Whose clothes are you wearing?

 The prime minister and other senior politicians have had clothes bought for them by rich donors to the Labour party. The donors have paid thousands of pounds for their favourite politicians to wear designer clothes, designer shoes and spectacles. Some of these gifts have cost thousands of pounds.  The recipients of the largesse have claimed that they need to look smart on the campaign trail or when meeting richer foreign politicians and royalty etc. They have a point.

However, the voter in the street has to pay for his or her own clothes and most voters have nothing like six figure salaries. Many voters are on their "uppers" and are disappointed that  privileged and well paid politicians are happy to receive "freebies". The public expects better. They can see no reason why some pensioners who are not rich have had their winter fuel allowance taken off them when they can't afford designer sheep skin coats etc. to keep them warm as they sit in their frozen flats and houses.

Politicians are expected to look smart by both the public and the media. Power dressing is very much in vogue. A former leader of the Labour Party turned up at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday, in 1981, dressed in a donkey jacket; he was traduced by both the public and the press, and accused of being being disrespectful to the dead and wounded from two world wars. Come off it many "respectful" people  wearing designer suits are often hypocrites  or crooks or both: many of them politicians. You can show respect without wearing a thousand pound suit. Let us all be rational about it and keep our hands clean no matter what we are wearing. Let us stop criticising people who don't have the money for power dressing. Perhaps we would have a better society for it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8djply3z18o

https://insidecroydon.com/2023/11/09/donkey-jackets-nod-sense-and-the-wisdom-of-old-harry-patch/

 

Bad reputation

A distant cousin of my wife who was born in France has married a lovely lady from Vietnam she has resided in France long enough to become a French citizen. One of the first things she wanted to do with her new French passport was to visit us in London.\she always had an admiration for the UK and this was an opportunity to make a visit without the rigmarole of obtaining a visa. The recent events have made her change her made . The riots have put her off, as she is worried that she might be attacked by a violent "racist" yobbo. Despite assurances from us that she will be safe, as we know how to avoid trouble in the UK she is not convinced. Many potential visitors to these shores will also be put off especially if they are from South East Asia. It is clear that no-one has the right to attack anyone else or to spread fear amongst the immigrant, or visitor community. Many British citizens whose parents hail from South East Asia are also living in fear.

Britain is losing its good reputation not just at a personal level but also at a national level. The populist politicians have also stirred up an angry mob to hold other nations in contempt especially European Nations and the nations of South East Asia. Britain has lost respect which has severe political, diplomatic and economic implications for us How can Britain progress in a global economy when it it has lost the respect of many nations.

Our politicians need to wake up to assuage some of the very angry people who have been let down and who have been left impoverished without hope. Not everyone who joined in the riots was politically motivated; some of them were just angry, and they were influenced by dark political forces to direct that anger against innocent asylum seekers and those who support them by providing them with services. All of the violence was completely unjustified, but our society needs to be careful as it could easily descend into a populist hell. Not all of the angry people were out on the streets but they could be manipulated to do so. Don't believe that it could not happen here, watch out be careful, be woke!