Let’s be rude today and talk about money – our money. Every evening the Speccie sends me an email newsletter. Having seen yesterday’s subject I expected some explosive headlines this morning. I was sorely disappointed. The point of yon newsletter was that the PM was addressing the ‘cost of living crisis’ in cabinet, in an extraordinary way:

“Johnson was so keen to make sure that everyone knew what he was saying at a supposedly confidential cabinet meeting today that he had his words pre-briefed to the press. His message was that he wanted his ministers to look at ‘innovative’ ways to cut costs for families.” (Speccie email)

And what did the paper-buying reading public get to see this morning? “Sex pest”, “Sunak to cut taxes” and the DM not going to speak with the Speaker about that earth-shattering allegation that Ms Angela Rayner was ‘doing a Sharon Stone’ on the PM. Here’s the compilation. Back to the Speccie’s email which hinted at the ongoing skulduggery in both cabinet and Westminster MSM newsrooms:

“[…] this [looking at innovative ways] is another way of saying that there’s no more money coming from the Treasury, as there is a cost of governing crisis as well. She quotes one senior government figure saying: ‘It shouldn’t just be all on Rishi to hand out dough.’ Johnson is reportedly impatient that one policy, to relax ratios in childcare, go ahead as quickly as possible. This would be a real 0 to 60 move given this idea has been floating around government for a decade: it was first mooted by Liz Truss when she was a minister in the education department.” (Speccie email)

Isn’t it nice how the PM suddenly cares about the cost of childcare! There’s another item reported by the ‘i’ newspaper: extending the MOT from one to two years. Ah. That’ll help! Note that some anonymous ‘senior figure’ thinks Sunak shouldn’t be made to look good by allowing him to give us back some of our money.

Did you note the reference to Miz Truss? She is on this morning’s DT front page, next to their ‘Sunak under pressure’ top story, but not in regard to child care:

“Liz Truss will call for an increase in defence spending on Wednesday, saying the West has overseen a “generation of underinvestment” which led to the invasion of Ukraine. In what is billed by aides as a major foreign policy speech, the Foreign Secretary will say that the traditional Nato target of spending two per cent of GDP on defence should be a minimum. She will also underscore her support for Nato’s expansion by allowing Sweden and Finland to join, as well as vowing to “double down” on UK military support for Ukraine.” (paywalled link)

Amazing, isn’t it: at the same time as we face increasing inflation, at the same time as the PM tries to show his heart for us peasants by letting the MSM know beforehand that he’ll have a confidential Cabinet meeting on inflation, at the same time as Sunak is ‘under pressure’ about handing back some of the dosh he took from us, Miz Truss is demanding that more money be spent on weapons!

Since “we” cannot do without acknowledging ‘our guilt’, Miz Truss’ novel explanation for Putin’s actions is that ‘a generation of underinvestment’ led to ‘the invasion of the Ukraine’. Interesting … but does she ask why this ‘underinvestment’ happened, not just here but across NATO? Of course not. After all, she’s of the generation accustomed to ‘have it all’, so “we” were having it all by stuffing more money into the Sacred Cow, into bennies for ‘poor refugees’ and on ‘international aid’, for which Miz Truss was responsible, if my memory doesn’t deceive me.

Far more interesting though is the fact that she is calling for Defence spending, not Mr Ben Wallace who is, after all, the Defence Secretary. Being a cynical old cow, I see this as her jockeying for pole position of the two potential Johnson replacements on the back of us taxpaying plebs. The next quote gives the Truss game away:

“I want to live in a world where free nations are assertive and in the ascendant,” Ms Truss will say as she maps out her policy vision in the wake of the Russia invasion.” (paywalled link)

‘Free Nations’ like e.g. the Salomon Islands who are working on a Treaty with China have the Western world, from USA to Australia, come down on the like a ton of bricks when they try to be assertive. ‘Free Nations’ like India receive visits from the USA and our own PM when they look like being not sufficiently ‘assertive’ against Russia …

Why do we need Truss’  ‘policy visions’ when we have to struggle with the financial consequences of this whole cabinet’s inane spending? Why do none of the ministers, never mind the peacocking MPs, ask for an immediate audit before one more penny is spent on anything when we read in The Times that:

“Suitcases filled with cash from taxpayer-backed Covid loans were seized at the border as people tried to smuggle them out of the country, […] Border force officials have stopped people at airports across Britain “carrying large amounts of money suspected from coronavirus bounce-back loans”, a Home Office source said.” (link, paywalled)

Interesting, isn’t it, that the fraudsters didn’t trust the international banking services but went back to smuggling out cash in suitcases! The sums are eye-watering even though they may only be the tip of the fraud iceberg

“It is estimated that as much as £17 billion of the £47 billion the government spent on bounce-back loans for businesses will never be paid back and about £4.9 billion of that is suspected to have been lost to fraud.” (link, paywalled)

And our loyal non-opposition worries about Partygate, fines and Ms Rayner …! Will they ask Johnson to explain the huge waste of our money and demand a proper accounting? I somehow doubt it.

I leave you with the news that Russia has cut off the gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria. How dare he! After all, it’s perfectly ok for Poland to declare that they won’t pay in roubles as demanded by Russia. In any case, they have 76% of gas reserves so why worry! There will be gas coming from Norway and LNG from the USA, we’re told, and anyway it’s Polish policy to stop their country and the whole of the EU from importing Russian fossil fuels:

“However, Warsaw has repeatedly called for an immediate EU embargo on the import of Russian fossil fuels, in order to starve Putin’s war machine of much-needed funds. […] Poland has vowed to stop imports of Russian oil, gas and coal by the end of the year. Warsaw’s contract with Gazprom is due to expire at the end of the year.” (paywalled link)

Has anyone explained to the Polish government that there will be more EU countries needing Norwegian gas and that thus the price will rise? Has anyone explained to our Busines secretary that it’s not about how little fossil fuels “we” import from Russia but about prices inevitably rising on the international fuel markets from which we do import our fuels? 

It’s all too difficult for our politicians on both sides of the green benches and for our Mandarins. None of that lot has an inkling of how to live on a tight budget as more and more of us have to do. Sums like £17bn or £4bn – lost, gone, vanished – look so small because the ‘bn’ is easily overlooked. Surely people can cope with paying £17 more here and £4 there! These are small numbers, aren’t they, and Johnson sez he’ll give us ‘innovative solutions’ to cope with inflation.

The Westminster cabal ought to thank Putin on their knees for providing them with the perfect ‘get out of jail free’ card: inflation, fuel prices, more tax for more weapons are all his fault, not theirs. No proper accounting is needed.

Aren’t we lucky to have such competent politicians: economically illiterate but with ‘visions’. Shouldn’t people who have visions urgently see their doctor?



Print Friendly, PDF & Email