Economics is not my forte, which my bank manager would confirm. But politically, I like to think I understand.
So, while I wouldn’t dare criticize the Chancellor’s mini-budget, one thing is clear: this week’s warnings of steep interest rate hikes, and the ensuing chaos in the mortgage markets, with lenders withdrawing their offers en masse, could could spell disaster for the Conservative Party.
It doesn’t matter that experts have been predicting increases for quite some time, or that rates have been at unprecedentedly low levels for too long.
Nor does it matter that the overall economic picture is largely due to external factors beyond the government’s control.
What matters is how this all translates to the common man or woman on the street. And, I’m afraid, it translates into a dangerous disregard for the first rule of British politics: Don’t threaten an Englishman’s castle.
While I wouldn’t dare criticize the Chancellor’s mini-budget, one thing is clear: this week’s warnings of sharp interest rate hikes, and the ensuing chaos in the mortgage markets, with lenders withdrawing their offers en masse, could spell disaster for the conservatives. Side
It’s a rule that always applies; but at a time like this – when the nation has just buried its beloved queen, terror is high after two years of catastrophic lockdowns, the cost of living is rising from the war in Ukraine, and the foundations of life feel so shaky – the one thing you don’t do is create a situation where people are afraid of losing their home.
Yet that is exactly what happened. Across the country, ordinary, hard-working people, the kind of people who budget and save to have a roof over their heads — in other words, loyal Tory voters — are beside themselves with worries. And that’s not good.
It’s the last thing the party needs right now. After the turmoil of recent months, this Conservative government should support those voters and make their lives easier — not to give them sleepless nights that risk sending them straight into Keir Starmer’s arms.
Maybe they thought they were doing that by announcing tax cuts. But having a few extra pence in the pound isn’t worth it if the consequences put you at risk of not being able to pay your mortgage payments.
The dream of home ownership is a cornerstone of British life. Bricks and mortar is what the middle class – the backbone of Britain – aspires to. Undermine that and they will never forgive you.
It’s a lesson conservatives should have learned already. The last time they lost control of interest rates, in 1992, they caused a housing price crash that wiped out many homeowners — and sowed the seeds of their inevitable electoral defeat in 1997, followed by years in the political wilderness.
No wonder Starmer referred to Tony Blair in his speech yesterday afternoon: Blair was the man who rose from the ashes after those conservative mistakes. Now Starmer hopes to do the same.
But this time things are arguably worse. Years of artificially low interest rates have created the wrong impression that money is easy to come by. Many households have taken on glaring debt, although the cost of living has steadily risen.
All this cheap money has made people think they can afford more than they actually can. It doesn’t take much rate hike to push those who have borrowed out of their financial comfort zone off the housing ladder.
Like I said, I don’t know anything about the economics of all this, but the politics is simple: endanger people’s homes, and it’s game over
You could argue (and many will) that reckless borrowing is the fault of the individual, not the government. But in the end it’s the ministers, not the common people, who control the financial climate, and you can’t blame anyone for wanting to buy their own property, especially when the rents are so high.
Like I said, I don’t know about the economics of all this, but the politics is simple: endanger people’s homes and it’s game over.
The conservatives ignore that simple truth at their peril.
Helena, goddess of aliens
Forget about UFO sightings and internet conspiracy theories. If you ask me, Helena Christensen is the strongest proof that there really are aliens living among us. Fifty-three, and this is what she looks like. The woman just can’t be human.
Forget about UFO sightings and internet conspiracy theories. If you ask me, Helena Christensen is the strongest proof that aliens really do live among us
What a life changer!
For some people, the ultimate must-have fall accessory is a new pair of shoes or a handbag. Mine is my air fryer. I had never heard of it until about a month ago, but then my oven filled up and my daughter persuaded me to buy one while I waited for John Lewis to deliver the spare part. At first it was only used for my son’s late chicken nuggets and chips; but on Saturday I decided to go crazy and fry a whole chicken in it. A revelation: juicy, juicy – and with a perfectly crispy skin. On Sunday I tried a small leg of lamb: similar results. And all from something not much bigger than my coffee machine, and costing less than £50.
The oven has now been repaired, but I’m not sure I’ll ever use it again.
The mask of labor falls off
First, Tony Blair’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell insults Kwasi Kwarteng by calling him ‘Kami Kwasi’ on the Today program (undisputed by the presenters, I should point out); it later emerged that Rupa Huq, the Ealing Central and Acton MP, had accused the chancellor of being ‘superficially’ black. I wonder, what do these Labor die-hards find so challenging about the idea of a black man in high office?
It turned out that Rupa Huq, the Ealing Central and Acton MP, had accused the Chancellor of being ‘superficially’ black
El Shafee Elsheikh, 34, also known as ‘Ringo’ in the so-called ISIS Beatles, has been transferred from a heavy maximum security prison to a more palatial Colorado establishment after his lawyers claimed he was showing ‘signs of mental and physical deterioration’. . This is a man who, along with the other members of his group – all from West London – tortured innocent people, including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, before beheading them and posting the footage online. Sorry, no mental and physical decline is too much for this monster.
Since so many people are talking about it, I decided I’d better watch the Netflix biopic about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. I really wish I hadn’t. It’s veritable crime porn that revels in the gruesome details of Dahmer’s deranged killing spree. Why anyone would consider these terrible events “entertainment” is beyond me. Netflix may be having a hard time, but this really does scrape the barrel.
The organizers of next year’s Eurovision Song Contest face a tough choice: Glasgow or Liverpool for the venue. No offense to Glasgow; but given its musical heritage, it definitely has to be Liverpool.
As infuriated as Phil and Holly’s priority job with the Queen was, the petition to have them fired is tantamount to online bullying. They are tarred and feathered enough. Time to move on.