My first blog post

 

My first blog post

I started blogging in February fourteen years ago, when Gordon Brown was Prime Minister. Reproduced below is my first blog.

There has been barely any mention in the news of the terrible life-changing injuries sustained by British Armed Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is very difficult to obtain accurate figures which suggests a degree of duplicity; additionally the figures that are available are incomplete and do not tell the whole tragic story. Last year alone 4200 very seriously wounded personnel were ‘casualty evacuated’ out of theatre to receive outstanding dedicated medical attention at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham. This figure does not include fatalities or indeed other less seriously injured people who were treated in situ initially before being returned to home shores. Neither are the figures for those who die during treatment after repatriation readily available. Many of the homeless people existing on our streets are there because their lives have been irrevocably altered during active service. No longer able to cope with ‘normal’ life they have been abandoned by the state and reduced to begging. It is understood that General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, bringing to the attention of Gordon Brown the plight of returning injured and damaged men and women, was told that any monetary help would not be provided by him. This smacks of a washing of hands by the Government. There is little or no Government support for the victims and their families who must rely on charities for assistance. Help for Heroes, SSAFA, The Royal British Legion, BLESMA are just a few of the many organisations delivering advice and support. Communities throughout the United Kingdom are forming local charities to help alleviate the suffering of their disabled citizens’ blighted lives. It is time for the Government to cease its reliance on charities and take responsibility for the ongoing care of the young men and women whose minds and bodies have been shattered in the service of their country.

Little has changed in the ensuing fourteen years. Veterans still rely on charity. There was enthusiastic talk about providing ex-military personnel with identity cards that would allow them swifter access to services.

Taken from https://www.questonline.co.uk/news/article/id-card-rollout-to-veterans-could-take-a-100-years-at-the-current-speed

“In 2019, ministers pledged to give every veteran an ID card to enable them quicker access to health, housing, and charity services.

As of November 2022, data from the Office for National Statistics reveals that only 56,000 ID cards have been handed out since 2018, despite there being more than 1.8 million veterans in England and Wales.

That could mean all those entitled to a card would, in theory, be waiting 125 years to receive it.”

The will to help is there – somewhere.

Meanwhile, the military charities compete with every other charity for donations to help those living in straitened circumstances.

 

 

Poor Gordon!

Oh dear - poor Gordon has put his foot in it! An unguarded remark in what he considered to be the privacy of his car has caused great offence. He described a voter as 'bigoted' - whether or not she is is not really the question. His private opinions should be expressed only after he has ensured that his microphone has been disconnected. He tried to blame his staff for arranging the meeting with her - but he should be responsible for his actions and words.He phoned the voter and apologised immediately he realised his gaffe but now has an even larger mountain to climb to convince the public that he is 'the man for the job.'
Poor Gordon! I bet this is not the rewarding job he thought it was going to be . . . but really . . . don't insult the voters - at least not in public hearing.
No doubt we'll all have our ears pinned back to catch any slips of the tongue from the other potential Prime Ministers. Congratulations to the many political commentators who have reported this event with straight faces! 

Pause for thought . . .

Arguably the two most powerful men in the country have not been elected to their posts. Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, became the leader almost by default. Did other members of the Labour Party decide not to pose a challenge to the leadership because on mature reflection they didn't fancy taking on the poisoned chalice left behind by Tony Blair?
The so-called mischief maker in chief, the 'Prince of Darkness' The Right Honourable The Lord Peter Mandelson PC* he of the convoluted title**, has been compared to Cardinal Richelieu in his pursuit of power and not found lacking. He fulfils the role of Deputy Prime Minister in all but name.
*PC - Privy Counsellor: Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the reigning monarch. Its members are mostly senior politicians, members and former members of the House of Commons or House of Lords.
**Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson,PC First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Lord President of the Council.

In the Red

Have you ever been overdrawn? Have you agreed an overdraft with your bank which legitimises being in the red? If or when you overreach that limit does your bank charge you?

It's not a pleasant feeling, knowing that you are incurring the displeasure of your bank manager. Actually it's more likely to be a computer that clocks the fact that you've overspent again and then a human is alerted and sends you a standard letter.

Well, imagine how Gordon Brown must be feeling. That huge piggy bank called the Treasury is empty; more than that it is overdrawn to the tune of around £17.5 billion. That's £17.5 billion. Time to pull in the horns, tighten the belt, hold on to the purse strings, count every penny, make £1 do the work of two and all those other useless and overdue bits of folk wisdom.

As Chancellor of the Exchequer GB was doing a grand job, or so we were told repeatedly by Tony Blair. Perhaps he knew the mess canny Gordon was getting into and maliciously allowed him to continue knowing that he'd get his just rewards once he became the unelected successor to the Prime Minister. Maybe he didn't know. Possibly he didn't care.

Whatever the circumstances of the downslide the net result is that Great Britain Limited is severely strapped. Don't worry though, GB – that's the man, not the country – will pull something out of the hat just as he has before, but it will undoubtedly be a short-term remedy to try and drag his government out of the mire and spray them with rosewater before the General Election.

Meanwhile the Civil Service has been guaranteed huge pensions that are on average six times the size of pensions of people in industry. Unlike industry pensions which are already funded by employees paying into their funds, Civil Service pensions are not already financed but are funded later on through tax revenues. Add to the equation the fact that Civil Servants can retire early, even at the age of fifty, on full pension. This creates an enormous problem for the country in years to come.

Gordon Brown has made matters worse by raiding funds in the private sector; he has taxed pension accounts leaving a problem for industry which faces reduced pensions. In not too many years from now there will be a very large aged poor population and how will they be supported?