Anodyne Waffle And Meaningless Platitudes Of The Week

The "statement" on the official website of the SevenEight Dwarves is a masterpiece in waffle, it just goes on and on an on until you lose the will to live:

Our values

We believe:

* Ours is a great country of which people are rightly proud, where the first duty of government must be to defend its people and do whatever it takes to safeguard Britain’s national security.

* Britain works best as a diverse, mixed social market economy, in which well-regulated private enterprise can reward aspiration and drive economic progress and where government has the responsibility to ensure the sound stewardship of taxpayer’s money and a stable, fair and balanced economy.

* A strong economy means we can invest in our public services. We believe the collective provision of public services and the NHS can be delivered through government action, improving health and educational life chances, protecting the public, safeguarding the vulnerable, ensuring dignity at every stage of life and placing individuals at the heart of decision-making.

* The people of this country have the ability to create fairer, more prosperous communities for present and future generations. We believe that this creativity is best realised in a society which fosters individual freedom and supports all families.

* The barriers of poverty, prejudice and discrimination facing individuals should be removed and advancement occur on the basis of merit, with inequalities reduced through the extension of opportunity, giving individuals the skills and means to open new doors and fulfil their ambitions.

* Etcetera etcetera etcetera.

Their official colour seems to be grey, but the whole thing is just... beige, with taupe highlights.

The only thing of mild interest is (are?) the boxes next to each statement which you can tick to say "I agree". There aren't any for "I disagree".

Sensible suggestions v government blah blah waffle

From the BBC:

Brexit should not overshadow plans to boost growth, a business lobby group conference will be told on Thursday. The biggest challenges facing businesses in the UK are to do with "fundamentals" rather than Brexit, the British Chambers of Commerce says.

"Government can do more than one thing at once," Adam Marshall, the director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) told BBC 5 live's Wake Up To Money...

Go on, and what sort of stuff does he say that businesses would like to see?

"The best possible Brexit deal will not matter to the UK's competitiveness if the roads remain potholed and congested, if you can't get mobile phone coverage around the UK, if business broadband is poor and companies can't get the people they need because the training system isn't working to deliver for them."

The BCC will call on the government to fund repairs on local roads, improve the capacity of railways and airports, build more houses, get rid of of mobile phone "not-spots", make the apprenticeship system stable and come up with a clear and easy-to-use immigration system.

Those all seem like eminently fair and sensible things that will benefit everybody, not just 'businesses'. And you can quantify them all to some extent, achieved/not achieved.

How does the government respond?

A Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy spokesperson said: "The government's commitment to boosting the productivity and earning power of people and places across the UK remains steadfast. Through our industrial strategy, we are building a Britain fit for the future, with a plan to help businesses create better, higher-paying jobs in every part of the UK."

It said its £1.7bn Transforming Cities Fund will "address weaknesses in city transport systems while improving connectivity, reducing congestion and introducing new mobility services and technology". The spokesperson added that the government had committed to raising research and development investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027 "ensuring our world-class research and innovation base continues to thrive".

WTF does any of that mean? How will we be able to judge afterwards whether the government achieved these things or not?

Glorious politician waffle.

From the BBC:

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

"Our new aviation strategy will look beyond the new runway at Heathrow and sets [sic] out a comprehensive long-term plan for UK aviation. It will support jobs and economic growth across the whole of the UK. Our vision puts the passenger at the heart of what we do, but also recognises the need to address the impacts of aviation on communities and the environment."

None of that has any tangible meaning whatsoever, it's the usual kitchen sink random list bollocks.

An actual expert gets to down to brass tacks:

Martin Rolfe, chief executive of NATS, said the consultation process could take between two and three years, "so millions and millions of people will have a say in aircraft flying over their house".

He told the BBC's Today programme: "Local communities are very obviously concerned about what more traffic might look like, but actually modernising [airspace] means we can keep aircraft higher for longer. "We can have them descend more steeply than they currently do because modern aircraft are more capable than the types of aircraft that were in service when this airspace was originally designed."

I'll mark him down for using the meaningless phrase "local communities" instead of just "people", but hey.