Politicians Promises - Keeping your Word

Apparently Boris Johnson made at least 50 U turns, from the "windfall tax" to "partygate" while he was PM. Rishi Sunak hasn't been in power as long, but has learnt from his predecessor - https://www.bigissue.com/news/politics/rishi-sunak-u-turn-house-building-nhs-fines/  Johnson was PM for just over 3 years. Sunak has been PM for coming up to a year. They both seem to be very comfortable with changing their minds on important pledges to the nation & even international pledges.

Vacillation isn't confined to the Conservatives. Keir Starmer has a track record too https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jul/04/u-turns-labour-keir-starmer-tuition-fees-income-tax

The important question is, should we be concerned, or should we welcome the fact that these men adapt policy to supposed changing circumstances?  

Changing your thinking can lead to changing your attitudes & behaviour for the better. There can be benefits;_

• Avoiding rigidity in your thoughts.
• Learning new things.
• Keeping your brain healthy by choosing to think differently.
• Variety can avoid staleness of ideas and mental paucity.
• Actively questioning your decisions helps you refine systems and processes consistently. 
• Changing your mind often is not necessarily a sign of indecision or impulsiveness. It shows flexibility, empathy, and a willingness to learn.

I would argue that there is a difference between an individual changing their mind & breaking promises & a politician doing it when it was part of a public manifesto, a treaty or an agreement. Those sort of pledges are how the public, in a democracy, decides who to put into power to carry out the will of the majority. Those commitments are the basis for co-operation between countries & governments. 

A government that goes back on its word is not a government that can be trusted not to go back on any agreement reached in the future. Other governments cannot afford to take the vacillating government seriously. Trust is lost.

When the reversals & failures in policy are as important as the Sunak ones I think we have to be concerned. In January he made 5 pledges to the British people - to halve inflation this year; to grow the economy and create better-paid jobs across the country; to see national debt fall; to shorten NHS waiting lists; and to pass new laws to stop small migrant boats crossing the Channel. He said “We will either have achieved them, or not. No tricks, no ambiguity; we’re either delivering for you or we’re not. We will rebuild trust in politics through action, or not at all. I ask you to judge us on the effort that we put in and the results that we achieve.”

Last week Sunak announced a major U-turn on the government’s climate commitments as he promised to put his party on a more radical path. Climate scientists & environmentlists were in despair. Now we are waiting for confirmation that he will cancel the Northern link of HS2. These are not unimportant U turns. They are not a simple change of mind. They are broken promises to the world & to the UK.

Those last two paragraphs are linked in my opinion. The conservatives have made a "pigs ear" of government over 13 years, but very notably through the Johnson & Truss premierships. Sunak inherited a "poison chalice" & a party at war. Now he faces an election next year & he wants to hold on to power. He thinks his U turns will create a dividing line between Labour, who are doing far better in the polls, & the Conservatives. In September the Stats were - Labour 44% (-1) Conservatives 24% (-4) Liberal Democrats 12% (nc) Green Party 8% (+2) Reform 4% (+1) Others 7% (+1)

Who knows if the strategy will work? Its a dangerous game to be playing when New York is suffering unprecidented flooding & a state of emergency. Extreme climate events are now the norm  https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/extreme-weather-events-2023-storms-floods-wildfires-b1105866.html

 

 

Buddhism & Life

Buddhists believe that all creatures suffer - Suffering is caused by selfish desires - Suffering can be ended by the Eightfold Path - The Eightfold Path is all about doing everything, (Understanding, Thought, Speech, Action, Livlihood, Effort, Mindfullness & Concentration), in the correct way. Simple!

In my experience life isn't like that.

We humans let our Ego, (a persons need for self esteem or self importance), interfere with everything we do. Our Ego experiences and reacts to the outside world. There is a constant battle between the Ego & the primitive drives of the Id & the demands of the social & physical environment. The Id is the part of our mind in which innate, instictive and primary processes happen.

We are basically animals. But we are intelligent. We are capable of considering, reasoning, using rational judgement. The trick is to use that ability & not to let emotional thoughts & desires determine everything we do. Simple!

There are times, & today is one of those times, when I'm struggling with the rational & intelligent part of myself. I have thoughts about certain situations in my life that are basically emotional responses. I know that these thoughts are negative. I know they are based on expectations of others. I know, that I can only have expectations of myself. Others have to live their lives according to their personal code & beliefs.

Our world shows us that humanity has the capacity for great generosity, kindness & good. People can be very selfless, brave & idealistic. They can also be incredibly thoughtless, cruel & self serving. 

There is not only a personal battle to be fought. There is a battle between good and evil. 

We all have to fight both if humanity is to "live well & prosper" (Mr Spock). 

Me & My Tech

My father used to annoy me intensely when he was old & widowed by saying "it passes the time" when I suggested an outing. At the time, "time" was the one thing I didn't have. My father & mother in law were in their 80's & needed a lot of help. We had moved him to live nearer to us, but she still lived in the Midlands. My husband & I were both only children & had busy, professional jobs & lives. 

It's fair to say that neither of them had much in the way of interests & hobbies. The lives of that generation of "working class" people didn't really include much other than routine & getting by. So if we suggested a day out it was annoying to say the least to get a response like "if you like". 

40 odd years on & I'm in a similar position. Widowed & living alone. My life is very different though. 

Although I have no family apart from a daughter, her husband & 2 grandsons, I do have quite a lot of good friends & aquaintances. That wasn't true for my parents or parents in law. Basically they had neighbours. I meet a lot of people by swimming at the leisure centre & volunteering at the community centre. I have travelled the world & experienced many different cultures. I have worked in Nepal & Malawi. I enjoy going to museums & art galleries, reading, swimming, socialising....Just managing my complex life is a full time job! To do that I use tech a lot.

I have a desktop, a new mobile phone, an iPad, a smart doorbell, smart TV's & a smart speaker. My gizmos are smarter than I am! That's just as well because my brain is past it's "best before date". I do most things on line & am reasonably competent. In theory that should save me time, but often it doesn't. I regularly get into "black hole" tech problems. It can be a huge waste of time & extremely frustrating. Problems that would be quick to sort out if you could speak to a human lead you into a rabbit warren of phone choices, password & security checks, menu selections & stumbling blocks that are not intuitive to navigate.

The world has changed. In many ways it is so much better than my parents world or even mine 20 - 30 years ago. We humans are clever & inventive. We adapt to changing situations. 

I have just spent days trying to migrate from an old mobile to a new one & then from one mobile network to another. It has not been an enjoyable experience. At the moment I'm not sure whether I'm chuffed to have finally done it or furious that it wasted so much of my time. At least I can get it out of my system by posting in my Blog on my computer. 

 

Estrangement & Conflict

People drift into & out of our lives like the waves on the beach. Some last a lifetime as a constant support & share the good & the bad. Some just drift away. Some we lose as a result of a misunderstanding or argument. It's a pattern that can bring great pleasure & also deep sadness. 

We humans are social animals. We generally care for our children, families & good friends for a lifetime. You can't just switch off love & caring because of a disagreement. You should be able to listen & really hear another's point of view. You should be able to hold fast to your own truth & challenge anothers without a total breakdown in the relationship. Tolerant argument is healthy.

Unfortunately that often doesn't happen.

I am lucky to have longstanding really good friends. But there are others that I thought were, but are no more. In each case it's because of a seismic event that fractured the relationship beyond repair, despite any efforts of mine. I am still deeply sad about that. But just occasionally something happens that reveals a flaw that neither side seems able to resolve. Estrangement results from conflicting perceptions of what is said or done & what was meant. 

That is difficult when the conflict & estrangement happens in a friendship. But all too often it happens in families. There is a balance to be achieved between parents & offspring. As the children grow up & become adult, parents have to let go & let their children make mistakes & learn from them. A degree of separation must take place so that the child can become independent & function properly. Co dependency is not healthy.

The adult child is still the child of the parent even when they are parents themselves. The emotional ties are very strong & can sometimes cause friction. It is tragic for everyone when estrangement happens in a family. Often it is because the "child" blames the parent for something they perceive the parent did or didn't do - said or didn't say. Tolerance & understanding go out of the window because the "child" feels emotional hurt & actually isn't capable of seeing the situation from the point of view of the parent. The parent is probably trying to shield the child whilst having adult difficulties to face.

This then affects generations because it isn't just the "child" & the "parent" who are affected. The grandchildren effectively lose their grandparents & vice versa. Parents don't have the right to divorce their children from the grandparents unless the grandparents are toxic in some way. It is a really important relationship. Hopefully when the grandchildren are old enough they will want to make their own minds up & not be swayed by the possibly biased view of either side.

Conflict resolution is a skill that demands effort on both sides. Being entrenched in your own position will never resolve anything. Sadly that seems to be becoming more "normal" in todays world. 

Idleness, Heatwaves & Politics

I have spent this week of heatwave doing very little. Most of the time I have been in my study, which faces North & is the shadiest & coolest place in the house. I always have things to do, managing my life, being on the computer, reading, listening to the radio, gardening, swimming.....The problem I have with very hot weather is that I simply don't have the energy to do much at all. Any exertion makes me breathless & exhausted.

So I have even watched daytime TV, which is frankly anathema to me. Such a waste of my life & time.

I am used to pacing myself. I am used to varying what I do between physical & sedentary things. I am not used to doing as little as I have done this week. I found I don't even have the mental capacity I normally have. I was continuously too exhausted to make much effort at all. Even night time brought no relief. It's too hot for restful sleep.

None of this is a serious issue. It's just a trial to get through & hopefully this week will bring respite as temperatures return to normal.

According to the Office for National Statistics June 2023 was the hottest June in the UK since records began in 1884. July 2023 was the world's warmest month on record & saw the world's hottest day with heatwaves across many parts of Europe, China, and the US.

Britain recorded its hottest day of 2023 so far on Saturday, with provisional data showing a high of 33.2 degrees Celsius (91.8 degrees Fahrenheit) Saturday was also the sixth day in a row the country has recorded a temperature above 30 C, well above average for the time of year. This year's previous high was 32.6 C, reached on Thursday. Britain has experienced its eighth warmest summer since 1884, with June the hottest on record in the UK. The highest temperature ever recorded in the United Kingdom was 40.3°C. This was recorded in Coningsby, Lincolnshire on July 19th 2022.

Approximately 64% of adults in Great Britain said they were somewhat or very worried about the impact of climate change. 45% of UK adults thought the country was "not at all prepared" for more hot summers. Around 55% (15.7 million homes) of the UK's housing stock would fail the "bedroom overheating" test. Mine certainly did.

Are our politicians taking enough action to tackle the Cilmate Emergency? The first carbon budget (2008-12) and the second (2013-17) have been met and the UK is on track to outperform the third (2018-22). However, it is not on track to meet the fourth (2023-27) or the fifth (2028-32) Carbon Budgets are recommended by the Climate Change Committee and accepted by the UK Government. Lord Deben the outgoing chairman is critical of the government. 

https://www.theccc.org.uk/uk-action-on-climate-change/progress-snapshot/

In 2019 the government put the goal of reaching net zero by 2050 into law, but recently the future of the Conservative Party's green agenda has been the subject of intense debate. Downing Street has confirmed ministers are scrutinising existing pledges "in light of some of the cost of living challenges". Sunak is considering watering down proposals, saying measures must be "proportionate and pragmatic", instead of adding cost and "hassle" to households.

For f.... sake! This isn't negotiable. When facing direct evidence of the grim reality of man made climate change you need comitted, decisive, politicians who are prepared to face resitance & unpopularity in the best interests of humanity & our fragile ecosystem.

It isn't about staying in power it's about survival of everything we know. There really isn't a choice. 

 

 

 

Uk Construction - Fit for Purpose?

Currently the Department for Education (DfE) has  identified 104 schools and sixth forms with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, RAAC, problems. Some will close, some will delay opening while temporary measures are put in place. There is also RAAC in other public buildings, e.g. hospitals. 

RAAC was used between the 50's - 90's. It was used because it is a cheaper alternative to standard concrete, is quicker to produce and easier to install. It is now beyond its lifespan and may "collapse with little or no notice" according to the HSE. The risks of RAAC were identified in 1961. 62 years ago! Potential safety issues of ageing RAAC were first reported in the 1980s and 1990s, when roof collapses led to buildings being demolished. There was a 1996 government-funded report by the Building Research Establishmentwhich found cracks & bends in RAAC.

In simple terms they knew.

In 2017 the Grenfell Tower fire disaster took place. It burned for 60 hours, 72 people died, more than 70 were injured and 223 escaped. An electrical fault in a refrigerator started the fire which spread quickly up the building's exterior. Flames and smoke spread to all residential floors. The reason was because of  dangerously combustible aluminium composite cladding and insulation. An air gap between the layers enabled a "stack effect". Residents had warned of fire safety concerns & highlighted major safety problems, criticizing the council and KCTMO for neglecting fire safety and building maintenance. In June 2016, an independent assessor had highlighted 40 serious issues with fire safety at Grenfell Tower and recommended action to be taken within weeks. One of the earliest fires that involved cladding materials was the 1973 Summerland disaster on the Isle of Man. 

Again, they knew.

The average new build property now comes with as many as 157 defects, up by 96 per cent from 80 in 2005, according to specialists BuildScan. Snagging issues are rife and the big builders are often the culprits according to "This is Money"

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-10258569/Our-new-build-nightmare-New-homes-average-157-defects.html

Everyone knows.

Why is the UK building industry such a shambles? Why isn't there effective legislation & oversight to protect the public? Why isn't existing legislation enforced? Why do house owners & renters have to put up with our shoddy building trade?

It's all about profit. The Construction Industry is not fit for purpose but it is wealthy & powerful & the Government respond to their lobbying. Sadly people are "collateral damage" in this mess.