Daily Archives: June 30, 2017

Opinion – Theresa May will review the cap on public sector pay as public have grown ‘weary’ of austerity | Business Insider – John Gelmini

June 30, 2017 By in Austerity, Brexit, Business Administration, Education, Energy Policy, Fiscal Policy, Foreign Policy, Growth, Healthcare, Immigration, Jeremy Corbyn, NHS, Politics, Public Services Reform Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Dr Alf brings us an interesting story but one which has already been overtaken by events following Mrs May’s latest U turn.

When the Banking Crisis finished I was for two years of brutal Canadian style austerity coupled with measures to stimulate export led growth. We got neither of these because the politicians lack the “cojones” to face down public sector trades unions, malingering pensioners bleeding the NHS dry and mendacious Chief Constables, Head Teachers, Local Authority Chief Executives and Common Purpose trained quangocrats. That failure coupled with the failure to deal with fat cat bosses who pay themselves too much, deliver no increases in shareholder value, fail to sell, fail to export and fail to motivate their workers to improve productivity brings us to where we are today.

Dr Alf asks what the likely targets for cuts are likely to be.

I suspect the politicians will fudge by further rationing of NHS care, introducing tougher benefit eligibility criteria and further moves to extend IR35.

They might increase some taxes on middle earners but they will avoid confrontation and do nothing to force police, council and fire service reform, nothing to effect Adult Social Care and NHS mergers and nothing to drive exports.

Under May all one can expect is minimalism and failure.

Lord Tebbitt suggests the Conservatives need to skip a generation and I agree with him. Putting May and her zombie Cabinet to the sword would be a good first step looking at people like Kwazi Kwarteng who is robust, telegenic, sharp and black would be a good way to wrong foot Corbyn.

Then after the Conservative Party Conference, there can be imposed reform starting with Local Authorities and BBC privatisation and then moving hard against Chief Constables and Fire Chiefs with timing to coincide with the trials of Bettison and Duckenfield for their roles in the Hillsborough disaster.

John Gelmini

Opinion – Britain warned Ireland against ‘opportunistic’ Brexit attack on City – the Telegraph – John Gelmini

June 30, 2017 By in Brexit, Business Administration, Foreign Policy, Politics, Theresa May Tags: , Leave a comment

This article in the Daily Telegraph from Dr Alf demonstrates above all else the naive approach of May, her lacklustre cabinet, and her sleepy officials to business and economic reality.

The actions of the Irish Government and their chosen vehicle the Dublin Financial District are a normal response indicating that they are aggressively seeking new business.

Corporation tax leakage through the Dublin Financial District from UK companies already exceeds the foreign exchange we earn from the entire Single Market so the correct response from the UK was to lower corporation tax, increase incentives for wealthy inward investors, increase writing down allowances on plant and machinery to stimulate exports and to sell citizenship bonds and infrastructure bonds.

Passporting rights could have been secured by creating nearshore Almo solutions using the military fort system which we built before World War 2 before Operation SeaLion which Hitler never went through with.

These forts lie in international waters and the UK Government could have emulated the American ISP and software companies who built server farms on them 20 years ago to retain passporting rights for the City.

Of course with May, Hammond, Johnson and Fox, plus Davis and Rudd, Javid and Patel we get either, discord and the thinking skills of a collection of lobotomized Armadillos, so the Irish Government can hardly be blamed for what it is now doing.

This slow-witted behaviour extends to trade in that we should be increasing the size of the export sales force fourfold now whilst equipping them with instant translator devices already available from America since the middle of last year.

This and subsidised foreign language websites is something we can do NOW, trade deals can come later or if we must strike them Sealand and the military fort system can become a new “country” which can then strike deals in its own right.

As a country we are simply too slow for the 21st century in practically everything we do at Government and public sector level.

My late father whilst in his home town near Brescia in northern Italy on a visit to see his cousins during 2000 had occasion to visit a small local wine bar where he encountered what we might call “A man of respect”(A junior Mafiosi). The conversation turned to the ease of “doing business” in different European countries as this man became more loose tongued. Germany was cited as extremely difficult but the UK was rated as very easy because “The police over there are half asleep”. This little anecdote represents the way our institutions operate and under May who is naturally slow to decide anything and telescopes her intentions whilst dithering one can see why other Governments in this case the Irish Government, are quick to take advantage of the policy vacuums she creates through indecision.

May and her henchpersons need to be replaced with telegenic street fighters and hard-headed realists who can act and think quickly whilst getting it right at the same time.

John Gelmini