Blog 2023 Malcolm Blair-Robinson

Set in the mid nineteen nineties, this fast moving thriller lifts the curtain on sex, sleaze and corruption in high places as the long reign of the government totters to an end, following the ousting of the iconic Margaret Thatcher. The novel catches the mood of those times with a host of fictional characters who engage in political intrigue, sex, money laundering and murder, pursued by an Irish investigative journalist and his girlfriend, the daughter of a cabinet minister found dead in a hotel room after bondage sex.

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This blog has always been riled by the idiotic pronouncements of the UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon. His latest two border on the irrational. The newest is his assertion that Jeremy Corbyn is a bigger threat to the Falklands than Argentina, because the Labour leader suggested that Britain should try and reach a reasonable accommodation with her. So we should. This never ending stand off does nobody any good, least of all the islanders. I remember supporting the use of force to take the islands back after the ill judged invasion by the doomed military junta, but on the condition that having proved to them that such disagreements could not be solved by brute force, we sit down and talk and reach a settlement. We never did. If Corbyn does get the opportunity it will be well worth the try.

A couple of days ago we had the accusation that Russia was deliberately bombing civilians in Syria. Such is the nature of the combat, the variety of enemies and their entanglement among civilians that mishaps are inevitable and both the Americans and the British have had problems in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past. But to go on and accuse Putin of war crimes is way over the top and entirely counter productive in the current struggle to pause the fighting and bring respite to the suffering. As for bombing civilians, perhaps Mr Fallon could spare a moment to explain Bomber Command’s Area Bombing campaign in WWII, in particular the Hamburg fire storm in which the RAF killed over 40,000 civilians, mostly women and children, in a single night. That was not by mistake. It was on purpose, as a matter of policy and approved at the highest level.

QE in various forms is now very much part of the economic conversation, especially in connection with recent market turmoil. Dynamic Quantitative Easing (also called Peoples Quantitative Easing) remains under government, not bank, control and targets specific investment projects without borrowing, interest or repayments. It can reboot the economy, boost manufacturing and exports and enable sustained growth of real national wealth shared by all, rather than just asset inflation which is the downside of ordinary QE. If you want to find out more you can enjoy a lucid explanation of the original idea from the link below.

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Surely it was not supposed to be like this? Negotiations to the wire which even if they succeed, will deliver a deal that is either smoke and mirrors or much less than expected. As for immigration, the clincher according to many commentators? Every expert asked has confirmed the inflow of migrants in unlikely to reduce much if at all, even if Cameron’s benefit curbs are agreed in full, which is impossible.

This blog has worried that the referendum is going to be about terms rather than principle. It would have been better to hold and in out referendum which would have been won by Remain and then use the enhanced clout of the UK to fix a few deals to improve the EU for everybody. Now we are heading into an argument about fine print, with several cabinet heavyweights planning to drive the Leave campaign. The idea of divided government has only been tried once; by Harold Wilson at the last EU referendum. Labour was seriously damaged and went into a decline which lasted over twenty years. If it is a Remain victory will Cameron be able to put his government back together again or will it be a Humpty Dumpty moment? If it is Leave who win, then what?

Then there is  that elephant in the Tory room.

Boris.