The government would be laughable for its incompetence if it were not so serious.
Rachel Reeves put up National Insurance not knowing that most of the money is paid into the National Insurance Fund. The Fund was solvent so did not need higher contributions. The contributions lost us jobs and damaged business. The Treasury cannot draw down on the £100 bn surplus now accumulated in the Fund without changing the law which they show no signs of wanting to do. So how did that help?
The government loves saying Truss crashed the economy by putting up bond rates. The one day spike in rates under Truss led to a reversal of Bank policy and the fall back in bond yields, so no money was borrowed at those higher rates. This government has instead by spending and borrowing too much driven them well above the one day worst Truss level and kept them there for 21 months. They have borrowed huge sums at those higher rates. Who crashed the economy?
Mr Burnham said he wanted to devolve powers to Mayors. His first policy pledge was to end rough sleeping. To do this he will launch a national policy to override Mayors and Councils who have the powers and duties to tackle homelessness but have in many cases failed to use them!
Mr Burnham took his support for devolution to Scotland. Their elected government said they wanted independence or more devolved powers. He said he would fight them to keep the Union. They would not be able to use devolved powers to have what they wanted!
The government has just signed off a major change in Bank of England bond management and monetary policy. The Chancellor signed a letter which both said the Bank is independent, and gave them the authority to make major changes to bond management and to its balance sheet, He clearly did not ask why he was signing a contradiction. Did he know what he was guaranteeing at what price to taxpayers?How has the Bank losing us £288 bn 2022-2036 according to OBR helped our economy and public sector budget?
October 2, 2026
Indeed one thing we can always rely on especially in the UK is Government Gross Incompetence. We have certainly had this in spades from Major, Blair right through to Burnham for 35 years plus with all Burnham’s “wrong think” on almost every topic – that he will alas fight for Burnham says.
Question-time last night actually had a Reform person on for a change the fairly sensible Suella Braverman needless to say she was constantly attacked by the Chair Women and the rest of the Panel. Also by some dope in the audience who absurdly thought “indigenous” meant born somewhere. Has my children with my Italian wife by chance been born while we were in Japan they would by his bizarre thinking have been indigenous Japanese.
Or perhaps even by chance one indigenous Japanese, one indigenous USA and one indigenous Thai.
They also had the PPE dope and energy ignoramus Miatta the energy secretary on and climate realist Suella yet questions selected gave virtually zero discussion of energy or climate alarmism. It seems the BBC only like to discuss this topic when all panellist and obviously the BBC think chair are on the wrong alarmist side of the argument.
Five to one alarmists to realists is clearly not enough for the BBC.
October 2, 2026
Good to see that Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a lawsuit accusing Pfizer of deceptively marketing its COVID-19 vaccines as safe while allegedly concealing the many serious risks.
Meanwhile in the UK the government are still desperately trying to hide the very damning health statistics by vaccination status. Why might they try to do this I wonder? Surely the Gov. would want to show how safe and effective they were?
October 2, 2026
We need to accept that there will be a lot of sick people, young and old.
October 2, 2026
@Lifelogic – the BBC is incapable of impartiality, they don’t recognise balance. One Centre Ground thinker in tune with the Country and its People, being attacked by a panel and a constructed audience of extremist ‘left wingers ‘ – is not balance, it’s not debate, it’s simply manipulation
October 2, 2026
I’m interested to know where this £100billion is sat as you say is a NI surplus. Is it earning interest or is it just an accounting trick.
We were told there was no such thing as a National Insurance fund but just general taxation. If it’s in surplus how will the triple kick affect government finances. There seems to be some jiggery pokery going on in the treasury.
Reply It is lent to government for interest payments
October 2, 2026
Plus the French & Italian graduate Chairwoman adding her BBC views on energy and climate too.
October 2, 2026
+1 – also seen endlessly in what they select to report as news and what they choose to ignore.
October 2, 2026
I don’t believe we have ever seen this level of incompetence and even lack of interest from those in power. They are simply way out of their depth. Nobody minds a bus drivers son becoming PM if he achieves that on merit, but making a bus drivers son PM does not confer any talent.
The massive damage done to our political class by being able to foist governing to the EU for so long is becoming painfully apparent. We might not survive it.
Unfortunately Suella Braverman saw the huge importation of aliens into Britain. This is what disqualifies both her and Jenrick from politics in my view.
October 2, 2026
Disqualifying two people who resigned because of the very actions and topic bringing so much strife, is cutting off the nose I think.
As both have, I believe, said that changes they wished to make, such as Braverman wanting to leave ECHR, were flatly denied by and within the hierarchy, then I can forgive a little.
To have plodded on in those positions knowing they were wrong, just for the hell of being a Minister would be the unforgivable part for me.
Staying within a party that you see brazenly tossing aside promises made to get elected, is just working for a ‘brand’ and not staying true to anything you personally think is right or wrong.
I don’t think as a Nation or people, we have the luxury of time to be able to be too dismissive of Braverman or jenrick
given the alternative
October 2, 2026
Both persued the policy enthusiastically. I advise you to watch the speeches …
October 2, 2026
Indeed had Jenrick and Braverman resigned to fight the 2024 election under the banner they believed in, outcome might have been at least a little different. Did Farage suddenly become a Tory just to win his seat? No. We must distinguish those that actually believe in what they say from those who don’t. I can’t see why people either consistently parade under a different banner than the banner they really believe in, mentioning no names, or move under a banner they don’t really believe in just for career purposes. It rarely ends well for anyone.
October 2, 2026
Farage tried really hard to get a safe Tory seat. He applied many times. They rejected him.
October 2, 2026
Certainly Sir/Lord Sadiq Kahn (a bus drivers son as he liked to inform us) a lawyer has been an appalling disaster. I tend to think most bus drivers or anyone chosen at random would do a rather better job than Sadiq.
October 2, 2026
Similarly awarding degrees does not confer ability as we saw with Arday and most of the rest of the staff at Cambridge.
At least we don’t have to worry about another Cambridge Russian spy ring… everybody is incapable!
October 2, 2026
Yes viewed it myself last night after a long time of deliberately giving it a miss due to its unbalanced panel, afraid it has not improved, so will not bother to view it again for some considerable time.
October 2, 2026
You are made of far stronger stuff than I.
I had to stop watching such things as QT a long time ago and in fact it’s just one of the reasons i decided I could no longer pay the TV licence and sleep at night.
The appalling one-sided panel and audience was just unbearable and unjust. To see how the pack attacked the lone, slightly conservative, they allowed on the panel was the left wing version of the blood sports they claim to hate.
I noted back in the 1980’s the slide to one-side only, in just about everything going.
Even soap operas have to bludgeon people with the ‘message’.
I hope Braverman gave as good as she got.
October 2, 2026
But even Reform and Restore are missing some massive open goals. you only have to look at what JD Vance has been saying to see that he has come out completely against ( foreign ed)outsourcing, and the way the immigration and tax systems encourages it. Yet there is nobody but nobody in the UK political spectrum saying the same thing. Something I would say which is already the majority view of the British public.
You see the media and politicians are so caught up in their own little whirlwind that they don’t spot the obvious in the real world.
(words left out as no specific Vance quote to back up claim ed)
October 2, 2026
Question Time used to be an interesting programme but i’ve long since stopped watching it.
I find it often “Triggers me” – as the media like to warn people these days. I think this involves shouting at the TV….
October 2, 2026
So what about the appalling far left terrorism and riots in France – will Kahn’s London and UK follow shortly? Doubtless Burnham will blame the far right, landlords and Thatcher!
October 2, 2026
” The Treasury cannot draw down on the £100 bn surplus now “… or can they? these are the Socialist’s our Rulers. Laws, rules, common sense as they keep proving is not something in their joint brain cell
Reply They would need to change the law and defend raiding the pension fund
October 2, 2026
@Reply yet they have the majority and don’t care as long as its their Rule. They have been sowing the seeds of an even more radicle ideological left-wing attack on the Country and its People, so nothing could be seen as off the table.
October 2, 2026
The government has just launched a scheme to reindustrialise the country by ‘supercharging’ the electricity supply to firms which have to use lots of it and are paying the highest price in the world. They have until November to sign up for big reductions in costs. Miatta says this will be achieved by speeding up the nationalised grid to connect to distant wind turbines and solar farms. Or maybe they are thinking of using the spare NI money to buy free expensive energy. It all sounds very encouraging.
Reply They should just cut the energy taxes matched by spending cuts.
October 2, 2026
A socialist government cutting taxes, you jest. More chance of snow in Saudi Arabia.
October 2, 2026
@Stred – at most levels that not much adrift with the ‘cost’ of free market energy. It is Parliament interference to manipulate to dictate a doctrine, that for the most part the rest of the World, our competitors, are not engaged in. As Lord Redwood suggested the extra and over energy taxes all come from Parliament no one else. Even on fuel for cars the Governments take is 52.95p plus VAT per litre, so at £2:00 per litre the Government takes more than 50% and what do the do with it? The producers, refiners, delivery companies and wholesalers actualy do something for their meagre share.
The Tax on pure energy is contrived/hidden in political speak, levies, green this & that surcharges all controlled by Parliament not the Market.
October 2, 2026
They should drill baby drill, frack baby frack and stop all the market rigging in energy and else where.
October 2, 2026
They should abandon Net Zero and build new gas and coal generation near the failing industries and quickly. While developing small nuclear if economically practical.
October 2, 2026
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/applications-open-for-scheme-to-slash-electricity-bills-for-over-10000-manufacturers
October 2, 2026
Question Time viewing figures have been going down for some time. Why don’t you add to the trend, LL?
October 2, 2026
I find it interesting to watch just to observe how absurdly biased it and the BBC invariably is. Also seeing just how misguided and ignorant of economics, engineering, climate, science, logic, defence and business most people on the panel are. Nearly all think that even more government, higher taxes and more red tape are the solution!
Suella Braverman the only fairly sensible panellists this time. Often not even one is remotely sensible. Even the questions are often daft. Does the panel think A or B? When clearly the best solution is C or D or a mix of both but nothing of A or B.
October 2, 2026
Under this BICS scheme, firms which are finding the high electricity costs are putting them out of business will no longer have to pat for the subsidies going to renewables. Does this mean that other customers or taxpayers will have to pay for these subsidies instead?
October 2, 2026
Weirdly I support proper devolved government, but not in the way an over-powering Command and Control a central Socialist Politburo frames it. To me a balance along the lines of how US States work vis-a-vie central the US Government . The States are essentially local, and central government is if you like international.
A pipe dream of course the UK Parliament wants give the external, the international control to the unelected unaccountable beurocrates in a foreign land, leaving them to sit on thier hands and take orders. Don’t the realise that the EU model causes/makes a UK Parliament surplus to need.
October 2, 2026
Devolved Scotland and Wales have proved they don’t have the competence to be fully effective. Central government should have retained power to close down these parliaments or remove powers based on a formula, but as it is they allow these miscreants to do whatever damage they like.
There should be boundaries, policed, and controlled by Westminster, for the good of the UK.
October 2, 2026
US states are as big as the U.K. I also support devolving power to entities as big as the U.K., indeed I am happy to specifically cite the U.K.
Oh Brexit Makerfield – what have you done!
October 2, 2026
You cannot devolve power and hold the purse strings, that’s a contradiction. Giving rogue Socialist Councils the power to singly attack the motorists to boost their economy and earnings, is the same as grabbing greater funds for NHI. How can they improve the lot of thier community when central command cripples them – so very, very EU
Councils should have full tax raising powers, with them contributing a percentage to central government – or in essence just as it should be the ‘People ‘ controlling Parliament, every part of the democratic process should control Parliament- it’s called Democracy. This Politburo Dictatorship thing is anti Democratic, in the same way that 5 year terms and not 2 year terms is anti-democratic. In a Democracy those we pay and ‘lend’ our powers to should be constantly challenged. It is not Parliaments Country it belongs to the People
October 2, 2026
*** Very well said and something far too many in the general public do not realise.
They have allowed themselves to be doped by modern day bread and circuses, and are allowing themselves to be terrorised and be subordinates to those who should be working for us but who so obviously have not been.
Until lying to gain office, lying whilst in office and allowing foreign rule over our institutions comes with a cost to individuals or groups, then nothing will change.
October 2, 2026
It depends whether you see money as power.You can give them the money but distribution would depend on those who make the best cases to have their projects/departments funded.
October 2, 2026
@MBJ – whoever controls the purse dictates power. The UK’s corrupt version of devolution has the Politburo dishing out the money. The Subordinates only get money from their handouts and punishing motorists. They don’t get to encourage earning by enterprise and effort
October 2, 2026
For heavens sake don’t give local authorities powers over income taxes !
October 2, 2026
Labour and Burnham’s devolution means. Granting a parliament to Scotland, Wales and an Assembly to N.Ireland.
Then chopping up England into Mayoral Fiefdoms.
Having achieved this, Labour will then rejoin the EU so it can once again become the overiding power, thus making the botched devolution meaningless.
You couldn’t make it up ……………
October 2, 2026
That is the EU (formerly 3rd Reich) blueprint.
They also have a plan for Russia – 12 indefensible states.
I’m not sure how they will tackle the last of the victorious Allies – the USA.
October 2, 2026
@Old Albion – devolution is not planned, the best that will happen is local fiefdoms doing as bid by the Politburo as the only means to be handed money
October 2, 2026
So does the triple lock come out of the national insurance fund?
If so how can labor stop the triple lock
Its in law for the triple lock so will the government have to change the law?
Reply Yes
October 2, 2026
Are you actually saying Rachel Reeves had no idea how the NI Fund worked???
So, within the Labour party who else had no clue, as they watched the car crash unfold.
Is it all of them, or are some aware but too afraid to speak or have been silenced.
We see no resignations or defections to other parties on principle because of the damage done, so I’m assuming most are unaware or don’t care because they’re safely tucked up in their position.
I wonder how much Streeting knows about military realities. That’s one that keeps me awake at night worrying
October 2, 2026
@Michelle – in a nutshell has there been anyone in Parliament this century that has had a clue as to their job?
October 2, 2026
Of course Burnham’s Shower is incompetent. But worse than that, they don’t care about their incompetence because they are driven by hatred of everything that is good about Britain and they reserve a special hatred for those who oppose socialism or Islamism and those who support Israel. Since they aim to destroy what they hate, there is no reason for them to care about the incompetence of their government of it.
October 2, 2026
They will need a competent government to destroy us completely. They need also to ponder why they think they will survive our annihilation.
Blair, probably the brightest of the Socialists looks decidedly edgy. I think he’s terrified.
October 2, 2026
This government, and the last several, are incapable of saying no to the electorate and to the EU and other international bodies.
Opposition parties play their part in this by constantly telling the electorate they can have it all.
We need government to leglislate (less) for the majority not for minorities and to balance the budget. Minorities can just get on board and stop having money shoveled in their direction.
Takers vote for those who give to them. Perhaps they shouldn’t be able to vote.
October 2, 2026
If I was an investor in UK bonds, I would be looking at the price for a 10 year bond thinking that in a few years time its value will be reduced because the yield will be higher in the future. Every year this government is in power, it seems to mean another 0.5% increase in the yield. This means the government has to sell bonds not on today’s yield values, but on higher yields the markets expect them to be in the future. All the time the Labour government continues its unbridled spending policies, the markets are convinced the upward yield trend will continue. They don’t believe the government will ever get control of the economy or that it will be able to curb borrowing by increasing taxes (that will just chase the money away faster).
It’s not necessarily that the markets think the UK might default on its debts that causes them to devalue UK bonds, but that the value of those bonds will depreciate.
Have I got this right, and how many Labour backbenchers understand this?
October 2, 2026
But doesn’t the surplus in the NIF effectively get lent to the government thereby reducing government need to borrow externally? Thus is does help the overall fiscal framework?
Reply Gets lent at base rate so still adds to debt interest cost of govt
October 2, 2026
It depends whether you see money as power.You can give them the money but distribution would depend on those who make the best cases to have their projects/departments funded.
October 2, 2026
How.much are they allowed to lend?
Is there any chance that they won’t be able to pay back?
If they lend too much there won’t be sufficient funds to give to present pension payments.
October 2, 2026
The labour conference was clearly a success – Ha. Burnham failed to provide answers or propose solutions that were costed and not in the future.
The market has dipped dramatically to show how much confidence the conference created. Gains over the last few months have dissipitated.
Scotland only wants independence so that it can benefit from the generosity of the EU when it joins. They have recognized the fact that as a small country they would get more perks and money than they receive from England. Another case of living off welfare.
That is all fraught with issues though, including dependence on England, again, for a national currency.
Obviously Burnham needs to keep the UK together as a package which would be more appealing to the EU which wants the entire bundle, not piecemeal.
As regards Truss and the lies and innuendo spread by labour on subjects like Brexit, surely more people are seeing the labour party for what they are, deliberately mendacious. It’s not just that they are trying to obscure the truth, they want to rewrite our history to fit in with their narrative and cover up their failings.
Burnham has already taken us back famously to the 1970’s, but with unions now calling the shots we are surely going further back even, to the 1960’s.
October 2, 2026
In the EU, Scotland would be a net contributor. They would go from being subsidised by England to subsidising East Europe and the new members.
October 2, 2026
Scotland should talk to Ireland about the ‘generosity of the EU’.
October 2, 2026
The headline says it all. We have had a series of incompetent governments since Mrs Thatcher. I wonder what the voters of Makersfiled think now of their new MP. In the by-election, Brexit was not an issue, but suddenly our new PM has decided it is the cause of all our problems. I lived through the 1970s shambles, so it’s unbelievable that the PM sees it as a golden age. The Bond markets will destroy this Government because they are so utterly incompetent.
Socialism/communism has never worked anywhere in the world and never will, unless the people are held down by force. But the UK has to go through the whole dreary exercise again because of this ignorant, incompetent shower. Have we ever had a worse government?
October 2, 2026
Government incompetence? Really? Or could it look like this because we have had 3 decades of socialism, the system that depends upon making and keeping people poor? Hence the implementation of the mass immigration and Net Zero policies pursued by all the main Parliamentary Parties. With advice from our Rolls Royce Civil Service such as that from that Lord Gus O’Donnell who, when Cabinet Secretary, said in 2011: “When I was at the Treasury I argued for the most open door possible to immigration….. I think it’s my job to maximise global welfare not national.” Or the adoption of the Left’s climate crisis hoax which would not have been invented if it did not sabotage our energy and hence destroy our industry, living standards and national security?
October 2, 2026
Incompetence comes in many forms, just look at the Labour front bench….
October 2, 2026
Why is the unaffordable public sector pension crisis not being addressed by BBC and other outlets.
The cheerleaders for stealing the state pension of millions of people, such as Torsten Bell, Dominic Lawson and Dominic Spence should be dismissed.
October 2, 2026
Jeremy Hunt, at the time he reduced employee NI contributions, said he wanted to abolish NI eventually. That means he considered it no different to income tax.
I also think he did it knowing the Tories were going to lose the next GE. He did it to cause Labour a problem.
October 2, 2026
I suggest reading Private Eye (No 1684 latest edition) In the Money – Pay Dirt article. Very illuminating how Labour are currying favour with big business. So much for tidying up greedy leaders of business and we who can vote as shareholders or bank members (Nationwide) will not be able to have our say in future. How democratic.
October 3, 2026
It’s called ‘Corporatism’, joining political power and patronage doled out by employees of the Corporations.
It’s ’The German System’.
October 2, 2026
Be aware.MrBurnham has had a very long time to prepare whet his sword and burnish his shield.
His New Jerusalem is self-evident to anyone with a scintilla of intelligence.LENIN writ large.No other
outcome marries.