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)

Why is Britain so Badly Governed? (In general not party specific)

While there is no single official running tally tracking politicians who specifically worked in hands-on industry or manual trades, detailed occupational analyses of the 650 MPs in the House of Commons show that fewer than 10% come from a manual, trade, or core industrial background, with only a tiny fraction having worked in heavy manufacturing, construction, or frontline production. 

The Rise of the Career Politician

Data compiled across successive general elections by the House of Commons Library and academic projects highlights a profound shift in where British politicians originate:

The "Never Worked Outside Politics" Group: Roughly 90 MPs (around 14% of Parliament) entered politics straight through the pipeline of party researcher, political advisor, special adviser (SpAd), or local councillor without holding a significant outside job. 
The Decline of Manual and Industrial Labour: In the post-war era (such as the 1945 Parliament), roughly one-third of Labour MPs were manual workers or ex-miners. By 2010, that proportion dropped below 10%, and estimates for recent parliaments suggest fewer than 10 to 15 MPs across the entire House of Commons previously held working-class manual or industrial trade roles. So how do politicians know what it is like on the shop-floor?
Dominant Professional Backgrounds: Over half of all MPs across major parties emerge from professional fields such as law, corporate business/finance, journalism, public relations, or charity management. So how do they know the day to day realities of running a company, be it large industrial conglomerate or a small family business?
Industry vs. Corporate Backgrounds
Distinctions are often drawn between corporate/financial management and actual "shop floor" or industrial trade experience:
While a moderate number of Conservative MPs have backgrounds in corporate management, consultancy, or small business ownership, very few possess long-term careers in traditional blue-collar industry, engineering production, or technical trades. 
Conversely, MPs with Labour or trade-linked backgrounds frequently spent their pre-parliamentary years as union officials, charity executives, or public sector workers rather than industrial labourers. 
As noted by consensus on various Reddit UK Politics Discussions, the modern recruitment pipeline for mainstream political parties heavily favours higher education, public policy, and media communications over practical experience in heavy industry or manual trades. 
In the immediate post-war era most politicians had been involved in doing things during the war. The great feat of the Normandy Landings was not done by a politician wishing it - the reality was hundreds/thousands of people doing detailed planning and organising things in minute detail. What, if anything, is done with the same care and attention to detail today.
My preferred solution of shooting the lot of them and starting again is not really practical or befitting a Permanent Deacon in the Catholic Church. But unless we have a radical reform of the way we select our politicians and the way political parties operate we will continue on our downward spiral whoever is in power.

Our First Sea Cruise - To The Norwegian Fjords - May 29 - June 6 2026

 To read about our Saga Sea Cruise to the Norwegian Fjords click here

Funding Care for the Elderly Part 2

There are several different scenarios /categories of people that we need to consider.

1.     The extremely wealthy, those that if the need arises could spend several hundred thousand a year on care and not notice it.

2.     Those that have absolutely no savings or any means paying for care, either at home or in a Care Home. If the need arises the council pay, maybe not very willingly and after lots of delay, and the quality of care that they get might not be the best. It doesn’t cost them anything and currently this cost is about 20% of local council spending (according to Google!!)

3.     That leaves what I suspect is the vast majority that have some savings and perhaps some capital tied up in a property. 

a.     If they do not need care either at home or in a Care Home what they leave will go to their heirs (less IHT). 

b.     If they do need care in some form they will have to fund it and dependent on how long they live they might have nothing left for their heirs or a greatly diminished sum.

It seems to me that those in the middle have a choice/dilemma; do they/we pay a so called “death tax”, extra income tax or similar and know that what we have and leave (after IHT) will go to our heirs irrespective if we need care or not (assuming that the funds generated are hypothecated). Or if we do not reform Care for the Elderly and how we fund it, it will remain the current lottery dependent on whether you need care or not.

Personally, I favour reform.

Hamilton House School - Trying to trace John Houghton (Also at Aske's Hatcham)

The photo is of a class at Hamilton House School, Newstead Road, Lee, London SE12, taken in about 1954. Mrs Hanks was the teacher. I am seated far left; David Shaw is behind me. John Holland standing left hand end of the bench - sadly John died in an air rash (Fleet Air Arm training flight) in May 1970. Are any others in the photo still around? In particular I would like to catch up with John Houghton, think he is stood middle row next to Mrs Hanks. John Houghton, John Holland and I all went to Aske's at New Cross - we drifted apart during our school years often wondered what happened to him

Burst Water Mains

 Here in Bromley we seem to be suffering from an increased number of burst water mains, causing traffic chaos and a further strain on our water supply.

The prolonged dry spell in the South East of England is directly responsible for the surge in water leaks. The dry ground is causing soil movement and increased stress on pipes.

The South East of England has a high concentration of heavy clay soils. Clay acts like a sponge, expanding significantly when wet and shrinking heavily during prolonged dry weather. As moisture evaporates from the ground, the soil contracts, cracks, and loses volume. This process is known as soil desiccation.

The underground water mains are embedded directly within this shifting soil matrix. There is differential movement as the soil does not dry or shrink evenly. One section of earth may drop or pull away faster than the section next to it, subjecting buried pipes to bending, pulling, and shearing forces.

A large portion of the UK's water grid consists of older, rigid cast iron or brittle clay pipes. These materials cannot flex. When the surrounding earth moves or hardens like concrete, the stress causes these older joints to pull apart and the mains to fracture