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The Social Media Obsession – Is it Affecting Our Kids’ Mental Health ?

  The large increase in mental health referrals in the UK's younger age groups since the end of the pandemic has finally got the UK government worried…and so it should. Why ? We have at least 1 million young people in UK classified as ‘NEETs’ (i.e. Not in Education, Employment or Training), and at least some of these are likely to be in this category because of mental health issues. More and more of our youngsters are also being diagnosed with some form of mental health issue, and not all of this is likely to be due to the 'over-diagnosis' phenomenon that has been in the news recently. There is an increasing tendency to blame excessive social media use for this problem; it is not only a drain on the treasury via the benefits bill, but represents lost work potential, and perhaps more importantly, damages the prospects, and the morale, of the young people themselves.  The issue is now in 'ministerial focus' as being ripe for some form of government action.  The ...
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Ukraine – How do we stop Putin ? A Developing Commentary

Editor's note: Looking back at this blog from 2022 has been instructive in showing just how much has changed since then...and how much hasn't.... Putin is obviously as resolved as ever to continue is 'special operation' in Ukraine, and as the devious campaigner that he is, has found ways to circumvent all attempts by the West to broker a cease-fire deal. Even that arch-deal maker himself, Trump, well into his last term and clearly in 'legacy-seeking' mode, has singularly failed to make any impression, and has now finally realised that Putin has been 'playing him' all along. His surprise comments in a BBC interview this summer confirmed this, but Trump obviously hasn't given up yet on arranging his 'master deal'.  When he does finally realise it's hopeless, and that Putin's obsession is 'hard wired', things could get quite unpleasant for Russia on the economic front, and more to the point, for anyone found to be continuing to t...
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No Standing Charge Electricity Tariffs: OFGEM says they’re coming, but will they save us money ?

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A Warning to low Electricity and Gas users:   If you are anything other than a high user of both fuels, don't be tempted by offers from your supplier to fix your tariffs now.... Suppliers are now piling on the pressure to fix with a plethora of different and highly confusing offers, none of which include a reduction in the standing charge . These offers have been coming in thick and fast since last month following the latest price cap rise, and the unexpected rise in the cap from January, and OFGEM are effectively 'co-conspiring' with suppliers to try to get you to fix now, by soft-pedalling on a final decision on the precise details of any SC reductions. There is also a nasty rumour that OFGEM has caved in even further to the cartel and is likely to set a minimum consumption level (ca 666 kWh for electricity and 2500kWh for Gas) for a 'low' user to qualify for a reduced-SC tariff. This is ridculously high and would exclude many pensioners who have already cut their...
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