I am sure I’m not the only one who feels like we are living in a period of phoney war?

The ConDems have done the best to convey a feeling of impending doom; that plague and pestilence will follow this Autumn’s spending review, but every week my rubbish gets collected, the dead are still getting buried, I am not blogging by candlelight.

At the moment there seems little chance of a return to the industrial strife of the late 70’s.

But surely cuts promised on this unprecedented scale, potentially leading to 650,00 - 1,500,000 job losses (depending on who you believe), will see us descend into Greek style anarchy; although even the most militant members of the RMT would probably pull back from actually barbecuing a few bankers?

I don’t doubt it’s going to be difficult, but I can guarantee that it won’t be as bad as when I was a child and it’s all thanks to Mrs T.  Of course, I hear you say, the trade union reforms neutered the proletariat’s ability organise labour effectively; there will thankfully be no return to The Flying Pickets (and their close part harmony acapella). This is undoubtedly true, to an extent, and Willie Walsh can point you in the direction of some good lawyers if you don’t believe me.

However it is a more fundamental and dare I say it deliberate policy that may prove to be the opium of the masses.

Have you ever wondered why such a disproportionate number of Anglo-Saxons own their own homes?

The seeds of this policy were sown in 1930’s America in the aftermath of the Great Depression, as a matter of public policy home ownership was encouraged and to facilitate this two large public backed mortgage corporations Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were established (which to be fair in itself didn’t play out very well 65 years later).

Terribly generous dontcha think?

Not when you consider that mass home ownership, as public policy, was only encouraged once it was realised that PEOPLE WITH MORTGAGES DO NOT STRIKE (as much), for fear of losing their homes.  You can perhaps now see why Norman Tebbit et al. were so keen to see so many low paid, labour voting, public sector workers buy their own slice of heaven on council estates up and down the land.

Now we have gorged ourselves of a trillion pounds of mortgage debt when push comes to shove workers willingness and ability to man the barricades will be suitably curtailed.

Warning: The following blog may offend half of the population.

Now I don’t have anything against women, after all I married one, every other of my parents is one and my daughter will grown into one in time too, but not too soon, hopefully.  So the following post is not misogynistic.

Honest.

However Theresa May has managed to raise my ire.  Yes her, the woman who’s sole contribution to the body politic is the wearing of kitten heals.  Apparently Chloe Smith’s victory in the Norwich by-election is nothing to do with Gordon Brown being as popular as Dan Brown in the Vatican, but is a victory for “New Politics”, because:

“Women are less interested in dirty tricks and backstabbing.  They are more interested in the policies and getting things done.”

I’ve read similar clap trap along the lines that if there had been more female bankers we wouldn’t have had a financial crises.

Really?

Let’s examine the facts, or it least my own prejudiced opinions based on a lifetime of experience so far.

Margaret Thatcher.  The country’s leading proponent of consensual, inclusive politics.

Blythe Masters.  JP Morgan banker who invented CDO’s.

Every female contestant on The Apprentice.  Ever.

EDIT 9/8/09

It would appear that stupidity is not confined to the ranks of female Tory politicians.  Harriet Harman has now nailed her colours to the man hating mast in an attempt to be a popular alternative to Gordon Brown; challenging target dear.

She has suggested that Leham Bros might not have collapsed if it had been Lehman Sisters (You see what she did there? Very clever), which I agree with.  They never would have lost all that money as they would have spent it on handbags and shoes long before.