The Holdenforth General Election Manifesto

“Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to to seek to find and not to yield”
Ulysses by Lord Tennyson

In November, 2024 the USA will experience democracy in action.  The two candidates for the presidency are both around the 80 mark – and Holdenforth hopes that President Biden and ex-President Trump will heed the exhortations of Ulysses/Tennyson during the campaign.

The UK general election will be held in a few days’ time. It will be something of a sideshow in the global context but there we are.  Holdenforth is a self-confessed peevish petulant octogenarian – older than the two candidates in the USA election.

Holdenforth disagrees with almost everyone about almost everything. Readers have been warned.

We contend that we have in the main a sound track record of getting it right on the main issues of our time – but, like Mandy Rice-Davies in a different context, we would say that, wouldn’t we.

This may well be last UK general election in which I will be able to cast a vote – should I wish to do so. The Grim Reaper has been in touch to ask for an early meeting.

UK voters in the election have already received copies of the manifestos of our competitors and, like Holdenforth, will have been disappointed about what they have read.

“The Trotskyites in Liverpool hate Capitalism. They hate Imperialism. But most of all they hate each other.”
Alexei Sayle

Thus the Trots in Liverpool.

Thus – the Tories today.

The Tories have an unfortunate record of unmatched ineptitude combined with a startling degree of mutual loathing.

They have ignored the advice of Dennis Healy – when you are in a hole – stop digging.

Sadly – for them – they contrive to dig a deeper and deeper pit with each passing day

The Labour Party led by Sir Keir Starmer.

Some critics suspect/allege that Sir Keir, following his anticipated landslide win, will give priority to bringing in constitutional changes that would strengthen his position and that of his party in parliament.

Holdenforth harbours no such suspicions. Our view of Sir Keir is that he is a frail feeble shadow of one of his predecessors, Clement Attlee.

Starmer is adept in just one area – he masquerades as a man of the left who clings tenaciously to the tiny strip of no-man’s land in the centre.

The Lib Dems led by Sir Ed Davie.

Sir Ed has urged voters to wake up and smell the coffee. This display of oratorical skills will cause consternation in some places but we suspect that Sir Ed will need to more flesh on the creaking bones of the Lib Dem crusade to make an impact.

Reform – see later notes 

A word on the Holdenforth manifesto

Unlike some of those close to Mr Sunak — (Stop Press – for “some” read “many” ) – his announcement that the election would take place on July 4 caught us by surprise and we were unprepared.

We will do our best to ensure that readers will be clear on what we would actually DO were we to find ourselves in power. On the debit side our manifesto will lack the meticulous scholarship that is such a notable feature of the Holdenforth blog.

It has been compiled at high speed.

Enough froth – let us press on.

We will start at the top

Holdenforth has been dismayed as the PR machine at the disposal of the Monarchy has worked tirelessly and, it has to be conceded, highly effectively to restore the respectability of the institution. We had assumed in our naivety that the squalid conduct of Prince Charles and of his former mistress would present too formidable a series of obstacles to a restoration of the respectability that was such an enduring feature of the reign of his mother.

How wrong we were!

We were and we remain uneasy that the unorthodox route to the throne by Camilla was one of the more audacious usurping of the crown in our 1000-year turbulent history. (A pedantic editor writes – she hasn’t usurped the crown because she is the wife of the monarch rather than the monarch.)

Yet again Holdenforth has to acknowledge the truism that the people have short memories.

In an earlier Holdenforth blog we asked about what, if anything, Princess Diana and Leon Trotsky had in common.

We thought that both of them had been air brushed out of history by very effective manipulation of PR machines by their respective detractors.

Foreign Affairs

The Farage intervention on Ukraine.

Holdenforth is very happy to endorse the views of Mr Farage on this issue. Indeed we have made the same argument that he made in his recent interview with Nick Robinson in previous blogs.

Holdenforth would immediately reverse the position of THE WEST in this conflict.

On a positive note we would urge the warring parties to end the war and to negotiate a peace settlement.

Gaza

“When you have them by the balls – their hearts and minds will follow”
USA policy

Holdenforth would seek an immediate end to the ongoing daily murder of Palestinians in Gaza and apply whatever international pressure was required on Israel and on the Jewish Diaspora to achieve this aim.

Defence – Prospects for WW3

“Round about 1890 England had become sick of peace, retrenchment and reform; the craving for violence which recurs after every long period of peace was beginning to be felt”
From “Progress of a Biographer” by Hugh Kingsmill

“Perhaps when the next war comes we may see that sight unprecedented in all history – a jingo with a bullet hole in him”
George Orwell war diary

Holdenforth has no wish to see anyone with a bullet hole in him/her.

We are anxious and apprehensive about the current pervasive preference for international violence in many quarters, 

Thus far this preference has been limited to providing the means for others to fight and die by supplying a dubious mixture of weapons and funds.

Holdenforth would urge the various warring factions to go easy on the bombast and to implement the advice of Winston Churchill that jaw jaw is better than war war.

Immigration

The political struggle between the House of Lords and the House of Commons on the Rwanda policy of HMG has been brought to a conclusion of sorts with the Lords accepting the supremacy of the lower house.

During the debate the numbers being quoted suggest that the demand for sanctuary in the UK is considerably greater than the ability of those in charge in Rwanda to cope.

What will the outcome be?

Holdenforth would like to suggest a rethink of the core issues.

Everyone – and that includes you and Holdenforth  – will understandably constantly seek to achieve a better life for themselves and their families. So – how do nations and groups of nations reconcile the claims and wishes of the home population with the claims of their would be neighbours? Completely open borders or effective controls effectively managed?  

Holdenforth believes that the latter option will minimise the damage to long term social stability.

If this view is accepted then the next question to answer is – how can illegal immigration be curtailed.

Holdenforth accepts that all of us will seek to improve their lives – So :

• Remove the features that attract so many to take whatever action open to them  to cross the channel.
• Apply effective international pressure to those countries responsible for driving out their own people.

“Says Labour about the migrant crisis -” the first thing to do is deal with the back log

No, it isn’t. If the bath tub is overflowing the first thing to do is to turn off the taps, not try to empty it”

Did Mr Bradshaw of Cowbridge have a point in his letter to the Daily Mail?

Home affairs

“The privatisation of near monopolies is about as irrelevant as (and sometimes worse than) were the Labour Party’s proposals for further nationalisation in the 1970s and early 1980s”
From A Life at the Centre by Roy Jenkins

Fortified by this clear policy statement from Roy Jenkins  – The Holdenforth manifesto urges the prompt return to the public sector of near monopoly businesses privatised under Thatcher.

These include the UK Rail Sector and the UK water sector.

We should add that private enterprise is our preferred business model where there is demonstrable competition.

Tata and the future of Port Talbot.

Time was when Holdenforth could speak with some awareness on this subject – up to 2014.

Not now.

However we have to say that we were confused when we watched a recent very public confrontation between TUC leaders together with the MP for Aberavon on the one hand and two very senior managers from Tata Steel on the other hand.

We were not sure what part, if any, was played by Mr Sunak as he sought to strike a balance between the votes of the steelworkers and the votes of the zero sector on the other.

In the nineteen eighties Holdenforth managed an Electric Arc Furnace for long enough to grasp that the head count to make steel via the EAF was substantially less than that required to operate the Blast Furnace route.

A modest proposal put forward by Holdenforth

We start by conceding that our experience in this area is out of date. In the unlikely event that we were to be consulted on the matter we would seek to persuade the main stakeholders to invite someone respected by both sides to spell out the most sensible technical way to proceed from where we are to where we need to be.

The future of the NHS

In my role as an aged blogger who has had considerable experience of the NHS from the inside – I have two observations to make on this once rightly revered institution.

“The language of priorities is the religion of socialism”

Quote from Nye Bevan

Martha’s Rule requires that patients unhappy with an initial diagnosis can demand a second opinion.

Holdenforth suggests that before this rule comes into force – provision be made for ALL patients to be entitled to a first opinion.

Currently the barriers in place to limit access to this initial appointment verge on the insurmountable.

Holdenforth has noted that there is a powerful medical lobby opposed to the idea of assisted dying.

We are strongly in favour of enabling those wishing to make an early exit from this vale of tears should be allowed to do so.

On a possibly sour note we suggest that a significant number of those in the medical profession are already arranging assisted dying  for many whether those involved want this outcome or not.

In making this point we have in mind many of those currently masquerading as managers in the NHS and certainly not medics at the sharp end of the profession.

Where do we stand on the contentious issue of the sub section of the LGBT sector referred to Transgender group?

Holdenforth has said it before (in pretty much every blog – ed.) and we may well say it again.

“If my aunt had bollocks she would be my uncle but she didn’t and she wasn’t” – what could be clearer?

It may well be that there are those who wish that that they had been dealt a different hand by nature but many of us – possibly most of us wish that nature had been more generous in its gifts.

In muted tones – Holdenforth begs the LGBT sector to do as much as they wish of whatever it they do and rather less bawling in the streets about it.

Consider the consequences if the practice of publicly flaunting sexual preferences were to become universal.

The streets would be continuously blocked.

What about the old folk?

A word of warning to old timers.

Holdenforth has some experience of the stresses that are imposed on octogenarians who rashly allow themselves to be burdened with responsibility for caring for themselves and for their spouses on a 24/7 basis.

My advice to the aged – do NOT agree to this formidable burden.

A modest proposal:- Holdenforth gathers that there are in our midst many thousands of octogenarians who – for a variety of reasons – are unable to access the required level of support from the caring sector.

We also gather that there are in our midst many thousands from the portly sector  who struggle to lose weight by time honoured means and resort to surgery to achieve  trimmer figures.

Holdenforth can confirm from personal experience that if those from the portly sector were to provide for the needs of old timers in need of care  on a 24/7 basis the pounds surplus to requirements would be shed in a few weeks – a  win-win outcome. 

Right now Holdenforth resembles Winston Smith, the hero of Orwell’s novel,1984, after his harsh treatment by the State enforcer, O’Brien.

Brexit

Were we to win power – our first job on day 1 would be to apply to the EU to be re-admitted.

Gambling

“The whore and gambler, by the State
Licenc’d , build that nations Fate….
The Winner’s Shout, the Loser’s curse,
Dance before dead England’s Hearse”
Auguries of Innocence  — William Blake  —

For obvious reasons there are many more curses from the losers than joyful shouts from the few lucky winners.

The recent revelations about the flutters made by some/many of those in Mr Sunak’s inner circle have not impressed the public. It is usually agreeable to have a bet on a rigged contest but on this occasion the bets have gone spectacularly awry.

For obvious reasons there are many more curses from the losers than joyful shouts from the few lucky winners.

The desire to gamble is all pervasive. The plague of betting shops across the nation is worrying.

Can anything be done to curb this passion?

Holdenforth urges the tightest possible controls on those that currently exploit this anti-social activity.

How about a few micro manifesto items?

• Duration of public enquiries, independent or otherwise  – a maximum duration of 3 months

• Automated telephone exchanges – to be replaced by human beings so as to reduce one of the most irritating features of modern (appalling) communications

“A Yes-Man’s duty is to attend conferences and say “Yes”. A Nodder’s, as the name implies, is to nod.
From “The Nodder” by P.G.Wodehouse

To bring in PR would be to opt for a tsunami of Yes Men and Nodders being foisted onto the democratic payroll.

Holdenforth say no to this innovation.  

* “The first thing we do, lets kill all the lawyers”
The extreme view of Dick the Butcher
Henry the Sixth -Part 2 .

Holdenforth is not clear as to why Dick the Butcher was against the lawyers but we note the growing prosperity of the legal profession as the UK increasingly resorts to litigation to  resolve – or at least to clarify – the issues arising from the avalanche of contentious legislation.

We beseech who ever forms the next Government to simply legal procedures

We have by no means run out of ideas but we have run of energy and time.

We urge our readers to exercise  that most valuable of democratic benefits – the right to vote.

Notes by the Editor

It should be observed that Holdenforth’s manifesto, while wide ranging and perhaps somewhat radical in nature, stands little chance of being implemented wholesale due to the absence of Holdenforth on any of the ballot papers, and brings to mind the old joke of the rabbi praying every day in the synagogue to win the lottery, until finally an exasperated God booms out “Lionel: meet me halfway. Buy a bloody ticket!”

Secondly, while Holdenforth is right about the increasingly pervasive nature of the gambling industry, following the money rather than the pollsters tends to give a better indication of likely outcomes at election time. As things stand, the odds at the assorted bookmakers suggest that Labour will win around 440 seats, the Conservatives around 90 and the Liberal Democrats 60 or so, implying a Labour majority over all other parties of around 230 or so. It will be interesting to see how close to the mark these figures are come July 5^th.

As I Please

In this mini blog we will recycle a few extracts from previous blogs whilst bending our minds to the key task of finalising our manifesto ahead of the forthcoming general election now just 11 days away.

Most of the big players have now issued their manifestoes – with the Labour Party version notable for blandness, the Lib Dem version for comedy and the Tories for desperation.

We will kick off this blog by heading straight for our comfort zone and recycle a few of our favourite themes.

• Holdenforth was NOT impressed by the recent mega project put out by Radio 4 on the BBC to compare and contrast the work of Orwell with the work of Kafka. We saw it as a job creation scheme for the friends of the producer. Our admiration for the work of George Orwell remains undiminished.
• We note that the T subgroup of the LGBT sector continues to spout dubious raucous views on this issue. The position of Holdenforth remains diffidently muted  – “If my aunt had had bollocks she would have been my uncle but she didn’t  and she wasn’t”
• Holdenforth notes with a touch of envy the growing prosperity of the legal profession as the UK increasingly resorts to litigation to  resolve – or at least to clarify – the issues arising from the avalanche of contentious legislation.
• We at Holdenforth are anxious about the precarious political position of Mr Netanyahu. It appears that Mr Netanyahu is faced with a rebellion from the angry and ostensibly very rightwing members of his own party. This against the background of the daily death toll of around 200 Palestinians killed by Israel 
• Whither the BBC?  Holdenforth demands that the BBC be promptly privatised.    

Notes on UK Prime Ministers – Now and Then

Holdenforth suspects that the Great British Public has not been and remains unhappy with the performance of its six Prime Ministers since the departure of Tony Blair in 2007. Readers may recall that Blair was applauded by the House of Commons when he left the chamber as Prime Minister  for the last time.

The performance of his six successors has been patchy with fierce competition for the dubious accolade of being the most inept.

Debate is intense and verges on the abusive.

As we write the jury is out on this one.

Holdenforth would like to take a stroll down memory lane to present the views of eminent contemporaries about David Lloyd George -British Prime Minister from 1916 to 1922.

 “There never was any comparison in weight and force between Lloyd George and Curzon….Put the two men together in any circumstances of equality and the one would eat the other.”
From Great Contemporaries” by Winston Churchill

 “To see the British Prime Minister (Lloyd George) watching the company with six or seven senses not available to ordinary men… perceiving what each was thinking and even what each was going to say next, and compounding with telepathic instinct the argument or appeal best suited to the vanity, weakness or self interest of his immediate auditor, was to realise that the poor President (Wilson / USA) would be playing blind man’s bluff in that party!
From “The Council of Four” by J.M Keynes

“The great English (sic) demagogue had set out solely to exert the greatest possible effect on the mass of his listeners … The speeches of this Englishman were the most wonderful performance for they testified to a positively amazing knowledge of the soul of the broad masses of the people..”
From  Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler

When our (munitions) difficulties were solved through Dr Weizmann’s genius I said to him:- “You have rendered great service to the State and I should like to ask the Prime Minister (Mr Asquith) to recommend you to His majesty for some honour.”
He said – “there is nothing I want for myself..but I would like you to do something for my people”
That was the fount and origin of the famous declaration about the National Home for Jews in Palestine
From “The War Memoirs of Lloyd George

The snag in the good intentions of Lloyd George was that Palestine did not belong to the UK and his key role in the issuing of the Balfour declaration may be seen as a factor leading to the problems that persist to the present time.

Notes on the Ukraine Conflict

Holdenforth was disconcerted by the news that the USA has formally agreed to increase its financial support for the Ukraine in the war between Ukraine and Russia.

It may be that Mr Putin will be dismayed by the news and immediately sue for a peace which will require all Russian troops to leave the Ukraine.

But – what if Mr Putin decides to dig in? what then?

 The Job Trotter syndrome

Job Trotter was a friend of Mr Alfred Jingle in “The Pickwick Papers”. He was noted for his mulberry coloured livery and his propensity to be lachrymose as required.

Recent exhibitions of the Job Trotter syndrome have been shown by Paula Vennells and Vaughn Gething.

A word about the responses of Mr Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer to a question put to each of them – “Would you jump the queue to arrange private treatment if a close member of your family was seriously ill”

• Mr Sunak replied promptly -YES
• Sir Keir relied equally promptly – NO

Holdenforth suggests that the Starmer reply was humbug in both the usual sense of the word and in the Pickwickian sense of the word as used by Mr Blotton of Aldgate.

Holdenforth makes this possibly unkind accusation against Sir Keir because we suspect that the NHS treatment in these circumstances would be considerably better than that experienced on a daily basis by the public at large.

 Of the Senedd and other Welsh Institutions

A shortage of time and space will not allow a detailed assessment.

We will allow ourselves a few examples selected at random

The Welsh Assembly Government – now re-titled the Senedd – is reported to be seeking to increase the number of members from 60 to 90. A wonderful example of a job creation scheme.

Time was when the political work load in Wales was carried out by two elected Westminster Members of Parliament.

Has the political workload in Wales really mushroomed to require this planned increase?

No – it has not. It simply and vividly illustrates the desire of the political class in Wales as it does everywhere to suckle on the teat of public service.

At what point might the number of jobs in this sector exceed the number of voters?

As I write – Mr Vaughn Gething, until recently the First Minister of The Senedd, has lost a vote of no confidence because of alleged dubious arrangements made with a local environmental contractor.

Holdenforth seconds the abrasive comment of the Tory MS for Clwyd – “It is the biggest power grab from the people of Wales that it has every suffered in the history of Welsh democracy”

As far as police commissioners are concerned, Holdenforth voted for none of candidates on the ballot paper the above in the recent election. We believe that policing is far too serious an activity to be politicized in this tawdry fashion – as a hiding place to house the ever-growing numbers of politicians looking for sanctuary.

Meanwhile, health professionals from the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board have been nominated for awards at the time when that body faces an annual overspend of £60 million. Given the generally adverse reports about the performance of the NHS in Wales -Holdenforth suggests that the job of all health professionals is to improve standards rather than spend time on mutual admiration activities.

Let’s hear it for Alex Brummer

Holdenforth continues to be impressed by the fierce and tireless opposition of the Daily Mail Finance editor to the attempt by the Czech billionaire to acquire control of The Royal Mail.  

His stance was supported by Ross Clark, also in The Daily Mail, who asked on June 17^th: “Why .. Do we repeatedly off our public utilities to private interests and expect anything other than to be loaded with debt while investors feast off their assets?”

Well said Messrs Brummer and Clark.

On Bullying

The issue of bullying went quiet after Mr Raab was obliged to walk the plank following allegations that he had bullied his subordinates.

Holdenforth has experienced bullying but to date has not been accused of the offence. 

At the time we felt that Mr Raab had been hard done and we still feel that to be the case. The diving line between friendly banter and bullying is not easy to draw. 

A case study.

Some years ago it was felt by the Board of The British Steel Corporation – not that there was too much bullying at the top – but that senior managers should do more to recognise good performance within the group – and a guidance document was issued to this effect.

Holdenforth was present at one consultative meeting when one senior manager was asked why he rarely if ever praised the performance of any of his subordinates.

The senior manager angrily replied by saying that he was far too busy for such trivialities.

One junior member of his team cautiously noted from the floor that he could always find time to deliver a bollocking if he deemed it appropriate.

Enough already. Plenty of food for thought for our manifesto.

As I Please

Holdenforth is on the mend – or so he has been informed by the NHS sector.

On the debit side – we have been receiving e mails from the Grim Reaper to indicate that our time is up.

In this blog we will derive inspiration from the courage of George Orwell as he worked in very difficult conditions towards the end of his life to complete 1984 in 1948.

More on the debit side – Holdenforth aka John Holden disagrees with almost everybody about almost everything – not a promising start.

What do you expect from a grumbling grousing grizzling griping grouchy octogenarian? 

Now – where had we got to – lots of issues – old and new – queuing up to be considered

A few easy old ones to get our show back on the road.

The BBC – privatise it!

The commendable policies of John Reith have long been abandoned.

The mission statement of today’s BBC is:-“There is no business like show business”. So be it. (Editor’s note: Strictly speaking the BBC’s mission statement is “to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain.)

The controversial comedian, Bernard Manning, argued that his control of the microphone during his stage appearances ensured that he was always in control of the proceedings.

This principle has been adopted by those on the wider stage at the BBC.  

The Holdenforth bollocks section

We have said this before and will probably say it again.

“If my aunt had bollocks, she would be my uncle but she didn’t and she wasn’t” – what could be clearer?

• Question – “Why does a dog lick its balls?”
• Answer  – provided by Jasper Carrott – “ because it can”
• Question – “why do the rich and powerful loot our scanty national resources?” 
• Answer – “because they can”
• Question – “when are the masses going to make a stand on these abuses?”
• Answer – “you tell me!

Any other useful deployments of the term?

How might the public at large sum up the performance of recent conservative governments?

How about – “They have made a bollocks of the job?”

 Any others?  One celebrity was said to have eyes bulging like a bulldog’s bollocks, but this was deemed abrasive by some.

Meanwhile, a diffident but simple suggestion regarding the LGBT sector:

In muted tones – Holdenforth begs those in the sector to do more of whatever it is that they do and rather less bawling in the streets about it.

Consider the consequences if the practice of publicly flaunting sexual preferences were to become universal.

There would be huge numbers of Steady Eddies – who like a bit now & again.

Possibly a good turnout of the Portnoy sector.

Let’s leave it at that and move on. 

The inverse content rule – Holdenforth asserts that as a general rule – the more fatuous the message the more raucous the proclamation as to its validity.

The small boats issue

As I write the political struggle between the House of Lords and the House of Commons on the Rwanda policy of HMG has been brought to a conclusion of sorts.

The numbers being quoted suggest that the demand for sanctuary in the UK is considerably greater than the ability of those in charge in Rwanda to cope.

What will the outcome be?

Holdenforth would like to suggest a rethink of the core issues.

Everyone – and that includes you and Holdenforth – will understandably constantly seek to achieve a better life for themselves and their families. So – how do nations and groups of nations reconcile the claims and wishes of the home population with  the claims of their would be neighbours?

Completely open borders – a bit like now really – or effective controls effectively managed.  

Holdenforth argues that the latter option will minimise the damage to long term wider social stability.

One final point here – given the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East in general and in Gaza in particular – what are the prospects of more than a million refugees from Gaza coming to the UK in large boats to escape their fate were they to remain in Gaza?

A word on The House of Lords – its performance and prospects

In an earlier blog Holdenforth noted that on a busy day it resembles an old folks’ home and, on a quiet day, a morgue.

Can the very existence of this venerable creaking institution be reconciled with any version of democracy?

No – it can’t.

It was bad enough before the squalid hasty elevation of Mr -Now Lord – Cameron to its ranks.

Compensation for past crimes

In recent months Holdenforth has gathered that there are several groups clamouring for compensation for the abuses endured by their ancestors down the centuries. These groups include descendants of slaves in The West Indies and across Africa.

The descendants of the Trevelyans are said to be inundated with claims.

Holdenforth would like to join this queue. My ancestors in Ireland were appallingly treated by Sir Charles Trevelyan in the 1840s.

In his essay “Genocide” the historian AJP Taylor wrote that “nearly 2 million Irish people died of starvation and fever within five years; another million fled bearing disease to Liverpool and the New World”

The Trevelyans inflicted  appalling additional cruelty on some of the Irish victims. The poignant song – “The fields of Athenry” – memorably sung by Paddy Reilly, has acquired the status of an anthem because  Irishmen “who stole Trevelyan’s that the young might see the morn”  were transported to the other side of the world.

My maternal great grandparents were among those who moved from Ireland to England to escape the famine.

Holdenforth aka John Holden would like to register a claim to be compensated.

Global Conflicts

Holdenforth detects a pattern of sorts in the various actual and possible global conflicts:

The prospects for Gaza:

In a previous blog we noted “the non-stop raucous resolute attack by Netanyahu on Hamas but we note also that he is strangely mute on the Zionist activities of the group which pioneered terrorism in the region -Irgun back in late 1940s.”

Holdenforth has been keeping an eye on the scoreboard as the conflict in Gaza has continued.

The casualties arising from the conflict have not been distributed evenly between The Israelis and the Palestinians – Palestinian fatalities, mostly civilians, are reported as being in excess of 30,000.

Holdenforth has also noted that support for the Israeli cause globally has steadily diminished as the number of deaths on the scoreboard has risen at a daily rate of 200.

The prospects for Ukraine

The situation and prospects here are broadly similar to those in Gaza – the ability of The Ukraine to continue the war with Russia is thought to be critically dependent upon the support of its paymasters in THE WEST.

And some in the WEST are reported as being uneasy about throwing good money after bad.

Mr Putin does not appear to be about to throw in the towel in this interminably protracted war.  

The latest word from the USA is that Mr Biden has put his money where his somewhat erratic mouth is and that he has promised that the USA WILL provide sufficient support to enable Mr Zelensky and Mr Netanyahu to fight on. For good measure Mr Biden warned China not to seek the return of Taiwan. 

The above points taken together promise a lucrative future for arms suppliers and an ongoing mixture of blood, toil, sweat and tears for those called upon to do the actual fighting.

In short, the prospects for WW3 sooner rather than later look ominous. 

Hooray for Nigel!

Holdenforth was startled a week or so ago by a very rum episode triggered by the intervention of a minor official in Brussels to abort a perfectly reasonable conservative conference.

Once again Nigel Farage was and remains the  hero of the hour – and rightly so.

It has also been reported that there is still some unfinished business regarding the debanking scandal and here Farage is absolutely right to get after those responsible.

On the debit side Farage may be slightly anxious about the fate of his trans-Atlantic hero, ex- President Trump. Holdenforth concedes that Mr Trump may find it difficult to campaign for the Presidency from the inside of a prison cell.

In conclusion

Once again, we have run out of time and energy.

A trailer for our next blog:

• The Woke sector – Holdenforth needs to find out exactly what the Wokers want before pontificating.
• The decline of the British Manager- we plan to consider how this sector has contrived to shrug off the work whilst continuing to harvest the benefits.
• Smoking – A small item on this topic – Smoking triggered a few identity problems in our house in my early years. My parents and many siblings were all smokers – I couldn’t see them for smoke!
• Welsh affairs- How will the return to normality on the roads change things. I have a slightly embarrassing interest to declare – I have attended TWO speed awareness courses.

The Sixteen Labours of Hercules

Just under a year ago, I published a job application in this blog for a latter-day Hercules. The remit of said employment would be to cleanse the UK’s Augean stables of all their ordure, through a process of identifying and disposing of the assorted turd-dispensers which plague our nation today, including but not limited to the BBC, the House of Lords and the management of the Charity and Higher Education Sectors.

Applicants not being forthcoming, I am now reposting the application with a broadly similar specification, although it should be observed that in the interim period the piles of manure have increased in volume, a fact which might dishearten even the hardiest of would-be heroes.

Holdenforth lists the following areas as priority problems to be tackled by the selected applicant. They are listed in the order in which they come to mind – the chaotic and neglected state of our national Augean stables made a disciplined selection process far too difficult for us.

1. To recover cash payments paid to suppliers of PPE that were way above the manufacturing costs incurred in their  production.

The suppliers of this equipment would doubtless dissent, but Our Hero would collect the cash overpaid first and refer any complaints arising to an independent body.

As part of the same initiative we would ask Herc to recover cash paid out to suppliers of defective cladding that was clearly unfit for purpose and to recover from the same source the costs incurred in replacing the defective cladding with cladding that complied with all the relevant safety regulations.

How is that for a promising start?

2. To arrange for the prompt departure from senior jobs in the public sector those who have demonstrated their ineptitude and thus their unsuitability.

There is no shortage of candidates of those in this category but Holdenforth would be surprised and disappointed if Herc did not:

• Dispense with the services of all the senior managers in the Post Office involved in the appalling persecution of hundreds of local post office sub masters
• Ensure that former Met Commissioner Hogan-Howe was not selected to lead the national Crime Agency. Hogan-Howe’s record as the Met Commissioner for 8 years was in the same league of ineptitude as that of Cressida Dick.
• Inform Duncan Selbie, the man who has been “blamed for Britain’s sluggish response to the pandemic [and who] walked away with almost half a million pounds last year” that due to an administrative error he had received not the intended P45 but a generous severance package, and that this unfortunate error would now be rectified
• Remove Professor Neil Ferguson – the medical expert who combined professional ineptitude with a cavalier disregard for the isolation rules laid down by HMG – from the public payroll.

Holdenforth readers are encouraged to send their suggestions for recipients of the speedy issue of a P45 to our successful applicant. All suggestions will be carefully considered.

 3. How not to run a Headhunting operation.

Holdenforth will suggest to the successful applicant that he or she speedily restore a measure of respectability to the once respected profession of head hunting.

In a previous era members of this profession were tasked  to secure the best available talent to fill senior vacancies.

It would appear that latterly this profession has behaved rather like the CV19 in the extent to which it has mutated.

Herc to ensure that those charged with this crucial responsibility immediately desist from hunting air heads, dick heads, and others from dubious talent pools.

4. Speedily arrange for the privatisation of the BBC.

Holdenforth has been urging this measure for several years.

If Herc is looking for support here he need look no further than the quarter of a million or so doughty old timers anxious to hang onto the free TV licence concession arranged by HMG some years ago.

For its part the BBC is anxious to increase its income from whatever source. However ,the aged refuseniks see no reason why they should fall for the BBC nonsense about the loudly proclaimed status of the BBC as a National Treasure.

One of the favourite targets of the refusniks is Mr Gary Lineker. They – and Holdenforth- question his income of £1.36 million for his part time job. His moonlighting activities are said to bring in at least as much as his BBC income but that is a private matter between Mr Lineker and HMRC.

 5.  To  launch and guide a political movement to close down the House of Lords’

“It is not fit that you should sit here any longer……. You shall now give place to better men”

Oliver Cromwell addressing the Rump Parliament.

Cromwell was talking to elected members of the House of Commons.

His harsh words are even more appropriate when directed at the relic that is the House of Lords

Holdenforth  has long argued that:

• On a busy day the House of Lords resembles an Old Folks Home 
• On a quiet day it resembles a morgue.

For Holdenforth the hasty and unseemly elevation of the well nourished David Frost to the House of Lords provided abundant evidence, not that any more was needed, of the sheer irrelevance of the Upper House  – and of the need to terminate its existence.

6.  Energy issues:

Holdenforth is sure that our selected candidate can kill two birds with one stone in this contentious area, thus:

• The absurd competitive model for energy supply be consigned to the dustbin and the energy sector to be returned to the public sector.
• Arrange for additional energy sources be brought speedily on stream. These sources to include fracking and nuclear plants.

More than 60 years ago I worked as a summer vacation student at the Springfields Plant located between Preston and Blackpool – it was operated by the UK Atomic Energy Authority. At that time the UK was a world leader in the generation of energy for peaceful purposes – a lead that has been sadly eroded down the years.

Ironically one of the richest sources of fracked energy is said to be adjacent to the location of the Springfield plant.

Enough said – just tell Herc to do whatever needs to be done to get fracking.

7. Put the HS2 high speed train project on hold for 5 years.

This interlude would be used to allow for the removal of the numerous senior inept managers within the UK rail sector and replaced by managers who will ensure that signals and points operate as required and that sufficient personnel are available to drive the trains.

Herc will quickly grasp that too many senior managers in the UK rail sector were attracted not by the challenge posed but by the lure of managing a monopoly and a job which combined high rewards with the very low demands – the latter achieved by ignoring the tsunami of complaints from frustrated (would be ) passengers.

Holdenforth noted that significant numbers of very high earners in the public sector were reported as being part of the High Sped Two project, a project noted for its combination of being late and over budget.

Go to it, Herc!

8.  To arrange for the anti social activities of the private equity sector – aka the circling vulture sector (CV) – to be curbed.

Holdenforth has had its say about this antisocial activity in recent blogs and we acknowledge that clipping its wings will be easier said that done. Members of the CV community did not get where they are by being considerate of their fellow citizens. However Holdenforth can’t do everything – but we will insist  that Herc puts effective action on this one at the top of his or her to do list.

9. To arrange for high incomes to be subject to high levels of taxation

Effective action in this area could not be simpler.

As things stand the highest rate of income tax is 40%. There are no reasons – other than a Tory reluctance to tax the rich and reluctance of the high earners to be pay a lot more tax — why this rate should not be far than 40% for those fat cats anxious to display their formidable talents at exploiting the system.

Holdenforth will ask the selected candidate to develop and put in place a tax system which will rise steeply so as to discourage fat cats from spending their time devising tax avoidance and evasion schemes.

The methodology is simple and, with Herc driving the initiative, the fat cats will quickly get the message and who knows they might even start to do an honest day’s work.

10.  Public sector bonus payments to be banned.

Holdenforth suspects that the public is not pleased when informed about the large bonus payments collected by some senior managers in the public sector, especially those bonus payments made for dubious performance achievements.

The reward for good performance in the public sector would be that you get to keep your job. The penalty for poor performance to be that you don’t get to keep your job, or as Lord Sugar might put it, “You’re fired”

11. The practice of Chilcotisation in the management of public enquiries to be drastically curtailed.

“Work expands in order to fill the time available for its completion”

Parkinson’s first law

“Jarndyce and Jarndyce drones on. This scarecrow of a suit has, in course of time, become so complicated, that no man alive knows what it means..”

Charles Dickens, Bleak House

The history of painfully protracted public enquiries as exemplified in the enquiry  carried out by Sir John Chilcot into the Iraq war has been well documented.

Herc would impose a completion date at the start of all such enquiries – say 3 months at the most.

His or her policy would be to ensure that that the practice of Chilcotisation was drastically curbed, that Parkinson’s first law was  repealed and that cases such as Jarndyce v Jarndyce are brought to a speedy resolution.

Holdenforth has noted that the public sector is fond of protracted enquiries given that the taxpayer and/or the council tax payer will be picking up the bills submitted by members of the legal profession. The selected candidate will put a stop to this practice of robbing the many to benefit the few.

12. Restore respectability to the declining esteem in which senior managers in the Higher Education sector are held.

The Senior Managers under the microscope here prefer to be known as Vice Chancellors and in recent years they have collectively been seen to focus on enriching themselves as opposed to focusing on their core task of improving the quality of the institutions that they purport to serve.

A simple solution offers itself – the reward packages collected by Senior Managers in the HE sector to revert to the reward packages paid out in, say, 2015.

A splendid opportunity for this public spirited group to lead by example.

Action on Day One by Herc!

13. The Woke Sector

Holdenforth would like to see the activities of the woke sector curbed but we are hampered by the fact that we have only the vaguest idea of who they are and what it is that they get up to.

 “Past events have no objective existence but survive only in written records and in human memories. The past is whatever the records and the memories agree upon. And since the Party is in full control of all records and in equally full control of the minds of its members it follows that the past is whatever the party chooses to make it …”

George Orwell, 1984

Holdenforth also understands that the woke sector is eager to silence  those who would wish to disagree with them – a very dubious policy. If free speech means anything it means the right to say and write what others don’t want to hear.

Nye Bevan noted that “ you don’t need to muzzle sheep” – sound advice to those like Holdenforth anxious to preserve the right to assert what the wokers wish to suppress

Hercules Two will need to exercise caution when coming to grips with this tricky issue. An area for persuasion and debate and diplomacy rather than coercion.

One other tricky topic whilst we are in delicate territory, namely sexuality.

Holdenforth is now in his early eighties and he understands that activity in the field of procreation has burgeoned in recent years and that there are hitherto unimagined ways of emptying a pair of bollocks. So let it be.

The only education in these matters that I received in the mid – late 1950s was to the effect that if your aunt had bollocks she would be your uncle but she didn’t and she wasn’t – not much to go on there.

We would urge Herc to exercise caution, tact and diplomacy in his or her review of this sensitive area. He might try to reason with the LBGT sector, especially the fourth of the categories under consideration  – just do whatever it is that you wish to do but please turn down the sound on your publicity machine. 

Another delicate issue but one which could be made much more widely acceptable would be to persuade the  Black Lives Matter movement to amend its core policy to read -“All lives matter“ . Well all lives do matter –  don’t they?

14.   Now for the big one – are you sitting comfortably?

A  core project for Herc  – get Brexit reversed – yes you heard that – get Brexit reversed. 

What could be simpler?

While you are at it – Name and nail the  guilty Brexiteers. Do not waste time trying to shame the guilty Brexiteers because to the guilty Brexiteers shame is an alien concept. 

The UK public has had the opportunity to see at first hand the fraudulence of the Brexit campaign but more importantly the consequences – and we are still at the bottom of a painful learning curve.

15. –  A huge social problem – the growth of the gambling sector

“I have many friends in politics but they would not be so friendly if my business were narcotics instead of gambling. They think that gambling is like liquor, a harmless vice, and they think narcotics a dirty business.”

Don Corleone explains his decision not to get involved in narcotics to Virgil Sollozzo in The Godfather.

Holdenforth believes that the growth of the gambling sector is now as great a threat to social stability as the equally worrying growth of the narcotics sector.

Holdenforth will ask Herc to take whatever action is necessary to curb the growth of gambling activities. It would be a useful start to make it clear to the public that the main beneficiaries in the gambling sector are those who manage the sector.

Thus Herc could open the proceedings by asking the question – and proceeding to answer it – how much of every pound that is waged is paid out in winnings?

No prizes for arriving at the correct answer.

On a not dissimilar  topic – Herc could take a look at exactly what goes on in the charity sector- specifically – how much of every pound donated by the warm hearted public ends up in the hands of the intended recipients – and who gets what of the money that fails to arrive at its destination.

Again – no prizes at arriving at the correct answer.

Having established a reliable data base, Herc should ensure that measures are put in place to redress the anticipated imbalance between the rewards collected by those managing these two core activities on the one hand and the losses and disappointments of the gamblers and donors on the other hand.

16. And finally.

17. Holdenforth wonders and worries about adding the complex issue of who owns London to the problems piling up in the in tray of Herc – but wars and rumours of wars in and around the Ukraine require some answers.

It appears that “The West” – who exactly are The West? – intend to apply personal economic sanctions to prominent Russians should one Russian  set foot on Ukrainian soil.

Might these sanctions be applied to the Russian oligarchs who have sought sanctuary in the welcoming arms of the City of London, economic migrants who have demonstrated their commitment to our freedoms by buying up large chunks of real estate in London?

Holdenforth would be quite relaxed if the UK decided to return this group back to their native land – but to leave their assets here to underline their recognition of the need for change.

Oh Dear – what about Chelsea FC owned by the Russian Oligarch Mr Abramovitch – might the team be sold off to defray UK war costs should “jaw jaw” degenerate into “war war”?

We shall be discussing that topic in a future blog.