Best Of
Re: A new addition (or two) to the ever growing republican movement – politicalbetting.com
Or, put another way, one fiftieth of the annual budget for housing asylum seekers.
But anyway - my view prior to the reign of the current monarch was that he would be the last hereditary head of state. People would just find him too ridiculous. Actually, he's been a lot better than I feared. But he just doesn't have the magic of his mother. She was probably the most famous person in the world. She had probably met more people than anyone else in the world. She could enthuse royalists while making low grade republicans happily suspend disbelief. She is still the person most people associate with the words 'the Queen'.
The current king is doing his best and has carved out some interesting niches (like urban design), but I fear it is not enough. The magic is gone.
But anyway - my view prior to the reign of the current monarch was that he would be the last hereditary head of state. People would just find him too ridiculous. Actually, he's been a lot better than I feared. But he just doesn't have the magic of his mother. She was probably the most famous person in the world. She had probably met more people than anyone else in the world. She could enthuse royalists while making low grade republicans happily suspend disbelief. She is still the person most people associate with the words 'the Queen'.
The current king is doing his best and has carved out some interesting niches (like urban design), but I fear it is not enough. The magic is gone.
Cookie
1
Re: A new addition (or two) to the ever growing republican movement – politicalbetting.com
My guess, FWIW, is that at £72m we got something of a bargain and that UK plc will have made a profit on the venture with the additional tourism, media spend, publicity etc we will have engathered. There are lots of fairly solid reasons to oppose a monarchy, not least of which is the miserable lives that are inflicted on those in the Royal family, but I don't really think the cost of the Coronation is one of them.
DavidL
10
Re: Will Farage become Tory leader before 2026? – politicalbetting.com
Is it noticeable since the election, the benches in the HoC swapped round, a mood shift on PB? It’s PB lefties now aggressively defensive and tetchy? The PB right joyously swinging swords, like yeoman cavalry at a riot. 😆Not as bright as your hatred of everything MalcolmYour hatred of pensioners is shining brightAnother one: to be rather frank, a large proportion of people who fall for these kind of frauds are not financially literate, and sometimes barely literate at all. This correlates with not having much cash. Apparently 1/3 of UK adults have savings of less than £1,000 - £100 to them would be a big, big hit.I think that's an excellent idea.OT but something one needs to know: not only are banks sometimes imposing an upper limit on scam refunds, many are now bringing in an £100 excess deduction.Surely that’s a good thing?
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/nov/23/uk-bank-fraud-victims-100-excess-refund-claims
If the banks (as they do) have to cover the entire cost it creates no incentive for customers to be careful
The only issue I can see is people not complaining about smaller frauds due to the "excess", like a scratch on your car. So you'll get thousands of £99 frauds, or fraudsters testing out methods unnoticed before going for the big one.
The stories that hit the headlines are the pensioner who loses £20,000. But the kind of person who loses that much is likely to be rather rich anyway, possibly through a mortgage-free home.
Re: Will Farage become Tory leader before 2026? – politicalbetting.com
SCOTLAND IS (nearly) DOWN.Only in the poncy east , no issues in the west where men are men
I have a power cut, the Queensferry Crossing is closed, the A9 looks like Hoth, Lothian Buses have cancelled all services, and I can't get these studded tyres onto my bike. Waste of £100.
malcolmg
1
Re: A new addition (or two) to the ever growing republican movement – politicalbetting.com
FPT:
Anti-wheelchair A-Barrier in a cocktail dress as part of an "art" project.
Doesn't matter - it still blocks mobility scooters and power wheelchairs, as is discriminatory under the Equality Act 2010.
And it needs to come out to leave just an entrance.
https://x.com/mattwardman/status/1687198688949735424
To add insult to injury, @KeepBritainTidy have given the park a Green Flag, for which compliance with the Equality Act 2010, and "Access for All", are basic criteria.
https://x.com/mattwardman/status/1687201260301340676
This is at ///puns.rust.paid. Very PB.
At Manor Fields Park in Sheffield, from Manor Park Crescent, they literally *are* an art installation. And the tactile paving design on this one is remarkable.Some are so useless they seem more like some attempt at an art installation, or as part of some research project around how hard it is to remove even useless pieces of urban architecture once they are in place, given the convoluted processes to remove the buggering things.This is my photo quota for the day. Politically on topic as the guy in the photograph is a Local Councillor in Lancashire.What is even the purpose of these barriers?
Martyn Hurt https://bsky.app/profile/martynhurt.bsky.social/post/3lbjj4ssz3s2j
This is a barrier near me that the County Council seems to think is fine. I can't independently get through it, even with the power assist as I need to control speed and direction with my arms. I've just started researching how to take action to get it removed.
More explanations on the thread. He's trying to work across party on this.
This is a link to Google Maps which shows that - subject to details I may have missed - that anti-wheelchair barrier means that an able bodied person can walk 50m down the path, whilst a wheelchair user who can't get through has to go 3/4 of a mile around the roads. I have several in positions like that here, at least one of which goes back to pre-1970.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/53.812334,-2.2103297/53.8115892,-2.2097907/53.8123404,-2.2094661/@53.8112939,-2.2147939,406m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!4m1!3e0!5m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTExOS4yIKXMDSoASAFQAw==
Apologies for two barrier photos in a few days, but the new Bluesky feed means I may be buried in these.
Anti-wheelchair A-Barrier in a cocktail dress as part of an "art" project.
Doesn't matter - it still blocks mobility scooters and power wheelchairs, as is discriminatory under the Equality Act 2010.
And it needs to come out to leave just an entrance.
https://x.com/mattwardman/status/1687198688949735424
To add insult to injury, @KeepBritainTidy have given the park a Green Flag, for which compliance with the Equality Act 2010, and "Access for All", are basic criteria.
https://x.com/mattwardman/status/1687201260301340676
This is at ///puns.rust.paid. Very PB.
MattW
2
Re: A new addition (or two) to the ever growing republican movement – politicalbetting.com
This is a stupid argument. If you think the monarchy is useful then £72mn (a little over £1 per UK resident) really isn't a lot of money to spend on the coronation, an event that we should expect to occur once in a generation.
Re: A new addition (or two) to the ever growing republican movement – politicalbetting.com
I for one would be very sad and quite concerned if we got rid of the monarchy. The Westminster System depends on it and it provides a logical basis for law. You can't take the keystone out of the arch.
viewcode
9
Re: A new addition (or two) to the ever growing republican movement – politicalbetting.com
I think that this could be quite a can of worms.
We could end up like the French with the Government spending more on the Presidency than we do on the Monarchy, and more on maintaining the Disestablished Church Buildings than we prviously did on grants etc to the church institution.
We could end up like the French with the Government spending more on the Presidency than we do on the Monarchy, and more on maintaining the Disestablished Church Buildings than we prviously did on grants etc to the church institution.
MattW
5
Re: Will Farage become Tory leader before 2026? – politicalbetting.com
At Manor Fields Park in Sheffield, from Manor Park Crescent, they literally *are* an art installation. And the tactile paving design on this one is remarkable.Some are so useless they seem more like some attempt at an art installation, or as part of some research project around how hard it is to remove even useless pieces of urban architecture once they are in place, given the convoluted processes to remove the buggering things.This is my photo quota for the day. Politically on topic as the guy in the photograph is a Local Councillor in Lancashire.What is even the purpose of these barriers?
Martyn Hurt https://bsky.app/profile/martynhurt.bsky.social/post/3lbjj4ssz3s2j
This is a barrier near me that the County Council seems to think is fine. I can't independently get through it, even with the power assist as I need to control speed and direction with my arms. I've just started researching how to take action to get it removed.
More explanations on the thread. He's trying to work across party on this.
This is a link to Google Maps which shows that - subject to details I may have missed - that anti-wheelchair barrier means that an able bodied person can walk 50m down the path, whilst a wheelchair user who can't get through has to go 3/4 of a mile around the roads. I have several in positions like that here, at least one of which goes back to pre-1970.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/53.812334,-2.2103297/53.8115892,-2.2097907/53.8123404,-2.2094661/@53.8112939,-2.2147939,406m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!4m1!3e0!5m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTExOS4yIKXMDSoASAFQAw==
Apologies for two barrier photos in a few days, but the new Bluesky feed means I may be buried in these
Anti-wheelchair A-Barrier in a cocktail dress as part of an "art" project.
Doesn't matter - it still blocks mobility scooters and power wheelchairs, as is discriminatory under the Equality Act 2010.
And it needs to come out to leave just an entrance.
https://x.com/mattwardman/status/1687198688949735424
To add insult to injury, @KeepBritainTidy
have given the park a Green Flag, for which compliance with the Equality Act 2010, and "Access for All", are basic criteria.
https://x.com/mattwardman/status/1687201260301340676
This is at ///puns.rust.paid. Very PB.
MattW
1
Re: Will Farage become Tory leader before 2026? – politicalbetting.com
Not as bright as your hatred of everything MalcolmYour hatred of pensioners is shining brightAnother one: to be rather frank, a large proportion of people who fall for these kind of frauds are not financially literate, and sometimes barely literate at all. This correlates with not having much cash. Apparently 1/3 of UK adults have savings of less than £1,000 - £100 to them would be a big, big hit.I think that's an excellent idea.OT but something one needs to know: not only are banks sometimes imposing an upper limit on scam refunds, many are now bringing in an £100 excess deduction.Surely that’s a good thing?
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/nov/23/uk-bank-fraud-victims-100-excess-refund-claims
If the banks (as they do) have to cover the entire cost it creates no incentive for customers to be careful
The only issue I can see is people not complaining about smaller frauds due to the "excess", like a scratch on your car. So you'll get thousands of £99 frauds, or fraudsters testing out methods unnoticed before going for the big one.
The stories that hit the headlines are the pensioner who loses £20,000. But the kind of person who loses that much is likely to be rather rich anyway, possibly through a mortgage-free home.
