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

We ended our previous blog in some confusion. Our excuse was and still is that we were merely reflecting the confusion and chaos that enveloped us at local, national and international level. 

Enough implausible excuses – we are beginning to sound like Rishi Sunak.

In the few days that have elapsed between our previous blog and this one some intriguing new issues have emerged.

Our competitors in the respectable media outlets and the wild west that comprises social media have been busy.

Let us crack on.

A stroll down memory lane.

Holdenforth has noticed that from time-to-time people in the news find the searchlight of the media focused on what they have been up to.

In the unlikely event that we find ourselves subjected to – shall we say The Rayner treatment – we will get our story out now.

Birth – I was born at the end of June, 1940 – just a few weeks after Dunkirk, the youngest of my mother’s nine children. That would date my conception around September 1939 – just around the time that Britain declared was on Germany. Not ideal family planning.

Boisterous politics – I recall being thrown out of Trafalgar Square during the sit down organised by the Committee of 100.

Sedate Politics – I was in the hall in Scarborough in 1963 when Harold Wilson delivered his “White Heat of Technology” speech. There can’t be many left who can say that.

I attended as a Young Socialist delegate from Ebbw Vale in the company of Michael Foot’s agent, Ron Evans. I remember Ron giving a surly greeting to a scruffy old timer on the way to the Hall. He then told me that old timer was called Gerry Healy – the then leader of Militant Tendency. Ron was very suspicious of the Trots. I also recall that Ron warned me to steer clear of a delegate called Tom Driberg – I can’t remember why.

My father was a plate layer – born in 1896 – who served in the Royal Engineers in WW1. In 1919 he was in a Railway Unit which operated in the Caucasus between Batuum on the East of the Black Sea and Baku on the West of the Caspian Sea. After the war he was glad to get back to his job as plate layer on the relatively peaceful line between Bolton and Lostock Junction.

Let us open the proceedings with a few items from our previous mission statements.

These basic preferences will help us to feel at home.

* The BBC – the case for privatisation goes stronger on a daily basis.

* The  transgender sector – no offence meant 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 components.  

There – we feel better already.

By far the most disturbing issue in the world continues to be the conflict in Gaza.

The scale of the conflict grows on a daily basis and the prospects for a peaceful outcome grow more and more unlikely. 

There are significant sub plots to this conflict including the war in Ukraine and THE WEST v Putin.

All Propaganda is Lies—- George Orwell

Holdenforth agrees with the bleak but realistic assertion made by Orwell.

We have noted the intense but bloodless war between the rival propaganda machines operated by Israel and Palestine. The mendacious work of these machines as they ransack the globe for financial support – let us call this struggle the conflict between the mendacious mendicants 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.

In a previous blog  we noted that:

“One closing point on this topic – Holdenforth has 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.

A word about Mr Putin and THE WEST.

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 real money where his somewhat erratic mouth is and that he has promised that the USA WILL provide sufficient support to enable Mr Zelensky to fight on.

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 increasingly likely.  

Update on illegals

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.

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

“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?

Meanwhile, Holdenforth gathers that there is public concern about the high and rising number of immigrants seeking asylum in Ireland. One aspect of the situation which confuses Holdenforth is the allegation by some that the problem has arisen because Ireland rejected Brexit. We had assumed and still assume and will continue to assume that the problems arose because of the absurd decision by the UK to opt for Brexit.

The forthcoming presidential contest across the pond between the two aged candidates.

Holdenforth can speak with some authority on the melancholy prospect as he is (just) a little older than the shaky flaky President Biden and the bombastic ex -President Trump.

At the time of writing we are unsure as to whether Mr Trump may have to do his campaigning from the inside of a Prison cell.

Should the ex-Pres actually be locked up – might this pose a handicap to his campaign?

Notes on Arthur Balfour

The name of Arthur Balfour is mainly remembered as being the author of the Balfour Declaration. Holdenforth readers will recall the clause in the Declaration which read  “it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine”

Events did not quite work out as required by the Declaration.

Asked why he did not subscribe to a press cutting agency Arthur Balfour replied that “I have never put myself to the trouble of rummaging an immense rubbish heap on the problematical chance of discovering a cigar end”

Might Balfour have viewed today’s Social Media as a dubious source  of information despite the enormity of the material available. A mountain of rubbish?

Teesside – now and then

Now:  Mr Sunak , desperate to find something / anything, in the recent  local election results to build on, has hailed the success of Mr Houchen on Teesside. Holdenforth has followed the hostile war of words about Teesside between Mr Houchen and Private Eye.

Private Eye has argued that there have been dubious commercial practices carried out by Mr Houchen in his thrust to the top job.

It is difficult to judge the merits of the arguments put forward by the two sides from the outside but we urge our readers to watch this space.

Then: A decade or ago the Redcar steelworks on the south bank of the Tees was acquired by a Thai Steel Company. The relief was short-lived. The new venture ran into difficulties and The Thai owners withdrew their support.

What then followed resulted in the most disgraceful act of industrial vandalism in the history of the UK steel sector.

The Redcar Blast Furnace, one of the cleanest and most productive in Europe was closed in such a way that it could not be re-started.

Given that Mr Houchen is now firmly in the driving seat – Both HMG and the Labour opposition need to ensure that – should similar problems in South Wales and / or in British Steel in Scunthorpe result in closures – that Houchen doppelgangers do not seize the opportunities for easy pickings.

More on the recent local elections – Voters should keep an eye on the methods adopted by the rebuffed to seek to return to the fray, in other words to get on board the job creation scheme to protect those rejected in the various elections.

“What is any political campaign save a concerted effort to turn out a bad set of politicians who are admittedly bad and put in a set of politicians who are thought to be better? The former assumption, I believe, is always sound, the latter is just as certainly false. For if experience teaches us anything at all it teaches us this: that a good politician, under democracy, is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar. His very existence, indeed, is a standing subversion of the public good in every rational sense. He is not one who serves the common weal; he is simply one who preys upon the commonwealth …
HL Mencken:-The Politician

“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

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, scour our democracy to seek other opportunities in the vast and expanding framework of our various institutions – to conform to the Mencken model.

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

A case study to illustrate the above possibly caustic theory deployed in practice.

The House of Lords  – its performance and prospects

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.

Your aged blogger has run of steam but there is no shortage of topics once we have recharged our batteries – a mixed metaphor surely?

A brief trailer for our next blog

• Mr Kretinsky – this gentleman, a Czech business man, is thought to wish to acquire the Royal mail operation with no motive other than to ensure that the great British Public gets its mail on time at a price that it can afford
• Greedy Vice Chancellors – this story just runs and runs
• The endless supply of fat cats – see Greedy Vice Chancellors
• The scandal that is Grenfell – a scandal yet to be tackled

“Times they are a‘ changing” – Song by Bob Dylan

In 1957 – on the BBC Any Questions programme – Earl Ferrers was reported as saying that he “finds women in politics highly distasteful.” Does the team – which included Barbara Castle -agree?

Malcom Muggeridge commented that “the best governed and probably the most prosperous country in the world today is Switzerland, where women have not yet been given the vote”

At this point – Holdenforth makes a hasty exit.

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.

As I Please

A gloomy preamble to a gloomy blog

“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity …

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the second coming is at hand…
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
From “The Second Coming” by WB Yeats

Background notes to this blog

There has been no letup in the intensity of the political struggles within the UK political parties in recent weeks. The pundits ponder interminably in print and on the airwaves about which event is more likely to come first – the next general election or World War 3.

Other issues competing for our attention include racialism, anti-

Semitism, Muslim activities, the increasing gap between rich and poor, democracy – the list is endless – and there is confusion everywhere.     

In this blog Holdenforth will comment on these and other issues. We make no pretence to be impartial or independent but we will do our utmost to adhere to the central Orwellian principle of sticking to the truth. 

To get our show on the road Holdenforth asserts that the UK is a national Augean stable.

What, I hear you ask, is the meaning of Augean?

Augeus was the king of Elis in ancient Greece, and he had a problem. His problem was that he owned 3,000 oxen whose stalls had not been cleansed for 30 years. If you do the calculation, you will see that Augeus had on his hands a lot of bullshit.

Let us continue. 

Holdenforth accepts that we need to state to our readers what we would actually do were we to find ourselves in a position to do it.

We also plead guilty to the charge that we disagree with almost everyone about almost everything, that Holdenforth is a grizzling griping grousing grumpy old timer. And we assert that on most contentious issues we have been in the right.

Don’t say that you have not been warned.

Israel, Gaza and Anti- Semitism

There is strong competition for the title of the most worrying conflict in the world as I write 6. For Holdenforth, the most worrying conflict is that between Israel and Hamas that has been raging for the past five months.

Holdenforth notes that around 200 hundred innocent civilians – mostly women and children – are being murdered in Gaza on a daily basis as the various academic debates continue about the rights and wrongs of these murders.

We pose the question to Israel in general and Netanyahu in particular – how many more innocent people are to be murdered before you call off the dogs of war. Possibly the most harrowing event now taking place anywhere in the world is the treatment by Israel of the two million inhabitants of Gaza, a tiny narrow strip of land – approximately 45 square kms -to the south and west of Israel.

It is in this tiny area that Hamas operates and in which the October 7 attack was planned.

In the 5 months or so that have elapsed since October 7 Israeli forces have inflicted huge casualties on the civilian population.

In our time there is no shortage of extremely effective propaganda machines.

To illustrate the point the Israelis rightly and raucously highlight that Hamas is a terrorist organisation but they are quite reticent on the terrorist organisation that brought Israel to power, namely Irgun.

Other critics of Israel point out that the Balfour /Lloyd George declaration in 1917 was conceding land to the Zionist Organisation that was not theirs to dispose of. That consideration would not have weighed heavily with Lloyd George and Arthur Balfour.

“In Palestine there was irreconcilable conflict between Arabs and  Jews.”
English History 1914 to 1945, AJP Taylor

“The Balfour Declaration was abandoned after 20 years of attempting to reconcile the irreconcilable. It was no doubt unreasonable that the Arabs of Palestine should pay the whole price of what was a world problem, anti Semitism.”
Extract from English History – AJP Taylor

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 Gaza. 

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

Back to Lloyd George and Arthur Balfour  

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.

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.

The State of Israel was established in the summer of 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 week by Mr Gutierrez, 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 down the years away from Palestinian claims and in favour of Jewish claims.

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 as the daily toll of deaths mounts.

We would go further – Netanyahu, the most powerful figure in the Middle East, sadly combines the mendacity of Goebbels, the viciousness of Himmler, the arrogance of Goering and the humbug of Mr Pecksniff – an unedifying combination.

A few words on the conflict between the free world and Mr Putin being waged in the Ukraine

This conflict is now well into its third year and there are few signs that the war will end any time soon.

Holdenforth would like to rewind the tape of history back to the Crimean War waged between France and Britain on the one side and Russia on the other side in 1854.

“If there was a moral to be drawn from the Crimean War (1854 to 1856) it would be this: in a war between Russia and The West, it will be the Powers which keep out who will be the real gainers”
From “Crimea: the War that would not boil”, an essay by AJP Taylor.

Does the verdict of AJP Taylor on events which took place almost 200 years ago have any relevance today?

Holdenforth thinks that it does.

The outcome of this conflict today – Putin versus The West – is difficult to predict despite the daily detailed accounts about what is happening.

Holdenforth is mindful of the advice of Orwell that “all propaganda is lies”

Holdenforth follows this advice and tries to be wary about swallowing the information fed out by both sides.

Thus:

We accept that the NATO net is tightening to the north of Russia.

Russia is tightening its grip in Eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine is experiencing a shortage of munitions as its suppliers become increasingly anxious about throwing good money after bad. 

It is reported in some quarters that some supporters of the Ukraine cause are dubious about the performance of Zelensky as a latter day Kitchener.

Others have been comforted by the suggestion of Mr Macron that now might be the time to put western boots on to the ground and into the fray, a suggestion that did not meet with universal western approval.

The careless work of the German Intelligence Department in allowing The Kremlin to listen to sensitive conversations about what NATO was planning to do next did little to bolster the confidence of the beleaguered Ukrainians in the day to day conduct of the war.

Just a thought – Mr Zelensky has been strident that Putin and his henchmen be brought to justice once Ukraine has emerged victorious.

Where does Zelensky stand on the conflict in Gaza? At what level of fatalities might he say that enough is enough?

The death of Mr Navalny.

The available evidence suggests that Putin is as contemptuous as Netanyahu about the murders that he is prepared to authorise in order to secure his objectives and strengthen his position.

Just as Netanyahu follows the Irgun rule book so Putin is prepared to follow the example of Stalin in his pursuit of Trotsky.

Gosh – Trotsky again in an Holdenforth blog. We are merely reporting and have no links with Momentum.

Notes on democracy

Many Western commentators on the prospects of WW3 breaking out rightly stress the importance of democratic safeguards in their various institutional arrangements.

What then is democracy?

“Democracy is that system of government under which a great free people having 35 million people to choose, pick out a Coolidge to be head of state. It is as if a hungry man set before a banquet prepared by master cooks … should stay his stomach by eating and catching flies.”
Thus HL Mencken on Coolidge in 1927.

What are we to make of the selections of Biden and Trump respectively in 2024?

“The democratic method is that institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote”
From “Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy” by Joseph Schumpeter.

Holdenforth is happy to second this definition.

It is quite easy to spot the difference between regimes which abide by this definition and those which don’t.

All those living in Europe and North America will testify to the ferocity of the competitive struggle for the people’s vote.

Mr Putin pays lip service to the principle but those contemplating participating in the struggle in Russia are understandably uneasy about the hazards posed by joining in the competitive struggle.

Holdenforth is ready to acknowledge the strong democratic credentials of Israel – the opponents of Mr Netanyahu in Israel are only too ready to expatiate on his weaknesses.

In defence of Nigel Farage

For Holdenforth aka John Holden – what follows will not be easy to write but our claim to be honest and fair must be demonstrated.

Holdenforth has disagreed with Farage’s tireless efforts in the past decade to urge the cause of Brexit and we have said so in numerous blogs. He could accurately be described as the Founding Father of Brexit.

On the credit side in Farage’s favour we gladly acknowledge his successful campaign to expose the shabby tactics employed in the financial sector to refuse banking facilities to those deemed on flimsy grounds or on no grounds to be unsuitable.

Farage has to be congratulated for his successful campaign to expose the pitiful attempts by HMG to control the steady flow of illegal immigrants from Europe into the UK. His key point has been that all these immigrants are breaking the law because they are already in a safe country and therefore at no risk.

And Farage has led the fight to highlight the sheer absurdity of seeking to transfer those whose applications have failed to Ruanda – a costly embarrassing failure.  All small boat arrivals are criminals because they are NOT at risk in France.

Farage has been and continues to be right. 

There – we said it.

Defence of the realm

Holdenforth has been shaken by the catalogue of serious failures in recent months about the reliability of some of the key sections of our defence arrangements. Erratic missiles and poor maintenance performance of key ships come to mind.

I recall that many years ago there was a rumpus when a half-eaten pork pie was found in the sharp end of a British missile.

We had assumed that such sloppiness had been rooted out but evidently that has not been the case.

When the time comes – to go over the top –  do we seek a postponement until our repairs are completed?

The Post Office scandal

We have had our say in previous blogs about this interminably protracted scandal

Right now, we will limit ourselves to insisting that the criminal proceedings to be taken against senior post office managers be speeded up.

This action and the proceedings carried out by Win Williams are not mutually exclusive.

Gorgeous George

George Galloway and his tirades against Keir Starmer – a damp squib or a real threat to the electoral prospects of the Labour Party in 2024?

Holdenforth would like to contribute to the Galloway debate but his most recent visit to Rochdale was to watch a Rugby League match between Rochdale Hornets and Warrington in 1954. This gap of 70 years may make our awareness of what is happening in the town a little dated.

Getting On

We referred earlier to the probable contest between President Biden v  Mr Trump in the November Presidential election.

Holdenforth is confused about this prospect.

On the one hand we are delighted at the confidence shown in octogenarians by the political machines of the Democrats and Republicans.

On the other hand, Holdenforth will be 84 in a few months’ time and he is only too aware of the validity of the jibe by Shakespeare on this theme:

“And then from to hour we ripe and ripe
And then from hour we rot and rot
And thereby hangs a tale”

Speaking as an octogenarian – but NOT claiming to represent old timers – I am relaxed about aged fingers on nuclear weapon triggers – but I would not be relaxed if I were still on the ripe and ripe section of life. 

Two observations

*Holdenforth noted the comedy aspects of the group photo which included Queen Camilla and Vanessa Redgrave . The former has been a tireless worker to secure promotion from the slightly unseemly role as the mistress of the Prince of Wales to the rather more exalted title of the Queen of England.

Dame Vanessa Redgrave was at one time a ferocious member of the Trotsky movement dedicated to the overthrow of the existing social order.

If you can’t beat ‘em then join ‘em!

* “Junior City lawyers in line for £2m pay packet”
Headline in the Daily Mail, February 27^th

One sector of the national economy that is running counter to the national trend is the professional legal sector where affluence can be found in abundance. They flourish not only in advising on issues within the UK but also internationally as obscure disputes are brought to the UK to be resolved usually in painfully protracted proceedings.

“ It appears that there’s gold in them there courts.”

Notes by the editor

The editor would like to respond to a couple of the points made in Holdenforth’s latest epistle. The first concerns Mr Zelenksy’s public utterances (or lack of) on the conflict in Gaza. I would diffidently suggest that there are at least two possible reasons for this, which are not mutually exclusive: both are equally plausible. The first is that Mr Zelensky has not provided his hot take on Gaza, or the Anglophone conflict in Cameroon, or the Boko Haram crisis, or the Schleswig-Holstein question, or United’s chances in the cup, because he has other priorities, such as dealing with a Russian invasion. The second is that, what with said Russian invasion taking its toll on national resources, he is anxious to maximise the number of potential allies who might be willing to contribute in whatever way to the war effort: history is littered with national leaders who have been obliged to hold their nose in this way.

The second concerns the blanket assertion that “all small boat arrivals are criminals because they are NOT at risk in France”. My response here will take a little more of your time, and will take in (amongst other things) a Fellowship in Leeds, the mendacity of the populist right, the Chichester Park Hotel and the assiduous research of Dr Matthew Sweet.

In the latter half of the 1990s, I was engaged by the Institute of Communications Studies, University of Leeds to read the newspapers for a living. There was a little more to it than that: if I came across an article pertaining to immigration, asylum seekers, racism, xenophobia or right-wing extremism I was then obliged to log it in an Access database under an extensive coding scheme. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was a little more to be logged in the Mail or the Sun than in the Guardian, but as a proportion of the whole, across all newspapers, not many articles needed to be logged. I would venture to suggest that were the exercise to be repeated in the current climate, those proportions would be far higher: for the past decade or so, the Daily Express in particular has devoted many of its pages to particularly unpleasant diatribes about foreigners (indeed, its front pages in that time seem to include pretty much nothing else, apart from perhaps the Royal Family and wholly erroneous long-term weather forecasts).

The Express (and its broadcast media equivalent, GB News) have sought to inflame the debate with dangerous, misleading rhetoric which should not go unchallenged.

Firstly, the notion of ‘first safe country’ is not to be found in international law; The 1951 Refugee Convention does not require a person to claim asylum in the first safe country they reach and explicitly states that asylum seekers should not be penalised for irregular entry into a country in which they intend to submit an application for refugee status”. This point has been reaffirmed on numerous occasions both in international law and, in 1999, by a British court.

So: not criminal, which is Holdenforth’s main objection. However, I think we need to dig a little deeper. There are those (not, I would emphasise, Holdenforth) who might then ask, “Why are they coming here, guv? Why don’t they just stay in France?” Without bothering to look at facts, those asking the questions typically satisfy themselves that the answer is (a) benefits (b) taking our jobs (c) raping our women (d) conducting terrorist activities or (e) all of the above.

Let us try and answer that question.

To begin with, if the asylum seekers have a smattering of a second language, it tends to be English rather than French. Secondly, France receives far more asylum seekers than the UK, and only a very small proportion of those (albeit a significant number) can be found camped out in atrocious conditions in ‘The Jungle’ settlement at Calais. Thirdly, it should be observed that the far right in France is well established; many politicians have built careers on the back of racist, Islamophobic and indeed anti-Semitic public utterances; its police can be trigger happy with the pepper spray and the tear gas: in short, France can be unpleasant if you are Black, Jewish and don’t speak French. Fourthly, those seeking asylum in the UK may have family members living in the UK, or else will be seeking support from the wider diaspora based in the UK.

Next, it is important to emphasise that many of these individuals are not economic migrants, but have been displaced by internal conflicts (often instigated, at least in part, by Western interventions). They are fleeing death, torture or sexual assault. They are desperate. Many are easy prey to the gangs who extort considerable sums of money from them, in return for allowing them – allowing them! – to risk their lives in a perilous Channel crossing.

Many of those that do succeed would be more than happy to take any jobs that are available, particularly in the informal sector: crop picking, car cleaning, working in fast food restaurants. Indeed, in crop picking, they are essential to the sector’s viability. They are not coming for the benefits (which, in France, are slightly higher).

Nor are they here to rape our women. There have recently been demonstrations (primarily consisting of extremists bussed-in from outside the area) outside the Chichester Park Hotel, now used as temporary housing for asylum seekers. The fact that those asylum seekers are overwhelmingly women and children has not deterred the demonstrators from insisting that there are sexual predators on their doorstep. (Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that asylum seekers are any more likely to commit sexual offences than the population at large.)

But the Express or GB News will not have this, because whipping up anger is their game. The latter does this by riffing on populist (primarily xenophobic) fears while encouraging a raft of ludicrous but potentially highly dangerous conspiracy theories. The writer and broadcaster Matthew Sweet has devoted considerable time and energy to exposing their mendacity; I would just like to dip my toe into these unpleasant waters by highlighting a few of them:

• The channel regularly features Neil Oliver, who spends most of his time making false claims about the COVID-19 vaccine (e.g. that it causes new kinds of blood clots) and fictional “turbo” cancers or else claiming that the Jews are planning to impose a “one-world” government. In January 2024, he agreed with an interviewee who claimed that “a mysterious group” (whom she named elsewhere as the Jews) had a plan to turn us into cyborgs.

• In 2022, it included several interviews on the Mark Steyn programme with Naomi Wolf, who described the vaccination rollout as “mass murder” and compared it to the actions of doctors “in pre-Nazi Germany”. (Steyn himself delivered misleading monologues about the rollout before leaving the channel after it decided to make him personally liable for any future Ofcom fines. Wolf has since gone even further down the rabbit hole, insisting that “they” are enabling time travel and putting chips in our arms via the vaccine.)

• This week GB News has complained that a gentleman called Sam Melia was imprisoned for two years for distributing stickers that read “It’s OK to be white”. Melia, a former member of a proscribed far right group, was actually imprisoned for plastering anti-Semitic stickers outside Jewish schools.

The channel has also provided a platform for far-right groups such as Voice of Wales (now banned from mainstream online outlets) and former members of proscribed organisations such as For Britain.

And behind all this nonsense, this poison, sits Farage the ringmaster, the peerless populist always staying just the right side of the legal line so that he can avoid charges of outright racism while playing to his audience with a concoction of half truths and plain lies, deftly fomenting discontent. It remains to be seen whether he will return to front line politics with Reform UK; if so, it is unlikely that he would risk standing for Parliament again, because that is a game he might well lose. Rather, he will be Reform’s cheerleader from the sidelines, hoping that after the Conservative Party’s probable demolition at the imminent General Election that Reform, bolstered by the rump of the Tory right, might be in a position to push for power further down the line.

Like Trump, Farage has blossomed in the unfiltered post-Twitter world, where everything, even the obvious truth, can be dismissed as “fake news”. However, it is important to challenge those dismissals, and to ensure that facts – cold, hard, facts – are presented are such, and xenophobia called out for what it is.

As I Please

We ended our previous blog with a comment somewhere between a threat and a promise.

We had hoped to get all our discontents off our chest but it was not to be. Sadly Holdenforth/aka John Holden, a grizzling, grousing, griping grumbling aged malcontent finds that he disagrees with almost everyone about almost everything and inevitably we have more to say.

Let’s get on with it.

Holdenforth has noted that recent media outputs have been replete with two categories of space fillers:

• Highlights of the year which is about to end.
• Prospects for the world in general and for the UK in particular for 2024

Holdenforth eschews both of these space fillers.

We all know what happened in 2023 and some of us have a rough idea why what happened did happen.

As for the prospects for 2024 – your guess is as good as theirs and, quite possibly, as good as that of Holdenforth.

Instead Holdenforth will jot down a few wry observations on what has happened together with what we would like to happen in the coming year in the forlorn hope that our modest suggestions will be added to what is referred to as the weight of public opinion.

Monarchical matters

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.

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

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

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

Holdenforth is unhappy about the way that Charles III increasingly appears to us to be angling for a degree of power and control over the affairs of his subjects similar to that exercised by his predecessor Charles I – prior to his losing the crown with his head still on it.

So – no squeamish abstentions for Holdenforth on this one -the actions and activities of Charles I and his consort have persuaded us to transfer to the Republican camp.

Gaza 

As I write possibly the most harrowing event now taking place anywhere in the world is the treatment by Israel of the 2 million inhabitants of Gaza, a tiny narrow strip of land – approximately 45 square kms to the south and west of Israel.

It is in this tiny area that Hamas operates and in which the October 7 attack was planned

In the 12 or so weeks that have elapsed since October 7 Israeli forces have inflicted huge casualties on the civilian population.

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.

The Conflict in Ukraine

This conflict is now well into its third year and there are few signs that the war will end any time soon.

Holdenforth would like to rewind the tape of history back to the Crimean War waged between France and Britain on the one side and Russia on the other side in 1854.

“If there was a moral to be drawn from the Crimean War (1854 to 1856) it would be this: in a war between Russia and the West, it will be the Powers which keep out who will be the real gainers”

 “Crimea: the War that would not boil”

 From an essay by AJP Taylor.

Does the verdict of AJP Taylor on events which took place almost 200 years ago have any relevance today?

Holdenforth thinks that it does.

The Aged

 “And so, from hour to hour we ripe and ripe,

And then from hour to hour, we rot and rot:

And thereby hangs a tale”

From As You Like it   Shakespeare

Holdenforth is currently struggling to cope with the problems posed by acting as a carer on a 24/7 basis for two octogenarians – namely himself and his wife.  He himself is well past the watershed and into the rotting phase.

Holdenforth urges octogenarians faced with the prospect of this ordeal to take steps to opt out of the challenge posed by providing for care for themselves and their octogenarian spouse.

A closing thought on this topic. Holdenforth gathers that there are in our midst many thousands of old timers 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 -and no pun intended for our editor.

The death throes of the Tory Party

We at Holdenforth find ourselves more and more baffled by the Whitehall farce known as the Rwanda plan. The basic facts of the farce have been documented at interminable length. The gist of the matter is that a wholly absurd plan to cope with the flow of illegal immigrants has been allowed to spiral out of political control by a politically bankrupt government.

In the unlikely event that Mr Sunak reads this blog he will parrot his automated response – “desist from your unpatriotic slogans and get behind your democratically elected government as we work to reduce the number of illegals by up to double figures within the next 5 years.”

The conventional Tory wisdom is that this respite will allow the Tories to win the coming election and provide a breathing space to come up with a Baldrick type plan.

Where does Holdenforth stand on the vexed question of illegal immigration?

Many of the asylum seekers and refugees are simply seeking to do what you and I would do were we in their shoes – to improve the conditions of their lives.

• It could be argued – indeed it is argued by some – that the criminal gangs arranging illegal entry in small boats are simply exploiting a clear gap in the travel market – to provide a travel service to those seeking a better life.
• The UK authorities encourage the growth of this market opportunity by making available to those who succeed in landing on our shores a significantly more agreeable life style.
• Most of the venom of those in the Tory party anxious to demonstrate that they have a workable plan to tackle the problem is directed against small boats with their cargo of illegals.
• As I write there are around 2 million Palestinian civilians in Gaza being bombed on a daily basis. Sooner or later someone will suggest that arrangements be made to allow these genuine asylum seekers and refugees to come to the UK possibly in very large boats – say a couple of Royal Caribbean Cruise liners with each with capacities of at least 5,000 thus getting around the ban on small boats – what happens then? Which of us would not gladly exchange life – and death – in Gaza for a new life in the UK?

Notes on the General Election which will take place in 2024

Much of the chatter in the various media channels has centred on the likely outcome of the 2024 General Election. For obvious reasons most forecasters have / are predicting a substantial victory for Kier Starmer and the Labour party .

Holdenforth would like to have its say.

Our focus will be on the Cameron factor and the Farage factor.

Permit us to rewind our tape back to the Tory / Liberal coalition which was in power from 2010 to 2015.

As the 2015 election loomed Cameron committed the Tory party to hold a referendum on our membership of the EU were his party to  win the election. The word was that Cameron made this policy decision to neutralise the growing threat posed to the Tory party by Farage.

• The good news for Cameron – he wins the 2015 election.
• The bad news for Cameron – he loses the referendum in 2016 and immediately resigns as Party Leader.
• The worse news for Cameron – he becomes mired in a series of scandals which seemed to Holdenforth to signify the end of his career in public life.
• The Lazarus factor – Cameron is chosen by the PM Mr Sunak to be simultaneously appointed as our new Foreign Secretary AND appointed to the House of Lords.

Holdenforth suspects that we were not the only ones to be startled by this turn of events. Doubtless many Tory MPs in the Commons and possibly some Tories in the House of Lords were less than ecstatic.

We have had our say at some length in previous blogs about the fact that the House of Lords and Democracy are mutually exclusive – or ought to be.  The Cameron factor emphasises the contempt shown by The Tory party in general and by Sunak and Cameron in particular for just about any model of democratic government.

Meanwhile, the Reform Party, the political wing of the anti small boats movement is said to be gathering momentum – momentum with a small M – and this development provides an incentive for Mr Sunak to call an early election.

Mr Farage and his Sancho Panza Richard Tice are timing their move to the front carefully.

We at Holdenforth are NOT admirers of Mr Farage but it would be absurd not to acknowledge that in the past decade Farage has played a major role in the political life of the UK. All the indications are that this will continue to be the case in the next few years.

In Conclusion

A few Holdenforth slogans from previous blogs- slogans that are dear to our hearts.

• We yearn for the privatisation of the BBC.
• We demand to know what is holding up the appearance in court of those responsible for the appalling miscarriage of justice in the persecution of sub postmasters
• When will HMG end the Chilcot factor and instead put a time limit on public enquiries?
• When will the issue of who can work from home and in what circumstances be decided by management?
• Let us widen this point – when will the management sector do its job – in particular to accept the responsibility that was formely thought to be the reason for substantial reward packages paid to those in the sector?

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?

Or

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.

More Notes on the Conference Season

The Holdenforth blog issued on August 24 set out our policies and suggested actions ahead of the forthcoming conference season.

In our naivety we supposed that it would suffice until the re-opening of parliament in October.

Critics of Keir Starmer were said to be concerned at his lack of decisiveness. His mantra was said to be:

“Time for a hundred indecisions

For a hundred visions and revisions

Before the taking of a toast and tea”

From “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by TS Eliot

The names of Rishi Sunak and Holdenforth must be added to those afflicted with the virus of indecision. For our part we justify our changing views by noting that we operate on the edge of the margin of the fringe of power.

Immigration – legal or otherwise

Our August 24 blog set out our criticisms of the policies of HMG to deal with the problems perceived to be triggered by the arrival in the UK of illegal immigrants.

Some four weeks later we stand by our criticisms which queried the effectiveness of the measures adopted thus far.

However, in the past few weeks the problems associated with illegal immigration have spread far beyond the UK. Italy in particular is especially worried about the comparatively recent approach adopted by substantial numbers of illegals of using the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa as a stepping stone to Italy, and from Italy to their ultimate county of choice.

The scale of their arrival has created anxiety throughout the EU as the members of that body review the possible consequences in their own countries.

Our Home Secretary has added her considerable weight to the controversial case for tighter national and international control of illegal immigration.

As I write – the lively debate continues. 

Putin V THE WEST

Holdenforth has avoided commenting on this conflict from the outset on the plausible basis that it is difficult to know what exactly is going from the conflicting propaganda of the two sides.

“The liberals who condemn Trump’s failed putsch – but happily condone a real one”

Headline above a column by Peter Hitchens

Mail On Sunday, August 6 

The gist of the Hitchens column is that the legally elected government of the Ukraine was overthrown illegally in 2014.

Hitchens writes: “It is clear beyond doubt that the Kiev parliament voted illegally to remove him…”

Holdenforth is mindful that the PR departments  of Putin on the one hand and of THE WEST on the other hand are working overtime to spread their respective versions of events. We are also mindful that the PR function masterminded by Zelensky has won this particular battle by a wide margin.

For our part we at Holdenforth continue to hope that the conflict will stop and a negotiated transparent peace treaty – not an understanding – will be made.

Has anything changed in the past 4 weeks in this most  serious global conflict?

Holdenforth suspects that the Zelensky PR machine is struggling to maintain its hitherto invincible aura. He continues to command the key PR platforms controlled by THE WEST but we detect that some key allies are tiring of his mendicant search of equipment to continue the conflict and that these key allies are looking for reasons to throttle back on the extent of their support.

On this one – Holdenforth will continue to urge all parties to the conflict to tone down their war cries and – to quote Churchill – to accept that “Jaw Jaw is better than War War.”

The Decline and decline of the BBC

Holdenforth has long argued that the BBC has abandoned the hallowed status acquired for it by John Reith. To us it has seemed that the mission statement of The BBC can be summed up as:- “There’s no business like show business” and if this assertion is accepted – then the BBC should be promptly privatised.

Holdenforth has not altered its hostile view of the BBC.

We noted – in a detached way – that the BBC Chairman, Richard Sharp had resigned following accusations that he had been less than prudent in his dealings with Boris Johnson.

So – we mused – that is the usual fate of those who have dealings with Boris Johnson.

However – we did not leave it at that. We looked at the organisation structures used to manage and oversee the BBC and we were struck by the sheer vacuity of so many of the top jobs and the immense scope for some ruthless pruning in this area.

Accordingly,  we suggest to those in the private equity sector – here is a fat organisation – correction – an obese organisation -offering substantial opportunities for slimming down.

Get your numbers’ boys to carry out a swift due diligence exercise – you can’t go wrong.

That remains our view.

The emergence of the Russell Brand issue rather perplexed us.

It is one thing to regard the behaviour of an influential and sexually voracious celebrity as regrettable. However the alleged crimes of Mr Brand have yet to be tested in a court of law – and a cardinal feature of our courts is that the  law of England supposes every man to be innocent, until he is proved to be guilty, a point made forcibly by Mr Jaggers in “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens.

On a more general point Holdenforth has been saddened but not startled by the alleged sexual exploitation by some of the rich and/or  powerful of their subordinate employees.

“it’s the same the whole world over

It’s the poor what gets the blame

It’s the rich what gets the pleasure

Ain’t it all a blooming shame…

A poignant verse in this old song notes:-

“See ‘im riding in his carriage

Past the gutter where she stands

He has made a stylish marriage

And she rings ‘er ringless ‘ands”

Holdenforth notes and warmly endorses the emergence of a spirited class of subordinates  resolved put a stop to this age old “droit de seigneur”. 

We would like to name and shame a few names from the Seigneur sector but on this delicate issue discretion will take priority over valour. Doubtless Mr Bernard Looney will applaud our stance.

We seem to have drifted away from the BBC but we have noted that the various media are engaged in an energetic search to flush out just who at the BBC knew what and when about the alleged unseemly behaviour of Mr Brand in the past 20 years.

The thorny transgender issue

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 another thing entirely.

The future of HS2

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

We set our position in an unpublished letter to The Daily Mail

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

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

Could Holdenforth suggest a third solution to the HS2 dilemma.

• Put the project on hold for around 5 years.

Can we at Holdenforth have a seconder for this modest proposal?

Lawyers in the firing line.

Britain “being run by rule of lawyers”

Headline in The Daily Mail – September 9

The opening sentence in the report underneath the headline read:

“The rule of law in Britain has been replaced by the rule of human rights lawyers and judges, a report warns today.

Think tank Civitas says that court rulings covering immigration protests and strikes are undermining the sovereignty of Parliament.”

It seems to Holdenforth that the main threat to the sovereignty of parliament comes from those currently occupying the green benches .

The hostility of the Daily Mail to Human Rights lawyers gathered momentum in the next few days.

“MPs do have a legal means of breaking the stranglehold human rights lawyers have on our democracy. So why won’t they use it?”

Headline in the Daily Mail–September 14

In the report under the headline Dr Michael Arnheim, an experienced lawyer, argued that “blame must be placed squarely on the shoulders of the Government and Parliament.”

Holdenforth is pleased to note that DR Arnheim and Holdenforth are on the same wavelength on this highly contentious issue,   

“Timeo Danaos et Dona Ferentes” From Virgil’s Aeniad

For our non classical readers this translates as -”Beware Greeks bearing gifts”

Some 2000 years later – Holdenforth urges the voters to examine closely the promises on offer from the main UK political parties in the heady atmospheres of their respective love ins during the next few weeks.

The Lib Dems have opened the batting and excelled themselves in sustaining a steady output of froth during their conference.

The unity was illustrated by the departure of Mr Fallon from Bournemouth an hour before Sir Ed Davey was due to speak.      

There will be plenty more in the next few weeks. Watch this space.

Holdenforth has been inundated with lively issues competing for space.

We will close with a few brief mentions.

1. The pilfering pandemic. Holdenforth has noted the disturbing spread of the shop lifting sector.

Moral – the responsible authorities should NEVER ignore law breaking. All infractions, however minor, to be promptly nipped in the bud.

2. Abuse of parliamentary privilege. Holdenforth is unhappy with the practice of using the sanctuary of parliament to make assertions of doubtful veracity.

We noted that Sir Chris Bryant, taking time off from his previous predilection for flaunting his sexual requirements on social media, used dubious parliamentary privilege to make mendacious statements about the financial affairs of Nigel Farage.

Mr Farage is more than capable of looking after himself but dishonesty is still dishonesty.

Readers with longer memories will recall that Tom Watson used the same squalid practice in order to stay on safe ground whilst making dishonest accusations against eminent public figures.

Parliament should abandon this institutionalised mendacity.

3. Holdenforth continues to be unhappy about the lop sided way that the Post Office scandal is being handled. Late and derisory compensation for the victims combined with strenuous efforts to postpone a day of reckoning for those responsible for the squalid performance of Post Office senior managers.

The names of Vennells and Crozier remain prominent in the frame of those required to answer for their misdemeanours.

4. The problem of the long term sick – how might reluctant members of the working class be persuade to return to the fold?

Two solutions offer themselves – roughly speaking a carrot approach and a stick approach.

The carrot approach would ensure that it would be financially worthwhile for the long term sick to forfeit the safety and security of their present position for the shaky benefits of being in work.

An extreme example of the stick approach was described by Hasek in his novel-”The Good Soldier Schweik”. The author described  the methods used to persuade  those reluctant to serve in the army to change their minds and return to fight in the war.

Later sensitive generations would baulk at the enforced use of the clyster.

More thought required on this one.

Holdenforth Manifesto ahead of the 2024 General Election

“All is for the best in this best of all possible worlds”.

So says Dr Pangloss in Voltaire’s satire, “Candide.”

Holdenforth’s view of this somewhat rosy view of life on earth: “Up to point, Dr Pangloss.”

As I write this blog the mainstream parties in the UK are busy preparing for the September conference season. The aim of the exercise for  the mainstream parties will be to hammer out a manifesto that will persuade the electorate ahead of the 2024 election that they are above all united behind their separate manifestos.

This purpose – the pursuit of unity, is easier said than achieved. The plethora of media outlets makes it a difficult task for party leaders to enforce discipline.

Fortunately, this will not be a problem for Holdenforth –  not for us a futile search for a spurious unity, mainly because there is only one of us.

Our approach will be to issue a blog comprised of appropriate extracts from our blogs – no shortage of material here.

We trust and hope that our readers will note and applaud our consistency as opposed to the ducking and weaving of the big players.

Here goes:

Immigration – legal or otherwise

1. Abandon the ludicrous plan to subcontract out responsibility to Rwanda or where ever. Direct the funds thus saved to those countries of origin of the refugees in return for taking effective action to improve their governance.

2. Put the job of examining the claims of immigrants onto a 24/7 basis., ie set up assessment bodies operating 24 hours a day 7 days a week – that would quickly bring down the numbers awaiting assessment.

3. We at Holdenforth have said it many times  before, we will say again now, and we will continue to  ask HMG to ask the EU politely – can we please rejoin the EU.

4. Prepare a list of measures designed to deter would-be illegals from seeking to come to what they currently perceive as The Promised Land. It seems to Holdenforth that most of those currently making the journey in small boats are quite relaxed about what awaits them in the UK

The thorny transgender issue   –

“If my aunt had bollocks, she would be my uncle but she doesn’t and she isn’t”

Holdenforth will leave this complex issue at that and make off prudently for safer ground.

Putin V THE WEST:-

Holdenforth has avoided commenting on this conflict on the plausible basis that it is difficult to know what exactly is going from the conflicting propaganda of the two sides.

“The liberals who condemn Trump’s failed putsch – but happily condone a real one”
Headline above a column by Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday, August 6 

The gist of the Hitchens column is that the legally elected government of the Ukraine was overthrown illegally in 2014.

Hitchens writes:- “It is clear beyond doubt that the Kiev parliament voted illegally to remove him…”

Holdenforth is mindful that the PR departments  of Putin on the one hand and of THE WEST on the other hand are working overtime to spread their respective versions of events. We are also mindful that the PR function masterminded by Zelensky has won this particular battle by a wide margin.

For our part we at Holdenforth continues to hope that the conflict will stop and a negotiated transparent peace treaty – not an understanding – will be made.

A final point on this one. President Zelensky and Boris Johnson were very close allies at one point. Holdenforth hopes that Zelensky will have more regard for any signed transparent treaty than the complete disregard shown by Boris Johnson to UK treaties with Ireland.

Banking and the Debanked

Where does Holdenforth stand on this one?

The following letter was published in The Daily Mail on July 27.

“I was both startled and delighted at the news of the departure of Alison Rose overnight. I gathered that Ms Rose had been interviewed by her fellow board members at NatWest in the early hours of this morning, that she had been handed the black spot and subsequently given an invitation to walk the plank, an invitation that she was unable to refuse.

Her departure will enable the senior managers of the NatWest Group to get back to what they are good at – the careful adjustment of interest charged on loans to borrowers and the significantly lower interest paid out to ostensibly respectable savers.

John Holden

Holdenforth was disconcerted to read that Rachel Reeves, the Labour Party Shadow Chancellor has expressed her support  for Alison Rose on the shaky grounds that the attack on her was due to her being a woman. 

Is this the start of a new doctrine of infallibility – that the female of the species shares with His Holiness The Pope – the security that females are infallible when pronouncing on feminist issues.

As John Gordon – one time powerful voice at Express Newspapers – might say -“I think we should be told.”

The Decline and decline of the BBC

Holdenforth has long argued that the BBC has abandoned the hallowed status acquired for it by John Reith. To us it has long seemed that the mission statement of The BBC can be summed up as:- “There’s no business like show business” and if this assertion is accepted – then the BBC should be promptly privatised.

We noted – in a detached way – that the BBC Chairman, Richard Sharp had resigned following accusations that he had been less than prudent in his dealings with Boris Johnson.

So – we mused – that is the usual fate of those who have dealings with Boris Johnson.

However – we did not leave it at that. We looked at the organisation structures used to manage and oversee the BBC and we were struck by the sheer vacuity of so many of the top jobs and the immense scope for some ruthless pruning in this area.

Accordingly,  we suggest to those in the private equity sector – here is a fat organisation – correction – an obese organisation – offering substantial opportunities for slimming down.

Get your numbers boys to carry out a swift due diligence exercise – you can’t go wrong.

We must rule out Mr Rupert Murdoch in this instance – far too busy with his complex matrimonial activities.

Holdenforth can claim some relevant experience in this area- some years ago a bright young go-getter introduced the idea and approach of lean management. Long before this bright young go-getter published his views I worked for an organisation that pioneered the idea and approach of emaciated management  – and the lessons learned in that harsh managerial climate have remained with me.

Brexit and The Johnson legacy

Johnson – He got Brexit done – and later – he got what was coming to him.

As soon as the in/out referendum was announced those expected to play a prominent role in the campaign had to decide which side they were on. Most had made their allegiance clear in advance – but not Boris Johnson. BOJO had first of all to decide whether to support or to oppose our membership of the EU. It appeared at the time and this became abundantly clear as the campaign developed that his sole criterion as to which side to support was – what was in it for him.

The crucial issues at stake were of no concern to BOJO. He came down heavily and very effectively on the leave side.

The damage inflicted on the Good Friday agreement by the narrow but clear victory for the Leavers – an agreement that had ended centuries of strife in Northern Ireland – was a mere trifle. So what -BOJO had ascended the greasy pole.

Similarly,  the damage done to the carefully and slowly built up arrangements at the heart of the EU counted for nothing with BOJO.

What was in it for him was all that mattered to him and what was in it for him was a great deal.

When does Gentle Persuasion become Bullying?

The issue of the outing of Dominic Raab as a bully as perceived by his civil servants and his subsequent ousting as our deputy Prime Minister rose to prominence in May of this year.

Much of the debate centred on when does aggressive behaviour by a senior colleague towards a junior colleague become bullying.

Some observers thought that the evidence suggested that Raab had a long and unfortunate record as a bully.

Others thought that those complaining were being altogether too sensitive.

Where does the truth lie?

It is clear from his later published views that Raab thought that the bullying bar had been set too low and would make it almost impossible to question junior colleagues who were thought to have cocked up.

Holdenforth tends to share this view but adds that Raab had shot himself in the foot by agreeing in advance to resign if the investigating KC found him guilty.

A stroll down memory lane – do you remember The Rise and fall of Liz Truss?

In October 2022, the then Chancellor, Dr Kwarteng announced a minor policy change – the abolition of the abolition of the higher tax rate – during a bruising interview with Nick Robinson. Robinson accused the Chancellor as having made a complete bollocks of the whole affair – not in exactly those words but that was the gist of his criticism.

Shortly afterwards came the Tory party conference and truth requires that we report that the vultures were hovering and the sharks circling – select your own metaphor – around the dwindling frontiers of the Truss camp

So – what happened?

The  Truss/ Kwarteng team , after some preliminary crowd pleasing prancing,  fell over its own feet as it left the starting gate.

Her ejection was even more ignominious than that of any of her four predecessors, namely Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and  Boris Johnson  – a considerable if unsought label.

Here endeth our September 2023 manifesto.

Sadly we cannot endorse the view of Dr Pangloss that all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds – at least not in the UK.

A few gloomy closing comments:

The word out there is that Mr Sunak would like to make Suella Braverman walk the plank but is understandably uneasy about the unintended consequences – to quote President Johnson – do you want her inside the tent pissing out or outside the tent pissing in.

Critics of Keir Starmer are said to be concerned at his lack of decisiveness. His mantra is said to be:

“Time for a hundred indecisions
For a hundred visions and revisions
Before the taking of a toast and tea”
To quote J. Alfred Prufrock by TS Eliot

The response of the Lib Dems to their victory in the recent bye election was not exactly an effective slogan.

“The Liberal Democrats are back in the West Country”

Holdenforth can’t see this as a vote winner even in the West Country. Somehow it lacks wider electoral appeal.

Bring on the conference season.

As I Please

Migration – legal and illegal

“My policy is to be able to take a ticket at Victoria Station and go anywhere I please”

Ernest Bevin – British Foreign Secretary, 1945-1951.

The Bevin policy is a clear assertion of his belief in open borders.

Obviously, his policy is equally applicable to those wishing to come to the UK to be free to do so.

Sadly, at the opposite end of the scale, various National Governments have, since Bevin’s time, enforced a variety of restrictions on the free movement of people. Over the past 80 years or so there have been attempts to arrive at a balance between the Bevin policy and – let us say – the Stalin policy under which a whole series of restrictions were imposed leading to justified accusations that the USSR was in effect a large prison camp.

The EU was a major breakthrough on this issue – free movement of peoples was and remains a core rule of the EU.

Where does Holdenforth stand on this delicate issue?

States and Groups of States should have the final word on who may and who may not have uncontrolled entry. It is their responsibility to put in place arrangements which do not cause unrest.

Holdenforth assumes that would-be immigrants have perfectly understandable aspirations to improve the quality of their lives and will seek any and every opportunity to do so.

How are the wishes of the two groups to be reconciled?

Holdenforth is firmly of the view that the wishes of the nations and of groups of nations should prevail over the wishes of the would-be immigrants.

Holdenforth observations on how this issue has played out in recent years.

1. The performance of the UK has been uniquely inept – a classic case study of how to make a balls of it. The latest shambles as reluctant illegals are transferred from a life of relative comfort to a life of relative austerity comes under the Richard Littlejohn heading of – “you couldn’t make it up.” 

2. The ill-mannered treatment by the UK of the institutions and senior officials of the EU has had a damaging impact on relations between the EU and the UK. Messrs Farage and Johnson bear the heaviest responsibility for this.

3. The entirely understandable view of the EU is “ you (Brexit) bastards got yourself into all this and you can get yourself out of it.”

4. Now for the point dreaded by Holdenforth. How would we respond were  a tetchy critic to snap at us – “OK smart arse – (we are indebted to Clive Myrie for that telling insult) – what would you do about it?”

Here goes:

In no special order:

1. Abandon the ludicrous plan to subcontract out responsibility to Rwanda or where ever. Direct the funds thus saved to those countries of origin of the refugees in return for taking effective action to improve their governance.

2. Put the job of examining the claims of immigrants onto a 24/7 basis., ie set up assessment bodies operating 24 hours a day 7 days a week – that would quickly bring down the numbers awaiting assessment.

3. We at Holdenforth have said it many times  before, we will say again now, and we will continue to  ask HMG to ask the EU politely – can we please rejoin the EU.

4. Prepare a list of measures designed to deter would-be illegals from seeking to come to what they currently perceive as The Promised Land. It seems to Holdenforth that most of those currently making the journey in small boats are quite relaxed about what awaits them in the UK.

Putin v THE WEST

Holdenforth has avoided commenting on this conflict on the plausible basis that it is difficult to know what exactly is going from the conflicting propaganda of the two sides.

“The liberals who condemn Trump’s failed putsch – but happily condone a real one”
Headline above a column by Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday, August 6 

The gist of the Hitchens column is that the legally elected government of the Ukraine was overthrown illegally in 2014.

Hitchens writes:- “It is clear beyond doubt that the Kiev parliament voted illegally to remove him…”

Holdenforth is mindful that the PR departments  of Putin on the one hand and of THE WEST on the other hand are working overtime to spread their respective versions of events. We are also mindful that the PR function masterminded by Zelensky has won this particular battle by a wide margin.

For our part we at Holdenforth continues to hope that the conflict will stop and a negotiated transparent peace treaty – not an understanding – will be made.

A final point on this one. President Zelensky and Boris Johnson were very close allies at one point. Holdenforth hopes that Zelensky will have more regard for any signed transparent treaty than the complete disregard shown by Boris Johnson to UK treaties with Ireland.

Obese cats

“Hitting the jackpot as rest suffer”
“MOS reveals massive divide between FTSE tycoons and families battling the toughest squeeze for 40 years”
Headlines in the Mail on Sunday across pages 8 and 9 on August 6

As if that was not enough the MOS returned to the obese cats topic on pages 82 and 83.

“Revealed: £420M Footsie fat cats who earn 127 times more than the rest of us

Twenty biggest earners take home almost £170 m”

Holdenforth feels slightly peeved at being marginalised in the contest between THEM and US. Is the MoS trying to put us out of business?

Some 20 years ago Holdenforth  highlighted the greed of those senior managers responsible for running the privatised utilities including the portly Cedric Brown at British Gas.

However the MoS has a significantly higher number of readers than the Holdenforth blog and we are grateful for support from any quarter.

A puzzling issue for Holdenforth

Over the years Holdenforth has become inured to the fact that some foreigners who do not have the best interests of the UK at heart have used complex IT devices to access our secrets and threaten our security.

In recent months it now seems that there is a significant threat to our national security because some of the vast amount of data stored on our behalf  has been inadvertently leaked to the world at large.

For Holdenforth the issue is this.

Which source poses the greater threat to our national security – the Putin / Chinese scammers or itchy careless fingers that can land us in the soup by a careless touch of a keyboard?

What do you think?

We at Holdenforth are working on our manifesto ahead of the various party conferences scheduled for September. We want the electorate to be aware of the possibilities available other than those to be presented by the mainstream parties.

Watch this space.