University Fees

It was no doubt inevitable that with the significant increase in students since 1992 that the Blairite funding system had to change and that as a result of the mess we're in students are going to have to pay more. Lord Browne's report seems well measured and although students and others are protesting it seems to have been well received by University Vice-Chancellors and by most politicians. Despite their election pledges it looks unlikely that there will be a rebellion by LibDem MPs. Students will not need to start repaying their loans until they earn at least £21,000 (increased from £15,000), thus University tuition fees do not need to be paid at the time of supply nor at any later time by the less well off. There was an intelligent discussion about all this earlier this evening on Jeff Randall Live on Sky News.

All protests against Lord Browne's proposals are strangely muted in comparison to those protests in Paris today against the increase in the retirement age from 60 to 62 and the age of receipt of the full state pension from 65 to 67. There are some sops though but these have to be paid for out of increased taxation. Although I have not seen it reported there will no doubt be French citizens who think we and other EU saps, as with the Common Agricultural Policy, should pay for their self indulgence. After all we are talking of La France. Would we do so? Quite possibly if paying the increase demanded of us by the EU is anything to go by. Being a revolting lot the French can though no doubt understand the SW3  cry "No taxation without a vote on the EU and all its ways"! Merde alors!            

The EU and 10:10

We all know that the economy is in trouble and that our lives are going to be harder as the Government seeks to sort out the horrific mess Labour has left behind. If we are all in this together then it will make it easier to swallow the pill if inanities that make many scream with rage were attacked/stopped/opposed by the Government such as the increase in the amount we are due to pay the EU and the 10:10 campaign supported by our embassies on Sunday. If the taxpayer is going to have to pay more and suffer cuts there is absolutely no excuse for giving more to the EU or the 10:10 campaign. A little bit of resistance to these and other totally unnecessary expenditure will stiffen morale no end.

Some climate warming specialist lady from the Hadley Centre said something curious on the radio at lunchtime today which went something like "Whereas there has been global warming over the last 50 years not every warm summer or cold winter can be taken as evidence proving the same." The data used by the Hadley Centre for its global warming theories is questionable to say the least. Let the EU and the 10:10 campaigners eat cake, stale and mouldy cake at that!

 

Power Cuts

One of the great failures of the Labour government was to put off ordering replacement power stations. The reason for doing so was because they wanted to look good in the eyes of the climate change fascists. The climate change fascists and their theories will be brushed aside as it becomes increasingly apparent that without consistent power we will be unable to heat ourselves or even work. That we should  seek to protect and eke out our fuel supplies is clearly sensible. To try and invent new forms of power to replace our reliance on fossil and possibly nuclear fuels is clearly a worthwhile challenge as well. We do not know how long inventing new power technology will take though and so in the interim we should be using the most efficient and cost effective power sources we have. This means building coal fired and nuclear power stations not wind farms and other such ridiculously expensive fripperies.

There have been power cuts in London today!   

Aftermath

I only saw the last few minutes of Cameron's speech yesterday but I thought he finished it with a passion that I had not heard from him before. Like many, I am still not sure I get the 'Big Society' other than if we want things to be done we are going to have to do many of them for ourselves in future as the government is no longer going to try to do everything for us. Most people can surely live with that as this is flip side to closing down the nanny state which became so expensive and intrusive and was an abhorrent idea in the first place. A silly example I know but the happiness the eradication of Blair's soviet style bus lane on the M4 has brought is a wonder to behold.

Whether or not the withdrawal of Child Benefit is to be executed as fairly as it should be, its announcement has certainly brought it home to people that dealing with the deficit is going to have an impact on us all. If that was the intended effect of the announcement, and there is evidence that it was, it was certainly successful. Further evidence of the tough decisions coming our way is this morning's interim report from Lord Hutton. This makes it clear that public sector workers are going to have to work to a later age and pay more into their pension pot in order to try and fill its massive £1 trillion black hole. How did things get into such a mess? 

Child Benefit

Has George made a bit of a Horlicks? Did he misread the anticipated reaction? It would appear so as any number of Tory and LibDem supporters are appalled by George's announcement. Whereas I agree Child Benefit should go for those earning over £44,000 I do see that it is unfair to them if it continues to be paid where both parents earn say £43,000 each. Can this anomaly be resolved without means testing? It seems not but compensation is likely to be forthcoming through the introduction of transferable tax allowances between spouses.  I had thought the transfer of allowances between spouses was a dead duck as a result of the coalition. Apparently not, even though the LibDems are said to be against the policy. George is reckoned to be a first class political tactician, so was this a tactical ploy to make it difficult for the LibDems to continue their resistance to the transfer of tax allowances policy now that a number of their members are losing Child Benefit and want compensation? More likely George was trying to smoke out Ed Miliband or maybe he was trying to do both! Whatever the reasoning Horlicks appears to be the answer at this stage.  

Democracy EU Style

If anyone wanted further proof of what a nasty anti-democratic organisation the EU is they need go no further than read Dan Hannan's blog of earlier today. On certain issues the EU Commission will make proposals that will be automatically adopted unless rejected by the Council. There is apparently nothing in the Constitution which allows it to use such a procedure but niceties like that do not of course apply to the Commission - rules are for others. What breathtaking arrogance - although it will surprise no one! Will this be a matter that will be caught by the new law being introduced in the UK providing for referenda to be held whenever there is a change to the European Constitution? It should do but somehow I doubt it.

Why do we continue to remain members of the EU? What advantages has it brought us? It has certainly brought us a lot of grief including the ERM, 13 years of Labour misrule as a consequence, thousands of needless regulations, disastrous agricultural and fishery policies, unwarranted sinecures for discarded politicians like Lord Kinnock and an ever increasing tax burden. We need all the money we pump into the EU for ourselves.  

Thank Goodness

The damage  Gordon Brown caused both as Chancellor and as Prime Minister was bad enough, heaven knows, but the damage he would have caused if he had taken us into the Euro would have been far, far worse. Thus if it's true that he stopped us from joining the Euro we have to be applaud him. One only has to read what is happening to Ireland, where the Euro has caused them horrific problems, to know we are better off out. Their problems are quite possibly insoluble and they will most likely need to start again with a clean slate.  In other words to save themselves they are going to have to default.

The fear that we might go the same way is not one shared by the more sane commentators since with our own currency and with the reductions in future expenditure we will certainly escape Ireland's fate. We do though need to ensure that the private sector is allowed to grow and that the conditions for it to do so are made as conducive as possible by the Government through lower taxes, less regulation, control over inflation and a supportive currency policy. The amount spent on the EU, wind-farms and other such fripperies must be radically reduced (better still stopped altogether) and  projects such as nuclear energy plants and a new airport or at least a new runway, all paid for by the private sector, must be allowed to go ahead as soon as possible.

These are all optimistic issues and it is to be hoped that they and other expressions of confidence in our future will be highlighted in speeches to be given at the Tory party conference.