BBC: Far from former glories, BBC is fighting for its own survival as audiences move away

 

The British Broadcasting Corporation BBC is fighting for survival

When a formerly reputable mass media organization contracts the services of a 26 year old "business prodigy" to save a mass media patient that has been in Intensive Care for a very long time, the announcement speaks for itself.

There was a time when "I heard it on the BBC" was more than enough to inspire respect. Those were the days when accuracy was more important than speed, when the BBC used to report news, not make news, when real content was more important than agenda, when balance was more important than partisan views. The public broadcaster was financed with what we call in the United Kingdom the TV License. TV License is a tax for all intents and purposes, but the BBC counts on the income produced by its commercial branch. In the era of big mass media organisations, it has often been said that BBC has had unfair advantage. But despite any financial advantage, the fact remains that the BBC has been losing audiences in both television and radio networks.

Some years ago, the BBC World Service ceased to exist for all intents and purposes. Its flagship headquarters at Bush House were left behind and whatever was left of the BBCWorld Service after the closure of one language service after another was transferred to Broacasting House in Central London. The BBC World Service used to have its own budget. After the transfer to Broadcasting House, budgets were amalgamated. And we cannot forget other BBC services like the ones operated from Caversham, a monitoring service that kept track of whatever was said or printed across the world. 

From time to time, BBC staff numbers were reduced. More and more was not actually made by the BBC, but for the BBC by private companies. So staff numbers, including presenters, editors, producers, have been coming down. 

At one point, the idea came of moving operational resources from London to other locations within the United Kingdom and part of the operation is done from Miami, Florida ie satellite rebrodcasting. A series of scandals, both political and due to sexual issues, did not help. There has also been a generational change and this has made the BBC less and less relevant. Would the BBC survive without a national tax called TV License? How much can the BBC rely on its commercial branch? Many well known BBC stars moved out or were thrown out.

The BBC is now seemingly looking for miracles, but how far is too far? BBC, like much of Britain, lives in the past. Jo Redfern, a former BBC insider and digital media expert talks about a sence of urgency, about audience participation.

The reputation of the BBC was built on accuracy and quality. Gimmicks will not do. If this turns out to be yet another gimmick then the prospects are not very encouraging.

Britain is in debt to the hilt: 105% of GDP and borrowing to pay interest on debt

Every time we hear the debate about British Foreign Aid, we need to think that any amount of Foreign Aid is.... borrowing with rising interest rates. It is not about helping the poorest as much of the so call Forein Aid aid goes to Pakistan - a nuclear power - and to China. To China? How is this possible or even logical?

In the meantime British business have been becoming non competitive as rising taxes are part of the equation of runnnig costs and to this we need to add rising cost of utilities driven by energy prices.

Let put it this way. The British interest payments on public debt are higher that the Defense Budget. Not only that. Britain is borrowing to make interest payments. The economy is heading towards the rocks and devaluation might be the only option left and creditors will not like it as the monies that they are owed will be therefore devalued. Do you think that Britain owes you 1 million US Dollars by comparing the value of the Pound to the value of the US Dollar? Think again. Whatever you think that you are owed will be automatically reduced by devaluation and you will be lucky if you get your monies back. 

UK: Police Incompetence is making matters a lot worse and fuelling hatred

A Sikh man stabbed a white man using a ceremonial dagger and claimed that he was the victim of a racial attack. In fact, it was exactly the opposite and as it came up the Sikh man was the attacker, but politically correct Police believe his version of events and failed to look after a white man that had been stabbed. The victim told Police that he had been stabbed and Police ignored him. Without medical care, the young white male died in Police custody.

This represents everything that is wrong in Britain when it comes to decisions made by brainwashed Police forces that fail in their duty of care.

Not long ago the news came to the surface that Police forces had been involved during more than 16 years in a cover up that left an undetermined number of youngsters, in several cities, to be gangraped, drugged and even murdered by gangs mainly of Pakistani origin that systematically carried out attacks as some sort of religious revenge against British children.

Police failed to act because "they were afraid of being accused of racism". There is a clear pattern and such pattern is now leading to increasing tensions between communities in an environment in which innocent members of all communities are in danger.

Instead of focusing on changing Police mentality, political operators - including the government - are promoting violence and more confrontation.

Crime is crime, no matter who commits the crime, but in Britain what we call justice is not justice as it should be. Justice has become politizised. 

Britain is a country of ghettos and this ghetto reality is a gigantic national security failure. If during peacetime this is happening, I wonder what will happen during wartime. Total chaos. If Britain were at war, Britain would burn from within.

Gaza Stripped: The expansionist Jewish State of Israel and the consequences

Gaza stripped: the Expansionist Jewish State of Israel 

Not a day goes by without yet another massacre. Not a day goes by without more violence. The repercussions of what is happening in Palestine are now spreading worldwide.

In Britain, of all places, the country is being shaken and the inaction of those supposed to take action is generating an environment in which the struggle will take over the streets. If there is bloodshed in the streets then we must prepare ourselves for widespred civil unrest.

Britain/Palestine/Israel: Murder campaign continues and protesters are being repressed

Britain used to be part of the so called Free World. Not anymore. While the images of people being murdered as they try to reach for food continue to spread across the world, British authorites influenced by those we cannot criticize increase repressive measures. Now, protesting againts mass murder is classified as terrorism. Sooner than later there are going to be extremely serious consequences in Britain itself.

Dame Stella Rimington stated in the Houses of Parliament that the then Security Services did not have the necessary manpower to follow every lead. Today, in fact, no matter how many repressive measures are implemented to prevent people from protesting there will come the time when protests will become explossive and so widespread that British authorities will have created a lethal National Security crisis.

As trust in British authorities is going downhill, what we see saw some years ago after an incident inTottenham will be nothing compared to what is coming. As some Conservative comentators indicated, Civil War in Britain is just a matter of time. Poverty, discontent, sheer hatred, spreading criminality and lack of trust are a highly flammable mix.

England is starting to look like Northern Ireland and the rise of an English Republican Army is not inconceivable. Most elected representatives are like the French Aristocrats shortly before July 14th 1989. Those in privileged positions ignore the dangers that exist in feudal Britain. Politicans talk about numbers and "savings" with complete disregard for the desperate circumstances a growing number of peoples in Britain face. If this was not enough, they are standing for mass murder and in favour of repressing and silencing those who understandably stand against mass murder.

Is there a redrawing of the political world in the United Kingdom?

It is plainly visible that the Conservative Party and the Labour Party are no longer that they used to be. In many areas inside the United Kingdom, the two party system has literally collapsed. New political parties have arrived and others are being created because of the partition of existing political parties.

The Labour Party was created because of the Trade Union Movement and now the Labour Party is on a collision course with the Trade Union Movement.

A political migration movement is accelerating. Trying to accommodate a plurality of views, often contradictory, has lead to ambiguities and frustration and lack of trust in big political organisations and, perhaps, the day for Britain to abandon the two party system is long overdue, opening the door to coalitions of smaller parties that better reflect in Parliament the views of individual voters.

Demographics influences, more and more, political life in the United Kingdom, and this is happening especially because of geopolitical issues. In more than one way, the existence of coalitions instead of big political parties is a healthier option, limiting the power of lobbies.

From a geopolitical perspective, no political party on its own would be able to drive the country in a given direction, without the support of a bigger number of voters, thus preventing any military adventures or the start of conflicts based on false premises. There would be greater accountability.

When the only thing in front of us is nuclear destruction

 

When the only thing in front of us is nuclear desctruction

Hermann Göring told Adolf Hitler that "no German cities will be bombed". This did not go well. In fact, Western leaders, like Hermann Göring seem to believe that "Western cities will be bombed". But there are exceptions, Germany is today investing a vast amount of money building bunkers because German politicians do believe that there is going to be nuclear war.

Ralph Tiesler, the head of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), said Europe’s largest economy needed to wake up to the reality of conflict, and that in its current state Germany was inadequately prepared.

“For a long time, there was a widespread belief in Germany that war was not a scenario for which we needed to prepare. That has changed. We are concerned about the risk of a major war of aggression in Europe,” he told the Süddeutsche Zeitung news outlet.

Tiesler called for a national effort to pinpoint and turn tunnels, metro stations, underground garages, car parks and the cellars of public buildings into protective shelters to “quickly create space for 1 million people”. He said his agency will present a comprehensive plan later this summer.

He added that the country was in a race against time, and to rely on the construction of new bunker facilities was insufficient. Such shelters would take a long time to plan and construct and be very costly, Tiesler said. As a result, existing structures needed to be closely considered more immediately.

Capacity for a million people? Germany has about 90 million people. I guess President Trump, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and others will have a difficult time telling their fellow citizens that in the event of nuclear war they are all going to die because there is no provision of accommodation capable of withstanding a nuclear impact and the aftermath of a nuclear impact.

When you hear so many politicians and informed individuals willing to send troops to a battlefield with the knowledge that it will trigger nuclear war......

World Conflicts: what we see is an exercise of imperial power and control

Across the world people are being killed in an exercise imperial and colonial power. In 1953, the path towards democracy in Iran was killed by the United States and by Britain. They both wanted Iranian oil and gas resources but a democratic regime stood on their way. Without hesitation, United States and Britain distabilized Iran and appointed the Shah as ruler of Iran. 

A puppet regime was the perfect solution to satisfy American and British greed, but this was not going to last. With the rise of the Islamic Revolution, the Shah was deposed and a theocratic regime took over control of Iran.

The plan has always been to steel Iran´s resources and the present war by proxy against Iran is very much part of the plan. The criminal regime that rules Israel has no qualms in going around mass bombing and mass murdering. So the unprovoked attack against Iran comes as no surprise. It has been planned all along. Did they do the same about Iraq? Of course they did, but it backfired. It totally destabilized Iraq and produced a wave of violence that goes beyond the borders of Iraq.

Adolf Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf that a war with several fronts was serious mistake and it was precisely a war on several fronts that brought the demise of National Socialist Germany. As the Roman Empire and many other empire before and after fell down, the so called West faces dangers that itself contributed to create.

There is a direct link between geopolitics and national politics and it goes without saying that actions on the international arena are generating consequences at national level. The words of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz were "this is the last chance for Germany". Well, he is doing everything possible to get Alternative für Deutschland elected as the new government of Germany. The more he engages Germany in a disastrous set of foreign policy actions, the sooner the rotten CDU/CSU will fall to bits. Bridges falling in Germany. Public buildings that cannot be repaired. The images of bridges falling and public buildings that cannot be repaired are the best images to represent what CDU/CSU are doing to Germany.

 

 

Friedrich Merz: One country´s actions can trigger a chain reaction

When Merz predecessor, Angela Merkel, decided to open Germany´s borders, she could not foresee the problems that her approach would create. Suddenly, there were conflicts all over the EU when countries like Poland and Hungary rejected her open borders policies. She lived to regret her decision when she publicly stated "Multikulti ist Tot" and mass migration became so intense that it threatens Schengen Treaty arrangements. In her case, her decision did not involve engaging Germany in an all out war.

Friedrich Merz decision to authorize the use of German long range weapons against the Russian Federation is a completely different cup of tea with catastrophic consequences. Berlin has been told, over and over again (by Berlin I mean the German authorities) that such measure will in effect mean a declaration of war against the Russian Federation and that, therefore, the Russian Federation will be entitled to attack Germany. What Friedrich Merz has done, unitelaterally, is to put every single NATO country on a direct collision course with the Russian Federation.  Now, how can the Russian Federation attack Germany? Nuclear War.

Herr Merz got elected with less than 24% of the vote, taking into account that CDU did not get 24% of the vote. CDU/CSU got about 24% of the vote. His coalition partner - SPD - got 16% of the vote. It remains to be known what the German public actually thinks about Friedrich Merz statement and about the consequences of such statement. 

Friedrich Merz took such decision not as a NATO member. This was not a NATO decision. It was Germany´s decision, but it is a far reaching decision that will undermine Europe. I would say that such decision is not supported by Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. Article 5 refers to defense, not offense. 

Now, Chancellor Merz sent a Panzer group to Lithuania, a country that is pretty close to the Russian Federation. It is easy to see that if there is war between the Russian Federation and Germany then German forces in Lithuania will be targetted. 

We have not seen any reactions from other European countries. Do other countries want to be involved in an all out war? Like Angela Merkel, Friedrich Merz had no consultations with other European countries regarding the statement that he just made. Is this a German thing? i.e. making decisions that will affect everybody else, without even asking what other people in the European Union think about it?

This confirms my belief that Britain´s exit from the European Union was a very good thing. I also believe that dismantling NATO would be the next good thing. Why? Because one country can create a disaster for everybody else. So, if Germany wants war with the Russian Federation, Germany alone can pay the price of such a disastrous decision.

UK: the most important issue by far is immigration and this is Reform vs Conservative

 

The biggest issue by far in UK politics is immigration

This is a contest between the Reform Party and the Conservative Party

Non since 1997 had the Conservative Party suffered such a catastrophic series of electoral defeats in the United Kingdom. In July 2024, the unthinkable happened and the Labour Party cruised to power after 14 years of a Conservative Party Administration (or should be talk about several Conservative Governments). The fact is that the infighting within the Conservative Party led to several leadership contests and coming and goings in terms of economic policies. Voters lost confidence on a visibly confused and divided Conservative Party to the point that in the last leadership election the new leader was not chosen by a majority of members of the Conservative Party, but merely by Members of Parliament.

The outcome of 2024 was a complete disaster for the Conservative Party that saw its representation in the House of Commons reduced to a few more than a 100 Members of Parliament. The situation did not improve after a series of by-elections caused by personal scandals. This years the Conservative Party was campaigned to maintain control of not less than 16 local authorities. It lost them all.

Internal problems in the Conservative Party have not gone away. In fact, they are exacerbated by the fact that high profile Conservative MPs distance themselves from what is now the main core of what is left of the Conservative Party. Big vote winners of the Conserevative Party have fallen into disrepute. There is no unity and there is still the same level of confusion, aggravated by the fact that many of the issues they are now talking about are issues that they should have dealt with during 14 years of a Conservative Party administration.

So, when it comes to confronting the Reforma Party the question arises. "Why you did not do before what you now tell us that you want to do now? "It is a disarming question. The Conservative Party had a majority in Parliament and did not do what it now promises that it will do when it is stuck in Opposition.

A Conservative Party in Opposition cannot deliver any promises. Therefore many Conservative voters are now supporting the Reform Party and there is confusion about what the Reform Party stands for. Many voters do not have the time nor the inclination to focus on several issues at the same time. They now choose to focus their attention on one particular issue: Immigration. Immigration includes both illegal migration and legal migration. People care about illegal migration precisely because it is illegal and people care about legal migration because legal migration levels are much too high. 

Even the leader of the Labour Party that has always been in favour of mass migration made a statement declaring that new legislation was on the way to curb legal migration.

The more the Conservative Party attacks the Reform Party the more voters feel inclined to support the Reform Party. Why? Because in the Reform Party there is clarity of purpose about an issue most people care about. At this point in time, in certain areas, the Reform Party is winning against both Labour and Conservative. In other areas, the Labour Party has to fear the advances of the Green Party. If the Green Party manages to replace Labour in many areas and if the retreating Conservatives turn out to support the Reform Party then the chances of success of the Reform Party are vastly improved.

Next year, once again, there are local elections and all 32 local authorities in Greater London will be contested. Whatever the Labour government has done since July 2024 and whatever the Labour government will do until May 2026 will have an impact. Unfulfilled promises and discontent about policies implemented will play a very important role at local level. It could be said that the Greater London Elections will be the starting point of the campaign for the 2028 London Assembly Elections and soon after that there is going to be another General Election in 2029. There is an electoral progression that, for the moment, does not favour Labour or Conservative. The Reform Party and the Green Party stand to benefit at every level. 

Since the Liberal Party - now known as Liberal Democratic Party - was relegated to third place, there has never been anything so trascendental in British Politics. The Conservative Party has reigned supreme during most of the history of Parliamentary Democracy in the United Kingdom. The thought that the Conservative Party could be relegated to third or fourth place in the first quarter of the Twenty-First Century speaks volumes about the political challenges Britain is facing.

 

If Hitler had won World War Two, there would be no Israel

All Jews should put aside all ideological considerations and use their brains and they would come to the natural conclusion that if Hitler had won World War Two by defeating the Soviet Union, then there would have been no Israel. Right up to the point in 1948 when Israel was born, Palestine had been a British Protectorate. If Britain had lost the war, then Palestine would have become a German Territory. As it happened during World War One, the losers in the war lost most of their colonial territories. It happened to Germany after World War One and it would have happened to Britain and France during World War Two. So vast chuncks of the Middle, Africa and Asia would have come under German Rule and the Japanese would taken over the rest, including vast expanses of China.

Soviet Forces liberated Concentration Camps with the British and the Americans coming in as spectators once Concentration Camps had been taken over by Soviet Troops. The famous Balfour Declaration would have meant absolutely nothing and instead of migrating to Palestine, hundreds of thousands would have ended their lives in concentration camps or worse.

Whatever you might think in ideological terms, facts are facts. I wonder also what would have happened if Unternehmen Barbarossa had never happened. Entire German Divisions would with Panzer would have been available at Normandy. The Normandy Invasion would have ended with tends of thousands of American Troops, British Troops and troops of other nationalities falling prisoners of the German Wehrmacht. It must be remembered that many Europeans of countries occupied by Germany were pro-German and went on to fight for Germany. So nothing was clear cut.

When talking about history, we must put ideology aside and look at the historical facts of what happened on the battlefields.

Looking at the history of Japan and at events leading to the attack in Pearl Harbour, Admiral Yamamoto was totally against the Axis. He thought that signed a deal with Germany was against Japanese best interests. In the end, the Axe was against Germany itself. If the Axis had not existed, then the Americans would have been at war in the Pacific but would not have been at war in Europe, Africa or Middle East. President Roovevelt used Pearl Harbour as justification to spread the war. Germany made a significant mistake when it declared war against the USA.

Looking at present conflicts, it must be remembered that World War Two (or World War One, for that matter) did not happen all at once. There was a series of conflicts that started long before September 1939. Japanese expansion in Asia started long before World War Two. There was also the Spanish Civil War to consider. Each conflict became a step towards the conflict that we know as World War Two.

Keir Starmer planning to cut down British Armed Forces by 20,000

 

Plans announced as part of a Defence Review indicate that the British government led by Keir Starmer is planning to cut down the size of the British Armed Forces by 20,000 (down from present level of 73,000 including all branches). 

It must be said that barely 40,000 are actual trained combattant personnel. Such is the state of the British Armed Forces.

Manpower or lack of it is a very serious issue, but also material resources are critically absent. All of which renders Britain totally incapable in case of a real conflict involving Air Force, Navy and Army and other branches of the services.

Statements made by David Lammy beggar belief. The Foreign Secretary does not have a clue about what is he is actually saying and has no knowledge whatsoever when it comes to military matters. President Trump, during his first mandate as American President, made abondantly clear that each NATO member country should do its part. This is not just about Article 5. It is about Article 3 that commits every NATO member country to be self-reliant when it comes to self-preservation. Changes proposed by the Labour government goes in exactly the opposite direction, weakening Britain even more.

We must look beyond statements made by politicians regarding state of readiness. Britain is only ready to lose and budget constraints are not reassuring. It takes years to recruit and train military personnel. No matter how much money you have got, time is of the essence and time for Britain is running out.

German Coalition: Vote of Confidence due to take place in January will actually take place on December 16th 2024

 

The days of Olaf Scholz as German Chancellor could be numbered. 

The vote originally planned for January 2025 is due to take place on December 16th, 2024 and the Federal Election will actually take place in February.

This can change quite a lot in German politics at a time when urgent measures are needed to sort out German economics.

Germany was remarklably absent from a top meeting about the Environment. The German government has more pressing concerns when the Green Party barely has a calculated 10 per cent support across Germany and in three state elections only managed to get 7 representatives elected out of 120 in Saxony and none in Thuringen and none in Brandenburg.

As part of a deal to get a coalition together, hawkish Annalena Baerbock got chosen as Minister for Foreign Affairs. The fact that she could be on her way out within weeks would be a step forward towards peace in Europe.But the outcome of the Federal Election will tell the story and possibly write a new script.

The outsted Finance Minister Christian Lindner wanted to stop sending money to Ukraine by sending Taurus missiles instead. To have a member of FDP, a Junior member of the coalition, dictating foreign policy would have been a serious error of judgment. Olaf Scholz was asking to change rules to allow more borrowing. Christian Lindner refused to change the rules abour borrowing and decided to blackmail the German Chancellor to force him to adopt an idea he is very much against because of the dangerous implications of having Germany as the initiator of a European-wide conflict. FDP has no foot to stand on.

But money is in short supply and recent announcements about major German industrial players talking about factory closures and lays offs does not help. Energy and migration are bound to become even more important subjects. Increasing the Defense Budget? Where are the monies going to come from? NATO quotas could simply be unreachable. Listening to individuals like Ursula von der Layen or Emmanuel Macron might make somebody think that there are resources aplenty. Well, no. France is running huge deficits and Germany faces borrowing limitations. Any monies sent Eastwards come from borrowing. Will Germany and France - like Britain - go for tax rises? What effect would tax rises produce when unemployment is rising? What political effects will rising unemployment produce?

 

Taxing private pensions, assets and shares? More madness on the way.

 Due to low productivity, Britain has increasingly relied on financial services. There are two sides of banking. One is the conventional side of banking based on mortgages and loans and the other is financial banking, lending money to investors that take a huge deal of risk and therefore expect higher rewards. 

Private pension funds very much depend on shares and investments and values fluctuate on a daily basis, so there is an inherent level of risk. How can you tax shares? Will you tax what a share was worth on Monday or what a share was worth on Tuesday?

Imagine yourself as a Northern Rock shareholder. One day you count your wins. You have an investment and you have a return. The next day, your investment evaporates because the value of your shares is literally zero and you have no return. Are we going to see debt taxed?

The only growth that the present Labour government will produce is the growth of debt, unemployment, illegal employment, and fraud. Launching a virulent attack against the one sector that keeps Britain alive is cutting down the tree on which you are standing. The 2008 financial crise will feel like a pleasant vacation.

The infamous event affecting people who had used their assets to support insurance payments comes to mind. One day they were riding the waves of opulence and the next day they were selling everything they had to pay for insurance claims.

Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick: Conservative Party has demolished stereotypes

 

Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick

The British Conservative Party has demolished all stereotypes 

In a few years, the British Conservative Party has demolished all stereotypes and offered the country a wide range of choices, both in terms of ethnicity and of political beliefs, going much farther afield than any other political party, destroying every tool in the Labour Party's workshop. The traditional left used to dress itself as the representative of ethnic minorities and talked a lot about gender. The traditional left has been totally and utterly defeated and can no longer use the race card nor the gender card.

Kemi Badenoch, married, mother of three is an engineer that has held several high positions in government. Robert Jenrrick, also married, father of three, also University graduate and has held several high positions in government.

Both of them have been described as Far Right of Extremist. Really? I suppose that having family values, solid education and professional careers, caring more about the country in which they were born, it is easy to understand that those bent on destroying family values and British identity would certainly see them as something to be afraid of, especially when none other than Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, does not know what a woman is.

Political commentators who oppose them say that they might become leaders of the Conservative Party, but would have no political future in terms of leading the party and winning the next General Election.

One can never foresee what the future will bring. Suffice to say, that in recent by-elections, 14 Labour seats were already lost, after a disastrous beginning for a political party that had recently won a General Election with an outstanding majority. We haven't even reached the first national budget and there is already infighting within Labour ranks. 

We await the first national budget with trepidation.Already several MPs decided to become Independent and major figures of the Labour Party were literally pushed out of the Labour Party. It can be literally said that the present Labour Party won the General Election under false pretenses. Major policies that helped them win the election have already been thrown out. No more taxes? It seems that there was one Labour Party before the General Election and another, different, Labour Party after the General Election. A combination of lies, deceit, and miscalculation. 

More than 600,OOO UK companies in financial distress. Labour's answer? More financial burden.

 

In recent years, the level of taxation imposed by Labour authorities increased exponentially. 

Congestion charge? ULEZ? Parking permits? Announced increased of capital gains and national insurance payments? 

Not enough with having to contend with rising costs of utilities - to name one range of expenses for any business to deal with - more regulation on the horizon.

After COVID,  the energy crisis, and after the energy crisis a Labour government that is bent on creating new obstacles along the way.

When we talk about more than 600,000 businesses in trouble, we are surely talking not mainly about big operators, but about medium size and small businesses, many of which might certainly be family businesses.

The amount of money people spend shopping has dropped and this means less revenues for companies, whatever their size. If you add regulation and taxation, there is going to be less monies to invest in the normal economic cycle. If by cutting down the flow of money in the normal economic cycle, unemployment and subemployment rise then the Welfare State will be affected. The annnounced intention to cut down welfare payments by 3 billion Pound is pie in the sky. It is for the birds. Lack of economic activity due to people having less money in their pockets will lead to unemployment. The natural consequence is that several things will grow: domestic violence, street crime, deprivation, and illness.

Taxing people and companies to the hilt will not produce economic growth. 

Oil and Gas: they never learn

When in the 1970s, Britain was going under, North Sea Oil and Gas saved the day. When the war in Ukraine started the conflict led to a shortage of oil and gas that led many European countries and Britain to harsh economic realities.

Now, Britain has a Labour government that is bent on taxing oil and gas companies to the hilt. Companies pay almost 80% as taxes. There comes a point when exploration and production costs are no longer sustainable and the natural consequence is that the oil and gas business can become no longer viable. We already have the experience of what happened to British shipyards that could not remain competitive. They went under. They could not survive.

Now, we have a vociferous government that is bent in getting Britain into several wars, wars that could make oil and gas unattainable, unreachable. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and others happen to be in a region that could be engulfed by war and if that happens access to oil and gas produced in such region will no longer be a possibility. What will happen then? What happened before when we had no access to oil and gas?

The British Prime Minister that does not know what a woman is believes that carbon capture is energy production. The level of stupidity has risen exponentially. He talks about alternatives. Well, private business might not be interested in such alternatives when they don't make sense for business. In fact, in recent times that been public tenders and the private sector showed no interest in bidding.

It could be the case that everything will have to be financed mostly with public monies coming from taxation and not with private investment. But in the meantime, while the British governent struggles to transform dreams into reality we might find ourselves facing blackouts and mass unemployment should there be a military conflict that prevents from having access to present energy sources. 

As economic figures show decline, EU Panic over immigration

 

One by one, EU countries are now panicking over immigration. The announcement of massive job losses in Germany, accompanied by news about border controls that go against the spirit of the Schengen Agreement don't go easy down the throats of German voters that are now turning to support AfD and/or walking away from the ruling coalition SDP/Grüne/FDP and this poses many questions about the coming Federal Election, after three state elections - Germany has 16 Federal States - in which vote for Alternative für Deutschland was 29% in the worst of cases and peaked at more than 33%. The use of the word ´peak´ is relative as the economic and financial situation hangs in the balance and as months go by the state of the German economy could be even worse thus favouring the vote for Alternative für Deutschland and for another 'leftwing Party' that has pushed Die Linke to the side and is making inroads in German Politics. Two options - one Right and one Left - and both anti-immigration have pushed the ruling coalition to curb migration into Germany.

As this happens, in France, Michel Barnier - a Prime Minister of necessity - after President Macron lost both the European Parliament Elections and the French Assembly Elections - is also inclined to talk against migration and the word 'Deportation' is going around. Italy has also spoken for closing borders and now there is the mention that EU makers and breakers want to have a dialogue to coordinate with Britain the transit of migrants. Keir Starmer stated today 'that being worried about migration is not Far Right', a clear change after Keir Starmer's trip to Italy when he met Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.

They also seem to remember Angela Merkel and blame for her open invitation to migrants to come to Germany. That was German Chancellor Angela Merkel then also Leader of the CDU. It must also be remember that soonafter she stated 'Multikulti ist tot', publicly declared that multiculturalism had completely failed in Germany.

Labour Party?

 

Britain: long before the first official budget is published, announcements are not encouraging

As part of point scoring, two digit salary increases are announced for public workers and Union workers while, at the same time, measures to support pensioners are discontinued and new increases of utility bills are announced.

Presumably, in october, we are going to be told about a tax shower. So get your spreadsheets ready because it is going to take some time to calculate how much ordinary britons are gong to be hit with a barrage of taxes and utility bills that sooner than later are going to be reflected on the cost of basic items of the family basket. Nominal values might be going up but real values are going to make you poorer.

We are really and truly talking about a new period of austerity, but this time under a Labour government. The Labour Party played a new version of 'read my lips, no more taxes' and the gullible fell for it. People are going to be taxed to the hilt and beyond. Let's look at rental prices. They were already beyond reach for a growing number of peoples.

If you are going to have even less disposable income, things can only be worse and one of the most worrying bits for any economy is a massive reduction of consumption. Using Covid as an example, if people - deterred by rising taxes and rising utility bills - start consuming less and less then already struggling businesses will go out of business pushing upwards unemployment numbers.

In any case, get your spreadsheets ready.