June 2026 will always be remembered for the toppling of Keir Rodney Starmer as Prime Minister.
On the one hand……
Keir didn’t dodge Cobra meetings to sort out a divorce
or child support commitments, prorogue Parliament, call a stupid and costly referendum,
crash the economy, mess up international relations, spend £900 million herding
Covid-riddled people into restaurants to eat subsidised smashed avocado or be
persistently, bafflingly and mind-blowingly weird.
But on the other hand……
History is likely to record Keir as the worst Prime
Minister in modern history. Bafflingly uncharismatic, pernickety, dithery,
downbeat, simply appalling at PR, easily panicked into disastrous un-Labour
positions and the lover of a U-turn. Keir surrendered to the politics he failed
to change.
Britain founded the office of Prime Minister
300 years ago, with some 70 countries admiring it so much they modelled their
own heads of Government on it. I’m not sure that would be the case today.
And what of the new incumbent? Well, it seems
like Labour is lining its ducks up for an Andy Burnham coronation this summer.
Everyone at Labour seems to be jolly happy with the situation……Keir is gone and
they believe they have found a far better option to leave our future in the
hands of a man who sorted the buses out in Manchester and who hasn't been an MP
for 9 years.
That really is where we’ve reached.
Extraordinary stuff.
The Numbers
It’s official, we’ve had the hottest June day
ever in the UK at 37.3C. The 1976 record has fallen. People had 50
years to evolve and adapt……instead we played computer games. I assume Starmer or
Brexit can’t be blamed for this?
However, the weather was a side show for the
UK’s main event……the Makerfield By-election to shuffle Andrew Murray Burnham
into Parliament.
For the record, Burnham received 55% of
the vote (24,927) beating the 34% Reform received (15,696).
Nigel Farage blamed his party's defeat on a desire among voters to eject Sir
Keir Starmer from Downing Street……and for the first time ever, I agree with
him.
June 2026 was also the Brexit referendum
anniversary……10 years since we broke up with the EU in the most British
breakup ever. No shouting, no plates thrown……just a nation quietly muttering,
“It’s not you, it’s… well actually it is you,
but also it’s us, and honestly we’re not sure anymore.”
Brexit felt like a pub quiz where half the team
didn’t know the rules and the other half didn’t care…..yet someone still
shouted the wrong answer with absolute confidence.
Assuming Andy Burnham does move into Number 10,
he will become our 7th PM since the Brexit vote and the 5th
one of them who didn’t vote for it. Yet it is a riddle that still needs a
solution.
The latest post-Brexit report this month on the
UK economy’s overall share of goods exports fell by 20% between 2019 and
2024, meaning British exporters have lost out on £74 billion of trade,
the sharpest decline among the G7 group of large economies. You see, it is Brexit
rather than higher energy prices or competition from cheap Chinese exports that
has been the main driver of trade weakness.
The other big talking point this month was the
ceasefire agreement between US and Iran. Time will tell how fragile this
political shake of hands is but the oil markets very much like it. Crude Oil
fell to $73 a barrel, quite the fall from the February peak of $120.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee
voted 7–2 to hold the bank rate at 3.75% in the belief that the
improving situation in the Middle East might not impact inflation as much as
first feared. UK inflation held steady at 2.8%.
The European Central Bank did raise interest
rates for the first time in 3 years from 2.0% to 2.25% in an
attempt to tame inflation in the eurozone driven up by the US Iran war.
Head scratching number of the month……
Elon Musk become the world’s first trillionaire
($1,000,000,000,000) with shares in SpaceX initial listing on the New
York Stock Exchange. SpaceX raised $75 billion in a record-breaking
initial public offering, which values the satellite, rockets and artificial
intelligence company at $1.77 trillion.
Labour’s mansion tax is expected to cost the
Treasury significantly before a penny is raised. Treasury officials estimate
that stamp duty and inheritance tax receipts will slump by £230 million
in the three years up to its introduction as property values near the
thresholds for the new tax plummet. Then add in the process of identifying and
valuing homes liable for the tax is set to cost a further £120 million. And
if all goes to form, Rachel Reeves will be long gone before a penny in mansion
tax is received.
World Cup Numbers of the month……
The 23rd edition of the Fifa
tournament is certainly the biggest with a record 48 countries competing
for the cup. 104 matches will be played across 39 days.
Royal numbers of the month……
King Charles became the first monarch to reveal
their tax bill, disclosing figures that show he paid £12.9 million in
tax for 2024-2025. The level of tax paid by the King places him among the top 100
UK taxpayers.
Favourite number of the month……
2……netball tournaments played in (for clarity,
that was my daughter playing, not me).
.jpeg)
Sometimes The Trump gives us the gift of a huge
landmark statement or hard to believe actions that only he could fathom being
logical. Other times, it is the subtle lunacy that we take for granted each
month that doesn’t attract the headlines but confirms his art at a world class
level.
Take his statement after the ceasefire with
Iran. "I've settled eight wars, actually nine, and now it looks like we
could have 10." Yet nobody
actually knows any of the wars he’s stopped other than the one with Iran, which
he started.
Speaking of Iran, The Trump admitted why he
backed down to agree a ceasefire. "If I keep bombing them, the ships
remain blocked. That costs $500-600 million per day. And in 4 weeks we won't
have any reserves of oil left. We wouldn't have any oil. Do you want to see
chaos?"
So in the end, The Trump went right up to the
edge of the cliff to discover that the global economy doesn't like wars that
block oil and maritime trade. Wow……what a revelation!
The Trump hit out at critics of the deal he
struck with Iran as “either jealous, bad people or stupid.” The US Iran
peace deal creates a $300 billion reconstruction fund……yet The Trump has stated
that the US won’t contribute anything towards it. So where will his madness
create it from?
The Trump then confirmed Keir Starmer’s resignation……the
day before his lectern announcement. A cheap, tacky move, lacking all class
just because he could.
The Trump then told us……"Qatar is the
closest to Iran, physically. With other countries, I noticed they had to travel
about 45 minutes to get there. With Qatar, you could walk right across the
border."
For the geographical record, there is no land
border between Iran and Qatar. They're separated by the Persian Gulf. I mean
I'm not a stickler for high standards of geography in world leaders but I think
knowing the basics in an area where you are putting millions of lives at risk
should kind of be a requirement? Just a thought.
US inflation rose to a 3 year high of 4.2% in
June, more than double the country’s target rate. When questioned on it, The
Trump declared “I love the inflation.”
Really? The rising cost of living is a
political liability for The Trump which is likely to see him lose control of Congress
in the midterm elections in November. The Trump won the 2024 Presidential Election
in large part because of his promise to lower inflation but he has seen his
approval rating fall as inflation has risen. And he loves that? Clearly his
understanding of inflation differs from everyone else’s.
Subtle buffoonery that you just can’t find
anywhere else. The consistency is almost admirable.
The June 2026 Trump of The Month is deservedly
awarded to…… Donald
John Trump.
Trump Lunacy Rating: 10 / 10
And Finally……
“Never argue with an idiot. They will
drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.”
Mark Twain
No comments:
Post a Comment