I have been reading Boris’s account of the last few storm tossed political years. It is written with panache and wry humour, avoiding boastfulness and self pity. It sweeps you along with his boosterism, his impishness, his sharp observations of events and people and his ability to see what others saw.
I was particularly interested in how he handled the economic performance of the government 2019-2022, as he had often invited me in to talk about it and I had prepared various slide shows for him setting out the likely developments and the options. As readers of this site will know, I was very critical of Bank and Treasury policy, and alarmed by the huge negative impact such a long and comprehensive lock down for covid would have. I had with a few other MPs led by Mark Harper fought for a different approach to the pandemic.
I was surprised to read that Boris did like what I had been telling him, as I did not get the policy changes I was pressing. He writes “Before I became Mayor in 2008 he (John Redwood) used to drift into my room in Parliament and we would talk economics. You can take it from me :he forecast the financial crash perfectly and uniquely. The Queen famously asked “Why did no one see this coming? Â and she was right that almost everyone missed it except Redders. So I took him seriously and I instinctively agreed with him”….”He sent me email after email warning me that they (the Treasury) were trying to box me in, trying to go back to austerity – the very policies voters had rejected in 2016. We had the room for manoeuvre, he said. We had space to cut taxes and really unleash the animal spirits of the wealth creators”
He goes on to describe how he pressed his Chancellor to do more to promote growth and to cut taxes, whilst reining in the over large administrative overhead that had greatly expanded over covid, and wasteful spending where I had also made suggestions. This policy would have worked much better than the adopted mix. I had also raised the issues over the Bank of England and its inflation and recession inducing balance sheet policy but that does not appear in the memoir.
It was the same mix I proposed to Liz Truss who decided on the tax cuts whilst expanding spending at the same time, not a wise combination given Treasury and Bank views. She also ignored the advice on the Bank balance sheet which as she arrived was being used aggressively to promote recession, after a long period creating inflation.
December 1, 2024
Good morning.
Interesting. Our kind host seemed to have been viewed as some sort of apparition.
Perhaps this Christmas he could do a version of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol with himself portrayed as either, Jacob Marley or the Ghost of Christmas Future ? Perhaps others here might like suggest other people fill in characters of this great story.
What does everyone think ?
Anyway. Nice of him to mention you. Shame he did not take your advice.
December 1, 2024
I always like to read Boris as he had a certain wit about him
However I don’t believe a word he says.
A few years ago he wrote an article in the DT trashing windmills saying they couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding. Then he got in with princess nut nut and went full on eco warrior.
He obviously is unstable and bends with the wind
As First Lord of the Treasury he could have insisted Sunak followed his advice or replaced him . He did neither which demonstrates his unsuitability to lead.
December 1, 2024
I wonder too, how much Boris’s father influences him. Boris doesn’t seem to have the courage of his convictions, and is easily influenced by all the wrong people!
December 3, 2024
Do you never change your mind, Ian?
If he had many advisors and experts visiting with him and presenting the benefits of windmills, would you ignore them all because of intransigence?
I don’t want to see windmills everywhere; I don’t know enough about them to determine whether they are successful or not.
December 3, 2024
Coincidentally, I read in Guido’s order-order that the UK paid out ÂŁ1bn in 11 months this year 2024 to Wind farm companies to cover switch offs when its too windy. Up from ÂŁ779 in 2023, and ÂŁ945m in 2022. Seems very wasteful and inefficient.
December 1, 2024
Not a mention of ‘Net Zero’…? Was there a Bunter epiphany….how did that come about?
I’m not going to buy a copy of his book, I don’t need to waste more money on his ego.
December 1, 2024
He does address Net Zero in his book. He says he became a convert by applying a version of Pascalâs Wager: if itâs true itâs essential and if false harmless. It was disappointing to see so sharp a mind swayed by so feeble an argument.
One thing he does not talk about in his book is the âLying Borisâ trope to which Peter Wood alludes, and which did him so much damage. I suspect his skin is not so thick as he pretends.
I have no doubt Boris was far more lied against than lying. As Sir John notes, the book is unusually candid for a political memoir. It is Peterâs loss if he chooses not to look into it.
December 1, 2024
If he falls for that argument Boris is moronic. Sending billions on Net Zero which has zero benefits are substantial negatives. Lost oportunity cost like those given in the book below.
Best Things First Paperback â May 7, 2023
by Bjorn Lomborg (Author),
Using Pascalâs wager you can justify spending ÂŁbillions on anything. You need to practice all religions just in case and invent new ones, spend billions on defences for all threats however unlikely, meteors, virus and bacterial threats of all types, chemical war threats, meteors impacts, solar flairs, alien attacksâŠ
I think his daft green crap pushing, drama studies wife changed him to this lunacy – he wanted an easy life. He was more of a climate realist before she arrived.
December 1, 2024
Thank you, you describe Bunter in a couple of sentences: ‘Pascalâs Wager: if itâs true itâs essential and if false harmless. It was disappointing to see so sharp a mind swayed by so feeble an argument’.
He couldn’t be bothered to look into the issue properly, despite it being the most expensive policy our nation will undertake other than war. Doesn’t see Net Zero as a greater risk than ‘harmless’.
Applies a ‘test’ that was merely an intellectual witticism because he believes the concerns of others are of no value. In is own words ‘I was much more disposable than I believedâ. A wastrel.
December 2, 2024
So deliberately destroying British manufacturing; impoverishing ordinary people; adopting dictatorial policies to force behavioural change and lying to the electorate about the “justification” for it are, in Johnson’s opinion, harmless.
I think that tells us all we need to know about him … and most of the members of his Party.
December 1, 2024
@Peter Wood +1 – we are all living with his failures as a man, failure to be a Conservative, failure to manage.
December 1, 2024
A shame Thatcher, John Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron, May, Boris, Suanak and Starmer did not take all his sound advice over the years on the ERM, tax levels, the EU, over regulation, energy, devolution, the BoE, inflation, the size of the state, climate alarmism, immigrationâŠ
See his very many sensible contribution in Hansard. The country would be far better of had they taken his advice.
https://members.parliament.uk/member/14/contributions?page=65
December 1, 2024
The main things Boris got wrong were:-
Standing down when Socialist Gove knifed him he in the back would have won anyway why did he even have Gove leading his campaign?
Not just leaving the EU without any deal.
The net harm, vastly expensive, pointless Covid lockdowns.
The net harm so called Covid âvaccinesâ which have proved to be very dangerous, coerced even into people with no need of them even had they been safe and effective. Plus they to cost billions.
He failed to cancel HS2 or pointless degrees or cut back government waste.
He went for open door low skilled immigration to suppress UK wages and create shortages of housing, schools, healthcare, police, roadsâŠ
He listened to his theatre studies graduate wife on the Net Zero insanity and buggered up out energy systems, rigged the car and energy markets.
Rest and Trace was an idiotic waste of money too.
He appointed tax, borrow, vaccine enthusiast and piss down the drain Sunak then let him take over.
Appointing Handcock, Greta disciple Gove, Javid, Brian OâNeil and many other deluded dopes.
December 1, 2024
@Lifelogic – he kept proving he was an ideological Socialist, before a servant of the people and the Country.
December 1, 2024
He couldn’t leave without a deal once the Traitors’ Parliament had passed the Surrender Act. As he put it, they chopped his legs off.
December 1, 2024
+1
December 1, 2024
Because the tendency is to placate the socialists and keep your enemies closer.
December 1, 2024
Any one of them could and should have appointed Redwood Chancellor. The fact that they did not stands as a massive mark against them all and quite possibly itâs the single, repeated mistake that will cost The Conservative Party itâs life.
December 3, 2024
Yes. Truss should have gone with experience over her friendship with Kwarsi, who was treated abominably (a friendship she subsequently ruined).
December 1, 2024
An apparition over many years indeed, but one they insanely chose to ignore.
Also on devolution.
Mr Redwood said: “I’m fed up with this lop-sided devolution, this unfair devolution.
“Scotland gets first class devolution, Wales gets second class devolution and England gets nothing.”
Blair devolution and Constitutional reforms have been a total disaster. David Starkeyâs excellent videos perhaps best on this?
But look what a total disaster Scotland and Wales made with their devolutions.
December 1, 2024
Had Boris appointed “Redders” to be Chancellor, we might well not be in the sorry political and economic state we have now.
December 1, 2024
Johnson came across to me as a big spender, a climate zealot, someone keen to reduce the consumption of meat and, towards the end of his time in office, unable to run No. 10 efficiently. Is any of this objectively incorrect?
December 1, 2024
@David Andrews +1 – precisely proving his Socialist credentials, Refused the UK an economy, refused the people their freedom, refused to get his election promise of getting Brexit done. An endless list of Socialist indoctrination, do and act as I dictate as I know best.
December 1, 2024
If what you and Boris are saying is true, and have no doubt in my mind that it is, then we have a very serious balance of power situation at the heart of government. It is between the elected element who take ultimate responsibility, and the unelected led by the civil service in key departments who have their own agenda that carries no sanctionable responsibility. This situation is exacerbated when the elected party in power only see the PM as useful at winning elections, but unsupportable when controlling the levers of power. A sentiment that is carried into Cabinet. Did it never occure to Boris that there were sufficient elected, like minded, wise owl, ERG conservatives available to control the levers of power. It may have resulted in a lot of CS blood on ministerial carpets, but so be it if necessity demanded it.
The assumed powers of the unelected need redefining on a contractual and official secrets act basis, so that it ultimately lies with the elected. That will be the unseen but largest challenge to an incoming Reform government, or a Kemi government supported by “Kemists”, rather than a diluting broad church. Todays piece was really reevealing and interesting reading. Real personalities rather than bond life.
December 1, 2024
I am certain that what Boris says is NOT true.
Easy in retrospect to side with those who prove to be right, the acid testis his actions and he is damned forever by those.
Boris is a novelist, he lives in a fictional world and simple steals some of the real world around which to spin his tales. That is classic narcissism. You will find in âhis truthâ he is ALWAYS in the side of those who proved to be right and always the real hero.
I have to say that JR was certainly NOT the only political economist to have predicted the financial crash. All the monetarist political economists predicted it and were silenced just as the biologists who predicted the disastrous results from mRNA mass injections were later silenced.
I know JR will agree that I am right, does not take anything away from him – he was the only one in parliament and close enough to present slides to explain the situation to the powerful. Not that it helped.
December 1, 2024
Whom ever you vote for the Blob wins – As Matt Ridley put it.
In the UK the blob get everything wrong Covid Lockdowns, duff Covid Vaccines, the EU, the vast size of the incompetent state, net zero, energy, warsâŠ
December 1, 2024
Yes, one could argue the biggest threat to us mortals in the UK is the ‘5th Column’ in the civil service. Our politicians are no match for them, even if, in the rare event, they try to reform it. When did the civil service last reduce its head count? How much does it cost us now, as a proportion of gdp, compared with 10 years ago? With greater technology we should be so much more efficient than 10 years ago. But no, ever increasing size of the state and reduction of societal freedom.
Look at France, heading for economic collapse because the State has grown far beyond what the private sector can afford. We should learn the hard lesson they are experiencing.
December 2, 2024
+1
December 1, 2024
Dominic Cummings has observations on how all power is vested in the PM. If he or she does not exercise it the blob takes over. See the recent q and a by the Pharos Institute. There is some overlap with his New College q and a but new stuff as well.
December 1, 2024
agricola :
“…..then we have a very serious balance of power situation at the heart of government. It is between the elected element who take ultimate responsibility, and the unelected led by the civil service in key departments who have their own agenda that carries no sanctionable responsibility…..The assumed powers of the unelected need redefining on a contractual and official secrets act basis, so that it ultimately lies with the elected….”
Agreed.
December 1, 2024
I don’t doubt you tried to insert some sanity into the madness but the facts are that Johnson ignored you.
He allowed and fronted the Covid Tyranny, blatantly lying to the British people about the risks of the virus and he fully participated in the Government’s psychological abuse and jab coercion.
He allowed Sunak and the BofE to print, borrow and squander ÂŁbillions, whilst systematically wrecking the economy.
He put the Net Zero Lunacy on steroids boasting about the Establishment’s mission to create energy insecurity; to destroy what remained of our traditional manufacturing base and forcing British citizens to pay the highest electricity prices in the G20.
And, having “promised” to control and reduce immigration, he deliberately failed to put in place any real controls and tripled it, leading to 3 million legal immigrants in just 3 years of which about 16% are actually making a contribution to our economy …. the rest are a drain on existing taxpayers.
Johnson had an opportunity to deliver what a clear majority of the British people wanted: Brexit; governance in the national interest; improving jobs and living standards in the left-behind areas; reducing immigration.
He did the exact opposite. I loathe him and virtually every other “CON” MP who participated in the abuse of the British people which he carried out.
December 1, 2024
Indeed he got everything wrong on Covid (net harm lockdowns and net harm vaccines), fell for his new wifeâs net zero lunacy, nearly doubled the national debt, botched Brexit, wrecked the economy, appointed the dire Sunak who appointed the dire Hunt. Then he Sunak gave us this appalling Labour government six month early.
December 1, 2024
Recall the “dire Hunt” was inherited by Sunak from Truss.
December 1, 2024
Well sort of but only after she had been forced to get rid of Kwasi!
December 1, 2024
Donna you are too kind, but I agree with your restrained assessment.
Via the COVID jabs and the Ukraine âproxyâ war he is also the PM under whose wooden headed policies more innocent people died or will die.
We will be paying for Boris for generations (if the British nation survives at all).
I will wait for his book to be selling for 10p before buying a copy, so maybe by Christmas.
December 1, 2024
You could probably get it from the library – Iâd be surprised if there is demand enough to generate a waiting list. Further, it would save you money and, as you would need to return it, it would help temper the desire, that would undoubtedly build as you read it, to tear itbaoart and consign it to the fire. Iâm not a fan of the idea of burning books but, in that case, I could make an exception.
December 1, 2024
Donna :
Agreed.
December 3, 2024
Donna, do you have a link to this ‘3 million legal immigrants in just 3 years of which about 16% are actually making a contribution to our economy’ evidence?
Were these EU citizens or ROW citizens?
How are they not contributing if they came on work visas? If they lose the job they came in on, can they automatically stay?
People like the migration observatory and their spokespeople say that EU citizens made a net positive contribution of ÂŁ2,300 pa per person, claiming the average Brit and ROW citizens was net negative?
December 1, 2024
Tomorrow please tell us the politics of why you were ignored because there can be no other reason. E.G Gove?
Until.this is acknowledged/dealt with, bearing in mind how we are all suffering because of it, the Tory party will remain unelectable.
December 1, 2024
There is, on Daily Sceptics, a talk by Dominic Cummings, explaining how Cabinet meetings are literally scripted by advisers beforehand. He says Cabinet is just theatre. This may or may not be true, but it does seem the civil servants etc have far too much power and influence over ministers.
December 1, 2024
Indeed and like MPs very few top civil servants have much understanding of science or maths or logic. So like the BBC they get nearly everything wrong.
December 1, 2024
I think it is fair to assume that Cummings does know what goes on in government.
December 1, 2024
Thereâs a good video of him on a well known video sharing platform, the video is 1.19:46 minutes long. He talks about a lot of the mechanisms of Whitehall / no10
December 1, 2024
Nigl :
Yes, this is the question I wanted to post.
December 1, 2024
I am not sure most people would view “being praised by Boris Johnson” to be quite the glowing recommendation you think it is, Mr Redwood.
December 1, 2024
I detected no “bigging himself up” in this piece as you seem to imply. Rather, it was very revealing to learn that Sir John had plenty of direct access to the powerful with his sound advice. They were unable/unwilling to implement it. The Bank continue to bill the taxpayer with the Bank’s bond losses despite Sir John’s persistent shouting about it. What’s going on here, really?
December 1, 2024
You would have been the best Chancellor we never had.
December 1, 2024
NanT
Certainly agree with that, and often wondered why it never happened, especially when you look at some of the Characters which have held that position.
December 1, 2024
Indeed but not much competition Lawson perhaps the only half competent one but he gave wanted to shadow the DM leading to Major and his ERM fiasco. See the appalling list below.
Rachael Reeves lets kill all growth
Jeremy Hunt tax to death
Kwasi Kwarteng right idea poorly executed
Nadhim Zahawi
Rishi Sunak lets double the national debt.
Sajid Javid rather a dope
Philip Hammond EU enthisiast
George Osborne IHT ÂŁ1m ratter and mugger of landlords
Alistair Darling better than most
Gordon Brown gold giver away and pension destroyer.
Kenneth Clarke EU and EURO enthisiast.
Norman Lamont good man but foolishly took the blame for Majors ERM incompetence.
today has been a difficult day – destroyed the economy with 15% interest rates
John Major failed his maths and most other O levels and gave us the ERM wanted to join the EURO.
Nigel Lawson sound on climate – but EURO enthusiast at the time.
Sir Geoffrey Howe a broken cricket bat
Denis Healey 98% income tax rates and the IMF
Anthony Barber the Barber Boom and Heathâs 3 day week and income controls.
Nearly all useless, deluded, tax borrow and waste dopes.
December 1, 2024
Can you do more than list the obvious, trashing the people elected whilst as far as I can see, making no contribution or offering alternatives.
December 1, 2024
The alternative is Monetarism.
December 1, 2024
We need a smaller state sector more like 20% of GDP than almost 50%. Far less red tape, no net zero lunacy, free and un-rigged markets in healthcare, energy, transport, education, housing⊠, quality and skilled only immigration, public services that actually serve the publicâŠ
Almost all the above enlarged the âessentially mainly parasiticâ state sector and delivered the revers of this. Reeves is doing the same in spades. Is that constructive enough for you?
December 1, 2024
Lawson DID shadow the DM and without the knowledge or authority of Mrs T. He thought tha5 the evidence of shadowing (pretending to be in the ERM) when he presented the evidence, would force Mrs T into actually joining. The evidence from shadowing proved the reverse of what he expected, but because he had weakened her Governmentâs economic record, he opened up the way for Howe, Hurd and Hestletine to attack her, and in the long run it brought about her downfall.
Lawson repented but of course, too late. He stood against the Climate Change scam to his credit and recovered some of his reputation as a formidable politician.
The only other person worthy of nr 11 was Lamont. Tragically he took the blame for policies he did not support, he also refused to sign the Maastricht Treaty, to his credit.
In my view Redwood is and always has been a superior political economist, indeed a superior politician, than either Lawson and Lamont (who were the best).
The Downing Street cat is a better economist than the rest, and you can lump Truss in with them too,
Reply I explained to Margaret the damage shadowing the DM was doing. She found it difficult to sort out with Nigel.
December 1, 2024
I think she was a bit frightened of him.
December 1, 2024
I thought the difficulty was that he kept denying he was doing it.
December 1, 2024
Exactly. Even you and her economic advisor Sir Alan Walters could not persuade her and she even appointed the totally unsuitable (for almost any job) John Major as Chancellor.
December 1, 2024
JR and Alan Walters DID give her the bullets to fire in defence of Sterling and Mrs T was therefore able to resist the relentless pressure to join the ERM aka surrender sovereignty for nearly 6 years.
Nearly everyone, including Tebbit and Peter Lilly lined up with Lawson.
Perhaps Redwoodâs youth weighed against him. In any case they forced her to do the wrong thing against her instincts and after weakening her for years.
It served Major right to be PM when we âcrashed outâ enriching Soros enormously in the process. The only reason we were able to leave the EU was because we had managed to maintain our independent currency. Redwood and Goldsmith can take much credit for that achievement.
Appointing Major Balls as Chancellor was a disastrous mistake, but letâs remember that the woman had resisted leviathan for a decade.
December 1, 2024
Lord Monckton gave an interesting lecture at Oxford to the Mises Society on Net Zero in which he told some of the story, including the detail that they would have abolished income tax had the Wets not intervened. Look it up.
December 2, 2024
Yes Christopher Monckton was in the Bowe Group and he worked in Nr 10, I think a party appointment on science issues. A lot of ideas would have been kicked around. Whether they would have been implemented is another issue altogether.
Personally I prefer taxing income where there is ready money than capital where there is not. Forced sales of capital cause much harm.
There is nothing like the Bowe Group now for young Conservatives to test their ideals against each others brains, mores the pity.
December 1, 2024
A high scoring post for Lifelogic Bingo, particularly the âdâ words âdopeâ & âdeludedâ. âDrainâ would have been the icing on the cake.
December 1, 2024
The point they all without exception missed, you can achieve anything if you first create the wealth to fund it.
The Perception that tax collected and disappearing without control into the State is wealth because a Parliamentarians/Chancellors the fact that you can demand and order up more is missing one basic factor that it is the removal of the economy the peoples and the Country’s future. The money therefore wealth circulating is an economy, taxes don’t need to rise its the economy that needs to grow
December 1, 2024
This sums up both why Boris was a good politician but a hopeless PM. He had the open mindedness and intellectual self confidence to hear contrarian views (contrarian that is from the blob orthodoxy). But when it came to it he either didnât have the determination or the effectiveness to put what he said he believed into action. Anyone reading borisâs columns over the years, as I have, would have assumed heâd be a sound libertarian, low tax, free trade Conservative. But he gave us lockdown, a huge expansion in the size and scope of the blob, record taxes and seems deliberately to have opened the sluice gates to low and un-skilled immigration in a move which, extraordinarily, seemed calculated to alienate his 2019 coalition of voters. Or perhaps he was just too ineffectual to prevent the blob doing that.
Iâll read his book, but those like JRM who continue to praise Boris, out of laudable personal loyalty, should acknowledge that he was a massive disappointment and squandered a unique opportunity.
December 1, 2024
Narcissists have no judgement. They listen to everything because they are trying to work out whose words and actions to copy. But until reality proves who was right, they donât know which to adopt.
Thatâs why in retrospect Boris will have been on the winning side always and other people will have stopped him from adopting the winning policy (because Narcs are never responsible for anythin* that goes wrong).
They are actually not interested in policies, just in placing themselves as the leader of the winning side. Thatâs why Boris the One World Government fanatic supported Brexit – it was the route to nr 10. He intended to replace rule by the EU with the ultimate goal ie Rule by the UN (and himself as Kin* of the World).
Narcs donât even recognize that there are âother peopleâ in the world. There is only them and objects to exploit (like Redders).
They are very good storytellers because thatâs all they have ever done, and good actors because they are empty and able to âassumeâ any role.
December 1, 2024
Actually on reflection I believe the best lawyers are narcs too, because they have the ability to argue any Brief. And of course they hold the centre of the stage in court.
I had to explain to my lawyer MP, Roger Evans, that as a politician he would be judged by the Argument that he CHOSE to propound.
December 2, 2024
Problem then is we end up with a Judiciary with no Judgement, only able to implement laws and rules (like Starmer)!
December 1, 2024
Spot on.
December 1, 2024
+1
December 1, 2024
May I recommend (live this morning from 10:00 to 12:00)
‘A Global Discussion Forum special, organised by Facts4EU, on sovereignty and democracy’
https://facts4eu.org/news/2024_dec_sovereignty_live_debate
December 1, 2024
The correct economic policy approach was effected in the 1980s and its success is indisputable. Sir John was integral to that success and I can only speculate why Conservative Prime Ministers did not fully reassert that approach since 2010.
I suspect it might be due to a melange of economic misunderstanding, political game-playing and an obsession with appearances (eg that lamentable phrase – the ‘nasty party’) but whatever the reasons we should never have deviated from the economic success of the 1980s.The Conservative party has time now to sort itself out. I really hope it does.
December 1, 2024
Paul there is no conservative left in the Conservative Party capable of finding the conservative path. If conservatism go up and punched them in the face they would not recognize it.
December 1, 2024
PF :
As LA says there is no conservative left in the Conservative Party. The Labour Party are no longer the party of labour, “the workers”.
They have merged to become the Uniparty and now seem intent, together with the Civil Service, to make Britain last in everything they do. How many foreign trips has our PM taken since he took office? What has he done to make our country more prosperous and safer? Has he done anything else but give away our assets to foreigners?
December 1, 2024
Robert Jenrick is a proper Conservative and he was supported by enough Conservative MPs who took him all the way to the final round of the leadership contest. That right there demonstrates Conservatism is alive amongst Conservative MPs.
Kemi Badenoch can succeed and I really want her to but time will tell how effective she is.
December 1, 2024
It’s only recently I turned to informing myself more about Politics.
UK party politics are alien to me, a local representative votes what the party says, not what they may believe.
These diary contributions, books by Nadine Dorries & Ive just finished listening to Boris, are eye opening.
A person is judged by their actions and inactions their triumphs and failures. And of course how do the public hear of these? By the distorted view of media. No longer is fact being reported, but constant opnions of things that may or may not happen, drowing out the truth when facts catch up.
All I wanted to say, that it’s great to see there are genius minds about (John Redwood, obviously) and sadly the system can drown them out. If Boris, a doer, had been able to stick to such expert advice and done as per all the above comments, the UK would be different of course. It’s clear to see, that the PM does not have all the answers, neither does he have all the Power to just do, as other factions can pull the rug away under ones feet, aka Truss vs. BoE. Thank you John for all your thoughts and words, publishing this.
December 1, 2024
Gary, watch âYes Ministerâ and âYes Prime Ministerâ. I used to laugh but then I realised I was looking at a factual iteration.
December 1, 2024
Boris was very good at appearing to agree with whoever the last person he spoke to was and this time it was you John. Then he would go away and do the exact opposite.
December 1, 2024
Sir John
With respect to yourself, and I mean that as you âget itâ
It doesnât take much to figure that money removed from the economy (Tax) is money no longer feeding, creating and causing an economy. The brain power we have in Parliament some how has it in mind that tax is income, their income. So, by taxing our governments have believed they are earning, which is the economy, isnât it?
Well, that has been my reasoning, based on logic up until now. But, now a bit slow of me it has been obvious all along we have only seen Socialist Governments in power in the UK this century their creed is âto mold a people you first have to destroy themâ. The only difference between Starmer and those he has followed, Blair, Brown, Cameron, May, Johnson and Sunak, he has ramped up their creed with more zeal, more ideology, it is still the same creed. He has made know secrete of taking directions from the Socialist WEF. He has a little way to go before achieving his Socialist totalitarianism, but as with those before him he continues to salami slice, freedoms and democracy away from the people of the UK. Destruction is the aim and as with all good International.
Socialist, everyone is equal all the time they do as I order and follow my path â you are part of my collective and in my image.
December 1, 2024
Johnson, was he ever a Conservative? Big Government good, manage the economy bad.
He was definitely a ideological dictator, he ramped up and embedded today’s NetZero creed. It had nothing to do with empowering the UK or its People it had everything to do with World Socialism.
December 1, 2024
The big question you raise is, why were neither Johnson nor Truss able to get what they said they wanted, done? This is the question that essentially Truss asked in her book, and whatever one might think about her shortcomings, it is a very good one. Basically, as far as one can see, HM Treasury is making this country ungovernable by its elected representatives, and nothing will change until that is changed.
December 1, 2024
The point you make is a sound one. There is clearly a force controlling the Nation which is above the influence of the democratic representative level. MPs are forced to work within strict limits of engagement and are never allowed to alter the permanent direction of travel fixed in place by the permanent control of national affairs.
The Civil Service and the Public Sector in general have decided they will control the rest of the nation.
This truly is an example of the tail wagging the dog. The Public sector are only able to operate by the contributions made by the Private Sector, they clearly do not understand that basic truth or respect the Private Sectors actual complete authority. We see all to often the ‘servants’ abusing their position and abusing the very people that pays them.
December 1, 2024
What Truss wanted to get done (reducing taxes and increasing spending) is an impossibility. Basically that is what Redwood told her.
Boris DID get what he wanted, for the first time in history the wealth creating sector of the UK was shut down. People were refused permission to earn a living! Many were duped into taking very dangerous injections that they would otherwise never have agreed to – DNA altering, irreversible and devastating.
December 1, 2024
On Friday MPs will debate a Bill designed to repair the damage he did to our territorial and constitutional integrity:
http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2024/11/23/questions-to-the-government/#comment-1485733
December 1, 2024
@Denis Cooper – don’t expect anything to change- parliament fights the Country and its People
December 1, 2024
I expect any change will be for the worse, such as this today:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgk1klrz3nzo
“Online sellers urged to prepare for sea border change”
“The change, driven by an update in EU product safety rules, means sellers in Great Britain face new rules when selling to Northern Ireland.
Some small retailers have already said they will stop or pause deliveries to Northern Ireland as a result.
Northern Ireland effectively remained in the EUâs single market for goods after Brexit.
The means the EUâs new General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) will apply in Northern Ireland from 13 December.”
This was so Boris Johnson could boast about his “Canada-style trade deal”, actually worth next to nothing.
December 1, 2024
Is Boris trying to rewrite history or was he so powerless to influence economic policy when he was PM.
If he agreed so heartily with Thatcherite strategy why didn’t he get it implemented?
Something else was going on then.
Were his ministers more powerful than him, or was it the civil service that blocked realistic policies?
Or was he stopped by the same establishment figures that ousted Truss?
I think we deserve the truth.
December 1, 2024
Sir John, I am waiting to read the Boris book, the ‘Butcher’ has promised to lend it to me when he has finished it. He tells me it is not the page turner we were all expecting?
Your comments and presence in the past Tory administrations gives us a salutary lesson.
If someone with your connections and sound advice is unable to influence the great and the erm…. good at the head of government, what hope is there for us mere mortals?
December 1, 2024
I haven’t yet bought Boris’ book because it’s still too expensive, but this morning’s post is an interesting take on the Treasury taken from the book.
It was always obvious that Number 11 got it wrong and failed to overcome the Manderins and implement the PM’s policies.
Was this just the Treasury getting it wrong, or were the officials so determined to undermine and promote a change of government that they deliberately damaged the governments’ economic prospects ??
Did successive Chancellors believe in the policies, but “go native,” did they disagree, or were they just not firm enough ?
December 1, 2024
As he did with the two versions of his newspaper article saying he would support/oppose Brexit, did Johnson perhaps write another version of his memoirs? Saying:- “I didn’t take Redders seriously and never agreed with him”.
December 1, 2024
The continued theme throughout the last two decades has been the role of the Band of England and Civil Servants âŠ.until we have a PM & government that can control them;âŠ.I give up, we never have a tory PM strong enough to control them
December 1, 2024
Mrs T and her best Ministers did.
Tebbit it says he went to his first Ministty and introduced himself as the servant of the People and informed the assembled functionaries that they were his servants.
Start as you mean to go on.
December 2, 2024
The PM is supposedly the First Lord of the Treasury. He CAN control it, if he/she chooses.
The problem, in my opinion, is the “independence” of the Bank of England. What that actually means is independence from the British government-of-the-day. It isn’t truly independent – it serves the IMF and the EU and the IMF is determined to maintain the Euro.
We didn’t LEAVE the EU. We are effectively an Associate Member and our economy is still largely being run in the interests of the EU.
The B of E deliberately destabilised Truss and Kwarteng who were going to present a significant challenge to the EU’s economic policies if they had managed to generate growth . The IMF effectively told Truss to sack Kwarteng and appoint their preferred candidate for Chancellor, the pro-EU Hunt.
December 1, 2024
Have you seen the immigration graph for the last years of the Tory party ?
December 1, 2024
Sir John, please enlighten us. You gave sound advice. It was welcomed. When not implemented what reasons were you given? Just one example – the Bank continuing to sell bonds at a loss.
Reply I think Ministers were wrongly told B of E independent and so they didnât want to probe. I went hoarse explaining the bond portfolio always needed Chancellor sign off, was indemnified by Treasury and the Bank itself said it acted as Agent on this! I think officials must have made it very hostile if Ministers even asked a question.
December 1, 2024
Reply to Reply : “I think officials must have made it very hostile if Ministers even asked a question. ”
Did we not see in the last government Ministers removed by Civil Servants?
The power of the unelected Civil Sevice and institutions is the root cause of our current problems.
December 2, 2024
Correct. But it is the international institutions, the IMF, WEF etc which is the cause of the problems.
December 1, 2024
@ Reply ” I think officials must have made it very hostile if Ministers even asked a question. “ – which suggests there should be an audit of the Treasury alongside one of the Bank!
December 1, 2024
Thank you for responding. Seems that until politicians remove such officials our “Democracy” is flawed. Brexit was, for me, all about sovereignty or so I thought but now I struggle to see any major difference in principle between rule by Westminster or rule by Brussels. Must we resign ourselves to living in such an imperfect democracy?
December 2, 2024
We can sack Westminster!
December 2, 2024
Same issue in the US.
Lets hope the efforts over there , enable the UK to re-assert by the people for the people over here, rather than the few. Its difficult for a small nations when powerful interests actively suppress free speech.
Watch for schedule F, properly constituted grand juries and prosecutions under the constitution ( pardons aside).
Sounds like constitutional protections and limits on powers of the blob are needed.
Failures like pursuing policies not supported by the population are in my mind treason against the people.
Especially when they impinge on individuals liberties and freedom.
I hope the US starts to follow its constitution and export it to like minded countries who share values of freedom as a condition of trade.
December 1, 2024
The Johnson form of Government as with his fellow travellers (Blair, Brown, Cameron May, himself, Sunak, now Starmer) everything is good as long as you agree with me and do as I say – Socialism. The bit the donât recognize everyone is an Individual, what fits in Metro London doesnât hold good elsewhere- so resorting to punishing the Country achieves nothing. Where Socialism say Government must run things hands-on it ignores real difference so it fails.
Releasing the People, allowing enterprise to just get on, causes things to happen, itâs called giving the country its freedom, removing âserfdomâ, it causes growth, even causes the inflow of tax without it being raised in every direction in convoluted ways â its called Conservatism. We havenât seen a Conservative this Century, this Generation has been committed to servitude and the wealth pot diminishes daily.
Johnson writing a book is just away of insulting everyone
December 1, 2024
“I had also raised the issues over the Bank of England and its inflation and recession inducing balance sheet policy but that does not appear in the memoir.”
Is this because he did not understand them? Is it possible that neither he nor his Chancellor nor previous combinations have clearly understood how the Bank either through incompetence or deliberate intent manipulated the economy through bond market interventions to achieve a different outcome than the politicians desired. It is amazing that politicians have not introduced powers to enable themselves to fire Governors who perform badly, but this applies also to the civil service as a whole. Quite how the present incumbent justified his promotion based on his CV escapes me and I recall how Mervyn King decided that we should all be punished because crooked Wall Street banks had sold to British banks some derivatives which were backed by mortgages
sold to people with no means of making repayments because Clinton wanted to create houseowners out of
classes of people who typically rented property. The consequence of this deliberate squeeze was to cause poorly capitalised financial institutions to collapse and a general recession.
December 1, 2024
@ forthurst – agreed, and lest the guilty escape our censure, we should recall blame lay not with the mortgagors of slender means, rather with the bankers who repackaged and resyndicated the loan assets therby created whilst inadequately advertising the true risks to the buyers of same who then used those assets as collateral to support their own exposures up until the market wised up.
December 1, 2024
A friendly and quite supportive view of Mr Johnson. Some of us see him as a wrecker – ensuring the destruction of the car industry with his ban on the purchase of new ICE cars, and his irrational commitment to the continuation of HS2 despite your best endeavours.
December 1, 2024
” Downfall, the self destruction of the Conservative Party” by Nadine Dorries following “The Plot” shines much light on how crazy things have become where power constantly shifts and irresponsibly reigns.
She regarded Boris with his many flaws as the best hope for the future.
I suspect that after his nasty near death experience of Covid himself he became more vulnerable to the major challenges facing both him and the country and his party.
His inability to defend himself and see through a certain impartial Sue Grey promising nothing to worry about any birthday party cake is incredulous. After her damaging “Independent Report” torpedoed the government and made Britain a joke she should have been checked herself as to whom exactly she represented. Instead she was courted by Sir K. Starmer and Labour , how embarrassing.
December 1, 2024
He looked remarkably robust after his ânasty near death experienceâ and it certainly did not deter him from continuing to eat all the pies.
It certainly got the attention of the world regarding the âplagueâ though. So fortuitous. Allowed our lazy PM to take it easy at Chequers for months too.
Could almost have been scripted!
December 1, 2024
Less well written but also a good read is Ten Years To Save the West. What do you think of that?
December 1, 2024
SJR points out that Borisâs book avoids self-pity. That cannot be said of Trussâs âTen Years to Save the Westâ.
December 1, 2024
He fooled me. I actually thought he would make a difference. That he, and Cummings, would kick the civil service into shape, actually stand up for us with the EU and run a tight ship. Turned out he was completely ineffective and utterly unsuited to the role.
December 1, 2024
Who are the shadowy people that people think really run things?
December 1, 2024
Thereâs no shadow they hide in plain sight. The civil service.
December 1, 2024
So amongst Boris’s attributes was “…his ability to see what others saw”! An enviable and indispensable quality in a prime minister, I would think.
That Boris now claims to have seen the wisdom of your advice does not of course mitigate nor excuse his failure to base his actions upon it. It is no wonder he is where he is now.
December 1, 2024
Wake up Lads and Ladesses.
I know it’s Sunday and you’re all three sheets to the wind. one hour ( then I’ll hibernate again for 10 months )
December 1, 2024
We should have known that Johson was merely a writer and a dreamer rather than PM material.
When his own siblings would not support him, that really flies the red flag of danger. Who would know him better? To me, his downfall was precipitated when TV showed our Queen in St George’s Chapel, seated at the official funeral service of her departed husband, Prince Phillip, ALONE, abiding by the laws laid down by this PM!
While he thought it OK to party in Number 10 with a score of Parliamentarians to celebrate his birthday. That’s not just disgusting, it’s disgraceful and insulting to our true OUR Head of State. He had to go.
December 2, 2024
Not Parliamentarians, Downing St. staff and civil servants. Funnily enough the media didn’t say much about them having a good time, all the focus was on Johnson.
December 1, 2024
âI was very critical of Bank and Treasury policy.â
Are the Treasury competent? The Chief Scientific Adviser to the Treasury, whom I presume is advising the Treasury on their instructed Net Zero goals, has an MA in foreign languages and literature.
BTW, the Civil Servants at the head of DESNZ are no better qualified. The Permanent Secretary has a BA in Modern History and Hs a Master of Philosophy in Economics and Social History.
December 1, 2024
Kaja Kallas, the new Head of EU Diplomacy did not rule out the introduction of sanctions against Georgia amid mass unrest in Tbilisi
She called the “use of violence” against demonstrators who threw Molotov cocktails at police, fired fireworks, threw stones and set fire to the parliament building unacceptable.
Wonder what she will say about Starmerâs Britain! Jail time for retweeting an inaccurate message. Arresting reporters for attending newsworthy events. Wow!
December 2, 2024
Sir John, as Kemi is also likely to go on ignoring your advice too, have you opened channels with the Reform party? 100,000 membership and counting! But they need intellects like yours.
Reply I make my views available to all view this website and media interviews I give. Happy for any party to support common sense economics.
December 2, 2024
Boris has been compared by Lord Lexden, who knows a thing or two about it, to Disraeli. For me, he is more like Mr Balfour: charming, popular, highly educated, very intelligent, able to see all twenty sides of the question – and therein lay the difficulty, for administrative purposes.
December 2, 2024
Sir John you say you were surprised to read that Boris agreed with you, but you did not get the policy changes you urged (and that he claims he agreed with).
This very much tallies with the experience of the electorate in the two years following the December 2019 election.
We voted for Brexit, the integrity of the UK, carefully policed borders, the rule of law and an expansionist and free market-friendly economic policy indifferent to EU interests. We got none of that, but instead constant backsliding and surrender.
Johnson is like his spitting image, Billy Bunter, always promising an imminent cheque from his uncle, one that never arrives. His opportunistic complaisancy is worthless.
As to the Chancellor refusing to carry out his instructions, any PM and First Lord of the Treasury has a reliable method of dealing with that – so we have to assume that he was weak and pusillanimous, a verdict we reached years ago.
December 2, 2024
Yesterday I posted that I had not yet bought Boris’ book because at ÂŁ30 it was too expensive. I then revisited Amazon yesterday afternoon and found that it was now available for just ÂŁ15.00. Not bad for a 730 page book.
My copy arrived this morning……………….
December 2, 2024
But then you will need to discount at least half its contents as invented, embroidered, or pure fantasy: so half-price seems not even all that generous a discount on the retail price.