What Russia could do with Ukraine?

10 steps for Russia to solve the Ukraine/NATO issue.

They might learn from and follow the example of the oldest and most successful political party in the world...

The Tories.

1. Set up a political party that resonates with mainstream Ukraine attitudes. 
2. Model it on the Tory party.
3. Develop heuristic soundbites directly linked to populist views, beliefs and attitudes. Tory ones are great. Levelling up, build back better, get Brexit (NATO) done. Just follow the ideas of Boris Johnson, he's got an amazingly astute political imagination.
4. Bring back Dominic Cummings.
5. Use the methods employed by Cummings and AggregateIQ to become the democratically elected governing party.
6. Promise a referendum on NATO like David Cameron did for Brexit.
7. Promote 'free' and open social media, especially Facebook.
8. When the time is right hold a referendum on NATO membership.
9. Use Facebook advertising like Dominic Cummings used to win Brexit to win the NATO referendum.
10. Once in government make full use of Ukraine's special relationship with the EU for the benefit of Russia. A free trade agreement between Russia and your government in Ukraine would effectively mean a free trade deal with the EU.

Democracy is a malleable political concept isn't it Dom?

What opportunities is Sir Jacob looking for?

 Could this little story be happening in real life?

"Hello, My name's Jacob Rees-Mogg, sorry, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.

I'm from the English political party, the #Tories who fought tooth and nail against reform, we kept young children, girls and boys, as young as 4 or 5 down the mines and in the mills working up to 18 hours a day in terrible conditions for a whole generation.

And then we managed to level down reform to a trickle. We held down education long after Belgium, Germany and the USA for example.

I'm looking for opportunities to deregulate in line with our 18th century free market ideology. Yes, I know it failed but it's where we are.

I'm actually looking for opportunities to reduce standards in the UK to those of India.

Yes I know India is increasing standards to match the EU but this is post Brexit Chancellor Sunak's small government in action!"

I ask you where can we cut standards?

Levelling up? Our election slogan and has nothing to do with what we actually do."

Where Michael Gove's storyliners got their ideas from

India's budget!

Prime Minister Modi and Finance Minister Sitharaman are going to 'put wings under the Indian economy' with openly Keynesian plans backed with sufficient funding.

"Driven by seven engines of Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways, Logistics infrastructure, the national master plan aimed at excellent modern infrastructure and logistics synergy."

Unlike Gove and Johnson, they mean business.

"The budget announced 400 new Bande Bharat Trains, 100 new cargo terminals to give a boost to infrastructure. Four multi-modal logistics parks through PPP mode to be awarded. Integration of postal and railways network to facilitate parcel movement." And more. https://bit.ly/modiwings.

Contrast this with the 12 damp squib pipedreams from Johnson and Gove that have no substance, no new money, no hope and no glory.

Pipedreams are expected from Chuckle brothers Johnson and Gove but I'm surprised at Rishi Sunak joining in.

I thought he was meant to be seriously a minded economist/banker?

Tories levelling down Britain since 1689

seven reasons why council housing is an all round winner

 Council housing benefits the many as well as the few...

and should be the Keynesian keystone of any genuine levelling up project.

Seven winners in building council housing

1. Lending money to a local authority to build houses is a rock solid cannot fail investment
2. The Council acts as developer and builds at cost
3. New jobs are born and grow in housing departments
4. Construction industry benefits for years
5. tenants benefit from secure accommodation to build secure families
6. The benefits system covers rent for tenants in need
7. In due course housing brings in a high income return as funding is paid off. This can be reinvested by the council.

Any losers?

Thatcherites might argue it competes with and depresses private sector house building.

This can be offset by using existing house builders to tender for the council house building.

How Boris Johnson is writing himself into history

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is using his creative journalist skills to write himself into history.

Operation Save Big Dog and the Pork Pie Plot will be studied by students from primary school to PhD.

It's a brilliant ruse, I tip my finger Sir.

If Mr Johnson breaks free of Thatcherism, dumps Friedman and the free marketeers who are trying to rip him, and turns to Keynes:

Boris Johnson could be one of the greatest Prime Ministers Britain has known and really go down in history on a level with Churchill and Pitt.

Turn the tide of British history Sir, and follow in the steps of a fellow Kings Scholar.

Why levelling up can't work

Levelling up is a soundbite from the imagination of Boris Johnson

Manufacturing has left Britain for China

With the loss of manufacturing is the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Jobs gone forever

Most of the 'red wall' towns in the North and Midlands were manufacturing, mill and mining towns. Most of their jobs have gone never to return.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation calculate the minimum income to raise a family of two children is just under £40K/annum. This is the bare minimum, making a real living wage about £18/hour. (https://bit.ly/jrfminimumincome)  Half what Mr Sunak offers.

Few firms can afford a living wage.

Green, environmental jobs are supposed to come to the rescue but these jobs are in the wrong areas and there aren't enough of them.

Could construction help? Offices and flats are bolted together by a crane driver and a couple of erecters now. Construction needs a lot less skilled workers than in the pre-Thatcher daze. Flexi jobs (multi-skilled workers) are being trained up to become the norm nowadays.

Less workers are required at a time when more work is needed

Chancellor Sunak says education and training will do the trick.

Education and training to do what? 

Jobs must come first. Just as demand stimulates supply.

Mr Sunak's plan is just a re-run of the Youth Opportunity Scheme that flopped in the 1980s.

Even if we had a radical government, Labour perhaps, that reshored (brought back) all the lost industries. Technology has moved on so there wouldn't be as many jobs as in the pre-Thatcher era. The higher wages the levelled up workers would need would make UK manufactured goods too expensive for the levelled up working people to buy. 

Britain is in a downward spiral

No one in government or opposition is putting forward the radical ideas needed.

A quarter of the levelling up budget is to be spent on culture for example. New museums, art galleries and theatres like ones they've just got in Doncaster. 

How can a museum, art gallery and theatre level up Doncaster 

or anywhere else for that matter?

The white paper? 400 pages written by civil servants for civil servants and local government officers to pore over and write long reports about. 

Job creation here but nothing that will level anything or anybody up.

Why Mr Johnson will be cleared by an enquiry

Why Boris Johnson will be more or less cleared

The enquiry will smack Martin Reynolds on the wrist for inappropriate wording of an end of day debriefing and encouraging drinking at work. Prime Minister Johnson may or may not be censured. Senior civil servants and possibly 'advisors' who run the operation will be asked (told) to resign.

End of day debrief

The staff had been working on multiple aspects of the covid response and needed to come together at the end of the day for a debrief. There was nowhere suitable inside so they chose the garden as the safest place to debrief and pull the strands of the day's work. This was allowed within the covid regulations.

It was inappropriate to call the debrief a party and to encourage alcohol. But this is the Prime Minister's informal style of management. He does after all believe in a laissez-faire approach to the economy. Laissez-faire management isn't considered the best but it is a recognised style.

I'm sorry but Sue Gray will have no option but to conclude that the 20th May gathering was an informal work based meeting and no law was broken on that occasion.

The police would come to the same conclusion.

Informal end of day debriefs with alcohol are part of the Downing street work culture and have been for years.

Similar work based outside meetings across the country

(Minus the party atmosphere and alcohol).

During this period universities held lectures for students doing practical courses and seminars outside because it was deemed safer. Students brought drinks to the lectures and seminars. Lecturers and students had socially distanced meals outside. I saw it at Bournemouth on the front lawn area.

Schools did the same.

Hospital staff took breaks and meals outside and had meetings outside in a socially distanced way. In Bournemouth, it was at the back of the hospital around the lake.

I went to a work based informal meeting held outside at the 'beach' area of Castlepoint (Bournemouth) near the office, we had coffee and sandwiches from M&S.

The same thing was done in offices and factories across Britain.

Other than alcohol and calling it a party, the number 10 staff did nothing that wasn't being done in almost every hospital, university, school, college, factory and office.

Mr Johnson knows it too...