Good morning lovely people,
I’ve been careless. No, I didn’t forget to declare £27m. Sacked from the Cabinet, how is Zahawi still allowed to be an MP? Victor actually got a tax rebate this month, and it’s February, hurray.
My carelessness was not fact checking the Pfizer statistic. Apologies. The link I read isn’t shared on their website. That statistic may not be true but how long should we continue to take Covid vaccines? I feel I’m saving money for the NHS not adding to the challenges it is currently facing. My resistance this time round is more about the collateral damage of the journey rather than any jab. A further increase in interest rates was introduced on Thursday. Brexit, Ukraine and a lockdown that has had an impact on mindset and also highlighted, and continues to highlight the very extremes in our community. This is a side effect the country is carrying like a headache which could be sore until 2026.
In the 1970’s I’m guessing (as I was still a single digit and loved lighting candles) the view towards strikes was different to today. Then in the 80’s while there was sympathy for the miners and their families, I don’t believe there was widespread public support.
Public opinion is far more supportive of today’s industrial action, even from businesses like ours which are adversely affected. The Westminster Government’s recent recklessness of the economy has left the public and business paying the price. The breakdown in communication between the parties seems to be the biggest failure. Are we entering an extended period of brinkmanship with the possibility that inflation may be falling? It’s difficult to articulate what fair actually means when there is much that is visibly unfair. Both administrations actions do make them look far more self interested than acting solely on behalf of their electorate. These actions and huge levels of waste seem to have made the choice to strike far easier than if we truly were in the “we’re all in it together” camp.
At the family dinner table the question arose why we weren’t striking? It was an interesting discussion. Recently I have gone on strike about the washing up when there are comments like “oh no, not pasta again, or oh no not rice pudding” For the restaurants we don’t have anybody to complain to. I’m not sure what the PR would be should the family picket outside the venues. Great photo opportunity perhaps. We should strike over business rates relief, the fact that in Scotland we’re not getting any, but the rest of the UK is. Or the lack of affordable, mould-free housing for our team? We should strike over the above inflation increases in food and utility costs that our sector is being crippled by. Or the doubling of the interest costs on those Covid loans? Or the VAT rate that is unfair compared to the rest of Europe. Or against the most ridiculous proposals to ban alcohol advertising or the Deposit Return Scheme to be introduced in August, which nobody in the sector in Scotland can understand.
The Bank of England’s strategy to beat inflation is having the complete opposite impact on the most vulnerable. In a climate emergency how can businesses that are the source of much of the damage be making such incredible £32 billion profits. We’re asking families to pay more on their mortgage and more on their food and heating, can we say this is fair? Record shareholder dividends, partly going into pensions and FTSE100 beating an all time high on Friday will support inflation trumping increases for some. Choices are being made, and some of them aren’t careless, they’re bad.
The poorest fifth in the UK are now much poorer than in central and eastern Europe. Do you remember when Brexit was going to be the catalyst for the EU’s collapse? Europe is now looking at Britain as an example of what catastrophic looks like. Our family left their home in rural Italy 100 years ago for a better quality of life in Scotland, we’ve always been glad that they did, but some friends are choosing the return journey.
The Great Depression in 1929 wiped off billions from the millionaires. Those with the most this time round have not been as careless. The last General Strike was in 1926 (I got a crash course from Dan at Inigo who’s building our sparkly new website). Are we heading in that direction? It would be a sign of how careless and reckless the Government’s actions have been if we got anywhere near that walkout.
Thank you as always for your support and for listening. We may not agree on everything but it’s always better to keep the dialogue open.
Keep well and keep smiling.
Carina
