UNBELIEVABLE
There are many things going on in the world which are so bizarre as to be unbelievable. Just a few examples are that tech companies are allowed to rule the information world, transmit corruption and porn and grow to a size which makes them unassailable; that Trump believes Putin is to be trusted; that 50% of the world’s satellites are in the control of one clearly unstable man, Musk, through his Starlink; that somehow a cadre of people, maybe led by Trump, and cajoled by Tony Blair, according to reports, think it right to turn Gaza into a giant resort; that national leaders play a game of pretence with Trump as if he is respected, to avoid giving offence, treating him like a child, while unable to tell their constituents the reality and this game is determining the fate of the world.
But is the most incredible the way that in the UK realities are allowed by Government, industry, business and institutional leaders and the media to be denied and ignored? Is the UK Rome burning while its leaders fiddle?
FANTASY POLITICS
On his election in 2024, Keir Starmer stood outside 10 Downing Street, promising to serve every voter, especially those who did not vote for Labour, which is of course 2 thirds of voters. Ever since, for almost every decision and policy adopted, he vaunts how it serves working people, whoever they may be. It is as if his prior words meant nothing, and as if we live in the age of the old “working class” and “upper class”. Perhaps UK society is no longer in that outdated mould? In any event, the Financial Times Editorial Board on 31st August concluded the Government is “failing working people”.
As that fantasy persists, so too does the continued refrain that “we cannot tax our way to growth” and that growth drives all decisions. The only growth in general terms has come from the public sector, as the private sector is pounded by additional burdens. Taxes have risen dramatically and it is forecast they must rise again unless there is a dramatic reversal of approach. The manifesto behind this Government stated the UK is a “dynamic and strategic state. This does not mean ever-growing government”, but that is precisely what it has meant in fact.
The heart of the manifesto for change was the “Five Missions” which after but a year seem to have disappeared as a puff of wind.
FANTASY THROUGH DOGMA OBSCURES REALITIES
On the steps of Downing Street, we were promised Government “unhindered by doctrine”. Tough decisions have been vaunted, but many have been reversed by the pressures of left-wing doctrines, such as attempts to reduce the welfare bill.
Commentators talk of the UK facing ruin but surely this is overstatement. It is if realities are faced. More taxes will undoubtedly, most say, stifle growth and hurt the people who drive the economy. They will have to hit businesses and the wealthier, those who have been financially successful through hard work. But are they “working people”? Speculative wealth taxes abound. But could it be that, unless realities are faced, any budget which just grabs more tax will simply be sticking plaster, until the next grab within a year or less. It is fairly common ground among economists who are not imbued with socialist doctrine that the country cannot afford to pay what it does for public services; to subsidise pensioners with a triple lock guarantee; to carry on with the ever-growing benefits bill; or to give the NHS an open cheque book whenever it wants.
Take examples of long term massive unaffordable costs. Those working in the public sector have been getting unaffordable pay rises, such as doctors and rail workers. Public sector employees past and present have pension entitlements up to over 80% of salary, effectively defined benefit pension schemes, some are funded, some are not. In the private sector the defined benefit scheme has been phased out, replaced by direct contribution which only pays out the value of what has been put in, without reference to past salary. The Sunday Times article in the Money section on 31 August on this subject describes the public sector pensions as a “Ponzi Scheme”. The fact is they are over generous and unaffordable, and the private sector in effect pays for them! And speculation on new taxes clearly puts private sector pensions in the frame for a further tax robbery.
Second, the entire welfare state is unaffordable. The PIP system is attracting new claimants at a rate of 34,000 a month it is said, compared to 13,000 pre pandemic. Many are young people with anxiety, probably in many cases best served by working and social interaction rather than a stay at home and getting paid by others who are working. If the welfare state is not reformed to ensure only the most disabled receive high benefits, then bankruptcy looms. This reality needs to be faced, and Keir Starmer says he will deal with it: is that fantasy given how his MPs think?
Public sector pensions and welfare reform, tough decisions, could perhaps mean no need for more tax theft. But are these and other realities being faced?
Some other realities to be faced are: first, the civil service is bigger than ever and less productive, with cuts promised and not implemented; second,1,500,000 new homes are promised in this Parliament. That is 300,000 a year. Fewer homes have been built in the last year than any year in the last decade, and there is no plan even to produce the necessary number of construction workers to build them; third, net zero fantasies are increasing energy costs, and the North Sea is being closed while oil and gas imports grow – is this mad?; food security is a necessity, and more farms are closing than ever before.
THE REALITY OF INCOMPETENCE
Is the reality that this Government and its leaders simply lack the intelligence and competence to make the decisions required and simply do not deal with the big problems, while spending energies defining Islamophobia when enforcement of existing equality laws will suffice. The Prime Minister is said to have congratulated his cabinet on the successes of the first year in power. Delusional? That lack of judgement and intelligence, as well as lack of courage, are the hallmark of this Government is further illustrated by the incredible stupidity, perhaps arrogance, of Angela Raynor: her house purchase tax avoidance, or evasion, was plain incompetent and led her into political purdah. And a few days later the Lord Peter Mandelson humiliating fiasco reinforces government stupidity. Does purdah await the Government as a whole? But perhaps the most frightening concern of all is that there seems to be no leadership in any other party to give confidence they would do any better. Farage foments division and is Trump like in his unbacked assertions. Tories remain rudderless.
Even Andrew Rawnsley, in the Observer of 31 August, a newspaper unashamedly left leaning and never critical of Labour, in effect questioned the competence of Captain Starmer and his crew. Starmer is prone to hold others not himself to blame for errors, and so has appointed new advisers in Downing Street, several of whom tend to the big state and are anti wealth-builders. Watch that space.
Here are some ideas for them: change public sector pensions from defined benefit to direct contribution; reduce civil service by 10% based on ability; cut benefits for the workless young, say under 30s, and increase their tax-free allowance for income tax to say £25,000; embark on building prefabricated affordable homes, much cheaper; cut pensions triple lock to the rate of wage increase; forget net zero obsession and adopt a flexible policy to keep energy costs down while committed to carbon reductions
comparable with other G20 countries; do not raise taxes; find some Ministers with some integrity, intelligence and willingness to serve all citizens, not obsessed with the class system, doctrine and the ludicrous idea of raising taxes to grow the public sector.
Lastly, deliver on promises, and celebrate and reward entrepreneurs and hard workers, rather than decry and punish them.
