Chris Whiteside's Blog

BT Group has revised its timetable for moving all customers off the PSTN and onto digital landlines, and the new target date is January 2027 rather than December 2025. The company states that it has improved to the programme to better protect vulnerable customers and those with additional needs and will bring migration more in line with Openreach’s fibre rollout. Its statement reads: “The revised approach will result in a single switch for the majority of customers (businesses and consumers) – from copper to fibre - with all customers now expected to have moved off the old analogue PSTN by the end of January 2027.” BT Group’s Consumer division has re-started switching zero-use landline customers who have a broadband connection to its Digital Voice landline service after s an industry-wide pause. As I understand it, a major reason for the delay is the need to ensure that vulnerable customers who use safety systems such as Telcare do not have their service interrupted or disrupted by the

 

There are no adequate words to describe how shocking and atrocious the infected blood scandal is - the original failure, the refusal to recognise it, the cover-up, and the fact that it has taken so long to get to the truth. The NHS, the civil sevice, and government ministers of all parties failed the victims and their families. Here is the apology which the Prime Minister made today.

I've not usually heard the first or second movements of this concerto played quite this fast, but it works very well. A wonderful performance to listen to if you like J.S. Bach's music.

 The French 1868 song, La Menagère, included the line, “Cet animal est très méchant: quand on l’attaque il se défend” Which might be translated as "This animal is very wicked - when it is attacked it defends itself."

Putin has moved his defence minister Sergei Shoigu sideways to be secretary of the National Security Council, replacing him with Andrei Belousov, who is an economist with no previous military experience. Belousov commented that his task was to achieve victory "with minimal human losses" which considering the way the  Russian side has been conducting their illegal invasion of Ukraine can only be described as a sick joke. The Economist magazine responded acerbically "presumably just on the Russian side" and even that would be an improvement from the Russian perspective on the way the war was fought on Shoigu's watch. Whether through incompetence, complete contempt for human life, or most probably both, Russian military leadership throughout the invasion of Ukraine has been characterised by wantonly throwing away Russian lives as much as callously taking the lives of Ukrainians. Their air force bomb their own civilians as well as innocent Ukrainian women and child

 

"With attention building for #DDay80, we shouldn’t forget today’s 80th anniversary of Monte Cassino, a hard-fought victory for Allied forces that paved the way for the liberation of Rome.  The Allies suffered over 54k casualties and their sacrifice will never be forgotten." Grant Shapps, UK defence secretary, on X (formerly Twitter)

Today   the Chancellor outlined the plans that he and Rishi Sunak have to grow the economy. Conservatives will stick to the plan for growth , and put in the hard work to cut taxes for hardworking British people, so that higher growth can deliver a brighter future for you and your family. Today, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered a speech outlining the Conservative plan to cut taxes and grow the economy to put more money in the pockets of hardworking British people – building on the £900 tax cut to national insurance for the average worker and our plans to end the double tax on work when is economically responsible to do so.  Labour snipe from the sidelines but cannot name a single tax they would cut. Sir Keir Starmer stands for the same old Labour Party - higher unfunded spending, higher borrowing and higher taxes. They would take us back to square one.   Labour have admitted their unfunded energy promise will cost billions of pounds more than they originally claimed. Without a plan to p

 

 

Today the government has   announced the introduction of new age ratings on Relationships, Sex and Health Education content in schools to ensure it is appropriately and sensitively taught , protecting children from inappropriate teaching and enshrining parents’ right to know what their children are being taught.  It is right that we should protect children from inappropriate teaching on sensitive topics and that parents should know what their children are being taught.  That is why the government has published updated guidance to ensure content is factual, appropriate and that children have the capacity to fully understand everything they are being taught. Parents will also have the right to see all the resources that are being used to teach children about these topics. Sex education will not be taught before Year 5, and at that point from a purely scientific standpoint.  It should not be controversial to teach our children that biological sex is a fact.  At secondary school, pupils wi

 

 

Today the government announced a plan for   the largest expansion of patient choice in a decade , giving patients faster access to treatment and allowing them to decide when, where and how they access care as we stick to our long-term plan to cut waiting lists.  As we work to cut waiting lists, empowering patients to take control over their own healthcare is a key part of our plan for the NHS.  Today's announcement is the largest expansion of patient choice in over a decade, as we allow patients to choose when, where and how they access non-hospital treatment including podiatry, hearing aid care and some diagnostics tests, with pilots launching in the autumn. This will improve outcomes and make life easier for patients. By sticking to the plan Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives have cut waiting lists by around 200,000 since September, helping patients get the care they need more quickly, while by comparison in Labour run Wales patients face the worst A&E waiting times in Britain

The independent Office for National Statistics released   job statistics this week which show real wages have grown for the tenth consecutive month , a wages finally start to outpace prices, putting more money in people’s pockets. We have made progress on our priorities, and in particular have delivered on the PM's  promise to halve inflation, which has fallen from 11.1 per cent to 3.2 per cent. We are also making progress on the promise to grow the economy which is beginning to  bounce  back and grew by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2024.  This week’s statistics show that real wages have grown again for the tenth month in a row, with regular wages growing by 6.0 per cent in the past quarter compared with a year before, outpacing inflation at 3.2 per cent. The figures also show there are nearly four million more people in work since 2010 and economic inactivity is lower than any point under the last Labour government. Whilst there is more to do, today’s news shows we must st

 

Backing up the Prime Minister's words with actions, the Defence Secretary announced today that up to six new state-of-the art warships will be built in the UK, as we stick to the plan to boost Britain’s defences. We are facing an increasingly dangerous world, with Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and instability in the Middle East having far-reaching global consequences.  That is why we are announcing that up to six new state-of-the art warships will be built in the UK, helping to strengthen Royal Marines special operations, and bringing the total number of UK-built ships and submarines in the pipeline to 28.  We are sticking to the plan to boost the UK’s defence through our commitment to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by the end of the decade and deliver a more secure future for all, both for people and families today and for generations to come.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister   delivered a speech outlining the big challenges that we face in a period of global instability   but emphasising that by sticking to the plan we can make the most of the opportunities and create a secure future. Yesterday The Prime Minister outlined a vision for how Britain can succeed in a dangerous, yet transformational era. He made clear that the key choice at the next election will be of who can keep Britain safe.  By sticking to the plan through boosting defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by the end of the decade, supporting Ukraine in their fight against Putin’s illegal invasion, and continuing to produce defences at home, we are creating a more secure future. 

Today, the Prime Minister   will host the second annual Farm to Fork Summit  as we announce a package of measures to boost British food production and invest in our rural communities, supporting our farmers and strengthening our security. Farming is the lifeblood of our rural communities, feeding the nation and stewarding our green and pleasant land. However too little of our food is grown in the UK.  That is why we are publishing our first ever UK Food Security Index, setting out our Blueprint for Growing the UK Fruit and Vegetable Sector, establishing new measures to ensure the sector has the labour it needs, and announcing measures to ensure fairness in the supply chain. This will help ensure that British farmers are supported, and we can produce more of our food domestically. We are sticking with the plan to improve food security and resilient farming businesses, cut unnecessary red tape to boost British farming and ensure a strong domestic food supply for generations to come.

 

Text of the speech given today by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on A Secure Future for Britain in a dangerous world. "At some point, in the second half of this year, we will all go to the polls and make a choice. Not just about Conservatives vs Labour. Or Sunak vs Starmer. It will be a choice between the future and the past. I remain confident that my party can prevail. Not because of our record alone, but because we will be the only party really talking about the future. And not with vague, lofty platitudes. But with bold ideas and a clear plan that can change our society for the better and restore people’s confidence and pride in our country. I feel a profound sense of urgency. Because more will change in the next five years than in the last thirty. I’m convinced that the next few years will be some of the most dangerous yet most transformational our country has ever known. So the question we face today is this: Who has the clear plan and bold ideas to deliver a secure future for y

 

The UK is delivering its largest ever military aid package to Ukraine. Alongside £500m in military funding, the UK is providing vital equipment: ✅ 4 million round of ammunition  ✅ More than 1,600 missiles ✅ 400 vehicles - including 160 Husky vehicles #StandWithUkraine

Every military has had a problem with so called "Friendly Fire" incidents. Britain has; the Germans have: the French have: the US have. A German prisoner of war said to my grandfather during WWII, "When the RAF come over, we duck. When the Luftwaffe come over, you duck. When the US Air Force comes over, everybody ducks." But the Americans, both then and now, are far more careful not to hit people\ on their own side or their allies, or civilians, than the Red Army was in World War II or the Russian forces are now.  Yes, in addition to all the innocent Ukrainian women and children killed by Russian bombs and missiles since the start of Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Russian armed forces have repeatedly bombed their own civilians, and on 4th May they did it again.   

 We just had a little midnight drive into the countryside in Cumbria to see the Northern Lights

"Oh dear.  Only Sir Keir Starmer could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory following his excitable photo op with Natalie Elphicke, a former Tory MP who has defected to Labour, his own party are up in arms about it.  Given that Elphicke is a former member of the Brexit-loving European Research Group, a supporter of the Rwanda Plan and on a whole range of issues, she makes Attila the Hun look like a raging leftie.   But Starmer has never allowed principle to trump political opportunity, which is why he has welcomed her into the party. Many on his backbenches and in the party are unhappy. Well get used to five years of that, folks. Disgruntled former Labour supporter Owen Jones has said it proves that Starmer has no integrity whatsoever. Proof, if you needed it, that yes, a broken clock is at least right twice a day. Also, that famous election winning machine. Neil Kinnock has criticised Elphicke's arrival, saying we have to be choosy about who we allow to join our party. Sorr

 

 

 

"Criticising someone because of their nationality or race is very intellectually precarious. "I have heard lots of speeches by Margaret Thatcher. She was brilliant. So what's the problem?" ( Argentine President Javier Milei , refusing to demonise Mrs Thatcher during his recent speech on the Falkland Islands, in which he also committed Argentina to seek their objectives "within the framework of peace" and said that the country would not seek conflict with Britain,)

 

 

 

My word. The report below is even more depressing reading than the election results - and as much from the perspective of anyone who sympathises with the Russian people as from the perspective of someone who thinks it essential that Ukraine must not lose this war.. Last time Britain fought a war based on a strategy of attrition, which finished just over a hundred years ago, it did damage to our society which lasts to this day. Russia will pay a similar price for Putin's ambition. My late mother said of the way Stalin and his generals fought World War II that "They used their people like sandbags." Putin is doing the same today.  

I am not going to pretend that I was not very disappointed by many of the election results on Thursday. However, democracy means that you don't always get the result you like. My congratulations to all those who were elected on Thursday, whether I would have supported them or not, and I hope they are all successful in their new roles, because it is in the interests of their local communities that they should be. 

 Polls have just closed in the local elections today. Good luck to all the fantastic Conservative candidates standing for election

Today, voters across the country will go to the polls in the 2024 Local Elections. The facts are clear, Conservatives keep council tax low and deliver better local services. I believe that the interests of local communities are best served by a Conservative vote today. Today voters across the country will go to the polls to choose who runs your local services. While our Conservative mayors in Teesside and the West Midlands charge no council tax at all, Labour’s Sadiq Khan has hiked up tax on Londoners by 70 per cent since he was elected. In Labour-run Birmingham, Labour are raising council tax by an eyewatering 21 per cent, making local people pay for their own mismanagement. Only the Conservatives have a plan to keep council tax low and deliver better services. Filling potholes, collecting bins, and cracking down on fly tipping. Vote Conservative today to deliver a brighter future for your area.

 

 Polls are now open around England and Wales. In many places there are local council elections, in a number of area there are elections for Regional Mayors. Throughout England and Wales there are elections of Police and Crime Commissioners (in some places including Cumbria these positions also hold responsibility for Fire, in others the role is included in that of Mayor,) Polls are open until 10pm. YOU WILL NEED TO BRING ID TO VOTE. I will be campaigning for Keane Duncan to be the first Mayor of North Yorkshire.

As per the previous post I have been campaigning for Mike Johnson to be elected as the new Police, Crime and Fire commissioner for Cumbria in tomorrow's elections.

There are elections tomorrow for Police Commissioners, or in many cases including Cumbria, for Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners. My life is currently split between Cumbria in Yorkshire and when in Cumbria I have been campaigning for Mike Johnson who for the last year, as Deputy to the retiring Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Peter McCall, has been overseeing the integration of the Cumbria Fire service into the updated organisation.  The fire service in Cumbria used to be part of the County Council but when Cumbria CC and the six districts were replaced by two unitary authorities, it made far more sense to put the fire service under the Police Commissioner as the remaining elected official with a Cumbria-wide remit, than split it in two or have a stand-alone fire authority. Mike would be a superb Police, Crime and Fire Commissioner.  In many places there are also, or instead votes for directly elected regional mayors. Two people seeking re-election who have been doing a fantas