I’m So Bored With the USA: Sympathy for the Devil 

 

 

“I rode a tank, held a general’s rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank” 

 

 

PM Starmer seems to have some very strange bedfellows; the US is predictably well represented with both Trump and VP Vance enjoying our hospitality. Elsewhere, whilst they are yet being blessed with state visits Israel seems immune from anything other than mild rebukes. Russia’s Putin appears to be persona non grata, but just how much so will depend on what Trump tells us to do. 

 

We start with Isreal’s continuing offensive in Gaza which, this week saw them target and kill five Al Jazeera staff members and a sixth reporter killed in an Israeli strike. 

Among the dead was Anas al-Sharif, a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent aged 28, who Israel confirmed it had targeted, labelling him a “terrorist” affiliated with Hamas, saying he “posed as a journalist”. 

PM Starmer, ramping up the handwringing said he was “gravely concerned” about the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza. 

In France, President Macron condemned Israel’s plans to step up its military operation in Gaza as a “disaster waiting to happen” and proposed an international coalition under a United Nations mandate to stabilise Gaza. 

At home, Labour continue to play the hardman, especially where the “terror group” Palestine Action is concerned. In “Who Runs the Country?”, I highlighted the arrest of 500+ protestors at the weekend, half of which were 60+ and about as far from a terrorist as you could possibly get. 

An age breakdown released by the Met revealed that nearly 100 of those detained were in their 70s and 15 were in their 80s.  

Among those arrested was Sir Jonathon Porritt, 75, a former government adviser who said: “I thought this was overreach by the home secretary, trying to eliminate the voices of those who are deeply concerned about what is happening in Gaza.” 

There seems some confusion as to whether they are a terror group or not, perhaps depending on how you define “terror”. 

For her part, Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action, said: “It was revealed in court during my ongoing legal challenge to the ban that the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre’s (JTAC’S) assessment acknowledges that ‘Palestine Action does not advocate for violence against persons’ and that the ‘majority’ of its activities ‘would not be classified as terrorism’. 

“Spraying red paint on war planes is not terrorism. Disrupting Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, Elbit Systems, by trespassing on their sites in Britain is not terrorism. It is the Israeli Defence Forces and all those who arm and enable their war crimes who are the terrorists.” 

JTAC, a government body based within MI5, produced a secret report on 7 March which, although it recommended banning Palestine Action, said the group “primarily uses direct action tactics”, which typically resulted in minor damage to property. “Common tactics include graffiti, petty vandalism, occupation and lock-on’s”. 

The government’s actions appear to be little more than petty; pathetic attempts from a limp government to appear tough, and find favour with the right-wing media  

 

‘pathetic attempts from a limp government to appear tough’

 

There is more than enough evidence to show the illegality of Israel’s actions: 

 

• In May 2024, Israel attacked Rafah despite international warnings and in defiance of an international court of justice order – Rafah no longer exists.  

• In November and December 2024, Israel attacked the northern towns of Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun and Jabaliya, and destroyed them in a campaign that former minister of defence Moshe Ya’alon described as “ethnic cleansing”.  

• More recently, Israel unilaterally violated the ceasefire agreement, imposed starvation on the 2 million survivors and destroyed the southern city of Khan Younis. 

 

In May 2025, the Times of Israel reported Netanyahu saying that Israel was destroying homes in Gaza so that Palestinians would have nowhere to go back to and would be forced to leave their homeland. In July 2025, the current minister of defence, Israel Katz, announced a plan for the ruins of Rafah that was compared to a “concentration camp” by former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert. In recent months, the main Israeli activity in Gaza has been the systematic demolition of buildings by well-paid civilian contractors. 

If a government led by a former human rights lawyer can’t see the actions of the IDF and Israeli government for what they are, it is just another sign that this is a pointless administration, that now appears to have lost its moral compass along with its other failings. 

Turning to the other warmonger, Russia’s President Putin, has been running rings around his US counterpart. Trump seems to blow hot and cold on dealing with the situation, and his actions have enabled Russia to prosecute the war with renewed vigour.  

 

‘this is a pointless administration, that now appears to have lost its moral compass along with its other failings’

 

There had been signs suggesting that Trump was slowly hardening his stance towards Russia, including resuming intelligence cooperation with Ukraine, a willingness to supply arms for Ukraine if bought by the EU and the threat of secondary sanctions against countries that traded in Russian oil. 

Unless there are really harsh sanctions imposed by Trump, it is hard to envisage scenarios other than a continuation of the war, or Ukraine seeding territory to a victorious Putin. 

Trump has said any peace deal would involve “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” Russia and Ukraine, a phrasing that hides the reality that virtually all the territory in question is Ukrainian-held. 

Currently, Putin and Trump are due to meet in Alaska, without Ukrainian representation to determine a roadmap to peace. In other words, they will carve-up Ukraine and present them with a fait accompli. 

European leaders, including our own, are insisting that Ukraine be a party to the talks, although I suspect Trump will just do as he wishes  

The EU leaders said: “Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities,” adding: “We share the conviction that a diplomatic solution must protect Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests. 

“A Ukraine capable of defending itself effectively is an integral part of any future security guarantees.” They added that EU nations were ready to contribute further to security guarantees. 

Lastly, we turn to the UK economy and the chancellors yawning budget deficit. 

 

‘Putin has been running rings around his US counterpart’

 

Of great concern is the PM’s pledge that the upcoming budget would “build on what we’ve done” by focusing on “living standards” and “making sure that people feel better off”. Perhaps, I have missed something? 

But, no, I hadn’t; National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) report that while some households may indeed “feel better off”, many – particularly the poorest – will not. NIESR says real disposable income for the bottom tenth of households will fall this year. Living standard for the poorest fifth of Britain are well below their pre-pandemic level. 

Real wage gains under Labour have been modest. Average weekly earnings in real terms were £523 last July and £527 this June – an increase of less than 1%. 

More troubling is the distribution – which is masked by the use of average figures. Strong wage growth, says NIESR, has been concentrated in the tech and public sectors, where low‑paid workers are underrepresented. Above-inflation increases in minimum wage haven’t compensated for reductions in working hours. No surprise then that the thinktank’s data shows that middle- and upper-income households are seeing improvements in living standards, while the poorest are falling further behind. For these households, costs such as food and rent are rising faster than incomes. They won’t feel better off – because they aren’t. 

In summary, real personal disposable income rose by 4.1% in 2024-25, but the gains went almost entirely to better-off households. Today’s unemployment figures show 80% of recent job losses concentrated in retail and hospitality – sectors that employ large numbers of low-paid workers. Clearly, for low-income families, the cost of living crisis has not abated.  

There is still a massive imbalances. For many Britons, the modest post-pandemic recovery in real incomes has come about largely because inflation fell. But productivity growth remains anaemic, and the underlying economic model based on finance, and the service sector is both regionally lopsided, and  is widening inequalities.  

 

‘for low-income families, the cost of living crisis has not abated’

 

With a government seemingly wedded to maintaining its credibility with supply-side tweaks and fiscal restraint in the name of credibility, “building on what we’ve done” is not enough, and many people well know! 

The chancellor faces a simple reality; if she is to abide by her own rules taxes have to increase. The only question is which taxes and by how much? 

At this point, it is interesting to note that even right-wing commentators, such as Robert Colvile, the director of the Centre for Policy Studies, see the needs for a “brutally honest conversation with the public”. He goes further, suggesting: “No more triple lock. Raising the state pension age … Asking people to pay for their social care out of their housing wealth.” 

Then there is Tom Clougherty, the director of the right-wing Institute of Economic Affairs, who suggests  a ending VAT exemptions to almost double the intake. The Institute for Fiscal Studies agrees, and has suggested using the billions raised to compensate all lower-income households for their extra shopping costs. 

A wealth tax is talked about, but, I believe unlikely to happen. The rationale for it is overwhelming with an economy that has been geared towards the upward redistribution of wealth for far too long. The 50 wealthiest UK families own more than the poorest half of the population, (Source: the Equality Trust). 

The oft overlooked issue within the upward redistribution of wealth, is that far too much comes from the ownership of property and financial assets, not “entrepreneurial spirit”. America’s tech barons much be grotesque but they earned their wealth, and the country benefitted. 

 

‘why do we have sympathy for the devil?’

 

Whilst this column has trumpeted the need for a wealth tax over the years, I have recently considered the fact, that it could be a blunt instrument, avoided by those with the most to contribute. Because so much wealth has been accumulated by so few; 80% of wealth tax revenue would come from just 5,000 people and 15% from just 10 people makes the tax vulnerable to a handful, with top advisers, gaming valuations or quitting Britain  

There appears to be other, easier wins for the chancellor. The Centre for the Analysis of Taxation says that  £16.7bn could be raised by equalising capital gains and income tax rates, treating all income the same. 

Also, Inheritance Tax (“IHT”) could be reviewed with emphasis on how wealth or assets are given away prior to death to reduce IHT liabilities. This includes examining the possibility of a cap on lifetime gifting to limit the amount of money or value of assets an individual can donate as part of their IHT planning. 

IHT is a strange tax in so much as everyone frets about unfair it is, but only 4.6% of deaths resulted in IHT being paid in the tax year 2022-23, (Source: HMRC). The average effective tax rate was 13%, after accounting for all the different reliefs and exemptions that might apply depending on the individual circumstances.  

Another option might be fuel duty, which as been frozen since 2010, as a result it is now a third lower, in real terms. 

The stated rationale for the protracted freeze is that it helps hard-pressed motorists, but the main beneficiaries has been the better off, who drive more, own more vehicles especially gas-guzzling SUVs. The richest fifth of households have benefited twice as much from the fuel duty freeze as the poorest fifth.  

The question still remains; why do we have sympathy for the devil? Those with the most, have the most power and influence, today no one seems prepared to question this, or stand-up to them. 

 

You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometime you’ll find
You get what you need” 

 

‘Maybe it’s the hot weather, obviously not caused by climate change (that’s a communist plot!), but everyone and everything seems wrong.

Israel carry-on doing just as they please, and, tut-tutting aside, no one does anything to stop them.

In the UK, we have a PM who was a human rights lawyer. His behaviour towards the situation in Gaza is more likely to see him prosecuted for actions against human rights!

He seems to think that issuing a few mild rebukes is sufficient. However, should you protest the wrath of Khan, or Cooper (the home secretary) will descend on you. Never has it been so dangerous to be a pensioner.

However, I did wonder if some were getting arrested deliberately, in the hope of going to prison and keeping warm this winter!

Trump is meeting with Putin and telling anyone that will listen that this will see a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Whilst, I don’t doubt he can resolve the situation, the question is, at what cost?

Putin can’t just walk away, he needs a victory, he needs territory. The Ministry of Defence estimates > one million Russian troops have been killed or injured since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022.

Domestically, the economy grew 0.3% last month, and chancellor Reeves tells us: “In our first year Labour fixed the foundations – now we must build a stronger economy for a renewed Britain.”

Why do I think her foundations might be sand?

Renewed? Oh well……

Lyrically it’s all about the Stones. We open with “Sympathy for the Devil”, dedicated to Messrs Trump and Starmer who seem to regularly dance with the devil. We play out with “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, because those with the most always seem to!

Enjoyment is only an attitude of mind!

Philip.

 

@coldwarsteve

 

 

 

 

 

Philip Gilbert is a city-based corporate financier, and former investment banker.

Philip is a great believer in meritocracy, and in the belief that if you want something enough you can make it happen. These beliefs were formed in his formative years, of the late 1970s and 80s

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