The new Chancellor says he is looking for ways to cut spending to bring the borrowing down. I have sent him a list of ideas familiar to readers of this blog where they have been published before.
Today there are some easy ways to make an impact.
1 Reverse his decision with the Bank of England to sell some of the bonds they own at a loss. Not selling would save in excess of £10 bn in the year ahead.
2 Work with DWP to improve incentives and support to help 500,000 people on benefits to get jobs. Saving around £5bn from less benefit and more tax.
3.implement Braverman plan to stop small boats illegal migration. Save £3bn in annual additional hotel costs.
4. Cancel HS2 and resell land acquired. Save many billions starting this year.
5. Adjust energy package to limit subsidised energy for households to the average usage, requiring those who use more to pay full price for the extra.
6 Substitute more UK gas and oil for imports by pressing on with extra N Sea production. This will cut the import bill and boost UK tax revenues substantially.
October 24, 2022
All those indeed but far larger saving could be made:- Ditch the insane net zero war on plant food religion, kill all subsidies and market rigging for EVs and the quite wrongly named “renewable energy”. Kill the soft loans for the worthless degrees about 75% clearly are (release all these people to get a productive job and study on line if they wish to.
A vast bonfire of red tape (effectively a tax cut that saves people money which increasing the tax take) This releases regulators and compliance officers to get productive jobs instead. A vast simplification of the tax code would do the same.
So much of what government does causes net harm perhaps 50% or so so ditch all this and the staff inflicting it on people. The mad hugely extended lockdown, landlord licencing, the ineffective and dangerous Covid Vaccines (coerced onto the public without any evidence they even worked or were sufficiently safe), the blocking of roads with bus and bike lanes, ULEZ, much of misguided health and safely, the slow, expensive and incompetent planning system…
Free up real and fair competition in education, energy, banking and healthcare…
You say “Adjust energy package to limit subsidised energy for households to the average usage, requiring those who use more to pay full price for the extra”. I would go further than this and limit it to 1/2 the average usage and only for poorer users. Most people can easily save energy with extra jumpers etc. I would also limit standing charges or abolish them. These are a large charge for supplying no energy and unfair to the poor who can do nothing about them.
But it seems we are to have tax to death, serial manifesto ratter and currency debaser one Rishi Sunak and Hunt so sense will surely not prevail. Hunt seems to think 25% Corporation tax in the UK and NI is a great plan when in the Republic it is 12.5% just half of this level. Great plan for NI Hunt. This fool and failed health Sec for 6 years also seems to have cancelled the IR35 reforms it should be abolished in full.
October 24, 2022
I agree with the post, but what chance is there of any of this being done, now that Boris has dropped out and Sunak will be PM?
“Disappointment” doesn’t rightly describe my feelings about politics. I feel that getting the Conservative Party to destroy itself was always part of the “plan”. The other Parties were always on the globalist side, but a minority of Conservative MPs weren’t to be trusted and the Party membership was a problem that couldn’t always be ignored.
It shows you what a huge task any contender right of centre Party has to get any power.
October 24, 2022
I think you should brace for greater disappointment; there will be no spending cuts, just more taxation, Mr Sunal said that was his plan.
Recession here we come. The only positive part of this, at least we are spared an egomaniac, spendrift comedian in No. 10.
October 24, 2022
Indeed. I’m at a loss to understand Sunak’s plan to increase Corporation Tax from 19-25% and think that will attract investment here. Absolute madness. Pretendy Conservative Tory’s have to go.
October 25, 2022
+1
October 24, 2022
The current Tories are way to the left of centre. They seem to think (given first past the post voting) that so long as they are not quite as bad as Labour/SNP they can tax the country to death and waste nearly all the proceeds.
October 24, 2022
“…the country faces a profound economic crisis”.. that Sunak created! You could not make it up.
The institutionally dishonest Tory party did not allow their membership let alone the public a vote!! Their membership rejected the back stabbed only two months ago. Try again and again until they get it right. Not just EU but the socialist Tory way. Hunt number two who was resoundingly rejected!!
Proud of the party you belong to JR?
October 24, 2022
+many
Disappointment, I agree doesn’t begin to cut it. More like devastation really.
I do resent the way the establishment hid all the globalist agenda from us with howls of “conspiracy”. We might have been able to vote more sensibly had we truly known the reality.
And now with all the truly draconian laws they are hatching we stand little chance of ever finding out the truth about politics or even being able to protest about anything.*
* Maybe why they stood down over far extreme left protests.
They wanted us to BEG for draconian laws to stop Xr and in so doing lose our right to complain!
October 24, 2022
@Wanderer +1
October 24, 2022
Yes, Wanderer, the “No Boris, No Brexit” coup is now complete, without the double assassin having uttered a word. Brexiteers like Nigel Farage who acted as useful idiots must answer for their self centred short sightedness. The writing was on the wall the moment the floods began, straight after the election victory, and then became clearer with the response to the pandemic. One way and another the Brexit administration was going to be brought down.
I agree with Sir John’s sensible list. Who could resist it? A man who as Chancellor ran a quarter million deficit for two years, that’s who. A man who landed us with double digit inflation and now looming recession caused by raising tax when it should be lowered. His economy wrecking, country wrecking policy will lead to ever greater borrowing so the globalists get their way and we really are under the IMF.
One little addition: decriminalising the BBC tax refuseniks might save a bit for the Justice Dept.
October 24, 2022
The Tories never mention the staggering cost of crime – hardly surprising as it generally soars under their misrule.
Modest estimates put the cost at 7% of GDP, and the general rate is twice that pro rata of the Continent.
That would suggest – without more – that if the population of the UK were wholly exchanged for that of the Mainland, then its crime rate would be halved.
October 24, 2022
@NLH
Some might say that the mainland has exported many of its criminals to the UK ?
I couldn’t possibly comment.
October 24, 2022
Their misrule includes doing nothing to stop illegal immigration, which brings in hoardes of Albanian criminals and feeds all sorts of illegal activities.
October 24, 2022
That will be as a result of the left’s kind approach to crime then. If they were all locked away with no hope of remission then crime would plummet.
October 24, 2022
Interesting estimate NLH is it broken down to regions? Cities? Are any police commissioners succeeding? Is it broken down by regional police divisions, where is your source? Are they all in conservative run areas?
October 24, 2022
‘it generally soars ‘
Care to provide some detail on this wild assertion? generally meaning what?
October 24, 2022
Are you in favour of harsh punishment for crims NHL?
Do tell.
October 24, 2022
Don’t worry Sunak is not going to go out of his way to court popular acclaim he’s not that type – you won ‘t see him opening factories or shops wearing white coats or any if the old rubbish Boris went on with
He will tax tax tax and cut spending until he balances the books – nof caring a goddam about the pain- he’s a technocrat – and nothing wrong with that if he brings the country back from the brink and puts a but of reality back into things here.
October 24, 2022
Good morning.
And not just cental government. Local government need controlling too !
Stop ULEZ in London. The government can demand than the Mayor of London cancel or delay the scheme. This would help those on low incomes and small business more as they are the ones who will be unable to renew their vehicles.
It is time the government looked at tightening the States many belts.
October 24, 2022
So many layers of expensive, parasitic, largely pointless and often net damaging government. City mayors, devolution, two tiers of local government, central government, parish councils, Drakeford and Sturgeon then all the Quangos…
October 24, 2022
What do Regional Mayors achieve …apart from getting good salaries
October 24, 2022
@Mark B +1 Growing London’s boundaries to play to a Mayors ego has destroyed the lives in what used to be neighbouring Counties. It was never necessary, it has only achieved growing the slums of the dirty City called London.
What the hell is TfL, when LT actually worked for all
October 24, 2022
Hunt is 8mp.ementing,Sunak’s remainer agenda. There is no chance that they will follow JRs advice. His party failed to listen to him on so many occasions over so many years I thought JR would have learnt. Unless this is to try to give us hope there is a glimmer of conservatism in his party. That is for the birds.
Will Sunak be investigated like Johnson for misleading/lying to parliament? I thought on 07/12/2021 he was asked in HoC if he attended any parties, he said he had not attended any. In stark contrast he was given a fixed penalty notice for his crime and thereby proving he did in fact attend a party which he pleaded guilty to.
So why are the socialist Tories allowing a convicted criminal to apply to be PM and one which appears to have misled/lied to HoC? Was this not a reason why it was cited Johnson could not apply?
October 24, 2022
MarkB, Labour wants a crack at running the whole Country, they can’t even look after London, just one region. Just look what Khan is turning a blind eye to that could then go nationwide. In fact, look at their region’s knife crimes, and gun crimes. Litter – fly tipping.
Look at the extra taxes in London but not for tfl workers; Khan has given them all an extra £1500 pa perk of free travel with subsidies from the rest of the Country.
Look at the protestors bringing the economy to a halt, closing down a key road artery for two days.
Look at protestors allowed to roam around with large canisters spraying paint and emptying milk everywhere. Do we see them made to clean it up themselves do we heck? Then they are now vandalising Art and statues. A country without its art free and available for all to see is a Country without humans. For Khan to turn a blind eye shows you the state of the rest of the Country would be in. They don’t care.
October 24, 2022
They can’t manage Wales either. Look what a brilliant job Sir John did there and got back home each night as well.
October 25, 2022
rose, when do you ever hear Drakeford talking about how they’re making extra money to pay for their largesse? Do you ever hear him talking about attracting new businesses to Wales? Everyone I know there is reliant on State jobs and boy do those jobs pay well in Wales compared to other jobs, and buy them a lot more than in many places in England, yet those workers are still not happy!
We’re in England yet we get 2nd hand welsh buses with welsh writing all over them and welsh police cars, they should keep their own stinky vehicles yet I guess they are the part of our nation getting the new bus and car subsidies!
October 26, 2022
Another thing Miss Truss was on to: should a whole region be dominated by well remunerated and index linked public sector workers with pensions to match, with barely any private sector people to pay for it all? Should private enterprise in such a region be unable to compete in the employment market with the bloated public sector?
October 26, 2022
Rose, they have the same public sector pay but their average band D council tax is around £400-£500 pa less and they are moaning because that’s been started to be increased. Their rent is a lot lower and housing costs are lower. Their students have no tuition fees and can still get generous grants, they can also get scholarships only open to Welsh children.
October 24, 2022
As a friend put it: when the UK decided to cut itself off from its biggest market, its fate was sealed.
Brexit has been a disaster for the economy. In 2016, Britain’s economy was 90% the size of Germany’s. Now it is 70%.
Unless the UK can rebuild its ties to the European Union, no government will be able to stem the economic slide.
October 24, 2022
… will be allowed to….
October 24, 2022
What is the size of Germany’s economy? Have you seen the bankruptcy of an ever increasing number of very big and long established businesses there?
October 24, 2022
It is nothing to do with leaving the EU and everything to do with net zero.
October 24, 2022
care to give us the economy stats Britain vs the other EU countries?
No? – I thought you wouldn’t want to go there.
October 24, 2022
“Cut itself off”…ridiculous comment NHL
Trade carries on.
October 24, 2022
You plainly believe any old rubbish you read on Twitter. The correct numbers are 78% and 76%. An apology for spreading fake news would be in order.
October 24, 2022
Indeed. After retiring from a proper job I worked for one of my local Councils for a year. Absolutely disgusted with the lack of work ethic, twice as many people employed than necessary. All walking around with pieces of paper and talking or on their computers surfing the net or shopping. The working from home was a ……joke!
October 24, 2022
I was in favour of a Boris return as PM as he had more chance than Sunak of saving us from a Starmer/Sturgeon hell. Just as he saved us from May and Corbyn. But it seems this cannot now be as so many Tory MPs are essentially green crap pushing socialists, career politicians, tax to death enthusiasts and remainers.
Boris supporters keep saying he “got the big things right”. Well no he just saved us from Corbyn than goodness but then he got all the big things since completely wrong:-
The massive extended lockdown and furlough – vastly expensive, damaging and completely pointless costing more lives not fewer.
The misguided Net Zero religion & war on plant, tree and crop foods costs £trillions does massive harm and does no good.
The failure to cut taxes indeed putting them up hugely and breaking very many manifesto promises.
The freezing of all tax allowances and continued ratting on Osborne’s IHT promise.
The debasing of Sterling by Sunak and the appointment of Sunak his partner in all these errors.
Continuing with the basket case HS2 project.
The war on motorists.
The subsidising of pointless degrees
Housing policies
The open door to legal and illegal immigration
Our plastic and misdirected police and criminal justice system
The pushing of dangerous and largely ineffective vaccines even to young people never even at risk from Covid. Deaths (ONS all causes & largely non Covid) still up circa 14% on five year average or 225 people every day. So why is this exactly? It seems the government do not even want to know why and most of the MSM is silent. So is it NHS incompetence or the dangerous vaccines and boosters perhaps? After the Covid excess death period one would normally expect it to be rather lower too & not hugely higher.
October 24, 2022
Also the mess in Northern Ireland he has created and not resolved. Will Sunak cave in to the EU on this I suspect he will?
October 24, 2022
+1LL.
An excellent summary. Two or three of these failures would be enough to sink the Conservative party. Failing on all is a death wish.
October 24, 2022
Of course he’ll cave in. He’ll also want to join the single market and customs union.
It’s a remainer coup.
October 24, 2022
My 47 year old stepson has just spent 3 years spaffing his inheritance and seamlessly gone back onto universal credit.
No pressure to get a job from the joke shop as he calls it.
October 24, 2022
+1
October 24, 2022
Steve Baker seems to be getting somewhere with the Irish government. I haven’t seen any details but I’d like to see that progress and hopefully reach an acceptable result. Mr Baker has always seemed to have his head screwed on the right way, so worth continuing I think.
October 24, 2022
So long as he really gets Northern Ireland back into the Union and does not leave her behind with a shameful compromise.
October 24, 2022
LL,
You say saved us from Corbyn but it appears your memory fails you. May offered to work with Corbyn and many socialist Tories actively worked with Labour MPs and the speaker to stop Brexit! This was not an accident. It was a deliberate choice by many Tory MPs to work with Labour. Another bunch created their own party and another bunch walked across the isle as independents. A substantial proportion of Tory MPs who were not conservative, not patriotic, not democratic and deliberately worked against their voters. May still on the benches spouting her bile, her Brexit trap still in force and working well. She acted against cabinet, party and country!! Hunt was a staunch remainer, staunch authoritarian lock down, pro EU pro China, pro globalist and WEF, now in Charge of the country and its finances!
I cannot understand why JR thinks his conservatives views on anything will be considered.
What idiot would vote for these?
October 24, 2022
Steve baker the the one of the many faces ‘ well we’ll see – he may not be even there by Wednesday – and yes – but he has a weak chin .. a flip flopper I think
October 24, 2022
The UK caved in back in 2019 when the Conservatives accepted the Protocol, ie blockages to trade between GB and Northern Ireland
October 24, 2022
The remainers in Parliament seized control of the government order paper and passed an illegitimate bill called the Surrender Bill which compelled the PM to stay at the negotiating table till he had a deal. As he said, it chopped off his legs. This meant he wasn’t able to negotiate properly and the NIP was the result. Mrs May and her remainer advisers had laid the ground for this. So it wasn’t a cave in. It was a deliberate betrayal.
October 24, 2022
Yes – he might come across to the almost depressive as a jolly funny man, but my God did he wreak havoc in so many ways – some listed above.
October 24, 2022
and yet you wanted him back
October 24, 2022
LL. Great list there to which I would add the disgraceful waste in the NHS. A receptionist in NHS was recently sent with other colleagues on a ‘brush day’. A feel good day where you get to paint a meadow scene and all for the princely sum of £35 each. How much does all this cost with the diversity managers?
October 24, 2022
Very well said.
October 24, 2022
Second sentence scores high on Lifelogic Bingo. Only PPE degrees and drains missing for a full house.
You are correct about Boris getting ” all the big things wrong”. I am not convinced keeping Labour out is a great achievement either.
Not sure why you list all the things needed in some detail. You know as well as I do it’s not going to happen.
October 24, 2022
Rishi does not even have half the Conservative Party MPs voting for him and the MSM are declaring him the winner.
What on earth is is going on ?!
This is not democracy.
The British people will never forgive the Conservative Party.
October 24, 2022
The main stream media are part of the psychological war fare waged against the people.
Note much of what they do is designed to have people think a certain way.
They cause confusion, distress and a sense of hopelessness among many.
Now they press ahead with the ‘Labour to win next election’ campaign.
October 24, 2022
My vote has now gone for good. I’m not voting for the WEF stooge.
October 24, 2022
+1
October 24, 2022
@ Javelin – the British people might well not forgive the Conservative Party for the outcome but what sin has been committed thus far? The leadership selection process is a matter for the Party and recall that without objection from the people it used to be undertaken by a “due process of consultation” that was anything but transparent, even to those involved.
October 24, 2022
and they shouldn’t forgive the 1922 stitch up.
October 24, 2022
The “winner” is chosen before the vote. ( Those really in charge want Starmer..for his “growth plan”…didn’t want Truss’s).
Then there are shenanigans to shoe horn said chosen one into place. ( Are they planning a short spell for Sunak and rapid GE?).
Why was there such a huge time lag with Truss?
How come they can suddenly get their act together quick smart with this one?
We are being played, as ever. And I am soooo sick of it all.
October 24, 2022
Suspect the pending US mid terms may well have pushed the timetable forward hence the delay then putsch.
Some if they do not win seek to destroy. A UK centerist gov combined with others and a republican surge may hold back the globalists plans.
This is global, we are just a cog in a bigger wheel. NIce if we could ever Brexit free-wheel, sadly we are still have been welded to the EU by admin lawfare.
October 24, 2022
+1
October 25, 2022
+1
October 24, 2022
@Javelin
The greater part of the Conservative MPs want Sunak.
The greater part of the Conservative members do not.
The fix is in ?
October 24, 2022
I think the greater part of the Conservative members would have got used to Liz and lower taxes but the establishment, the political media and cultural elites like to keep the hoi-polloi poor and the country in decline.
October 24, 2022
In my opinion.
October 25, 2022
+1
Mine also
October 24, 2022
@Javelin Their is no longer a Conservative Party, just another shade of the Globalist WEF disciples determined to enforse World Group Think on the World. Its about how left can you go before someone notices – by then it should be to late
October 24, 2022
I think many people will welcome Sunak as PM because they identify him as the man who showered them with money, to pay for the granny-saving decisions taken by his government in 2020-2021. That is the relation the people have with the state now: they do not elect their rulers, they just try to cope with what their rulers inflict on them, and hold their caps out submissively for handouts in compensation.
October 24, 2022
It could have been Mario Draghi although i am pretty sure they have him lined up for being the Italian PM again.
This CCP is over. There is no democracy.
The globalists plan continues. Notice absolutely no votes from the people.
This needs a General Election and a mass clearout of the UNIPARTY. (LibLabConSNP).
The whole party,executive HOC, HOL system is beyond saving we need radical Alexander knot cutting solutions.
We need PR slimmed down HOC . HOL needs abolishing replaced with a Senate with specific duties set by a constitution. All PM’s must be chosen by the public at large. The executive cannot be part of the HOC ie an MP.
The admin state individuals that make Political decisions need to be red listed and should be terminated at the end of the term of the government. They must then go through a competitive re-selection process if they choose to do so.
October 25, 2022
As Lord Mandelson said; “We are living in a post democratic age”
October 24, 2022
“6 Substitute more UK gas and oil for imports by pressing on with extra N Sea production. This will cut the import bill and boost UK tax revenues substantially.”
Coal too please. We still import coal and have not even given the go ahead Cumbria coal mine: Decision delayed until November for a second time it seems. We also quite insanely import young coal (wood now called Biofuel) on diesel ships to burn at Drax. So as to vastly increase CO2 output relative to using coal one assumes!
October 24, 2022
Yes. Coal 100%
Plenty of jobs there too.
October 24, 2022
Remember just 30-40yrs ago when the Labour Party fully supported the coal miners and their communities …now its renewables, immigration and a green net-zero society
October 24, 2022
+1
I do remember.
The far extreme left have a new proletariate now!
They don’t need the ( from their point of view) rather uncooperative white working class.
October 25, 2022
glen
That is because the NUM paid money into the Labour Party. Now it is the likes of the NHS.
ie They do not, and have never, cared for coal miners or their communities, just their subs (money).
October 25, 2022
So Labour just follow the money
October 24, 2022
Is there anyone left who knows how to mine it, and would want to do it?
October 24, 2022
Open the mines…and they will come.
October 24, 2022
Starmer on radio this morning said he would not allow fracking or more oil wells and would double up on windmills which he says are nine times cheaper than gas! Where are the electricity discounts then? If he doubled up on renewables, on bad days we might get 5 per cent of our needs – wow. Last night watched on telly ‘UAE from the air ‘ I think it was called. They put acres and acres of solar panels in the desert ( the right place for them, not farmland) and I said to my wife ‘that is a lot of acreage for 1.5 million people’. Turns out it would only serve 90,000 people. It’s madness for this country with relatively no sun and no land to put solar panels on, yet Starmer wants to do it. God help us.
October 24, 2022
They all keep saying renewables “nine times cheaper” it is complete B/S. Perhaps when they generate energy at times when it is not needed (like daytime summer) they might have to sell it off for almost nothing, but that is hardly the same thing. Overall coal is far, far cheaper once you account fully for intermittency etc.
October 24, 2022
Agri-voltec. Solar panels raised slightly off he ground. Sheep etc can graze underneath. Plenty of trials ongoing. Just remove subsidies and allow the dual income streams. Heat can be stored in water tanks. Cheap energy could help with heat in grow tunnels.
October 24, 2022
Correct
October 24, 2022
To which excellent list we can add:
1: Cut Aid
2 Axe Barnett formula to Scotland
3: Reduce the Civil Service by 90000
4: Freeze public sector recruitment
5: Reform NHS Trust boards, and save prodigious waste of money there
October 24, 2022
Essential items to the list I’d say.
October 24, 2022
Aren’t we forgetting fracking?
October 24, 2022
+1 plus reform the public sector gold plated pensions so they contribute fairly to them and they are no better than private sector ones.
October 24, 2022
DAVID you have scored a bullseye …. spot on.
October 24, 2022
@David Peddy 2: Barnett formula – Get the formula back on track to serve the UK, as in ‘Levelling Up’ funds that treat the whole of the UK equally, going directly to Regions, Counties
October 24, 2022
Agree
October 25, 2022
+1
October 24, 2022
All cuts highly appropriate and I will be amazed if any are accepted. There is now, alas, more chance of seeing the National Insurance charges increased again.
October 24, 2022
Who cares about spending cuts, under Sunak its all about higher taxation
October 24, 2022
We need to look at the cost of governance of the U.K. There are more governing the U.K. than the USA.
Dissolve the devolved governments it’s been a huge and expensive mistake.
Reduce by half the House of Lords to 300. Stop the £330 a day. It should be a privilege to be a Peer.
Stop the gold plated pensions especially to ex PM’s. Liz getting that is seen as obscene by many. So change the rules.
Put a cap on MP’s expenses.
Stop legal aid for those entering the country illegally.
Cap Legal aid to criminals to stop spurious elongated and expensive defences.
Get rid of the diversity and inclusivity advisors in the public sector
Drastically reduce the managers in the NHS.
Remove all state benefits from all convicted oil protesters. We have an oil based economy from which they should not gain nor wish to gain.
You will not be able to remove illegal economic migrants without getting out of the ECHR. So use the Parliament Act to force the legislation through and repeal the Human Rights Act. The bloated HOL will always frustrate it.
Introduce a Bill of Rights to citizens that is specifically linked to personal responsibility.
Use Foreign Aid to pay for the current illegal immigration costs. ( well they are foreign and it is aid).
Not sure about HS2. It would probably cost more in compensation to cancel it.
October 24, 2022
+1 BW.
An excellent addition to the list. HS2 cancellation would save years of future subsidy and where will the electricity come from to run it. Not from renewables!
October 24, 2022
Get rid of all these unwanted and no needed new Mayors, particularly Burnham!
October 24, 2022
‘Stop the £330 a day. It should be a privilege to be a Peer.’
There are hundreds of thousands of pensioners doing service as volunteers keeping essential things going. Most on meagre state and private pensions they earned. They often pay their own travel and food – could the almost all Peers also act voluntarily being comfortably off, if not wealthy? Indeed the function of the Other House could be easily performed by a third of the membership numbers.
October 24, 2022
+1
October 24, 2022
@BW + 1
The House of Lords has no place in a Democracy it is a corrupting concept. Should be replaced with an elected Upper Revising chamber.
US 350 million elected House 435, UK 68 million with 650 MP’s. They wont however no matter how sencible the reason vote ‘for christmas’
October 24, 2022
With regard to HS2, we have spent (or contracted) about £28B so far, with Phase 1 budgeted at £40.3B (with a £4.3B contingency). There are 22k jobs involved. So a large sunk cost and I imagine there would be fairly large costs involved in cancelling (and restoration of) the work already done. Clearly the savings potential increase as you look beyond Ph1. This is data from the the 6-monthly progress report dated March 2022 (on Gov.UK) – so further expenditure will have occured since then I imagine. Another report (Sept?) should be due soon but I don’t know how long they take to prepare.
October 24, 2022
Get rid of “net zero”, “expert” advisors too in the state sector. Most seem to know nothing about physics, energy, engineering, climate or much else in my experience.
October 24, 2022
The Scottish authorities are a lot more transparent than the English ones BW.
32 Scottish Councils with 1227 elected councillors
5.454m people (2019).
129 MSPs
59 MPs
In the NW, there are 23 local authorities, can’t find how many councillors via google.
7.3m people (2019)
I think we have 2 metro mayors. But they only represent about 2m of the 7 million people, and why should those people have representation but other areas not? Everything in the NW shouldn’t revolve around Manchester and Liverpool alone.
75 MPs
October 24, 2022
I would be best to withdraw from the UN as it has become a vehicle for world malevolent governance. At least
resile from the UN Refugee Convention 1951 and the Global Migration Compact that Theresa May inflicted on us.
October 24, 2022
So we have Sunak. Who’s policies got us into this mess Liz was a very convenient smoke screen. Sunak, already rejected by the membership. PM through the back door. So rewarded for stabbing the PM that I voted for in the back. So back to high taxes, screwing pensioners, NI increases. I will never vote Tory while the snake is at the helm. Seems we need a new party or Reform party is where I will go.
October 24, 2022
From what I can see money and privilege rules and Con members are blinkered by flashes of gold in front of their own eyes.
If I marry a trilionaire perhaps I have a chance of rocketing to the top . ( Of course I will listen to the IMF and banking in general )
October 24, 2022
I think it is recognised by the majority of voters that pressure is being put on the UK to finally take us over . We have had years of dripping reversal of UKs values and denial of our own citizens wishes . This is why we went through Brexit . but numbskulls want to put the final nail in the coffin.
Voting counts the people who vote not the majority who are exhausted with politics against our own.
October 24, 2022
We need to cut spending, agreed. The only things to be cut will be things that affect the general public, eg. local services, fewer doctors appointments, less water, less energy, less everything. No doubt the illegals won’t be allowed to suffer! I get really really tired of illegals being prioritised over legal citizens.
Will someone please explain to me why they think mass immigration of low wage immigrants is beneficial to the country. When they eventually start work, if they become minimum wage employees, do you REALLY think they will justify all the money the UK spends on them? People keep telling me we need them to pay pensions and we need people willing to do the min pay jobs. The two are incompatible. Min pay jobs won’t cover their own pensions, never mind other peoples. Will they ever replace the money they cost the taxpayer or will they incur even more costs due to criminal behaviour? Unless of course, they are all engineers, doctors, etc. and then they deprive Brits of the higher paying jobs. Why do we subsidise employers who refuse to train, and employ, Brits? At minimum, they should provide housing and health insurance for their immigrant employees, and education for any kids they bring along and not expect the taxpayer to fund them. Please, will someone explain why these immigrants are beneficial to the country. I really want to know if there is a genuine reason for accepting them. I don’t refer to genuine refugees, just the economic migrants which make up the majority.
October 24, 2022
You know I have been a Conservative supporter since you started this blog. Please stop pretending things are NORMAL
They are NOT.
The grey men in the 1922 committee arbitrarily changed their own rules to ensure only one candidate could win.
The public didn’t not vote for small print in the 1922 rules. The public did not vote for the men in the grey suits choosing their chosen leader.
The Conservative Party are leading this country into an extremely dangerous place.
The comments on all news websites across the entire political establishment are all calling for a few general election.
Turn your head away from the Westminster bubble and look at the carnage your party has created in this country.
October 24, 2022
+1
October 25, 2022
+1
October 24, 2022
Richard Tice also set out several ways to cut spending on his TalkTV Show yesterday. As he said, thanks to the Treasury / B of E generated inflation and the Establishment’s deliberate destruction of our energy security, every household in the country is currently working out how to save £5 out of every £100 they spend.
The Government could easily do the same. The problem we have isn’t the inability of the Government to do it; it’s the ideological REFUSAL of the Establishment to do what’s necessary.
In addition to the savings Sir John has identified, they could also:
1. Scrap the Police and Crime Commissioners. No-one wanted them; no-one knows what they are doing.
2. Cull at least half of the Quangos.
3. Stop funding Mickey Mouse Degrees. Restrict fee support to STEM and academic degrees, not the “pretendy degrees” which used to be taught as vocational courses.
4. Cut the costs of Government: as a first step towards House of Lords reform, half the number of attendees. Break the link between receiving an Honour and having the right to participate in our Legislature.
5. Reform the Equality Act: then scrap every Equality/Diversity post across the Government, public sector and Quangocracy, including the NHS and BBC, and make the holders redundant.
6. Stop importing poor immigrants, both legal and illegal. We don’t need thousands of Nigerian “students” who ship in their extended families on the back of a student visa. (See 3 above).
October 24, 2022
Wanderer,
What chance of any of this being done – regardless of whether Sunak or Johnson is prime minister.
The Conservative party is not really conservative anymore -so no loss there.
The really big problem is establishing a new party that is genuinely conservative and delivers what it promises to voters.
October 24, 2022
On the issue of benefits, a young lady I know personally was receiving benefits as she was in low paid work and single parent (through no fault of her own)
She has found a better job with good pay, that fits in with hours of a family member who can look after her Son, so no child care costs.
She no longer needs or wants the help of state benefits. She is aghast at how they just will not leave her alone, and are actively encouraging her to make claims, turn down the set over time she is offered in order to make claims and other things besides.
Why?? Is this a rarity or are many more being encouraged to take when they don’t need? That to my mind is immoral and stealing from those in genuine need.
I know a benefit trap was set in place, Blair used it well in order for cheap foreign labour to be brought in, I’m not sure it ever went away.
October 24, 2022
If the chancellor responds it would be good to see what he says. There are many things that can be done with punishment to the people.
October 24, 2022
Apart from the bonds, they are not easy. HS2 politically will compromise Red Wall/levelling up when you need all the support possible, migration you have failed for years, DWP needs a massive cultural change and so it goes on. All suggested and ignored umpteen times and even if they were, would take years to filter through.
Every departments budget should be frozen/reduced by 5% so they have to find efficiency savings. Take cost (usually people) out is the proven quick and effective method.
You won’t because you need their votes and are frightened of the unions, so we come back to these retreads.
I read our cancer treatment rates are almost the worst in Europe and I suspect other NHS performances will be similar.
On your watch with a succession of frankly pretty poor Secretaries of State including our now Chancellor (fail and you get promoted) who utter emollient words about efficiency and do nothing and a metaphor for all the other Departments, MOD £5 billion spaffed on useless tanks, only three out of £150 billions worth of projects certain to complete.
This should be the focus of your daily blogs not non stop fighting the BOE.
October 25, 2022
Cancelling HS2 will not compromise the Red Wall. For instance in Greater Manchester the only genuine Red Wall seats (i.e not Conservative during the Thatcher and Major eras), Leigh; Heywood and Middleton are neither of them on a railway line at all – and the nearest constituency to central Manchester that voted Conservative, Bury South where I live could hardly care and it would benefit very few people there anyhow.
October 24, 2022
Diversity budgets
HS2
International Aid
Charge to use the NHS
October 24, 2022
Pause workplace pension schemes.
Taxpayers are contributing 1% of all gross salaries signed up. This would save the same as reversing the 19% tax cut.
At the same time all workers save at least 5% of their wages and companies 3%.
Savings all round
October 26, 2022
NS my understanding is that the governments 1% ended a while ago. 3% employer now 5% employee over around £6500
October 24, 2022
Cancel routinely sent overseas aid.
No more to Banana republics that steal the ‘aid’ Or to countries with space programmes.
Only send ‘aid’ when a disaster strikes.
October 24, 2022
We are a banana republic now so shouldn’t have to send aid as an annual obligation. One off disasters is what we should concentrate on.
October 25, 2022
When we are as poor as they are due to on going Socialist policies, I wonder how many countries will be dipping their hands in their pockets to help us out ?
Zero is my best guess.
October 24, 2022
And in other news, can there be more shameful sights than that of toadying MPs coming out for this leader or that as they have obviously been ‘bribed/bought off’ by offers of jobs. Look no further as to why this government is so poor, namely, ‘get a job if you back me’ no experience or skills necessary.
And Boris’s hopes for a comeback finally dashed in a burst of hubristic BS, so no change there. He and his sycophants (JRM looking particularly ridiculous) claiming he had the numbers, not a scintilla of self reflection that he might of been the problem and blaming Sunak and Mordaunt for not reaching out in the national interest as he did.
Good riddance, I say.
October 24, 2022
Rather than just cancel HS2, pull the state funding and tell them they need to raise the finances privately. The board can then demonstrate the business case they claim.
Government waste is what needs to be addressed, especially in the NHS. Unfortunately this requires management skill rather than a degree in political theory so won’t happen. Cutting it down in size would help, so promote workplace private health schemes with tax incentives, relieve the service of the costs of treating lifestyle diseases and let it concentrate on the genuine unfortunate.
October 24, 2022
If they …I suppose Sunak and Hunt…would do what JR suggests then the future might look a little brighter.
But of course, we know they just won’t.
I’m done with hoping.
October 24, 2022
I don’t understand why the ‘right’ of the Conservative party are up in arms about Boris not coming back. What did Boris achieve that was right wing – other of course than the excellent defeat of corbyn? Boris governed, in so far as he did at all, as a big govt social democrat. He was also, as we have seen, chaotic and foolish in his personal conduct and organisation. It would of course have been good to have real free market policies as Truss / Kwarteng advocated, but a certain basic level of competence and articulation is required to have any hope of them working, and that was lacking.
The best hope for anyone wanting centre right policies, avoiding a Labour / SNP govt, is to support Sunak, and attempt to convince him and those around him that we need growth policies not statism and recession. If the ship can be stabilised, a couple of years could easily see a very different picture and a chance to get back on course.
October 25, 2022
Yes. Let us all support someone whose spouse avoids paying taxes while he increases them everyone else.
October 24, 2022
6. ……. and land gas production. Remove local powers to prevent it which we know are being abused.
October 24, 2022
I ought to have added the ‘Conservatives’ don’t want fracking at all. They said they did but then gave locals the right to stop it, knowing they would and then they could get someone else to do their preventation works. They are happy to keep bankrupting us and keeping us dependent on knees to foreign interests.
October 24, 2022
Good morning Sir John
All pure conjecture given that more or less we are having a change of Government the week. And given the attitudes of those controlling the Conservative Party I would suggest they don’t give two-hoots about your and others good sense ideas.
Like most I would have hoped that it would have been an election as in a ‘competition’, but as it stands this Monday morning its looking more like a coronation of flawed characters.
It is already written that those undisciplined Machiavellian types both in the Conservative party and the Establishment will already be primed to brief against those that don’t jump to their tune. You could probably write the script already it is either about questionable citizenship and having a family that is actively supporting Putin’s activities in the Ukraine. Or a questionable WOKE background that is more about a sexual style and preference within the family than it is the people of the UK. The Conservative will have to jump to the tune of moving further to the Left to fall into line with a ‘Left’ Leaning Bank, OBR and Establishment
What has been missing is ‘debates’ from the contenders, the debate I want to see is ‘just to tax’ versus growing the economy to create wealth all these guys have to offer. How to bring the State and the Establishment inline with what we can actual afford. Then we get the long term security, resilience and safety of the Country. There is no Vision for the UK just a look at me Presidential style presentation. The Conservatives and Parliament have forgotten the UK is supposed to be a Parliamentary Democracy – not an egotistical Presidential Dictatorship.
October 24, 2022
‘Untrustworthy, self serving, dishonest’ . The Tory party as described from a latest opinion poll.
Quite.
October 24, 2022
Oh! Dear, we are in a mess. Now we are left with a card holding Yankie puppet for a PM.
Biden will be shaking him quickly into shape and destroying our beautiful country.
Please Sir John do all you can to avert this situation, I know its difficult but PLEASE try!
October 24, 2022
We are all forced to read between the lines, when those that want power nowadays talk cuts. Its not in their personal Empires, the State or the Establishment they are destined as already demonstrated to grow and grow exponentially for fear of reduced ego or upsetting friends.
All cuts will be forced on those that are in no position to compensate through economic activity, or they will be in the bedrock of we will worry about that another day so the UK’s safety, security and resilience will have to be held back until it becomes and even bigger catastrophe.
UK politics is now about personal fulfilment not about the Country
October 25, 2022
+1
October 24, 2022
What a mess the Conservatives have got themselves into.
Not even enough sensible Mp’s to put forward an alternative, and real conservative to Sunak.
Will anyone else now come forward by the deadline, or do we simply get a coronation.
What a farce.
No wonder Counties all over the World are asking what the hell is going on here because it certainly is not democracy in action.
October 24, 2022
That it should have come to this?
For all intents and purposes the parliamentary party is split and no matter how much they try to paper over the cracks so it will remain
Putting RS into No 10 is a solution and does not address the underlying problems within the party itself..
The vast majority of the MPs are devoveted converts to the policies and ethos of the WEF and similar organisations all pushing for the new Global Order. The sensible ones will be over a period of time be overwhelmed.
Give it four months and RS with the party will be dead men walking as the taxes rise, power cuts are normal, thousands extra invaders have been carried onto our beaches, people losing their homes, the NHS implodes, NZ adds to the misery of the less fortunate in society and the waste in government civil, public services increases unabated.
October 24, 2022
The biggest spending cut would be to cancel Net Zero.
The empirical evidence from renewable company reports (not CfD contracts) shows the real cost of wind power to be 2 to 3 times that quoted by the CEO of Rolls Royce for their SMRs at a HoL Industry & Regulators Committee evidence session last year. And this is without taking into account the enormous costs for grid stability, long-term back-up and massively increasing national and local grid capacities.
There is no climate emergency/crisis. Average global temperature as measured by UAH satellite is rising by 0.13 degrees C per decade and satellite measurements show sea levels are rising by just 1.6 mm per year. Antarctic Vostok Ice Core data shows CO2 follows temperature and both are at historically low levels since the beginning of the Cambrian explosion 500 million years ago. The temperature has even been a couple of degrees C higher than today since the last ice age ended just 11,000 years ago.
The CCC/Net Zero Strategy to reduce our 1% contribution to global CO2 emissions will destroy our economy and the whole world will suffer from famines if plant food, CO2, falls to even lower levels.
9 times over the last 800,000 years CO2 has dropped to 180 ppm, just 30 ppm above the level below which plants cannot survive.
NASA data shows that 9 times over the last 800,000 years CO2 has dropped to 180 ppm, just 30 ppm above the level below which plants cannot survive.
November 1, 2022
Given that NASA was officially created on 29/07/1958 I really wonder how their data could cover 800,000 years.
Then if CO2 concentration never dropped below 180 ppm how do smart people know that it is ‘just 30 ppm above the level below which plants cannot survive’. Do you have a proper reference for a study showing this fact, or is it something you heard being said by one of your gurus?
In fact J.E. Lovelock and M. Whitfield, in their 1982 Nature paper (Lifespan of the biosphere, 296, 561-564) conclude that the so-called C4 pathway photosynthesis can persist to CO2 concentration values as low as 10 ppm. This result was confirmed by K.Caldera and J. Kasting, 1992, Nature, The lifespan of the biosphere revisited, doi:10.1038/360721A0.
But James Lovelock was certainly a better scientist than Patrick Moore ever has been.
But keep on the good work, you’re almost as good as E2P2.
October 24, 2022
The Treasury gives spending power to the economy with its right hand, while allowing its own Central Bank, to take that spending power out of the economy with its left hand.
The BoE has just issued “Asset Purchase Facility: Gilt Sales – Market Notice 20”, and the “ Bank of England confirms APF gilts sales for Q4 2022”
The first thing Sunak and his Chancellor should do is freeze these BoE actions till further notice, including interest rate changes.
The Gilts held in the APF are empty; they are just serial numbers in a spreadsheet; they contain no money; but, they still get paid the twice yearly interest they are due as if the were proper Gilts. That finally finds its way back to the Treasury that paid it originally.
The money that was in the APF Gilts was all transferred back the Bank Accounts of those that sold their Gilts to the APF, for a cash deposit in their own Bank account. The equivalent sum is added to the “reserves accounts” of their Bank’s account at the BoE for balance sheet balancing purposes, circa £1045 billion in reserves at the moment mirroring the deposits in High Street Banks customer accounts
The Treasury and the BoE have forgotten that the Gilts secondary market is a price taker NOT a price maker and should stop running scared of it. Take a lesson from the Bank of Japan on how to manipulate a Bond secondary market yield curve.
October 24, 2022
The only thing that seems reasonable at the moment comes from Boris Johnson – he says although he thinks the Country needs him, he would be unable to unite the party
October 24, 2022
None of those cuts will happen. Not one. Extra tax rises will be substituted.
October 24, 2022
SirJ, your six points are obvious to any sensible conservative, but include closing any subsidy to wind-turbines, the renewable industry and to purchasing & charging EVs ….alas non will be realised
October 24, 2022
1. Scrap the Home Office as it is not fit for purpose and replace it with a completely new body – Office for the Interior or something. This new body should be designed from scratch; thus it would not be a simple name change.
2. Ban all the green crap that local councils are up to – congestion charges, cycyle lanes, low traffic zones and other impediments to businesses.
3. Devolution – the country can no longer afford this expensive indulgence so abolish devolved admins.
4. The Barnett Formula – enough said. Replace it with a more targeted Highlands & Islands fund instead of all of Scotland. Wales and NI don’t need subsidies in this way.
October 24, 2022
Seems the new government in Sweden has good ideas on cutting spending …
[extracts from today’s report credit Martin A Armstrong]
“New Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is not heeding the Green agenda. He promptly eliminated the entire Ministry of Climate and Environment, marking the first time in 35 years that Sweden does not have a specific climate ministry.”
…The Nationalist Sweden Democrats do not support the goal of achieving net zero emissions.”
Instead, the new government is prioritizing nuclear power initiatives that will make it increasingly difficult to shut down existing plants while using €36 billion to build new nuclear power stations. The new government is also considering reopening two nuclear power plants that discontinued operations in recent years.”
October 24, 2022
One of the largest savings I can think of is to require all government departments to justify any emmisions policy on the basis on ‘Total Life’ emmissions rather than UK ‘Emitted’ ones.
I believe that the way ‘carbon’ is currently accounted for is highly distorted and that this is leading to expensive mistakes. Obvious examples include exporting jobs and manufacturing to carbon intensive countries and then importing the finished goods (is that really zero carbon?). Or failing to compare carbon ‘build’ intensive products with others over the entire product lifetime of both (EVs vs ICE for example). Or failing to account for the full carbon life cycle of renewables, the total build, operation and disposal carbon costs of wind generators for example.
I suspect that if there was honesty in these matters, a great deal of money could be saved. Of one thing I am certain, the current so called ‘Net Zero’ policies are not only extremely expensive but they are also not truly costed in either financial or carbon terms. Why isn’t this being debated in Westminster?
October 24, 2022
If Government was being run along the same lines as most Corporate entites, when the bottom line was looking bad, the first thing they’d do is to freeze headcount. The second thing they’d do is cut headcount. The third thing they’d do is probably cut headcount again. I speak as someone who has both been made redundant and who has managed redundancies.
I guess the main difference between private and public organistions, is that you can spot an underperforming company via it’s balance sheet and P&L. We don’t seem to have any equivalent metrics in the public sector to examine. Does anyone really believe that all of our public services are efficient and well run? How many would survive if they were faced with real competition? Sooner or later (and probably sooner) the public purse will run dry and hard decisions will have to be made and it won’t be very popular.
October 24, 2022
My judgement will be based first on what the new PM says he/she sees as priorities for the UK, then second on what he actually does. I have had enough of politicians rhetoric followed by inaction and yet more rhetoric.
October 24, 2022
Windfall tax on fossil fuel companies. Would pay for the energy subsidies.
Reinstate energy-saving initiative.
Increase support for renewables, including onshore wind farms, to make us less dependent on imported energy.
Renationalise railways to remove need to pay shareholders massive dividends, essentially from government subsidies
October 24, 2022
When has the full capacity available from renewable ever been used Keith?
No point in building more, what we have doesn’t deliver.
October 24, 2022
KC : Increase support for renewables, including onshore wind farms, to make us less dependent on imported energy.”
How can we have energy security when 95% of wind turbines and 100% of solar panels are supplied by (coal-fired) China? Furthermore, China and Russia control the raw materials for batteries, motors and generators.
50% of wind turbines fail within 5 years and need replacement every 15 years. So those installed today will need replacement by the electricity decarbonisation date of 2035. According to the BEIS Energy Brief 2022, the average power output from our wind turbines was just 30% of installed capacity.
You cannot run a successful economy on expensive and intermittent power.
October 24, 2022
Sir John,
Foreign aid should be replaced by emergency aid, to only be used as and when needed. By this I do not mean handouts of cash, but British-made equipment, vehicles, tents, engineering etc. Thereby helping British industry.
Abolish the mayor of London and the London Assembly. Both a pointless waste of taxpayers’ money.
Complete the sale of Channel 4.
Replace the TV tax with a subscription service. Make the BBC become wholly self-supporting without the aid of government or public funding.
Stop sending taxpayer-funded weapons and munitions to Ukraine. Emergency aid only. Tell them to get back to the negotiating table. Neither the UK nor Ukraine can afford a forever war.
Stop giving money to the EU.
Reform or replace the House of Lords. No more daily allowances.
October 24, 2022
You’ve already saved a lot of money? Some examples, the EU said they were down around £40bn from the UK in 2021; there are ongoing savings. All those people in care homes that passed away sooner than expected, how much did care and state pension costs reduce since March 2020 with all the excess deaths? Equalising the state retirement age from 60 for women to 66, and the extra year for men, how much has that saved in both pensions and extra national insurance contributions?
1. Retrain people into other more suitable roles that work in the public sector and have been off work sick for over 12 months that will not be able to return to their previous position in the next three months to fill their roles with a dedicated f/t replacement and find them more suitable replacement work to help them to get back to work even if only part-time moving forward.
2. Check the purchase of stationery in public organisations compared to equivalent-size private companies from their accounts, is smart purchasing nationwide?
3. Have the requests for passports dipped from October? Do they stay reduced until March every year? If so, do reminder advertising to remind people to book their passport renewals now and during dips.
October 25, 2022
One more suggestion. Grades 1 to 4 in nursing are called nurses instead of auxillaries, nursery assistants, healthcare assistants, emergency care assistants, theatre support workers. We should call them what they are and not nurse, it is distorting the public’s perspective when they are told some of these lower grade assistants are going to food banks.
Instead of making every 16-year-old stay on at school doing a tourism BTEC or a care BTEC, or a drama BTEC, we should encourage and allow them to become healthcare assistants doing proper NVQ level III (level II if they don’t have 5 top GCSEs) on day release at college to top up their ward training. These nursery assistants are paid £20,270 for a 36-hour week. So at 16 they could pay to train and get a better NVQ in care giving which would allow them to access at 18 A levels in social care, nursing, nursery nursing, emergency care work etc. We have allowed this Blair experiment just go on for 25 years when it is failing!
October 24, 2022
To your point number 6 I would add increased onshore oil and gas production. Everyone has been conditioned to instantly think that means fracking but that is not necessarily the case. There are new onshore fields coming onstream already in Lincolnshire that are conventional. Wytch Farm in Dorset has been quietly producing since 1979 and few people even know about it.
It would do no harm to have some more English oil and gas production to balance the Scottish production.
October 24, 2022
All good points, Sir John, but until we get a PM & government who really believe in a small government, low tax UK you are fiddling at the edges. You don’t mention cutting the bloated Civil Service by 50%, having a proper bonfire of Quangos & ruthlessly reforming the NHS which is a money pit which will sink the UK financially.
You talk a good fight, Sir John, but who in government is listening? If MPs arrange their private finances like they do the UKs, simply spend & borrow like there is no tomorrow, then there is no hope of us.
October 24, 2022
I see that a number of ‘altnets’ – minor players in Internet-provision here – are on the verge of collapse. This looks like another example of hige mis-direction of capital. I would suggest that the government resists the temptation to subsidise any company in difficulty. We are broke.
October 24, 2022
Sunak looks as if he’s won the toss . It’s now time for unity and support in order to re-establish confidence in the CP and the way forward ; fingers crossed .
October 24, 2022
Bert Young
Here is hoping you do not suffer from cramp.
October 24, 2022
Nor brain fade
October 24, 2022
It is shameful that a Conservative government has got into this economic mess. History has shown that Socialist policies never work.
The ex Chancellor made this confession yesterday: “The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis”.
I think he should be given some credit for his honesty. I hope he isn’t allowed to go anywhere near the Treasury again.
We need proper Conservative polices and the excellent money saving tips from John would be a good start.
October 24, 2022
Off topic, a short letter to the Times:
“Clare Foges should withdraw her claim (today) that “in 2016 the British economy was 90 per cent the size of Germany’s, and now it is less than 70 per cent”, because according to the OECD the UK economy grew by slightly more than the German economy between 2016 Q2 and 2022 Q2 – 6.8 percent versus 5.5 percent.”
My reference is Chart 1 here:
https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.uk/what-impact-is-brexit-having-on-the-uk-economy/?mc_cid=65680733ab&mc_eid=ee84cb59c6
Maybe one day the government will start to answer some of the anti-Brexit propaganda.
October 25, 2022
If this is correct, Denis she should be forced to retract her article, for promoting lies.
October 25, 2022
What about trying to run the calculations: Assuming G was 100 and B was 90 in 2016, ie B is 90% of G.
In Q2 2022 G is 105.5 (100 + 5.5%) and B is 96.12 (90 + 6.8%) so B has relatively improved as it is now 91.1% of G.
October 24, 2022
I think there is a lot more “low hanging fruit” than that. But it is at least a good start. Question is will anyone do anything about it. I suspect out new chancellor is one of the “smile and wave” politicians. Maybe I am being unfair, but he is something of a known quantity!
October 24, 2022
You haven’t even started – foreign development aid which does more harm than good, subsidies to rich farmers, means test winter heating costs. And I’ve only just begun.
October 24, 2022
The U.K. has sent £7.4 Billion in payments alone to Ukraine. Also training and munitions. Can we afford that?
Let’s STOP THE WAR!
OSINT investigators have shocked the world by naming the real losses of Ukraine. The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on October 20 amounted to 402,000 people, of which 387,000 were killed. Losses among mercenaries and volunteers from Poland, the Baltic states, and Romania amounted to 54,000 of them, 31,240 people were killed.
October 25, 2022
Let’s not act shocked and horrified by these casualty figures, as if no-one had any idea what was going on. It’s what fighting to the last Ukrainian (and foreign mercenary) entails. Those casualties are just of ordinary little people, the Ukrainian oligarchs and their Western financial elite backers are doing just fine. The war has to go on till Russia is significantly weakened – this is the war aim announced by NATO. Of course we can’t afford to subsidise this appalling madness, but that isn’t stopping the government from supporting Net Zero either, come to that.
October 24, 2022
4) Return the land back to whence it came , where this is possible for the same price paid or at least maybe the national trust.
Unless the whole idea was open land for housing? As some suspected HS2 was all about in the first place.
October 24, 2022
JR, how come the ERG is not unanimously, publicly supporting Sunak for PM? He is a no deal, no Withdrawal Agreement brexiter? Francois says you can’t agree. Is the ERG fracturing like the rest of your party?
October 24, 2022
I still regularly see adverts for welfare payments on tv.
We did not have this sort of advertising 20 years ago and is a indication of how large the British state has grown.
October 24, 2022
There needs to be a rethink on ‘Defence’; is the budget used to defend us from attack or
nuclear blackmail or is it to enrich US defence contractors and support the US’ vehicle of international aggression and hegemony, NATO? How do aircraft carriers defend us? How do Ajax personnel carriers defend us? Whether we like it or not we do not have the GDP (PPP) of Japan or Germany but we spend more, yet Japan feels under threat from China and the other has open ground to its East to defend and it clearly has a very dangerous and ruthless enemy otherwise its gas pipelines would not have been subject to a terrorist attack. Does our main defence contractor provide value for money or has it had a history of duff performance in its various guises if so should it be broken up?
The benefit system is not fit for purpose for those of working age. It should not be used for subsidising employers’ low wages. It should not be a vehicle for supporting a non working lifestyle or the black economy.
It should not be for those not in full time employment to exploit to the utmost.
There should be no funding of universities whose students fail to a significant extent to get work relevant to their courses therefore forcing the universities to close them or reduce them. Universities should also be banned from accepting foreign students in preference to British students. Far too many are going to university to no benefit for themselves so the public exam system needs to be returned to the Russell group universities that used to set them before massive grade inflation made fair selection impractical.
Should British businesses be put in play by international spivs for their own enrichment leading to a loss of
national income and employment? Should international spivs be permitted to use their investments in British
businesses to foist their loathsome agendas on them which have nothing to do with profit/performance, quite the contrary? Other countries defend their businesses; why not us?
October 24, 2022
I am afraid that it is far too late to cancel HS2, much as though I would have liked to see it done away with.
Also, with an eye on the next general election, it won’t play well in the Red Wall seats.
Other options are to :
Cut foreign aid, starting with the countries with space programmes, nuclear weapons and undemocratic regimes.
Boost short term nuclear power generation in the UK by keeping open stations scheduled to close.
Postpone the end of IC car production until 2040
Charge Road Tax on electric cars. This is going to have to happen anyway so why not just get on with it.
Allow gas boilers to continue to be installed in new houses past 2025
Extend devolution to Scotland by giving Sturgeon full fiscal autonomy. That will give her the freedom to raise all the taxes she wants to spend in Scotland and end the Barnett Formula.
October 24, 2022
Seven weeks ago the Tory membership rejected Sunak as PM
Today the Tory MPs elect Sunak as PM
Who’s waging the dog
October 24, 2022
There’s a cabal of thought that believe that Sunak was brought in as chancellor to scupper Brexit, and now that same cabal undermined Liz to force an election win for Sunak as PM
October 24, 2022
Was in London pub other day, and met a Tory Member who said she knew nothing about politics – but was going to vote for next Tory leader anyway (last leadership election) – and said that she was only a Tory Member for SOCIAL reason (to meet people and have fun).
I’m delighted that the Tory Party is able to facilitate people like the woman I met in the pub to meet other like-minded people in a social context (no doubt, trying to meet a husband as well type thing). But these people shouldn’t be given the vote to elect next Tory leader. That’s why we got the disastrous Liz Truss.
Main goal now is just to stop Labour getting into power.
October 24, 2022
Agree with most of your suggestions, Sir J, except HS2 (as BW states). HS2 will bring cost benefits, eventually. No. 3 and 5 should be implemented immediately. I am against cutting foreign aid except to those countries who refuse to cooperate in repatriating their rejected asylum seekers. In those cases aid can be stopped altogether.
October 24, 2022
Excellent package without even introducing structural changes (such as for instance just in education ending teaching assistants, reducing the number of universities, reducing the minimum number of years compulsorily spent in education, getting local authorities and their officials out of their advisory and monitoring role in schools, ending the rules on staffing ratios in nursery education for starters all of which would save a lot more). If Liz Truss had had the sense to make John Redwood Chancellor of the Exchequer and made some economies such as John is suggesting to balance her tax cuts I think she would have lasted a lot longer as Prime Minister.
I heard from the radio the public sector is spending £38,000per year per household in Britain. True,but few would believe it, let alone say the public sector should spend even more than £38,000 per year. That is much more than state pensions or the benefits cap per household or even than the take home pay after tax that most public sector employees are getting. Where is all this £38,000 disappearing? Time for a British Tea Party to take over the failing Conservative Party.
October 24, 2022
Excellent suggestions Sir John, and those of your faithful bloggers. But what is the government for if the UK does not even mine the coal that must be used right here.
Meanwhile, as I feared, first we had the coup and now the coronation. (Rishi has beaten King Charles to it). We had a rogue parliament under Mrs May and this one is no better. Reform becons.
October 24, 2022
I see that Roland Rat is now PM!
What a surprise!
October 24, 2022
the Conservative party is now the enemy
the sooner it is wiped out the better
October 24, 2022
Sunack says” profound economic challenges” ,well and who’s fault that. The first think he should do would be to apologise for the mess that the Conservatives have got us in.
Brexit hasn’t worked yet.
The covid fraud is on his hands.
If he says it’s cost money to support Ukraine, then stop supporting Ukraine or agree to give them more money with other countries and get it sorted out quickly.
He part of the illegal immigration problem, remember he was in the cabinets only months ago so he has to take responsibility. The people shouldn’t have to pay until all other areas of saving is exhausted first. This is what grown up politicians have given us todate.
October 24, 2022
Far too much common sense for the government to grasp John. In any case it is likely that implementing your suggestions will tread on various sponsors’ toes.
October 24, 2022
Dear Sir John
Stop funding the war between Ukraine and Russia would save a lot of lives and Taxpayer money (sorry not increase the UK debt further).
Can you justify on behalf of the Government why we fund this war and not make every effort possible to stop it?
If it does not end up with an Official World War 3, UK and Europe will be ruined and the winners will be America and Russia. But agree we should not have become such a big importer of everything and a producer of not much. Best not mention the population explosion.
October 24, 2022
The Labour Party unions are going to do for Sunak.
You best get the arms forces medic recruits available for ambulances as we’re told they’re going on strike.
Universities professors going on strike.
Nurses going on strike.
Teaching assistants going on strike.
Train drivers.
We are being run by these far too large monopoly services where we have no choice but to use them! We have this removal of a bus service for a month, there was no effort at all by the Council to replace the bus provider, we have to increase subsidies so that company didn’t end up losing out and the workers got their back pay, it’s all becoming a joke, government caves in anyway. Giving them more doesn’t stop the services being rubbish. They pay for all these diversity officers in the NHS then when babies are harmed in Kent they blame bullying and harassment, its a joke, I thought that is what nurses acting as pilgrims were for to represent the staff with the unions and management.
October 24, 2022
There should be added to the list investigating Covid loans and setting up a suitably empowered recovery unit in the hope of seeing reimbursement of some of the vast sums embezzled.
October 24, 2022
So the Globalists get their man.
Can we now stop pretending that this country is a democracy.
October 24, 2022
Don’t worry Sunak is not going to go out of his way to court popular acclaim he’s not that type – you won ‘t see him opening factories or shops wearing white coats or any if the old rubbish Boris went on with
He will tax tax tax and cut spending until he balances the books – nof caring a goddam about the pain- he’s a technocrat – and nothing wrong with that if he brings the country back from the brink and puts a but of reality back into things here.
October 24, 2022
Sir J, quite agree, here’s a few more to throw into the mix:
* Cut quango’s and regulator headcount by ~50% by automation and more focussed / revised targets and key performance indicators.
* Substantial hot desking / hybrid working in all national/local govt and quango’s will release huge amounts of prime commercial property for re-lease or sale or conversion to badly needed homes. JRM made a start on this.
* Contract management: of 3PP – 3rd part contracts is likely ripe for consolidation across adjacent local councils… according to Google there are 333 English councils, all with separate refuse collection contracts etc etc…. if they were merged into firstly Regional contracts major savings should be realisable. Rinse and repeat across all suitable service/purchasing sectors, eventually leading to a National boilerplate contract with appendices for each local council. NHS too.
* Performance Management: It is well known there are still many poor performers, low attendance and jobsworth’s in the public sector. This needs professional external HR processes/precedures and management accountability to deal with staff, who aren’t meeting the required standards of performance, in alignment with union agreement. This should include staffing pyramid alignment, with maximum levels of management, ratios of managers to staff, salary/grade benchmarking (job assessment).
Some more may come to mind, meantime tonight is Diwali and like our new PM it is time to celebrate this respected Hindu festival of light!
October 24, 2022
Good suggestions but will Rishi listen?? No mention of fracking? Yet this will help us (the British people) enormously. Wonder what he will do about NI decrease ?
October 25, 2022
We are told today that dried pasta prices are skyrocketing more than 15%, and lower-cost versions are up 50%. I would imagine the weight of the transport of these items and the bulk of them is making this more expensive. source ONS.
According to Trolley.co.uk, a 500g pack of Morrisons’ own brand dried spaghetti had jumped by 66.7% to 75p,
The UK exported $12.17B to Italy
Italy exported $25.91B to the UK
Wouldn’t it help trade balances if, instead of only having one dried pasta maker in the UK we encouraged more entrepreneurs into this area made in the UK?
October 25, 2022
Paying £118k pa to ALL previous PM’s sticks in the craw of many.
Why not a sliding scale based on tenure of service?
Less than 3 months, sweet FA, less than 1 year £30k etc.
October 25, 2022
A few more for the shopping list:
1. Cancel the smart motorway programme with immediate effect. This will be a popular move, not least with coroners.
2. Cancel all funding programmes offering special grants to local authorities. They are often ill-spent, as councils desperate to get their hands on the money put cycle lanes where no cyclist wants to go, sports facilities where local people don’t want them, and so on.
3. A moratorium on civil service recruitment, especially while a review of public- sector performance is undertaken.
4. Close Active Travel England. Do we need to spend £2bn for Chris Boardman to tell us cycling is a good idea?
5. Close the College of Ploicing
6. Close Homes England
7. Freeze (at the very least) budgets for most quangos
8. Asset sales
Complete on Channel 4
Driving test centres. One of the poor performing public sector bodies. Sell them as individual lots, not one organization.
Covent GardenMarket
QEII Conference Centre