Best Of

Off Topic and one for @malcolmg

They've stolen Scottish water by pumping it south. Now they are stealing the wind power (as it won't be sunshine)

https://www.nationalgrid.com/next-step-eastern-green-link-4-preferred-cable-bidder-announced

One of my previous employers and the contract will be highly profitable so good for the employee pension fund.

Genuine question - when was Scottish water pumped south, and how?

It's a cybernat conspiracy theory they picked up from Iranian propaganda accounts. It's depressing how easily partisans on all sides have been willing to pick up and run with made-up nonsense propagated by Iranians/Russians/other disinformation operations.

@Steven_Swinford
Exclusive:

I'm told that Lord Mandelson used his private BT internet email address to correspond **directly** with the most senior people in government, including Gordon Brown

We initially thought he forwarded government emails to his BT internet account then passed them on to Epstein

In fact two senior government sources say he was corresponding with ministers and officials using his BT internet account. The messages went directly to his Blackberry, and he sent them straight on to Epstein

That email address is now defunct and the Cabinet Office has no was of retrieving the messages on it

It sounds like a pretty extraordinary security breach, with fundamental implications for government record-keeping

It inherently limits the extent of any investigation by the Cabinet Secretary

For example, the Cabinet Office has today told police that the emails in the Epstein cache show evidence that market-sensitive information being passed to Epstein.

But without the Epstein files, it would have no evidence of its own

@Steven_Swinford
Exclusive:

I'm told that Lord Mandelson used his private BT internet email address to correspond **directly** with the most senior people in government, including Gordon Brown

We initially thought he forwarded government emails to his BT internet account then passed them on to Epstein

In fact two senior government sources say he was corresponding with ministers and officials using his BT internet account. The messages went directly to his Blackberry, and he sent them straight on to Epstein

That email address is now defunct and the Cabinet Office has no was of retrieving the messages on it

It sounds like a pretty extraordinary security breach, with fundamental implications for government record-keeping

It inherently limits the extent of any investigation by the Cabinet Secretary

For example, the Cabinet Office has today told police that the emails in the Epstein cache show evidence that market-sensitive information being passed to Epstein.

But without the Epstein files, it would have no evidence of its own

Convenient.

@Steven_Swinford
BREAKING:

Sir Keir Starmer has now asked officials to draft legislation to remove Lord Mandelson's peerage

On Monday the government argued that legislation was too complex, highlighting the fact it does not have a majority in the Lords. It suggested the approach would be too complex

Starmer has now changed that position and is asking his officials to move 'at pace'. His spokesman said he is 'appalled' by the latest revelations

Silly he didn’t come straight out with it.

If Mandy has good sense he’ll resign from the Lords in advance of this.

If he's got any sense Mandelson will run away to Israel or Trumpistan. The man is a traitor.

Isn't his husband from Brazil?

New article in the Telegraph.

"Sean Thomas
There are no nice areas left for Londoners to live in
A pervasive sense of decline and disorder lingers over the capital" (£)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02/02/there-are-no-nice-areas-left-for-londoners-to-live-in/

Regrettably, he's wrong. My pleasant market town is presently suffering a large influx of Londoners who have finally worked out that it's way nicer a couple of hundred miles further north. This is doing lots of bad things, including pushing up house prices, and encouraging the building of loads of nasty Barratt wonders on the edge of town (the London types think they are amazing, a four bed house for the price of a ropey London flat! I don't know of a single local living in one).

We should probably build a wall between Gloucester and Kings Lynn, and make the Southerners pay for it (feels a bit harsh to keep the Brummies out by drawing a line much further north).

We've got that too. And the next Local Plan is slated to increase it.

There also seems to be a pitch for a lot (35%-40%) affordable which is pre-sold to Social Landlords who are housing the London overspill of those in temporary accommodation. Saves London Councils a lot by sending their mixed milieu off to the coast.

On the other hand:

https://bsky.app/profile/financialtimes.com/post/3mdwqanjozh2p

Evidence that rental enquiries and house prices are dropping now that Labour has got immigration under control. No wonder housing starts are down.

Until house prices drop back to a 3-4x multiple of income as they were in the 90s before they exploded, then they're still far, far, far too high.

Either a combination of massive house price falls (thus negative equity) and stable income rates, or massive income inflation and stable prices, or preferably a combination of the two, significant price falls and significant income growth, is needed to get house price to income ratios back to anywhere sane.