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General Election Results !

Sunday 19th June 20:15 With the Polls closed just 15 minutes ago normally extremely reliable exit polls (released at 8pm) show France’s President Emmanuel Macron failing to win a majority in the French Parliament. (We’re talking about the French elections here). Marine Le Pen’s far-right ‘National Rally’ was expected to fill a record 89 seats - up from their previous 8 - although the British papers have been full of potential ‘Left-wing’ success stories. This turns them into a serious parliamentary group capable of challenging the government at every opportunity. Scotland’s SNP have 47 MPs at Westminster. This follows the second and final round of a nationwide election in which 577 places in the Paris National Assembly were to be chosen. The National Assembly is the most powerful house of the French Parliament (their equivalent of our House of Commons) and the President needs to control it to push through promised tax cuts and welfare reforms including raising the retirement age from 62 to 65. Exit Polls show a projected National Assembly made up of 224 for Mr Macron's coalition, a figure which does not secure the broad majority that the Macron administration has enjoyed since coming to power in 2017. The ‘Republicans’, the current name for the Gaullist conservatives who were traditionally viewed as the natural party of government in France, gained just 78 seats. In the first round of the elections last Sunday, a pro-Macron centrist alliance known as Together (Ensemble) tied on votes cast with Nupes, the radical alliance led by far-Left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Mr Melenchon's coalition was tonight projected to win 149 seats. In ‘good news’ for British fishermen (of both genders) the election also cost Mr Macron his recently appointed Secretary of State for the Sea, Justine Benin, appointed last month to deal with a range of issues including fishing rights in the English Channel. Early voting in France's overseas territories on Saturday saw Ms Benin lose her National Assembly seat in Guadeloupe, in the Caribbean. Election turn-out was low .. just 46%

Even ‘paper’ money is now plastic !

We have 100 days (from 23/06) to change our paper £20 and £50 notes into the ‘new’ polymer varieties .. so its “farewell” to economist Adam Smith and industrialists Matthew Boulton & James Watt .. and we must rely on Bletchley Park’s very-own Alan Turing. From 30/09 only your bank will accept them.

“No spell-checker, he !”

A plaque unveiled to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, unveiled by the Earl of Wessex only last Friday, will now need to be replaced .. due to a string of spelling mistakes ! The panel in Birmingham's Victoria Square had eight errors, misspelling _ Colmore Row as 'Colomore Row' _ the name of sculptor William Bloye as William Boyle _ Queen Victoria as ‘rulling’ the country _ with ‘sovereignity’ _ and the whole event being the ‘Planinum’ Jubilee. Well .. that’s how they pronounce things in ‘Brummagem’ .. !

“Five Strikes .. and they’re ‘OUT’ !”

Five

MPs

have

all

received

thousands

of

pounds

each

in

donations

from

the

Rail,

Maritime

and

Transport

union

(RMT)

in

2020

-

this

is

the

Union who expect 50,000 of its members to down tools later this month, in the largest walkout since 1989.

•

Rebecca Long Bailey

(Labour - Salford and Eccles) received £3,000 in donations in 2020

•

John McDonnell

(Labour - Hayes and Harlington - former shadow chancellor under Jeremy Corbyn) received more than £8,000

•

Diane Abbott

(Labour - Hackney North and Stoke Newington) received a donation worth £2,000

•

Jo Stevens

(Labour - Cardiff Central) received a donation worth £2,000

•

Ian Lavery

(Labour - Wansbeck) received £5,000 from the railway union in 2020

Unions have moved to worsen and lengthen the upcoming rail strikes as members on CrossCountry, East Midlands and West Midlands trains were asked to walk out in action that could disrupt the Commonwealth Games.

It’s a case of “Watch this Space”

So .. no Glades Leisure Centre anymore .. and now no Cinema and Leisure Complex either. Covid, Inflation, Building Costs, Lack of Builders, etc, etc, have scared-off the developers leaving our District Council ‘cabinet member for economic regeneration, planning and localism’ with somewhat of a white elephant (in a site now to be known as “Lionfields” .. though “Why”, many of us fail to understand even given its close proximity to the West Midlands Safari Park). Some local wag once said that, if they installed a water-slide, would they rename it the “Surf-ari” Park ? So, bags of re-generation with house-building and warehouse-building on the south side of the town .. lots of road-building on the north side .. many, many house threatened to be built on green farm-fields, almost everywhere .. just no progress in the centre.

Why did the Tories lose Tiverton & Honiton ?

It wasn’t the state of the economy .. it wasn’t the state of the NHS … it wasn’t the state of the Union … it was … the (dire) state of the local High School which, though graded ‘Good’, is falling apart .. ceilings crumbling .. asbestos in the loos .. damp in the walls .. mould growing in the corners .. ! ! ! Well, you’d vote for something better .. wouldn’t you ?