Speaking to voters

My family have been depressed. This is because of the results of the elections yesterday.

My daughter was a vote counter and enjoyed her work helping democracy.

Personally, I expected things to be worse for Labour. When it comes to the next General Election, if it is held in 2029, tactical voting will help to stop ReformUK from being elected.  It was tactical voting which meant that Starmer, despite a low share of the vote, won such a big majority in the last General Election.  These elections mean there is a huge database of information which many will use to keep ReformUK out of office. 

But the most important thing to do is to explain to voters, in soundbites, why ReformUK will make life harder for voters.

Two things that can be said is that there were few small boat crossings before Brexit, and can someone explain how our lives have been improved by Brexit.

As for Labour, they should not change leader now. Doing so will be stupid considering how things are going to get worse due to Trumpflation. 

Fertilisers and what the lack of chemical ones did to Sri Lanka

In 2021, the government of Sri Lanka banned the use of chemical fertilisers. As a result, crop yields fell and food prices went up.  As usual, it was the poorest who were hit hardest by the rises. 

The attack by Israel and the USA has prevented chemical fertilisers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. This means that the whole world will experience what Sri Lanka did in 2021. But this will not be just one nation, this will mean price rises on a global scale. But it will not take effect now, it will take effect after the next harvests. 

While Trump will deny this, it will be an example of Trumpflation. And voters across the globe will not be happy. 

I voted

Today I voted.  I voted Labour.  It will not make much difference as Labour are facing annihilation across the nation (other than Northern Ireland where there are no elections).  There are many who feel that a change of leadership will bring about a change in the fortunes of Labour, but while communication of the Labour message was terrible before, it appears that since Morgan McSweeney has left the team, that the message that Labour is sharing is being told better.

My message to those who want a change of leadership is that they are insane to think that a change of leader will change the media bias against Labour.  Most the media dislike Labour and are also turning on The Green Party.  It is interesting to compare the interview on BBC Today of Nigel Farage (at 2:16 on the link) to that of Zack Polanski (again at 2:26 but on this link).  It was right to challenge Polanski on antisemitism, it was wrong not to do so with Nigel Farage. 

Returning to Labour, there is the fact, or my opinion, that the markets do not want a change of leader.  The economy is going to be under strain due to Trumpflation.  We do not want to make the cost of borrowing worse by changing leader.   Doing so means less money for public services with more going to lenders.

In summary, things are going to get worse even if Labour changes leader, and things would have been worse if Labour had not been in charge. 

The Devil Wears Prada

First of all, family.  Our daughter is back.  I worked this morning and at lunch, collected her from the station.  We were all happy to see her, but I think that our dog showed it the most and for once, did not ignore her.  

We spent time chatting with each other and later, watched The Devil Wears Prada.  We are thinking about watching it on the weekend.  My son left first, but he has exams coming up, and my wife left later, she having done a lot of exercise today.

Watching it with my daughter was useful as she did point out things to me which I had missed before.  It is a good film, and I have no style or sense of fashion. I look forwards to watching the sequel.  

Outcome

My wife and I watched this film.  As a film, it was interesting, but I doubt I will watch it again.  The best character in it was his lawyer, notably for the clients he had represented in the past.  It was also interesting to watch a film where the main character has more awards than the actor playing him (which I was surprised to find out). The Guardian rated it three out of five, and I would do the same, if I was in a generous mood.  It was lovely to watch it with my wife.  This is not a film I will be watching again.  But it was a relaxing end to the bank holiday weekend. 

Labour, Mandelson, Starmer and transparency

I realised that I had forgotten to post about this. Last month, there was a call for a Parliamentary investigation into the appointment of Mandelson as Ambassador to the Court of King Trump. Labour MP’s defeated it, but I think that they were wrong to oppose this. 

If Labour have been honest, and I thought this was the case beforehand, then transparency and accountability are good things. Labour showed this before when they promised to release files relating to his appointment. Something many who have forgotten and therefore has not been mentioned in the numerous discussions on the matter. 

Voting against this implies that there is more to hide on the matter.  I do not like the way this looks.

Soft power and The Royal Family

I have been outspoken with my support for The Royal Family. I do not want an elected head of state, as I would much rather have King Charles in charge as the democratically elected alternative would be Nigel Farage.

Many have refused to accept the soft power that The Royal Family brings, but the state visit to the USA showed the importance of this.  

The Monarchy has flaws, not just Prince Andrew, but the way it did not speak out in defence of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, when double standards were shown to her, something many consider a sign of racism.