You never know, Nigel Farage might make us all millionaires!

 I read the news today (oh boy). Suella Braverman has become the latest defector from The Tories to Reform. There was a post on Facebook that said there are more of Liz Truss's cabinet in Reform than there are on the Tory front bench now. I haven't check this fact (life is too short), but as I chatted with a member of Mill Hill Services club earlier about the defection, a strange thought ocurred to me. Truss sparked off a mini inflation bubble with her dodgy budget, that caused a run on the pound and lead to her getting the sack before the lettuce wilted (as a side note, was the lettuce the greatest ever gift to UK journalism from the Daily Star?). However you look at it, the unreformed (forgive the pun) Trussites are seemingly gravitating toward Farage on mass. It is clear that Farage must be a fan of Trussonomics, as he's only been too keen to welcome them. But what does this actually mean, if Reform make the next government.

I was thinking of my Dad. He always said that his ambition in life was to bea  millionaire. His plan to acheive it? He did the pools every week. Although he hated football, he was fascinated by the pools and would study form. He'd ask me my opinion, as the in house football expert, on which games I thought would be score draws. I'd make my predictions and always get it wrong. However if Dad was still alive, it is always possible that his dream would have been realised under a new Reform government. They are welcoming a whole bunch of failed politicians, who's polices spooked the market and kicked off an  inflation bubble. If such people won a general election with the sort of mandate that the polls seem to be predicting, there would be no one to stop them. Have they learned? This seems very unlikely,given Truss's pronouncements that she was right and everyone else is wrong. 

I asked Google's AI what it thought. It's reply "In summary, many economic analysts believe the large, uncosted tax cuts proposed by Reform UK in 2024 would likely have increased inflationary pressures, although the party argued its efficiency savings would make its plans sustainable. "

So Reform believe that they can pay for tax cuts with increased efficiency. Where have we heard that before. Forgive my scepticism, but I can only see two possible outcomes. Reform stick to their guns and we have a period of high inflation, or alternatively they break all their election promises and we learn they are actually just the Tory looney right under another guise. Of course, I am not an economist, so what do I know. But what inflation means is that you get paid more, but your money is worth less. So Dad might have been a millionaire, but his million pounds would only by a half of lager and a packet of crisps at the Services club, and even then, it's price would have doubled before he ordered a second pint, as happened in Germany in the 1930's. 

I am not a Reform suppoter and I do not wish them well electorally. But I have to say that I think they are making a massive mistake climbing onto the Truss bandwagon and signing up all her mates who nearly bankrupted the UK. I have to say that Dad's plan to win the Pools to become a millionaire was to me far more credible than the plans Liz Truss made to 'save the economy'. The cost of Dad's pools coupon didn't put a strain on our household finances and we had hours of fun making our selections.