If only…..

…..we could accept the fallibility of the human spirit without having to launch Inquiries every time it demonstrates itself. Quite how the Reverend Flowers was appointed as Chairman of Co-op Bank when he had no relevant experience is certainly a question that needs to be asked and no doubt the police need to spend months and millions investigating his alleged drug offences (although I doubt they would if he was simply Joe Public). But, for heaven's sake, let's not spend vast amounts of money that we don't have setting up a Public Inquiry to tell us what is blindingly obvious. Someone messed up. It happens and whatever the outcome of the Inquiry one thing is certain - it will happen again.

So, Chancellor, can't you just get one senior and experienced banker to look at it, tell you where the cock-up occurred and then take appropriate action. In the business world we would have that done and dusted in a week! But then in business we understand the frailty of the human spirit and the futility of thinking that mistakes don't happen - move on!!!

If Only….

….our Leader would explain more lucidly exactly how he is going to "renegotiate" the terms of the UK's membership of the Monolith that is the EU. I'm intrigued, as I am sure we all are. He says that we will repatriate powers that we passed to Brussels years ago but exactly how is he going to achieve that? If we are allowed to cherry pick terms of membership, won't everybody? And if that were to happen (which, of course, it won't), the entire EU institution would fail. Maybe no bad thing, some will say, but the reality is that it will not be allowed to happen. Germany and France have too much at stake and are too ideologically and economically committed to the European adventure to permit the uppity Brits to spoil the party.

So it just isn't going to happen. We either stay in the Club and are subject to "Club Rules" or we resign. There is no realistic alternative. And that is what the voters need to understand. Life completely outside the Union may be bleaker than we imagine, or it may not. Norway does very nicely but is not an absolute comparator. But the point is that our politicians need to be realistic and honest and spell out for us exactly what the alternatives are. Posturing about renegotiation and a subsequent referendum to agree the new terms is just pie in the sky and misleading. Don't accept it!

If only…..

…politicians didn't take such entrenched positions. Ok, HS2 may have seemed a good idea at the time but six or so years later it is looking like the whitest elephant at the Fairground. The argument about lost working time whilst travelling has been completely de-bunked and no-one seems excited about getting to London more quickly than they can already. The suggestion that the regions are going to benefit is so far wide of the mark as to be laughable - if it happens it will suck even more investment into London. So the only real issue is capacity and resolving that won't cost £50bn+. Re-open more of the lines closed by Dr Beeching, address the first class/standard class imbalance and wake up to the fact that more and more people no longer have to travel into a City to be productive. And that can only increase. So, David and George, get off your high horses and cancel it - you know it makes sense!!