How much it costs to rent a one bedroom flat in London? A British pensioner cannot afford it.

 

Today´s state pension can be about 1,000 Pound a month. The rental price of a one bedroom flat is about 1200 Pound, minimum. Then you have to account for other expenses apart from rental payments. So, really, the state pension does not allow pensioners to rent a one bedroom flat anywhere in London, capital city of the United Kingdom,

It usually assumed that by the time somebody retires the said person would own his or her own accommodation. This is not the case and it will increasingly not be the case as more and more people cannot afford to buy property and would have virtually no assets. This a ticking bomb. It is not by chance and/or by choice that more and more adults do not leave the home of their parents. Marriage as an institution if vanishing. Today, more and more parents are not married. It is also the case that vegetatve growth is below replacement rates. There are less and less children. Coupled with unemployment is the fact that there are less and less active workers and more and more people depending on welfare payments.

Monies to pay for pensions are disappearing and pension payments are not enough to have proper living standards. Once again, the clock is ticking. A consumer market that does not have spending power, combined with businesses that do make enough to manage to stay afloat with increasing taxation and other rising operational costs is not the way to Paradise. In spite of annual adjustments, retirees are getting a lot less in terms of that whey need to keep living standards.

Everybody should be talking about these issues, but most people live in cuckooland, oblivious in terms of what lies ahead.

Labour Tax: More and more tax as an alternative to less and less economic activity?

Lord Kinnock, former Labour Leader, tells Andy Burnham to get 12 Billiion Pound more by increasing tax. The former Leader, known for having celebrated electoral victory on the very evening when the Labour Party was crashed on the polls, is now suggesting that increasing the burden on wealth creators is the solution for a battered economy and exhauted Treasury. So Mr Kinnock´s solution to cure the patient: Kill the patient.

Britons have less and less disposable incoe or afraid to spend whatever they have left. Caution when it comes to spending is justifiable, especially when more and more people are losing their jobs or can hardly get a new job.

When businesses scale down their operations is not due to increased optimism, but to growing uncertainty. With so many unsolved conflicts and more conflicts on the horizon. When Autum comes, energy consumption will go up at a time when energy prices go up and down. How can you foresee what is happening next? 

We heard the headlines about "we are gong to do this, we are going to do that". Can the new Labour government deliver? Right at the time when Andy Burnham was appointed Prime Minister, pundits were saying "He is Labour´s last chance." Having obtanined a historical majority in 2024 with a lower percentage of the votes, Labour appeared to be an invincible force. A series of mishaps and bad decisions, brought down Keir Starmer, the leader that got the said historical majority. Andy Burnham will be touring across Britain in an effort to gather support, but he is starting from a very low point. He was not chosen by the Electorate in a General Election. He was appointed after winnng a local election. 

The Autumn Budget could prove to be the downfall of the Labour government. With limited options, under pressure from a very demanding and impatient Labour Party, every decision the newly appinted Prime Minister takes is bound to be controversial. 

 

 

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.

UKRAINE Today and they not even bother to hide it

 

This is Ukraine, real Ukraine.

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. 

Britain - July 20th 2026 - Business as usual or the start of major changes?

 

Prime Minister Andy Burnham?

Will July 20th 2026 mark a new beginning or the beginning of the end? Much has been said, but nothing has been confirmed. It is just words in the air. We know practically nothing about what the direction of travel will be. We are being deliberately left in the dark and this is never reassuring.

Uncertainty and fear and little hope. Once the limelights are no more, we have landed down on the same political realities. Expect no miracle. Expect a lot of pain. Much more pain that you thought that you would have to bear because there is not a chance that in the short or medium term economic prospects will improve.

Keir Starmer left having brought British Steel into the public sector. Andy Burnham is planning to bring all railway transport into the public sector and is talking about re-industrialising Britain. But he does not go so far as talking about bringing all utilities into the public sector.

Politicians: How many more?

Labour: changes proposed regarding taxes could not only make life difficult, but virtually impossible

Taxes on property are legalised theft. The only fair taxes are taxes on real income. Under the publicised intention of a fairer system, taxes proposed by Labour are no different from expropiation implemented by the Soviet Communist Party when they took over power. People lost their homes and their land and they were no longer financially independent.

I have long criticized Business Rates, because they are not based on income. They are based on the space occupied by a business measured in square feet. So making money or not making money the said tax is a burden on businesses that prevents many from setting up companies. But the new tax based on the value of a property will ruin families and deprive them of the homes they work so hard to acquire.

If you say that you are going to charge as tax 1 per cent of the value of a property, if a house is worth 800,000 Pound then what you are actually saying is that families than own their houses will have to pay 8,000 as tax every year. Today, Council Tax is about 2500 Pound. So the new tax will be three times higher.

If you are a pensioner receiving about 12,000 Pound a year then you are going to be left with 12,000 minues 8,000 = 4,000 to pay for living expenses for an entire year. In other words, you are not going to have enough to survive.

Is this the image of the next British Prime Minister? Andy Burham´s massive challenges ahead

Was Keir Starmer naive when he believed that offering Andy burnham a seat in the Cabinet was the way to prevent a leadership challenge?

It is being reported that even people who were not Labour traditional voters decided to vote for Andy Burnham as a way to replace Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. Whether this is true or not, the fact remains that Andy Burnham got about 55 per cent of the votes in the by-election in Makerfield. 

He even used the name of the town linking the name to what he intends to do. Despite all promises, the choice of advisers might indicate that he will travel along ways that his now enthusiastic supporters might not like. The name Goldman Sachs is not usually associated with policies supported by the Labour Party. How much of what he said was electoral talk and how much is part of his real intentions when he enters Number 10?

For the moment, Keir Starmer is still at Number 10 and some said that a leadership election is necessary to validate Andy Burnham as new Prime Minister, that the transfer of power should not happen without such election. Whether this is or is not a formaly remains to be seen.

Butter or Cannons - when it comes to beefing up Defense something has to give. Cuts in other areas will have to be made to provide funding for Defense. Is this going to be a popular move amongs Labour supporters?

At the moment, he is very popular. This is called a Political Hnneymoon. How long will the political honeymoon last? Promising is one thing. Delivering is a completely different matter.

War in Europe is not an if. It is a when: Luftwaffe ready to attack

 

Germany ready to attack

Lt Gen Holger Neumann says Luftwaffe ready for war.

Of course, Pistorius said that Germany will be ready for war in 2029 and the German military budget is increasing by 80%.

Seeing the British pussyfooting around with Cabinet ministers resigning because they are not been given the funds that they need or listening to MPs saying that there is a lot of waste in the Armed Forces is not encouraging.

We are the third largest world economy and the largest economy in Europe, German representatives have said. We - Germany - will be in charge of security in Europe. The message is loud and clear. What is it that European leaders do not understand?

Recently, Germans and Frech did not agree in terms of who is in charge of a jet fighter project. At this moment in time, there is no agreement and there is every chance that Germany will go it alone and restart an industrie for which it was worldwide famous. Germany produced the fastest and the first jet fighter ever produced that took part in combat operations. All men and women up to 45 years of age are supposed to serve in the military. Even reservists of up to 70 years of age could be called.

Britain has not managed to produce a single tank unit that is fit for combat. Is Britain producing any jet fighters? The answer is no. Britain either sold or dismantled its war related industries. So really and truly it is up to German to control security in Europe.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer with his usual level of lack understanding of what is actually happening, made a fuss about warning shots fired by a Russian ship when a private yacht was about to collide with

the Russian ship. Britain is out of its depth. A hundred times more vulnerable than in 1940. 

Bewahren was wir Lieben - Preserve what we love: the dangerous side of mass migration

This is Britain

Bewahren was wir Lieben

Preserve what we love

Across continents similar issues are being raised. In South Africa, a black majority country, people are up in arms protesting about migration and especially about illegal migration.

Migration is mostly about numbers as Switzerland calls a Referendum to limit Swiss population to 10 million. When this article is being written, we still do not know the outcome of the Referendum.

The image comes from Northern Ireland, but the problematic is affecting both the Republic of Ireland in the south. Apparently, Northern Ireland is a bridge that allows mass migration into the Republic of Ireland. 

We must remember that a country is the people who live in that country. If we change the people, we change the country and sooner than later the countries as we know them today cease to exist. Demographics does matter and the imbalances created by uncontrolled migration leading to no integration whatsoever is bound to lead to resistance and violence.

British Indians themselves have understood the dangers of mass migration and are supporting Reform. Migrants who have fully integrated into the United Kingdom want to preserve Britain (Bewahren was wir Lieben).

Not long ago a British World War Two veteran said loudly and clearly that if he had known what Britain was going to become he would not have fought against Germany.

Basically, he said that todays Britain is not the country he and his mates fought and died for, a feeling that is shared by many across the world.

It is not about opposing change. It is about preserving what they love and this very much includes the values that they fought for, values that in Britain are being systematically undermined by one government after another.

The same politicians that promote the use of Ukrainian flags on British land oppose the use of British flags on British land and demonise those who dare to use British flags on British land.

Civil War: expression mentioned ever more often, apparently related to social instability and economic uncertainty

In the everyday language of political discussion, the words "Civil War" appear ever more frequently. What would be the tipping point, the trigger, for such an event? Discontent and grudges are the way up for a wide range of reasons. People do not need to be on the same wavelenght to get involved in marches and demostrations. In fact, when you ask those in attendance what led them to participate you can get different answers.

The common link is anger about something. Marches and Demonstrations are therefore an opportunity to vent anger, discomfort, frustration, et cetera, and everything comes as a package.There might be other factors involved and this includes emotional issues. Some people who face isolation in their private lives are desperately looking for meaning, a cause that will make them feel better about themselves. In societies in which people increasingly live alone and often deprived of human contact, it is not unthinkable that somebody might join a certain group of people merely not to feel isolated, cut off, abandoned.

Birthrates are falling and this might happen for a vast number of reasons. Inability to have meaninful social interactions can be one of them. Some say that ordinary people are increasingly having better relationships with electronic devices than with other human beings. Are we becoming dehumanised? When even creativity is being left in the hands of software programmers (Artificial Intelligence), it comes as no surprise that social functions are being distorted.

In the past, there have been Civil Wars, but I assume that everybody involved or affected by Civil War had an understanding of the reasons why. Today, many things will happen in the open and many other things will happen even subliminally. Many people will be acting, driven by motivations that they might not even be aware of. 

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.

Local Authorities: the realities of No Overall Control

The fact is that No Overall Control give third parties with just a few representatives enormous decision making capabilities. They only need to swing from one side to another as they see fit, supporting either the rulling party or the main opposition party, to extract whatever they want.

As an example, Labour had total control of both Lambeth and Southwark. Not anymore. All Greens have a majority in both Lambeth and Southwark, the Greens do not have an absolute majority. This means that the Liberal Democrats, by supporting, opposing or amending any initiative can control the flow of events.

Monday´s extraordinary session at Lambeth Borough Council was a clear example of things to come, There was amendment after amendment and the Liberal Democrats got away with it. Not only that. The number of representatives in each committee went from 6 to 7.

Labour MPs were sitting as part of the audience, witnessing something that would have been unthinkable just weeks ago and that now has become a reality. How will recent electoral changes affect the London Assembly Elections and the next General Election?

Notwithstanding what is happening at local level, all eyes are now focused on the coming by-election in Makerfield where a potential challenger of the Labour Primer Minister Keir Starmer will be seeking a possible return to Westminster.

18 June 2026 - Makerfield Battle for Britain?

Makerfield By-Election: All political forces will be there?

Labour is reportedly asking the Green Party not to stand, but Green Party supporters have stated that they will stand. The fear is that the Green Party will take away valuable votes that will make it more difficult for Labour to win. A win in Makerfield is important for a myriad of reasons. For the Labour Party it is about survival. Losing both Makerfield and Manchester, after two series of disastrous local elections is too much to bare. 

For the Green Party it is a test of its newly found popularity that led the Green Party to take control or almost all control of what used to be Labour Party strongholds. How safe are Labour MP seats? Recently, the Green Party got an MP elected in a by-election called because of the resignation of a Labour MP.

For Reform, it is the challenge of winning a Labour Party seat, on top of the many council seats taken away from both Labour and Conservatives. And what about the Conservative Party? Standing to lose to Reform? Making it easy for Labour or Green to take the seat?  Friends or Foes?

For the country, it is the possibility of getting, yet again, a non elected Prime Minister. People will soon start asking about mandates. Nigel Farage predicted that in 2026 there was going to be a General Election. Could Andy Burnham, if chosen as Prime Minister, call a General Election? Would he be willing to risk the more than 400 seats that Labour has now in Parliament?

The election is just weeks away, and what happens in Makerfield does matter.

Will Labour supporters support Andy Burnham, abstain or vote Reform?

 

The Guardian: Andy Burnham to face Reform´s Robert Kenyon in crucial Makerfield by-election?

There is no doubt about the fact of why Andy Burnham has decided to stand in a by-election that will cost him is seat as Manchester Mayor and possibly lead him into the wilderness if he looses the by-election.

London Metropolitan Labour blocked Andy Burnham from standing in a by-election before the local elections and Labour lost the seat that by-then Andy Burnham wanted to stand for. 

There are different versions of events.

One version was that Keir Starmer did not want Andy Burnham to return to the House of Commons as MP and potentially challenge him for the leadership of the Labour Party. If successful, Andy Burnham had a chance of replaceing Keir Starmer as British Prime Minister.

Another version of events is that the Labour Party blocked Andy Burnham afraid of the fact that is Andy Burnham resigned as Mayor of Manchester then the Labour Party would lose the Mayoral seat in Manchester.

Whatever version of events you choose to believe, the fact that in the local elections Reform walked away with a huge number of seats makes the experience of standing to confront Reform in Manchester a very dangerous experience.

But then the question arises: what will Labour voters do, depending on which faction of the Labour Party they support.

1) Will they vote for Andy Burnham thus increasing the possibility of a success that will take him all the way into the House of Commons and make him a challenger for the Leadership of the Labour Party?

2) Will they abstain thus making failure a certainty? and 3) Will they even consider supporting the Opposition to send Andy Burnham into the wilderness, as a way to protect Keir Starmer?

Just two years ago, Robert Kenyon came second in the 2024 General Election that Labour won by a landslide, but this was before the local elections that almost wiped out Labour across Manchester. There are other players and they do matter if they chip support away from the main contenders. 

This has turned out to be one of the most decisive by-elections in British history.  What happens in Makerfield will affect the ruling party and the country as a whole. If Andy Burnham wins then the door will be opened for a leadership challenge. If Andy Burnham loses, he would have lost not only a by-election but also his seat as Manchester Mayor,

The Labour Party could lose both a by-election in Makerfield and the Manchester Mayor seat, and this after a disastrous set of local elections.

 

China: Britain´s reaction was expected

 

Britain´s reaction was expected

It is not personal. It is just business.

In a New World Order, then each operator is free to choose who to do business with. As EU celebrates a new agreement with India, UK celebrates an agreement with China.

Today, more than ever before, countries are seeking reassurance. With regards to threats of takeover and financial threats, players have decided to go their own way and do business with whoever they can do business with.

In the meantime, the value of the US Dollar keeps falling and investors are running for cover investing in precious metals and in whatever assets they can get hold of that offer them security. In the US, despite disagreements, Democrats and Republicans are doing deals to prevent yet another Federal Budget crisis, but this means surrendering control over an ever rising US debt.

Whatever resources the US can get hold of by invading or threatening other countries, the enormity of the US debt is pushing the value of the US currency lower and lower.

USA and Russian Federation close to an agreement on Ukraine

It came as no surprise that the interest of the EU and the interests of the USA are not aligned. The actions of the American Administration mobilizing forces in the Caribbean Sea are not fully supported by the United Kingdom or some of the strongest members of the European Union. 

The Middle East Chapter and Palestine is again another example of how the USA bypassed Britain and the European Union, making very clear that the Middle and Palestine is American business.

Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine - in part created by the European Union - the USA has played a protagonic role and now another level in terms of American influence might be about to be reached.

If it becomes apparent that USA and the Russian Federation have reached an agreement to partition Ukraine, the UK and the EU would once again be shown as irrelevant. The deal includes territorial concessions and reduction of any military and financial support for Ukraine.

Once Ukraine is out of the picture, the ball comes to the UK and the EU that will no longer be able to divert attendtion from their own internal issues.

The next four years are criticial years in Europe. There will be Presidential Elections in France in 2027. There could be an advanced General Election in the United Kingdom. If Ukraine is no longer in the horizon, Chancellor Friedrich Merz will struggle even more to keep the coalition together and the Federal Election due to take place in 2029 could happen earlier. And what about the USA itself. The entire agenda is hanging on the balance as Mid-Term Elections are in the horizon. So anything decisive will have to happen soon. 

So for the USA, there is a rush to get the Ukrainian issue sorted as soon as possible.

UK: Immigration vs Non Immigration

 

Immigration vs Non Immigration

When it comes to immigration, we must remember that a country is basically the people living in the country.

We must then decide what kind of country we want to live in. What kind of values do we want? What makes us feel safe or unsafe? What allows us to have a future and what does not allow us to have a future. People have preferences. Some communities prefer to live among those they see as their own. This is particularly visible in many parts of Britain. Certain cities and certain parts of those cities tell you the full story. People want to live with people who look like them, behave like them, have similar values and even people who speak the same language that they speak. 

This is why we find everywhere conglomerates of people of the same race, same religion and same language. You can choose certain neighbourhoods only to find out that practically the entirety of the said neighbourhoods are inhabited by people who come to Britain from certain countries. For many of those living in the said areas the main language is not English. You can find people who have been born and bred in Britain that do not speak the national language or have a very poor command of the national language. Across Britain you can find what we could, without a shadow of a doubt, call ghettos. And this is clear example of a total failure to integrate with the rest of society.

There is class divide, racial divide, religious divide and social and cultural divide and this is not an example of a healthy country. There is a point when so called Diversity is Apartheid.

We can encounter people who have lived in Britain practically their entire lives and cannot have a conversation in the language of the country, people who need to have an interpreter to use public services. Without the most basic communication tools, they will be forever limited, because in real terms they have never lived in Britain.

The issue about managing immigration is to ensure that all newcomers do not live in close communities that are de facto ghettos. 

 

Richard Dannatt: Former British High Commander, present Lord. Can you trust him?

A few days ago, when Palestine Action was on the news, this the man that communicated that he had been asked by an American organisation to promete banning Palestine Action. Now he has been found to have used his influence to obtain financial gain by seeking support from the British government by stating that his private mining business in Ghana was "in the UKs national interest". 

He is also a rabid anti-Russian, promoting a more aggressive military approach that could endanger the United Kingdom, one of those who could your children on the line of fire and not necessarily "in the UKs national interest".

The Lord and Former High Commander of the British Armed Forces, is already under investigation over his lobbying for several companies. A company called Blue Gold - Lord Dannatt holds shares of the said company. Lord Dannatt stated that he does not know the value of the shares. Well, at present, the Ghanaian government has revoked the company´s right to exploit the so called Bogoso-Prestea mine, one of the largest gold mines in Ghana. In early 2024, it was reported that the British Treasury had lent the said company 3.3 million Pound, using the so called Future Fund "to held startup and innovative firms survive the pandemic by extending them loans that converted into equity".

Going back to Palestine Action, Lord Dannatt asked British ministers to ban Palestine Action and he did so on behalf of a US Defense Company that pays him as adviser. And there is a lot more. The stench is much greater than that.