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Performative government

Performative government can be defined as government in which ministers seek  plaudits from fellow ideologues rather than pursue goals determined by a dispassionate analysis of costs and benefits. There are several examples of performative policies followed by the current Labour administration.The most damaging example is probably the  push to net zero. This policy, which has won approval from environmentalists, has meant that British consumers and British industries  face some of the highest electricity costs  in Europe. The justification for the haste to achieve net zero is to create jobs and save the planet, but in fact it does neither. Thousands of jobs have been lost in the North Sea. As for saving the planet, the UK is responsible for around 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, so any action in this country would has little effect. And the notion that the UK might be a beacon of light to other countries is laughable. In fact the less oil extracted from the North Sea, the more oil has to be imported from abroad, which simply exports the pollution.Another example is the Chagos deal, pursued by the government in slavish compliance  with a non- binding decision of jurists of the ICJ obsessed with anti-colonialism, even though the deal undermines the rights of the native Chagossians and jeopardises British national security.Yet another is the decision to impose VAT on independent schools. The supposed aim of this legislation is to create 6000 extra teachers for the state system. But its effect has been to force the closure of several schools, create extra demand on the state system, disrupt children’s education and place an unfair burden on parents. It’s obvious that the government is motivated by a wish to please the class warriors  in the party, determined to attack the privileges of the rich, even though many of of them earn far more than some of the parents who have to scrimp and save to pay for a decent school for their children.In short, Labour put ideology ahead of common sense.

Steven Rose ● 15d43 Comments ● 9d

Israel - our ally

Extract from Spectator online - "Will no one acknowledge how Mossad helps Britain?"Jake Wallis Simons21 November 2025, 11:24am'Let’s imagine that an international jihadi network, with cells in London and Europe, had just been busted, with dramatic arrests in Britain, Germany and Austria. Let’s imagine that the group had been planning a string of atrocities, with a weapons cache discovered in Vienna.Let’s imagine that security services had unearthed ‘tens of thousands of Euros in cash, numerous data storage devices and mobile phones, gas pistols, firearms, ammunition, knives, and related literature’. You’d have expected such a story to make the news, right?Wrong. On Monday, the Israeli prime minister’s office announced that this precise scenario had unfolded, with Mossad handing intelligence to MI5 and European agencies that enabled them to bring the jihadis to justice and foil their murderous ambitions. The name of the gang? Here’s a clue: it coordinated with leaders in Qatar and Turkey. You guessed it.In a statement that would chill the heart of any Briton or European were they to have heard it reported, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office warned: ‘Since the October 7 massacre, the Hamas terrorist organisation has been working with renewed vigour to build infrastructure and recruit terrorist cells in Europe and other arenas, similar to the Iranian regime and its proxies.’When people talk of Iranian ‘proxies’, they are referring to groups such as Hezbollah, the Houthis and less well-known terrorist gangs in Syria and Iraq. Over the decades, Tehran built these up into a ‘ring of fire’ around Israel, which was only dismantled after the Mossad pager operation last year, followed by Israel’s airborne humiliation of the Iranian regime during those fateful 12 days in June.That is what the Israelis are saying that we are starting to face here. A network of proxies. A nascent ring of fire, preparations for a 7 October of our own, awaiting activation.'Why does our MSM not report this ?Why don't we wake up and smell the coffee (Turkish ?) and be forearmed as well as forewarned.

John Hawkes ● 105d28 Comments ● 11d

Journalists in 2026: we're shocked that the Labour right smears people

"The prime minister has ordered the Cabinet Office to investigate claims about Labour Together after the group was accused of commissioning a report that investigated the background of a journalist.Labour Together, which helped Sir Keir Starmer get elected as Labour leader, paid APCO Worldwide at least £30,000 to "investigate the sourcing, funding and origins" of a Sunday Times story about undeclared donations at the think tank before the 2024 general election.Sir Keir said he "didn't know anything" about APCO Worldwide's investigation adding: "It absolutely needs to be looked into."Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake said Labour Together's behaviour "shows a worrying contempt for the free press".He added: "With its close and widely known links to the heart of government, serious questions must be answered about who was aware of these actions, including whether senior figures around the prime minister knew."The party said Labour should suspend its links with Labour Together until the allegations had been independently investigated.It is understood the government's propriety and ethics team will be responsible for the Cabinet Office investigation.The SNP's Westminster deputy leader Pete Wishart said a Cabinet Office investigation amounted to "the Labour government trying to mark its own homework" and called for a cross-party parliamentary inquiry.The party has also called on the prime minister to sack Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons, who commissioned the report, named "Operation Cannon", when he was head of Labour Together."https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0q3wx2j3x1oGosh, who'd believe that about "Labour Together", a major force behind Starmer's victory?

David Ainsworth ● 19d0 Comments ● 19d