This is Northumberland Calling 17.11.23

Poison pens, a return of the prodigal and Gordian knots

Hello America (especially Central Ohio!), this is Northumberland Calling

All change for the Conservatives after Sunak sacked Braverman and in a Return of the Prodigal  move made David Cameron a Baron to enable him to be Foreign Secretary.   https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/11/13/david-cameron-new-foreign-secretary-cabinet-reshuffle-sunak/ or https://archive.is/5QxsZ

Braverman’s resignation letter was very much a poison pen letter. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/suella-braverman-resignation-letter-rishi-sunak-unpacked-dnwrpnhv6 or https://archive.is/anRBE

Sunak did lose his Supreme Court case and the Rwanda policy as a containment for the small boats is in tatters. Basically the Supreme Court decided that Rwanda was not a ‘safe’ country under UK and international law. This was the Bar Council’s reaction to Sunak’s proposed emergency legislation.  https://www.barcouncil.org.uk/resource/rwanda-emergency-law-bar-council-reaction.html

 The big question of how to stem illegal immigration as it is impossible to have open borders and run any  sort of social welfare system or indeed have meaningful employment law which protects workers at the same time remains unanswered. Creating a large pool of undocumented workers allows unscrupulous employers to exploit them as well as driving down wages for ordinary workers and it puts pressure on various public services.  It also favours those who take the unorthodox route over those who opt for the legal route. The most disadvantaged or indeed the ones in most desperate need of assistance lose out imho to the pockets of  cruel people smugglers. Thus some sort of gatekeeping is required. It is the modern Gordian knot of our times, particularly as war and unscrupulous governments cause upheaval in other countries. (See for example the expulsion of 2 million Afghan refugees from Pakistan — some who had been living in camps for 40 years)  Precisely what effective gatekeeping looks like remains unclear. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/16/failure-reform-asylum-laws-inhumane-rishi-must-say-so/ or https://archive.is/r9eSe

All change at Labour as various shadow frontbenchers resigned over Starmer’s decision not to back a call for an immediate ceasefire in the Israeli-Hamas conflict.  https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/keir-starmer-labour-gaza-ceasefire-vote-c2ctjv2s9 or https://archive.is/toR2Q

If you haven’t read Hilary Clinton in the Atlantic on why an immediate ceasefire is a terrible idea, you should. She makes a surprisingly cogent argument about the futility of cease fires and Hamas. https://archive.is/H1V5s

The police have complained again that the powers which previously allowed them to arrest people who climbed on statues etc (see the case of Charlie Gilmour) are no longer adequate for dealing with the current wave protestors. Sunak is unhappy about the police stance. There will be a march tomorrow and apparently they are planning sit downs in 10 railway stations. The police will most likely look on. It remains to be seen if James Cleverly can get the police to ensure that people can travel without fear of disruption from protesters.   https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/16/protest-london-palestine-war-memorial-metropolitan-police/ or https://archive.is/IjSaE

Talking is good for menopause claims the NHS citing several small studies rather than the large ones which show that some form of HRT can work for most. Full disclosure – I made it through with a Mirena coil (had heavy periods in my late 30s, saved me from having a hysterectomy)  and drinking tomato juice. Tomato juice can help with hot flushes. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/17/hrt-menopause-nice-talking-therapy-cruel-pointless-cbt/ or https://archive.is/WHgdZ

Woman’s Hour presenter and sufferer of endometriosis had a blistering interview with the head of a endometriosis charity, a trans identified male who claimed that a few men suffered from the condition. Male endo is highly rare and related to female endo but it is very different as males do not have wombs. It mostly occurs in males who have been taking female hormones. Despite being told what the interview was going to be about, the trans identified male is now claiming the presenter bullied him.  https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trans-head-of-charity-accuses-womans-hour-host-emma-barnett-of-bullying-tfrw0j5l8 or https://archive.is/RpDU9

Julie Bindel did a great review in the Speccie of the interview: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-interview-that-exposed-the-ridiculousness-of-trans-activism/ or https://archive.is/gCyrG

British cycling may have insisted males do not enter elite female races but it insists males can enter female only fun rides. They wish to be inclusive and do not see the problem. <eyeroll> https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2023/11/16/british-cycling-policy-blindspot-transgender-riders-women/ or https://archive.is/NbMKd

Despite its many failures including the botched ferry contract, CalMac had been re-awarded its contract to run Scotland’s ferry service. No competitive tender necessary apparently…because ministers are going to demand change. One would hope some sort of change would be in the offing as it should not be beyond the wit of CalMac to run a reliable service.  The Scottish government doing what it does best… https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/calmac-to-get-multimillion-ferry-deal-without-competitive-tender-wlp7t9sh9 or https://archive.is/kEExc

If you are missing an ironing board, one was found on the top of Ben Nevis. People who indulge in extreme ironing or indeed carrying fridges or other domestic appliances up mountains should not abandon them when the going gets tough. Ruins the experience for other walkers. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/extreme-ironing-blamed-for-board-left-on-ben-nevis-vrrrqwc57 or https://archive.is/QQF44

The Evening Standard has continued its series on free speech highlighted its proprietor Lord Lebedev’s  speech in the House of Lords. You can access the ongoing series here as the essays make for interesting reading:  https://www.standard.co.uk/topic/free-speech

I was quoted in Private Eye about last  year’s Society of Authors agm and why we brought the resolutions. Either a trade union attempts to protect all its members from management or it is a cozy club for a few and not really a trade union. The article included the fact that not only Julia Williams was elected on a free speech ticket but also Nikesh Skula who represents perhaps a more Marcuse inspired view on free speech was elected. Joanne Harris will be stepping down in January. The full article is apparently not on the internet.

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Finally as I promised Chana yesterday on Free Press – this is a photo from my grandmother’s scrapbook which she made when my grandfather was stationed in Germany

. As you can they still had people from Eastern Europe being housed in Dachau. Israel took many of these refugees and allowed them to settle. Compare and contrast with Pakistan who are kicking out Afghan refugees after 40 years living in camps with no place to settle or call home. Pakistan was created to be a Muslim home/place of refuge in contrast to India which was explicitly Hindu in nature.