Blue Heaven

 A week or so ago I received a personal invitation to be listened to by the local MP at the Village Hall.  On the basis of don't knock it until you've tried it I went along.  He said he was there to listen.  He didn't disappoint.  

There were about 30 people present and lots of issues were raised:  gutters, blocked grids, unfit and dangerous pavements; potholes in roads.  He was told that Heighley Lane had 23 potholes (was this a record I wondered?).   There was a question about the future of Newcastle and what was being done re the brain drain, the shopping drain Newcastle going down the drain; HS2 and its future as a project was raised important given that more than 300 acres of prime farmland has been requisitioned in the vicinity of Wrinehhill and farmers are now being given the option to buy it back, I hear.

The issue of the net zero extension (described as a 'realignment' and as a kind of luxury that his government could ill afford) was aired.  Aligned to this was the query why weren't new houses built with energy efficient infrastructure, since many of the houses recently built were already out of date.  We were told that the national grid couldn't cope with an influx of generated energies.  So isn't that an infrastructure issue that should be dealt with b national government?

The subject changed to smart meters and the threat of these being made compulsory by 2035.  Here we learned that models were being used so predictions were unsafe, there was no reason to move away from fossil fuels and that  it was not his or Conservative politics to criminalise people - so old houses were off the hook, it seems.  So forget the heat pumps and given the state of the grid what was being done by national government to solve saving the human race.   What was government policy again?

 Bed blocking and social care were next.  We were told that politicians were being misrepresented when debates and suggestions to resolve the issue were mooted.  Basically there was an overspend in provision which might indicate an under provision of resources or a need for a reallocation of resources by national and local governments - from pointless projects such as HS2 someone suggested?  The response was that a better long term solution to the issue was needed but no one had it!  So does that mean no idea and no imagination higher up the political ladder?

With regard to National Insurance and tax we learned that it was a mess, and the government was in deficit, so changes were difficult to make.   Winners and losers were mentioned.  Speaking of which,      the question was asked why he supported Liz Truss and why was he now supporting Rishi Sunak.  The response was that Liz Truss was going to win so he voted for her to get the best deal for Newcastle.

So it seems that actions speak louder than words, so there wasn't much to say.  And game theory, it seems, is rubbish for tackling the affairs of state and society and that poor judgment is not helpful in a crisis - or even in governance.  I came away with little idea of policy or with the reassurance that what had been broken might ever be fixed - at least not any time soon, and probably not in my lifetime.  Remind me, what are we paying taxes for?