#ITVDebate - Lord help us, they are both useless

 I've just watched the #ITVDebate with my missus. We are both horrified. The pair of them were completely useless. In short, the whole thing was embarrassing. The host was completely ineffective, allowing both to constantly interrupt each other, Sunak was particularly bad at this. For some reason, they were only allowed 45 seconds to answer a question. For several questions, this was nowhere near long enough, although for others it seemed far too long. 

The difficult truth is that one of these men will be the next Prime Minister. I couldn't really see any knockout blows. I doubt anyone changed anyones mind, which clearly favours Starmer. They both talked about their "plan". Oddly neither really used the opportunity to say what their plan was. I'm none the wiser.

Rishi Sunak seems to think that saying Labour will put up everyones taxes by £2,000 is a winner. I suspect that he'll have to do a lot better. A couple of observations. Rishi Sunak clearly seems to be used to talking across people. At the end Sunak said "Lower taxes, protected pensions". In short, he's putting the house on the OAP's of the UK. Starmer doesn't seem to be quite so sure who his main target audience is. 

One thing I guess I now know. Whoever the pair are trying to appeal to, it isn't me!

Nigel Farage is a Tik Tok sensation, not a politician

 I have to admit that I spent yesterday laughing my head off. It started when I heard that Nigel Farage was making an "emergency announcement". Recalling that the last such emergency announcement that received such wall to wall media coverage was Boris announcing lockdown, I wondered whether Nige had contracted a contagous form of viral IBS and had infected everyone at The Reform Party conference. Then the news broke. Mr Farage, a bloke who'd stood for Parliament seven times and failed miserably every time was standing as a candidate in Clacton. In terms of politics, the concept that a fringe figure should attract so much publicity for such an unimportant announcement is quite amazing. I must admit I have nothing but admiration for the self promotional capabilities of Nigel Farage. What is he famous for? Here's a short list

1. He likes to drink beer. 

2. He's got a French name

3. He's got a German wife

4. He thinks Donald Trump is Ace

5. He survived a plane crash

6. He has 1.8 million followers on Twitter (X)

7. He's had over 10 million likes on TikTok despite following no one

You may say "Why haven't you listed his political achievements?". Well apart from being elected under PR to the European Parliament, he hasn't got any. As far as I can tell he isn't a politician, he's simply a very good single issue campaigner. His chosen subject? BREXIT. We all assumed that when Brexit was done, he'd go away. Sadly for us, Nige loves being in the spotlight, so he has a new ruse. Brexit has been betrayed. It seems that Nige thinks the reason that the UK is swamped with migrants from non EU nations is because the Tories betrayed Brexit. He doesn't seem to have twigged that the £4.7 billion we had to divert from preventing drugs and illegal immigrants entering the UK has had to be diverted into checking perfectly legal tourists, businessmen and goods crossing our borders. Nige clearly believed the pledge from Boris that when we left the EU, we'd have £365 million a week to spend on the NHS when we left. We were promised it and he's right we were betrayed, but sadly this was mostly because everything he said was simply made up nonsense to win a few votes.

There is a myth that "it was Nige that won it for Brexit". The sad truth is that it wasn't. It was David Cameron and his side kick Gideon Osborne (AKA George) who completely cocked the whole thing up. They called a referendum, believing it would end squabbles in the Tory party, without ever thinking how they might win the argument. Their campaign was nearly as dishonest as the #VoteLeave campaign, when it really didn't need to be. One talent Nige has is that he is brilliant at claiming any sorts of success he can and pretending all of his failures have nothing to do with him.

Serious politicians have policies for all areas of the challenges facing the UK. Schools, Health, Transport, Policing, Defence and the Economy. What is Nige saying "Ban all immigrants", He is like an old vinyl 7" single, stuck on the first groove. Schools need fixing "Ban all immigrants and there will be plenty of places for our kids", The NHS needs fixing "Ban all immigrants, there will be plenty of beds for us", Transport is in a mess "Ban all immigrants, there will be less cars on the roads", The Police are overstretched "Ban all immigrants, there will be no crime", The Army is a mess "Ban all immigrants and, erm, well it will be cushdy boo", The Economy "Ban all immigrants and there will be more money for the rest of us". Of course he does have a couple of other policies. He doesn't like transgender people and he likes smoking ciggies when he's having a pint. 

The fella is not serious. In truth, he's a wonderful construct, a Tiktok sensation with ten million likes. If you want to see how to be a great self publicist, he is second to none. I suspect he may even finally win a seat in Clacton, it is the perfect place for an end of pier act, at a washed up seaside town that has seen better days. Like all such characters, if he does win, he won't actually bother turning up too often at the House of Commons (except when the telly cameras are in town for a big story) or doing much work. He'll probably sit with his mate from the Brexit trail George Galloway, preening for the cameras. 

Now you might think I am fed up with him standing, quite the opposite. As a blogger, he's golddust. The campaign was threatening to be the most boring ever with Starmer Vs Sunak, the deadly duo. Having a top TikTok superstar to distract us from the real issues can only be a good thing, bringing some relief and gaeity to the campaign. Although I don't agree with anything he says, he will smoke out the true Rishi Sunak. Will Sunak lurch to the right to shore up his vote or will he reveal his inner Liberal and try and appeal to the good sense of the soft right? I think it's quite likely that Farage will spark a mini civil war in the Tories, with a fight for the heart of the party. If the hard right win, then their path will mirror Labour's in the Corbyn years. Lots of excited activists and abject failure at the polls. If the softies win, maybe they will manage to pull things together to at least act like an opposition. 

Whatever happens, Farage will spend the post election period in the USA, massaging the ego of his mate Donald Trump. Don't expect to see too much of him around, whether he wins or loses.

Environment Monday - Whoever the new government is they need to reform the Department of Transport

 The UK is facing a whole raft of major issues as we approach the election, many of these are driven by world events. Whoever wins the election, they will need to take some very difficult decisions. One of the biggest failures of UK governments over the last 50 years has been a total lack of long term planning. All manner of decisions about fundamental areas of our lives have been kicked into the long grass, usually with a view to save pennies today, and the net result is all of the penny pinching has caught up with us. Most of our infrastructure is clapped out, and the penny pinching of yesterday has limbered us with huge bills for today. 

One of the worst aspects of this, one which affects all of us is transport. Even if you never left your front room, this would still impact you as the transport costs for business heap expenses onto companies, that they then pass on to consumers. As a resident of London, any daytime car journey invariably involves traffic jams. The roads are full of potholes and the there are all manner of charges such as congestion charge and ULEZ to navigate. Parking is horrendously epensive, if you can find a space and the Mayor seems set on making it the most unpleasant experience possible, whilst providing no realistic alternative for most Londoners.

The Motorway network seems to be in a constant state of being worked on.  At least that's the theory, generally there is no one working on the roads. Recent governments have tried all manner of bonkers schemes to squeeze more capacity out of the road network, for the lowest price. The worst of these was the 'Smart Motorway' concept, where hard shoulders have been abolished. If you have an accident or a breakdown, you have no safe refuge. Any regular motorway user would have told the powers that be that this was dangerous, but somehow billions were spent on a scheme that dimply doesn't work.

Then there are the railways. Hugely expensive, unreliable and running on clapped out infrastructure, which is constantly being patched up. Most of the network still relies on diesel power, with a constant stop start of schemes to build new lines, electrify existing ones and no plan to make the network accessible. It seems that line closures for work are always timed to be at the most inconvenient time. This week was a great example. The Champions League was at Wembley. Tens of thousands of German and French fans descended on London to watch. Many flew in via Luton, What greeted them? The Thameslink line was shut. They had the delights of a Rail Replacement Bus. Welcome to England! Does no one in the planning department have a calendar? The biggest cock up of all has been HS2. Sold to us as vital and then cancelled by Rishi Sunak, so he could pay to fill in a few potholes that his own policies had caused. We have private rail operators that are guaranteed a profit to move us around like cattle, with little incentive to ever improve anything. Schemes such as what was once called the Thameslink 2000 programme are delivered decades late. By the time they arrive, the spare capacity they were meant to create is immediately gobbled up. The Elizabeth line is a good example, being packed almost from day one. I believe that was first conceived in the 1940's.  Just about every major rail initiative in my lifetime has either made things worse (Beeching cuts), cost far more money than it should (just about every majopr project) or been cancelled before it could deliver anything (HS2). The things that have been delivered are usually late and over budget.

Then we have air travel. Hated by environmentalists, until they fancy a week in Greece escaping the grey skies. We have passport gates that don't work, a complete rip off regime on parking, a lack of  a coordinated policy to make the airport infrastructure fit the needs of the UK economy. On many filghts to Europe, you spend longer passing through the airport than you do in the air. The actof walking from the station/car park to the plane generally takes around 3 hours. You have to take out 'liquids', remove shoes and watches, but most of all queue for ages. Then you get through. You are told you have to be at the Gate a minimum of 30 minutes before the flight leaves, so you can stand around and do nothing for ages. I am old enough to remember when, so long as you turned up before they shut the plane door, you could get on. And whilst you are waiting, what do you do? You drink the most expensive beverages in the UK.

Is there any aspect of the UK's transport system that is working well? I can't think of anything. We've had successive Conservative and Labour governments that have done nothing to make things better and a lot to make things worse, all at huge cost. But who delivers all of this? Civil Servants in the Department of Transport. It's brief? (According to the wikipedia page)

The Department for Transport has six strategic objectives:

• Support the creation of a stronger, cleaner, more productive economy
• Help to connect people and places, balancing investment across the country
• Make journeys easier, modern and reliable
• Make sure transport is safe, secure and sustainable
• Prepare the transport system for technological progress and a prosperous future outside the EU
• Promote a culture of efficiency and productivity in everything it does

The department "creates the strategic framework" for transport services, which are delivered through a wide range of public and private sector bodies including its own executive agencies.

By any measure it has failed. This failure has been going on for the whole of my lifetime. Is there anyone in the UK who thinks that the department is delivering? In short the whole thing needs a radical shake up, fresh ideas and a new focus to deliver its strategic objectives. I am not a transport expert, I wouldn't know where to start, but I do know that if you just leave it as it is, all you will get is more of the same and that will be catastrophic for the UK.

What I'd like to see is a proper, joined up policy, where the root cause of the mess in the UK's transport system is addressed. A national plan, where we encourage modal shift to the most sustainable means of getting from A to B, as quickly and pleasantly as possible. I'd like an end to the rip of culture at airports and other transport hubs. I'd like to see schemes to address congestion that do not include 'charging'. I'd like to see a step change in how we plan and implementmajor projects, so they are delivered quickly and at the projected costs. I'd like to see accounatbility, so when things go badly wrong, failing bosses are properly held to account. 

I don't believe any of these things can happen with the current regime at The Department of Transport. It has failed for decades. The mandarins have had their chance, we need fresh blood and new ideas. Preferably people who have some sort of track record of success to be put in charge. Transport in the UK has simply become a means for all manner of dodgy private contractors to fleece the public. Just holding them to account and making them deliver would be a good start.

The Sunday Reflection #14 - What in the world?

 I woke up this morning in a rather strange and pensive mood. There are three reasons for this. The first is that last night we saw the champions league final, the final match of the club football season. I always feel a little empty and hollow, knowing that I've nothing to worry about until August on the football front. I realised long ago that I've never really enjoyed football, apart from fleeting moments that are over almost before they've begun, but without it I simply feel empty. Of all the things I care about, football is by far the least logical. Outside of football I hate almost nothing and no one. Maybe football has consumed all of that and diverted it. Of course we have the Euro championships, but I never feel the same about these. Whilst it is perfectly acceptable to tell my mates I hate Manchester United, if you hate whole countries that is not really healthy, and how can you hate France or Italy when you go there on holiday and love it, for instance? It disrupts me and interferes with my pmost primal feelings. I will have to like players like Marcus Rashford for a whole six weeks. Now I actually happen to like Marcus Rashford when he doesn't have a red shirt on, but I am sure a football fan gets what I mean. When Harry Maguire drops a howler for Man United, I laugh and send my Man Utd mates memes on Whatsapp. When he does it for England, I feel sorry for the silly bugger. It's just plain wrong.  Anyway, that is the first reason.

Then there is the second reason. This may seem even more irrational, unless like me, you suffer from tinitus. I have awoken to the sound of a field full of crickets in my head. It is very disconcerting and it is startting to drive me insane. I get irrational urges to do things like bang six inch nails into my ears with a large hammer. Don't worry, I won't but it is really annoying. One of the reasons I lie living near the M1 is because the road noise distracts me from this irritation racket. Anyway, it doesn't help

And the third reason. The missus has been feeling poorly all week. She did something to her hip on pilates and has been really suffering. I hate it when the kids or her are not on good form. I am a terrible husband in many ways and I really don't understand why she didn't bugger off years ago, or kick me out. I realised long ago that the reason is quite simple. As far as she is concerned, there are two versions of me. The one in her head, that exists when I am not in her presence. That version is kind, well spoken, well educated, reasonable, caring and funny. That version never gets cross and always makes decisions based on rational decisions. That version has two pints of beer then stops. That version has a mushroom biriani rather than a chicken vindaloo, because he knows a chicken vindaloo makes him have reflux. The only part of that version that actually exists is the bit that would throw myself under a bus to save her or the kids. As to the real version? You don't want to know. I am not the most awkward person on the planet to live with, but I may be in the top ten. If you did a heat map of things she's said to me during our relationship "You said you'd be home by 7pm", "why did you have the vindaloo when it gives you reflux", "Why are you having another beer", "can we go home now, it's late", "can you put your bowl in the dishwasher" would all feature heavily. Now you may think I take her for granted and I probably do. But when she's not right, I realise just how completely screwed I'd be without her to keep things together. 

So what does one do, when feeling in such a mood? For me, the answer has always been music. As someone who believes that there is a purpose in life, nothing is a coincidence and that even the tiniest thing is part of a plan, to me the answer is music. Very strangely, as I am writing this, I am listening to Robert Elms on BBC Radio London. The studio he is in has packed up and so he's played a long track, Love and Affection by Joan Armatrading, so he can move. For me, this song always makes me think of Clare. How odd is it that the universe conspired to make him play it now? As it plays, the crickets leave my head, my worries about football lift and I realise just how blessed I am. There are a few songs that always make me feel like this and remind me of how wonderfully blessed I am. 

Perhaps the song that resonates most with my feelings for her is by David Bowie on the Low Album - Where in the world. It may well be my favourite Bowie track of all time. The lines in the song

Something deep inside of me

Yearning deep inside of me

Talking through the gloom

What in the world can you do

What in the world can you do

I'm in the mood for your love

always change my mood. The words "talking through the gloom" is especially appropriate today. 

And then I look out of the window and it is sunny. Robert is now playing "Anything I own" by Ken Booth, the old reggae track. So appropriate. When I hear this, I always realise that I'm a selfish git as I do hope I croak before the wife and kids, with all my heart. I don't know if any music could save me from that.

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If you enjoy the Barnet Eye, one way you can show your appreciation is to support my band and my music. Our next gig, is here. Please come along if you can.

Click the link for tickets

The band put out an EP this week, featuring some of our old recordings featuring guests such as Lee Thompson of Madness Connie Abbe, US singer Charles Honderick and much loved former members of the band. All of these, apart from Saturday are no longer in the set. Have a quick listen and give the band a like.  You never know, you may just enjoy it. 

What will flash before your eyes, when you exhale your final breath?

After The False Dots gig on Thursday night, I had a very deep conversation with Rambo, our drummer. The gig was wonderful, possibly the best we've ever done in 45 years from a performance point of view. When he dropped me off, we had a chat about life. I said that when I exhale my final breath and the showreel of my life scrolls before my eyes, it may well be one of the moments that is on there. There was a moment when both our trumpet player Tom Hammond and our bassplayer were giving it large at the front of the stage as I sang a number. I could have not been happier with our performance and it is one of those moments seared into my psyche. 

Yesterday, I was thinking about what we discussed. I had made the comment glibly. But if what they say is true and your life really does scroll before your eyes, what will it be that you really see? Will it be a showreel of all the good things, meeting the missus, great gigs, the best holidays? Or will it be the worst things, getting the ruler in infants for speling train wrong? Seeing my mum on a drip recovering from cancer and my Dad breaking down in tears when he told me that if mum died, I'd not be put in the orphanage, as a kindly relative had suggested?

Or will it be odd, mundane at the time things, that I've not thought about? Going to see Rex Godwin to get my shoe reheeled in 1969, getting marmite on toast and a cuppa in Sidoli's in Leman St in 1998? For some reason, all of this started to trouble me. The truth is that when I find out, I won't be able to tell you. Or will I? Back in 1988, when I was run over at the lights on the Watling, when I saw the car coming towards me, I realised I was going to die (clearly I was wrong). What happend was actually quite strange. As I saw the car zzooming towards me, I had a moment of extreme calm. In actual fact, my life didn't flash before me. I actually just felt really happy that I'd be seeing my Dad, who'd died the previous year very soon. I felt warm and loved. Then something in my mind snapped into action and I jumped as high as I could. Instead of going under the car, the bonnet hit my thigh, my feet went through the windscreen, I rolled over the roof and fell off, landing on my head. To my surprise, I was alive, albiet in severe pain, broken finger, broken fibia, stress fracture to L2 vertebrae, amongst other things. Many things changed that day, not least my ability to kick a football and run without pain. But the biggest thing is that I no longer feared death. I fear the process, the pain, but not what happens when you pass through that barrier. 

I genuinely don't know whether I am a good or bad person, whether I'll be going upstairs or downstairs, it's not for me to jduge, but the feeling of love I felt in that split second changed my whole perspective of life. But getting back to that showreel. I've done a few good things in my time and I hope that a few of them show up. One thing my conversation with Rambo made me realise is that all of those best moments will be with people I love. I need to remind myself of that sometimes.

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Our next gig, is here. Please come along if you can.

Click the link for tickets

The band put out an EP this week, featuring some of our old recordings featuring guests such as Lee Thompson of Madness Connie Abbe, US singer Charles Honderick and much loved former members of the band. All of these, apart from Saturday are no longer in the set. Have a quick listen and give the band a like

The Odds and Sods EP - The False Dots release retrospective EP to celebrate first gig outside London since 1985!

To celebrate The False Dots first gig outside of London  tonight at The Horn in St Albans, since 1985,when we played The Tiki club in Belgium, we are releasing a very special EP. We don't do the obvious things. We release  songs we don't play to coincide with gigs!

We have put together a collection of great tracks that we no longer perform, featuring some amazing guests.

1. Spotlight, last played in 2011, written by Connie Abbe/Rog and Fil and featuring Connie on vocals. This is an alternative version which we think is pretty cool. This was used by the @Mancity website for their goal of the month show in 2011 and has had over 11 millions plays! Last performed in 2011 at The Mill Hill Music Festival
2. Saturday, this version features Lee Thompson of Madness on sax and amazing poet, sometime Hawkwind contributor Allen Ashley on vocals. Lyrics by Rog and Allen Ashley (still played albeit a different version and arrangement)
3. They cleared out your desk - Written for the #KickOutCapita #BarnetUnison campaign Allen Ashley on vocals. Lyrics by Allen Ashley and RogLast performed in 2019
4. I'm the man. Featuring top US vocalist Charles Honderick, Paul Hircombe on bass, Tony Caveye on drums and Fil and Alexander Sarychkin on Lead. :ast performed in 2009
5. Pauls song - Written by Paul Hircombe (RIP) in 1984 and rewritten by Paul, Rog and Fil in 2007. Featured on a charity EP in 2009, at Pauls last gig. Was considered as a theme tune for a BBC TV production! An Instrumental. Tony Caveye on drums

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Thursday  30th May, The Horn, St Albans CLICK FOR DETAILS AND TICKETS enter FD24 for a discount!

Rock and Roll Stories #11 - Don't mess with The False Dots

Over the last few weeks, I've been doing quite a few radio interviews, regaling audiences with stories from the early days of the band, such as our rather amusing experiences with Hank Marvin and the like. We had all manner of scraps, some of which I've documented here previously. Perhaps one of the reasons the band never really reached the pinnacles of success we felt we could have, was we were a bunch of troublemakers. We somehow managed to attract an audience that was very loyal and very naughty. I can't possibly think how that happened! We also fell out with a few other bands on the way. Although the vast majority, we got on like a house on fire with, some we simply hated on sight and the feeling was mutual.

As a result there were several instances of mutual sabotage. The problem for the other bands was that we were much better at it. We also fell out with one or two dodgy promoters. For some reason,they assumed that as we were just kids, they could take the mickey out of us. What they didn't fully understand was that my Dad was a pretty tough individual, who had been in the Australian army and air force, been a prisoner of war and run a motor business for 40 years. He brought me up to stand up for myself. One indispensible piece of advice he gave me, was that if someone doesn't want to pay you, do not let them out of your sight until they do and don't take no for an answer. He also taught me to box, so I always felt secure in myself.

When the band went to Sweden, we played a large show in Stockholm that was sold out. The promoter had told us that we had to deal directly with the club owner for the cash. At the end of the evening, I went to see him to collect the money. He ushered me into his office and then said "Sorry, we didn't do as well as we thought we would, I can only pay half the money agreed". I thnk that he thought this eighteen year old would simply burst into tears and walk away. I picked up the bottle of scotch he had on his desk and told him that if he didn't pay me immediately I'd hit him over the head with it. All of the blood drained from his face and he tried to pretend it was a joke. The money was instantly forthcoming. He even insisted on buying us a drink after. Sadly that wasn't the only time.At another gig, we liberated four Shure SM58 microphones after the promoter ran off without paying us. A couple of days later, he got in touch and was furious. I just laughed and told him that he should pay bands. As our fee had been £150 and the four mics probably cost £300, we did well out of it. When he said "You'll never play in London again", I invited him to our next gig. Needless to say, we've done one or two since. Whilst I never enjoyed such things, I felt that it was important to make a statement. Bands should not have to put up with such things. I'm pleased to say that these days such things are just distant memories. It is rare for promoters to pay in cash. They want your bank details and transfer the cash over. I know of a few bands that have been knocked recently, but no one has done it to us for a very long time.

On occasion we've had run ins with punters in the audience. At one gig at Harwood Hall, in Mill Hill, one punter walked up and spat in my face. I unstrapped my guitar, a Peavey T60, which is probably the heaviest guitar ever made, and whacked him around the head with it as he eyeballed me. His mates carried him away. I strapped the guitar back on and carried on with the song. Paul Hircombe asked me after the gig whether it really happened, as I seemed to do it in the blink of an eyelid. I generally abhor violence, but when such things happen, one has to do what one has to do. 

As the band were always closely associated with Rock Against Racism, on occasion we had altercations with people who were rather more keen on racism. At one gig in 1983, when Venessa Sagoe was singer, we met at a pub around the corner before the show for a beer. Venessa was of Nigerian heritage. We were having a lovely chat, and were about to go to the venue to set up for the soundcheck. I nipped to the loo and whilst I about to wash my hands, a chap of obvious right wing association approached me. I was about 21 and dressed in my gig gear rather flamboyantly. He growled "I thought monkeys like big banana's".  As he was making it clear that he wasn't looking for a pleasant chat, I punched him as hard as I could, causing him to stumble over. I made sure he got a hair wash in the traps. As we left, I noticed his three mates were looking at the door as I emerged. Their faces were a picture, as I don't think think they were expecting me to emerge unscathed.

I casually walked out with Venessa. I never told her what happened, as I was so disgusted with the comment. It is a shame that you get such idiots. Generally they are bullies, who pick on people they think won't fight back. In the world of music, you see far less than in football crowds, but they do occasionally come along. If ever the film of the FalseDots gets made (which I doubt will happen), these are the incidents that show the dark underside of the 1970's and 80's. There was far more random violence. People genuinely seem nicer these days, which, to me at least, is wonderful, it is more fun these days.

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If you enjoy reading this blog, please give my band,  the False Dots a follow on Spotify and a listen to our music. If you live in St Albans, please nip down to The Horn on Thursday night to watch us. It will be fun, I promise you.

Thursday  30th May, The Horn, St Albans CLICK FOR DETAILS AND TICKETS enter FD24 for a discount!

Six no brainer policies for the next Government

 Whoever takes over when the next government is formed faces some monumental challenges. It will not be an easy time for whoever wins. However, having said that, I believe that there are six policies that any incoming Government should pass ASAP, that will deliver real change, make the UK a better place and clearly demonstrate that the drift and lack of leadership of the last few years is at an end. What are they.

1. Water companies. It is ridiculous that they are pumping raw sewage into our rivers and streams, causing a situation where almost no waterways are safe. Why are they doing this? Because it is cheaper than investing in the system to prevent it. Fixing this is the easiest thing in the world. Water companies should face fines that are so expensive that it is cheaper to fix the problem. I would also make it a criminal offence to hide, not disclose or not investigate sewage discharges, with top officials having personal culpability. I believe that this would lead to the problem being fixed in one parliament.

The Guardian reports today that water companies are putting in for huge rises.

Estimates of bill increases requested by companies

• Southern Water – 91% to £915

• Thames Water – 59% to £749

• Hafren Dyfrdwy – 56% to £676

• Severn Trent – 50% to £657

• Wessex Water – 50% to £822

• Yorkshire Water – 46% to £682

• Dŵr Cymru – 43% to £702

• United Utilities – 38% to £666

• South East Water – 35% £330

• Pennon – 33% to £644

• Portsmouth Water – 31% to £157

• SES – 30% to £315

• Anglian Water – 29% to £682

• Northumbrian Water and Essex & Suffolk Water – 26% to £530

• Affinity Water – 25% to £294

• South Staffs & Cambridge Water – 24% to £221
  Source: Consumer Council for Water
  Data note: The figures are estimates which include forecasts for inflation of 2% a year up to 2030 to requests from water companies submitted to Ofwat.

If like me you live in an area where the company is Affinity water, £59 of that will be gobbled up. If you live down the road in Colindale, almost all of it £275 extra will be gobbled up. The mismanagement of the economy and the water companies means that there is a postcode lottery for all of us. There is no choice. It is a monopoly. We can't do without water and sewage. All of these companies pay huge dividends, mostly to offshore investors. These companies flood our rivers with sewage. It couldn't be clearer that not only is it unfair on many. It doesn't work. 

2. Rail companies. We have somehow managed to create the worst possible environment for customers on the network. The government effectively owns the railways, and subcontracts private companies to run them. The government sets the timetables and prices and decrees staff pay. The contractors get a fixed fee to operate the system with a guaranteed profit thrown in. There is no incentive for them to innovate. Fares have gone through the roof and services are often very unreliable, despite huge investment in new trains and new systems. Bringing operations in house would mean that the taxpayer saves the money it gives to the private companies in profits. Once this is done, we need to get to grips with putting the network back on its feet. I am not totally opposed to private operators, but these should only run where there is capacity and untapped markets that the state operated providers cannot or will not exploit.

3. Housing. There are 700,000 empty dwellings in the UK. Many of these are just being sat on as investments. When people are sleeping on the street, this is criminal. I would make all properties lying empty for more than six months, liable for swinging property rates. I would exclude properties where there has been a death until the estate is settled, as this can drag on, but in all other cases, I would make it hugely expensive for owners to leave homes empty. This would offer many people a home. I would also take measures to address landbanking by developers. This practice means that homes that could be built, are not, so that developers control the supply and keep prices high.

4. The NHS. I would seek to end the outsourcing culture and reliance on contractors and agency staff. NHS trusts are paying huge fees to companies to cover gaps in staff. The NHS should only ever use such contractors to cover short term emergencies. I believe this would ultimately save billions that could be used to make the NHS great again and pay nurses and cleaners etc a decent wage.

5. Energy. I would pass a law requiring all new homes that can accommodate them to have solar panels installed as well as battery systems. This would cut energy bills for residents and help the UK become carbon neutral. If the panels are designed in at build, it is far cheaper than retro fitting them. I would also supply grants to cover the costs of insulating lofts for all properties worth under £1 million that are not properly insulated. This again will help with the UK's energy efficiency and ultimately lower all of our bills.

6. Education and careers. I would review school curriculums and ensure that these are fit for purpose, delivering young people into the workplace who have the skills required to do the jobs the economy needs. As someone who employs young people and school leavers, I am often shocked at how ill prepared young people are for work. Even basic things like understanding their tax codes etc are not taught.

As far as I am concerned, one of the biggest problems in UK politics is how few MP's have ever had jobs in the real world. I have spent my working life balancing the books, reading spreadsheets, doing VAT returns etc. Can I make a suggestion. If any of the candidates knock on your door, ask them what they do for a living. Too many MP's now simply have worked in politics. They work as special advisers to the Prime Minister and other ministers. They spend their lives in a bubble. They really have no clue what the concerns of ordinary people are, or how changes affect them. Take, for example, the latest plan from Rishi Sunak to change the tax arrangements for pensioners, which will allegedly make pensioners £300 a year better off. Sounds great doesn't it? Well as mentioned above, for many, all this will do is simply pay for the increase in water bills. It is all very well for parties to say that their changes will make you better off, but if, like me, you have a family balance spreadsheet, with all of our bills and income on, you soon realise you are being conned.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life, so make it count

 Yesterday, I went to see a couple of old school mates of mine play at The Boogaloo Bar in Highgate. By a strange coincidence, I went to Finchley Catholic High School with Sam Sproule and Orange Hill with Paula Marks, whohave got together to form an absolutely brilliant Country/Americana/Rockabilly band called The Midnight Crawlers. They are absoluetely brilliant. After the gig, I had a chat with Sam about what the band was up to. He has some exciting gigs in the offing, and he told me that

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he was enjoying life to the full. He said "The way things are, you don't know if some lunatic is going to end the world, so we' have to get the most out of every day".

I have a very similar attitude to life. I had a period when my children were small, when they were my absolute priority. Now they are all adults, I have thrown myself back into performing with a passion. My kids are fully supportive and are amongst our biggest fans, dragging their friends along and making things a lot of fun. I dearly hope Sam is wrong about a looney ending it for us and long after I am gone, they will have memories of fun times. I've always encouraged them to make sure that they have some fun in life. 

I was recently asked by a friend of mine, Tony Lloyd, who does a podcast giving advice for people looking to get on in the music industry, to feature in an episode and pass on some of the lessons I've learned over 45 years in the music industry and also a few of the stories of along the way. Tony has just released the podcast on Spotify. Tony asked me to have a listen, just to check that I was happy. It is interesting listening to yourself talking. I am really happy with the podcast and I do hope that for up and coming musicians it might be helpful and for those that just want to listen to something about music, it is fun. 

Have a listen.

Today is a bank holiday, a day off for many, when we can chill, enjoy ourselves and also to take stock. A year ago, I was reeling from getting the results of a biopsy, that revealed my prostate cancer was aggressive and required some very invasive treatment. My life was effectively put on hold. I was in a state of deep emotional turmoil. Within three months I'd be having life changing (not in a wonderful way) surgery.  A year ago, despite trying to put on a brave face, my horizon was my treatment. I could not see beyond it. I was very angry and very upset. However, there was one light on the horizon. Immediately after getting the news,  I flew out to Portugal to finish off the new album by The False Dots. I didn't appreciate at the time what a good move this was. It lifted me, albiet temprorarily, out of the mire of self pity I found myself in. 

A year on, I am hopeful that I've pu the prostate cancer behind me (although only time will really tell). I'm focussed on the future. I will soon be 62. I don't feel like it. I don't know if what happened last year had a factor, but as many mates are talking about retiring, taking up golf, moving to the seaside, I feel more energised than ever with my music. I am genuinely excited by what we are doing.  Realistically, I have ten-fifteen years of being able to fully do what I want with my life. When I was a teenager, I thought that by the time you were 30, things like music would no longer be something you cared about. For me, the opposite is true. 

One of the things I started to do last year, in a very dark moment, was when I wake up, I say "Today is the first day of the rest of my life, so make it count". I then shut my eyes and think of what I have to do. I do a mental stocktake for the day. Today was the first time since I started that I realised I had no plans at all. It really was a day off. No work, not meeting friends, not going out. I hadn't even planned to go to the gym. I had not planned to write a blog, but then Tony Lloyd sent me the podcast. As I listened to it, I thought of Sam's comment and also the talk on the radio news this morning. Rishi Sunak is proposing reinstating national service for young people. 

I have to say, this horrifies me. I feel I am uniquely priveliged having had a life where I've been able to do what I want and play in an amzing band. What bothers me more than anything about Sunak's scheme is that it does not seem to be about inspiring young people. Tony Lloyd's podcasts are designed to inspire people and give them the faith to realise their dreams. I set my studios up, to give young people a place where they could realise their dreams by rehearsing. I hope that anyone who see's my band leaves feeling happy and possibly someone may look at us and think "I could do that". Having said all of that, what inspired me most when I set up my band, was the fact that my mates were as well. When I was at school, it seemed like everyone was setting up bands and trying to make great music. 

My advice to Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer, Ed Davey and every other politician trying to persuade us to vote for them. Give us all, especially the younger people, something to believe in and some inspiration. If you look at the world today, what we need is people to put down the guns, stop killing each other and start communicating. Every day that people are killing each other things get worse and more innocent lives are ruined. Sooner or later, be it today, tomorrow, next week or next year or even a hundred years time, people will have to talk to each other. Today is the best day, because the sooner we talk, the less people have their lives ruined. I get all of the "yes but,this lot are terrible and we can't talk to them". Until the monsters who commit atrocities are forced to face up to the human, compassionate side of their nature, all we have is pointless conflict. In truth, the hardest thing of all is to make peace,compromise and forgive. It is also the only way that, as a race, we can move on. I dream that by the time I depart this mortal coil, there will be peace of earth. I also beleive that music is fundamental to this, as it is something that brings us together. That is why I've dedicated my life to the making of music and why I think it is important. 

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If you enjoy reading this blog, please give my band,  the False Dots a follow on Spotify and a listen to our music. If you live in St Albans, please nip down to The Horn on Thursday night to watch us. It will be fun, I promise you.

Thursday  30th May, The Horn, St Albans CLICK FOR DETAILS AND TICKETS enter FD24 for a discount!

The Sunday Reflection #13 - My serious thoughts on the forthcoming general election

 I've had a bit of fun on the subject of the General Election this week. As just about no one was expecting it, including the cabinet if you can believe The Sunday Times, I hadn't really thought too hard about what I would be doing. Regular readers will know that I am a member of the Barnet Lib Dems. As I live in Hendon, the chances of a Lib Dem becoming our MP are negligible. There are two reasons I support the party. The first is that they are committed to reversing Brexit. I believe that it has been a disaster for the UK and to a lesser extent for the rest of Europe, especially Ireland. It has made both conducting business and travelling far more difficult. Huge amounts of money are being spent on checking perfectly legal travellers and goods, meaning that there is not enough to tackle things like drugs and people trafficking gangs. The sum has been announced as £4.7 Billion.  I wrote about this earlier in the week. 

The other reason is that they are committed to electoral reform and PR. The truth is that the UK rarely has a representative government. Generally we are governed by a party that doesn't even represent 50% of the population. The argument that the Tories and Labour used to use was that you'd get bad government if we had coalitions. I think that any reasonable person would say that what has followed the Tory/Lib Dem coalition has shown the opposite to be true. Whilst I was not a fan of much of what the coalition did, and resigned from the Lib Dems as a result, there was genuine proper debate about policies and to some extent the dire economic state of the UK following the credit crunch was addressed. Sadly, when the Conservatives no longer had the discipline of having to agree policies with partners, the whole thing has fallen apart. I don't believe that PR is perfect, but it is better than what we've seen.

When I was putting this blog together, I reviewed the journey from David Cameron becoming PM to the moment Rishi Sunak called the election. When we went to the polls in 2015, The UK was respected and seen as a country that was governed by sensible grown ups, who were prepared to take difficult decisions. Cameron got a decent majority and the Lib Dems were severely and rightly punished for reneging on the student loan policy. I genuinely believe that they could and should have stuck to their guns. The UK would be a better place. It was the right policy. They didn't. What followed since has been chaos. In nine years since we've had five Tory Prime Ministers, Cameron - a disaster who lumbered us with Brexit, failing to run an honest referendum campaign, playing into the hands of Farage. When he failed, he scarpered. Theresa May took over. She was also a disaster. She called an election that wasn't needed and lost her majority. Not only that, she lost it in the face of a chaotic Labour party, riddled with splits and lead by Jeremy Corbyn. She had to be propped up by the DUP, which to me was shameful. She was deposed by Boris Johnson, who promised to "Get Brexit done". He lead a Tory party that had a strong message (albeit one I totally disagreed with). Johnson proved he was a great campaigner, winning a big majority and decapitating Corbynism. Sadly, he also proved he was a hopeless administrator, with Downing Street becoming the centre of lockdown Rave culture. His authority and his administration fell apart. It seemed that no one could be worse, but the Tories proved otherwise, enlisting Liz Truss as PM. In an act of wanton vandalism, she and her chancellor announced a totally irresponsible, uncosted budget. The markets ripped her apart. She was gone in less time than it takes a lettuce to rot. Rishi Sunak came in. To be fair, he has to some degree addressed the mess that Truss left, but he has no real authority, no vision and no plan. The UK has rivers full of excrement, trains that are costly and unreliable, a lower standard of living, no plan for energy security resulting in huge bills. School budgets are creaking and the NHS has massive waiting lists. Much of this is simply because the Tory party is unable to agree anything. It is riven by factions.

As for Labour, I am very unimpressed with Sir Keir Starmer. He seems to have no policies and no charisma. I am quite impressed with his deputy, Rachel Reeve, who does at least seem to understand economics. Given where Starmer was when he took over from Corbyn, you have to grudgingly admit he has got their act together. My biggest issue with Starmer is that he seems very cowardly in his refusal to admit that Brexit is ruining the UK. He also seems happy with first past the post. 

The problem is we don't live in a perfect world. For what the Tories inflicted upon our wallets with Truss, they should be thrown out of office. The party demonstrated that it cared less about the people of the UK than odd the ideology that seems to excite right wing think tanks and 'research groups'. These fools live in ivory towers and mist have never had a real job or run a business. What the UK needs is a period of stability, sensible government and long term planning. Things like spending billions on HS2 and then cancelling it are signs of serial incompetence. 

What I am hoping for is a hung parliament, where the Lib Dems have a block of 50-60 MP's and form a coalition with a Starmer Labour party to sort the mess out. I would make PR and a winding back of Brexit key elements. I accept that re-joining the EU may be a problem, not least because they will be cautious and may not want us. But we should make things work better. 

For this to happen, we all need to vote tactically. We need to vote for the person most likely to defeat the incumbent Conservative MP. In Hendon, this means voting for David Pinto-Dushinsky. I won't be posting any videos endorsing him, but I have no hesitation in urging any Lib Dem who wants to see a change of government to do the same. Just as I urge every Labour supporter in seats where the Lib Dems are second and have a serious prospect of winning to vote Lib Dem. It isn't perfect, but for the actions of Truss, the contempt Boris Johnson had for us during Covid and the sheer lack of vision and incompetence of Sunak, cancelling things such as HS2, wasting billions and botching border arrangements with the EU, the Conservatives deserve to be booted out. What replaces them is even more important. The 2010-2015 coalition demonstrated that you can have strong, effective government with coalitions. I believe the next government should be bold, brave and representative. 

One last thing. The failure of Nigel Farage to stand as a candidate should demonstrate to everyone that the man cares little for the people of the UK. If he really believed in what he's been spouting, he would have stood.