worry time

But here's a twitter thread link. Retired lawyer, Fiona O'Leary, details what has been happening on the RAAC front since 2010. Ignored warnings, budget cuts etc.

twitter.com/fascinatorfun/status/1698610225907978514

The trouble is my iPad doesn’t do links. So I can either ignore what I read or tell people where to find it if they ask - I prefer the latter.

Anyway enough of small matters.

Gove has admitted and apologised that he made a massive boo boo which apparently was realised not long after - but hey Ho it made no difference to his career.

Williamson is to go on behavioural lessons😄😄😄 and Sunak must be wishing it would all go away.