I am considering changes to the website and content once we know the results Ā of the General election.
I will be providing an analysis of the run up to the election by the Conservatives soon after the election. Knowing the result will enable judgements then to be made about the different views and positions taken by Ministers and backbench MPs in the many discussions held over election timing and content this year. We will not of course be getting any inside analysis from Labour about their disagreements and rapidly changing policy pitch Ā before polling day. They seem riven over employment law, spending levels, speed to net zero and how to get anything from migration control through NHS waiting lists to nationalised businesses to work. Ā It is best to let people concentrate on the election.
During the election period I will comment on the issues and campaigns as they unfold. I want to highlight big issues like net zero, debt and deficit, growth strategy, productivity falls Ā in public service, living standards, bad central banking, the role of so called independent bodies and much else. An election is a good time to get change in party positions and to encourage more differentiation of offer to allow better choice.
May 26, 2024
Indeed itās the only time pressure for change can be effective.
I see Labour now guarantee the triple lock, will not raise NI or Income tax. They are boxing themselves into a position from which Houdini couldnāt escape.
Your analysis will be riviting.
May 27, 2024
That leaves them plenty of scope to destroy business and exploration in the North Sea.
Watch for more green taxes and ruinous vehicle taxes. You haven’t seen anything yet.
May 26, 2024
My suggestion would be to arrange the site by subject-descriptions, so that for example there would be a section for “Growth Strategy”, “Netzero”, etc etc, which could see fresh comments applied as things develop.
That way the entries would form a storyline in date order.
That wouldn’t stop our host having a daily say on subjects, and in some cases more than one subject could be discussed.
Anything that doesn’t fit into a category would go under a general heading.
Commentators would reply to entries made by our host so that his pieces stood out.
May 26, 2024
This is what John does already.It is the replies which wander out of context.
May 27, 2024
@Margeret – Not at all. I’m proposing a very different layout to what exists now, so that subjects will all stay relevant and they could be added to at any time. without having to search.
May 26, 2024
MR Redwood.
I heard you are standing down at the GE.
Is this the act of a man of honour or a coward?
Pleaser explain the logic.
We now have 70 million plus chickens and /5 plus ex cabinet ministers waving the white flag!
Some of us thought this was a war. Is just a game of chequers ?
Please explain.
Thanks
Reply I set out briefly my reasons when I announced I will not stand in this election. I have also promised to write more about my decision after the election result is known. My decision was not based in any way on whether I could win my seat.
May 27, 2024
Perhaps John read what Keir Starmer wrote and thought can Rishi win this, do I want to support Rishiās authoritarian policies heās making up without consulting his MPs and thought nah, life is too short.
Keir Starmer āSpeaking at a campaign event in Lancing, West Sussex, on Monday, Sir Keir dismissed the claims as ādesperateā. He said: āIāve had a smile on my face since January 1 2024 because I knew this was going to be an election year. Iāve wasted nine years of my life in opposition. Iāve worked four-and-a-half years to change this Labour Party, and now Iāve got the chance to take that to the country.ā
WASTED NINE YEARS OF HIS LIFE.
May 27, 2024
The Conservative Party would do a lot better if they sloganised the fact that ‘Labour hasn’t changed – it’s Keir Starmer who has changed!’. Though Corbyn and maybe Diane Abbott have gone, all Corbyn’s other henchmen like John McDonnell and Rebecca Long-Bailey are still around and some like Cat Smith and even Angela Rayner have prominent positions around him. Meanwhile Starmer is certainly giving the appearance of having changed since his days of supporting Corbyn’s leadership and policies, let alone what he said and promised when he stood for the Labour Party leadership! Starmer says he has changed Labour for ever but nothing is for ever! Some of us are even sceptical that Starmer changing himself is permanent or is it just a tactic for becoming Prime Minister just as he now wants us to think his Corbyn-lite policies were just a tactic to enable him to win the Labour leadership election?
May 26, 2024
The outcome is surely fairly clear cut. Sunak is still digging with his army conscription or modern unpaid slavery for 18 year olds’ agenda – total lunacy.
May 26, 2024
Heād be better off just regulating the age of a child, youth and adult. Our current system is a mess, you can get married but you canāt buy cigarettes; you can join the army but not go to war; you can work & pay tax but not vote for you parliamentary representative; etc
May 27, 2024
Glen, you canāt get married at 16 that was changed recently, it was felt that the 16 year old children could be coerced into relationships (because theyāre easily lead).
ā8 Apr 2024 ā The legal age of marriage in England and Wales has been raised from 16 to 18, and adults could be jailed for facilitating underage marriages.ā
You may be able to join the army to train but you donāt see any action until youāre 18, because youāre a child.
The children that starred in Harry Potter worked and earned good money, does paying tax = a vote? Do those who donāt pay tax stop being allowed to vote – OK, Iād go for that.
May 27, 2024
I don’t care about what they can/can’t do at a certain age, my arguement is that the government should set ONE policy ie 0-16 child 1-18 youth 18+ adult (and I don’t really care were they set the ages …just that they set them) – if it were left to me 0-16 child 16+ adult (keep it simple with no overlap)
May 26, 2024
The issue that seems to be evolving from all quarters is how can they tax more, use tax as a punishment and to manipulate opinions. What they don’t talk about is how can Government, the State, its Quango’s and all places they release ‘our money to can be more effective, more efficient and so on – all the thing would be Government has been empowered and paid to do.
They talk about them causing more waste, more pain on one section on the false pretence that others wont be effected. Taxing the rich to reward the poor never happens as there is no such thing, there is just tax.
May 26, 2024
The website changes described propose an interesting and constructive development with good timing.
Within the process of site change, it might be worth considering a thumbs up / thumbs down type graphic enabling readers to indicate their approval / disapproval of contributorsā comments where relevant.
Helpfully, ‘Notify me of new posts by email’ already exists. However, some contributors may not be aware of outstanding questions other contributors raise about their own entries without opening and searching every day’s subjects individually, just to check whether something needing their attention has emerged.
May 26, 2024
“…it might be worth considering a thumbs up / thumbs down type graphic enabling readers… – by all means, and even more worthwhile emphatically rejecting the same lest Commenters then take up fashioning their contributions to maximize thumbs up rather than make a point that might be worth reading.
May 27, 2024
Agreed. That is a good reason against, yet unless their own replies were worthy of approval they would probably receive none. Receiving approval itself might not be an attraction; some may prefer none, or even disapproval.
May 27, 2024
Thumbs up and down is just unpleasant, people would come here just to vote down.
May 27, 2024
Yes. If that happens that is a good point against.
May 26, 2024
People come to this country because they have failed in their native country or their native country has failed them.The power drive behind that failure when set free in another country is potentially dangerous.
Competition is unhealthy and manipulative and collectivism doesn’t depend on political leanings but rather how ite serves the Will to power.
May 26, 2024
What about reducing numbers in H of C , H of L? Debate FPTP hindering any democratic right of electorate?
Percentage spend on Defence?
Membership of WHO, Nato, UN….
May 26, 2024
All good points Mickey ….I’d like to see some target numbers and dates in the new manifesto
May 26, 2024
It’s difficult for individuals like myself who do not have any political loyalty.I do believe that politics is not solely about money:there is something far more reaching socially than money , although we all need it. I do believe that competition has gone too far and more cooperation is needed.My own little village has lost many small businesses due to excessive competition .Then someone else comes with new ideas ,starts a potentially good business only to find out that dirty competition wins. The ones protected usually survive.
May 27, 2024
Isn’t the problem that as some are āprotectedā (mainly Corporation), that there is no competition and that if they were not protected then we would have competition and efficient delivery of the best?
May 27, 2024
The ‘competition’ is often blatantly unfair. For instance during ‘COVID’ many small shops had to close. Supermarkets often selling the same items stayed open. So did a multinational called A*****. A****** pays a lower marginal tax on UK profits than a sole trader living in the UK.
As Adam Smith said, monopolies had to be stopped from forming otherwise free markets couldn’t work. Yet we seem to have near-world monopolies in social media and search engines. Did it suit nefarious government agencies to make it so?
May 26, 2024
As foresight is cleverer than hindsight, I am willing in advance to call another policy announcement by Sunak moronic. That is national ‘service’ for 18 year olds.
I am against it both as a libertarian and because I think it is poor in terms of value for money and value for human time while acknowledging there is in hypothetical terms quite a lot of support for this policy ‘in principle’.
However the practical drawbacks should have stopped this proposal coming forth:
– As it is to be funded by money Sunak in effect claims to have found ‘at the back of the sofa’, opposition parties will employ that extra money many times over for ‘funding’ their proposals which will (like more funding for the NHS, education and housing) generally be seen to be more popular and have priority over this policy!
– With government being government it would end up costing many times more than the projected cost, not least because they will probably be required by Judges to pay at least the minimum wage to everybody in this.
– There will be problems with the army finding the extra housing, training, weaponry and ammunition for military service that will probably be too short to be useful.
– At 18 it could anyhow be deemed to be too disruptive of ‘A’ level or University education.
– Anyhow with votes at 18 (or even 16 in prospect) some future government would chase votes by promising to abolish this scheme.
So it is yet ‘another fine mess’ Sunak is putting the Conservative Party in!
May 27, 2024
I agree Geoffrey.
The minimum wage at 18 for a 35 hour week is around Ā£15,500, why should the adult give that up, my children worked whilst attending university to pay their way through, the maintenance grant didnāt even cover the rent let alone the other bills so we stepped in to pay that Ā£300 per month and they earned their own money on weekends and holidays to join clubs, buy clothes and equipment for their hobbies, why should they be enslaved by the government and forced to do something they donāt want to do. NO. We have half a million 16-25 year olds not doing anything I read yesterday – start there – yet they didnāt for the last 14 years so what hope is there of that. It is easy to attack the middle classes and say if they donāt do it employers especially the big paying public sector employers will hold it against them.
May 26, 2024
Your analysis will be most welcome I look forward to it. Clearly Starmer and Labour will say anything, promise everything as long as they get elected. Things might start to change if Mr Sunak can expose the vacuousness of Labourās position with effective radical policies designed to help working people and their families. We shall see but, there has to be change.
May 27, 2024
All Sunak is interested in is his next job opportunity. He’s probably already got his plane ticket booked to pastures new. He must get out before WW3 commences and all his conscripts are sent to the front line in Ukraine. Is it a coincidence that several Western countries have come up with the same proposal for conscription or voluntary service in recent weeks? I don’t think so. Dangerous times are ahead.
May 26, 2024
Have to say Sir John this is a very sad time for true Tories! Appreciate the Tories who gamed the EU system never wanted us to leave the pyramid scheme.
But you were one of our fighters for sovereignty through Brexit. It appears many we voted for are jumping ship. Thanks to anti-British Tories, who have destroyed a once great party.
Our great country is in total decay & the only future Government are a useless Labour party! Who will gain control initially due to migrant votes. Who have little care or love for UK, just power!
I had always voted Conservative since getting the vote in 1971. Until we saw 80% of Westminster do their best to usurp a referendum & election to implement Brexit. Even then I lent Boris my vote, which he betrayed as he did everything other than Brexit! I will never forgive or forget.
Hence why I joined Reform & will vote Reform, as our political system is in tatters & is actually now run by the judiciary! So maybe th for democracy.
I wish you well in your future endeavours, thankfully I am well into my 70s now. I pray I do not live to see the final destruction of our beloved GB.
May 26, 2024
Well said
May 27, 2024
Excellent Judith. Millions feel the same, albeit it may have taken longer to reach your conclusion. Vote Reform and be dammed with the socialist Uni Party.
I too wish JR well and it has been a sad reality that he was not in cabinet during the last 14 years. But this is a reality that his party has been taken over and are have only kept the name.
JR, and others, must know this and I am bewildered that if JR wanted to honour his promise to his constituents he must have known his promise could not be fulfilled by remaining in his party. JR is too talented and intelligent to be a backbencher for 14 years, I would urge him to use his talents in another Conservative Party.
Anyone with a grain of brain will realise Sunakās latest idea is to put his foot in the door to make a fully fledged conscription to unnecessary wars, allowing the scroungers, weak, feeble and useless to make excuses why they should not be included. We see it in so many other aspects of our life at the moment, from welfare, to crime, prisons. Only 5 weeks to put up with u wanted Sunak and Hunt.
May 27, 2024
@Hope; “Vote Reform and be dammed with the socialist Uni Party.”
Indeed, vote Reform and be dammed, with the socialist Uni Party in the shape of Labour, even worse, a mash-up of Lab, LD and SNP coalition or supply and demand pact.
As for our host. Has it never occurred to you that our host, in his 42 year Westminster career, both backroom and backbench, has likely had far more influence on policy than would have been the case from the front bench. The fact that such an experienced politico wants nothing to do with up-start protest parties should tell you something…
Non doubt you’ll reply with your usual ‘nonsense’ diatribe, whatever.
May 27, 2024
@Judith Lilley; “this is a very sad time for true Tories!”
Indeed, if the Conservatives do suffer a defeat, never mind a grubbing, on July 4th it will not be the fault of “true Tories”, anymore than Labour’s grubbing in 1983 was the fault of true democratic Socialists.
As for your comment about always voting Conservative since getting the vote in 1971, then and then having a rant about about duplicity & Brexit, so who did you vote for at the Feb. 1974 general election, the then party manifesto, or did you perhaps cast your vote in Wolverhampton South West?! Just who was trying to “usurp” the 2016 referendum, those who understood the very limited mandate asked for and received, or those who thought the referendum gave cart-blanch for a Prime Minister to do as they pleased, expecting the parliamentarians and the parliamentary democracy process to be politically neutered.
May 26, 2024
A rather low punch there Sir John, given the apparent flux in Tory party this week!
First we were told there was to be no general election, yet within hours one had been called; and today we get an announcement about “National Service Mk2”, just days since a Defense minister had stood at the Dispatch Box saying that there would be no such policy, that is made no sense, that it was unworkable.
I note the Home Sec. has been doing the media rounds today defending the fledgling policy pledge, claiming that it will get British youth out of their bubbles. Well yes, but it then places then into another bubble, one that could easily, if (later) miss-used, become more like the old FDJ of the GDR, or something even more sinister…
May 27, 2024
Political parties in power tend to lose elections based on their failure to do things they said they would do. The things that were their contract with the people via a manifesto.
Today the opposition have promised only fluctuating rhetoric which analysis deems meaningless. On education they offer the politics of envy by further taxing the aspirational. They like their post war predecessors think that destroying the best by reducing everyone to the lowest common denominator results in an equal playing field. In football term destroy the premier league for business success.
The rabbit from the hat reintroduction of National Service is a nonesense. A statement from someone who served. The military will not want it and lack the training establishment to handle it. Having run down our capability by all means possible it is no more than a political gesture. Fund the services adequately, look after the military you have and cull the MOD.
The paucity of ability that will result from this election will lead us to a new dark age, thanks to the abject failure of the current government’s utter failure to govern in any beneficial way.
May 27, 2024
+many.
I really do not think Sunak and do not care. Their policies will continue exactly the same but with a different presenter.
If Starmer was in true opposition he would be holding Sunakās feet to the fire over failing to Brexit, giving away N.Ireland, giving away our fishing waters, not taking advantage of leaving etc. Instead he wants to talk about closer ties! That tells everyone what they ought to know, there is no difference.
Do not accept Labour as a shoe in, vote Reform and be dammed with them.
May 27, 2024
As Dr David Starkey recently said in his podcast, “we are about to elect a Government nobody wants.”
Well he’s not quite right. There are quite a few Globalist Bodies, notably the WEF, WHO, IMF and EU, who I think would rather have a Labour Government, which won’t make even a pretence of standing up for the interests of the British people.
Perhaps Sir John’s post-election analysis could address the issue of where each Policy “promise” announced by Labour or the Not-a-Conservative-Party actually originated. I suspect, in every case, it will be one or more of the Globalist Bodies I identified above, plus possibly NATO.
May 27, 2024
I hope you keep this site going in some way. I find it interesting to read all that is posted.
After the election (when let’s face it) we’ll have a Labour government, nothing will change. We’ll still be chasing lunatic ‘net zero’ Immigration will still be running out of control. Taxes won’t come down. The English will continue to be ignored.
Labour/Conservative = the Uniparty. Two cheeks of the same behind (the bit in between being Lib- Dems/Greens)
Reply My plan is to improve and enhance. This has always been my own site paid for by me.
May 27, 2024
Please try to ensure the existing content of the web site remains accessible and by the same links after your planned changes.āDespite what you may be told, the web server can be given rules to map any old links onto their new location after the shake up.āA visiting browser or search engine is told the old link has ‘permanently moved to over here’ and sends a second request for the new location.
May 27, 2024
I am looking forward to read your thoughts unleashed John.
Perhaps you should consider podcasting to pay for it all on a section of your website. You could invite different guests so it doesnāt get too boring such as the duo-casts we have offered up now.
It is concerning though that all our decent Brexit supporting MPs are folding and leaving. Is this because youāre aware its going to be largely overturned and you donāt want that on your watch?
May 27, 2024
“My plan is to improve and enhance. This has always been my own site paid for by me”.
Almost everyone posting here is well aware that you fund this site yourself, and more important, that you find the time somehow you moderate it yourself. This is greatly appreciated by us regular contributors.
When the election is over, I for one would like to see your burden reduced and have already suggested that posts per contributor be restricted to one or two per subject per day, with a word limit as well. I do like the idea of a number of ongoing themed sections alongside your new contributions to the national debate. A thumbs up/ thumbs down vote available for each post would be invaluable.
Finally, I sincerely hope that you are elevated to the other place because your invaluable contribution to the political life of the country should continue to be heard. Had Downing Street been listening over the last five years, the government would not be in the mess it is in today…………..
May 27, 2024
I look forward to reading your analyses after the election Sir John
Have never known such despair as there is out there at present and hope things will improve somehow.
I saw a suggestion above to include a like option on people’s responses which I thought was a good idea. One could call it an “agree” indicator which may be useful.
May 28, 2024
Sir John
Thanks to your website I can vote Conservative.
For the last 20 years I have voted for no hopers.
You can do more out of parliament than in.
Keep fit and heathy.