Blog 2023 Malcolm Blair-Robinson

Cumbria

There  have been times in the last few years when I have wondered whether this country still had the community spirit and infrastructure skills which got us through the war. I mean WWII. Panic buying in supermarkets during the fuel blockade did not bode well.

Cumbria has proved there is nothing to fear. The spirit of the people is as indomitable as ever. Communities act as one. A railway station built in seven days. The Army’s footbridge well on the way. The people of Cumbria have shown us what we can do. What we really are. But they still need help. When you do Christmas shopping on line, spend some money on stuff from Cumbria. They deserve it.

Dubai

When Bear Stearns went down early in 2008, most people thought it was just a straightforward bank failure brought about by careless management. A few, very few, saw it a  straw in the wind, later to blow through the world financial system with hurricane force. Now we have Dubai, the first country, albeit tiny, in trouble. Again the rationale is explained. Over-gearing, excessive reliance on property, not much oil wealth.

So is this a one off? Or are other countries, bigger ones, due to follow? We already have Iceland, but that country’s economy was its banks. When they went down, there was nothing. Other names are now in the frame. Latvia? Ireland? Could it happen even to us? The answer is yes it could, but it need not. The way to avoid that desperate late night phone call to the IMF is to do something meaningful about Government debt. At the moment it just gets bigger.That is the road to Dubai.If we end up there, it will not just be straws in the wind. There will be flying oak trees up rooted  and spinning through the air.

It is important for our leaders to see Dubai as a wake up call.