Update 6

After much prodding we have now had the stairlift time trials; and the result is that the up run takes 44 seconds whilst the down run takes 39 seconds - thanks to those of you who suggested we should do the research. We of course applied the Di Stefano factor to allow for the thinner air by the time the chair reached the first floor. I forgot to mention that on Monday Palliative Michelle asked if I wanted a wheelchair - that came as a bit of a shock, but now I’m thinking about it, I do realise that it may become an inevitability. Apparently the best source is to rent one from the local Red Cross at £20 per week, that way you don’t have a disposal problem when it’s no longer needed. I’ve just ordered a second walking stick to stabilise me when I’m outdoors. Michelle claimed to have ordered more drugs for me on Monday but this morning the pharmacy had received no new prescription - I have just enough to get me through the weekend

So now we know that the next Prime Minister will be either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss and in a clear demonstration that our democracy is at times a very odd democracy, the choice will be exclusively in the hands of just 0.3% of the UK electorate. Both of our most recent and now our up coming PMs were/will be chosen this way tho’ Johnson did go on to win a legitimate mandate. 

The question now is; which of the two prospects will represent the best option? I see two answers: Sunak would probably be the most sensible and would probably have the better chance of fending off a resurgent Labour Party in 2024. Truss on the other hand is clearly going to go so far to the right that she will probably be incapable of winning the next election. My hope is therefore that Truss wins, and makes more likely the end of this Conservative government. On the other hand I have a political friend who thinks Truss is so hopeless she won’t even survive the two years until an election becomes necessary - he’s remembering that dreadful period for the Tories when they had William Hague quickly followed by Ian Duncan Smith as their leaders, neither of whom did the party any favours at all. Current polls appear to show that Truss’s popularity with the  Conservative membership is not reflected among the public at large.

There are at least two other reports that should be troubling us all at the moment: firstly the independent report on the state of our Border Force. Even if you only read its summary of recommendations it becomes clear that the organisation and its operations are deeply flawed. It is also clear in its belief that the only solution to the small boats crossing the channel is for the UK government to stop poking its tongue out at the French and make a serious effort to agree a collaborative approach. Secondly the latest report on the effectiveness of our Police is shameful. In 2015 only a very poor 15% of crimes resulted in a charge being issued, last year that figure dropped to a now pitiful 5.6% and the inevitable question must be asked,“What can be done to enable our Police to be even a little bit more effective at doing their job?” Remember that we still haven’t replaced the 20,000 Police that Theresa May scrapped as Home Secretary. 

Listening to the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nadine Dorries, Liz Truss  or Steve Baker it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the Conservative Party has now simply morphed into the latest iteration of UKIP. Although most intelligent folk know that Brexit is most definitely not done, and that we still have to establish some sort of working relationship with the EU, the fundamental UKIP philosophy requires an antagonism towards Europe that will make any such progress impossible. And whilst we’re on the subject, please don’t fall for the nonsense that the French are punishing us at the borders. The rules that currently apply have always applied to ‘third countries’ they are nothing new. When we voted for Brexit, we voted to become a third country with all the disadvantages that implies - the inconvenience we now face when travelling across the channel is exactly what we voted for.

Last night we watched a terrific movie. ‘The Outfit’ starring Mark Rylance is available on Amazon Prime to rent at just £4.99 - a relatively new release at a fraction of the cinema price. It’s another of those brilliantly observed character roles over which Rylance has complete mastery. Enjoy …