Rishi Sunak – Holden Forth

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

What is new since our previous blog appeared on Holdenforth in early May?

Not much by the frenetic standards of today. That is, until a few days ago.

During the morning of Wednesday, Wednesday, May 22, Paula Vennells, ex CEO of the Post Office was being grilled by the very capable barrister Justin Beer about what she had done and not done, what she had known and what she had not known during her well rewarded time as CEO of the Post Office.

Her performance was pitiful. Holdenforth suspects that Ms Vennells had been briefed by Mr Micawber, advisor to David Copperfield.

“My Dear Sir,

Circumstances beyond my individual control have, for a considerable lapse of time, effected a severance of that intimacy which, in the limited opportunities conceded to me in in the midst of my professional duties, of contemplating the scenes and events of the past, tinged by the prismatic hues of memory ….”

Mr Micawber explaining how the root causes of his many personal problems were outside of his control.

Sadly, for Vennells, lawyer Beer was able to jog her evasive memory with the chapter and verse of the relevant documents.

After lunch – we had a mega combination of drama and farce as news leaked out that Mr Sunak was about to call an early general election.

His announcement that the election was to be held on July 4 was made to a moist and resentful audience in Downing Street – these days know to insiders and indeed some outsiders – as “Bullshit Boulevard”.

No one got a more thorough soaking than the PM – after his announcement he was ushered inside to dry out.

A suitably absurd end for his premiership.

Holdenforth, like almost every other observer, was wrong footed by the announcement.

Seasoned observers were unable to agree on the decision firmly announced by Mr Sunak. Lord Finkelstein though it sensible to make a run for it now because the going was unlikely to improve. Conversely, Matthew Parris argued that Mr S should have adopted a Micawber approach hoping that something would turn up.

Dear Holdenforth readers – what do you think?

In these confused circumstances let us open our blog with a few extracts from our previous mission statements.

These basic preferences will help us to feel at home.

The BBC – the case for privatisation grows stronger on a daily basis. Holdenforth would cancel the Reith Lectures and replace them with what? What about The Lineker diatribes?
The transgender sector – no offence meant here but our core case remains that “If my aunt had balls she would be my uncle but she didn’t and she wasn’t.”
Long live the Remain cause.
The decline of the British manager. This sector is anxious to collect the rewards of the job – and equally anxious to avoid doing any work thus severing the link between the 2 key components.

What else do we have to say?

“The 17 highest paying law firms in the square mile for newly qualified solicitors are American – two of these firms recent boosted their starting salaries to £150k”
Extract from The Times, May 23

Holdenforth was not surprised by the emergence of this newly affluent sector in society. He was merely envious. He suspects that there will be some re-alignment of loyalties as these latter day successors to F.E. Smith and George Carman flourish in our litigation prone society.

Kretinsky

This well-heeled Czech billionaire is said by his PR team to wish to acquire the Royal Mail business with no motive other than to ensure that the great British Public gets its mail on time at a price that it can afford.

Is that it?

Well – Up to a point Lord Copper.

“PM must make it clear Royal Mail and King’s Head are not for sale”
Headline above Alex Brummer’s column, Daily Mail – May 16

That’s more like it.

Holdenforth wonders – why might a Czech robber baron get richer still in the UK?

We suspect that Mr Kretinsky is anxious to expand his increasingly opaque business activities in the UK for all the usual reasons – because the UK is a safe haven for the shady shaky dodgy international affluent sector – for this group the streets of London are indeed paved with gold.

Meanwhile, the Mail also reported (May 28^th) that the “Czech Sphinx” was planning to cut up to 1,000 Royal Mail jobs. Understandably, the Communication Workers Union is anxious about job losses should Kretinsky take control.

Watch this space – The parties competing to win the coming election will be asked by Ms Kuenssberg – should Kretinsky be allowed to acquire this hallowed British Institution?

Holdenforth would go further and ask Sir Keir Starmer to take Royal Mail back to where it belongs – the public sector.

Holdenforth also believes that our concerns about Kretinsky apply to most of those who figure in the recent Sunday Times rich list.

A modest Holdenforth proposal – we urge some enterprising media organisation to reproduce the list of the affluent, but their version would mirror the practice deployed for those apprehended by the law for some reason or other – front and side unsmiling angry mug shots for this C3 collection of sharp practitioners.

Rejected Politicians

“The typical American law maker is willing to embrace any issue, however idiotic, that will get him votes, and he is willing to sacrifice any principle, however sound, that will lose them for him… they are in the position of the chorus girl who, in order to get her humble job, has had to admit the manager to her person…”
H.L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy

Voters should keep an eye on the methods adopted by the rebuffed here in the UK to seek to return to the fray, in other words to gain admittance to the job creation scheme to protect those rejected in the various elections.

Holdenforth endorses the Mencken view of the Politician in a Democracy.

It has not been an edifying experience to observe politicians, rejected in one contest by the voters, scouring our democracy to seek other opportunities in the vast and expanding framework of our various institutions.

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

Let us go from the general to the particular.

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.

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

As I write – Mr Vaughn Gething, the recently appointed First Minister of The Senedd is under scrutiny because of alleged dubious arrangements made with a local environmental contractor.

Might Gething have to jump ship before he is required to walk the plank? He will imminently face a vote of no confidence.

Holdenforth hopes that he does abandon ship.

Democracy as it operates in the UK

In an earlier blog Holdenforth noted that on a busy day The House of Lords 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.

The unseemly return to public life of Mr David – now Lord – Cameron was yet another nail in its creaking coffin.

The actions of Mr Cameron following his defeat in the Brexit referendum were dubious – see the Greensill affair.

Mr Sunak was evidently prepared to overlook these transgressions and in one speedy manoeuvre Cameron was promoted to Foreign Secretary and membership of the Lords. We rest our case.

Holdenforth has quoted the following sentence in previous blogs and we will be quoting it in future blogs

Holdenforth commends this policy to Sir Keir Starmer.

Privatised near monopolies to be speedily returned to the public sector include the Rail Sector and The Water Sector

A word about Nigel Farage

Holdenforth understands why Mr Farage has opted not to seek almost certain defeat in the coming election were he to stand as a candidate in a UK constituency.

He has sensibly opted to wield his formidable influence across not only the whole of the Disunited Kingdom scene but also to use his talents to influence the intriguing developing battle between the two aged candidates in the USA Presidential election.

We at Holdenforth find ourselves with more conflicting opinions about Mr Farage than any other prominent figure in British political life.

We were and remain strongly opposed to his very effective contribution to the Brexit victory during the In/Out referendum.

We readily concede that he has made very effective and positive contributions to a series of major scandals notably the de-banking conspiracy.

He has also made telling criticisms of the absurd attempts by HMG /Mr Sunak to deliver an effective solution to the vexed problem of illegal immigration.

We live in turbulent times that are set to become even more turbulent. Holdenforth believes that Mr Farage will continue to make effective interventions.

Whither the NHS?

In my role as an aged blogger who has 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.

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.

The Chilcot model governing independent public enquiries.

Holdenforth would like to some urgency injected such enquiries. We do not doubt the transparency or the independence but how about speeding things up.

Chilcot set the standard when he chaired the Iraq enquiry: we note, for example, that the enquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire is unlikely to report until 2026.

The Mail reported in February that a Tory MP was “in the clear” after a rape enquiry which had taken four years to complete. As Lord Moylan said at the time, “The real scandal here is why the Met Police is not held to account for needing 21 months to investigate this…”

Holdenforth wants to see an end to the Chilcot practice of painfully protracted enquires., and suggests that no enquiry need take longer than 3 months to come to decisions and recommendations.

Instead we urge the adoption of the approach of Mr Churchill in WW 2 – “action this day.”

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 for say 3 months – the pounds surplus to requirements would be shed.

Prospects for World War Three

Holdenforth is anxious about the current preference for international violence in some sectors.

Thus far the preference is limited to providing the means for others to fight and die – peace has been the norm in the UK since the end of WW2.

Crime and Punishment – The water polluters

Holdenforth ponders the appropriateness of sentencing senior managers in the privatised water sector to a spell in prison where slopping out was part of the routine.

Those so incarcerated would experience what millions of their customers have experienced and continue to experience.

Back to Vennells

“As we all know, most computer projects ever launched have been late and over budget. To put the matter in simpler terms most computer projects fail. Computer projects in the public sector fail spectacularly. What more evidence do we need?”
From “A Cushy Number” by John Holden in 2003

Don’t say that you were not warned.

“80 detectives to work on criminal probe into top Post Office chiefs”
Daily Mail headline May 28

Holdenforth is very anxious to see justice meted out following the painfully protracted Sir Wyn Williams enquiry.

But – are detectives the ones to carry out this probe. Holdenforth thinks not!

The conflict in Gaza

We have previously noted the intense war between the rival propaganda machines operated by Israel and by Palestine. The mendacious work of these machines as they ransack the globe for support is of considerable significance because the propaganda machine operated by Israel is possibly the most effective in the world. This weapon has been and remains a formidable weapon in the Israeli war machine.

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.

Meanwhile, we have heard reports from the USA about the current wave of student unrest. This unrest is spreading to the UK and elsewhere in Europe. This concern is understandable in the context of the number of deaths on the scoreboard in Gaza.

Labour Party Prospects and the Middle East Conflict

In our previous blog we pointed out some discrepancies between the performance of the Sunak administration and the claims made by Mr Sunak at his party conference.

We pointed out what we thought were significant gaps between claims and performance.

The voters in the bye elections in Mid Beds and Tamworth seemed to share our view. Both formerly rock solid Tory seats were lost to the Labour Party.

The antics of Crispin Blunt have hammered another nail into the Tory coffin.

These losses cannot have strengthened the position of Mr Sunak as he seeks to persuade various countries in the Middle East to maintain support for Israel.

Holdenforth had planned, in the interests of fairness, to carry out a similar check on the Labour Party as it prepares for the next general election.

This has turned out to be a difficult assignment.

Why so?

It appears to us that the key core central policy of the Labour Party in the current political climate is to obtain the keys of No 10 – all other considerations have been jettisoned to secure this objective.

The approach of the Labour Party appears to have been based on the tactics used by the boxer, Mohamed Ali – “I will float like a butterfly and sting like a bee”.

This approach will be greatly assisted by the fact that its Tory opponent is already on the canvas and out for the count.

Are there any weaknesses in the Starmer policy?

A few. Here goes.

The unanimity across the UK in support of Israel is starting to fray at the edges as Palestinian voices within the Labour Party appear to be growing louder. My guess is that Starmer will argue that this is a tribute to the diverse spread of opinion in the UK, a state of affairs long championed by the Labour Party.

In some areas of the UK – notably in the devolved parts – policies are being introduced which have not been welcomed even in the devolved areas. In my devolved area, Wales, one policy has been met with a mixture of derision and disobedience – that of the 20mph speed limit. Holdenforth aka John Holden is quite relaxed on this issue. The only journey currently in our plans is from home to the local crematorium – we are sure that the hearse driver will be happy to comply with the 20 mph limit.

In some Labour controlled local authorities, those in charge tried to introduce a policy of allowing employees to work – a doubtfully accurate term in this context – a four-day week whilst retaining their five-day rewards packages. The Labour Party apparatchiks have nipped this loony left nonsense in the bud.

A spot of plagiarism. Eagle eyed readers have spotted a few infringements by Rachel Reeves of the time-honoured guidelines regarding plagiarism. Her apologists will plausibly argue that RR was in such a hurry to get so many things done in the twin causes of Starmerism and Feminism that one or two errors crept in. Holdenforth fully accepts that these errors fade into complete insignificance when contrasted with the lamentable failures of Mr Sunak and his administration.

Abuse of parliamentary privilege. Nigel Farage has rightly complained that Sir Chris Bryant lied in the Commons alleging under the protection of parliamentary privilege that he, Farage, had been paid by The Russians for services rendered. Labour could be on shaky ground here. Holdenforth understands that Bryant has episodes on his CV would not look good when the inquisitive media trawl the files in search of material to dredge up. People in glass houses should not throw stones, especially when serving on committees set up to scrutinise standards in public life.

The transgender issue. Holdenforth understands that there are influential voices in the Labour Party that are raucous in support of those seeking to argue for choice in the delicate matter of gender. This contentious issue continues to feature in the media and the debate continues to generate more heat than light. The Holdenforth stance – based on a Keep it Simple approach – has been consistent from the outset: “If my aunt had bollocks, she would be my uncle but she doesn’t and she isn’t”. We suggest a quick and simple test to establish who is what – those with balls are male. What they would like to be is a different matter – most of us would like to have been dealt a better hand by mother nature but that is a different matter. We would also point out that a core tenet of American Foreign Policy is-”When you have them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow“ – but we are drifting from our theme.

Summary so far – game, set and match to Starmer.

What are the silent majority thinking?

A persuasive voice has been heard lately suggesting that the two big parties ignore at their peril those who hold opinions out of step with the proclaimed views of the big two.

They pose the question -What are the people REALLY thinking?

Matthew Goodwin has secured a platform to answer this question by the simple time-honoured technique of sampling. His findings might – just might – provide uncomfortable reading for the movers and shakers.

A number of issues have emerged under this heading.

They include:

Immigration
Gender
Care arrangements for the elderly
Net zero policies
Anti motorist policies

The silent majority are all too ready to answer questions on these matters. It could be that the perceived gap between leaders and led will attract the interest of embryo politicians who believe that they have identified a gap in the market for power.

There is still time for those avid for influence to seize the moment.

IF substantial numbers of voters dislike the polices of both parties, how can they express their views.

Watch this space.

So: might Starmer be in some difficulties as election day looms?

Senior managers employed by HMRC are said to be clear on the distinction between tax avoidance and tax evasion – and to be adept on cracking down on tax evasion.

Holdenforth suspects that the formidable Laura Kuensberg will pin down Starmer on the distinction between policy avoidance and policy evasion.

She will home in on Starmer should he attempt to duck and weave on policy evasion.

“It’s a perfectly straightforward question Sir Keir. Please give viewers a clear answer.”

How does Holdenforth intend to vote?

I will vote Labour. My local MP is a jewel in the rather battered crown of the UK Labour Party.

I give you – Nick Thomas Symonds.

Middle Eastern Matters

Where does Holdenforth stand on the most worrying issue of today – the conflict between Israel and Palestine – or, or many refer to it – the conflict between Israel and Hamas?

As I write the media – official and social – are replete with details of the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists in Israel.

For its part Israel has vowed to inflict retribution on those responsible.

Holdenforth opted to glance back at the origins of the conflict.

The Balfour Declaration issued in November, 1917

In Year 2 of the first world war – 1915 – Lloyd George, in his capacity as Minister of Munitions, was concerned about the acute shortage of explosives.

He contacted Professor Weizmann, an accomplished chemist, to explain the problem to him and to seek his help. Professor Weizmann quickly solved the problem and his achievement was a most important contribution to the British war effort.

Lloyd George asked him how he, Lloyd George, might reward Weizmann for his work.

To quote Lloyd George – “Weizmann explained his aspirations as to the repatriation of the Jews to the sacred land they had made famous. When I became Prime Minister – in December, 1916, I talked the matter over with Mr Balfour – the outcome was the famous Balfour declaration in 1917.”

This declaration read:-

“His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

During the next 28 years the collective mind of the Jewish Diaspora was understandably pre-occupied with the murderous activities of Hitler in pursuit of his final solution of the Jewish problem.

The Years 1945 to 1948 in Palestine

In post war Palestine the British Government attempted to maintain peace between Jewish immigrants and existing Palestinian communities. This was not an easy task and the UK sought to relinquish the mandate.

One feature of this phase was the emergence of Irgun, a Zionist group roughly equivalent to Hamas in Gaza today.

In the years from the end of WW2 to 1948 Irgun proved to be masters in using terror to secure their aims. Given the scale and severity of the terror the British Government of Mr Atlee wished to be relieved of the mandate.

The Irgun Group wrote the textbook for terrorism that has been imitated around the world to this day.

It is ironic that the “terror” tactics employed by Hamas are taken out of the Irgun textbook.

One terrorist activity of Irgun was to place a bomb in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in the summer of 1946.This hotel housed the British Secretariat and Army HQ and almost 100 people were killed.

The public comments of senior British politicians about this appalling act of terrorism could serve as a template for the terms used to describe Hamas today.

The universal hostile references in the UK – including the comments of the then Prime Minister, Mr Attlee, to the terrorist activities of Irgun can be accessed on the internet.

The State of Israel was established in the summer of 1948.

Post 1948

Events in Palestine since 1948 have seen years of the steady expansion of Israel at the expense of Palestine and others.

Israel continues to occupy and even extend illegal settlements, a point noted in the last 48 hours by Mr Guterres, the Secretary General of the UN despite the opposition of the United Nations.

“All the devouring and insatiate Monsters imagined since imagination could record itself are fused in the one realisation, Guillotine. And yet there is not in France, with its rich variety of soil and climate, a blade, a leaf, a root, a sprig, a pepper corn which will grow to maturity under conditions more certain than those that have produced this horror. Crush humanity out of shape once more and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seed of rapacious license and oppression over again and it will surely the same fruit according to its kind.”
From “ A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens

In the above extract Dickens was making the simple point that the horrors of the French Revolution arose from the suppression of the people by the ruling class in previous years.

Thus the French Revolution
Thus the emergence of Hamas

The terms and conditions of the Balfour declaration have drifted a little down the years away from Palestinian claims and in favour of Jewish claims.

Lloyd George was rather too ready to cede land that was not the property of the UK to dispose of.

“All Propaganda is Lies”
George Orwell

Holdenforth goes along with Orwell on this view but it would be interesting to see the details of Palestinians killed as against the number of Israelis killed in the various conflicts in and around Israel since 1948.

Our suspicion is that fatalities on the Palestinian side significantly outnumber those on the Israeli side.

What might happen next?

“It is now by now a commonplace of history that Bevin (Foreign Secretary in the Labour Government from 1945 to 1950), brought the State of Israel into being very much as Lord North and George the 3^rd founded the United States.
From “The Power of Ideas by Isaiah Berlin.

Two shaky assertions from a normally calm and lucid eminent historian.

It is not easy to predict a civilised lasting settlement to this frightening conflict, the origins of which go back into the mists of time.

For our part we hope for the best but we fear the worst.

Notes by the Editor

While Holdenforth has sought to focus on the origins of the conflict (which others might argue dates back to 733BC when King Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria turfed the Jews out of Samaria), Holdenforth’s editor would like to address two pertinent contemporary questions.

Firstly, why now? And secondly, what is Hamas’ endgame? It strikes me that an October 11 article by Joe Macaron neatly encapsulated the multiple answers to the first question, namely that, firstly, additional land-grabs by settlers in the West Bank, encouraged by Netanyahu’s far-right government; secondly, the recent normalisation of Arab-Israeli relationships, and in particular the détente between Tel Aviv and Riyadh; and, critically, greater warmth between Hamas and Iran. While the first point will be used by Hamas as justification for its action, the second and third points are perhaps more salient here. Given that Hamas’ raison d’etre is the annihilation of Israel (and, it can be argued given the wording of its founding charter, of all Jews), Middle Eastern stability involving that state is anathema.

This leads us to the answer to the second question. In performing the most devastating massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Hamas would have clearly understood what the consequences would have been to Palestinians living in Gaza: its objective was to provoke a regional conflagration, destabilise the fragile tolerance between Israel and its neighbours (and, post-Netanyahu, scotch the potential of a viable two-state solution coming about) and, as a corollary, inflame intra-nation conflicts between Jews and Muslims elsewhere in the world. This much has been recognised by the Biden administration (and, it must be said, by several other Western governments including those of Germany and the UK), which have in public smothered Israel in love while privately seeking, somehow, to stop the dreadful situation spiralling out of control. Hence the measured calls for pauses in conflict rather than ceasefires, which Israel will (a) never agree to given that, they argue, it will provide an opportunity for Hamas to regroup and rearm and (b) may exacerbate a siege mentality and lead it to proceed with even more terrible effect, making that regional conflict far more likely. Let me repeat: no matter how many letters Miriam Margoyles and Michael Rosen sign, calling for a ceasefire, it will make not one positive contribution to the outcome, although it might give them a warm feeling inside.

Meanwhile, we also have that third answer to Question One tied up in all this. Behind Hamas, Hezbollah and an assortment of other disparate Shia militant organisations lurks the Islamic Republic of Iran, providing them with funding of the order of $700 million per annum. While it was not behind the October 7 attacks (or even knew about their precise timing), then it certainly contributed to Hamas’ capabilities, both directly (it has transferred artillery rockets to Palestinian groups) and indirectly, via finances and expertise. Iran shares Hamas’ goal of destabilising Arab-Israeli relations, and Iran is more than happy to enable proxies to achieve that goal.

Like Holdenforth, we fear for the worst in this.

Notes on the Sunak Conference Speech

“We know what to expect when the Tories return to power – a Party of great vested interests, banded together in a formidable confederation; corruption at home, aggression to cover it abroad; the trickery of tariff juggles; the tyranny of a wealth fed party machine; sentiment by the bucketful; patriotism and imperialism by the imperial pint; an open hand at the public exchequer; an open door at the public house; dear food for the million; cheap labour for the millionaire. That is the policy which the Tory party offers you.”
Extract from a speech by Winston Churchill in May, 1908 – Churchill at the time was a Liberal

It seems to Holdenforth that the harsh comments of Churchill about the Tory party some 115 years ago could reasonably be applied to today’s Tory party. Mr Sunak did a commendable job in his conference speech as he sought to persuade both the faithful and the waverers that he was the man to lead them to yet another victory in 2024.

“Political language -and with variations this is true of all political parties – is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable ,and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind”
From ‘Politics and the English Language’ by George Orwell – 1947

Well put George Orwell. His first and third warnings were most apposite to the Sunak speech.

And how about the following assertion from Dr Sam Johnson?

“Depend upon it, Sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully”

Dr Johnson was talking about Dr Dodds – who actually was hanged two weeks later – in the summer of 1777.

If media gossip is to be believed – and Holdenforth can only guess at what was said by who in the run up to the conference – the Sunak speech showed clear signs of being composed at great speed as a panic reaction to leaks in and around the Prime Minister.

For the rest of the public it appeared to have been crafted with the sole purpose of maximising the chances of the Tory party snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

Enough froth from Holdenforth – we will leave that to others.

Let us turn our attention to more important matters.

In our view there were some notable omissions from the speech:

The Whore and Gambler, by the State
Licenc’d, build that Nation’s Fate.
The Harlot’s cry from Street to Street
Shall weave Old England’s winding Sheet.
The Winner’s Shout, the Loser’s Curse,
Dance before dead England’s Hearse.
From “Auguries of Innocence” by William Blake

Holdenforth is quite relaxed about the former but we are greatly concerned about the spread of the gambling epidemic. We note the continuing struggle for control of the gambling sector, clear evidence of the rich pickings to be acquired.

We note also the increasing use of the term – safe gambling – two words that thus combined make a memorable oxymoron.

In the same dubious sector we include our anxieties about the lack of effective control and regulation of the charity sector. We pose the question – for every pound collected – how much finds its way into the pockets of the intended recipients?

We noted the ease with which the funds donated to the charity set up in the name of Sir Tom Moore found its way into the deep pockets of his daughter.

“How Lib Dem leader – and ex-Post Office minister- Ed Davey trousered £275k working for the legal firm that fought hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters accused of fraud”
Daily Mail Report by Andrew Pierce Sept 30

“Justice delayed is justice denied”
Time honoured legal maxim.

To this maxim Holdenforth would add: Justice evaded is justice avoided – a maxim to cover the squalid procrastinating tactics deployed by the senior managers at the Post Office responsible for the persecution of the sub post masters.

We beg the responsible authorities to jettison the Chilcot approach and haul those thought to be responsible to court now.

Aggression abroad to cover corruption at home

Mr Sunak found time in his speech to insert a plea to support THE WEST against pesky Putin.

Holdenforth has in previous blogs noted the arguments put forward by Peter Hitchens that there are two sides to the conflict, that the zeal to extend and prolong the war should be moderated and that the non-stop mendicant activities of the patron saint of PR and humbug,

Mr Zelensky, should be viewed with caution.

Whither the NHS?

In his speech Mr. Sunak was commendably and rightly appreciative of the contribution of his parents to the NHS.

Holdenforth is doubtful if this praise can be extended to the current and expected performance of the NHS dinosaur.

We fear that Mr Sunak was long on froth and bereft of plausible specific solutions.

As regards the state of public opinion on the matter – how might the voters respond today if asked to stand at their collective front doors and applaud NHS employees?

Let’s hear it for democracy

There was a hint of reproach as Mr Sunak sought to suggest that some regimes needed to shape up on the need to bring in more democracy.

More humbug here – we still have the role of House of Lords to consider.

It seems to Holdenforth that the existence of The House of Lords is difficult to reconcile with exhorting others to inject more democratic arrangements into their institutions.

Before we leave this one – Holdenforth feels that an extended period of silence from the ubiquitous and well-nourished Lord Frost is called for.

It was not wise of Lord Frost to assess the case to extend the case to defer the standard retirement age to 75.

His assertion would not win much support from the millions employed in the Augean sector of our economy.

Sunak and Brexit

Let us declare an interest here – Holdenforth has strongly supported the Remain cause ever since it became a major issue during the premiership of Mr Cameron.

We still do.

We still see the villains of Brexit as Farage, BOJO and Cameron.

Mr Sunak excelled himself in his output of frothy slogans on this topic.

Scarcely a day passes without some disturbing consequence of Brexit emerging into the spotlight.

The HS2 issue

The high point of the Sunak speech was his announcement that HS2 in its present form was to be abandoned.

Holdenforth readers will want to know where we stand on this important project.

We set our position in the following unpublished letter to The Daily Mail.

“What to do about the HS2 dilemma?

Should the project be scrapped given the lamentable performance of those in charge of the project thus far?

Should the public accept that lessons have been learned and the project should be completed on a full steam ahead basis?

Holdenforth would like to suggest a third solution to the HS2 dilemma.

The elements of this third approach to be:-

Put the project on hold for around 5 years.

Use this opportunity to replace most of the responsible senior HS2 managers starting with Sir John Armitt, the Eddie Jones of his profession.

The replacement managers to ensure that public investment projects are realistic and the supporting numbers are not simply plucked out of the air.”

Our view of how to proceed with the project does not quite coincide that of Mr Sunak. We observed earlier in these notes that the Sunak speech showed clear signs of being composed at great speed as a panic reaction to leaks in and around the Prime Minister.

We ask our readers to consider a few more points to support our case that the UK Rail Sector requires more than slogans if we are to have an effective rail sector.

The UK rail sector to follow the advice of Peter Hitchens (“Reviving slow branch lines to our neglected market towns really would get the country back on the rails.” Daily Mail Headline September 28)

Those masquerading as senior managers in the rail sector in the past 20 years – The Arthur Daley years – to be shown the door and replaced by managers capable of ensuring that technical problems due to faulty points and signals are put right and that the sector provides enough drivers.

There will be vacancy at the top in the sector- might Mr Portillo be persuaded to consider running the sector?

At the bottom of the rail sector organisation pyramid – we have plate layers. My father – and the grandfather of the editor of this blog – was a plate layer for almost 50 years. He worked mainly on the line between Bolton and Lostock Junction but in WW1 he served in the Royal Engineers on the line between Batuum on the eastern shore of the Black Sea and Baku on the western shore of the Caspian Holdenforth has no data on the performance of the plate layers in that war zone in 1919 but the conflicts between the various groups may have posed problems for the UK authorities.

Let us end on an optimistic note.

The fierce struggle between the various political groups in the UK to secure power is comforting evidence that democracy of a sort is flourishing. Well – up to a point, Lord Copper.

As I Please

This has been a tricky blog to write given the all-pervasive prevailing chaos, confusion and bedlam.

In any event – we can only do our best.

Stop Press insertion: Things got even trickier as the evening of June 9 wore on:

1. The honours list of the until recently Prime Minister , BOJO was issued at around 6 pm – some rum names but only to be expected.

2. Holdenforth did not see what happened next at around 8pm coming – the announcement by BOJO that “I have today written to my Association in Uxbridge and South Ruislip to say that I stepping down forthwith …”

3. After a brief pause for reflection I decided NOT to change the blog -it will be interesting to me – if to no one else – to see how my views stand up to the repercussions of the ongoing implosion within the Tory party.

Portrait of an aged blogger

“Big John- stood six foot six and weighed 245lbs – Big Bad John”

Pop song of 60 years ago

“I am the perfect weight for a person who is 6ft 6ins …Unfortunately I am 5ft 6 in …”

Daily Mail Columnist Roger Lewis

Holdenforth aka Long John as of today – stands six foot five and weighs 160 lbs – Long Mild John.

Do not get Holdenforth started on obesity

This blog was triggered by yet another lively edition of the Daily Mail, this time on June 2, 2023.

Holdenforth has noted some caustic comments recently in Private Eye about the management and ownership of the Mail titles.

We also noted that the latest recruit to the Mail stable was another member of the Rothermere family.

What if this very senior recruit were to object to Holdenforth using / misusing his two organs inappropriately?

One can imagine the scene in the Mail newsroom – “Damn cheek this interloper using our newspapers to play Little Sir Echo”

Well – only up to a point, Lord Rothermere

Holdenforth will tread warily until we see how the land lies.

“Uncle Rich’s answers to …….Modern Life, The Universe and Everything”

Headline above the Richard Littlejohn column in the June 2 Daily Mail

The column of the doyen of columnists made for sad reading. His despair in his capacity as a latter day Cassandra was displayed for all to read – an old fashioned chorus setting the scene for our decline and fall as a nation.

Thus Littlejohn – Thus Holdenforth.

Enough background melancholy – let us get our show on the road.

The decline and fall of Mr Schofield.

We have the word of Nigel Farage that this story has been the major topic of conversation in the pubs and clubs of late.

Has it really?

Until recently Holdenforth had never heard of Mr Schofield and we hasten to add that we were happy with this state of affairs.

Where do we stand on the matter now that his fame and misfortune have been brought to our attention?

It may surprise Holdenforth readers to learn that we are well informed on some aspects of the story. Our editor some years ago wrote a groundbreaking study about The History of the Development of British Satellite Broadcasting Policy up to 1992.

We at Holdenforth have followed the snapping up of TV channels as the popularity of the system grew.

Currently there are close to a thousand channels on the go 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

The concern – the very real concern – of Holdenforth is that with this vast choice of channels available, substantial numbers of our fellow citizens opt to watch nonentities exchange platitudes about nothing at a time when there are so many significant and important alternatives available.

Is our society really so deeply immersed in froth? It would appear so.

Following his downfall Mr Schofield was interviewed by the ubiquitous Amal Rajan, emerging star of the BBC.

For us at Holdenforth, Mr Rajan provides yet more strengthening of the case to privatise the BBC.

Meanwhile we offer Mr Rajan the advice given by Clem Attlee to Harold Laski – that a period of silence from him would be appreciated, knowing that he would be the last person in the world to take this advice.

The ordeal of Prince Harry

“Note this before my notes;

There’s not a note of mine that’s worth the noting”
From “Much Ado about Nothing” , Shakespeare

“Let this prosecution fold their tent and silently steal away…
Closing speech in the successful defence of Jeremy Thorpe by the legal eagle George Carman.

The view of Holdenforth on the ongoing ordeal of Prince Harry in his attempt to secure justice at the expense of MGN closely mirrors our view – no pun intended – of the decline and fall of Mr Schofield – a case of “Much ado about nothing”.

The very real concern of Holdenforth is that given the tsunami of important issues facing the UK it is pitiful that this farce attracts the attention that it does. With a vast choice of TV channels available and a much larger number of social media outlets available – substantial numbers of our fellow citizens opt to follow this second rate royal soap opera.

Holdenforth earnestly hopes that the legal team of MGN will secure a very public victory over the Prince Harry legal team.

Holdenforth looks at aspects of Woking

In a recent blog Holdenforth noted the actions of the Dr Liz Watts, the lady who acquired a doctorate in works time – whilst employed by South Cambridge Local Authority.

In a separate blog Holdenforth noted the activities of a group which sought to curtail free speech at Oxford on the arcane complexity of transgender issues.

“Is this Britain’s wokest family?”

“Oxford trans row protester’s father is in Extinction Rebellion … and mother is boss at council that works 4-day week”
Headlines above a piece about the family which collectively is adept at exploiting various weaknesses in our society.

Tireless work by the Daily Mail had revealed that:

One of the protesters, Riz Posnett, is the daughter of Robert Posnett – a prominent member of Extinction Rebellion.
Her mother is Dr Liz Watts

The mission statement of this diverse family appears to be -we will do things our way and you, the long suffering public, will foot the bill for our antics.

Holdenforth is uneasy about the various aims of this family and very uneasy about the methods used to achieve these aims.

Brexit Revisited

A word from the Observer on June 4^th:

“Give us an honest debate on Brexit damage, union leader tells Labour”

“…The leader of one of the country’s biggest unions has urged Labour to conduct an honest debate about the economic damage caused to working people by Brexit …”

“Gary Smith, leader of the GMB union said politicians of all parties had been too afraid the adverse consequences that leaving the EU were having on jobs and life in working communities…”

Well said, Gary Smith.

We at Holdenforth were very pleased to read the report in The Observer about stirrings of discontent in the ranks about the claims made by Brexiteers about Brexit.

A welcome light at the end of the tunnel moment.

THE WEST v Putin

Fiery sergeant to fearful private Boris – “You will repeat after me:- I want to be in the Russian army.” Boris repeats it.

“I want to fight for Russia“. Boris repeats it.

“ I want to die for Russia” to which Boris retorts – “Let’s not get carried away”

Scene from the movie “Love and death” starring Woody Allen as the fearful private.

The PR experts employed by THE WEST tell us that some of those in Russia required to die for Russia are increasingly reluctant to comply.

Holdenforth has avoided looking at the ongoing war between THE WEST and Putin – what do we know about the strategies and tactics employed by both sides in the conflict?

However, we have been intrigued by the reporting of the war by observers in the camp of The WEST. Increasingly this reporting is similar to the media discussions about the possible range of outcomes in forthcoming sporting events and even in the possible outcomes of political events – will Boris survive? Will Mr Sunak survive?

Whatever happened to keeping operational war plans under wraps so as to keep the enemy guessing?

Given the national obsession with gambling in the UK – how soon before we are offered odds by William Hill about a starter board of outcomes.

Boris Johnson, Heather Hallett, Rishi Sunak and the enquiry into who said what and who did what during the Pandemic.

And

The outcome of the enquiry into the question – did Boris Johnson mislead parliament about grog intake during the pandemic.

We simply note that:

Lady Hallett is on safe ground when she insists that all the relevant information relating to the pandemic is passed to her.
Mr Sunak is said to be anxious that comments and actions made in the heat of the moment may come back to haunt him.
UK voters grasp that Mr Johnson is to mendacity as Mr Eric Pickles is to obesity – nothing controversial there. Currently BOJO is caught in the crossfire triggered by his own reputation for mendacity and his understandable wish to dish Rishi.

“ In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love”
From Locksley Hall by Lord Tennyson

“What was it that first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels”
Caroline Aherne – aka Mrs Merton – to attractive young lady

We had intended to say a few words about the outbreak of – not exactly the fancy of the thoughts of young men turning lightly to love as spring drifts into summer – rather an outbreak of a hands on approach by elderly gents towards mostly younger ladies for whatever gratification is afforded by this unseemly tactic.

The females of the species have had enough and are rightly taking reprisals.

Sadly Holdenforth has a limited circulation – possibly getting into double figures – but we would like to declare our support for these doughty female sex warriors and will do our bit in our next blog by naming and possibly shaming these aged Lotharios.

For now we simply note our surprise when we learned about the extent of unusual items on the agendas of meetings convened by the CBI – little wonder that the performance of the management side of the UK economy has slumped in recent years.

“Severn Trent chief pockets another £3.2M”

Liz Garfield …was paid £3.2M last year

Daily Mail – June 7

This reward package was paid to Liz Garfield.

Holdenforth was not persuaded that the performance of Severn Trent in terms of discharging all of its responsibilities was adequate.

The word discharging is wholly applicable to the performance of the UK water sector as our rivers and seas became more and more polluted.

As Mr Corbyn might put it – wealth for the few at the top and unwanted excrement for the many.

Enough already – At this point – Holdenforth retreats from the crease to the safety of the pavilion on the grounds that the Grim Reaper may unilaterally declare his innings closed.

Holdenforth Marks Time

We at Holdenforth will begin this blog with two apologies:

Holdenforth has received some complaints from readers accusing us of being too prolix. In normal times we would reject this absurd allegation with contumely, but these are not normal times. Accordingly in this blog, we will limit ourselves to the very bones of the issues. We will be terse, laconic, pithy, succinct and – whoops – there we go again.

In addition, we have to confess ourselves confused by the all-pervasive chaos that is the present condition of the UK.

Rather than add to this confusion and chaos we will carry out a review of what we have written recently and will then proceed – in the time honoured fashion – to mark our own homework.

Where had we got to on Brexit?

“A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.”

From “The End of the affair “ by Graham Greene

When Brexit first surfaced as a major political issue in the UK – there were two relevant agreements to consider.

“The Good Friday Agreement” signed in April 1998, and
The European Union formed after WW2 to replace a millennium of conflict between nation states with a civilised co-operative union.

Both of these developments represented considerable improvements on what had preceded them.

Where are we right now on Brexit? As I write Mr Sunak is here, there and everywhere seeking to persuade the various main stakeholders to tick the agreement that he has secured with the EU.

A few opening points to get started.

Mr Sunak is to be congratulated on making as much progress as he has made thus far. His emollient stance throughout has made a most welcome change to the unseemly combination of mendacity and truculence that were and remain such prominent features of the policy of Mr Johnson.
For us at Holdenforth, Brexit was and remains the root cause of all the problems that have arisen since it first surfaced as an issue.
Sadly – for Mr Sunak – but predictably for the rest of us Johnson has emerged from the shadows to launch his comeback.

For the record, Holdenforth is anxious to locate the alleged Remainer conspiracy movement and to enlist in its ranks – we have been consistent Remainers from the outset and we will go to our graves with the banner of the Remainers draped over our ashes.

Brexit did not arrive on the UK scene unexpectedly. The two main UK political parties had both experienced major problems since the end of WW2 with dissident elements who were anxious to ensure that the UK did NOT join the EU and were angry when the UK did join.

“He swung the Labour Party into a posture of general hostility towards Britain joining the Common Market”

Roy Jenkins writing about Hugh Gaitskell.

One especially poignant quarrel was within the Labour Party between the passionate pro-European Roy Jenkins and the equally passionate anti-European Hugh Gaitskell.

The Tory party experienced similar internal difficulties both in and out of office.

The various disputes simmered on, but the UK DID join the EU on Jan 1, 1973 when Mr Heath occupied No 10.

What happened to trigger our leaving the EU?

Answer – An unfortunate combination of one formidable and effective campaigner, Nigel Farage, one duplicitous politician, Boris Johnson and one politician who combined ineffectiveness with political cowardice, David Cameron.

Q. Did the contribution to the debate of Mr Corbyn help or hinder the Brexit cause?
A – An easy one – the decision of Mr Corbyn to abdicate his responsibilities and to leave the policy of his party to the people to decide was a gift to the Brexiteers who provided clear decisive and wholly mischievous and misleading leadership to the doubters.

A few words about the leading Brexiteers.

Mr Nigel Farage.

Holdenforth sees Mr Farage as THE main architect of the Brexit outcome – a view shared by Mr Farage – one of the very few areas where Holdenforth and Nigel Farage are in complete agreement. Farage has been a consistent critic of all things European since his years in the EU and he has over the years secured significant support by focusing on minor and irrational aspects of our EU membership whilst choosing to ignore the enormous gains throughout Europe by replacing the appalling wars of the previous centuries with the setting up of civilised cooperative arrangements.

Those doubting these assertions might do well to remind themselves about the events across Europe between 1939 and 1945. Those with longer memories might recall the events of July 1, 1916 when 20,000 British Troops were killed on Day 1 of the Battle of the Somme.

Mr Boris Johnson.

If Farage is the main architect of Brexit – what has been and still is the contribution of Boris Johnson to the success of the Brexit campaign?

Holdenforth has noted that Boris Johnson sought to portray himself as a Churchillian figure able to crystallise the views of the confused UK electorate into an aversion to the EU and a love of – who else – Boris Johnson.

Holdenforth sees an historical parallel but not the one issued by the BOJO PR machine.

Instead we see BOJO as a latter day Horatio Bottomley, a man who was an effective pro war public speaker in WW1 but who later served a prison sentence for crimes against the truth.

To seek to redress the balance we will now and in future blogs refer to BOJO as Boris (Horace) Johnson, with the Horace being a diminutive of Horatio to remind readers about the reasons for the decline and fall of Bottomley.

Don’t forget – those closest to Boris (Horace) Johnson are the ones who distrust him the most.

Stop press items – a few issues have surfaced in recent days further to muddy the political waters of the UK.

“You have sat too long here for any good that you have been doing. Depart , I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!”

Oliver Cromwell when dismissing the Long Parliament. His comment was used by Leo Amery on day 1 of the debate about the future of Neville Chamberlain – who was replaced by Churchill as Prime Minister just 4 days later.

Holdenforth would like to see A Tory MP stand up in the House Commons and very publicly urge Boris (Horace) Johnson to act on this advice. Most of us outside the Westminster Bubble have enough whispered leaks for now.

And while we are at it – would a Tory MP – any Tory MP – urge Mr Hancock to accompany Boris (Horace) Johnson on his exit stage right?

It seems that Mr Hancock has added to his already formidable catalogue of dubious activities by passing enough ammunition plus a delivery system to Ms Oakeshott to remove him from the public gaze once and for all.

Anything else before we move on.

Were there piss ups in No10 during the pandemic? It would seem likely given the universal thirst that seems to pervade the Palace of Westminster.

Sue Gray has been portrayed by some in the Tory Party as the most untrustworthy public servant since Kim Philby opted to throw in his lot with the Bolshevik boys many years ago? Holdenforth cannot comment since we don’t know.

One professional group likely to be delighted with the complexity of the issues at the heart of current the Brexit debate will be the legal profession – the combination of mostly languid pace of events with the arbitrary nature of the eventual outcomes will be a source of satisfaction to our legal eagles.

The decline and fall of Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson has gone – or is on the point of going.

Long may his replacement as our Prime Minister stay in post – or not, as the case may be.

As we write – the contest to succeed him is underway with the outcome to be announced to an apathetic country on September 5^th.

Holdenforth is unable to summon up any enthusiasm for this most unedifying struggle. We noted that Nigel Farage has said that the least worst outcome would be a victory for Liz Truss – not exactly a ringing endorsement of M/s Truss.

What does Holdenforth have to say on the regime change under way in the UK and on the squalid bickering masquerading as a splendid example of democracy in action? Recent and current events in the UK are demonstrating to those countries not committed to THE WEST in the war in the Ukraine how civilised countries arrange regime change.

“Lest any of you ever forget what I’ve done for Britain”
Headline in the Mail On Sunday above extracts from BOJO’s final speech – for the time being – to Parliament. July 24

The extracts summarised what BOJO considered to be the main achievements of his government from his arrival in Number 10 to date.

Let us consider them.

1. Brexit – achieved.

Holdenforth’s view: In the long and disgraceful catalogue of policy failures under BOJO – this was the most disgraceful of all. The attempts of Brexiteers to portray Brexit as a success merely serve to rub salt in the national wounds. Nigel Farage has and continues to be prominent in this rewriting of history. His frenetic campaigning on the issue makes the Wokers appear reasonable in their re-interpretation of history.

Holdenforth has had its say at great length in recent years on the betrayal of the UK by the Brexiteers.

For now – let us just list the main guilty politicians.

Boris Johnson
David Cameron
Theresa May
Nigel Farage
Jeremy Corbyn

The track records of the first four are well known and require no excoriating further comment.

The inclusion of Corbyn may raise a few eyebrows. The gravamen against Corbyn is quite simple – he simply opted out of deciding and campaigning on the crucial issue of leave or stay and instead planned to sub contract out the decision to the voters – an abject shirking of responsibility.

2. Immigration. Johnson’s claim that the UK is making progress in this admittedly difficult area is impossible to sustain.

Holdenforth argues that it would help if it were to be made clear that those coming to the UK in small boats across the channel are departing from France, a country where there is no threat of persecution. Those in this category had achieved their wholly understandable goal of fleeing from persecution when they entered the EU.

From that point on they become economic migrants – again for understandable but for rather less convincing reasons.

3. The Pandemic. BOJO is justified in claiming that there were notable successes in the management of the problems posed by the CV19 virus and notably for the commendably prompt production and distribution of an effective vaccine.

4. Climate change. The record of the BOJO government on this vexed issue is shaky. Holdenforth accepts that the case to minimise the emission of the gases which are the main agents of global warming has been made – and made very effectively.

On the debit side Holdenforth believes that the straightforward job of spelling out how we get from where we are to where we need to be has been bungled.

It would help if the need for global cooperation was accepted and acted upon.

5. Afghanistan. BOJO absurdly claims that the task of ensuring that those with legitimate and wholly understandable wishes to leave Afghanistan was successfully accomplished.

Holdenforth suggests that this claim be reviewed by the hundreds of thousands of would-be escapees abandoned to the none too tender mercies of the Taliban.

Would they endorse the BOJO claim?

6. Ukraine. BOJO argued from the very first appearance of storm clouds in the Ukraine that it was a clear responsibility of freedom loving democratic countries to throw their collective weight – THE WEST – on the side of The Ukraine against the war mongering Mr Putin.

Holdenforth has argued elsewhere that the actions of HMG under BOJO in and around the Ukraine have been a classic example of the enduring policy of the Tory party to engage in aggression abroad as a cover for corruption at home.

Were Holdenforth to be in Putin’s shoes we would be uneasy about the thrust by THE WEST to extend the frontiers of NATO to the north, east and south of Ukraine.

However, we also take the view that the quickest way to put an end to the slaughter triggered by the war and the appalling forced departure of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians from their homes would be a negotiated permanent peace .

It is worth noting that the two main players in the conflict are Russia and the USA. Mr Zelensky is a most accomplished PR operator but little more.

Holdenforth on the race to succeed BOJO

Holdenforth is mystified by the speed with all the original contenders hastened to jettison policies that they had been responsible for implementing. As I write, the number of contenders has been reduced to two. Voting papers will shortly be sent out to paid up members of the Tory party to decide who is to be our next Prime Minister.

This is called democracy – as practiced by the Tory party.

Sir Keir Starmer and The Labour Opposition

Might the Labour party under the leadership of Sir Keir Starmer provide comfort and hope for the future when the bawling brawling Ms Truss moves into Number 10 .

Well – only up to a point.

In no special order:

Holdenforth is NOT impressed by Sir Keir’s slogan of “Growth Growth Growth”. We would refer Sir Keir to the speech made by Harold Wilson in 1963 to the Labour Party Conference in Scarborough.

The newly elected party leader spoke about the need for deploying the white heat of technology as a vehicle to reverse the sluggish performance of the Tories in the previous 12 years.

On a personal note – I was in the hall for the speech and it was very well received.

The balance between the public and private sector. It appears that Sir Keir is anxious about The Labour Party being saddled with the label of being the party committed to costly ineffective public ownership and as being too close to bolshie public sector unions currently busy preparing plans to disrupt the rail sector, the airports and sea ports and so on and so forth.

Holdenforth refers Sir Keir to the policies given the seal of approval by Roy Jenkins – not a closet Bolshie -at the end of his autobiography.

The gist of his argument is that the privatisation of the monopoly utilities by the Thatcher government was as absurd as the demands of some in the Labour Party for the nationalisation of sectors of the economy that were subject to competitive pressure.

Holdenforth commends these policies to Sir Keir.

Holdenforth also commends to Sir Keir the need to curb the greed of many senior managers in the Public Sector trained in the Arthur Daley Business school.

Just look at what is going on currently in the publicly owned water sector. For that matter look at what has been going on in the privatised rail sector since the sector was privatised – an abysmal performance by senior managers too busy lining their pockets to concern themselves with trivia like ensuring that points and signals work properly and that enough staff are employed to drive the trains listed in the timetables.

One final concern – for today – about Sir Keir. Holdenforth was not impressed by the approach to Brexit announced by Sir Keir. He announced that “we accept Brexit but will resume discussions to arrange an orderly relationship on better terms.“ Holdenforth suspects that this approach was not and will not be received with enthusiasm by the responsible officials and politicians in the EU.

Is that it until Sept 5?

Not quite – Holdenforth will use the silly season – or as some would have it – the lull during the next 5 weeks as Tory Voters elect Ms Truss as our next PM – to reflect on and report on in our blog on some of the issues of rather greater importance to the voters across the UK.

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