"A victory that fell short of a coronation
"Good morning, and a big thank you to the indefatigable members of the Conservative party, who have completed their solemn biannual duty of selecting a new prime minister on behalf of the country while so many others laze about checking the gas meter.
The latest fresh face in Downing Street is one Liz Truss, the former Liberal democrat, former remainer, former CND campaigner and former opponent of government handouts who will begin her rotation at the helm of a Conservative pro-Brexit administration by giving her nuclear weapon instructions and setting out a multi billion pound plan to help out with energy costs “I know that our beliefs resonate with the British people,” she said yesterday. Some of them must."
An early morning quote from Archie Bland of the Guardian. Lunchtime I listened to all the small firms who will probably go bust due to sky high energy costs. One could weep, that someone so ineffectual as Truss could come to power. But there again we now live in the Age of Lies, so I am sure she will pull something out of the hat.
Unfortunately, I think it is going to be something pretty bad. Andrew said something about the systems need changing, not just this country but worldwide, then i went and read Why No Politician is Willing to tell us the Real Energy Problem on Our Infinite World blog. It was not a happy read! maybe it won't happen.
On facebook this morning someone put on the old war time recipes, obviously expecting the worst outcome. Then there are people around the blog world frightened by the withdrawal of cash and everyone having to use a bank card to pay for everything. Cash is definitely being phased out, how long it will take I don't know, perhaps five years. But stringent protection needs to be put in place of bank accounts and (well I never) we need constant power supply for transactions to pass through the system.
Yesterday one problem did pop up when going to pay for a pizza at Towneley Park. 'Only Cards', but the little gizmo the woman offered to my daughter's card refused to work, probably due to the tree cover. So she had to walk round to find a reception point. One up for the trees!
But Joe Lycett made me laugh this morning, why did the BBC ask him on to Laura Kuensberg new show - satire is not dead yet...nor is the BBC
The reason I hoped right from the start that misstrust would win is that she seemed the most objectionable of them all, and the best way to get the nasty liars voted out, but if no one is willing or able to address the real energy problem then would the alternatives be any better?
ReplyDeleteI knew you were doing that Tasker I was just joking. Her smirking face is everywhere, but of course she can no more answer the problem of rising costs than any of the conservative party. So we have been led a dance of leadership to distract us from the real issues. Funnily enough I think she should have taken Churchill as her model, because we are all really in the mire.
DeleteThe unfortunate Ms Truss has inherited a poison chalice that would be a challenge for any new incumbent. In my humble opinion the current inflation issues have their roots in the past 30+ years of government and EU incompetence. As a country, we should be getting a substantial part of our electricity from nuclear power by now (the best "low carbon" option as it actually provides power when needed and not at the whim of the weather) independent of gas price/supply issues. We should not have let ourselves become so dependent on imports in so many areas, keeping jobs and tax receipts in our own economy. This is particularly true of gas supplies, we have both North Sea and onshore gas (from fracking - the technology that had given the US major new supplies and a measure of insulation from world prices). However the insanities of the Net Zero obsession have served to severely reduce investment in new supplies, exacerbating shortages consequent on Russian retaliation to sanctions.
ReplyDeleteWe have somewhat different world views Will, especially about energy. I think fracking in this country is a no-no, especially as it will take years as would nuclear power, which surprisingly I am not wholly against. But we are where we are, and though Truss has mentioned capping energy bills, the problem is that there is not enough energy around for us all. And as you say Liz Truss has inherited a poisoned chalice.
DeleteI read the bit you linked to until I got to the part about what was mentioned in the Book of Revelations!
ReplyDelete'Frown' Sue, which bit of the Revelations I did not see it. Joe Lycett is a family favourite, not necessarily mine of course. I was just picking up on the satire of the day. Just realised what you meant.... Yes an American religious tone in Infinite world. I was just picking up on the facts there but as you point out, a religious view, with the end of the world's connotations should be taken with a pinch of salt. Well spotted!
DeleteRaised eyebrows here too Thelma - on the Our Infinite World blog. My goodness, that has cheered me up no end reading that - now I know the truth and we may as well go and dig our own graves now by the sound of it!
DeleteIn my defence I only read her about once a month, and probably ignored the religion but now I have depressed two people, do you think she should be removed? The only problem I now see is because she has been drawn attention to everyone is going to read her!! The dog is going mad as well, not only double incontinence but dementia seems to be setting in to.
DeletePretty pathetic speech on the steps of Downing Street I thought.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more Pat, short but not sweet and more promises of getting us back to work. hmmm
DeleteJoe Lycett is good, eh?
ReplyDeleteHis po-faced assertion of right-wingedness, told me one thing that is right in this world. Satire is still the best for bringing down the pomposity of our leaders.
DeleteFrom one of the links in your blog you might be interested in this:
ReplyDeletehttps://surplusenergyeconomics.wordpress.com/
Needs a long read Will, but a bleak outlook. So called growth relies on energy and energy relies on energy and there is not enough to go round. But also noted is that there is no mention of climate disaster which is happening because of our fossil fuel reliance. to quote...
Delete"The reality, though, is that this is most unlikely to happen. The expansion of renewables depends upon the use of enormous quantities of materials including steel, concrete, copper, cobalt and lithium. These material requirements can only be made available by the use of legacy energy from fossil fuels."