01 February 2018

Diary of a Corbynista

Davos and other fantasies

by Don Urquhart

25 January

Last night I watched the Arsenal beat Chelsea.  We’re going to Wembley we chanted.  It was shorthand for saying we are in the Carabao Cup Final.

The World Economic Forum is currently taking place in Davos, but we all call that Davos for short.  Anyone who is anything in business and politics goes to Davos and also some who are nothing in politics (but are touting for business), like David Cameron who apparently opined that Brexit hasn’t gone so badly.  Jamie Dimon is someone, the Chief Executive of JP Morgan and he expects to cut 4,000 jobs in the UK as a result of Brexit, so he and other bankers are being fawned upon by Macron among others seeking to profit from London’s loss.  Sticking out like a sore thumb in such company is John McDonnell.  In years to come he might turn out to be the biggest wheel of all.

26 January

Philip Hammond spoke out of turn in Davos.  Like the Foreign Secretary he is not sticking to the script, possibly because there is no script.  The Phase 1 “Agreement” with the EU just told all interested parties they would get what they wanted.

“There is no difference between the chancellor, and myself – and indeed the prime minister – in terms that we both want a Brexit which serves the British economy and which serves the British people.”

Thus the Brexit Secretary today, with the usual old “Brexit means Brexit” style of exegesis.

27 January

Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions, has initiated a review of all current rape cases in England and Wales.  Recently there have been two well-publicised cases where the police and/or CPS have suppressed evidence which undermined the case against the alleged offender.  Ms Saunders will have it that the suppression was not intentional but rather due to the evidence being on social media, mobile phones or computer, thus making it more time-consuming and complex to ascertain the facts of the case.   Please don’t let any of my family or friends fall into the hands of the English legal system.

28 January

This is a country where we do not take care of each other.  The Insolvency Service tells us that nearly 100,000 individuals in England and Wales declared bankruptcy last year and nearly 60,000 in addition entered into Individual Voluntary Arrangements, which are just short of bankruptcy. 17,000 firms went bust.  All three figures are increasing year on year and correspond with the increasing numbers of rough sleepers and visitors to food banks.  Linking Health and Social Care is probably a good thing but the latter is a bigger issue than just reducing bed blocking in our hospitals.

29 January

The Commons Work and Pensions Committee has been mulling over a letter from Robin Ellison, Chairman of Trustees of the Carillion Pension Scheme.  In July last year Carillion issued a profits warning and it is clear that the Pension Fund Trustees and the Regulator knew that the company was in dire straits but nevertheless endorsed a policy of continuing to pay dividends and executive bonuses.  Mr Ellison’s letter explains that the trustees agreed to a deferral of pension fund payments, since that appeared to be a prerequisite for banks committing more funding to the troubled company.  In other words the banks agreed to lend Carillion more money as long as they didn’t waste it on the pension fund.

30 January

One of the great successes of government education policy has been in convincing some schools that their problems are due to the largesse being dispensed to other schools.  Hence 5,500 head teachers write to Damien Hinds to point out that they are not getting as much as schools in London.  As in so many other areas the government spokesperson communicates denial:

There are no cuts in funding.  Every school will see an increase in funding through the formula from this year.

31 January

Peter Mandelson won the Hartlepool seat in the 2001 election.  Rather than rattle on about what he would be doing for the local people he told us that he was “a fighter not a quitter”.  Yesterday on the plane to China Theresa May responded to questions about her leadership in similar terms: “I am not a quitter”.

But does she live in the real world?  Was she visiting China or Shangri La?

At any event, on arrival she announced an education deal with the locals.

Yesterday the Public Accounts Committee reported a steady reduction in the number of teachers in British schools since 2010.