Monday 10 December 2012

Nads, Enoch, Foot and Greek bonds

I watched Nads from the jungle give a great performance on the Andrew Neil show on Sunday in a film shot of her talking to her constitiuents in Mid Beds and replusing the redoubtable Mr Neil in a Skype interview. The latter was all the more impressive as it came after a lack lustre performance from my former oppo BoE Matthew, call me Matt, Hancock now a Business Dept minister in a studio grilling from AN.

The difference was plain to see. It was Nads who had the balls, wit and humour and Matt who was  destined for the eunuchs who guard Dave's harem in Downing Street. Nads is clearly well liked in her constituency and communicates easily with them in terms they understand. She is a working class lass from Liverpool and the comparison withh PPE posh boys like Matt Hancock showed just why the Tories are going to be out of power for another 15 years after the next election.

The man from Witney posted a great link on his blog over the weekend to a radio discussion between Powell and Foot that must have been recorded in late 73 early 74. I advise you to click on link and listen for the full 45 minutes. It shows how far the standards of political debate have slipped in the last 38 years.

I was very interested as I worked in the Civil Service 71 to 73 and well rememember the passage of the European Communities Bill in Novemeber 72  that sold us lock stock and barrel to the EU. I wish I had gone into the house that night to see the sordid scene with political pygmies such as Jefrey Archer selling us down the river  Foot said he was ashamed to be a member of a parliament that had given so many of our hard won freedoms away. These two put the argument better than I ever could so please take the time to listen to them. People sometimes ask me what went on in government in 72. I usually reply that all that has happened since was largely forseen in Civil service briefing papers of the time but the politicians and the FO were gung ho for the EU for why?

Well the reason came out in the background snippets in the discussion with talk of prices and incomes board, strikes and corporate malpractice, Lonrho etc. That was where the real impetus came to join. There was a feeling we were not up to running our own country, a national loss of confidence or call it what you will. So the political class abdicated as cravenly as Edward VIII and handed us over the the 4th Reich. Its the old military adage, there are no bad men only bad officers and certainly in Heath, Jenkins and Shirl we certainly had that!

It seems the Greeks are still short 4 bn bonds so they have kept their auction offer open for another 2 days. They say there is no problem because if Johny Foreigner does not cough up his bonds the Greek banks will. But of ourse the latter does not get Greece anywhere its just robbing Stellios to pay Stellios!

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