John Crace's politics sketch, always a good read, no one is spared but the so called 'opposition' leader such good fodder for disection.
The looming oil crisis caused by the Iran war gives the Conservative leader a platform from which to jump to the wrong conclusions
www.theguardian.com
"Losing sleep over the war in Iran? Worried sick about the cost of living? Can’t pay your energy bills? Then relax. Because
Kemi Badenoch has a displacement activity for you.
It’s becoming increasingly easy to understand the Conservative leader by viewing her as a hyperactive five-year-old at the back of the class who is constantly disruptive. Who can’t get through a lesson without some kind of attention-seeking behaviour. Who has a constant desire to be indulged even though her first reactions are invariably wrong. Who flies into a temper tantrum when anyone dares to challenge her."
Her initial take on the war was hey ho let's go then oh no, no show when she realised the weight of public opinion was heavily against and the main beneficiary was Putin's Russia.
"It’s been much the same story with energy bills. Though Kemi still hasn’t made the connection between her enthusiasm for the war and the rising costs of oil. Nor has she quite understood that Labour’s promise to freeze the fuel duty cut until September means that fuel duty won’t go up until September. If at all. The small print is not her strong point. She has been acting as if fuel duty was going up immediately. Nor has she quite understood that it is not
Keir Starmer who started the war and caused the cost of living crisis. The reality is that the rest of the world is paying a Trump tax as a reward for the American people having voted an unstable, not very clever sociopath into the White House."
The tory harridian in chief, of which there are many, is now called for drill, baby, drill in the north sea ignoring the fact it will have no effect on energy security or fuel prices.
"There’s so much she doesn’t understand. It’s as though she thinks you just turn on a tap somewhere off the Scottish coast and petrol starts overflowing from the pumps all over the UK.
This time, though, she has a new trick of copying Reform plans to remove VAT from energy bills for three years and to cut green subsidies. Even though it’s renewables that offer the best long-term hope of energy self-sufficiency. Go figure. Strangely, Kemi also has plans to cut windfall taxes on oil and gas companies at the very moment they are making windfall profits. It goes without saying the Tories’ costings leave a lot to be desired. But you try stopping Kemi being Kemi."
SKS isn't spared in yesterday's piece:-
"Meanwhile, Starmer was in Wolverhampton for
Labour’s local election launch that wasn’t a launch. More of an embarrassed mumble. These are the elections Labour rather wishes weren’t happening as it faces near wipeout. Keir spoke for about 10 minutes, mainly about how he had been on the right side of the Iran war from the start. Sadly for him, that probably won’t make a difference. He then took no questions from the media and the event petered out. Most of the cabinet had made the effort to travel to the Midlands and they looked bewildered. Why had they been made to come? None of us will ever know."