At the last General Election it was obvious to anybody with at least half a brain that Boris Johnson is a well-off, lying, self-seeking buffoon, but still millions voted Tory. His winning ticket was that he would “get Brexit done,” give £350 million more a week to the NHS and stop the flow of immigrants.  Total bullshit.  Now 58 per cent of the people, according to a recent poll, regret that we left the EU.

We have suffered 13 years of Tory rule. They control the NHS, but do not use it. They control the trains, but do not use them. They allow the water company cowboys to pollute our rivers and beaches and take their own holidays in faraway places.

They have neglected our schools because they do not use them. There is no dodgy concrete at Eton, Harrow and Winchester.

In the face of 13 years of Tory misrule we have had a weak-kneed opposition, which has been more concerned with expelling socialists from Labour than with putting forward socialist solutions to the country’s problems. Most of the members who have been expelled for alleged anti-Semitism are Jewish. This irony has escaped a leadership which is hell-bent on resurrecting Blair’s New Labour no matter what the political cost.

Keir Starmer won the leadership on the strength of a programme which would have built on Jeremy Corbyn’s radical proposals.  He has since reneged on the whole lot, because “things have moved on”.

Here is another party leader who is a liar. 

The Tories may lose the next election, but Labour does not deserve to win it.

Keir Starmer is a bent straw, with nothing to say that will convince people that he can turn Britain round. Turning it round is the last thing he wants.  He expects people to Vote Labour on the strength of policies which are indistinguishable from the Tories.

Labour is committed not to raise taxes on the rich, although their tax-avoidance scams are robbing the exchequer of billions each week.

In the fifth richest nation on Earth, the poor are becoming poorer and child poverty has never been worse. It is argued by both the Tories and Labour that we cannot afford to remove the punitive 2-child benefit cap.

Levelling up has proved to be a myth. Our poorest people are among the most poverty-stricken in Europe.  They would be better off living in Slovenia.

Our public services are falling apart for lack of investment and from both parties we hear the same mantra: “We cannot solve problems  by throwing money at them; what we need is reform.”

Let’s examine this hypocritical baloney.

THE NHS

The NHS has been blighted by reforms imposed by a succession of short-term Health Ministers.

The NHS waiting list now numbers 7.5 million and  remains little changed since before the pandemic. It is not the consequence of strikes by doctors and nurses. It is the result of thousands of unfilled vacancies, starved social care provision and too few hospital beds.

Britain has 23 hospital beds per 10,000 inhabitants. The comparable figure for France is 57 and for Germany it is 78 and Spain 26.

Yes, do throw money at the NHS, without reforms. That would allow legitimate pay demands to be met, so that staff can be recruited and retained, staff vacancies can be filled and closed wards can be reopened.

THE RAILWAYS

Instead of compensating the rail companies for fares lost during strikes, thus encouraging the companies to prolong the strikes, insist on pay settlements without such unpopular reform as closure of ticket offices.

WATER

It is a mad world in which the companies responsible for maintaining the health of our waterways and coastal waters are liberally polluting them, while paying out billions to their share-holders and executives.

Take legal action against the polluters, locking up the guilty. Take the companies back into public ownership and renew the long-neglected Victorian infrastructure.