Your (UK EU) decision and Red 131

Downtown Ealing

Straw poll of shop windows, homes  and commercial premises on my doorstep indicates strong majority for Remain - this could of course reflect the 'shy' Brexiteer and of course getting the vote out is what counts.

What is for sure is that there's going to  be a lot of analysis and lessons learnt from the way the arguments have been revealed and the significance of hammering home points regardless of their truth or not (like the £350m figure)

The use of  totemic slogans  that capture the mass mood (like independence day)  has also been a feature of the playing to the media professionals  search for soundbites.

How is it that some of the mass audience papers have chosen to go with a 'Leave' front page - do the Press have an agenda? (strangely the Daily Mail has suggested leave while it's Sunday sister paper has used its editorial to back the remain).

[Was amused to learn that while David Cameron got a First in PPE his one-time  protégé Michael Gove got a 2:1 in History not too sure if that's where he picked up what economics knowledge he has.]

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Not usually the colour of a Police Vehicle - this one spotted in the heart of London's government district

It means business

Our heritage Vs The EU debates and Red 132

Walking around London two aspects of this great modern city illuminate my perspective on the UK - one is our Colonial past - many (now) questionable adventures and excursions, brave men and pursuing government policies to increase influence and empire.

Sir Henry Bartle Frere a proud past

The second is our mixture of people from diverse backgrounds and nationalities making a tolerant rich city   - not without problems but arguably the strongest most coherent of major cities in the free world.

Interesting to watch the unfolding campaigns both in and out around UK's EU referendum campaign - I'm not sure if it's just me but generally same  mantras coming from both sides and they are confirming my own views (so far) as I expect they are for others of both camps .

I did find Scottish Tory Leader Ruth Davidson a very good performer (Now being spoken of as a future leader for the UK party)  - I guess to have reached the heights she has in Politics marks her as somewhat charismatic.

I unlike most of the 'critics' think that Francis O'Grady leader  of the TUC (labour unions) gave a good account of herself too - but how odd for a TUC leader to have such a low profile, how times have changed.

What the 'Outer's are currently offering seems to  me a different set of policies from those that got Cameron and Co. elected - can't see how in all honesty if they win that a further general election could be avoided, worse case scenario this would be run during drastically weakened pound and after a change in Leadership for Conservative party.

 

London the capital of a  rich diverse present UK 

I feel very uncomfortable with the statements being made by Gove and Johnson regarding what they would do with 'potential' extra funds - do they really plan to improve NHS and other public institutions? - This does not seem to be part of their DNA


The idea that is being peddled is that  those actually voting for an 'Out'  will be doing so to empower British workers and give them a fairer slice of the pie.

Such a change would need to be  put to the electorate and the competing offerings (potentially) would be a view from the Left - Corbyn and the Right Gove/Johnson

Red 132

And here's an other  iconic vehicle repurposed

Not generally an option on a London Bus  

Printer troubles, EU referendum looming and Red 209

I've been incredibly pleased with my Canon Pixma IX6550 printer it's a smashing A3 printer and has produced great prints of photographs at a cost (for the printer) of less than £200 .

Trouble is now I am betting 'B200 error' messages and unable to print, having followed suggestions found online the problem remains.

[Here are some help points for printhead problems.]

I've now ordered a Printhead replacement  (from Hong Kong) which comes in at about half the price of the printer - fingers crossed it works or I'll be grumpy and there'll be more expense .

The EU vote is coming up fast..

It's sad that so much of the ruling of the country ( the UK in this instance ) seems to be about scoring points rather than a carefully thought out strategy for the population and I don't know if anyone is offering up a realistic model of what happens if we vote to leave.

London's population is global with many from Poland and beyond

To be honest I'm not a 100% sure which way I'll vote in the referendum that's being held soon.

Some ideas around regaining control of our economy and laws look initially appealing but has someone proposing exit said what the plan and timetable would be?

I'm thinking that should the vote go against him Cameron's position will become untenable and a new pro exit Tory PM will be anointed nd perhaps an early General Election called

Ahead of this we need to know some answers I think ..

1) Should England vote to exit and other parts of the UK vote to remain will there be further constitutional change to UK and Northern Ireland?

2) What becomes the status of EU citizens in the UK? and conversely how are UK citizens affected who live in other EU countries like those who retire to Spain?

The figures I've seen in Government reports like this one indicate something like 8 million of those living in the UK were born in other countries - this is a big number.

I know that we face unemployment in the UK of around 1.7 million (stated although there are undoubtedly many people who do not register and some people working in the 'Black Economy' and registering) - so could our unemployed workers all find jobs if some or all of the 'guests' went home?

Similarly could the housing crisis be solved by limiting the number of non-UK citizens in the country?

Some industries, like farming and hospitality are heavily dependent on workers from other countries what would the mechanism be to ensure that the hotels and farms could keep functioning?

And the Minimum/living wage

What felt at first to be a reasonable strategy to take people away from state dependency to a position where they keep their own money is of course more complex that we'd hope.

So it is with the National Living wage the idea that people should work and be able to live on what used to be called a minimum wage seems a good one the trouble is that the UK is already attracting many people from other countries in the EU and beyond.

The minimum wage is a draw to the UK - and although initially 15 or so years ago the conventional wisdom was that immigrants (many times the stereotype was a male  Polish plumber or decorator) were here to work in the UK, earn some money  and after a while return home to raise a family there.
Time has proven this  not to be the case and families now settle and perhaps older generations join them.

I hope that there will be a proper answer to these and many other questions before we have the vote in the summer - traditionally an unpopular government gets a raspberry form the electorate - this one though would have far reaching  consequences.

Red 209

You need to spot some people this Red outfit for tourist outfit is not going to be missed

Yeah - all good but I'm not to sure about the hat

The Biggger Politics and Red 268

The  big political story in the UK at present is

Does Murdoch decide the EU vote?

UK EU referendum

I see this about both holding the Conservative part together (the initial  reason for the vote I fear) and about the Tory leadership accession.
With the supremely ambitious Boris still appearing to be cemented to the  fence and Theresa May also yet to declare we've only got George Osborne clearly in favour of the EU but that doesn't mean there aren't other Tories waiting in the wings to throw there hats into the leadership ring as Pros or Antis.

The challenges for those who wish to remain in the EU and therefore need to support David Cameron should also not be overlooked - Opportunities' for Labour to see the Government in an uncomfortable position are limited and any chance of focusing on their opponents externally are likely to be jumped on  (sadly) even if this jeopardises their own clear policy. The worry for some is that a victory for the Yes campaign looks like a victory for Cameron who many feel id fighting a campaign on a false premise (that he's got notable 'concessions')

In Westminster the fiercely 'Pro' Liberal Democrats are all but insignificant these days and the Scots Nat's too could obtain political advantage by a Scotland/England split on voting.

I fear, to mix my metaphors that David Cameron's can of worms could come home to roost for the population of the UK- a 'no'  from England and a 'yes' from Scotland being the worst for him and his position in history.

Instinctively I feel 'we' should remain within the EU but if looking analytically at the issue it's not so simple; although I know the volatility in markets could be difficult too manage as such a  change would be traumatic - I can see that for many sections of the electorate the positives of being a part of the EU are largely intangible (or things we're not suffering to any great  degree- like border disputes or serious volatility -at present anyway)

I'm off to hear Tory  Lord Finkelstein talk on Monday evening so perhaps he'll say something about why UK press is almost totally against remaining in EU.

Red 268

I don't know if it's comfortable but it's  discounted (and I'd say) a Bar-Stool that's seriously red

Don't fall off