Kmflett's Blog

New Tory Shadow Chancellor is a ‘risk taker’ who wants to scrap the Employment Rights Act

It may be a Bank Holiday, and while Margaret Thatcher did take the day off, Kemi Badenoch has been at work. She has purged Mel Stride as Shadow Chancellor and inserted Andrew Griffith.

Mr Griffith is a man in a suit and it takes a little research to find out what he has been up to over the last few years as an MP.

He was a Boris Johnson fan and when Johnson planned to purge Rishi Sunak as Chancellor in July 2022 he was one of those who were in the frame for the job. However thanks to the Chris Pincher affair it was Johnson who got the boot.

During Liz Truss’s brief tenure as his replacement Griffith was Financial Secretary to the Treasury and one of those involved in her mini-Budget that crashed the economy. Anthony Seldon’s book on Truss at No.10 does note that Griffith felt that Truss might have proceeded slightly more cautiously. So that’s all good then.

Below is a report from the Independent on what Griffith has been tweeting today (31^st August 2026)

“The Conservatives will always back the risk-takers and wealth creators who deliver growth, investment and jobs.”

He tweeted: “It is a huge honour to become shadow chancellor for the party I joined as a teenager under Margaret Thatcher. Working as a team, we Conservatives will deliver an economic revolution.

“We will deliver lower, simpler taxes, get Britain drilling again to bring down energy costs, slash the red tape holding Britain back, and scrap the job-killing measures in Labour’s (Un)Employment Rights Act.”

Meanwhile Liz Truss has tweeted congrats to Griffiths

Ramsgate 1876

Here, we’ve been positively frozen and have had to have the windows shut, while my wife has been hankering for fur jackets. On Friday night in London it was only 6 degrees Reaumur, and in Liverpool the melons have been positively frozen hard.

Despite the weather, we are persevering with our bathing as the sea is still warm and, with this wind, the breakers get better and better and keep one warm; it’s precisely these cold sea-baths that have the most invigorating effect, and my wife’s health has improved wonderfully since she’s been going into the water.

Engels to Ida Pauli 27^th August 1876 11 Campden Square, Ramsgate

The Campaign for Real Conkers

Contact Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

31st August

Summer heatwaves put 2026 conker season in jeopardy

The Campaign for Real Conkers, that opposes bans on conker playing and unnecessary rules and regulations in games has said that that the conker season has opened as usual and will run until mid-October.

Early indications are that 2025 will see a good crop of conkers and dry, warm weather looks to have produced a good crop of conkers on trees.

The campaigners they are maintaining their usual ‘anything goes’ approach to conker games, to encourage people to play without arbitrary rules.

However the campaigners warn that record summer heatwaves may place the 2026 season in jeopardy. A lack of rain until very recently and record heat may mean that trees produce fewer conkers and where they do, they may be smaller and not suitable for game playing

Campaign Organiser Keith Flett said, climate change is having an impact on seasonal conker playing activity and the next couple of weeks will be crucial in terms of understanding what the 2026 crop of conkers is going to look like.

Guide on how to play real conkers safely in 2026

1] Select your conker. Do this yourself. DO NOT use a conker provided by someone else who may give you a poor specimen.

2] There is no specific kind of conker that makes a good game winner. Large conkers may more easily splinter for example. Some prefer conkers with flat and sharp edges

3] You may use the conker ‘as is’ known as ‘organic’. Alternatively you may seek to harden it by baking it, soaking it in vinegar etc. There is no guarantee that an artificially enhanced conker will perform any better than an organic one.

4] Drill a small hole through the conker. A nail will often achieve this. Again you must do this yourself

5] Thread the conker through the hole you have drilled. A strong chord, perhaps a shoelace is best

6] You are now ready to play.

7] Make sure that the chord is long enough to allow you to stand at least 1 metre plus away from your opponent. This would generally be the case as space is required for the conker swing.

8] Players take alternate turns to try and hit and destroy their opponent’s conker

9] Those with poor aim may hit the knuckles of their opponent more often than the conker so you may wish to wear gloves.

10] The winner is the player who determines their opponents conker unusable in further rounds, usually by causing it to splinter into two or more pieces

Play safely and enjoy!

Pakistan lost the second Test against England at Lords on Sunday, as they had lost the first Test, by a significant margin.

Of course the Lords pitch is not fit for purpose, which may reflect the wider crisis of the political party historically associated with cricket, the Conservatives. In addition the Day Four crowd on a Bank Holiday Sunday was not as large as might have been hoped. Lords had reduced the ticket prices to £70 (upwards) for adults and £30 for under-16s. Lords it may be assumed has never heard of the cost of living crisis.

The wider point was that despite late evening drink related concerns the England team played reasonably. The Pakistan team had some good individual performances certainly, but were generally poor. It was not the best advert for Test cricket a form of the game which is under threat from the financial pressures of T20 franchise cricket.

The cricket media, while not totally adverse to discussing politics and the politics of sport on occasion, generally steers clear. The case of imprisoned former Pakistan Test cricket Imran Khan was highlighted on Sky by Mike Atherton and former Test captains from various countries have made representations. However wider media coverage remains limited, in particular on the BBC’s Test Match Special.

For really useful knowledge on what is going on, Tariq Ali’s analysis is indispensable

The Pakistan side meanwhile are to meet King Charles this week. How this will help is unclear.

King Charles: Pakistan to meet King following controversial Lord’s Test – BBC Sport

Beard Liberation Front

30th August

The late Dolly Parton was known for a tolerant approach to life, a firm believer in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

That included beards. When appearing at a 2022 event with Rob Halford, well known as a member of Judas Priest he reported

She goes, ‘I love your beard!’” Halford exclaimed, “and she starts to clean my beard! It was so surreal! I’m meeting this living legend and she’s tickling my beard and going, ‘So you’re going to sing some Jolene with me?’ I was just floating.”

The Sunday Times (30th August) reports a Dolly Parton one liner, that if she had anymore facelifts she end up with a beard…

The Ambridge Socialist

30^th August

BBC censors new shower scene

We’ve waited a long time for another Ambridge shower scene after the classic liaison of Jolene and the late Sid Perks. Alice noting that Rex smelt of farmyard suggested a shower and said she would join him. At this point BBC coverage cut away. Cancel Culture at work

Dolly

A tribute was expected from Jolene to the late Dolly Parton. It probably took place at The Bull but the BBC were not there to report it. Budget cuts presumably.

George is at Bills

Unable to do farmwork due to a wrist injury George is temping at Bill’s car showroom under the guidance of Conrad. Martyn Gibson (Jon Glover) appears and decides to buy a car of some sort. Later Conrad is at The Bull and spurning Lily pursues a liaison with Fallon. Meanwhile Amber has congratulated George on his ‘first week at the family firm’ but she is in lurve with ‘George the farmer’.

In other relationship news

Keira is looking for a match with Khalil who is still mourning for Monty (the dog). Keira explains to Khalil why becoming a vegan is not ideal, explaining that Mia who is, has a rigorous programme to make it work. Discussions continue..

Daveed

Daveed has sent the Snells a bill for the sheep Monty killed. The Snells seem content to pay up, but might reasonably ask if Daveed has ever heard of insurance. Never trust an Archer…

Monty has been rehoused….Lynda and Robert have raised a toast to his chewed tennis ball

Jeremy Corbyn recently joined Zak Polanski for his regular Bold Politics podcast

The two most prominent beard wearers in British politics discussed Gaza and the continuing efforts to bring the British Government to account for complicity. They also discussed how the media vilify figures from the left while showing no interest in their ideas.

Marxism as a method looks for what’s new in a situation and here we need to look at the ephemera.

Corbyn noted that jam making from his allotment had done well this year but the fruit was smaller thanks to the climate change influenced heat.

Referring to work in Islington schools on climate change as the local MP Corbyn noted that he had surprised a class by arguing that the most species was the earthworm. Without its work churning the earth there would be no soil.

Corbyn also noted he had recently written a poem about a bee, a key pollinator, which he had read to applause at a recent Glasgow meeting.

Unfortunately there was no discussion about beards

Asking prices for coastal cabins skyrocketed in the post-pandemic staycation boom, hitting an average price of £45,800 in summer 2024, according to analysis by estate agency Yopa. However, just two years later, the average cost has slipped to £33,300.

West Sussex recorded the biggest regional price drop, falling 35 per cent in the past year alone, followed by Norfolk (-13 per cent) and Essex (-12 per cent).

There are an estimated 28,000 beach huts across Britain, ranging from shacks with no running water or electricity to fully equipped structures that act as seasonal seaside retreats.

From the Telegraph (obviously)

The Telegraph’s cartoonist Matt is often the sanest part of the paper. This cartoon appeared on 29th August 2026