‘Fact-driven’, ‘sober’: the ‘leader’ going to give us proper Net Zero while saving the NHS

 

On this gloomy day I confess to feeling somewhat despondent, thanks to the ‘News’. The bandwagon that is yon ‘royal’ P.I.T.A still trundles on, documented for the record and our delectation by Auntie B (link). There’s also the Sacred Cow – how could there be not! There’s one report though which graced the online front pages of both The Times and the DT, about an ex-minister. I’ll get to that below. 

The FT however went with a report on a ‘breakthrough’ in the NI protocol: “UK and EU make breakthrough in ‘constructive’ talks on N Ireland trade” – how lovely. Turns out that the two sides were talking about … more talks:

“London and Brussels have secured a breakthrough in the corrosive dispute over Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading relations, clearing the way for a new push to resolve the longstanding issue. […] Cleverly and Šefčovič will meet again on January 16, with EU and UK officials hoping the two sides could agree shortly afterwards to enter a final negotiating “tunnel” to resolve significant outstanding issues.” (link, paywalled)

Who knows what’s going to happen once they’re in that ‘tunnel’! That’s where rats fight, isn’t it … As for me: if the EU is ‘happy’, all warning signals are on flaming red. It’s not as if we haven’t been there before. I doubt if Cleverly will have a word with Frosty ,asking for advice. His mandarins certainly won’t.

Now to yon ex-minister, reported in both the DT (paywalled link) and The Times, in nearly identical fashion. The Times is however mentioning a detail lacking in the DT (this and all following emphases are mine):

“A former Conservative minister has quit the party and lavished praise on Sir Keir Starmer. Claire Perry O’Neill, who was part of Theresa May’s cabinet and an MP from 2010-19, said the Conservatives were irredeemably overcome by “ideology and self-obsession”. Perry O’Neill was the energy minister for the final two years of May’s government. When Boris Johnson became prime minister in 2019 he asked her to lead Britain’s preparations for the Cop26 summit and be its prospective president, but in February 2020 she was sacked and replaced by Alok Sharma.” (link, paywalled)

Blimey! She must be the only one who sees the Tories as ‘overcome by ideology’. Most of us have noticed for years that ‘Tory ideology’, by which she presumably means ‘conservatism’, is so lacking that we’re now talking of a ‘Uniparty’. It makes no difference if this ex-minister wear a blue or now red rosette.

As for Labour not being ‘overcome by ideology’: oh dear oh dear. Her reason for her joining Lab is risible: “Perry O’Neill […] praised Starmer for his “sober, fact-driven, competent political leadership”.(link, paywalled). Fact-driven? Oh yes – because Net Zero isn’t an overarching ideology, of course not:

“[…]she praises Labour’s approach, writing: “As one of the longest-serving UK energy ministers, I want to applaud Keir Starmerand the Labour Party for putting energy at the top of their proposed new government inbox.” Perry O’Neill continues: “Some of the latest policy proposals from the Labour Party, such as industrial support for key green technologies and a national low carbon wealth fund, look exciting and can only help the UK benefit from the economic opportunity driven by this great global pivot to a low carbon economic system . . . even more important is their proposed focus on a new way of governing, focused on measurable outcomes not short-term shout-outs.” (link, paywalled)

I’m sure Labour voters at least would like to know what Net Zero Starmer is going to do about the ever rising energy prices. We know what Sunak does: nothing except trying to shuffle money from A to B. Here though is the clincher, showing yet again that, all pious speeches notwithstanding, Starmer and his Party, Remainers in principle, are going to work for Rejoin:

“Perry O’Neill adds: “My former party’s often cavalier approach to business and academia coupled with a post-Brexit reluctance to strategically engage with our European neighbours has damaged our ability to deliver the energy system we need.” (link, paywalled)

I’ll refrain from pointing out the situation in the EU’s energy markets where a winter catastrophe is for the moment averted by the mild winter weather we all ‘enjoy’. Ms Perry O’Neill only wants Net Zero and she wants it now – or does she want the chair of COP of which she was ‘deprived’? See this:

“Perry O’Neill continues: “Building a low-carbon, secure, affordable energy system for the UK is an immense challenge that needs sober, fact-driven, competent political leadership. I sense that is exactly what we will get should Labour win the next general election.” (link, paywalled)

Yes, Net Zero will reign supreme, be it ‘sober and fact-driven’ or the Tory way which only isn’t so ‘fact-driven’ because Ms Perry O’Neill sez so, after having lost her COP chairwomanship. 

And finally: the poor, overburdened NHS. “NHS patients face being treated in temporary cabins set up in hospital car parks under plans to tackle the crisis in the health service.”, writes The Times (link, paywalled) – the horror! Leaving aside that these are only plans at the moment and are thus not precisely helping to alleviate the current dire straits of ambulances waiting while A & E departments are full, see the moan from a ‘spokesman’ – how male patriarchal is that! Don’t they have ‘spokeswomen’ nowadays? Here:

“A spokesman for the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said last night that using similar spaces for patients who needed A&E care had been “tried, tested and not worked many times over”, adding: “These are not effective and will not reduce ambulance waiting times. These only move corridor care into temporary structures built in car parks that become rapidly full.” (link, paywalled)

I can’t help but think that any plan will be rejected as ‘unworkable’ except ‘moar money, now!’Tthe Nightingale tents were ok during covid, so why are cabins now deemed to be ‘unworkable’? Never mind – there’s a flu epidemic on and ‘plans’ is what we need. Next, see this:

“[Barclay] was challenged by the Tory backbencher Sir Edward Leigh, who said: “They also have Covid and flu in France or Germany or Italy or Sweden or Holland. And winter after winter they cope far better. What is our long-term plan? We can’t leave the Labour Party to have a long-term plan and we don’t.” (link, paywalled)

Aww, Sir Edward Leigh – it’s because Labour has weaponised the NHS for decades and the Tories are too frit to do sensible things because it might cost them the next election, never mind that they had a dozen years to tackle this issue. Even a NHS potentate, a Ms Saffron Cordery, the interim chief executive of NHS Providers, points this out:

““We need to avoid a situation where the health service keeps being presented with a series of short-term initiatives to fix the NHS when what we really need is a long, hard look at what health and social care really needs over the longer term.” (link, paywalled)

It’s the NHS and people like her who ought to have worked things out, for decades, but clearly were and are incompetent to do so. I’m sure it’ll be different with ‘fact-driven’ Starmer at the helm! After all, Labour is ‘the party of the NHS’, the only party able to ‘save the Sacred Cow’, correct?

That’s all I have for today. Forgive me for becoming despondent. The prospect of ‘fact-driven’ Labour working for both Net Zero and the NHS at the same time fills me with deep gloom. Take care and enjoy life for as long as you can.



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