OPINION
January 30th, 2024
Having had a welcome break, if not an exactly relaxing time over the holidays, I started this letter to bring my comments on UK events up to speed.
Unfortunately, there is far too much to comment on, as Rishi Sunak continues to display even greater levels of ineptitude than we thought were possible. The huge scandal in the UK at the moment is the state of the Post Office, which is a state-owned company. It introduced a new computerised accounting system (Horizon) developed by Fujitsu (Ex ICL, a groundbreaking British IT company in the old days).
This accounting system did not work correctly and kept showing accounting discrepancies in sub-postmasters’ accounts. As a result, nearly 1,000 sub-postmasters were convicted of fraud, false accounting and other similar crimes. Many paid back the money they had allegedly “purloined”. This has been reported in depth across the media and as such I won’t bore readers with an in-depth analysis. It is just another example of the ruling North London Elite imposing their will on the people and finally their actions were purely for self-preservation at the expense of thousands of innocent people. I can recommend watching the ITV drama made about this Mr. Bates vs The Post Office. It is amazing TV and it left the nation reeling. I defy anyone to watch this without throwing something at the TV.
As a postscript, the CEO of the post office for most of the time was a woman called Paula Vennells. She is, or was, an ordained Church of England priest. It is typical of the aforementioned North London elite running the country that the Archbishop of Canterbury was in discussions with Ms Vennells about her becoming a Bishop.
Sad case that I am, I have been watching the live TV transmissions of the questioning of witnesses at the Post Office enquiry and the Covid enquiries (both Scottish and UK). The best that can be said about the Scottish enquiry is that Nicola Sturgeon does not come out of it well, having destroyed all WhatsApp messages between ministers and advisors at the time. This was after telling TV reporters last year that she would make available to the enquiry all communications. Similarly, the current First Minister Humza Yousaf, managed to come across as completely shifty and shonky.
It also transpires that he arranged for funds to be transferred from the Scottish treasury (apparently ultra vires) to the UNRWA. Miraculously, within a few days, his wife’s relatives who were trapped in Gaza managed to exit the region.
Meanwhile, his brother-in-law was arrested in Dundee and charged with possession of class A drugs with intent to supply. In an incident connected to the address of the raid a person fell from a window and later died in hospital. Police are investigating.
Back in the UK (England), things are going from bad to worse for Rishi Sunak. He slides further down the popularity ratings, saved from further humiliation only by Sir Keir Starmer being despised.
His only chance of recovering his (and the Conservative party’s) position is if a miracle occurs and there is a sudden resolution of the immigration problem. Of course, if you are a member of the Islington elite, no such problem exists, but the average person has seen wage levels depressed, strains imposed on housing availability, pressure on essential services and demands on health services.
Net immigration last year was close to 800,000 people.