martynwalker

[martynwalker]

Wishi Rishi

In the damp halls of Westminster, Rishi doth declare,

A kitchen sink manifesto, promises thin as air.

With pledges vast and hopes contrived,

Yet will it cut through? Few are convinced or revived.

First, to taxes, where illusions lie,

A 2p cut in national insurance, a fleeting sigh.

Income tax for pensioners, a token nod,

Child benefit expansion, a convenient facade.

To education, 'Mickey Mouse' degrees to scrap,

Free childcare, a hollow gift in parents' lap.

In defence, national service for the youth,

An outdated notion, far from the truth.

Defence spending targets for 2030's light,

Promises to bolster, but who believes the sight?

Welfare reforms, twelve billion saved,

Austerity's mask, by new rules engraved.

GPs relieved of sick notes’ chore,

Shifting burdens, nothing more.

Crime's grand plan, eight thousand strong,

Police numbers touted, a familiar song.

Sentences increased, a harsher line,

First and second degree murder, a borrowed design.

Housing hopes with stamp duty's cease,

Up to £425k, a temporary peace.

No-fault evictions to end, they say,

Green belts protected, but for how long, who can say?

Immigration caps, work visas in the fray,

Family reunions slowed, a cynical play.

Illegal routes, Rwanda's talk renewed,

Third countries’ deals, a policy skewed.

ECHR reforms, all options in jest,

Health investments, a strained NHS.

£2.4bn for training, a short-term fix,

Waiting lists to shorten, with AI in the mix.

Social care's echo, Boris’s old tale,

A delayed package, destined to fail.

Net zero claims, with costs to veil,

Promises made, but will they prevail?

Thus, Rishi stands with grand façade,

A nation’s scepticism, the unspoken nod.

Will these pledges sway the day?

Or dissolve like mist at dawn’s first ray?

#Westminster #RishiSunak #Manifesto #TaxCuts #PublicSpending #NationalInsurance #IncomeTax #ChildBenefit #EducationReform #Childcare #NationalService #DefenceSpending #WelfareReform #GPResponsibility #CrimePolicy #PoliceNumbers #SentencingReform #MurderClassification #HousingPolicy #StampDuty #NoFaultEvictions #GreenBeltProtection #ImmigrationPolicy #VisaCaps #IllegalImmigration #RwandaPolicy #ECHRReform #HealthInvestment #AIInHealthcare #SocialCare #NetZero #VoterScepticism #PoliticalPromises

[martynwalker]

The Uncivil War

When Britain slides into civil war, and it is 'when' rather than 'if', The early years will pass, a shadow play, an unnoticed rift. On city streets where darkness cloaks, unseen, the war will tread, Each morning brings commuters' gaze on ruins that spread.

A phoney war will linger long, its players veiled in night, Normalcy a brittle shell in the soft, deceiving light. Elections held as rituals, their alien nature grows, Till Britain’s face in parliament no longer British shows.

And then the penny drops, a slow and creeping dread, Amongst the liberal middle class, awakening unsaid. The working class, forsaking ties, their parties old betray, United by their common cause, a new and stern array.

Ethno-nationalism, once forlorn, now rises from the grave, As parliament, a foreign court, becomes the new enclave. Islamists will outnumber those who once held nation dear, While left-wing hands in crimson gloves, the jihad’s call they cheer.

Community defence will rise, where politics once stood, White British officers will turn, in this, their brotherhood. The violence then will escalate, its flames consume the night, Whites against the myriad shades, in an unyielding fight.

Normal life will fracture, the cities now a cage, Like 28 Days Later scenes, with fear upon each page. Offices on lockdown, the streets a battleground, Public transport, cars abandoned, no safety to be found.

The army sent to seal the streets, but soldiers' hearts may sway, Under strongman’s banner, or a coup to seize the day. Civilians pressed to militias, their lives in chaos spun, The exodus of immigrants, and more with arms will come.

Ferries cease their crossings, but small boats ply the waves, White flight to rural bastions, tent cities rise in graves. Yet civil war we name it not, though chaos reigns supreme, No shelling, no airstrikes, just madness in a dream.

The grid will fail, the power fades, dark nights will conquer all, Food crises loom as shelves are bare, and raiders breach each wall. I cannot see the end of this, if slaughter marks our path, As Europe too may tumble down, consumed in civil wrath.

War with Russia, or the brink, the threads of fate entwine, Britain's plight, a tragic tale, in this dark, dreadful time. For now, we march towards the storm, with eyes that see yet blind, And know that in our lifetime, despair is what we’ll find.

[martynwalker]

Curious bird studies the sign (at Port of Felixstowe)

[martynwalker]

Help! I'm stuck in a #Blockchain again.

[martynwalker]

An old bit of kit, any guesses what it might do?

[martynwalker]

One of the racers at red bull ascot (at Ascot Racecourse)

[martynwalker]

Shoreditch is living art

[martynwalker]

Roseberry Topping, a monument to discovery and exploration

[martynwalker]

Remember this? And now we approach an election with zero inflation, nearly zero interest rate, lowest unemployment ever recorded despite immigration. Ed said he and his bro were getting over their rift. Paxman asked if Ed was ok.

[martynwalker]

Once you've had fat there's no going back, I should live until I'm 150 at least

[martynwalker]

#redbull #ascot 2015. Here are the heroes from 2014

[martynwalker]

The Charlotte Rose, Fowey ~ 1978 (at Fowey Harbour)

[martynwalker]

An abandoned boat with a broken keel

[martynwalker]

Some places have a Caribbean look and yet no one ever comes here

[martynwalker]

Yacht at anchor near Mistley.

[martynwalker]

The light shines through the railroad underpass

[martynwalker]

The churchyard, early autumn