Britain needs that Super Saturday feeling once more.

Posted 2 Apr 2013 by Walaa Idris

All this fuss over what benefit is reduced, who jumped ship before being pushed (900,000 voluntarily came off incapacity benefit to avoid assessment) and who can or can’t live on £53 a week (whether before or after paying rent/gas/electric….) is avoiding the real issues. As a nation we need to buckle down and work together to reduce our debts both government and personal, grow the economy and create more jobs.

Specially now, our currency is low, which might sound bad but actually businesswise is not all that bad. Because it means overseas businesses who couldn’t before afford our goods and services (because the sterling is an expensive/high currency) now can. It also means more tourists can visit the UK this year, all generating much needed revenues to UK Plc. Plus there are good signs of economic growth, albeit small, nonetheless it’s a step on the right direction.

Things look promising. We should all (lefties included) be happy and grateful, carry on working as hard as we can but remember there is no shame in being positive or cautiously optimistic about the future. Lefties tend to become irate almost indignant when things move forward despite their predictions, but my hope, this time they make an exception. See that many around us are hopelessly suffering and we have been speared their fate.

When Cameron says “We’re all in it together” he means this is my country and yours too. What hurts her hurts all of us equally. It is not about class, wealth, inheritance, privilege and the rest of it. It’s about Britain and her people, young, old, rich, poor, indigenous or immigrant. When Britain fails, we all fail and when she rises we do too.

Whenever I hear Labour politicians put down the country for political point scoring, I cast my mind back to last year’s London Olympics and that collective feeling of unity and oneness. To a time when we as a nation worked as a team, athletes, politicians, volunteers, every service and all citizens had one goal – a successful and enjoyable Olympics – and we achieved it. Then wonder why can’t we have a political Super Saturday where the only winner is Britain?

Remember the eighth day of the 2012 London Olympics when the gold medals just kept on coming. It started at Eton Dorney when Andrew Triggs-Hodge, Pete Reed, Tom James and Alex Gregory took gold and minutes later were followed by Sophie Hosking and Kat Copeland. Meanwhile in the Velodrome, Dani King, Laura Trott and Joanna Rowsel were showing the world how it’s done. That was only the beginning. Because in the evening at the Olympic Stadium in East London, Jessica Ennis and Greg Rutherford continued the gold rush as the mighty Mo Farah became the first Briton ever to win gold in the 10,000 meter.

We need more of that united fighting spirit to carry on the reforms needed and build a robust Britain. It can happen, but only if we are one team with one goal united behind one cause, building a stronger more prosperous Britain.

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0.2 per cent growth is small, not at all great but still good!

Posted 27 Jul 2011 by Walaa Idris

Yesterday the UK got its second quarter figures; the economy has grown by only 0.2 per cent. Prompting the left and those opposing George Osborne’s recovery measures to call for him to change direction and alter his plans. Which if he did – judging by what’s happening around us in Europe and across the Atlantic – it will be a knee-jerk reaction he will live to regret.

It might look like our economy is flat lining, however, you can’t help but be grateful that it is stable and albeit slowly is still steadily growing.

I don’t watch the BBC’s Newsnight – I do love my politics but if I don’t draw a line somewhere I will have politics overload. However I watched a clip of Monday’s show between Jeremy Paxman and Ed Balls where Balls is clearly opposing for the sake of opposing. Even Paxman who is legendary for cutting people to shreds was stunned by the man’s incoherent stubbornness. I am not stating this as a point scoring exercise but to prove a point. And that is, even Labour who is pro less slower cuts, deep down sees that Osborne’s plan is working. Of course they can’t bring themselves to admitting it, nevertheless…. action speaks louder!

Particularly as we are at a time when the US is due to lose their AAA rating and maybe even default for the first time in history. Greece is back for a second helping and might very well be joined by Portugal. And let’s not forget Italy, who looks like it’s on the brink of collapse and might join them.

A 0.2 per cent is unarguably small but in the scheme of things it is also arguably a step on the right direction. I see no need for a plan A+ and most definitely no plan B!

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