Reuters photo
By
Hazel Speed
Jeremy Corbyn has proposed four Bank Holidays to celebrate the Saints of each Constituent Country of the United Kingdom.
I am somewhat, as yet, confused regarding the suggestion that St Andrew, Patron Saint of Scotland (which is already celebrated there), be extended to the rest of the UK. Are all the proposed Bank Holidays to be reciprocal?
This is brightly coloured icing to attract the odd passer-by who glances into the Baker’s window belonging to the Labour Party, but it has been slapped on a half-baked cake!
Playing to the gallery is one thing, but it hardly constitutes a game plan for running a country.
Many think there are far too many holidays as it is, especially in December surrounding the Christmas period, during which time the country loses substantial earnings, and many openly declare that they are glad to be back at work when it is all over.
Far better then, to offset against Christmas holidays and/or give workers an option and bonus to take less time off work in December by not closing down offices, and thereby the opportunity for those who would like to take up such an offer.
Also, to make such Bank Holidays reciprocal, is reminiscent of an overseas tradition, (yet another one creeping into use throughout the UK), when a child has a birthday, to also give gifts to siblings and friends, lest they feel left out.
In addition to the above, given the fact that Mr Corbyn is always lecturing about the way that The Prime Minister is not addressing National Debt and all things financial, then what will the UK lose by multiple or needlessly reciprocal Bank Holidays, and who will suffer the financial consequences or foot the bill?
Each country having their own Bank Holiday is one thing, but celebrating with the Scots hardly stops them from wanting to leave the rest of the UK, and many English will not appreciate that inference either whilst the rantings of Nicola Sturgeon still ring in their ears.
It is to be hoped that the Labour faithful realise, when Mr Corbyn loses this next General Election (as many say he will), that they will have a long wait before the Party has another chance to become the next Government.
There are those too, who say the only reason that the Labour Party will have to bake a cake, is when Mr Corbyn steps down. Some Manifesto!
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Elsewhere, having come across a wonderful article which is, in literary terms, what Spitting Image was for TV, I do urge readers to consider the contents therein.
In essence, it encapsulates why the older age groups (50 +), will never vote for Mr Corbyn as any world conflicts would, metaphorically, be dealt with by flinging wet sponges towards an adversary at dawn, (as I have mentioned in my previous articles on Mr Corbyn’s pacifist viewpoints).
Another aspect, in this General Election campaigning which loses thought patterns for most readers – what does it matter the motive why Mrs May called a General Election. Surely, the point is that she called one at all.
There has also been total honesty at the point The Prime Minister made her announcement, as she gave her full reasons, naming the other parties who try every trick in the book to thwart, undermine and/or overturn (after a democratic vote), the people’s decision to leave the EU; then the lack of a Conservative majority in The House of Lords, thereby resulted in Bills being impeded and not passed without suggested amendments just because the Peers of the other Parties (and Independent Peers) collectively could. After that, yet further deliberations in ‘the Other Place’ and voting once again, all culminating in wasted valuable Parliamentary time in respect of other urgent domestic matters requiring their attention.
It is a redundant argument therefore, to say that The Prime Minister is calling the General Election for Party reasons. She cannot initiate the will of the people to leave the EU regarding so much legislation (despite the Henry VIII – Great Repeal Bill), if every step of the way the other Parties (and a few of her own), make the whole procedures like walking through treacle.
So whichever way one looks at that point, the two facets of ‘doing it for her Party’ and or ‘wanting to be re-elected by the people’ (under her own Mandate and not one inherited from Mr Cameron), come to the same thing, i.e. so she can get on with expediting the will of the people over Brexit; therefore, what is the problem?
If anything, she has opened up the risk of other matters overtaking all this in the eyes of the electorate, but that presupposes; (a) anything else supersedes Brexit and (b) any other Political Leader exists to have intellectual facility whereby it becomes apparent they will be elected to replace her as The Prime Minister, over one or more different issue. A bit like searching for a good jockey to ride a horse in a race it is bound to lose anyway!
First she is goaded for not holding a General Election then criticised because she is. Also, it is a telling fact that Mrs May is the only Political Leader who has reiterated her stance on key matters, and as with regards to tax and insurance questions, many do not blame her for reserving some leverage until later, if and when re-elected. We all know her views on those things generally anyway, as with most subjects by now.
UKIP may or may not have a Candidate standing for just one seat – but I doubt they would be successful in any event. That has been the silver bullet against their progress, as without any UKIP MPs now (and only one in the past – even he had crossed the floor from the Conservatives and has recently left UKIP), they may have achieved a huge vote within the Leave umbrella for the Brexit Referendum, but they were/and remain (no pun intended), powerless in domestic politics otherwise, due to the lack of a voice in Parliamentary debate. The Liberal Democrats are no doubt waiting to be asked to dance with someone – they may just have to team off in pairs.
The one thing which is rare and sad, however, is when the best person to lead the country represents a political Party for whom one could never vote.
Hazel Speed
Photo (c) Hazel Speed – used by kind permision to Tuck Magazine
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