December 16th, 2021.
Well, as a result of the fallout from the MPs rebellion we are now on Plan B, or more probably Plan B and a bit. The forecast is for Plan C next week when the advice from the SAGE committee hardens. We are now getting almost as many plans as variants. We are on variant Omicron now and will probably be on Plan C next week. As Omicron mutates into Omega or whatever Greek letter is left, we will progress through the plans using the Latin alphabet. The most appropriate Greek letter after Delta was Xi, but for some reason, they didn’t select it.
I don’t even understand the rules anymore. For example, I am allowed to attend a Christmas party according to the politicians, but I am being advised against doing so by the “scientists”.
North Korea has banned smiling and laughing for 11 days whilst they mourn the anniversary of the death Kim Jong Un’s father. To help with this it has been suggested that the British Government send a group of left-wing comedians to assist in maintaining the no laughing ban. Among the “comedians” nominated are Nish Kumar, Jo Brand and Ben Elton. I am sure that New Xi-Land would be willing to assist by contributing a few of their own.
The by-election held yesterday resulted in a hammering for the Conservatives. For the first time in 200 years that North Shropshire has returned a non-Conservative MP. The election caused by the resignation of the controversial MP caught up in the recent sleaze controversy. The Lib-Dem candidate was returned with a majority of nearly 6,000, overturning the Conservative majority of nearly 23,000.
There are many reasons being put forward to explain the public’s disenchantment with Johnson. Strangely enough, none of these matches the views held by my relatives in the industrial north. The Westminster bubble quotes prevarication over the lockdown and U- changes in policy. Admittedly everyone is fed up with this, but my left-leaning friends and family in the north (most of whom voted Conservative in the last election) offer different reasons.
First of all, is the lack of action on the immigrants arriving on dinghies from France and secondly, the adoption of extremely unpopular green issues (see influence of Johnson’s wife) which impact everyday life. Petrol is now £1.47 per litre when in January it was £1.07. Fuel and energy prices are going through the roof with increases of up to 80% looming in the New Year. Inflation is forecast to hit 6% next year and people are beginning to see price increases in the daily shopping.
All the other reasons proffered – sleaze, one rule for them and one rule for us, being lied to about covid etc are valid but are secondary to the two mentioned above.
Typical of the unintended consequences of the green policies is the impending plight of the Heritage Steam Railways in the UK. The only remaining coal mine in the UK, an open cast one in Wales is closing and as a result, the heritage steam railways are having to import coal. My local line is importing coal from Kazakhstan, which is of lower quality and energy content and gives poorer steaming results compared with the high-quality Welsh coal. It also has a huge carbon footprint in getting it to the UK.
There are more than 150 such railways in Britain, with 560 miles of route miles and serving 460 stations. They employ 3,000+ full-time equivalent staff and use 22,000 volunteers. This has all the makings of being blown up into a full-scale political issue. The Brits love their steam trains. After all they invented them!
To repeat from my last letter, it is obvious that Johnson is in deep trouble and his occupation of 10 Downing Street is under severe pressure.