Best Of

Mark Carney delivering a very good speech in Davos declaring we are in the midst of a rupture, not a crisis

Multilateral institutions are are risk

We will be principled and pragmatic

We will engage strategically and are recalibrating our relationship to maximise our values

We stand with Greenland and Denmark and strongly oppose tariffs over Greenland and calls for focused talks

He is championing efforts to build a bridge between the trans pacific partnership and the EU to create a trading block of 1.5 billion people
...............

The comparision with Starmer is stark and why is he not speaking like this.

A trans pacific - EU partnersip has to be welcomed by everyone as it solves the problem of UK - EU membership and excludes the madman in the White House

Carney is a really great guy. All power to him.

I wasn't impressed previously, but his speech was outstanding and Canada is fortunate to have him at this time

I wish we had a comparable PM

Starmer may not be great, but I can't imagine any of the last 3 PMs doing a better job.

More importantly, it's hard to imagine Badenoch, Davey, Polanski or Farage doing a better job.

He could take a leaf out of Macron's book. i've just been reading up on what they are doing and it makes Starmer's pusillanimity feel very much the wrong thing to do. Certainly politically. I'm sure his popularity would improve considerably if he would follow Macron's lead. It's wonderful seeing an eloquent European saying it as it is.

Vive La France!

'Wage growth in the UK eased to 4.5% between September and November, official figures suggest, following a sharp slowdown in private sector pay increases.

The pace of pay growth for those employed by private businesses slowed to the lowest rate in five years, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In contrast, public sector workers saw their wages jump but, the ONS said, this was likely due to pay rises being awarded earlier than in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the number of people on company payrolls continued to fall - down 135,000 in the three months to November - with a particular decline in shops and hospitality....The ONS data showed a stark contrast between public and private pay growth in the three months to November.

Annual average public sector pay growth was 7.9% compared to 3.6% for the private sector.'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cddgrg87ly5o

As ever the people who produce are stiffed by those who suck at the public teat. Unlimited cash to give them rises at twice the private sector and of course more of them on higher salaries whilst the private companies don't have a magic money tree and have to balance the books.

Don’t forget the near 30% employer pension contribution too, and the increments and the extra holidays.

But very little in the way of other benefits. No company cars, no health insurance, no salary sacrifice, no (or risible}) bonuses.

It would be nice if someone actually did a proper package analysis, rather than just spouting shit.

Mark Carney delivering a very good speech in Davos declaring we are in the midst of a rupture, not a crisis

Multilateral institutions are are risk

We will be principled and pragmatic

We will engage strategically and are recalibrating our relationship to maximise our values

We stand with Greenland and Denmark and strongly oppose tariffs over Greenland and calls for focused talks

He is championing efforts to build a bridge between the trans pacific partnership and the EU to create a trading block of 1.5 billion people
...............

The comparision with Starmer is stark and why is he not speaking like this.

A trans pacific - EU partnersip has to be welcomed by everyone as it solves the problem of UK - EU membership and excludes the madman in the White House

Carney is a really great guy. All power to him.

I wasn't impressed previously, but his speech was outstanding and Canada is fortunate to have him at this time

I wish we had a comparable PM

Starmer may not be great, but I can't imagine any of the last 3 PMs doing a better job.

More importantly, it's hard to imagine Badenoch, Davey, Polanski or Farage doing a better job.

Letby not to face further murder charges. Apols if this has been noted already

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yxdgl21nko

Good, she is serving a whole life order anyway, a complete waste of CPS taxpayer money to charge her anymore

That is simply nonsense

Had the evidence indicated further murders than of course she should have faced justice, not least for the bereaved families

There is no sentence longer than a whole life order which she has already received. She has already faced justice and every penny the CPS would have to pay on another prosecution of her would be a penny not spent on prosecuting a criminal who has not yet faced justice.

That is assuming Letby is still definitely guilty, of which even a few medical experts have raised doubts

You cannot deny justice to bereaved families, and dismissing them as no point is simply unacceptable no matter how much you prevaricate [ which is of course your modus operandi]

What's justice in this context? They won't be particularly happy if she were found not guilty. I've gone 180 degrees on my view of her guilt and I suspect that a retrial would have cast doubt on previous convictions.

If the CPS has evidence that could convict a murder than it should be pursued

Whether the defendant has been convicted for other murders and is serving a life sentence has no bearing in the need to seek justice

That doesn't address my previous point. You keep saying this phrase "seek justice" and I am not entirely sure you know what it means. I think what you mean is "find her guilty" when that might not be what happens. We spend hundred of thousands on a "not guilty" verdict then the bereaved families would be in a worse position.

Just listening to BBC and in passing they said the rude tweet to Starmer was nothing compared to the extremely insulting retweet of Macron's exchange with him.

Anyone know what they are talking about? I've not been keeping up (who could?)

I think it might be Trump has been rude to Starmer but much more so to Macron who he really dislikes along with the EU

I think that's what it was but apparently what Trump said to Macron was very specific and they referred to it as "not how you ever talk to another head of state and certainly not publically".

.....But they didnt say what it was

I think we know it would have been very rude and insulting

Trump is a real and ever danger to the world order

Mark Carney delivering a very good speech in Davos declaring we are in the midst of a rupture, not a crisis

Multilateral institutions are are risk

We will be principled and pragmatic

We will engage strategically and are recalibrating our relationship to maximise our values

We stand with Greenland and Denmark and strongly oppose tariffs over Greenland and calls for focused talks

He is championing efforts to build a bridge between the trans pacific partnership and the EU to create a trading block of 1.5 billion people
...............

The comparision with Starmer is stark and why is he not speaking like this.

A trans pacific - EU partnersip has to be welcomed by everyone as it solves the problem of UK - EU membership and excludes the madman in the White House

Carney is a really great guy. All power to him.

I wasn't impressed previously, but his speech was outstanding and Canada is fortunate to have him at this time

I wish we had a comparable PM

Starmer may not be great, but I can't imagine any of the last 3 PMs doing a better job.

Sunak would have been ok

'Wage growth in the UK eased to 4.5% between September and November, official figures suggest, following a sharp slowdown in private sector pay increases.

The pace of pay growth for those employed by private businesses slowed to the lowest rate in five years, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In contrast, public sector workers saw their wages jump but, the ONS said, this was likely due to pay rises being awarded earlier than in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the number of people on company payrolls continued to fall - down 135,000 in the three months to November - with a particular decline in shops and hospitality....The ONS data showed a stark contrast between public and private pay growth in the three months to November.

Annual average public sector pay growth was 7.9% compared to 3.6% for the private sector.'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cddgrg87ly5o

As ever the people who produce are stiffed by those who suck at the public teat. Unlimited cash to give them rises at twice the private sector and of course more of them on higher salaries whilst the private companies don't have a magic money tree and have to balance the books.

Don’t forget the near 30% employer pension contribution too, and the increments and the extra holidays.

Yes it is incredible and never any productivity improvements for all the wonga flung at them.

So I presume you never received any benefits in kind other than salary.

Well I get shedloads, but the company has had regular culls in the bad times over my 49 years to balance the books and those left have to take up the slack.

NHS England is currently cutting 50% of its staff.

so they have been totally overstaffed for ages then. WTF do they actually do if you can get rid of 50% of them. No doubt there will be a new organisation where they will all get jobs on even better salaries.

NHS England is being merged into DHSC. There are no new organisations where they will all get jobs. People I know are moving to the private sector.

That would be a private sector where according to today's report unemployment is rising, with wholesale and retail down a net 72,000 jobs, accomodation and food services down 70,000, information and communication down 31,000 and manufacturing down 31,000 jobs net? While health and social work is up a net 37,000 jobs and public administration now up a net 16,000 jobs?

The same private sector now averaging just 3.6% wage growth compared to 7.9% wage growth in the public sector?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cddgrg87ly5o

The old go to hospital not out to eat?

We (that's Mrs C & I) go out to eat at least once a week and to hospital not more than every couple of months.

Mark Carney delivering a very good speech in Davos declaring we are in the midst of a rupture, not a crisis

Multilateral institutions are are risk

We will be principled and pragmatic

We will engage strategically and are recalibrating our relationship to maximise our values

We stand with Greenland and Denmark and strongly oppose tariffs over Greenland and calls for focused talks

He is championing efforts to build a bridge between the trans pacific partnership and the EU to create a trading block of 1.5 billion people
...............

The comparision with Starmer is stark and why is he not speaking like this.

A trans pacific - EU partnersip has to be welcomed by everyone as it solves the problem of UK - EU membership and excludes the madman in the White House

Carney is a really great guy. All power to him.

I wasn't impressed previously, but his speech was outstanding and Canada is fortunate to have him at this time

I wish we had a comparable PM

Starmer may not be great, but I can't imagine any of the last 3 PMs doing a better job.

Sunak possibly would be a little better.

The other two, the thought is enough to make you shudder !

High Court clears the way for Reform to challenge the cancelled local elections

Good.

As fiscal conservatives, why do we want to see good money which can be spent on services, simply wasted?

One word - democracy

But not having elections to zombie councils that are about to be abolished has been normal practice since always. The cancellation of the 1985 GLC elections was only the highest-profile example.

Oppositions always cry foul, because they always do. Farage is particularly cross, but spending lots of public money to give him a publicity coup doesn't seem like a wise use of public funds in a time of austerity.

(The bigger issue is the time the reorganisations are taking, and there are multiple groups to blame there.)