Pasty Faced Tories skid on pasties. Time to change the tyres and get some grip.

Beneath the pasty faces, do we hear knocking knees amongst the Tory hierarchy who have now decided to go into an almost terrified change of mind on the ill-named pasty tax?  Who can be advising them that, having taken the pain of the adverse PR and gleeful goadings from the children across the House of Commons floor it was now a good idea to step on the brakes, throw the gears into reverse and abandon the perfectly justifiable (if you put it the right and intelligible way) pasty tax and to delay reduce the newly imposed VAT on static caravans from 20% to 5% ?

Mr Miliband should dine out on another good day at Prime Minister's questions on this needlessly presented open goal. The simple rule of any strategy is that you've taken the grief and survived, don't walk back into the issue for another go. Hold your nerve and carry on. The damage has already been done and recovery will just happen with the passage of time. Even a day can be a long time in politics.

The Prime Minister and his far too small, narrow and unworldly inner circle  must be longing for the safe haven of the long Summer recess when hopefully they can regroup, widen the talent pool , get in some good streetwise advisors and just get a grip.  That's if they understand what's needed .Until they do the Eds and their gangs, lusting for more blood ,look like they are going to have many field days knowing that their constantly repeated soundbites, "Out of touch", "Too fast, too soon" and others similar are gaining traction and not just through the sheer weight of repetition.

Beneath all this, what worries long time political observers, is the lack of shere political nouse in the leadership and running of both major parties. There is a deficiency of  weight and depth in both. Cameron comes across as a presentable and more or less acceptable Prime Minister though increasingly old style establishment and nowhere near a great one. Miliband, while winning the current round of spats looks nothing like a PM and anyway is likely to be knifed behind the curtains if the party looks like it's in with a chance of having another go at further wrecking the economy. Clegg, unable to accept that his party is part of a governing coalition and that with that goes responsibility for at least outward cohesion, appears to have no idea at all about how a bidder for the highest office should look and behave. For him that's OK as he will never be one, but for the others the deficiencies are serious and, to the electorate, depressing.

Gravitas and weight aside, the other disturbing thing is that neither major party appears to have a vision or plan for a better Britian. In a real world there would first be a clearly defined political philosophy from which a strategic and below that tactical plans would flow. Each item on each plan would be costed and constantly tested against the philosophy and overall aims. Any conflict would be removed before it became a problem. Hence for example if growth in the economy is the objective, things that get in the way of that would be removed and already successful industries encouraged rather than discouraged. The thriving educational sector would not be part of a clampdown on immigration. Student visas would be specifically and correctly issued and the period of residence not count toward any later rights to residency or citizenship. Students are simply not immigrants but are needlessly and absurdly being treated as if they were. In another neck of the business woods the highly successful aviation industry would not be hobbled by ever the increasing and extortionate Air Passenger Duty and the stubborn refusal to build another runway where it most urgently needed and quickest built-Heathrow. Then there is power generation and then......the list goes on and on and needs decisive untangling but there is no sign of the Tory leadership even understanding there is a problem.

On the question of thinking everything through and coming up with real plans, Labour are at the moment ahead. Miliband's enlisting of Messrs Adonis and Crudas to work respectively on plans for business and industry and winning the next election is a good strengthening move. Both are good producers and not intensly political. Adonis was once a Lib Dem and should have been re-recruited by the coalition from day 1 , ideally to continue in his transport role. By further additions to a visibly sensible group, Labour could overcome the lightweight appearance of its knockabout 4th form leadership team. For the Tories, there are groups such as the young MPs "301"who are seeking to get a grip on the party and come up with strong electorally attractive plans with which to recapture the high ground. They need to get motoring now and break cover quickly once the summer recess is over and have clear offerings on the table by May 2013, two years ahead of the next election. Any later than that and they start to get behind the clock and the task of coming up with winning formulae becomes harder . The counter arguement of "why didn't you do it when you were in  office?" will get stronger by the day. If the Tory machine doesn't regain its grip, stop panicing and swerving all over the road it will end up in the ditch or against a wall. 

The past fortnight , Queen Elizabeth 2 and the austerity summer

There has been plenty to catch the eye and ear this past fortnight so rather than dwell at length on particular goings on and nonsenses, here are a few lines on some of them together with a peek at what lies ahead this summer.

It already seems a long time ago but David Cameron crossed the Atlantic to meet with President Obama and other G8 leaders for another non-action packed summit and photocall to tackle the problems of the Euro. No mention of the root cause, the currency's dysfunctional parent the EU. Current religion is that both are "a good thing" and doubters like Cameron get scowls from giants of the world stage like Herman van Rumphey and Baroness (in itself a ludicrously antiquated title and encumbrance) Ashton. The latter lady, never in her career democratically elected to any post, is now is incidentally one of the world's highest paid politicians.

Presumably the attendees enjoyed their Awayaday and were happy enough to go on their way with nothing much achieved.

One good thing leads to another . The EU contingent then returned home only to quickly reconvene for another chat over a good dinner  (the wine doesn't come from Tesco's offers of the week), photocall and again no measurable output other than to reiterate with only one dissenting  voice :"Oh dear, this Greek thing is a mess. We do wish it would go away , paid for by those rich Germans who were prudent virgins who put their house in order during the good times while we had a borrowing and spending ball. " Angela was clearly unimpressed and something like "Over my dead body" was etched across her face in the group photo.

Here at home, the British are limbering up for what they believe will be austerity summer season. Only it won't be. June kicks off with a double Bank Holiday to celebrate  60 years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth 2. At 86 she continues to manage a remarkably energetic schedule and to fulfil her regal role with growing admiration even from the ranks of the sceptical. She became Queen  when World War 2 was a very recent and fresh memory. Its victims, war widows, orphans, the seriously maimed were everywhere as were unrebuilt bombsites in towns all over the country. Rationing continued and the country , saddled with the additional debt of what it owed its special friend the USA for keeping Hitler away from their trans Atlantic doorstep was truly broke. Anyone who seriously thinks we are experiencing austerity now would be laughed out of court by those who really struggled to bring up families in the early 50s. At times the Queen has been slow to adapt and at others she has almost flatly refused to do so, but  for being a rock of stability she has earned a huge , if sometimes grudging respect. Perhaps motivated party by a determination to keep her son Charles' reign as short as possible, she shows no sign of moving on other than eventually "by natural causes". Most of the nation is grateful and even the anti-monarchists scan the horizon in vain for any constitutional alternative. President Blair? President Brown? Clegg? Cameron? Balls? Hmm. "Best  stick with what we've got" is a common conclusion.

Once the Jubilee celebrations are over we are into the braying season. Royal Ascot starts off on 19th June, with tightened dress code this year. No brave new bare knees, never mind midriffs
world there. Wimbledon follows on 25th with lots of bonk, bonk and grunting on the courts and maybe even more off them, and to round off the June jollity there is Henley, boom time for Brakespeare's beers and Pimms.

Once June is past, the schools are out and the braying in particular moves out to Rock (16+ age group right through to 60+) and offshore to fashionable parts of France and Italy. The rest tend to go elsewhere , the socio/economic group heading for each place being closely aligned to the price of fizzy lager. Wives and children generally precede the males of the better off "hard working families". In August the rest of the population moves out of the workplace and this year more than ever people are encouraged not to clog up London during the Olympics by going to work.

For any visitors hoping to walk into the UK and see all the occupants of any offices they may wish to do business with, the very earliest date we recommend is Monday 3rd September but safer would be Monday 10th when the schools are going back. We in Britain really are determined to see off this economic crisis thing and will be going all out for it from then until at least the Half Term break in mid October.

Clegg and illiberal Liberals.

Unfortunately when the shiny faced Nick Clegg said "No rational person wants to see Greece exit the Eurozone" he wasn't misreading his script. He actually meant it.

Over the weekend he continued on track saying that any talk of putting up the shutters on economic migration from Greece or other European countries following the collapse of the Euro was "deeply unhelpful". For "unhelpful" we can read "the possibility shouldn't be discussed or aired". This is consistent illiberal Liberalspeak for anyone daring to question their views. Their unswerving support of all things EU regardless of the organisation's essentially illiberal, non democratic nature is also consistent with this ongoing intolerance of opposing views. If the LibDems had their way , questions which should be asked of any organisation and challenges which should be made never would be never get an airing. It is an extraordinarily naive and potentially dangerous  way of thinking and totally ignores the rights and interests of the constituent electorates and taxpayers.

Maybe the party should (at last) come clean and change its name.

Postscript to Ed at the nurses conference,-" Be miserabalist." Silly.

Further to our featuring Ed Miliband's love-in with the nurses at the Royal College of Nursing (that's their union) Conference, we have to return with the news that he also encouraged them to email the Labour Party with all instances of patient care being compromised by "the cuts". One would have expected nothing more of the man. Nevertheless it is disappointing for anyone looking for any prospect of a better, brighter, "can-do" Britain were Labour to return to power.

Had he invited a similar flow of reports about things which might be better after the NHS reforms,one might have partly forgiven him but the Labour and socialist ethos is not to seek the cheerful, upbeat and positive. It doesn't do their cause any good at all. A world of moderate discontent, unhappiness and everything wrong being someone else's fault is where they prefer to live.

For UK Plc, this exhortation to critical miserabalism is unfortunate. The British are good enough at it without Ed's encouragement. His approach also encourages resistance to almost any change of any kind and this is depressing and unfortunate especially amongst government servants. Those working in the private sector have long had to manage and cope with reorganisations and reduced manpower. They know that the message about "cuts" is not that a straight line graph of less people=less output. It's about how to deliver the same,or even better,outputs with less resources.

What this government is attempting is a public sector revolution of costs, productivity and ultimately attitudes possibly even greater than Margaret Thatcher's sorting of the unions. It is fundamental to the future affordability of public services and the diversion of funding from back offices to the front line and on to customers and patients. Despite or because of all the shouting they dare not call it a revolution. That really would fighten the children. It's courageous stuff. Its short term effects and resentment could cost them the 2015 General Election. No matter, they are doing it and in reality just like last time Labour would be secretly grateful and reverse very little, if any, of it.

Twaddle of the day,- Ed Miliband on NHS efficiency.

Ed Miliband,playing to a willing audience at the Royal College of Nursing's conference in Harrogate today has described the NHS as "the most productive, efficient, value for money, brilliant asset that the country has". The inevitable applause will have given him a warm feeling.

For man who almost daily accuses the government of being "out of touch" this is a classic. A very high percentage of the NHS' non politician patients, even those who sing the praises of its clinical excellence in many fields and on many occasions, know very well that most productive and efficient are things it is not. Its staff, including the nurses, know that too even though many point the finger at burocracy and "management" rather than what they do themselves. Much of its administration is appalling. Productivity is limited by an unholy alliance of the new Gordon Brown's contracts for doctors, rigid interpretation and application of EU rules and new attitudes to work/life balance in Britain in which work is being projected as an inhibitor rather than an enhancement to life. Who suffers? The patients.

Add to inefficient working practices, poor contract negotiation, hours wasted in internal departmental debates and squabbles,low utilisation of many assets including X-ray and scanning equipment and operating theatres (few other than emergency facilities function between 5pm Friday and 9am Monday or between those hours daily) and the sound of huge amounts of money gurgling down the drain is almost audiable. The chances of making money by hiring unused resources out to the private sector are ignored or positively rejected. They ,shock,horror, might make a profit by using them and that's immoral even if they do boost NHS funds by paying for their use and reduce its waiting lists by treating people who would otherwise be clogging them up.

Once again, given the chance of telling people(voters) the facts of life and that there are things which can and must be done better if the nation is to afford them and deliver the best outcomes to the customers-yes, patients are those,- Miliband Minor has flunked it. He and his friends constantly seek instant popularity by promising all that everyone's comfort zones can be maintained whatever the financial and other realities."Crisis,-what crisis?" they murmur. Maybe that's down to them having largely created it and being in almost total denial. As ever, they peddle a dreamworld fiction. Ed makes it even worse by fatuously saying that neither this or any other government is the master of the NHS. As owner of the organisation of course it is. Failure to manage rather than simply throw money at it it largely to the benefit of some staff and the unions is irresponsible abdication and was the hallmark of the Blair/Brown years. Being good socialists,Labour championed the supply rather than the customer side. Just as in the old Soviet Russian style they are driven by the "You have no choice. You have what we give you and you had better say it's excellent" socialist mantra. That's why the NHS is in the mess it is and why it has to be sorted out as the current Minister Andrew Landsley is trying to do. He will not get it all right first time around, but the fact that he has identified £17.5 billion of potential savings blows Miliband's otherwordly claims about its efficiency and productivity right out of the water. Today's cosy cuddling of the nurses was irresponsible and a cop out. Although he is promising to reverse some reforms if he should win the 2015 election it is unlikely that he would actually do much to do so. He isn't that stupid.

The joys of real air travel, - Andrew Woodrow at Luanda airport c2009

Luanda airport, c 2009, written while waiting. The balcony is sadly no more, subsumed by the modernisation project that has produced a much better airport, if one excludes the fact it lacks a good vantage point. The windows in the departure hall are at least large, but it’s not quite the same thing.

Luanda has one of Africa’s finest plane-spotting airports – not from the departure lounge, where narrow windows, thick concrete and blinds obscure the view, but from the small café on the first floor, accessible only before immigration. You check-in, assure your agent that you can manage on your own, and pass back through the passenger check and up the stairs. Agents generally do not like this as they are instructed to ensure you have gone through immigration and therefore, barring delays, have left their area of responsibility. This probably explains why there are relatively few foreigners amongst the coke-sipping Angolans out on the terrace.
20 or so tables are arranged outside, with umbrellas against the sun and potted palms around the edge, and there is a clear view over a low railing across the apron. To the left, the international airlines – today a pair of TAAG 777s, a TAAG 747 preparing to leave for Rio, and the Air France 777. I too will be on AF later, but from Johannesburg, 1500 miles to the south – booked out flights to and from Angola mean the 12 hour deviation via South Africa is often the only way to get in or out.

Ahead is the taxiway to the 2 runways, reasonably busy with helicopters heading offshore – ‘Super Puma’ 18-seaters and smaller Dauphins. To the right are the domestic airlines, beyond that the military aircraft, and in the distance the hulks of aging aircraft in various states of disrepair. Domestic airlines in Angola are many and varied – and include the not overwhelmingly popular 737s of the national carrier, TAAG, Sonair’s yellow-tailed fleet of Embraer 120s, Fokker 50s, 727s and 737s mixes with the orange logo’d Embraers of Air 26. Those two are my preferred Angolan carriers; Diexim is similar with Embraer 120s. Air Gemini with colourful MD80s in yellow and red with a pair of elelphants on the forward fuselage, ‘Airjet,’ which appears to have abandoned its jets in favour of turboprops, ‘Heli Malongo,’ Chevron’s own chartered Dash-8s in a smart red and grey, assorted 727s with various paint jobs that look more-or-less operational; a lone ‘Afrik-Trans’ 727 that looks decidedly un-operational.

Beyond them, the heavy-lift aircraft, both military and civilian and largely Russian-built Antonovs or Ilyshuns. Every now and then one lumbers out to the runway, puts on the brakes and cranks up the engines, to lurch forward once under full power and roar slowly forward and skyward with thick smoky trails in their wake. Almost as noisy are the smaller propeller-driven transports, their huge engines on top of the high, anhedral wings with a parachute ramp at the back. Dotted in and around these are various museum-pieces, many covered in a thick layer of dust.

The only problem is that immigration in Luanda can take an hour to work through, so it is necessary to leave the balcony well in advance – even before my South African 747 has arrived – to join the queue to be stamped out of Angola, x-rayed, searched and checked for Angolan currency, to join the majority of travelers who either do not know about the balcony or have been herded through security by their agent who wants to see the back of them and go home. Many are quite happy to do that, thinking they need assistance like an ‘Unaccompanied Minor’ to negotiate their passage through the airport. But as when I was an Unaccompanied Minor, I’d rather get rid of my escort, sit on the balcony, and take my chances in the scrum downstairs. It may be Luanda, but getting on a plane at the end of the day is not so different to anywhere else.

Today's Big Event.....

Baroness Ashton(who?)of Upholland(where?)is visiting Thailand.

The roar of the welcoming crowd will be deafening.