Blog 2023 Malcolm Blair-Robinson

Well that depends whose side you are on. This is a typical move for a Tory campaign, but this is not a typical campaign. Given that the beneficiaries of this latest Tory tax goodie are almost all Tory voters, it is unlikely that it will gain any for Cameron. On the other hand it plays very well for Labour and might get more of their core vote to the polls. It also plays well for the Lib Dems who have advanced recently after alleging that the Tories in government looked after the ‘bosses’ while the Lib Dem ministers looked after the ordinary workers.

There is something seriously discordant about promising the biggest cut back in public spending since whenever, which will impact welfare and all things to do with the poor, while at the same time finding cash to give the biggest death duty bonanza since 1945. This will surely underline Milliband’s message more then Cameron’s.

According to the Royal College of Nursing the number of NHS hospital nurses is now lower than it was in 2010. This is in part due to the reduction in training places due to cuts, with the effect that thousands who apply to become nurses cannot get trained. This is turn leads to recruiting nurses from overseas who are already trained.

This is barmy. It is also at variance with the claims of the coalition parties that they have boosted the number of nurses and maintained spending on the NHS in real terms. At the very least there seems to have been a degree of robbing Peter to pay Paul. Efficiency savings is one thing, but a plan to increase nurses at  the same time as reducing training places is ridiculous.

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To celebrate the new cover image for the paperback and Kindle editions of this Nazi era drama, it is available free to download until midnight US Pacific Time Sunday. The image shows Karl Kaufmann, Gauleiter of Hamburg and husband of the woman on whose life the character of Lise is based in the book, riding in the left back seat of Hitler’s car.

The UK Trade deficit was worse than expected in February.

Goods exported in February were the lowest since 2010.

The trade deficit with the EU is at a record high.

The UK economy is 70% consumer spending and has not been rebalanced in favour of manufacturing.

Most economists agree that no long term recovery can be built on this model.

The UK has the lowest productivity per capita of any of the industrial nations, behind the US, Germany, France, etc.

We need to have an election campaign that stops throwing insults and tossing out financial promises which are unlikely to be kept and instead gets real on what is going on in the world on which we depend.