Oh no! Not Christmas again

 I hate Christmas. Every December we are assailed with an increasing barrage of dreary hymns, religious and/or pagan legends and fairy tales and exhortations to overspend on extravagant gifts. This all leads up to firstly a total and then a partial national shutdown which lasts from Christmas Day until two or three days after the New Year.  During this period people are expected to eat and drink themselves silly, listen to the King's message and watch old films and sitcoms on the television while trying not to fall out with the relatives who have billeted themselves on them for the duration.  

Why do we put up with it?  and what can be done about it?

What is this "economic growth"? (Do we really want it?)

According to the Chancellor’s statement to Parliament on 23 September “Economic growth is the government’s central mission.” (paragraph 3.2).  Mr Kwarteng claimed that the Government’s tax-cutting policies will result in a boost to economic growth that will enable all the planned government borrowing to be repaid and future social benefits to be maintained.  For its part, the Labour Party, while rejecting some (but not all) of the tax cuts, agrees that economic growth is the primary objective.

So what do they mean by “economic growth”? and is it really the answer to our problems?

The royal prerogative

I have just been watching a recording of the ceremony of the proclamation of “The King” (as I suppose we shall now have to refer to him).  I was expecting it to be slightly ridiculous, full of archaic flummery and twaddle. Indeed, there was quite a lot of that, but it actually had a serious purpose and brought home to me how some of our key constitutional principles are dependent on the monarchy.  It is a warning that any attempt to replace the monarchy with a republic needs to be very carefully thought through.

Why school uniforms?

I notice that a new law is due to come into effect in England in September that will “protect parents ... from unnecessary school uniform costs” by forcing state schools “to remove unnecessary branded items from their uniform requirements, allowing parents to shop around or hand clothes down more easily.”  (See BBC report).  Well, I suppose that is welcome as far as it goes, but why is there so little questioning of the peculiar practice of dressing schoolchildren in identical, old-fashioned and expensive clothes that neither they nor their parents would dream of wearing in any other context?

Based on various visits over the years to Europe and North America, I had supposed that school uniforms were a peculiarly British affliction, and that their prevalence would be limited mainly to the UK and some former British colonies. However, it seems that I was wrong.

Wrong answer

The Labour Party seems very pleased with itself following Sir Keir Starmer’s announcement that, if he were Prime Minister, his Government would freeze energy prices at current (August 2022) levels for six months and pay for it by a further “windfall tax” on energy companies.  Apparently, opinion polls show overwhelming public support for such a measure, which is also endorsed by the LibDems and the SNP.  Of course, it is easy to make such declarations when there is no chance of being able to carry them out.

The economic puzzle

I have no sympathy for either of the Conservative leadership candidates, and I wish they could both lose.  The prospect of the economically illiterate Liz Truss as prime minister is appalling.  However, I do have some sympathy for the dilemma that they face with regard to fiscal policy and indeed economic policy more generally.