Party Political Donations

Having posted on the 31st August regarding Party Political Donations I read that two very wealthy people have each donated £36m to Reform. To even things up I was going to donate £36m to each of Labour, Conservatives Lib-Dems and the Greens (apologies to Count Bin-Man). However on opening my piggy-bank all a found were a couple of very old French Francs and a couple of sweet wrappers - so sorry guys.

On a more serious note, I find this trend deeply disturbing; but to me what is as sinister are proposals to not only ban mega donations ( a good thing) but to make this ban retrospective and date it back to March of this year (a bad thing). I do wonder if such action would be proposed if the donations had been made to the Labour or Conservative Parties?

Whilst I do not support the Reform Party it should be treated fairly and these proposals or at least reported proposals seem unfair to me if they are applied retrospectively- who knows what is true anymore?

It does appear, at least according to AI, that retrospective legislation is allowable in the UK - strongly discouraged with respect to criminal law but has been used with regard to tax law to close loopholes.

Parliament can make legislation retrospective in the UK because the UK has parliamentary sovereignty. Parliament has the legal right to pass laws that apply to past actions, provided the wording of the statute makes that intention completely clear.

Courts assume Parliament does not intend to change past legal rules unless it says so directly.

Common Areas of UseTax Law: The government sometimes passes backdated tax rules to stop aggressive tax avoidance schemes that exploit loopholes.Validating Past Acts:

Parliament can pass laws to officially confirm that past administrative actions or fees were legal, fixing technical errors in older systems.

9/11

 Extract from my Family Christmas Letter in 2001

No mention of 2001 would be complete without talking about the murder and mayhem of 9/11. I was usually up early as the princess had to be out of the house by 7;00am to get to school for Hélèna's 7:30am start. I was up somewhat earlier than usual at about 5:40 and unusually for me I put the TV on as I was making a coffee. Whatever it was I was watching, one of the News Channels, there was a sudden interruption just after 5:45. It said that there were reports of a plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers. Nobody seemed to quite know what had happened, the feeling was that it was a tourist sightseeing plane that had clipped a wing.

I must confess that my initial thoughts were that it was sad; but that I hoped it would all be sorted in time for our planned trip to New York the following summer. I was also starting to get some messages over our internal messaging system, no social media back then, from UK colleagues. The consensus seemed to be that the “yanks’ were all getting rather hysterical about things. Then the second plane struck at 9:03am (6:03 in San Jose) and it all went very sombre. It was somewhat more important than our planned trip to New York. Whilst we were all trying to digest what was happening at 9:37 (6:37 for us) the plane struck the Pentagon.

Then we were getting calls from parents of Hélèna’s friends – would school be open today? I think I was called as I was the “terrorist expert”, London and the UK having been struck by the IRA. I said that it was several thousand miles away and so we should continue as normal or as near normal as we could. There was school that day although, if I recall correctly, there were no sports after school.

I went into the office and they were streaming TV into various places and they day was sent talking and speculating about what was happening. It was a strange and scary time. Like many employers IBM put an initial ban on business trips without senior management approval. Various planned events such as kick-off meetings were cancelled although later reinstated.

My thoughts and prayers for all those killed and affected by the atrocity

MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS

Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together. Each generation inherits the task of shaping its own era, of guiding history to become a place where the dignity of every person is safeguarded, justice is promoted and fraternity is made possible. Yet every era also runs the risk of creating an inhumane and more unjust world. Whenever humanity is in danger of marring its true identity, we Christians lift our eyes to the Incarnate God, knowing that it is “only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear.” In Jesus Christ, this humanity in its grandeur becomes the Way, the Truth and the Life, opening the path for each of us to grow toward fullness.

The above is the opening paragraph of Pope Leo's first Papal Encyclical, Magifica Humanitas which I am currently studying. In Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo compares the rapid rise of AI to the biblical story of the Tower of Babel. Humanity faces a choice: build an arrogant, fractured system of technological control, or foster a "civilization of love" grounded in justice, solidarity, and the common good.

To avert these dangers, the encyclical calls for robust public oversight, transparent accountability, and moral responsibility. Technology must be placed firmly at the service of the human person rather than dictating the future of society.

As we know Artificial intelligence is one of the most important technological developments of the modern world. It can help people solve problems, complete tasks, discover new information, and communicate more easily. However, despite its many benefits, AI also creates serious risks. If it is developed or used irresponsibly, it could have negative effects on individuals, society, and the future of work.

One major danger of AI is job displacement. AI systems can perform many tasks that were previously completed by humans, such as writing, data analysis, customer service, and manufacturing. As companies look for ways to reduce costs and increase efficiency, some workers may lose their jobs or find that their skills are no longer in demand. Although AI may create new careers, not everyone will have the time, money, or opportunity to retrain. This could increase unemployment and economic inequality.

Another concern is misinformation. AI can generate convincing text, images, audio, and videos that appear to be real. This makes it easier for people to create fake news, impersonate others, or spread false information online. Deepfake technology, for example, can make it seem as though a person has said or done something that never happened. If people cannot easily distinguish between real and artificial content, trust in the media, governments, and even other people could decline.

Privacy is another important issue. Many AI systems depend on huge amounts of data, including information about people's behaviour, interests, and online activities. If this information is collected or used without proper safeguards, individuals may lose control over their personal data. AI-powered surveillance could also allow governments or organisations to monitor people on a scale that would have been difficult in the past.

AI can also make unfair decisions. Artificial intelligence learns from data, and that data can contain human biases. As a result, an AI system used for hiring, lending, policing, or other important decisions might treat certain groups unfairly. Even when developers do not intend to create discrimination, biased data or poorly designed systems can produce harmful outcomes.

Finally, there are concerns about increasingly powerful AI systems being difficult to control. If an AI system is given poorly designed goals or too much authority, it could make decisions that cause unexpected harm. This is why researchers, governments, and technology companies need to focus on safety, transparency, and human oversight.

In conclusion, AI has enormous potential to improve our lives, but it also presents significant dangers. Job losses, misinformation, privacy violations, discrimination, and problems with controlling advanced systems are all issues that need serious attention. AI itself is not necessarily good or bad; its impact depends largely on how humans develop and use it. By creating strong rules, improving education, protecting privacy, and keeping humans responsible for important decisions, society can gain the benefits of AI while reducing its risks.

If as some leading researchers say there is a 10% chance that AI will destroy humanity it means that there is a 90% chance that it won't. Are we happy with these odds?

HAPPY SEPTEMBER 1st

Countdown Details to Christmas

Date: Friday, December 25, 2026

Weeks: 16 weeks and 3 days

Sleeps: 115 sleeps

Political Party Donations - what to do? How do we stop donors buying policies?

 Stopping donors to political parties from buying political influence will require a mix of financial caps, public funding, and strict transparency rules. 

Cap and Ban Large Donations

Limit individual amounts: Set strict caps on how much a single person, company, or organization can donate to a political party. Reformers proposals often suggest limits ranging from £10,000 to £100,000, though higher limits or resistance from major interest groups have stalled these changes in the past and threaten to do so today.
Block foreign and shell-company money: Require corporate donors to prove a genuine domestic economic connection—such as being active UK taxpayers or majority-owned by local citizens—to stop foreign entities from funneling cash through shell companies.

Implement Public Financing

Match small donations: Use public funds to match small individual donations and modest membership fees. This would force politicians to seek broad grassroots support rather than relying on a handful of mega-donors as they currently do.
Provide per-vote allocations: Distribute state funding to parties based on the share of votes they received in past elections, ensuring smaller parties still have a voice while maintaining fair safeguards.
Lower Spending Limits
Reduce campaign caps: Lower the legal limits on how much political parties can spend during national campaigns and leadership contests. This would reduce the constant pressure on politicians to chase huge sums of private cash. How to stop wealthy donors setting up so called political think tanks who then publish reports and advertise without financial limits is an issue (the Elephant in the Room?).
Increase Transparency and Enforcement
Real-time reporting: Publish all political donations and loans online in real time. 
Lower reporting thresholds: Reduce the minimum financial threshold before a donation must be formally declared to regulators like the Electoral Commission. 
Empower watchdogs: Grant regulatory bodies stronger legal powers and resources to audit funding sources and penalize rule-breakers immediately

Assisted Suicide Bill and Andy Burnham

 I am disappointed that Andy Burnham does not have the courage of his convictions. He has historically expressed concerns regarding the Assisted Suicide Bill, arguing that the UK must first "fix" its social and palliative care funding before considering legalising assisted dying. He now states that he wants to remain neutral as Prime Minister to allow MPs a genuinely free vote.

We all know what he thinks so why not vote against the bill? In my opinion this is spineless.

What is the biggest broken promise made by any UK government

 Purely for devilment I asked the AI bot on Google the following question: "What is the biggest broken promise made by any UK government".

I received the following response:

Deciding which broken promise is the "biggest" depends on personal political views, economic impact, and how many people it affected. Several major broken pledges by different UK governments stand out in modern history for their scale and public backlash.

Major Broken Promises in Recent UK History

Student Fees (Liberal Democrats / Coalition Government, 2010): Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats signed a pledge to vote against any increase in university tuition fees. After entering government in 2010 with the Conservatives, they trebled the cap to £9,000 a year.

National Insurance (Conservative Government, 2021): Boris Johnson’s government promised in the 2019 manifesto not to raise National Insurance, income tax, or VAT. In 2021, they introduced a new Health and Social Care Levy via a National Insurance rise.

Iraq War Weapons of Mass Destruction (Labour Government, 2003): Tony Blair’s government asserted with "certainty" that Saddam Hussein possessed active weapons of mass destruction. This claim justified joining the US-led invasion of Iraq, but no such weapons were ever found.

AV Referendum and Electoral Reform (Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition, 2010): The Liberal Democrats wanted a change to the voting system. The coalition promised a referendum on the Alternative Vote, which was soundly defeated by the public in 2011, leaving the first-past-the-post system in place.

HS2 Northern Leg (Conservative Government, 2023): Successive Conservative prime ministers promised to build the full High Speed 2 rail line connecting London to Manchester and Leeds. In late 2023, the government cancelled the northern leg of the project.

Personally I would add - Boris Johnson; forty new hospitals by the end of 2030 and Keir Starmers; 1.5 million new homes by the next General Election. I know that it is not yet 2030 or the next General Election but the chances of these pledges being met are as good as me being elected the next pope ( I pray that Pope Leo outlives me)