Category: Uncategorised

After such a prolonged political car crash and the welcome removal of the Tories by the electorate on US Independence Day, it is quite deflating to see how Labour has taken on the mantle of dispiriting and underwhelming leadership. The country is not actually asking for much, I sense, from its politicians; an ability to… Continue reading A nervous eye on the UK labour market

The removal of Messrs., Gove, Rees-Mogg, Truss et al from any form of power is a good thing given their collective self-centredness, incompetence, and exceptionally poor track record. They deserved the good electoral kicking they got and are replaced by the likes of Starmer, Raynor and Reeves; will the new kids on the block be… Continue reading A new dawn, a new day…

The calling of the 2024 General Election in July has been greeted with a sense of relief in many quarters, my own included, that a worse than poor Conservative regime will come to an end sooner rather than later. The Sunak regime will bring to a close a period of political history where the analysis… Continue reading Oh, happy days…

The Tories are a spent force. The damage done by the lazy and eccentric Boris Johnson and the wholly naive and incompetent Lis Truss are too much for an admittedly competent but seemingly unelectable Rishi Sunak to overcome. Long in the tooth, ill-disciplined, at times wholly illogical e.g., Michael Gove’s decisions not to grant Marks… Continue reading Awaiting a new regime…

The roll card is long, it is grim reading and, frankly, it is depressing. Much print space goes into criticising Britain’s politicians, much of it deserved, especially the present torrid Conservative regime. Whilst so, being a politician has its drawbacks, and tragically at times mortal dangers, leading one has to ask who in their right… Continue reading Maybe let Tesco run the country’s finances

European Community butter mountains are distant memories. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Common Agricutlural Policy (CAP) encouraged production of a range of foodstuffs for which there was no natural market and masses of goods were holed up in massive stores as a mechanism to directly support farming incomes. Such policy was a failure and… Continue reading Prioritising food security

The British food industry commences 2024 with much less upward price pressure than it was enduring a year ago, when on some measures, not least the rather flaky ONS version, was speaking to close to 20% UK food inflation. Year-on-year (YoY), that position has markedly improved with the UK ONS Consumer Price Index (CPI) commencing… Continue reading So, what will it be like come December 2024?

The sight of Mark Francois MP and his band of crap right-wingers holding court on prime news time at the Palace of Westminster ahead of a piece of self-suicide politics (Rwanda Bill) by a UK Government not looking at itself in the mirror, not reading the national dressing room, and not acting in the national… Continue reading Can the Government make a positive difference to the UK food system – please?

‘Progress’ relentlessly persists in the world of medicine where great strides are being made in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer as well as degenerative illness such as dementia. The extent to which such ailments are diet related is a big debate. Less of a debate is the role of diet upon obesity but this… Continue reading Would anyone like a glucagon-like peptide?

It is party conference season in the UK with Bournemouth, Liverpool, and Manchester the nexus of political discourse, vanity, and hot air. Prime Minister Sunak managed to speak without referencing the multiple car crash of his previous two predecessors, arguably four, something that Labour will not avoid in never-ending renditions of thirteen years of Tory… Continue reading Planning for growth…

Times have been challenging, frustrating, for most firms participating of food supply chains in recent times. Big left field events, a far from competent UK government, supply-side constraints, and an immensely competitive industry tends to make for such challenge with wins hard gained. Despite a plethora of politicised news and opinion, could we be through… Continue reading Are better times ahead for the UK food system?

I have written previously in these pages about the catalogue of incompetence and incapability at the heart of Whitehall, which is a draining burden upon the energy, goodwill, patience, and finances of the British food industry. The largest industry in the UK in so many respects, a ten minute speech from the Prime Minister is… Continue reading Change in Whitehall has to come…