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@Sandpit

You shared Tweet and map about skipping the Straits of Hormuz was a good one. I can't help feel that a backup pipeline or two could be built suprisingly quickly if people put their minds to it. Now, it wouldn't be able to completely eliminate dependence on the Straits (not least because one needs ports as well as pipes), but it's empty desert, and one could probably get one done to the East of the Straits in six to nine months.

Likewise, expanding Saudi Arabia's export pipelines (Petroline to the Red Sea, and Tapline to Turkey and the Med) -while a longer term project- could be done in a year or two.

On pensions - the next comedy will be when generation rent retires.

If you own your property outright, you can live well on very little.

If they are paying full rent, many will not have the resources to retire at all - no savings, since it all went on rent.

An oncoming cliff of pensioner poverty.

All workers should have their own pensions by then because of pension auto enrolment.

If they don't that will be their own fault.

Good luck with a pension big enough to support the rental values we see.

Housing has more or less kept pace with inflation since 2006. Sustained UK wide real terms house price growth is long gone.

We are just stuck at absurd prices now.

Unless they drop by about 50%, the problems will continue.

I follow this site on the Twitter

Prices, mainly leasehold flats, seem to be falling in London.

https://x.com/londonpricedrop/status/2036713688388755609?s=61

Round by me houses are selling with small drops in asking price. Although it’s all relative. A decent 3 bed detached with 1 bathroom goes for about £300K

House prices are seasonal. They go up on/after Easter, continue high until September, then stabilize/decline over Winter.

Having said that, I have also heard about the London flat price falling that isn't obviously seasonal.

Not just flats. London property is generally well off the peak.

Varies by area I think. Where we are in SE14 prices are down marginally. Our house price has still almost doubled since we bought it in 2011 (not allowing for the rennovation/extension work) according to Zoopla. We still get handwritten notes from people saying they want to buy our house, demand still seems quite strong.

It will vary quite a lot by area, yes, and I'm sure you're right about yours, but overall a more than marginal drop, I believe. Actual txn prices are the best indicator imo. Here, off about 15% since 22.

Looks like Reform will have to stop accepting dodgy money through cryptocurrency.

I expect we’ll hear a load of whining about it being a witch hunt .

Doesn't seem unreasonable to prevent political parties taking untraceable anonymous money, especially in an age of malign foreign powers trying to buy influence in our politics. You'd think Reform would want to be "whiter than white" in this regard (no joke intended) what with their former Welsh leader doing time for taing Russian bribes.
On this subject, did we ever find out which who provided that big payment to the leave campaign that was channeled through Northern Ireland to disguise its source?

Seems perfectly reasonable to me and, in spite of Nico’s Reform obsession it would affect all parties.

Of course Labour also has its own issues with Russian influence as well.

Brexit happened,get over it.

You don't need to tell me that, I spent an hour in a security line at Frankfurt Airport yesterday! Gave me plenty of time to curse the MFs who voted for it...

Odd that people choose not to blame the EU for the punishment beating needlessly applied

IMHO we should not even consider attempting to rejoin until the EU has got over itself and accepted the democratic vote.