Without wishing to sound too presumptive, I often wonder what I would actually do if I were the Prime Minister of the country, faced with the problems now confronting us in the new world order. It seems to be particularly ironic that we left the EU and tried to position ourselves as a power between Europe on the one hand and the USA on the other, when it is increasingly evident that we are in for a period of massive isolationism and we can no longer think of the USA as a power that will be there to defend our democracy and European value. In fact, I heard a comment last night n the TV which indicated that in the USA mindset the whole purpose of the EU was just an institution set up to annoy and act as a countervailing economic power to the USA. So, if I were Prime Minister, I would two things almost immediately. The first thing would be to organise a meeting of all of the European finance ministers and organise a joint and Europe-wide increase in VAT and make plain to he electorate that this was an emergency measure to fund the increase in our armed forces that have been hollowed out of late and would have to be especially re-approved by Parliament year by year and would be removed as soon as the threat level from Russia had diminished to some extent. Then I would make a COVID-style address to the nation explaining that we all needed to face a small temporary drop in living standards for a year or so (incidentally forcing the Opposition parties to not oppose these measures) I would explain that it is a harsh truth that London, Paris and Berlin needed to hear as it becomes increasingly obvious that Washington under President Donald Trump is far more interested in going it alone rather than being the big - but benevolent - beast within an alliance of partners. The problem though is that the armies, navies and air forces of the most powerful nations in Europe have been hollowed out since the end of the Cold War as government spending priorities shifted to peacetime niceties such as the economy, healthcare and social welfare. Now, would all of this do the trick or not? The problem is that we need a government full of intelligent, far-sighted individuals who can take decisive action for the next few years ahead and I am not entirely convinced that the present Labour party has this degree of political wisdom in its ranks anymore. Incidentally, now would not be a bad time to get the likes of ex-Prime Ministers like Tony Blair and John Major to at least tacitly, of not actively, endorse the new policies. A government information campaign (ads in newspapers and on TV) could label the emergency taxes as a 'war' tax and, apart from anything else, send a clear signal to Russia that it was going to be actively opposed. Any frozen economic assets of Russian oligarchs could be immediately sequestrated, and it could be pointed out what the tax-equivalent of such a move could be. Is any of this likely to happen and I am forced to say it is unlikely - but, if it does, you can brag to your friends that you read it here first.
Yesterday and somewhat unusually I overslept a little and got up at 5.30 with the carers having been rescheduled to start at 7.15 rather than (my preferred time of ) 8.00pm.Instead of two carers plus a shadow, we ended up with one carer and a shadow But there was quite a lot of explaining that needed to be done. Our domestic help has switched her day from a Friday to a Wednesday which actually I always prefer. Our domestic help radically remade my camp bed which was just as well as I had to get up remake it all in the middle of the night when my blankets had either slid off and everything had got rolled into a bundle. The morning post brought some much-needed prescriptions for Meg and I will explore later if I need to renew any of my own. Later in the day, a parcel arrived which was an oil-filled radiator which I had ordered and which I was expecting. Some days ago one of the carers who is exceptionally healthy conscious was worried that I was letting the house get too cold in the desire to save on heating costs - several of her clients and her own grandfather were experiencing the same dilemma. She had purchased on oil-filled radiator for herself and her grandfather and had been very impressed by it - moreover, the firm Screwfix were having a special offer on them. They are about 75% of the cost of running a fan heater and probably even less as they retail the heat and carry on releasing it even when they are switched off. There are a number of specific advantages as well particularly in larger rooms so although Meg was being kept warm with plenty of warm clothes and a blanket around her, I did not want her to be disadvantaged by my eagerness to save on heating costs. Well, the unit arrived and my domestic help and I quickly fitted on its portable feet and gave it a good test. The model I have bought has three heats of 1.0, 1,5 and 2.5kw and I tried it out on the middle power heat and the middle thermostat setting. I experienced the reverse of buyer's remorse which I suppose is buyer's delight because the unit far exceeded my expectations, was relatively quick to heat up and is of excellent deign with eleven fins to help to heat the room rapidly. So I have this installed in our Music Lounge where it will remain as a permanent fixture without being at all obtrusive.
Meg and I treated ourselves to a production of 'La Boheme' this afternoon. The male singers I did knot know but were excellent with Mirella Freni playing Mimi. As the set design was by Zeffirelli and the conductor was Herbert von Karajan, the production was of an excellent quality and it helped to make a very enjoyable afternoon to lift the gloom of the international news.
© Mike Hart [2025]