Politics Returns to the UK This Week

As has been the norm recently, we will touch on the Spanish elections, but the reality is there is nothing more to say other than negotiations are ongoing. We did have an issue last week of some of the parliamentary groups not wanting to sit together, which reminds us, it´s next week when children go back to school, so we´ll probably talk about that a little more next time.

The Ministry of Equality has convened a crisis meeting for Monday to talk about the recent wave of domestic violence deaths across the country. This is normal protocol when there are 5 or more such incidents, and in August, so far (bearing in mind they can be classified after the event), there were 6 confirmed in August. This is the fifth time the committee has been convened. So far this year, 39 women have been confirmed killed within the criteria to be recognised as domestic violence, with 45 children being left orphaned.

One thing we will say with a political leaning is that the this of course happens at a time when VOX are still negotiating a place in Government, a political group that claims violence against women does not exist and want to ban the gatherings such as the minute’s silence held for each of the tragic victims. It was, incidentally, their partners in the runup to the elections, the PP, who didn’t want to sit with them in parliament.

There had been planned strikes by bus drivers working for Alsa, but the management and unions have now agreed to a meeting this week, so the disputes are pretty much cancelled in the hope the issues will be resolved. It mostly affected areas in the north of the country, but also some Madrid routes. On the subject of buses and Madrid, there´s more good news as they are free this week, within the municipal area at least.

In the markets, the week will begin in the Eurozone with the publication of the trade balance in Germany and the Sentix investor confidence index.

Next, the PMIs for the services and composite sectors will be published. After the summer period, with tourism standing at levels similar to those reached before the pandemic, a further deterioration is expected as lower household consumption spending, the slight rebound in inflation expectations and lower growth and the tightening of monetary policy hampers the dynamism of the sector.

PlayStation Plus subscribers (and who isn’t!) will be subject to a price hike this week, as plans increase as much as 30 euro in some cases.

Locally, Friday is a holiday in Cox, Daya Vieja, Jacarilla, and Santa Pola, as well as Orihuela, and the Rock Against Cancer concert takes place in Torrevieja at the weekend. We have been told that as well as music fans, the concert is a draw for bikers, with many expected to attend the event. Coincidentally, at the weekend, the DGT will be running a special surveillance campaign focusing on motorbikes, with the likes of the Guardia Civil actively looking for, and dealing with, dangerous behaviour, amongst other things.

Also on the roads, the coastal road in Alicante reopens to traffic on Monday, just in time for the end of the summer rush.

In the UK, the holidays are over for parliamentarians (perhaps in more ways than one) who return after summer for what will be the final session of the current Parliament, including the first King’s Speech for nearly 70 years and the start of a third general election campaign in five years, despite the number of Prime Ministers the country has had since the last election. Boris Johnson, incidentally, left office exactly a year ago on Wednesday, to be replaced by a lettuce. No, sorry, Liz Truss we mean, obviously.

Hearing from the King will in no way overshadow the fact that Friday marks a year since the death of, we think it’s safe to say, a more beloved monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

There has been talk of reshuffles upon return, not only in the Cabinet, but also on the other side, as Keir Starmer is said to be doing the same.

In the world of sport, the Rugby World Cup starts this week, with England taking on Argentina on Saturday, and Prince Harry will attend the opening of the Invictus Games.

Finally, if you plan to use Google on Monday, be sure to with our longest internet friend a happy birthday, as the search engine turns 25.

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