Corruption must be weeded out

Corruption destroys nations. It has clearly destroyed the state of Illinois. There the Governor was actually selling a seat in the United States Senate to the highest bidder. Truly shocking. Makes you glad you're British eh? Nothing like that could ever happen here. No, we choose our members of the Upper House through entirely incorruptible means.

The French have overtaken our economy.

Where is our fighting spirit? What happened to us? Something must be done! Give me Depressions, Hyperinflations, Booms, Busts or 98% tax rates just don't let the French stay ahead.

John Major was not as bad as all that

I am about to offer a controversial opinion. That John Major really wasn't that much of a failure as Prime Minister. 

It cannot be said that he didn't achieve much. He pushed the Maastricht treaty through parliament, had gravitas and led Britain through a severe downturn and towards the 15 years of heavy growth that followed. He made significant progress in Northern Ireland and stood on his principles in many cases. 

Obviously the downside is that he lied to people in the 1992 election campaign (he knew he would have to raise taxes). He was incapable of making a decision and nearly led the Conservative party to its death. But he won the largest number of votes in modern times (in 1992) and was a brilliantly popular constituency MP. Of course these achievements pale when looked at in conjunction with the way his successor and predecessor radically changed Britain. But he was a nice man and gave everyone a much needed break from the mad, breakneck pace that was Thatcherism.

Full Employment at any cost?

The Yanks over the pond are getting ready to spend Billions more Dollars they don't have on bailing out the auto companies. When will this stop? If companies know they will always be bailed out by the government then there is no incentive to ensure that the books are balanced and more incentive to take more stupid risks. Ask people to do the patriotic thing and buy more cars if they want to save 2 million people's jobs but don't give the industry billions to continue losing money. Businesses (even big ones) come and go. That is the nature of the free market. Noone thinks Britain, for example, would be better off producing the same amount of coal (at a loss i might add) it did in the 1970s.

Ah you might say, what about the bank bailout? Banks are different. They are the foundation of the free market, without credit and investment the free market cannot function. It doesn't function  when all companies know that at the end of the day, no matter how badly they do, the Government will always give them a cash handout to stay afloat. There are times when saving jobs is less important than allowing more jobs to be created long term.

The BBC should stop disturbing people.

Charles Moore's column in the Spectator included the story:

 "The Revd Christopher Smith, a vicar in Beckenham, sends me a letter he has just received from TV Licensing, addressed to the ‘Managing Director’, St Michael’s Church. It states (correctly) that the church does not have a television licence, and concludes (falsely) that it is acting ‘against the law’ since ‘businesses’ too must have licences."

Sometimes I wonder why these people seem to have absolutely no intelligence. 15 years ago my mother was nearly arrested because she refused to pay for a colour tv license (she only owned a black and white). The BBC always refuse to see reason. The people who harrass innocent Britons like this should lose their jobs now and quickly. The BBC could save a lot of money from not writing letters to innocents.

Much has happened

Much has happened in the week I was away. The Mumbai attacks reminded us all how quickly normality can be shed for terror. I have no doubt that those responsible should be hunted down and brought to justice. A British Parliamentrian was arrested for serving the public interest. I supported 42 days, I don't support a police state and that is what this appeared to be. And a Swedish MEP who was simply following his conscience was unable to move sects to the ED within the broader EPP-ED pact in the European Parliament. I don't understand, can Euro politicians not see that it is things like this that are the reason the EU is held in such low esteem? The EU should cherish and care about democracy from the local to EU level.

New Labour is dead, Long live Brown's Labour!

New Labour is dead. It won power by promising to never raise the rate of income tax. Its last central tenet is now gone since the banks were nationalised (although i confess that was necessary to avoid a Depression).  Now i suspect, Brown is going to discover a radical streak. Expect more and more 'old labour' policies over the coming months. It may actually make him popular, you never know.