Definitely needs a TL;DR.

We’re only now feeling the effects of the water privatisation of a few decades ago along with the selling off of the council houses.

Yes you certainly have.

For clarity, I have not stated any excuse whatsoever, certainly not for Tories, but rather a reflection on where we are at present, where we could possibly be in the future and what has happened previously.

The realistic prospect of an armed conflict with Russia is what has changed.

Whether we cannot afford it is irrelevant, we may have no choice. We couldn’t afford it in 1939 and it wasn’t long ago that we’d only finished paying for our WW2 debts.

Unless something drastic happens that Putin comes to his senses we are in most likelihood heading for very dark times.

We’re not the only country considering a return to National Service/Conscription.

I found them to be total rubbish in my area and was tied in for 12 months. But someone else in another area will find them brilliant. The only provider that I found having the best decent consistency was EE. But I refuse to go into a 12month+ contract with these new rip off mid term price increases.

Nasty Party targets the poor and vulnerable again. It’s a shame that they don’t show the same efforts in going after the corporates avoiding tax.

There’s a race to the bottom and the Nasty Party is right out in front.

Typical Tory strategy straight from their pander-to-the-right-wing-playbook.

Hang on, if they continue to privatise prisons so that the incarcerated are forever in debt for their keep and also provide a cheap labour force for more private companies then surely it’s a win-win for this government.

They maybe a ruthless, incompetent bunch of bastards but they won’t miss a business opportunity!

Time to get rid.

I thought Cruella Braverman was no longer in the cabinet.

Seriously, these Tories seem to think that leadership is about being cruel and heartless bullies.

Long over due to get rid.

When Michael Portillo lost his seat in 97 it was sweet. That was my first experience of a non-tory government post childhood. But the experience of the evil farce of today’s Tories makes pre-97 Major’s Tories look almost desirable.

Even the script writers for Yes Minister/Prime Minister could not have made up the last 14 years.

Thames Water is everything that is wrong with privatisation.

On one hand this is good news. On the other hand it represents a problem whereby employers exploit workers via low pay and causes low productivity.

That problem isn’t going away too soon unless employers change their stance in paying better wages to get better productivity.

As the saying goes “minimum wage, minimum effort” unfortunately.

Here’s an article via the LSE on low wage and productivity.

Here you go…

UK GDPPer Capita

Don’t forget that London on the whole voted to remain.

In our local surgery the reduction in the number of GP’s is noticeable. There were four GP’s but now there are only two having been replaced by one consultant nurse.

The GP’s that do remain tend to have a rather high turnover and don’t stay for long.

Failure of Brexit

This You Tube explains why. There’s a few follow up videos worth watching but they are a bit drawn out.

But there has to be a properly trained installer base that simply does not exist in the quantities needed. There are a lot of cowboys offering heat pumps.

The problems are huge upfront costs and lack of heat engineering knowledge of the installers resulting in rubbish installations.

These systems are subsidised via grants to the consumer such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme paying up to £7,500 towards the cost. A typical air source heat pump, the most popular, can cost from around £7k to £13k. So you have to ask yourself why are they so expensive given they’ve been around for decades in Europe? It’s a nice money earner for the installers and manufacturers.

As a result we’re now seeing all sorts of companies suddenly popping up offering air source heat pumps. An example is a local company that fits roofing facia upgrades who now offer heat pumps. Yes they might have bought in the “expertise” but that is where the second problem is; lack of skilled heat engineers.

There are a lot of plumbers that pose as heat engineers. No doubt there are good plumbers but there are, I think, a bigger number that don’t know a two port valve from a bag of candy floss.

Many of the installers have been on a one week course by a manufacturer that sells off the shelf packages based on a one size fits all. But that’s where it goes pear shaped. For example, installing an ASHP in a poorly insulated Victorian house, telling the customer they’re going to save thousands on their gas bill only for their electricity bill to double, triple, quadruple.

These heat pumps can work so long as they are installed by a suitably skilled qualified heating engineer, in a suitable property.

I looked into heat pumps about 15 years ago. I wasn’t convinced then and I’m not convinced now because of the stupid costs and lack of skilled installers. In fact having looked into it recently again I’m less convinced now.

Buyer beware.