May called it a day they say so let us pray....

Uh oh, the deed finally has been done – the PM has decided enough is enough. Perhaps she was forced to do so or her husband told her to. Whatever, and I must say she has been a failure as a PM, just another administrator with no capacity to lead. Because that is what a PM needs most of all, how to tell other people to get on with it and follow the plan, the PM plan! This has been her biggest failure, she could not do that or so it appears. As a result the government became a rudderless ship. Sending underweight civil servants to serious negotiations must be one of the biggest idiocies of all time. But there it is and over the next year we will read a number of books all saying one thing – her failure to step up to the parapet. Indeed that is what a PM needs, he or she needs to get drunk now and again, probably swears and throws things around No.10. Wow, that’ll be a show. No, seriously we need a fighter, a self-centred steel-cladded boxer. Frankly, except for one candidate there is really no-one who looks in any way capable of getting the UK out of this mess. We need a Churchillian ring-master who can throw everyone else out of the ring. And sorry friends to have to say this – not a single female candidate comes up to scratch. Neither most of the males. We do not need an administrator – we need Boris! So what? He makes gaffes, so do I. He had a few women on the side, his hair is a mess but he can kill the opposition. Let’s get him, stand him on the beach at Dover wearing that outfit when he abseiled down some cables and shout a challenge over the water, I am coming for you, me and 17.5 million others.

Ed Just heard him on TV saying, we leave without a deal. Good on him, it is the only way. Parliament cannot and will not agree on anything so just let it go. Let Europe do a bit of worrying. The deal as it was done by Mrs May was no deal. It was a set of European demands presented on a gold rimmed birthday card. You must remember that it is not the the EU's interest to change anything. There will be no alterations to fishing policy, of taxes or the borders. So, to walk away from such drivel would be the best thing.

A new type of politics? Yeah, why not...

Politics is a bit of a strange thing, is it not? It certainly challenges oneself. I say this because having originally come from a sound left social household where dad would not condone any talk of business laissez-faire as a son I would rebel. Well, OK it sure puts your mind pointing to other things. Mostly opposite things. But in the UK I found that just left of centre politics suited me well. That is why the Social Democrats appealed. Then the upheaval started and is still going on today. The SDP became the Liberals despite the new name Liberal Democrats, Labour turned so far left they have fallen off the stage and the Conservatives, which are basically three different parties, left, centre and right, have lost the plot and cannot remember how to govern. The point of it all is that ever since WW2 we have been looking how to fit in with a totally changed Europe. Looking at Europe which we should do a bit more often in this country, you will notice mostly a type of coalition government. Multiple parties, sometimes three or four even. With leadership of the government doled out in proportion of votes cast for each party. This is not so in the UK despite the existence of small sideline parties like the Greens they have never amounted a serious challenge. In the UK there are basically two parties, well two and a half. Conservatives, Labour and Lib-Dems.

Some say it makes for easier decision making. Well, I don’t think that’s true as the present situation shows clearly. It ought to be obvious we need to change our style of government. Install proportional representation but not the type we do in some areas now. It would mean the abandonment of personality cults. We would vote for a party. The various parties would select their candidates in order of ‘importance’, number one on the list would be the list leader and if the party would get the most votes that person would be called onto try to form a government. The number of votes for a party would also determine how many delegates would have a seat. Say that every 10,000 votes would mean a seat. There is one proviso, everyone must vote, there would be no abstaining or whatever. Fines would have to be imposed if one does not vote. Well, it does show my continental upbringing but nevertheless we in the UK now need to change the rudder and steer to calmer and more representative water.

Eurovision? What is that all about...

Ah, Eurovision time again. The UK last again as well, lovely! Congrats to the Netherlands on winning this extravaganza of drivel. Every song had to be as loud as possible, screaming at the top of the mediocre voices. There was not a single song that could be called memorable. This is not sour grapes. The UK deserved to be last. When I watched and sat down to be entertained I quickly downed my beer and turned to cognac quickly. When our entry came up I said ‘Who?’ ‘Never heard of him’. Obviously we have not spent any time in preparation, just picking someone with a reasonable voice to belt out another ‘boom-boom song’. It was remarkable how many songs had exactly the same drumbeat. Frankly I would vote Brexit after that lot. At least the BBC needs to have a good look at how it manages this effort or if it cannot, drop the whole thing.

Ed 25/5 - Just read an interesting article in a national newspaper. More or less saying that whatever we have, even a song by someone like Tom Jones or Adele, we would still come last. It is just political mayhem but seems now to be in the collective Euro minds of people. Beat those Brits where they come from. Show 'm who's boss. 
Therefore I and many others are now saying - just forget it. Spend the money on a salary increase for top BBC mandarins. God help us all.

Ed 23/6 - And talking about the BBC - how can such a mediocre organisation, riven by indecision, bloated with hundreds of people who do absolutely nothing except drink coffee and look busy shuffling notes about, justify its existence? By withdrawing the free TV licence for the 75+ ers. Of course, they need the money or if they do not, have to make a political point. So, the BBC as well, has joined those who rip off Britain. But as we already know, ineffective government means you let the dogs out!

More on homelessness

Another great idea sprung from the mind of the PM – we must eradicate homelessness. Yeah, you heard it here as well as in the national newspapers and TV. Of course, homelessness is an abhorrent social ill but it has been with us for a very long time. One of the problems in this country is the politicians’ propensity for making big sounding claims without any background whatsoever. We are going to eradicate homelessness, we are going to reform Europe, we are going to eradicate child poverty, we are going to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2040. And if they are actually doing something, look what happens. We are going to close all the mines. What happened? Thousands on the social, illnesses, drugs, a lost generation and we are still suffering the results of that decision years after. It has to be said – why make such badly thought out exclamations? Is it just to look good? To make us the great unwashed, believe that politicians are actually looking after our well-being? Let me tell you, our well-being is very far from their thoughts.

As I have mentioned before – politics needs a big revamp! We really need to start a proportional system, simply because it will represent more people. The reasons are mainly that more people are conversant with the world as a whole thanks to the Internet. So, homelessness is an important subject, yes it needs looking into but let’s not make quick decisions or policies that have no substance. In Cardiff more and more youngish persons appear on the streets sleeping. A good question to ask – how can that be? Let’s find out first and foremost where they come from as homelessness has not been a big problem around here. Let’s find out the reasons, be they unpalatable or not.

Homeless, more or less?

There is a lot of talk about homelessness today. It is a problem because we see lots of unfortunate people on the streets sleeping rough. But what worries me is the continual talk of just building more houses. Affordable homes. Well, that is just about the same as putting a lid on an open sewer. Simply because it is not a solution. Besides concreting over the Green Belt which has now been preserved for quite a number of years is now under threat. For me the answer is to look at the causes of this. I can see immigration causing pressures on housing especially in the larger cities. The social impact of young people being thrown out of the family home, through drug use or family breakdown through stress brought on by the 24/7 lifestyle now prevalent. And of course the birth rate has been rising as well. Although we hear from time to time about these problems, it seems no-one really links these to homelessness. A side issue of this is the westward movement of older people. They sell expensive homes because of the local demand and retire to places like Wales and Scotland. As a result the social infrastructure there has seen a remarkable transformation. But don’t worry our national government will not address these issues for some time to come. That is to say if we will ever have a new government.