Having lost my grandmother, an uncle and Queen Elizabeth within 24 hours, it’s fair to state that I took mourning to a whole new level in September.

I read so many great pieces about the Queen’s life of service and the leadership she showed throughout. Consistently showing grace, dignity and setting the standard for the rest of us to follow.

Already there is an absence and the sense of a nation bereft. A fragile female in her nineties had, by virtue of her role and example, become so much more than a head of state. She had become a reminder that, despite our differences and mutual animosities, we had something in common. Something precious.

It seemed somewhat fitting that the biggest, grandest and most globally resonant funeral we are ever likely to witness was held.

The BBC is reporting that 5.1 billion people watched the funeral……around 63% of the world’s population and the largest single event watched or streamed in history.

I had the TV on from 6:00am and didn’t miss a millisecond of the funeral. And when it was over some 12 hours later, I watched a full recap of the very same funeral I’d been watching all day. I felt morally obliged to bear witness to such history.

I have nothing but admiration for our new King as he was shunted into a reality show to end all reality shows. One man filmed 24/7 at the height of personal crisis with billions of eyes boring into his back. His mother would have been proud.

The Queen was a majestic guide to growing old gracefully. The same could be said for my own grandmother.

“We look before and after, And pine for what is not” Shelley wrote.

The Numbers

Aside from the passing of Queen Elizabeth, the news was dominated with Liz Truss being voted our new Prime Minister……our fourth in 6 years. Now when I say voted in, Lizzie was elected to lead the country by getting 81,326 votes. For context, 85,100 postal workers voted for strike action. 

Lizzie being Prime Minister is like when Apple made everyone have that U2 album they didn’t want in their iTunes library. Oh, how I long for a return to a world where U2 giving a free album to everyone is the worst thing to happen to society.

Lizzie set her message and intention to be very much ‘go big or go home’

Firstly, she announced a limit to energy bill rises for all households for two years to try to prevent widespread hardship. A typical household energy bill will be capped at £2,500 annually until 2024. The huge support scheme could cost up to £200 billion.

Secondly, there was a mini-budget that was anything but small. The new Chancellor (the third in as many months), Kwasi Kwarteng, pretty much ripped up and u-turned on previously announced Conservative tax increases. The major headlines from the Canceller (get it!!) included:

- Basic Rate Income Tax to reduce from 20% to 19% from April 2023.

- A reversal of the 1.25% increase in National Insurance

- The previously announced Corporation Tax increase next April is scrapped and will remain at 19% instead of rising to 25%.

- A cut to stamp duty rates with no stamp duty to pay on the first £250,000 of a property purchase (£425,000 for first time buyers).

However, the headline grabbing tax cut was the reduction from 45% to 40% for those earning over £150,000. The headlines jumped on this as a stereotypical play by the Tories of looking after the wealthy rather than those most in need.

According to Kwasi, taxing billionaires is actually worse for the economy. If you don’t believe him, just ask a billionaire……they all agree. Kwasi also informed us that “we need a new approach for a new era, to break away from the vicious cycle of stagnation and low growth”. He forgot to mention that this was caused by 12 years of his party in Government.

It was the biggest package of tax cuts (at a cost of £50 billion) in 50 years as Lizzie gambles her premiership on boosting growth at all costs.

There was an immediate lack of confidence in Lizzie’s plan with the reaction of the exchange rate telling us all we needed to know……the pound plunged below its all-time low against the dollar to $1.03 and caused havoc on investment markets. Such was the scale of panic, the Bank of England had to take action to the tune of £65 billion as there was “material risk to financial stability” with the pension sector within hours of a ‘Northern Rock’ scenario. A ‘mini’ budget this was not.

It really was quite the fall out from the mini-budget within just a few short days. There will be huge new borrowing at the same time as cutting taxes, all aimed at growing the economy. I really hope it works. I really worry about what will happen if it doesn't.

 

Trump of the Month

Despite a time of national mourning and outpouring of grief, I was spoilt for choice for worthy candidates.

It seems idiocy and lunacy wait for no man (or Queen).

Lots of worthy candidates this month……all of whom should be acknowledged for their commitment to lunacy.

BoJo (remember him?) had the answer to the energy crisis. If you're worried about being forced to pay thousands of pounds more for your energy bills, then fear not.

BoJo Link

What I find quite incredible is that people were questioning Carrie Johnson’s choice of clothing for the Queen’s funeral but did not feel her choice of husband was slightly more questionable. Just a thought.

Edwina Curry also got in on the act with revolutionary ideas to address the cost of the energy issue. She went full on ‘Blue Peter presenter’.

“Here’s my tip, put some of this behind your radiators” as she showed off a 10 metre roll of Waitrose own tin foil (extra strong obviously).  

Which left me to consider……does tin foil improve the efficiency of a cold radiator? If I insulated my loft it won’t boil my spuds for dinner will it. 

On the same day Rishi went all wobbly on me and melted. 12 months ago he was my man……but he turned out to be as flaky as a BoJo party sausage roll during lockdown. Rishi told This Morning that if he goes to McDonald's with his daughters they all get the breakfast wrap. I’m no breakfast wrap aficionado (I’ve not been in such a gaff since I got caught short on the way back from Scunthorpe in 2014) but I am reliably informed that they were taken off the menu in March 2020 due to Covid and never returned!

I honestly thought he was better than that.

Whilst all worthy idiots, this months’ Trump of The Month can only go to the man himself……The Trump.

Ivana Trump, The Trump’s first wife, died in July. But it has come to light this month that she was laid to rest in an obscure plot near the first hole of The Trump’s golf course.

She lies looking like a cruel afterthought, in a stark grave that it turns out supplies her ex-husband Donald Trump with some handy tax breaks. Under New Jersey state tax code, any land that is dedicated to cemetery purposes is exempt from all taxes, rates and assessments.

There are goldfish who have been buried with more apparent dignity than poor Ivana Trump received.

We can all expect much more lunacy as we lead up to the 2024 Presidential elections. The Republican Party's top two candidates (The Trump and Ron DeSantis) are both under criminal investigation.

What a world, eh? What a way to live. What a man.

Trump Lunacy Rating: 10 / 10

 

And Finally……

“Cowards falter, but danger is often overcome by those who nobly dare”.

Queen Elizabeth II