Look back in Annoyance

I suppose I should be over the shock of it all by now.

The man, after all, has been running the country for over 625 days and counting, and so far, even he has failed to match the Tories’ relentless drive to attain global dominance in the Arrogant, Stupidity Stakes.

But jeepers, he is getting mighty close. Today we saw 10-year Gilts shoot past 5.06%, which is - lest we forget - many points past 4.42% achieved by La Truss. Rachel, The GOAT Economist, has devoted so many hours of airtime to trashing Truss’s mini-Budget that she has actually forgotten the details. Last month, thanks to the ever-cautious (as in non-existent) financial acumen of Starmer, the government borrowed £14.3 billion, almost double the forecast.

Today, the PM was blustering before the Liaison Committee, and once you get past the adenoids and actually listen, you realise that he lives in a world of science fiction. He uses words and phrases that “recognise that” which is why “we are already considering various paths“… and yes, “only by working on that plan now can we move forward”. Everything he says is about to happen, is being looked at, is under careful consideration and will only happen when I am certain that it meets the carefully considered plans.

Everything he says is in the future imperfect.

The Strategic Defence Review and the Defence Investment Plan are still not finished. Now, we still have no warship at sea heading towards where they are needed. We have no air defence to speak of, and no ability or desire to accept Ukrainian anti-drone support. On the other hand, I suppose it is possible that Starmer has some tiny inkling of Trump’s reality, which is that the USA has few supplies left of big missiles and is now down metaphorically to slings and musketeers. But domestically, Starmer has been so busy posturing abroad that he has failed to stem the rise of the trade unions’ leftist dreams. Rail Strikes are back on the agenda. The BMA is coming back for more in November. TFL will strike in late April; Unite will take Stansted Airport offline over Easter.

This is mostly down to our Ange and the employment nonsense she created, with the rest of the Landlords’ Taxation Trust. Thanks to the repeal of the Minimum Service Levels Act, RMT and ASLEF can now legally shut down the entire Tube or rail network without keeping “skeleton” staff on duty. UNITE is utilising the new 10-day notice period (down from 14) to catch employers off guard and has shown a willingness to sustain long-term strikes now that the 12-week dismissal protection has been removed. The GMB are taking advantage of the simplified ballot rules, which make it harder for companies to block strikes over “paperwork errors”; while UNISON is heavily pushing the new “Right to Access” rules, which allow union officials into workplaces more easily to recruit new members. And lest you think democracy plays no part in any of this, as in the public vs public servants, when electronic balloting is introduced in August 2026, turnouts and thus strike acceptances are expected to be much higher.

Huzzah!

Today also sees the anniversary of the first day of Lockdown, five years ago to the day. I went into the hospital on the 22nd and came out on the 23rd, and spent two weeks in bed being nursed by Madame. (Golden rule of Life - if you can walk, never remain in a hospital!). Once that was over, and a trainer had explained to some busybody that the horses weren’t spreading Covid, everyone seemed to knuckle down to doing what Lambourn does best. That first Royal Ascot lockdown was the best I’ve ever had. I had to take a break on Thursday, after some excess on the first two days. If Boris had called and asked us round for a slice of cake and a JO2, I think we would all have told him to get a coach and join us for a proper bash.

My memory - and I was recovering at the time - is that - and much like our Prime Minister, I can do caveats until Armageddon - after we had left one such Ascot party, one three-day eventer’s career was blighted by falling off the table; another walked into an open door, wearing sun glasses at 2:00 in the morning and another made the mistake of thinking the Gin in the pint glass was fizzy water with Lime.

But that’s just Lambourn.