The Worst Prime Minister ever, UK Crippled by Brexit, A Long War

The May local elections in UK

It is now clear to me that Teflon Boris is going to hold on to his position until he is forced out. The Tories results in the local elections were poor but not disastrous. Unless the opposition can really pull their socks up, I can't see sufficient desire for change in the public currently. Another issue is that the Tories can't agree who would be able to replace Boris and do a better job (although doing a better job that Boris sounds a simple ask to me).

The Worst Prime Minister ever

I agree 100% with Alistair Campbell who said recently on breakfast TV that Boris Johnson is the worst Prime Minister this country has ever had.

I did a search for 'worst prime minster ever uk'

Here are some facts:

• Boris Johnson is the first Prime Minister to break the law whilst in office
• The laws that he broke were his own governments laws that he himself announced to the nation on live television 
• No 10 Downing Street has more fines relating to coronavirus breaches than any other address in the UK 
• Johnson repeatedly lied to Parliament and to the British people, saying there were no rules broken and no parties
• The factual accounts of the parties include references to people vomiting, siting on top of each other, crowding into rooms together, buying and consuming large quantities of alcoholic drinks, some of which were split on papers and walls. And these parties were very regular (weekly) occurrences during the nationwide lockdowns imposed by the Johnson government. During this period, ordinary people were prevented from being with their loved ones as they died or going to their funerals.
• The £350 million weekly Brexit Bonus has turned out to be a weekly cost of £173m, or £1m per hour to the country
• The rhetoric on breaking the Northern Ireland Protocol, agreed with the EU as part of Boris's 'Oven-Ready Deal' is at risk of turning the UK into an unreliable, untrustworthy international partner. The UK used to be highly regarded internationally and is gradually becoming a laughing stock.

He should immediately be thrown out by his party. He won't be, but I am relying on the British Public to show what they think of this behaviour at forthcoming by elections and at the next General Election.

Crippled by Brexit

Our illustrious political leaders are blaming the pandemic and the war in Ukraine for the UK's fast rising prices. Whilst of course there two factors are a major influence, they fail to explain why price rises in the UK have so far been 4 to 6% higher than in other neighbouring countries.

According to Catherine Mann at the Bank of England, by the end of 2021 consumer prices were around 4% higher than in otherwise comparable countries that did not experience Brexit. Other studies have shown higher discrepancies. The graph below shows clearly how UK prices have rocketed since Brexit.

And then there's Northern Ireland. Boris Johnson signed the Brexit Protocol for Northern Ireland with the EU. Either he had no idea what he was signing, or he understood it and signed with the intention of violating it as soon as it was live. Either way is not acceptable for a British Prime Minister. It will lead to an accelerated departure of NI from the UK to join Ireland - if we are lucky - and renewed fighting if not.

The Economist Magazine

Here's an extract from an article in City AM:

"Remember the Brexit bus promise: ‘We send the EU £350 million a week. Let’s fund our NHS instead. Vote leave’? The truth increasingly seems that quitting the European Union means there is £173m a week less to spend on the NHS, according to calculations based on recent ONS and UK Government data.  Weighing up the cost of EU membership versus lost EU exports since Brexit, Brexit has cost the UK £9bn a year, or around £173m a week, about £25m per day, or just over £1m every single hour."

Boris Brexit Bus - Remember his promises?

The Russian invasion of Ukraine

It's now clear that this is going to be a long war, with much loss of life still to come. What is not clear is how it could end as neither side currently has the slightest intention of giving up. As the West steps up its arms provision to Ukraine, it seems this could go on for a very long time.

Meanwhile, the knock on effects around the world are devastating:

• Food shortages and starvation is now widely expected in some African and other poor countries
• The huge jump in the cost of fuel and the impact this has on the cost of everyday items is having a significant impact even in rich countries
• New alliances are being forged with Russia - such as the recent joint Russian-Chinese military exercise whilst President Biden was visiting South Korea
• Globalisation is in retreat with countries looking for self sufficiency and this will destroy many of the benefits brought to the world in recent decades

"The Russian automaker Avtotor announced a lottery for free 10-acre plots — and the chance to buy seed potatoes — so that its employees could grow their own food amid “the difficult economic situation.” The company announced the giveaway after Western sanctions hobbled production at its assembly plant in Kaliningrad." New York Times May 27th. Who said sanctions aren't working?

I made a small contribution to help the people evacuating Ukraine; I collected about 20 suitcases, rucksacks and holdalls from my street for a charity that runs minibuses to Ukraine. They go down with supplies and drive back with people.

Quote for the Month

"I don't believe that the big men, the politicians and the capitalists alone, are guilty of the war. Oh no, the little man is just as guilty, otherwise the peoples of the world would have risen in revolt long ago! There's in people simply an urge to destroy, an urge to kill, to murder and rage, and until all mankind, without exception, undergoes a great change, great wars will be waged, everything that has been built up, cultivated, and grown will be destroyed and disfigured, after which mankind will have to begin all over again."

Anne Frank