Myth and Reality: You cannot have a strong position without strong Armed Forces

The Romans said 'Vis Pacem para Bellum'. Politicians like to walk arond making impressive speeches to sound powerful and decisive when in reality they don't have the power to back up what they are saying. 

The now former British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace MP as a military man knew full well that having barely 75,000 military personnel capable of engaging in a military conflict was not the foundation for a globalised military conflict. 

Another reality that has become increasingly apparent is that Britain 'multiculturalism and diversity' does not guarantee a nationwide responde in case of war. Amongst certain ethnic groups, allegiance to Britain is falling.

An entire segment of British political agents has been undermining Britain in the worst way possible. No sooner than a Conservative Politician mentioned the possible return of National Service, the said politicians went on the attack criticizing the idea of bringing back National Service.

Imagine the scenario of Britain being engaged directly in a military conflict in Europe. Imagine the case of national conscription to be engaged directly in a military conflict. What percentage of the national population will actually be willing to join in the war effort by sending their young to the battlefield?

Multiculturalists and Diversity promoters are underming Britain as a country. What Britain needs is a unifyfing force that those on the left of the political world totally reject.

One could argue that having such a military conflict would strengthen Britain by helping Britain to get rid of Multiculturalism and Diversity. With loyalties tested, it will become apparent who is and who is not on Britain's side.

If any of those coming to Britain to settle down in Britain were to be told that they would be required to join the war effort, would they be willing to settle down in Britain?

Birmingham and Slough are clear examples of how unfit the Labour Party is for government.

Slough bankrupt. Birmingham bankrupt. Liverpool under special measures. This is what the Labour Party has done in government. Corruption, mismanagement, misuse of public funds, and unpayable taxes including Council Tax and now with the addition of ULEZ and parking permits. 

Keir Starmer and the Labour Party Cabinet can claim that they have solutions that they clearly do not have. When asked on the streets, the inhabitants of Birmingham are talking about leaving Birmingham and such is the level of disarray.

As if this wasn't enough, extraordinarily high number of migrants including illegal migrants, are loading local authorities, regional authorities and government with spiralling levels of indebtedness. People who arrive in the country without any documentation and without even knowing the language of the country and practically no skills are occupring local facilities and turning local communities into a living hell. 

Local inhabitants are taking to the streets but those who are supposed to represent them are not listening. Based on ideological stances, elected representatives care more about illegal migrants than they care about those who got them elected.  

Caroline Dinenage MP: news show that a Member of Parliament misrepresented the committee she heads in Parliament

 

A witchhunt promoted by a Conservative Member of Parliament that despite being the head of a Parliamentary Committee reportedly did not bother to inform other members of the Committee about her intentations to send what is now official correspondence used to target a former BBC presenter.

In a country in which we assume that it is up to the Judiciary to deliver justice, Members of Parliament and Mass Media have given themselves the power to accuse, judge and convict members of the public that they do no like. 

Not even a formal accusation has been launched against a former BBC presenter. No arrest. No charges. No trial. Regardless of that, Members of Parliament and Mass Media are trying to publicly destroy the presenter.

You might dislike Russell Brand. You might totally disagree with Russell Brand, but if what is being reported about a breakdown of Parliamentary code of ethics is true, Caroline Dinenage MP should resign as a Member of Parliament and another by-election should be called. And what about newspapers that print scandalous stories based on thin air, rumour and innuendo? Mass Media like to define themselves as defender of freedom, something they very cleary are not. They are just scandal makers that take every opportunity to launch attacks against those that cannot defend themselves. Those accusing Russell Brand are visibly cowards that do not dare to show their faces and are happy to act with total impunity and anonimity.

With do remember that the BBC did to Cliff Richard, turning his life into a living hell. Cliff Richard took on the BBC and won against what was visibly a scandal making exercise. 

 

Environment: Rishi Sunak - politics and realism - what we would like to do, what we can do

 

As people walk away from religion, new cults arise and the environment has become a cult and the messiahs of such cult don't have to be in charge of making hard decisions that need to be made to keep countries going.

I would like to have a mansion in Monaco, a very big yatcht, round the year vacations around the world in picturesque places while staying in six star hotels. Can I do it? Can you do it? The vast majority of us cannot.

As Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak has the duty to bring us down to earth, to stop dreaming impossible dreams, to deal with reality and reality tells that that the mount of electricity and infra-structure needed for a radical transformation of society to get rid of all fossil fuel consumption is beyond our means. The National Grid with all the additional energy supplies proved by existing sources cannot cope because electricity demands vastly surpass whatever we can produce. Not even nuclear energy can provide such enormous supply of energy and what ordinary people should become aware of is the fact that having an electric car will increase your taxes and your electricity bills since in vast majority of cases you will have to plug your vehicles to the same energy infrastructure used to provide electricity to your homes. Taxes on electric vehicles and on the use of electric vehicles are already rising for a very simple reason. The taxes applied to fossil fuel vehicles will be applied to electric vehicles. In London of all places, consumers have been hit by a whole package of new taxes. They were paying Congestion Charge, parking costs, added to the costs of running vehicles and now they will have to pay for ULEZ, and to park cars in front of their own homes. On top of that, the parking costs paid by private companies to provide services to other companies and residential properties are going to be added to bills for delivery, house refurbishments, and other basic services. So it is a never ending cycle of paying tax, tax and more tax that will exhaust consumers. Regardless of any income increases, taxes are eating away private incomes and this includes pension payments that people receive when they retire.

So delaying the implementation of measures that are beyond the scope of reality is a very sensible thing to do and this is exactly what the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has just announced. The messiahs of the new environment cult can say whatever they want. They don't have to make harsh decisions. They don't have to be accountable. Some like to constantly talk about impending doom and live in a world of their own. They constantly talk about what they would like to do, but they never talk about the economic and social costs of what they are proposing.

 

Ukraine: Time to start translating what politicians actually mean before we cross the point of no return

Politicians hide their real intentions by making statements that sound appealing but point the world in the wrong direction.

Words like equality, fairness, and many others like them can be used to hide the intention to carry out criminal activities. 'We cannot afford it' - translation: we can afford it, but we simply don't want to pay for it. 'That is impossible', 'we wouldn't do that'. Expressions like these are very much part of the armoury of conmen. 'Trust me', 'read my lips'. Wasn't George Bush Sr as President that told Americans that there would not be more taxes. 

As a politician told me after he made a very strong statement to the media, 'that is only for the media'. He had no real intention of doing what he announced. In essence, if you don't trust politicians you are surely on the right track. Deception after deception, billions of US Dollars were 'lost in Iraq' and are being 'lost in Ukraine'. They tell you that nobody knows where the monies went, that there is no accountability, that we are going to continue investigating until we find the truth. Lies upon lies and no real intention of telling you what actually happened or who got the monies. In essence, they do know where the monies went, but they don't want to tell you where the monies went because telling you where the monies went would reveal something unpalatable, something criminal.

As President Ronald Reagan could not get the monies to support the Contras in Nicaragua, the CIA put in motion a plan that would involve soaking the US with narcotics produced by the Cartels. The Contras had no real intention of fighting against the Sandinistas. They just used the opportunity given to them to make money. The Contras got the weapons and exchanged the weapons for drugs produced by the Cartels and used the secrecy to distribute drugs in the USA making huge profits. After many years and after the killing of a journalist that revealed what was really going on, the CIA was forced to come clean and reveal that the CIA had been involved in criminal activities to support an ill conceived plan that was bound to fail because it was based on false assumptions. If you follow what the media published in those days, you understand that media colluded with politicians in desastrous adventure that fuelled drug consumption and criminal activities in the USA.

The war in Ukraine is making some people extremely wealthy because the war is being used as an excuse to extort money and the whole affair is nothing more than a gigantic criminal network. Much of what was supposed to be sent to Ukraine has already ended in the hands of international criminal networks.

Does Mike Pence understand what he is proposing when he talks about Americans being sent to die in Ukraine?

 

As seasoned American politician and as former Vice President of the USA, Mike Pence should understand the messages that he is sending to the American public and to the world.

Talking about American ready to die in Ukraine, he is not just talking about Americans. He is inviting the World to face World War Three and the use of nuclear weapons that could well fall on American soil transforming Washington, New York and other major cities into modern copies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Fighting in Iraq and in Afghanistan, it was all about Americans and few other participating countries that also had losses. Europe is a completely different cup of tea. If any Americans get directly involved in the fighting, all NATO countries will be involved and this precisely because an issue of numbers will involved Nuclear Weapons. 

We understand that Mike Pence is biding to become the next Republican Presidential Candidate but if he is showing such careless approach in political speeches made before he even becomes a candidate then what kind of President could he possibly be when he has the finger on the nuclear button. 

Americans should listen very carefully to what those who stand to fight for the nomination of Presidential Candidates and ultimately for the Presidency are actually saying. His words show total disregard for the certain risks of getting NATO directly involved in the conflict.

Many have criticized the Organisation of the United Nations and in fact the United States of America has disregarded the Organization of the United Nations more than once and has carried out military adventures without the approval of the Organization of the United Nations. But even taken such record into account, any such military adventures will terminate the Organisation of the United Nations. We are talking about Permanent Members of the Security Council of the Organization of the United Nations taking sides against each other. World War One signal the end of the League of Nations. World War Three will signal the end of the Organization of the United Nations.

One could say that if there was World War Three, the world would no longer need any such kind of organisation as the world as we know it today will no longer exist. 

United Kingdom: Where does the principle of social responsibility stand? Robots are killing jobs and increasing anti-social trends

We talk about technology and about how beautiful technology is. Some bits of technology are obviously very attractive and rewarding for many, but other bits of technology can create social mayhem. Every year, policians of all political colours talk about rates of unemployment, but when it comes to unemployment rates, a single piece of equipment has created a lot of unemployment and especially amongst those more vulnerable in society.

I went to my local supermarket. It was a beehive of activity and the shopping experience was very much a social experience. I knew the attendants and the attendants knew me since I had been going to the same shop day in and day out for several years.

Yesterday, I went to the same local supermarket and it was as quiet as a funeral parlour. All I could see was a queue of puzzled customers and a security guard that had to get out of his way every three minutes to help customers that were struggling to use the self-check out machines that often get stuck while you are registering your shopping.

When shops or banks are not closed down straight away, they usually incorporate self-checkout machines and other automatic equipment. The more automatic equipment is introduced the less of a reason to return as a customer. I value people and I value the social experience. Shopping is not just about putting things into a basket and registering the goods on a robotic machine.

Politicians talk a lot about the importance of building up communities. They are not going to build up communities with robotic machines that are destroying jobs and ruining social experiences. 

Something similar was proposed when the closure of ticket offices in railway stations was mentioned. Should you have a heart attack, should you need any especific information, should you be attacked at the station, you can ask the electronic machine on the wall to help you. This kind of technology is dehumanising and anti-social. It is destroying the very same things that we say that we want in society.

Looting and shoplifting are on the way up. I am sure that looters and shoplifters will care very little about a solitary security guard that would not want to put his or her life in danger by trying to prevent robberies. If you were alone inside a shop and a crowd of undesirables entered the shop to take everything they want or can get from inside the shop, would you stand on their way? A local shop was targetted so many times in a single month that the shop was closed down for good and all this happens because of misuse of technology. Society is about people. Society is not about robotic machines that replaced people. 

Automation will not just kill the high street. It will kill local communities.

Trying to maximise earnings for shareholders killing local communities is bad economics and the beginning of a social experiment that will lead to violence.

From banks, pubs, local supermarkets, et cetera, there is a trend to eliminate humans to replace them with robots. Big companies ignore at their peril that local branches are inextricably linked to the local community that is only possible when there are local jobs.

Why do I still visit a certain area? Because I see a vibrant community. I don't visit a given area to be received by holes in the walls - the image created by shops that are no more and all is left is signs indicating that what used to be an integral part of the area is no more.

The more empty spaces the less the appeal to visit a certain area. Too many parts of London - and not just London - look like areas that have been hit by a tornado. It is reported that looting and shoplifting are going up. Well, rundown areas are a magnet for crime.

To me uncontrolled automation is the way to Hell. I do remember the Encyclical Rerum Novarum about the social importance of work. Robots do not create nor sustain local communities. People employed locally constitute local communities. When jobs disappear locally, communities disappear and entire areas become ghost towns. Haven't we learnt anything?

Why do people leave the areas where they live? The lack of a viable local economy. It has been happening across the United Kingdom. Suddenly, you end up with empty high streets and empty houses rotting away. Local infrastructure is wiped out. No banks, no post offices, no pubs, no schools, no healthcare, no jobs. There is no even a reason to have public transport because the number of those needing to use public transport has fallen dramatically and maintaining public transport is no longer a viable proposition. In far too many areas of Britain, schools are closing down. Why? There are not enough children.

Uncontrolled automation destroys local communities and once people leave a certain area and there is no one to use automation automation itself becomes redundant.

A visit to some local council headquarters is a clear image of what has been going on. Local authorities spent vast amounts of money in technology. In one hall alone there were more than 24 computer terminals, but there are only one or two people dealing with customers. So you have got 21 computers terminals that are seldom or never used.

Self-help kiosks installed in NHS hospitals have in most cases being withdrawn. The investment was made at huge expense. The idle pieces of equipment lie around creating confusion until they are finally removed.

Once again, uncontrolled automation does not solve problems. It creates problems and destroys lives.

    

Blank attacks against all Russians and anything Russian will strenghten Russian determination and NATO will be seen as the 1941 Wehrmacht

For those of us who bother to learn about Russian history, the idea of launching an attack against all Russians and all things Russian will take the Russian Federation back to the 22th of June 1941, the start of Unternehmen Barbarossa when the strives towards the implementation of Adolf Hitler Plan to exterminate Russians and replace them with German farmers in Lebensraum begun.

Demolishing monuments used to remember those who fought against National Socialist Germany will return Europe back to World War Two. Those who forget the past are forced to relive the past. 

So what is the brilliant idea that the Baltic Republics and others got? Confiscate anything Russian. Why? To prevent any Russians from entering Europe. As soon as the news hit the headlines across the Russian Federation those who oppose national mobilization in the Russian Federation will support national mobilization and when this happens Europe as a whole will once again face the prospect of an all-out war.

NATO will be seen as the 1941 Wehrmacht.

https://www.meetup.com/london-online-chat-big-question-philosophy-group/events/296109310/

You are welcome to discuss about this and other issues following the link.

 

William Hague: Pensioners, economy or complete disregard for older people?

When priviledged politicians like William Hague that are all too willing to find monies for white elephant projects talk against looking after pensioners that get three times less than the minimum salary in retirement, the said politicians show their true colours. I guess he did not protest or felt unhappy when he himself got huge increases as Member of Parliament or Cabinet Minister. 

Traditionally, old age people and pensioners have tended to support the Conservative Party. Maybe they should stop supporting the Conservative Party if individuals identified with the Conservative Party show such disregard for some of the most vulnerable people in society. But what does the Leadership of the Labour Party show? They could not care less. Regarding things that matter so much they keep their mouths conveniently shut because they merely playing politics and could not care less about the elderly.

If the so falled mainstream political parties don't care, somebody else has to care and so much is going on that mainstream political parties cannot or don't want to deal with. It was goes to the root of how the political system works. 

He is a runaway train. People like him are runaway trains. They have a license to abuse the system and they use it. They spend their lives milking the nation and with the hypocritical ways they criticize those who have less.

The young no longer believe in democracy and this is happening worldwide

 

Democracy remains popular across the world, but not amongst younger generations that have stopped believing in democracy. Within one or two generations, democracy could be a thing of the past.

Only 57% of those between the ages of 18 to 35 actually prefer democracy and are inclined to support military regimes.

The trend is understandable given the performance of political leaders and political representatives across the world. They have had more than enough of hypocrisy, corruption and failed promises. In countries like Argentina or the USA the first stages are already underway. Challenging established political parties is just the beginning and when the new Messiah fail to deliver, the road is open for other forms of government.

Another trend is that the younger generations don't watch the news, don't listen to the radio, don't read newspapers and are generally put off by politics altogether. There is a kind of fatalistic attitude indicating 'we cannot change anything', 'things can only get worse'. How much of the rejection is being fuelled by environmentalists and the talk about impending doom? If Man's existence on Earth is coming to the end, why should we care about democracy?

Ukraine: RAF actions in the Black Sea region will trigger war between UK and the Russian Federation

Black Sea is a battlefield and the British government is pushing Britain towards war. Any direct intervention is much more than provocation. It is an act of war. The British Prime Minister will a have a lot to explain if suddenly bombs start dropping in the United Kingdom because of an incident in the Black Sea Region.

This is not the Twentieth Century. This is the Twenty-first Century, a century in which a nuclear missile flying from Kaliningrad can reach London in 15 minutes, a missile that cannot be intercepted. Does Rishi Sunak think that this is a price worth paying?

During World War Two, the Wehrmacht did not have the capacity to launch nuclear missiles. No matter how damaging V1 and V2 were and in spite of the fact that they had to travel a lot shorter distances, they are nothing compared to a nuclear missile. To think that all main British cities could be wiped out in less than half a hour is a sobering thought.

Rishi Sunak broke a record by becoming the first Asian British Prime Minister - regardless of the fact that he was not elected by the British Electorate and was not elected by members of the Conservative Party, but appointed by Members of Parliament without the consent of members of the Conservative Party.

But if the Prime Minister happen to be in London when a missile attack takes place, not even the Prime Minister will have the time to leave London if London is attacked. He and more than 8 million Britons will perish.

Now lets look at the first direct consequences. There will be no British government and no Parliament. London will be a non existing city and people outside London will have to take over to manage whatever is left of Britain as a country. Democracy and elections will be a thing of the past for a very long time.

The first concern will be how to avoid a civil war caused by absence of authority. As the French saying goes, it will a case of 'sauve qui peut'. With London's population decimated and political authorities out of the way, chaos will immediately take over. For whoever manages to survive the impact of a nuclear device, life will not be easy. If radiation does not immediately kill any survivors of the first impact, many will suffer the consequences translated into all kind of diseases including incurable cancer. Riots and looting carried out by both desperate peoples and opportunists will make the entire city unsafe. All medical facilities and emergency services will no longer exist.

Somebody said that the next war will have similarities with regards to the previous wars, but that in essence it will be a different kind of war. In the 1930, France was preparing for yet another war of trenches similar to what happened during World War One and was totally unprepared for Blitzkrieg. As a direct consequence of the lack of preparedness, France was defeated in a few weeks. We don't know what fate has ready for us in the next war.

United Kingdom: Prime Minister, what are you doing to prepare Britain for war?

 

Prime Minister, what are you doing to prepare Britain for war?

Never mind the speeches and the reschuffles. Never mind the change of faces in the Cabinet. What is the British Prime Minister actually doing to prepare Britain for war?

All we hear is about filling up Royal Air Force bases with illegal migrants caught in the Channel or setting up barges that might be a fire hazard.

All we hear is about sending equipment of dubious military value to a theatre of war that might be the Sarajevo of the Twenty-First Century. The last we heard from the British government was a minimal salary increase of about 5% for those serving in the British Armed Forces. We also heard about a Tank Project that resulted in failure after failure.

Rishi Sunak is an accountant. He is no war leader. He is not even a politician as he dropped into politics coming from the world of high finances without any military background or the capacity to understand what it means to lead a country at war. His counterpart, Keir Starmer, is no war leader either. He is a man who came from a legal background without any military background whatsoever. So even the presumed replacement does not know how to lead a country at war.

All we hear is bla, bla, bla at NATO meetings that are no more than social gatherings including some failed Secretaries of State ie Ursula von der Leyen, the enemy of the German Armed Forces. As Defense Secretary she was atrocious to the point that many in Germany celebrated the fact that she was appointed President of the European Commission. 

The one man that knew something about war left the Cabinet. Ben Wallace MP was a military man with a military career and he knew what he was talking about, but he was dismissed by an old man with diminishing intellectual capabilities called Joe Biden. In fact, when there was talk about considering possible candidates, Joe Biden personally dismissed Ben Wallace MP and he did not want him not even as a possible candidate. Who replaced Ben Wallace MP. Grant Shapps MP, a man whose profund knowledge can be summarized as 'my family escaped from National Socialist Germany'. Being the descendant of people persecuted by National Socialist Germany is no proven skill in military matters that involve preparing a country for war.

Ukraine: If mobilization continues, there is the certain risk of Britain and Europe being engulfed in a very destructive war

 

World War One was seen as the war that would put an end to all wars in Europe. Then came World War Two. 

World War Two was a progression that started with the Spanish Civil War, when the future foes had the time and space to put into practice what they were going to do later on.

Even in September 1939, World War Two merely involved a few countries in isolated areas. In Europe, it was about Germany, Poland, Britain and France. In Asia, Japan was making advances in continental Asia. Not a hint of what was going to happen a few months later. In 1940, the pinnacle was the invasion of France - one of the countries that declared war against Germany on September 3, 1939, but soon most of Western Europe had been either invaded or was at war.

Therefore, these are the early days of World War Three, a new conflict that will certainly involve the whole of Europe as when it starts in earnest no one will escape from it. Lamentably, governments continue making steps that bring World War Three closer to home. Adding logs to the fire will not extinguish the fire. Quite the opposite. The location - once again - of nuclear stockpiles on Britain soil will certainly make Britain a first strike target.

Funnily enough, when a Conservative MP mentioned the idea of re-introducing Military Service in the UK the Labour Party Opposition was dead against such an idea. If there is war, the number of British military personnel actually trained and fit for war is minimal and most of the civilian population has been softened by years of neglect.

If you have children above the age of 16, rest assured that your children will be called to serve and die in war. At the moment they might busy themselves with pop music and entertainment, watching videos on Internet, and so forth, and are totally unaware of what is coming to them.

UK Birmingham City Council bankrupt, but more local authorities to follow. Is Sadiq Khan trying to curb deficits using ULEZ and parking permits?

Birmingham City Council has gone bankrupt, but many other local authorities are on the brink of bankruptcy.

Has the expansion of ULEZ and parking space permits a lot to do with plugging London's finances and very little to do with the environment.

Putting up Council Tax is a very unpopular decision in Labour Party dominated London. Most importantly because evasion of payments of Council Tax is going up and local authorities know that putting up Council Tax payments in London means that less people will pay Council Tax. Like other local authorities across the land, London Authorities are desperate for money and running out of time to pay debts before services delivered by local authorities are compromised.

Getting closer to an election year, Sadiq Khan has been campaigned very hard for the extension of ULEZ and for the imposition of parking permits (Council Tax under another name) with the excuse of protecting the environment as a way to make people forget that it is actually a rise of Council Tax.

Local business are being starved of funds. It was not enough with having to pay extortionate business rates, insurance, maintenance payments and rental agreements in a economy that underwent lockdown measures with nefarious consequences. During the imposition of lockdown measures, small businesses across not just London, but across the land closed their doors. Income tax is a tax based on real income. All other expenses have little to do with what a business can actually make. Most other taxes are taxes that have to be paid regardless of how much a business makes and the smaller ones suffered the brunt. But big companies were not untouched. Some managed to cope and others are now showing signs that it is game  over for them. Some are being acquired and rebranded, but in any case jobs losses are unavoidable.

In some cases, businesses are collapsing because of ULEZ, parking permits, and traffic changes that push customers away. Overnight, a local business might be closing its doors because the aforementioned - ULEZ, parking permits, and traffic changes - have literally left them without enough customers to pay taxes and other bills.

If businesses big and small go down, the expansion of ULEZ and parking permits and traffic changes are going to deliver a Pyhrric Victory for local authorities and the state treasury. If businesses go down, tax receipts go down. If businesses go down, unemployment goes up and the Welfare budget that includes payments for unemployment will go up.

Instead of helping businesses recover from years of lockdown, local authorities will bankrupt themselves by bankrupting businesses that support the local economy that produce the income that local authorities very much need.

  

 

UK Politics: Faces come and go and sometimes they go as fast as they come, but what are the real changes?

We are a few months away from a General Election and all we get is soundbites and statements followed by counter statements from all sides of the political divide, but we are simply building a pile of bad news. 

Illegal migration is not going down. It is going up. Resources are been lamentably wasted when we obviously need resources to deal with basic needs. Regardless of the number of state school buildings, the issue is that there are problems that need to be solved so that the education system is not once again affected by avoidable problems.

The number of those sleeping rough is notoriously high and going up and we sense that on top of the number of Britons sleeping rough we have got foreigners that are not entitled to be in Britain sleeping rough on the streets. London has become a camping zone for illegal migrants. Why do people come all the way from foreign lands to sleep rough on the streets of British cities?

It is impossible not to notice those begging on the streets and on public transport. The question is why British authorities are not dealing with such an obvious problem. This is turning London into a Third World shit hole. It feels as if those in charge don't care at all. 

What about the state of London transport? London Underground is in dire need of attention. Never mind the addition of brand new stations if the rest of the network looks like work in progress or has simply been left behind. Standards have fallen and there is constant talk of leaving stations unmanned and unsupervised.

One thing has been certain all along: travelling fares continue to go up while the quality of services is going down? Trains cancelled because of lack of drivers? Timetables leave people astonished because few people can understand the rationality of empty trains that do not stop to pick up passengers.

We have become experts at ticking boxes while services fall apart and failures are constantly on the news damaging Britain's reputation.

We vote. For what? In local elections we vote for Councillors. Who are they? What do they actually do? We hardly see them while a myriad of easily solvable problems remain unsolved for decades. Therefore, it is not merely about political parties. The system, whoever is in power, does not work.