|| Tuesday: September 17: 2019 || ά. Bus operators across England are setting out a bold strategy to work with the government to improve services, help tackle climate change and get a billion more passenger journeys by bus by 2030. The new strategy Moving Forward Together has been launched late last week by the Confederation of Passenger Transport:CPT.

The strategy includes new commitments from the industry, including, a pledge to work with the government to make every new bus an ultra-low or zero emission bus from 2025. The CPT is the voice for bus and coach operators across the UK, representing over 95% of the bus industry, including, the major operators Arriva, First Group, Go Ahead, National Express and Stagecoach, as well as, hundreds of smaller operators.

Additional commitments in the strategy include reducing travel costs for job seekers and apprentices by 2021, introducing price-capped daily and weekly tickets across multiple operators by 2022 in urban areas and working with the government to develop innovative sustainable solutions to rural transport. 

Alongside the industry’s commitments CPT is calling on the Government to introduce a national bus strategy to help deliver better bus services across England. This would include bus journey time targets for local transport authorities, speeding up millions of journeys to work, school and leisure and encouraging more people to get on the bus.

Mr Graham Vidler, CPT Chief Executive, said, “Buses are, already, the cleanest form of road transport and have a crucial role to play in tackling environmental issues and helping to meet important targets on improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions.

With the right support from government to make the transition the bus industry will buy only ultra-low or zero emission buses by 2025, reducing CO2 emissions by half a million tonnes a year.”

Buses are a vital part of the UK’s infrastructure with passengers generating £64 billion of economic output annually. Each person takes around 50 bus trips per year and 60% of all public transport journeys are taken by bus. Every day, over two million people all over the country travel to work by bus and a million more to school or college.

Baroness Vere, the Minister for Buses, said, “Buses link people with work, school, friends and family and are vital to helping drive down emissions by providing a greener travel option. 

The Confederation of Passenger Transport’s strategy emphasises the importance of the bus industry and I look forward to working with them to continue to bolster bus services across the country.”

The Confederation of Passenger Transport UK:CPT is the national trade association, representing bus and coach operators.:::ω.

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|| Thursday: September 12: 2019 || ά. The Johnson Government has prorogued Parliament so that it does not get to sit and debate, discuss and raise questions to the Government’s dangerous policy of getting the UK, crashing out of the European Union with No Deal. The Prime Minister does not, therefore, have to stand at the Parliament and answer questions of the MPs, who are there because their constituents voted for them to be there to do exactly that: to keep the executive at scrutiny and take account of it to ensure the rule of law. However, this is, precisely, why he had decided to prorogue Parliament, regardless of whatever he or his propagandists say. The idea that this prorogation was done so that the government can prepare a Queen’s Speech is laughable, since, the Johnson Government is now a Minority Government; it can not pass a bucket through the Parliament, let alone, anything else!

Yet, this Prime Minister, who does not like the Parliament and the MPs scrutinising his policy and the direction of his government, goes and tries to answer questions from ‘the people’. What does this say: is it because one can not just say anything at Parliament, that one likes but, tell the truth, for lying to the Parliament or misleading it or offering it falsity or misinformation is a dangerous thing, that the Parliament and the system of governance will not tolerate, so that the Prime Minister goes out and pretends to be a ‘people’s champion’ while the fact remains, that the electorate did not get to elect him to begin with and he pretends to answer questions, in so doing, he can say anything he likes as he and a whole lot of other people did at the European Union Referendum. Because these places, where some people are gathered, are not the Parliament and these people have no power to do anything about what is said to them: whether they were told lies or half-truths or fabrications.

‘The people’, without the Parliament standing for them as part of the Constitution and governance system, are nothing because they do not have any power to do anything about anything. This, effectively, establishes an infinite disempowerment of the people because their power, concentrated in the Parliament, is mighty, while, without the Parliament, they are, literally, made into a sand dune where each individual of a nation is a sand grain. This is why despots, tyrants, dictators and self-interest seeking ‘people’s darlings’ seek to separate the two vital parts of a democratic system of governance: the Parliament and the people and they try to set the people against themselves, in this, they are weaponised against their own Parliament. The People become the most powerful, most organised and most legally methodical and most awesome a power in a democratic governance system when they have a Parliament, that stands as their ‘Will, Power and Sovereignty’.

Take that Parliament away and the people become disjointed individuals and they at are their most helpless and most disempowered and they are spread about the landscape, who have no constitutional power to exercise and in that powerlessness they are manipulated, directed and herded towards despots and tyrants, who tell them that they are the champions of the people!

And, take a look at the Yellorhammer Report, that the Government did not want to release but, the very Parliament forced it to do that: the No Deal exit of the UK is a calamitous pathway for the country and it portrays the reality as such. However, the most vital point about it is that the very people, the vast majority of the working and non-working poor and all the groups of vulnerable people of the UK are the ones, who will pay the highest price for this No Deal exit. But this Johnson government does not want people to see that. But people will see and they will do better were their Parliament is scrutinising all these. But their Parliament is prorogued so that the people have lost their ears and eyes and voices.

This is why this government shuts down the Parliament and keeps going and seeking to manipulate people and getting them all misled towards a dangerous path, ruinous path, that are not so for the rich but for the rest of the country, who are not rich and they are to pay the price of this No Deal exit as the Conservative governments made sure they paid for the financial crash, year after year after year. This is how and this is why governments, like Mr Johnson’s, seek to separate people from their Parliament and set them against it and, then, they try to direct and herd the most powerless people towards becoming their ‘supporting’ base. And, the people keep on paying the price for the absolute, complete and overwhelming disempowerment for there is nothing, that now can work for them. .:::ω.

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|| Wednesday: September 11: 2019 || ά. Scottish Appeal Court has ruled the prorogation of the Parliament unlawful. This is a momentous decision and it will serve to strengthen the Constitution, the rule of law and the democratic governance, as well as, ensuring no future Executive will be able to use this outdated means to, simply, ‘discard and done away with’ the Parliament for as long they want and as and when they wish. It will bring in focus the existence, use and, often, abused, Royal Prerogative, which, must, come to an end. However, for this to be ‘Final’ and ‘Determinative’, this, must come from the UK Supreme Court, which is due to hear the matter on September 17.

Royal Prerogative has no validity in a representative democracy, where the people hold the power, which they give for exercising to their elected Parliament. Therefore, this verdict is a validation of the foundational basis of the British Constitution: Separation of Powers, which, must be, exercised within the perimeters of the Constitution and the rule of law. Whatever government comes to power, following the forthcoming General Election, it, must, deal with these two vital issues by law: that Prorogation of the Parliament is made unlawful by statute and Royal Prerogative Powers are ‘relocated’ back to the Parliament by statute so that it can only be exercised by the Parliament and not by the Executive.

Ms Shami Chakrabarti, the Labour Party’s Shadow Attorney General, commenting on the Scottish Appeal Court judgement, said, “This ruling shows that, despite what Boris Johnson has spent his privileged life thinking, he is not above the law.

Labour will not allow his elitist shutdown of parliament to enable him to dodge scrutiny and force through a disastrous No Deal Brexit.”

It is a good day for the UK: no one is above the law in this country and no Prime Minister nor Government can do whatever they wish or like but follow the Constitution and the law of the land.:::ω.

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|| Tuesday: September 03: 2019 || ά. The Labour Party Leader Mr Jeremy Corbyn MP tonight told MPs that Labour will support a motion for a general election as soon as the Bill to stop No Deal becomes law. Speaking after the government’s defeat in tonight’s emergency debate motion to remove the threat of crashing out, he said, if, the Prime Minister tables a motion for a general election, the Party would support it but, only, once this Bill removed the threat of a disastrous No Deal.

The Bill to stop a No Deal Exit next month is expected to pass into law by Friday night. Mr Corbyn said, “On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I welcome tonight’s vote. We live in a parliamentary democracy, we do not have a presidency but a Prime Minister. Prime Ministers govern with the consent of the House of Commons, representing the people in whom the sovereignty rests.

There is no consent in this House to leave the European Union without a deal. There is no majority for no deal in the country.

As I have said before: if, the Prime Minister has confidence in his Brexit policy, when he has one he can put forward, he should put it before the people in a public vote.

And so, he wants to table a motion for a General Election, fine, get the bill through first in order to take No Deal off the table.”:::ω.

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|| Monday: July 29: 2019 || ά. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has joined over 120 faith leaders signing an open letter to the new Prime Minister, asking Mr Johnson to increase refugee resettlement to the UK to 10,000 people each year, including, at least, 1,000 children from Europe and other conflict zones. The letter says that the UK should be proud to give people a route to safety, that stops them risking their lives in overcrowded dinghies or, in wheel arches or, in refrigerated lorries.

Other signatories to the letter include the Senior Rabbi and Chief Executive of Liberal Judaism, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, the Founder of City Sikhs, the Director of the Hindu Council, over 30 rabbis and representatives from the United Reformed Church, the Salvation Army, the Quakers, Zoroastrians and Buddhists. “We believe that the UK can and must resettle more refugees. The Refugee Council, British Red Cross and others recently called for resettlement to be expanded to at least 10,000 refugees each year.

Meanwhile Safe Passage International has been campaigning for the UK to welcome, at least, 1,000 children annually from Europe and conflict zones. As one of the world’s richest countries, seeking to build and demonstrate global co-operation and goodwill, this is a small ask of the UK.” The Letter says.

With current resettlement schemes due to expire in 2020, the Home Office recently announced plans to resettle up to 5,000 refugees in a new scheme, starting next year. But it has made no longer term commitment and, crucially, has given no indication that it will offer any more unaccompanied children safe passage from Europe.

The Letter’s signatories hope to convince Mr Boris Johnson to address these issues by making a lasting resettlement commitment, including, a specific route to safety for child refugees on the continent.

The letter Continues “Ambitious and effective programmes for resettlement to the UK offer a life-saving alternative to incredibly dangerous journeys in the hands of smugglers or traffickers…Today, there are families living in refugee camps who may be there for generations. There are people in conflict zones whose lives are in constant danger. There are children surviving in carparks and on the side of motorways in Europe; preyed on by traffickers and others who seek to do them harm. These are people who deserve a chance to rebuild their lives and to become part of British society, like so many refugees have before them.” 

Ms Eleanor Harrison OBE, CEO of Safe Passage, said “The Dubs Scheme offered a lifeline to unaccompanied children in Europe but by capping it at 480 places, the government has denied safe passage to thousands of children surviving in camps and carparks as we speak. We know that children, who are desperate, will not give up on their dreams of reaching sanctuary, which means many fall into the hands of smugglers and traffickers. We are grateful to all those, who signed this letter and, like them, we urge the government to take this chance to ensure that child refugees, from conflict zones and Europe, have a lasting route to safety here.”

Dr Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, said, “Our new Prime Minister and Cabinet are faced with a number of questions about what the United Kingdom stands for.  It would be wonderful, if, whatever the sharp national divergences on other matters, they could reaffirm Britain’s commitments to support the most vulnerable in our world and on our doorsteps, and so to give the message that this country had not lost its moral dignity and moral compass.”

Mr Jonathan Clark, Bishop of Croydon, said “The offering of sanctuary to those in need is a fundamental principle that echoes across and between faiths. I sincerely hope that our new Prime Minister and indeed our new government more widely, will agree with the many faith leaders, who have signed this letter and respond positively to our call for the UK to welcome more refugees. A safe, legal and lasting route to safety is the only way that we can give incredibly vulnerable children a meaningful alternative to risking their lives in lorries and dinghies. This letter shows the strength of interfaith support for helping more children and I urge the Prime Minister to act now and give child refugees the hope they so desperately need.”

Mr Harun Rashid Khan, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said, “The MCB encourages mosques to be at the forefront of welcoming and supporting refugees arriving in Britain. Up and down the country, Muslims are part of communities and initiatives helping people rebuild their lives in safety here. Like all the other signatories to this letter, I hope, our new Prime Minister will take this opportunity to make a lasting resettlement commitment and work with people of all faiths and none to make sure many more children can grow up safely here in Britain.”

Mr Danny Rich, the Senior Rabbi for Liberal Judaism, said, “Jewish experience and the history of Britain have demonstrated that the compassionate welcome of vulnerable children is obviously good for the rescued and positive for the host community.”

Mr Paul Parker, the Recording Clerk for Quakers in Britain, said, “Quakers in Britain urge the Prime Minister to show compassionate leadership in welcoming refugees, especially, vulnerable and unaccompanied children. Quakers say that each one is a precious life, worthy of dignity and sanctuary.” 

Read the Letter :::ω. 

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|| Thursday: June 20: 2019 || ά. Dear Friend: Amazing news: In the last few minutes the Court of Appeal has ruled that UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen are UNLAWFUL. The Court found that the government had failed to properly assess whether there have been breaches of International Humanitarian Law.

This historic judgment means that the government must now stop issuing new arms exports licences and suspend existing licences to export arms to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen, and retake all decisions in accordance with the law. These sales should never have been licensed in the first place. Even as schools, hospitals, weddings, and funerals have been bombed, the government has licensed the sale of billions of pounds of weapons for use in the conflict.

We have now shown that these arms sales were not just immoral, but also unlawful. But even now the government is likely to resist. Every step of the way it has done all it can to keep the weapons flowing.

We need MPs to know about this ruling, to keep building the pressure to stop these sales once and for all. Please email your MP today and help us make this count: caat.org.uk/unlawful

In solidarity,
Sarah
Campaign Against Arms Trade

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|| Thursday: June 13: 2019 || ά. The media seems to have forgotten the fact that there is a country out there where there are 63 million citizens, voters, whose lawful and democratic right to take part and elect a government have been ‘jacked’ by the Conservative Party and it has, then, given that right and power to it’s two colleges: A-College of just over three hundred of their MPs and the B-College over a hundred thousand members while it appears terribly occupied with reporting the tempest in the Conservative pond where things are all getting into the realm of, somewhere between a farce and a fury, signifying one thing: this system of governance, using an unwritten constitution, can not be sustained. This way of governing, where a party, effectively, takes over the ‘dictation’ and ‘direction’ of the power of the people, effectively, disempowering and disenfranchising the entire populace is unsustainable! The current state of things in the UK is the proof that this dysfunctional state of affairs can not go on for too long.

The country, effectively, has not had a proper government since the European Referendum but the Conservative Party has installed two different Prime Ministers and is now in the process of installing another one and, if, this goes on, it could go on and on till their five-year fixed-term Parliament comes to an end! While the country is being frozen into a state of ‘being immobilised’ and the people are suffering and everything is falling apart and, yet, here, these very many hopeful Conservative leadership candidates are making all sorts of claims and declarations. Why does the media not report the reality of the country and where things are? Why do the public have to suffer this utter contempt by the entire media outlets where reading the news and views and opinions, it appears that the people and the country, called, United Kingdom does not exist any longer because the media outlets are going mad about this puddle-circus of the tempest in the Conservative pond, that the Conservative Party has put up.

The country is falling apart; European Referendum has devastated the country by creating a two-sided eternal-duality where everything and everyone lost their own whole and accepted that they are on this side or the other and they wake up everyday reminding themselves: I am on this side and not on the other so that they begin where they left off. Leaving the European Union or Staying in the European Union is becoming beside the point: the people of the country have been robbed off their lawful democratic right to elect a government and no one seems to be bothered about this fact and everyone is to dance about what circus display the exotic Conservative leadership contenders are putting up. Give the country a break: give the people a say: that here is time: the United Kingdom has a modern and written constitution so that these kinds of monkey business does not take the people’s power and make them comprehensively, utterly and absolutely disenfranchised and disempowered as to who their Prime Minister is going to be and what kind of a government they are to form because these people, who are seeking to be the Prime Minister have not got anything of the sort, that the people can see and make a judgement as to what they are going to do.:::ω.

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|| Monday: June 10: 2019 || ά. Barnardo’s is celebrating the Volunteers’ Week by speaking about its army of kind-hearted individuals, who donate their time to help the charity support thousands of vulnerable children and young people. Count how many various types of charities there are in the UK and how many hundreds of thousands there are: from running hospital radios to hospices, from organising elderly evening outs to shopping for people with disabilities. From Barnardo’s to Hampshire Youthwork Group. Not a single charity can run as efficiently as they do now were these countless number of kind, gracious and giving human beings to be not there! This, in the UK, is a phenomenon: the entire voluntary works in the country can equate to an average GDP of a relative large nation.

We do not think that we in the UK appreciate and celebrate this degree of giving of humanity to and for humanity enough but this should be celebrated as a matter of great accomplishment that there are so many, who have so much to give and who give so very much. Therefore, those, who are taking books through a Mobile Library, to rural communities in Steelbourne in Boston or Berkshire and from Derry’s Walk with Abilities running with people with disabilities to those, who are running Inverness Community Football the country owes much and it is wonderful to see Barnardo’s is speaking about its own volunteer army. People volunteer for the UK’s leading children’s charity in a number of ways, from volunteering in retail shops, with Children’s Services or assisting with fundraising efforts.

This Volunteers Week, Barnardo’s is highlighting the fantastic level of support in its shops and the amazing volunteers, who help to keep them running so successfully and smoothly.  

One example is the charity’s store in Fallowfield, Manchester, which, due to its dedicated team of volunteers and staff, raised an amazing £188,000 last year making it Barnardo’s highest performing store. Here, those, who have any shred of an experience as to how infinitely hard and difficult it is to raise a penny, these days, in such dire competition of recipients, would appreciate how much money that is, £188,000 in terms of counting the fact that each of these pennies were raised!  

The Ammanford store, in Wales which raised £184,000 last year, also, demonstrates the importance of having a reliable team of volunteers. Due to the hard work of volunteers and staff such as Manager Ms Sue Langford, the store has raised more than £01.1m since opening in 2010. That’s a staggering amount of money! This store, along with Its Manager and the entire team of humanity working there should receive a national award!

The Chief Executive of Barnaro’s, Mr Javed Khan said, “I’m really grateful to our thousands of fantastic volunteers, who are the lifeblood of Barnardo’s. Whether you volunteer in a shop, in our frontline services or give time to support our fundraising efforts, your contribution is vital. Thanks to you, Barnardo’s is able to support hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children, young people, parents and carers across the UK.”

Long-term supporter and former staff member of 21 years Mr Mark Gill, who came into the care of Barnardo’s as a baby, is among the volunteers. Keen to play an active role supporting Barnardo’s in retirement, Mr Gill started volunteering at a local store and volunteers at events with the community fundraising team.

He is now 66, from Barkingside. He said, “Volunteering gives you a great ‘feel good’ factor. For me, it’s about giving something back to Barnardo’s. When you volunteer in the shops every day is different. For people considering volunteering with Barnardo’s, I would say, definitely give it a go, you’ve got nothing to lose and the children supported by the charity have everything to gain from your generosity.”

Teenager Ms Lucy Burton, began been volunteering at her local Barnardo’s store for her Duke of Edinburgh Award when she was just 14 but enjoyed it so much that she’s still there four years later.  

Ms Burton said, “Everyone is really kind and supportive and it’s a very social environment. I was quite shy when I first joined but I’ve definitely become more confident and I like chatting to people. It’s like having a second family.”

To find out more about becoming a volunteer and the roles available, visit Barnardo’s website www.barnardos.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer

About Barnardo’s: Last year 301,100 children, young people, parents and carers were supported by Barnardo’s through more than 1,000 services across the UK, such as, young carers, care leavers, foster carers and adoptive parents, training and skills or parenting classes. We work to transform the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children and every year we help thousands of families to build a better future. But we can not do it without you.

Caption: Images: Barnardo’s:::ω. 

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|| Monday: April 29: 2019 || ά. Health Tech Connect, a new online resource provided by the National Institute of Care and Excellence:NICE to help identify and support new health technologies as they move from inception to adoption in the UK health and care system was formally launched today, Monday, April 29. Developed by NICE with help from a range of partner organisations and was funding from NHS England, Health Tech Connect is for health technologies, medical devices and diagnostic and digital health technologies.

These technologies are those, that offer measurable benefits to patients or other health and care service users, compared to those already offered by current routine practice in the UK or, provide measurable benefits to the UK health and care system compared to those already offered by current routine practice in the UK. The system, which is free to use, will help companies to understand what information is needed by decision makers in the UK health and care system and clarify possible routes to market access.

It will, also, help the UK health and care system to better plan for the introduction and adoption of health technologies, for example, by reconfiguring services or enabling reimbursement. Once registered, companies enter and update information about their technology as it develops into HealthTechConnect.org.uk. This information is used to determine, if, the technology is suitable for consideration by an organisation, that offers support to health technology developers; for example, with funding, technology development, evidence generation, market access, reimbursement, adoption. 

It will, also, be used to identify, if, the technology is suitable for consideration for evaluation by a UK health technology assessment programme. Technologies, that are suitable for support or evaluation will be able to access this through Health Tech Connect. This will avoid companies having to provide the same or similar information about their technology separately to a different organisation or programme. 

Mr Meindert Boysen, the Director of the Centre for Health technology Evaluation at NICE, said, “Health Tech Connect is a clear and simple point of entry for companies developing health technologies, be it medical devices, diagnostics or digital health technologies, to access support and potential routes to national evaluation programmes.

As well as, helping national organisations like NICE, that have a responsibility for developing guidance on the use of health technologies in the NHS, better identify and track technologies, that offer novel benefits, Health Tech Connect will, also, enable transformative technologies to be identified and fast tracked through relevant processes within the Accelerated Access Collaborative.

Ultimately, the aim of Health Tech Connect is to help get promising new health technologies to the people, who will benefit from them, faster. We expect it to contribute to reducing the complexity and, often, duplication, involved in getting medical devices, diagnostics and digital health technologies adopted in the UK.”

Since the initial soft launch of the system in February, over 100 companies have registered to use Health Tech Connect, 13 technologies have been submitted and one technology, Sonata System, has, already, been selected by NICE for a Medtech Innovation Briefing

Ms Sarah Field, the Sales Manager, UK and Ireland for Gynesonics, said, “The Health Tech Connect portal was a great way to interface the interaction between our organisation and NICE.  This enabled a swift pathway for our new technology, the Sonata treatmentii, to be evaluated. I thoroughly recommend other commercial organisations to use this route. The registration process was quick and simple. This is a really helpful initiative.”

Further information about Health Tech Connect is available at the Health Tech Connect website:::ω.

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|| March 14: 2019 || ά. Mr Jeremy Corbyn MP, the Leader of the Labour Party, speaking in the House of Commons after the latest Parliamentary vote on exiting the European Union, said, “After the last few days of government chaos and some defeats, all of us now have the opportunity and the responsibility to work together to find a solution to the crisis facing this country, where the government has so dramatically failed to do so.’’

“We have begun to hold meetings with members across the House to find a consensus and a compromise that meets the needs of our country. But the last few days have also put a responsibility on the Prime Minister. First, to publicly accept that both her deal and no deal are simply no longer viable options. Secondly, to bring forward the necessary legislation to amend the exit date of 29 March.’’ Mr Corbyn said.

He further went onto say, “Tonight I reiterate our conviction that a deal can be agreed based on our alternative plan that can command support across the House. And I also reiterate our support for a public vote not as political point-scoring but as a realistic option to break the deadlock.

The whole purpose ought to be to protect communities that are stressed and worried. Those people are worried about the future of their jobs and industries. Our job is to try to meet the concerns of the people who sent us here in the first place.”.:::ω.

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|| March 13: 2019 || ά. Mr John McDonnell MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Labour Party, in response to the Chancellor’s Spring Statement in the House of Commons, said, ‘’Let me thank the Chancellor for providing me with an early sight of his statement. We have just witnessed a display by the Chancellor of this Government’s toxic mix of callous, brutal complacency over austerity and its grotesque incompetence over the handling of Brexit.

Whilst teachers are having to pay for the materials their pupils need; working parents are struggling to manage as schools close early and their children are sent home. 5000 of our fellow citizens will be sleeping in the cold and wet on our streets tonight. Young people being stabbed to death in rising numbers. And, the Chancellor turns up today to threaten us that austerity can only end if we accept a bad Brexit deal. Let’s look at some of the Chancellor’s claims.

The Chancellor has boasted about the OBR forecast of 01.2% growth this year. What he hasn’t mentioned is that the forecast has been downgraded from 01.6%: downgrading forecasts is a pattern under this Chancellor. In November 2016 forecasts for the following year were downgraded from 02.2% to 01.4%. In autumn 2017 forecasts for the following year were downgraded from 01.6% to 01.4%.

Economists are warning that what growth there is the economy is largely being sustained by consumption based upon high levels of household debt. The Chancellor is boasting about bringing down debt. Let’s remind him that when Labour left office having to bail out his mates in the City, many of them Tory donors, the nation’s debt stood at £01 trillion. They have borrowed for failure and added another three quarters of a trillion to the debt. More than any Labour government ever.

He is also boasting about the deficit. He has not eliminated the deficit. He has simply shifted it onto the shoulders of Headteachers, NHS managers, local councillors, police commissioners and worst of all, onto the backs of many of the poorest in our society. The consequences are stark. Infant mortality has increased. Life expectancy has reduced. Our communities are less safe.

Police budgets have faced cuts of £02.7b since 2010 and nothing the Chancellor has said today will make up for the human and economic costs of those cuts. The Chancellor talks about “a balanced approach.”

There is nothing balanced about the government giving over 110 billion pounds of tax cuts to the rich and corporations whilst: 87 people die every day before they receive the care they need. The number of children coming into care has increased every year for nine years. Benefits freezes and the roll out of universal credit are forcing people into foodbanks to survive. One million pensioners are living in severe poverty.

A government condemned by the UN for inflicting destitution on its citizens. And there’s nothing balanced about a government investing £4,155 per head in London on transport and the North only £1,600. Where a male child born in Kensington Liverpool can expect to live 18 years less than a child born in Kensington and Chelsea.

And this is the government that has largely broken the historic link between securing a job and lifting yourself out of poverty. The Chancellor refers to a “remarkable jobs story.” What’s remarkable is that this government has created a large-scale jobs market of low pay, long hours, precarious employment. Over 02.5 million people working below 15 hours a week. 03.8 million people are in insecure work. Average weekly wages are still below the level of ten years ago.

It’s hardly surprising then that four and a half million children are living in poverty, nearly two thirds in households where someone is in work. The Chancellor brags about his record on youth unemployment. But let’s be clear, Youth unemployment is over 07% higher than the national average. It is higher than the OECD average and is at appalling levels for some communities. 26% of young black people are unemployed. 23% of young people from a Baangladeshi or Pakistani background are unemployed.

The Chancellor claims that female unemployment is at a record low. What he doesn’t say is that women make up 73% of those in part-time employment and are disproportionately affected by precarious work. The income of single mothers by 2020 will have fallen by 18% since 2010. And according to the much-respected Women’s Budget Group, women are facing the highest pay gap for full time employees since 1999. All on his watch.

The Chancellor claims he is on his way to delivering record sustained levels of public capital investment. Let’s be clear. He’s talking about wish lists. He’s not talking about what the Conservatives have actually done. The UK ranks close to the bottom of OECD countries for public investment. We are 24th out of 32 countries, according to analysis done by the TUC.

The Chancellor describes “the biggest rail investment programme since Victorian times”. Tell that to the people who faced the timetabling chaos of last year. Tell that to the rail passengers who have to deal with the incomparable incompetence of the Transport Secretary. The Chancellor hails his announcement of a National Infrastructure Strategy. Let me remind the House.

The Government announced a National Infrastructure Delivery Plan for 2016 to 2021. Then it announced a national Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline. Plans. Pipelines. Strategies. And today yet another review of financing mechanisms announced. But no real action to deliver for our businesses and communities. The Institute for Government described this Government’s decisions on infrastructure as “inconsistent and subject to constant change”.

And on housing, let’s hope the Chancellor has learned the lessons of their recent initiatives, which have driven profits of companies like Persimmon to over a billion pounds, with bosses’ bonuses over a hundred million pounds. The chancellor has some cheek to speak about technical and vocational skills. Almost a quarter of all funding to further and adult education has been cut since 2010. The number of people starting apprenticeships has fallen by 26%.

On research and development, this government has slashed capital funding for science across all departments by 50%. Unlike at the Budget, the Chancellor has at last actually referred to climate change. The review of biodiversity might, hopefully, show that the Budget of Natural England, the body responsible for biodiversity in England has more than halved over a decade.

A review of carbon offsets might reveal that they do not reduce emissions. And offsetting schemes like the Clean Development Mechanism have been beset by gaming and fraud.

This from a Government that removed that removed the Climate Change Levy exemption for renewables, that scrapped feed-in tariffs for new small scale renewable generation, and that cancelled the Zero Carbon Homes policy. Gordon Brown pledged a Zero Carbon Homes standard. The Tories scrapped it in 2015, just 1 year before it was due to come into force.

Of course Brexit looms large over everything we discuss. Even today, the Chancellor has tried to use the bribe of a deal double dividend or threat of postponing the spending review to cajole MPs into voting for the government’s deal. Publication of the tariffs this morning is clearly part of this strategy. This is a calamitous strategy. It is forcing people into intransigent corners.

What we need now is the Chancellor today to commit to vote to take no deal off the table. Then to join me in discussing the options available, including Labour’s deal proposal and yes, if it requires it, taking any deal back to the public. For outside of the Westminster bubble, outside of the narrow, wealthy circles in which the Chancellor moves, nine years of Conservative Government have meant nine years of hardship. And today the Chancellor has the nerve to tell those who have suffered most at the hands of his Government, that their suffering was necessary.

If austerity wasn’t ideological, why has money been found for tax cuts for big corporations while vital public services have been starved of funding? Austerity was never a necessity, it was always a political choice. So when the Chancellor stands there and says that the end of austerity is in sight, talks of a plan for a brighter future, how can anyone who has lived through the last nine years believe him?

This is a Government that has demonstrated a chilling ability to completely disregard the suffering they have caused. To talk of changing direction after nine years in office is not only impossible to believe, it’s also much too late. Too late for the thousands who have died while waiting for a decision on their Personal Independence Payments. Too late for families who have lost their home due to cuts in housing benefit. Too late for young people losing their lives to knife crime after youth clubs have shut down and police numbers fallen, whatever he has been forced into announcing today.

This is the legacy of this Chancellor and its for this that he will be remembered. He was Shadow Chief Secretary to George Osborne and designed his austerity programme. History will hold him responsible for that. There are no alibis. He is implicated in every cut, every every closure, every preventable death of someone waiting for hospital treatment or social care. It’s time for change. People have had enough. But increasingly they know they won’t get the change they so desperate need from this tainted Chancellor or this Government.'':::ω.

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|| February 26: 2019: Naomi Heaton Writing || ά. The bad news continues in Prime Central London:PCL with price falls across the month, quarter and year. Average annual prices in January for Prime Central London now stand at £1,809,860. They have fallen 02.4% over the month and 05.4% over the quarter. Transactions in PCL remain at historically low levels and now stand at 3,558, a fall of 15.6% over the year. This is fewer than 69 a week. Harrods Estates is the latest agency to ‘rationalise its business’ by closing their branch on Kensington Church Street.

With just under five weeks to go until the Euro-exit deadline, many investors are delaying any purchase until April, when there, may, at least be ‘a clear direction of travel’. However, there is a new momentum in the market as other investors see a moment of opportunity, before demand and sterling have a chance to strengthen. Average prices for Greater London in January stand at £621,019, showing monthly growth of 0.6% and nominal quarterly growth of 0.1%. Prices are lower than they were prior to the June 2017 General Election, as confidence continues to hamper the London market.

Transactions have fallen 27% since the introduction of the Additional Rate Stamp Duty in April 2016. The last year has seen a drop of 05.2% to 88,224. Notwithstanding, any decision on Eur-exit, this protracted period of uncertainty, may, well continue for 2019 and beyond. Having seen the time taken to negotiate the UK’s exit from the EU, it is likely that the transition period will represent an equally bumpy ride.

In contrast, new build prices have surged ahead showing annual growth of 17.1%. This has resulted in a 21.6% premium over older stock, the highest in almost two decades. Transactions, however, have seen a significant fall of 19.0% over the year. There are now indications that these trends are reversing as developers are obliged to reduce asking prices to gain sufficient traction in the market place to generate sales.

Average prices for January in England and Wales, excluding, Greater London, stand at £259,442. This represents a 0.2% fall in monthly prices and a drop of 02.9% over the quarter. Prices have now been in decline since September 2018. It appears that the uncertainty that has been so apparent in London for some time has now permeated to the rest of the UK.

Annual transactions at 798,296 are now below the levels seen in 2014 and have fallen by 01.9% over the year. The introduction of the Additional Rate Stamp Duty, in hindsight, seems to have been a tipping point for the UK housing market. With a flurry of transactions in the run up to April 2016 to ‘beat’ the new tax, there has been a steady decline ever since.

As Euro-exit uncertainty continues to roll on and the chance of a ‘No Deal’ exit still very much on the table, buyers are viewing any potential purchase as a risk. As property is, by and large, the most expensive purchase of their lives, they are preferring to wait and see, not only what happens on March 29 but, also, during the post-exit transition period.

In contrast to London, the new build sector in England and Wales is showing a more robust performance, with both annual transactions and prices moderately up.

::: Naomi Heaton is the CEO of London Central Portfolio Limited:LCP: LCP is a specialist residential property advisor, focusing on Prime Central London. It has an extensive private client practice and has successfully brought multiple funds to market, capitalising on this sector. :::ω.

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|| February 25: 2019 || ά. Mr Jeremy Corbyn MP, the Leader of the Labour Party, will tomorrow, Tuesday, February 26, seek to enshrine Labour’s five demands about the UK’s exiting the European Union in law by tabling an amendment to the government’s Exiting the European Union motion.  The Labour Party’s amendment would force the government to make its credible alternative plan the Government’s negotiating objectives, if, passed. Further political shift comes to the Labour Party’s position in relation to exiting the European Union as Mr Jeremy Corbyn is expected to tell a meeting of Labour’s Parliamentary Labour Party, taking place this evening that the Party will back the ‘Cooper-Letwin Amendment’ to take ‘No Deal’ off the table and announce that the Labour Party will, also, put forward or support an amendment in favour of a new Referendum to prevent a damaging Conservative Euro-Exit.

On our last piece, on this issue, published on February 19, we wrote, ‘’Yet, this exiting the European Unions is a self-harm done to itself by the very self, by the very people, led and misled by many and much, which are besides the point now. But, despite that self-harm, you can not take away the yardstick: the people voted in their majority to leave. Acknowledging that and respecting that is and can not but be the very basis of democratic culture and value. Another referendum? The Labour Party has not yet ruled that out but it can not but acknowledge and respect the Referendum. It can not but behave the way it does: for almost half of its MPs are voted by leavers and half the remainers. There can not but be a period and space to come to an aligned, developed and evolved position of mutual respect: the leavers and the remainers. It will come and will come exactly when it has been created in reality. Not until than. It can not be imposed.’’ And, today, Mr Jeremy Corbyn and his Party have reached that ‘aligned, developed and evolved position of mutual respect’. Taking the ‘No Deal’ off the table, delaying the exit deadline and going for a second referendum with clearly setting out the alternative to the Conservative dead and buried Deal is a new direction, taken by the Labour Party, that will reinvigorate the political mathematics and minds.  

The Labour Party’s five demands for an Exit Deal are: i: A permanent and comprehensive customs union with the EU; ii: Close alignment with the Single Market underpinned by shared institutions and obligations; iii: Dynamic alignment on rights and protections; iv: Commitments on participation in EU agencies and funding programmes, including, in areas, such as, the environment, education and industrial regulation and v: Unambiguous agreements on the detail of future security arrangements, including, access to the European Arrest Warrant and vital shared databases.  

Speaking at tonight’s meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, Mr Jeremy Corbyn MP, the Leader of the Labour Party, will say, “The Prime Minister is recklessly running down the clock, in an attempt to force MPs to choose between her botched deal and a disastrous No Deal. We cannot and will not accept. Last week, after our visit to talk to EU officials and leaders in Brussels and Madrid, no one can be in any doubt Labour’s alternative Brexit plan is serious and credible. We are convinced our alternative, which puts jobs and living standards first, could command support in the House of Commons, bring people who voted Leave and Remain together, and be negotiated with the EU.

That’s why we will be putting down an amendment in parliament this week setting out Labour’s plan: for a comprehensive customs union with a UK say; close alignment with the single market; guarantees on rights and standards; protection for Britain’s role in EU agencies; and a security agreement which guarantees access to the European arrest warrant and vital shared databases. And we will be calling for legislation to underpin this mandate.

We will also be backing the Cooper-Letwin amendment to rule out a No Deal outcome. One way or another, we will do everything in our power to prevent No Deal and oppose a damaging Tory Brexit based on Theresa May’s overwhelmingly rejected deal.

That’s why, in line with our conference policy, we are committed to also putting forward or supporting an amendment in favour of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country.”

The full text of Labour Party’s amendment, to be tabled tomorrow, reads: ‘’That this House instructs Ministers (a) to negotiate with the EU for changes to the Political Declaration to secure: (i) a permanent and comprehensive customs union with the EU; (ii) close alignment with the single market underpinned by shared institutions and obligations; (iii) dynamic alignment on rights and protections; (iv) commitments on participation in EU agencies and funding programmes, including in areas such as the environment, education, and industrial regulation; and (v) unambiguous agreement on the detail of future security arrangements, including access to the European Arrest Warrant and vital shared databases; (b) to introduce primary legislation to give statutory effect to this negotiating mandate;’’:::ω.

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|| February 18: 2019 || ά. Did the Labour Party Leader Mr Jeremy Corbyn campaigned for a European Referendum? Did he exist only to get the United Kingdom out of the European Union? Did he create racism and xenophobia and all other forms and manners of discriminations, that take place every day and in every sphere and every domain of this society, against all forms and manners of minorities, which have been happening in much more aggressive, violent and vicious manner, since, the European Referendum? Did he create dog-whistling, which was what was used in the European Referendum and those, who campaigned for the UK to leave used it to their hearts content? Did he invite all these so-called ‘patriotic’ exiters of the European Union to keep on using dog-whistling racism? Did he force the country into two opposing camps? Did he force the two major political parties, his own and the Conservative Party and all other parties and agencies, too, to be grouped into two opposing camps? The answer is, terribly, disappointingly, no. He did none of it. What else has Mr Corbyn done, then, for which he should be ‘tried’ in a ‘political witchcraft’ trial? Did he create the financial crisis? No. Did he initiate and deliver the ruthless, merciless and fierce political economical war against the poor, the vulnerable and the frail? Against the children and families? Against the working poor? Year after year, after year? No.

Well, what else has he done? Did he cut the local government budgets to more than 50%? Did he reduce the Police Services and their human power? No. Did Mr Corbyn close, almost, half of the Magistrate Courts in England? No. Did he dismantle the entire legal aid system? No. Did he cut the education budget? No. Did he cut the social services budget? No. Did he devastate the NHS? No. Did he cripple the social care? No. Did he destroy the local and regional economies, which have been tearing away the local communities? No. Did he create the devastation of losing the manufacturing sector of the economy? No. Did he impose a debt-bondage for the students, who dare to go to Universities? No. Did he leave the entire vital infrastructure of the nation fall apart, including, the entire nation’s housing sector? No. Did he destroy the social housing and create an army of homeless people, millions and millions of them? No. Did he create and increase the number of rough sleepers? No. Did he cause any rough sleeper to die because of his policy? No. Did he cut the child benefit? The working tax credit? Family tax credit? No. Did, for God’s sake, did he or did he not create the food banks? No, he, surely, did not. Did he get the Universal Credit receiving families line the food banks? No. Did he get the working people to line at the food banks? No. Did he himself or get someone to do it for him, damage Karl Marx’s tomb? No. Well, what on earth has he done then with a political office and life: well, he kept on saying: for the many not for the few.

Yet, the left-over remnants of the so-called Blairite New Labour project, that came and destroyed the Labour Party and with it destroyed itself, could not accept democracy. Twice the Labour Party elected this Mr Jeremy Corbyn for its leader and twice they promised ‘thrice’ to destroy and oust him. They kept at it because they were democratic like Mr Blair, so that they do not accept what their party members voted for. Millions and millions of people gathered against Mr Blair’s war but he went in anyway. Why because he had already told his buddy that the UK was with him, regardless. Whether there was any weapon, let alone, for mass destruction. He was gone but did not accept that like Thatcherism, his New Labour project was dead, buried and could not ever be revived for a ‘magician’ can only, fool the people to be able to see the emperor’s clothe, only once. So, being the same-kind of democratic, these folks would not accept Mr Jeremy Corbyn as their leader. Now, they find, well, they, must, do something because, apparently, they won’t bear to see Mr Jeremy Corbyn being the Prime Minister of the UK. They, must, stop that. Why? Well, he, this Mr Corbyn is, too far left. They would rather go to the centre: where is that centre? There is no one in the UK in the centre now: the entire country is clearly market by the vast majority of the poor of vary many types, that are sustained by food banks in a sociological squalor this Conservative Party has been creating and building on. This is how the country is: the vast vast swath of the country is in this vast group, the very many types of poor and homeless people for the majority of the people in the UK are homeless for they do not have a home of their own and, on the other side, a very small group of people, who are rich and they are getting richer every second and every minute and every hour and every day. Therefore, indeed, the Labour Party is not in the centre but with them: that many, that this gentleman, Mr Jeremy Corbyn has been speaking of without fail, every day and every month and every year, ever since, he has started with this politics thing.

So, now they went out all independent but fell short of forming a party of their own. They are waiting for their Conservative fellow to follow suit and others, may be, to join them and, then, they will find their centre where no one is there: the hungry are not in the centre for there is no food. The homeless are not in the centre for there is no home. The rough sleepers are not there for there is no shelter. The working poor are not there for their wages do not feed them so that they line the food banks. The very people, millions of them, who bought their homes and trapped themselves into a life time of miserable existence of quiet and desperate poverty are not there at this so-called centre for they can not pretend any longer that they are rich, since, they have their own homes? The students are not in the centre for there they are stuck with a debt-bondage for daring to study at universities. There was a time when this very Labour Party’s election manifesto was ‘written’ by the Conservative Party, in which, the Labour leadership accepted the Conservative spending pledges! No one dared speaking of or about, let alone, against that death knell of austerity. It was a biblical thing: one, must not say anything about or against it. All that had changed but how? Because this Mr Corbyn dared to challenge the mythologies imposed on the narratives. It was challenged and taken to shreds and dusts. No one thinks of that. The country is falling apart, exit the EU or not, the United Kingdom has been brought to a sociological squalor and on it all the closures and shut downs are now being added every day. The last thing the United Kingdom needs is a Blair-Thatcherite death-knell of a hollow and shallow ‘centrist’ political party with its ‘values’. New Labour could not spell ‘value’ if, the entire ‘revolution’ depended on it. The Labour Party is a political party and force, that everyone now is counting not because what these, now, independent group MPs, a handful of them there are, did or did not do. It is because this Mr Jeremy Corbyn found the values in the hearts and minds of the very people of this country, the many not the few, who wanted a leader for their cause, who fearlessly, shall go about speaking of economic, social and democratic justice for every one and every community, village and town and city for the very creators of wealth: the working people of this country, who the rich keep on robbing and issuing them with a live-in-life-sentence of misery, suffering and agony in horrendous high cruelties of poverties, injustices, hunger and homelessness. Yet, these so-called centrist parties and their values are that: keep the status quo. Do not speak of justice or fairness. Poor you are and you keep on paying the price, serve the live-in-life-sentence, that you are given out. Die in your hundreds on the cold, cruel streets, rough sleeping, stay in debt bondage for the rest of your life for daring to go to universities. Stay homeless for all your life, being persecuted from one place to another for all your life? Work and still keep on turning and twisting in bed because you can not sleep because you are hungry? Go to food banks and line up. Do not you dare raise a finger against the status quo. This is the centre. What happens to the New Labour project’s Leader: he has made himself a millionaire and he has been adding many more millions to his already million-lot of life. That is the status quo of the centre kind of parties.

The country faces a debacle and everything in this country is divided and all are ‘entrenched and dug in’. The more time passes everyone is getting more entrenched and more dug in. Why can not or won’t Mr Corbyn get everyone out of this miserable state? Well, half of the country voted to leave the EU and half the other way. Half of his party one way and the other the other way. Which way does he go? Well, he should show leadership. And what is this fact that the majority, albeit, small, voted to leave, for however way or whatever reasons? What about their concerns. All the Labour MPs, whose constituencies voted to leave? What do these MPs do? What about the Labour MPs, whose constituencies voted to remain? What do they do? Where can the Party go? There is no easy solution and as a political party, the Labour Party can not just stand up and say: well, forget what happened and just do this. Things are not as simple as this and it is impossible to bring to an ‘easy’ headline act: Yet, this exiting the European Unions is a self-harm done to itself by the very self, by the very people, led and misled by many and much, which are besides the point now. But, despite that self-harm, you can not take away the yardstick: the people voted in their majority to leave. Acknowledging that and respecting that is and can not but be the very basis of democratic culture and value. Another referendum? The Labour Party has not yet ruled that out but it can not but acknowledge and respect the Referendum. It can not but behave the way it does: for almost half of its MPs are voted by leavers and half the remainers. There can not but be a period and space to come to an aligned, developed and evolved position of mutual respect: the leavers and the remainers. It will come and will come exactly when it has been created in reality. Not until than. It can not be imposed.  

So, these MPs are poised to have their media endeavours and much more to come but what is clear that the Labour Party has been going on for more than a century and it has gone on and on but it is a positive force for the United Kingdom politics and it is, primarily, the Party, that has shaped and built this United Kingdom with the hands of its millions of working members, working together to inspire the entire nation. This house is much bigger than a handful of MPs to shake and destroy: not with hollow and shallow centrist political nihilism. You are either with the many or with the few. The Labour Party must remain with the many and put up the fight of its political life to lead the country towards a change of direction, away from the sociological squalor this Conservative Party has been building, undoing the very fabric of this country. For the United Kingdom can not go on as this: the country has been falling apart and it is time to change direction and end this Conservative devastation, that have gone on for far too long already. And, in this, the Labour Party, must, remain with and fight for and inspire the many and leave the independent centrist with their shallow and hollow centrist political nihilism, that has nothing to offer to the many but is always in favour for the few.:::ω.

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