The Chancellor at the CBI when asked why she had not found some other way in the budget than burdening business with big taxes on employing people and taking money off pensioners said she was not hearing alternatives for righting the national accounts. Let us try again. Controlling spending is a better answer than the tax rises. I have pointed out 4 big targets. Bank of England losses. Productivity falls in public sector. Large numbers of people not working. Too many low pay and no pay migrants needing subsidised homes and public services.
Here are some questions about other wasteful or less crucial public spending.
Why spend on sending 450 people to COP 29?
Why offer trebling of U.K. grants to emerging economies for net zero?
Why increase the hotels for illegal migrants?
Why do nothing to get back Ā£20 bn of lost public sector productivity?
Why give away the Chagos Ā islands then pay to lease back?
Why propose Ā£19 bn of carbon capture
How much more will the government devote to HS2?
What will be the additional rail losses from higher wages?
Will investments in National Wealth Fund and Great British Energy cover all the interest charges on the extra Ā borrowing?
November 26, 2024
Good morning.
Interesting questions. It is almost if the Tory’s have never left.
And the above is an is a relevent point. This is because, as the Official Opposition to this government, they have nothing to say on any of these questions. And that is a worry.
November 27, 2024
Answers to the āwhyā questions are because the government has a large majority and can do as it pleases.
The government can and will ignore the petition for another general election for exactly the same reason.
Answers supplied yesterday, before the subject was withdrawn, were not saved.
November 27, 2024
Hi. I HATE Labour (as in hate the sin / love the sinner).
But we are a Parliamentry Democracy!
Calling for this gimmicky petition moves us a few steps closer to a second rate democracy / country heading towards Banana Rep. if the common-sense breaks aren’t applied!
(And those politicians supporting this petition are generally high in ambition, low in talent ..)
November 27, 2024
You will have a vote in 2029. For the moment, shut it. You lost last July, get over it
November 28, 2024
Exactly. And it’s also 1) Weak, moaning-Minnie, negative energy 2) Gimmicky 3) Supported largely by politicians with a lot of ambition but little talent! 4) It’s NOT British 5) And undermines our Parliamentary Democracy that we must defend / keep robust as opposed to supine (yuck)
November 28, 2024
6) And undermines Brexit as Remainers might well use this to point the finger at those Brexiters who supported this petition against Starmer as a reason for having a 2nd Referendum on Brexit.
So many of our politicians have just gone bonkers (on all sides – red, pink, blue, green, purple, orange, yellow, whatever).
November 28, 2024
Got over the Brexit vote yet Lemming?
November 26, 2024
Why give soft āloanā to people to go to university when circa 75% of these degrees are worthless?
Why spend billions on Net Zero in the UK when it does nothing positive for climate, destroys the economy and does not even save any world CO2 (not that CO2 is an issue)? It just exports it and many jobs with it.
Why block the roads with islands, bus and bike lanes and anti-car traffic lights etc?
Why over regulate everything?
Why make taxes so complex? Tax complexity is a further tax on top of tax.
Why force people to buy EV cars or hear-pumps when they rarely make any sense financially, environmentally or practically?
Why waste police time on non crime hate incidents?
Why increase crimes and illegal immigration by having no real deterrents indeed incentives?
November 27, 2024
What is the point of Great British Energy this Government and not even the CeO seems to have a clue what it is going to do? It seems it is to be in Aberdeen? Why would that be a sensible place one wonders and what is this company actually going to do that is of any value other than as a political gimmick?
November 27, 2024
A while ago I suggested it should be an energy trading business, mainly in oil and gas. Established with the main purpose of forward purchasing of oil and gas for the UK economy. All it would need is an office and competent trader staff, possible 5 or 6 plus back-office staff, with the necessary hardware. Traders to ensure that we have sufficient oil and gas deliveries for the next 6, 12 months at best possible prices on a rolling basis. Once achieved they can trade for profit.
November 27, 2024
Why nationalise that existing trade?
November 27, 2024
It’s not nationalised, the market continues as before. The government owned trader should be able to offer the wholesalers well priced energy to smooth the peaks and troughs in prices. A bit like the BoE should do for Gilts. Then Milibrain can’t claim that our energy prices are subject to price shocks by the whims of evil dictators.
November 27, 2024
Fake money pushed into the economy to create fake GDP.
November 27, 2024
They donāt need Great British Energy to do that.
November 27, 2024
“Why give soft āloanā to people to go to university when circa 75% of these degrees are worthless?”
As are the other 25% when the beneficiary of the educational loan/grant then fails to make a substantive career from their qualifications, even worse that some choose not to do so. Is there any difference to the worthlessness of such an education, be it in the “Arts” or a STEM subject, in such circumstance – other than ‘my degree is better than yours’ bragging rights…
November 26, 2024
The answer to all these questions is because it’s not our money and we’re going to bankrupt Britain during the next 4 years knowing the uniparty will not change anything.
Reform is our only salvation.
November 27, 2024
So the latest victim of net zero is the loss of a thousand jobs at Vauxhall in Luton and 3000 indirectly from the supply chain.
Maybe a couple of hundred will be gained at Ellesmere Port bit nothing like what’s lost.
We are now seeing the direct consequences of the lunacy. Good skilled, well paid jobs lost for no gain.
Uk car manufacturers buying credits of of Chinese companies to offset lack of sales in Britain.
This is a topsy turvey world we live in.
The idiots are certainly incharge of the asylum.
November 27, 2024
They’re not idiots; they’re delivering the same project the Not-a-Conservative-Party was. The objectives are the same; the individual policies were slightly tweaked to pretend difference.
It is analogous to a war, but with economic weapons of destruction rather than bullets. In any war, there are casualties for (as those prosecuting it believe) the greater good. Look at the WEF website. They don’t bother hiding it.
November 27, 2024
The idiots have been in charge since John ERM Major. Even Thatcher who made him Chancellor fell for Climate Alarmism but Zealot Milibrain is completely mad.
EV do not even save CO2!
November 27, 2024
Quite; But don’t expect the Labour party to acknowledge the fact. Nor indeed their mouthpiece the BBC.
November 27, 2024
Agree completely Ian.
The Uk is committing self harm with all of these Net Zero type policies.
If a product needs a subsidy to sell, then it’s the wrong product or the wrong time.
If a product is taxed to death to stop it being purchased, then it is those who tax it who are past their sell by date, not the product.
November 27, 2024
+1
November 27, 2024
IW :
I expect that those made unemployed and who still wish to work will be mopped up by expanding local and national civil servants as a result of their move to a four day (or even three day) working week, mainly working from home.
November 28, 2024
@OR; I really do not understand the anger about working from home, nor is it anything new. So what if someone from ‘first floor’ Accounts opts to play a round of golf in the morning and then make their hours up in the evening, after all directors from the ‘tenth floor’ have been doing that sine there has been directorships, WFH is simply the new well proven in-office flexi-time of old.
For the last four and half decades many have been telling the private and public sectors to cut costs, what better way than providing employees with a secured laptop, even pay for fibre broadband to be connected, and then dispose of the resultant empty office space and thus expensive leases, any concern about employees shirking their expected working hours is easy to check using modern IT and time-management software. Of course if those complaining are commercial Landlords….
November 27, 2024
@Ian Wragg; I doubt the fate of the old Vauxhall plant at Luton is fully, if at all, tied to UK or EU EV policy, although it does allow them to blame the politicos, VW are also blaming EV policies for having to finally come to terms with their decades of over capacity in German factories.
The old Vauxhall factory at Luton has been under threat for years, indeed much of its recent past survival has been due to an agreement between the plants previous owner (GM) and Renault/Nissan to make a joint range of vans that shared floorpans (chassis) and even engines/transmissions.
What is the working relationship between Stellantis N.V, the new owner of the Luton site, and Renault S.A given each groups range of vans are in direct competition, was consolidation always on the cards. Given Luton is closer to the main European market why has Stellantis chosen Ellesmere Port for production, the limited NI/ROI market perhaps, given their spare production capacity elsewhere within the EU?
November 27, 2024
Well Reform policies are good but Reform are unlikely to get a majority and real power given first past the post voting and even if they did would or could they actually deliver given the Blob, the rule of lawyers, Davos, WHO, ECHRā¦?
As Matt Ridley put it in the Spectator.
Whoever you vote for, the Blob wins.
The blob are/were wrong on almost everything – net zero, climate alarmism, the net harm Covid vaccines, net harm lockdowns, the absurdly large government, tax levels, immigration, transport, cars, heating, energy, the economy, healthcareā¦
An excellent podcast from Neil Oliver with Edward Dowd on his recent book, “Cause Unknown”: The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021 & 2022 & 2023 ā
November 27, 2024
Reform could well win a majority with FPTP, definitely nobody will win a majority under any other system. However Reform will not be able to control the state apparatus.
November 26, 2024
So much waste that could so easily be cut.
Here are some very good way to save government money. Rather than putting VAT on school fees (which will raise nothing net) give tax breaks and vouchers towards private school fees say 50% of the cost of state school costs so as more use them and the government saves half their education costs. Do the same for the NHS, stop the mad counter productive war on Non Doms which will raise a negative sum and do huge economic damage to the tax base.
November 27, 2024
Why should greedy incredibly wealthy people utilise tax loopholes to live and gain even more money in the UK, than what other wealthy people accept they should pay? A point of principle they and Governments don’t have.
November 26, 2024
Why sell bonds at a loss?
Why send aid ( borrowed money on which we, the taxpayer is paying interest) to contries like China, India and Pakistan ? In fact why send any aid at all?
Why do we continue with Barnett for Scotland, Wales and NI when even Joel Barnett says it has outlived its usefulness and is no longer fit for purpose?
Why are hospitals not MADE to charge foriegners for treatment that are not entitled to free service ?
November 27, 2024
Indeed it is being reported that Scotland will get another Ā£300,000,000 to pay for the increase in national insurance contributions.?
So what was the point of the increase.
November 27, 2024
Who is asking these questions in Parliament? As Mark B points out, it’s not the Official Opposition, who get a reasonable crack at asking questions.
It will be interesting to see if Reform, which has less opportunity there, uses outside means (alternative media, etc to keep up the pressure).
November 27, 2024
Why indeed. There is plenty of money to be saved for a Government which wanted to save it.
They don’t want to save it.
They’re implementing a project which requires them to dismantle our existing economy, society and way of life so that a different “vision” can be imposed on a population which they know will resist the changes.
The destruction phase is being turbo-charged by Keir-Ching! and his Student Union Marxists because those controlling the process know that public awareness of the project is growing and so is the resistance, as both the Farmers Protest (here and on the continent) and the General Election petition (2.74 million and rising) demonstrate.
November 27, 2024
If Sir John will permit, the following article from TCW – Defending Freedom spells out the decision-making process and reaches the same conclusion. “With unusual honesty, Sir Keir Starmer has told us that he considers Westminster to be nothing but a ātribal shouting placeā, vastly inferior to the global scheming place that is Davos. In which case, no wonder he always prefers option (a).”
Hint: Option (b) is the option which would be in the interests of the UK and British citizens.
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/my-country-wrong-or-wrong/
November 27, 2024
The population certainly want to resist the changes, but that is what dictatorships do!
November 27, 2024
Why are we sending Ā£500million to support foreign farmers in foreign countries
November 27, 2024
This Labour government is even thicker than the last one. At least Stellantis has delivered a delivered a dose of economic reality by closing its Luton van plant. This might even get the government’s attention. Just how useless the Cabinet is was revealed by Dominic Cummings in a Spectator sponsored q and a discussion on AI held at New College, Oxford. He revealed that all Cabinet meetings are scripted, including the conclusions. A member of the audience confirmed this was still the case and that he had written some himself. He added that sometimes the script was even pre-agreed with the ministers who had the speak the words in front of them. Clearly the blob is fully in charge. If you have the time, 1.5 hours, it was a revealing session about some recent applications of AI.
November 27, 2024
Just like all the west-based international summits.Photo op and sign here.
November 27, 2024
Labour’s only ideas to cut spending involve increasing spending – so their idea to cut the hotel bill for illegal migrants is to spend extra millions on lawyers to fast-track approval of their asylum claims. (Thus increasing the pull factor for migrants). Their idea to reduce the unemployment benefit cost is to spend millions on rebranding job centres. I’m not sure that they’ve reduced any spending at all in any department ? Defence maybe.
November 27, 2024
Sir JR, I wouldn’t hang around too long for any answers from Herr Starmer and the gang.
November 27, 2024
And, of course, there are no consequences for wasting money in the public sector. I think it was on this site recently there was a link to the Home Office buying a building to house asylum seekers. They paid Ā£15 million for it. The seller had paid Ā£6 million for it just one year before. The building contains asbestos and is effectively worthless. Anyone getting sacked for uselessness? Of course not. Theyāll probably get promoted out of harmās way.
November 27, 2024
…and taxpayer subsidy funding Ā£billions to roll out smart-meters
November 27, 2024
Professor Ian Plimer talks so much sense, his new book is Climate Change: The Facts 2025. Do view him on YT. Hopefully NZ is starting on the path of its own destruction. The impoverishment awaiting many people might trigger a lot of unrest….let’s get back to sanity before that happens.
November 27, 2024
Excellent post today SJR!
The Labour Party is in dictatorship mode, high and mighty and cannot stand being put under scrutiny as their shallow thinking, smokescreen s would see them naked ,devoid of logic and practical thinking.
They are just about to hit a brick wall of their own stupidity on all fronts.
November 27, 2024
If pursuit of wind power is the panacea to 100% renewable energy ā¦why is it only producing 25% of grid demand as at 09:00am today ?
Why are we importing 6% of very expensive energy from France as at 09:00am today ?
November 27, 2024
No questions about fundamental problems and attacks on freedom. Just some administration detail.
The country is being destroyed by ideology, and the extreme political views. These are not being questioned and attacked. Too difficulty to do that so it is avoided.
November 27, 2024
Why are we still funding and members of the ECHRs
Why are we still funding and members of the UN
Why are we still funding the EU
November 27, 2024
Why are we still funding the Empire – oops, the Commonwealth?
November 27, 2024
Why not repeal of the Climate Change Act?
Why not resile from the European Convention on Human Rights and repeal the Human Rights Act?
Why import millions of culturally incompatible aliens to ‘boost’ the economy?
For fourteen years we saw a build up of problems caused by Tory legislative failure.
What are the Tories good at? Warmongering: wasting three billion on supporting a corrupt and malevolent administration in Kiev with strong associations with the followers of Bandera.
Why not have our own foreign policy from that of the US? None of their regime change wars are of benefit to us:
they have cost us in blood and treasure while the US gets to steal the natural resources which mostly the wars are about.
November 27, 2024
“All wars are bankers wars”
Debt repaid from loot- throughout history.Most notoriously,in western history,the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade,hopelessly in debt to Venetian bankers who had supplied and provisioned their ships,sacking the wealthy capital of the christian Byzantine Empire,Constantinople,in 1204.
The East has never trusted the usurocratic West ever since.And rightly so.The return of the Silk Road trading system will mean the East will not need the financial services of the West.
November 27, 2024
I think the Unions will bring the Starmer Government down, or else it will be the IMF. Maybe Trump because he lights up the path along which they cannot follow. USA energy might no longer be exported. The lights in the UK and Europe could well go out if Putin pushes the lever and stops the flow too.
Big question is who replaces them?
We can name 4 Reform members – 5 if Nigel has not banned Ben Habib. Nigel does not know all the other people who stood as Reform Candidates. This is a MASSIVE problem. Constituency Associations should propose and select people they KNOW.
I will not vote for a Badenock Tory Party.
November 27, 2024
Nigel seems to have a female problem. It would get interesting if he could persuade women like Sharon Davies, Alison Pearson, Charlotte Gill, into the party.
These business people who all recommended this Labour government have serious egg on their faces. That Iceland boss is going to be paying a lot of money personally for his previous stamp of approval. I wonder how long it will take for the likes of Caldwell to go to Monaco if he doesnāt get what he wants.
Iām actually getting frightened for my children and grandchild now if they take this too far, and all indications are that they will with their petty jealousy and me, me, me like Rayner today improving her worldwide profile. It would be funny if it wasnāt so serious.
November 27, 2024
There is no wish to curb wasteful spending as it is used to justify high taxation which itself is being used to destroy western wealth and entrepreneurship. This is pursued by our Uniparty Parliament and by all the Far Left captured institutions in order to bring eventually an economic collapse from which they will save us with their new ābuild back betterā system of government.
The four big targets listed do not include the CAGW hoax and Its āsolutionā, the Net Zero scam, which will dwarf them all in wealth destruction as well as forcing unnecessary and unwanted life-style changes and restrictions.
There is no CAGW caused by increasing levels of CO2 from burning hydrocarbon fuels. The CO2 theory cannot explain past climate history nor even the recent past, let alone the future. For instance there is no explanation as to why since 1850 global warming, which BTW is tiny compared to seasonal variations, is seasonal and varies with latitude. It cannot explain why global warming in winter in the northern hemisphere is 4 times greater than in summer and why the warming rates for the equator and the southern hemisphere are less than half that of northern hemisphere winter warming and with very little variation through the seasons.
November 27, 2024
Why didn’t Kemi call for the full cancellation of the ZEV mandate; rather then suggesting just altering the targets and then only if it effects jobs
November 27, 2024
There is to be a vote in the House of Commons on whether it is OK to kill people off when they have lost the will to fight ā there is the caveat of āSafeguardāsā. We know parliament can be circumvented on absolutely everything, by using Statutory Instruments (SIs).
The point being as proved in the last few months, previous intents as written into Law, previous promises to get in to power. Do and should not be expected to carry the same weight once in office any more.
While that leads us to the many discrepancies in how MPs do their job, how they serve those that empower and pay them, or even how do they serve the Country before self interest. They have demonstrated that many individuals that arrive on post do so by deception, they serve ideology and party before doing their job. So, what can they be trusted with ā āhelping people to commit suicideā could become relieving pressure on budgets, a big stretch of one imagination ā just look at recent months.
The Chago Islands have their lands given away, no consultation, no Parliamentary vote. Just an ego appeasing old buddies and believing as ruler Parliament serves no purpose, one just needs to look good to the overlords at the WEF. Does any one think assisted dying will not be abused the same way?
November 27, 2024
Sir John
A good item thank you
https://conservativehome.com/2024/11/27/john-redwood-theres-lots-of-opportunities-for-the-uk-from-trump-being-in-the-white-house/
Your analysis of Trump, trade, and the perverted take some extoll under the guise of NetZero, has to be applauded.
Like others of a Conservative persuasion, I think you are over optimistic in linking the Parliamentary Group with conservatism. From those that organize this Grouping and to those that are direct representatives, they keep showing themselves to be embedded Liberal Democrats that would be more at home with Ed Davey (speak one way while being something different) than touch a conservative thought. Or are they just frightened of their own shadows?
The hard one for anyone to swallow and to accept those that have been party to 14years of the collective failure will somehow change. It is still a Socialist WEF Group, just with less zeal than the new version in power.
But, again thank you, there is just a smidgeon of hope that a conservative or some one calling themselves conservative might read your piece and actually ‘Get It’
November 27, 2024
The blog is asking about governmental nonsense. Not all parliamentary nonsense is governmental.
Take the topical Assisted Dying Bill. It is senseless and useless for everybody, except as an initial foot in the door for the euthanasia lobby which door they would fully open later.
As the bill stands it does not facilitate the strongest case the voluntary euthanasia lobby has which is a voluntarily pre-requested ending of their lives for people who are too incapacitated to end their own lives by self-administration. However if somebody can self-administer life-ending pills, he can doubtless find many ways to kill himself without medical ‘assistance’ and without waiting over a month (optimistically) for a High Court case to end and without spending probably Ā£50,000 or so ( a low-end typical cost in a Court of Protection case for a non-life or death matter) even if he has Ā£50,000! It would presumably be cheaper to go to Zurich where somebody else would more rapidly and more cheaply end their life for them! It seems M.P.s have not thought about the impractical court costs involved here – will it be on Legal Aid at enormous public expense? Or will it be at an individual’s expense in which case there are cheaper and more effective alternatives. That makes this bill worthless except as a foot in the door for widespread euthanasia or ‘death on demand’ as the Justice Secretary has forewarned.
November 27, 2024
Not posted for a while – just been watching (with alot of popcorn) how incredibly ridiculous/wrong decisions this new goverment are taking… or puny inaction.
Capital Economics have said the Government will need a further 500,000 construction workers in England to fulfil their goal (Source: D Mail 27/11/240.
IMO These should not be recruited from new immigrants (legal nor illegal).
In April to June 2024, there were an estimated 872,000 16ā24 year olds in the UK who were not in education, employment, or training (NEET), source ONS Library ” Home Employment and labour market People not in work Unemployment “.
Problem solved, select your prefered profession.
a) bricky.
b) spark.
c) plumber.
d) roofer.
e) labourer.
f) no benefits.
November 27, 2024
Yes, I feel a little like you Rhoddas. How much will wealth generators take of this.
November 27, 2024
These alarming questions obviously arise because of the dire ineptitude of this Labour government.
Now, I fear they are going to do more damage to OUR country than first anticipated. The man at the top has filled his Cabinet with lefty dreamers who, like himself, have no clue about running OUR country but rely upon previously failed socialist agendas, thinking it will be different this time around. LOL. What’s that definition of insanity?
Perhaps it’s time for all opposing parties to call for a referendum on the incompetence of the government, either in the House or nationally. And if the no confidence motion is defeated, call for another, then another.
SJ, Is there any other way to bring down this collection of political pigmies? They are a threat to the Nation.