Sturgeon> No short cuts to Independence 2020

Sturgeon> No short cuts to Independence 2020

This is Sturgeon’s first step to accepting reality>acknowledging that Indi Ref 2 will not take place in 2020
Her only hope was a hung Parliament with Labour in control and she knows that the probability is that is inconceivable until 2029 at the earliest
It will also become apparent that Brexit will not have a noticeable affect on the Scottish economy so her EU argument disappears. Reality she knows is that Boris will use fiscal measures to ensure that under his Premiership Scotland benefits economically

So this is just the start of the route to acceptance that there will not be a second referendum for a generation or ever

And as she puts the issue on the back burner she will start to concentrate on domestic Scottish issues and here lies her problem>take Brexit and Second Referendum out of the spectrum and SNP are exposed as very poor governors of Scotland!
Now that may give an opening for the Centre Tory Party of Boris to advance    

Saracens Premier League Punishment

Saracens Premier League Punishment

PL relegation competition now a dead rubber>winning PL from also runs however good Chiefs think they are> 2020/21 Championship teams no chance of promotion & always a caveat to winner of PL for second year running>all from a Salary Cap system which plainly does not work for Clubs, players and supporters>Report illustrates the complexities of the Cap: try reading it without a lawyer at your side!

If you want to understand how the Salary Cap works just read the Report on Saracens>I’m being cynical here!
It is so technical and complicated that after trying to read and understand it I felt that no wonder there have been breaches and I also wonder how many other Clubs have been in breach or could have been
A big play had been made about the media and market rights of one player. One of the top firms were asked to value them and this Report obtained another valuation ay half the amount. The difference being a major part of the breach for that particular year  

As a trained albeit retired valuer [property] it is interesting that the assumptions made by the two firms who valued these right are not stated and compared> every valuation is based on a set of assumptions. It follows that the decision to favour the lower figure fits nicely in with the accusations against Saracens
Then we come to the property loans>where they considered benefits in kind by HMRC and subject to tax . We all know  how keen HMRC are to tax us and if they were not so caught by our tax laws why should they be caught by a Salary Cap>anyway it is the ‘interest element’ which is ‘income’

Perhaps all this has been considered and dealt with and I am just trying to illustrate that it is perhaps the rules of the Salary Cap which is the root of the problem
Some may say that Saracens played at the rules to the edge and lost but when you are building a team it is not just to win the PL but to win in Europe and you are up against teams playing to different rules
Our teams are at a huge disadvantage competing in perhaps the most competitive rugby competition after the World Cup>yes perhaps more competitive than the Six Nations!
So naturally Clubs will play the system to the edge as they play the rules of Rugby to the edge
Saracens did exactly that and continued with practices which have been around a long time in Rugby Union and at one time was the only way to keep amateur players at Clubs
I have to admit that I gave up reading the Report [and when working I was used to reading legal reports] as soon as it became abundantly clear that Salary Cap System is not fit for purpose
And the consequences will have a detrimental affect on both the PL and Championship for two years
Besides making it easier for the French Teams to win !

Starmer >Left or Marxist

Sir Keith> a Marxist/Far Left or Blairite?

Does anyone really believe that Sir Starmer, a Knight of the Realm really supports Corbyn's far left, Marxist polices and approach to politics!

From the start of his appearance in politics in 2015 he has always given the impression that he was very much of the 'Blair' ilk and that he served under Corbyn only because he was a committed Remain and Second Referendum supporter and by doing that he could turn the Labour Party into a Remain Party>he nearly succeeded !
He had to compromise and bite his tongue many times but compromise to achieve a target is just part of politics>as a lawyer he was well tuned
So it will be interesting to see if he can con enough of the far left/Marxist to get elected Leader
Perhaps he is the 2020 version of 1983 Kinnock!.....and young Kinnock the new 'Smith/Blair' waiting in the wings for 2029 and beyond

LIfe after Brexit

International headlines replace Brexit as we start 2020 and few will be sorry about that

The Labour Leadership contest is not very inspiring to the public at large and neither will be the technical side of the enacting the Withdrawal Agreement 

The media will focus on the Tories for the foreseeable future as the views of the Opposition Parties are irrelevant

The Middle East blows up and dies down and will be a continual thorn in the side of western Leader for the foreseeable future

Iran will take it’s time in responding to the assignation of its General and that will enable it to diffuse the situation

The real politics of the incident is that Iran became careless and misjudged Trump and Iran thought it could attack America and its Allies via its proxy organisations with impunity>perhaps the balance has returned

The consequences of the mistake over the airline will resonate and negotiations will start for a new deal later in the year>such is the power of sanctions!

Our MSM always follows the US elections which will be the international event of 2020. At present Trump looks like the winner and as they say it is his to lose

The political excitement of the last 3 years has ceased although there may be a hiatus late in the year as the end of transition gets close ending up with a new deal around middle November to allow both sides to ratify before the end of the year

So social media will not have the attraction as hitherto

As a country we are now moving into a period where there will be relatively massive infrastructure investment and much of that in the North

And private investment will get a boost from the conclusion of Brexit 

The NHS management will be improved and brought up to date but pressure will continue due to the advance of medical science and demand

A cross party commission will report on social care both for now and the future

On both these issue the Tories must show progress by 2024

Climate change targets and progress will increasingly become the central issue of the next decade

Our grandchildren at 16 plus are well and truly orientated in that direction and they will vote in 2024 and by end of decade the movers and shakers of our future > my eldest will be 29 , then 28 26 and youngest 23 [besides I will be 81 at next election and 86/87 at end of decade ]

I am confident that we are looking at a Tory decade whoever is the Labour Leader  

There will be crisis and events and the Government will make mistakes but the next decade will not be like the last

Because 2010 started with a coalition and then half way we had a small then minority government >it had to deal with crisis issues and austerity to get us back on track and that was basically unexciting until Brexit came along

We start the 2020’s with a bang and lots of positive vibes

Labour went to the extreme/Marxist left and lost heavily and they start 2020 in disorder and having to find a focus which appeals to electorate

As Boris is firmly in the middle ground that is not going to be easy

Some will think that the same policies and approach with a different Leader will with one more push turn the Country deep red As at day one of 2020 they are in control of Labour so drastic changes are unlikely in short term

But anything can happen in the next 5 years