Johnson Resigns, Climate Revenge, Queues at Dover

 Johnson finally resigns, confirming he was the worst Prime Minister for a century

On July the 7th, after saying for months he would not step down, Boris Johnson finally accepted that he could no longer be a Remainer and had no choice but to go. Following over 50 resignations in his team, including most of his cabinet, I guess it didn't take a genius to work out his time was up. Although Johnson was the last one to recognise it!

He will be remembered as one of the worst Prime Ministers in the history of the UK. Here is a summary of his achievements:

• Late pandemic lockdown in March 2020 (weeks later than other European Countries) leading to tens of thousands of avoidable deaths
• Fasted roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccines of any G20 country
• First Prime Minister to get a fixed penalty fine whilst in office (Partygate)
• Successful Brexit Campaign leading to a higher inflation rate than our European neighbours (The Centre for Economic Policy Research estimates Brexit added 6% to food prices in two years)
• Responsible for the departure of the last 3 Prime Ministers (Cameron, May and Johnson)
• Repeatedly lied to the House of Commons on various topics (Partygate, Crime rates - he said down 14%, truth was up 14%, Number of refugees settled - he said UK had taken more that any other European country, truth was the opposite, etc. etc.)
• According to The Economist, Johnson leaves the UK with "the highest inflation in the G7" and forecast to "have the slowest growth in the G7 in 2023"

The shortest reign and the greatest number of resignations

We are Killing our Planet: Climate Revenge

We have been seeing the highest temperatures on record across Europe in July. We were in Corfu last month and the temperatures of over 30C are not usually reached until August. Back in the UK, July the 19th was the hottest day ever in many parts of the country. Our house reached 27C indoors and 38C outdoors. In France, Spain and Greece and many other parts of Europe, we are seeing forest fires wreaking severe damage and destroying people's livelihoods. The London Fire Brigade has had to deal with climate related fires and have had their busiest day since WW2.

Unfortunately this summer's heatwave is not just a freak event; almost all of the record breaking temperatures have been in the last few years, meaning our abuse of the environment has finally come back for revenge. The UK government's response to high fuel prices is to hand out cash to help people pay their bills. A responsible government would instead use those billions of pounds to help insulate our housing stock. This way people would benefit from lower energy consumption for years to come rather than just a reduction this year. The short sightedness and neglect for our planet are what we have come to expect from many of our leaders across the world. Even in Germany where they ditched their nuclear power a few years ago, they are having to burn coal, the dirtiest of the lot, to make up for their shortfall. 

The German government is now aiming for a 15% reduction in energy usage to help alleviate their utter dependance on Russian energy (which the Russians are failing to deliver).  One German city has switched off hot water in public places to help achieve this goal; cold showers at swimming pools and gyms, cold water in washrooms. Okay during a hot summer but what happens this winter?

We are doing so little to stop the damage inflicted on our planet that we need to get used to extreme conditions and major damage that an angry climate wreaks on our daily lives. Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish Prime Minister is recommending that people stop wearing ties to help reduce our need for air conditioning. That should go a long way to help (sarcasm warning).

July 19th 2022. 40C across parts of England.

In fact, high fossil fuel prices are just what we need to get the world off these polluting substances that poison our planet and hasten the switch to renewables. No building should be constructed without very high standards of insulation and renewable energies as standard.

A study by WWF and ScottishPower has found that installing green technologies could reduce energy bills by up to £1,878 a year and cut home carbon emissions by more than 95% over the lifetime of their installation. So why doesn't the government create strong incentives for current homeowners to do it and compel housebuilders to do it?

Because it's not a populist measure.

Quote for the Month

"Who would ever have imagined that removing Free Movement of People as part of the UK's Brexit deal, would lead to long queues at the borders?"

Adam Sidbury July 25th 2022 (Expert in sarcasm)

As schools break up, the queues at the ports are longer than ever (up to 15 hours), thanks to new post-brexit checks. The British have been blaming the French and the French blame the British.