The Tories are the problem.

Sunak has a deal. The real question is whether he is prepared to take on the extremists in his party or rely on Labour votes? Or will he fold entirely and leave things as they stand?

Sunak is a weak leader in charge of a split party. 

The dance around the NIP this week illustrates why the Tories need to be removed from power if this country is ever to repair some of the economic and social damage they have caused.

This deal was needed to kill the NIP bill now in the Lords. This would have been a key step to build trust with the EU. In turn that could have led to.a closer relationship benefiting the economy.

The factions and individuals within the Tories may have dealt a fatal blow to their fading electoral hopes. The economy will now carry on scraping along ar the bottom. More importantly their blind ideological stubbornness and, in some cases, individual entitlement have solidified the damage in this country.

At every turn since and including the referendum individuals within, factions within and the Tory party itself have put it/themselves before the interests of the country.

Reflections

 Sat in the window seat of a coffee house this morning. The perfect position to watch the world go by.

Yet my attention is drawn to the bulb just above my head.

The glowing pleasingly shaped filament. 

The warm colours in the glass. Warm like a real fire.

The reflection of the world around me. The window bar where I am sitting and my cappuccino at the bottom of the bulb. 

The street outside with people moving to and fro on the left of the bulb.

All the while my world sits next to me in conversation, Mrs J and my Son, while my autistic mind wonders…..

Running and ageing.

A personal outlook on this as it is a very individual thing.

I look on it as you can either rage against the dying of the light or accept it and make the most of it.

I'm nearly 55. I could take the position that I am still 25 and try to run and train like I am. Or, I can accept I am nearly 55 and train and run to do the best for my age and circumstances.

I choose the latter.

Ageing is something we can't change. We will all get older. But we can alter our running and training to allow us to continue and still enjoy running.

I find a combination of running, yoga and pilates works for me. My race personal bests are behind me. But, I do get some PB's for my age and occasionally a PB on my garmin for shorter distances.

I enjoy running these days for the sake of running. I appreciate the fact I can run when many, for various reasons, cannot. I enjoy simply participating in a race rather than the competition.

My next race, first since the pandemic, is the Chester Metric Marathon in October. Looking forward to this for a number of reasons. Firstly just to enjoy participating and appreciating the countryside as it passes by.

Secondly to meet up with people, from my running website/club, who I haven't met.

I record my runs on www.fetcheveryone.com which also has a UK athletics affiliated running club - FERC. As anyone, anywhere can use it there are members far and wide "Fetchies". It will be good to finally have a chance to meet some of them in real life.

There is also the bonus of a PB. I haven't run 26k specifically so will be guaranteed a PB 😀 There's more than one way to still get a PB as you get older 🤣🤣

So to sum up, for me as I get older it is about just appreciating and enjoying the journey 🏃

EU law bill folly

Firstly there are no EU laws left. Since we left the EU all our laws are just that - ours. EU laws were incorporated into our statute. Why? Because either they are useful or would cause too much damage if removed.

Secondly if, as this bill requires, they are removed overnight it will cause chaos within business and therefore more massive economic damage.

So why do this? Because they have the letters E U linked with them? Possibly but more than likely only slightly. 

Scorched earth policy knowing they will likely lose the next election. Again possible but only slightly likely.

Doing it in the full knowledge the Lords will alter it substantially. In this case it keeps the eternal excuse going that if so and so had only done or allowed this Brexit would have been a success. A lot more probable than the other reasons.

The question is if they remove them what do they replace them with? It's unlikely they would remove these laws, causing all the ensuing damage, just to replace them with something similar. 

So you have to reason they want a clean slate to remove the rights we enjoy but inconvenience them. 

All the roads from Brexit far from leading to 'sunlit uplands' seem to lead downhill for the majority of us.

The tale of "under"....

Doctors, Nurses, Ambulance crews, Civil servants and transport workers ETC taking strike action.

University lecturers and now thousands of teachers across England and Wales.

Underfunded…

Under-resourced…

Underpaid…

Undervalued…

For 13 years. It is no wonder the final straw has broken the camel's back in so many public services.

Underfunded…

Under-resourced…

Underpaid…

Undervalued…

Also applies to their workplaces. Ten years of austerity and now even more austerity removing resources and funding. Expecting the workforce to hold everything together with lack of staff and old equipment.

The unnecessarily hard Brexit negotiated by this government leading to staff shortages.

This crisis is the child of this government's policies. A self inflicted crisis they have created.

Underfunded…

Under-resourced…

Underpaid…

Undervalued…

Brexit: Hearts and minds changing.

Polls are more and more showing hearts and minds changing regarding Brexit. But why?

Because during the referendum the Brexit proponents "over promised". We were told we were heading to "sunny uplands". There would be no downsides, only upsides. We held all the cards. There would be £350m a week for the NHS etc.etc,etc.

In reality there have been many factors that have made life worse - Covid and Ukraine to name but two. But Brexit played its part by weakening our economy and making the other factors worse comparable to other countries.

While not everyone will have appreciated the intertwining factors they will have noticed everything in decline both directly in their lives and wider. The cost of energy and food. Mortgages and rents rising. Inability to access a doctor. The NHS in crisis. Transport strikes and rising costs to use etc,etc,etc.

People then compare this to the afor mentioned Brexit "promises" and just see everything getting worse not better. Hence the change in minds and hearts. This will only increase as the decline drags on.

The only solution is a closer relationship with the EU. This will take a lot of time but is the inevitable direction of travel.

🎆Highlights of 2022🎆

Shift change - changing shifts after 34 years from continuous shifts with nights to days/afternoons ( Mon - Fri). Probably the biggest and definitely the most life changing alteration.

A job - for my Son. Finally getting a job after five years of trying. Defying expectations due to his autism left school with good qualifications going on to get a degree in IT. Now doing several hours a week working from home and earning. Finally a start and a foot in the door.

Changes….

2 Monarchs

2 Deputy PM's 

3 PM's

3 Secretaries of state for work and pensions 

3 Secretaries of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

3 Home Secretaries 

4 Chancellor's

And still stuck with the Tory party 🎶

Feel free to sing along to the tune of Twelve Days Of Christmas 🎶🎶😉

Discovering Mastodon - a social network that is just that - Social. Somewhere I can be myself, engage with others and post about my various interests in one place. Liberating.

Entering a race - entering a race for the first time since before the pandemic. The Chester Metric Marathon in October 2023. Done the Chester marathon but always fancied this as it is a unique distance.