‘Rise in cost of living’: so much gentler that brutal ‘inflation’!

 

 

Now they start squealing – the covid-obsessed ministers, the ‘precautionary’ Lockdown fanatics, the ‘save the planet’ green extremists! Btw – where are those ‘extinction rebellion’ nuisances? Are the roads too wet, is the weather too uncomfortable to glue themselves to roads and buildings? Perhaps they’re all obediently self-isolating, just as a million other Brits are doing.

Kicking off, let’s look at the headline gracing the DM this morning, telling us that ‘a MILLION Brits’ are self-isolating (link), coining the latest covid expression: “covid chaos”. We’re given a horror scenario for the country going back to work – or rather: not going back. Well, that’s what happens when people dutifully and obediently self-isolate. Shouldn’t the covid MSM have expected this, given their ‘omigawd Omicron’ scare graphs?

There’s no reason for us peasants outside the M25 to worry. Government is working on ‘a solution’. Dutifully following Kipling’s poem ‘Tommy’, the covid empire has a plan: call in the military: “it’s Tommy this and Tommy that …”, again. The Times, always supplied with titbits from ‘government sources’, writes:

“Cabinet ministers have been told to draw up plans for when sectors in their brief will need military support caused by the unprecedented level of key workers forced into self-isolation.” (link, paywalled)

You wonder who ‘told Cabinet ministers’ to draw up such plans? I suggest it’s our beloved mandarins – read on to see why but in passing take note of the covid-apocalyptic language:

“The pace at which Omicron, albeit a milder strain of Covid-19, is spreading through the UK is threatening to wipe out more key workers than ever before during the pandemic, government sources have said.” (link, paywalled)

Excuse me, but doesn’t ‘wipe out’ mean they’re dead? Note that ‘government sources’ said that. Then we get a bit more particular:

“A senior government source said: “[…] departments have been tasked to look at their plans afresh in light of different characteristics of previous strings of virus.” Ministers in each department that includes critical infrastructure and vital supply chains have been asked to submit plans for the point at which staff shortages in their workforce will require the help of the armed forces.” (link, paywalled)

Delving a bit deeper into that report, there’s incontrovertible evidence that this is a PR ‘leak’ to show that Whitehall is ‘on the ball’ Never mind that such plans must have existed already a year ago! Now it’s different, now it’s ‘Omicron’ and now it’s all going to be properly, bureaucratically tied up:

“The new contingency plans have been conducted to ensure that the armed forces will be allocated as efficiently as possible and prioritised to those most in need and to the most important of industries in the event of multiple requests. “We didn’t want different departments relying on the same Maca support,” a Whitehall insider said.” (link, paywalled)

‘Maca’, btw, isn’t a nice herbal remedy, it’s ‘Military Aid to Civil Authorities’ and has been set up in 2015 (link). It’s good though that ‘a Whitehall insider’ has told The Times about their fabulous new contingency plans. Isn’t it wonderful how all those WFH mandarins have the wellbeing of us in their hearts!

This is the same Whitehall, full of ‘sources’ and ‘insiders’, which has created and pushed the conditions for this ‘covid chaos’, from the shambles that is LFT kits to resisting the reduction of quarantine terms to five days. It’s the same Whitehall which has gone green regardless, leading to the coming, eye-watering increase on home fuel bills:

“In a sign that the financial squeeze on consumers could dominate the start of this year, 20 Tories urged the prime minister to cut VAT on energy bills and remove the environmental levy. Others blamed spiralling costs for a poll showing him far behind Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, in crucial “red wall” constituencies. Energy bills, interest rates, taxes and inflation are all due to rise this year.” (link, paywalled)

Ah – Starmer! He and the Westminster MSM are carefully not mentioning that most of those energy costs are due to Labour policies which the Tory governments since 2010 did nothing about, not least because many were based on EU Directives. Note also that ‘inflation’ is mentioned, despite the current MSM attitude to only speak of ‘rising cost of living’. That sounds so much nicer, don’t you think?

Back to energy costs: Ross Clark in his analysis for the DM (link) gives chapter and verse, albeit he’s very careful not to mention which government was in power at the time those laws were created. 

Talking about ‘red walls’, there’s another nice little analysis in the DM (link), with a splendid map showing the regions worst hit by rising energy costs: NI, Northern England, Wales, Scotland. Let’s not ponder the fact that the much higher incomes in London and the South East might have skewed those averages just a bit. Let’s instead wonder why Labour, the creator of such misery, isn’t held to account. Might the returning MPs ask Starmer to support scrapping Labour’s green legislation, ”for the sake of the people”? I’m not holding my breath. 

And finally, like the first green shoots of snowdrops, the ‘rising cost of living’ has made it into the MSM. Here’s a dire catalogue:

“The figure for healthy fresh produce was up by 3 per cent in December compared with a year ago and retailers warned that there will be more increases.The rise, the fastest rate since April 2013, comes at the same time as households face big increases in the cost of heat and light with annual energy bills predicted to soar by £500-£800. And the screw is set to be turned by increases in national insurance, council tax, rail fares and mortgage repayments. At the same time, the cost of household goods, such as furniture and tech, is going up amid the ongoing container shipping crisis and delivery difficulties.” (link)

To make quite sure we plebs know who is to blame, the British Retail Consortium, fierce Remainers, said that:

“[…] labour shortages are a key factor in higher prices and called for government action. It has been arguing for greater freedom to bring in workers, including HGV drivers, from overseas.” (link)

Yay! Brexit! Not covid, not green cr*appery, not lockdowns and interruptions to manufacturing, no, it’s Brexit. Let’s not mention, shall we, the dire economic and covid straits in which EU countries find themselves. Let’s just wait for the Remain MSM to pick up the ball and run with ‘Rejoin!’ even as inflation is happening in the EU as well. 

Perhaps Carrie might have a word with her hubby about the price inflation for fresh food. After all, aren’t we peasants told to stop eating junk food and ‘eat fresh, five-a-day’? Isn’t there a nice new ‘Save the NHS – lose weight!’ campaign being planned? How – when we have no money to ‘eat fresh vegetables’, when we can’t afford to heat our homes, never mind recharging all those smartphones? 

What a brilliant start to 2022: rising inflation and covid chaos. Who could possibly have predicted that! 

 

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