I think I read somewhere that in America the word sleaze usually only refers to sexual misconduct whereas over here it also means dodgy financial dealings.
......and right on cue with the final coup de grace Jennifer Arcuri. A terrible few days for the dwindling dispirited rabble of Leavers. The old saying about what happens when you tether yourself to an incontinent horse is proving accurate. I heard Sir Keir today and he was very good indeed. Just the right mix of suppressed anger and disgust. It looks like Labour could have found themselves a winner
“it looks like Labour could have found themselves a winner”
Not following internal Irish poltiics. Is there some obvious reason for the Sinn Fein surge?
What were outsiders are now the main opposition.
We may not be far from SF FM in Stormont and in Dublin.
Much as you long for the dissolution of the UK, a Sinner government in Dublin will polarise opinion in Belfast against it
The Unionists would need to quit squabbling with each other and get behind an option though, or else Sinn Fein could benefit like the SNP in Scotland.
The SNP also failed to get a majority in May due to Unionist tactical voting
It's more to do with the fact that they attracted 48%/40% of the vote in a proportional system. Exceedingly difficult to get a majority when you have only a plurality in a proportional system (though obviously not impossible).
TLDR. Basically. Have got rid of Adams. Replaced with Mac Donald the most popular leader. Opposed to Church. Appeal to young. Talk about housing and the future. FF and FG are associated with past scandals and backward Ireland.
It is thanks to the centre right FG in particular Ireland has one of the highest gdp per capitas in Europe, SF would raise taxes and end all the economic dynamism Ireland has had in recent years.
Mary Lou Macdonald is also a practising Catholic. SF may be more socially liberal than FF but then so is FG, it was only ever FF, especially under De Valera, that was the political wing of the Roman Catholic church
TLDR. Basically. Have got rid of Adams. Replaced with Mac Donald the most popular leader. Opposed to Church. Appeal to young. Talk about housing and the future. FF and FG are associated with past scandals and backward Ireland.
It is thanks to the centre right FG in particular Ireland has one of the highest gdp per capitas in Europe, SF would raise taxes and end all the economic dynamism Ireland has had in recent years.
Mary Lou Macdonald is also a practising Catholic. SF may be more socially liberal than FF but then so is FG, it was only ever FF, especially under De Valera, that was the political wing of the Roman Catholic church
FG are more right-wing than FF. FG are part of the European People's Party, FF are part of the ALDE (like the LibDems and Alliance).
TLDR. Basically. Have got rid of Adams. Replaced with Mac Donald the most popular leader. Opposed to Church. Appeal to young. Talk about housing and the future. FF and FG are associated with past scandals and backward Ireland.
It is thanks to the centre right FG in particular Ireland has one of the highest gdp per capitas in Europe, SF would raise taxes and end all the economic dynamism Ireland has had in recent years.
Mary Lou Macdonald is also a practising Catholic. SF may be more socially liberal than FF but then so is FG, it was only ever FF, especially under De Valera, that was the political wing of the Roman Catholic church
FG are more right-wing than FF. FG are part of the European People's Party, FF are part of the ALDE (like the LibDems and Alliance).
FG are more right-wing on economics than FF yes but FF are more socially conservative than FG (FF had more members in the Dail who voted against abortion and gay marriage for instance than either SF or FG).
Both are more conservative economically than SF however
China, India etc are never going to move fast enough when they think it’ll be to their disadvantage.
They have doomed us all
That's rather dramatic.
They've moved a lot further than I expected they would, or they'd given any inclination of ever doing so in the past.
Based on the calculations that the pledges so far will limit temperature rises to 2.4C then that's really a rise of 1.2C only (since 1.2 has already happened).
More likely though as technology improves, we'll see adopting of clean technologies even faster than what's been agreed today.
The China and India changes give coal a future as an energy source. That watering down of phase out to phase down completely undermines everything positive that we could have achieved by getting the world to getting rid of coal. What does phase down even mean?
Surely if the talks had collapsed then you would not have been ridding the world of coal anyway. With China and India insisting on that your choice was simply a deal that helps in other ways but is not perfect or no deal at all which means not just coal but all the other issues also fall.
As Kerry said, you should not let perfect be the enemy of good.
Go down the other route and have the nations who sign up to the no coal deal introduce tariffs on countries that don't sign up.
Do we then impose tariffs on countries that do not impose tariffs on countries that use coal?
Make it part of the agreement.
So basically have a trade war with India and China - and their satellite countries.
What I concluded was that the referendum both became inevitable and was inevitably lost in that cowardly decision by Brown to renege on his commitment to a referendum on the new EU constitution. It gave those who sought to defend the EU and deny its undemocratic consequences nowhere to go and nothing on which to stand.
It was not only one of the most brilliant and entertaining speeches in the Commons in my lifetime, it was also one of the most important setting a direction for this country for good or ill. Genuinely historic. And very funny.
"Diplomats from nearly 200 countries on Saturday struck a major agreement aimed at intensifying global efforts to fight climate change by calling on governments to return next year with stronger plans to curb their planet-warming emissions and urging wealthy nations to “at least double” funding to protect poor nations from the hazards of a hotter planet."
What I concluded was that the referendum both became inevitable and was inevitably lost in that cowardly decision by Brown to renege on his commitment to a referendum on the new EU constitution. It gave those who sought to defend the EU and deny its undemocratic consequences nowhere to go and nothing on which to stand.
It was not only one of the most brilliant and entertaining speeches in the Commons in my lifetime, it was also one of the most important setting a direction for this country for good or ill. Genuinely historic. And very funny.
Blair not Brown.
Brown was the PM who turned up late so he could sign the Treaty without the cameras recording it. I accept that Blair was responsible for most of the negotiation.
Minister for private jets ‘lobbying against his own government’
The aeroplane-owning transport secretary is spending public money on lobbyists opposing the government’s own plans to build on private runways, including one he has personally used
In the final days of the parliamentary recess in September, Grant Shapps made an unorthodox journey for a cabinet minister. The transport secretary flew solo in his personal plane from a farm near his Hertfordshire home to Sywell, an aerodrome in Northamptonshire.
Shapps, 53, was there for the rally of the Light Aircraft Association: an annual jamboree for aviation enthusiasts from across Europe. Having obtained a licence in his twenties, he remains a flying fanatic and the proud owner of a £100,000 Piper Saratoga.
Shortly after arriving, he went to chat with the editor of his favourite magazine, Flyer, which represents the interests of amateur pilots, including campaigning to block development on Britain’s private airfields.
Shapps told him: “Because I was reading your last month’s edition, I had sent a message to my office at DfT and asked them to invite you in so you can challenge on some of these things ... to see what else we should be doing.” The minister joked: “We’ll even have coffee!”
Perhaps it is not a surprise he has brought his boyish enthusiasm for flying into government. It may even appear an advantage, giving him knowledge of a niche and technical area within his remit.
However, it has had far-reaching effects in Whitehall, secretly pitting him against the prime minister and frustrating efforts to build more homes and tackle climate change.
His department is quietly spending public money funding lobbying against the government’s own housing plans where development would take place on private runways — including some he has personally used.
As a result, Homes England, the housing agency overseen by Michael Gove, has already withdrawn plans for a new town with thousands of homes in one of the most housing-stressed areas in the country.
The lobbyists are also battling against plans to build a battery gigafactory on Coventry airport. Boris Johnson has praised the development and it is supposed to deliver thousands of jobs while helping Britain to achieve its net-zero ambitions. According to flight traffic data, Shapps recently flew his plane on to the airfield.
He has set up a scheme that lets private pilots claim public money for new equipment, and allegedly lobbied against a looming ban on a kind of toxic fuel used by his aeroplane.
Minister for private jets ‘lobbying against his own government’
The aeroplane-owning transport secretary is spending public money on lobbyists opposing the government’s own plans to build on private runways, including one he has personally used
In the final days of the parliamentary recess in September, Grant Shapps made an unorthodox journey for a cabinet minister. The transport secretary flew solo in his personal plane from a farm near his Hertfordshire home to Sywell, an aerodrome in Northamptonshire.
Shapps, 53, was there for the rally of the Light Aircraft Association: an annual jamboree for aviation enthusiasts from across Europe. Having obtained a licence in his twenties, he remains a flying fanatic and the proud owner of a £100,000 Piper Saratoga.
Shortly after arriving, he went to chat with the editor of his favourite magazine, Flyer, which represents the interests of amateur pilots, including campaigning to block development on Britain’s private airfields.
Shapps told him: “Because I was reading your last month’s edition, I had sent a message to my office at DfT and asked them to invite you in so you can challenge on some of these things ... to see what else we should be doing.” The minister joked: “We’ll even have coffee!”
Perhaps it is not a surprise he has brought his boyish enthusiasm for flying into government. It may even appear an advantage, giving him knowledge of a niche and technical area within his remit.
However, it has had far-reaching effects in Whitehall, secretly pitting him against the prime minister and frustrating efforts to build more homes and tackle climate change.
His department is quietly spending public money funding lobbying against the government’s own housing plans where development would take place on private runways — including some he has personally used.
As a result, Homes England, the housing agency overseen by Michael Gove, has already withdrawn plans for a new town with thousands of homes in one of the most housing-stressed areas in the country.
The lobbyists are also battling against plans to build a battery gigafactory on Coventry airport. Boris Johnson has praised the development and it is supposed to deliver thousands of jobs while helping Britain to achieve its net-zero ambitions. According to flight traffic data, Shapps recently flew his plane on to the airfield.
I am much more concerned with his vociferous, and largely successful, campaign against quarantines and restrictions on movement in the first year of the pandemic which undoubtedly cost many, many thousands of lives, even if you accept (as I do) that some of these vulnerable people would have died of Covid later. He was, in my opinion, mainly responsible for the utter incoherence of our travel and quarantine policies in a desperate attempt to protect air travel. He should have been sacked.
China, India etc are never going to move fast enough when they think it’ll be to their disadvantage.
They have doomed us all
That's rather dramatic.
They've moved a lot further than I expected they would, or they'd given any inclination of ever doing so in the past.
Based on the calculations that the pledges so far will limit temperature rises to 2.4C then that's really a rise of 1.2C only (since 1.2 has already happened).
More likely though as technology improves, we'll see adopting of clean technologies even faster than what's been agreed today.
The China and India changes give coal a future as an energy source. That watering down of phase out to phase down completely undermines everything positive that we could have achieved by getting the world to getting rid of coal. What does phase down even mean?
Surely if the talks had collapsed then you would not have been ridding the world of coal anyway. With China and India insisting on that your choice was simply a deal that helps in other ways but is not perfect or no deal at all which means not just coal but all the other issues also fall.
As Kerry said, you should not let perfect be the enemy of good.
Go down the other route and have the nations who sign up to the no coal deal introduce tariffs on countries that don't sign up.
I think all imports should include an import tax to cover the carbon production. It is the way to level the playing field for domestic producers.
Some years ago, some people associated with the Raspberry Pi project wanted equalisation of tariffs between components and completed electronics. They were told by various Ministries that this wasn't possible - such changes would kick off Chinese retaliation.
What you are proposing is that times X.
Since the Chinese regard their dominance in manufacturing as strategic, that means kicking off in a big way with China. Forget selling the Australians some submarines, this would be a direct attack on the Chinese economy, as they would see it.
I think I read somewhere that in America the word sleaze usually only refers to sexual misconduct whereas over here it also means dodgy financial dealings.
Have you watched Aliens (1986)?
"These people are *dead*, Burke! Don't you have any idea what you have done here? Well, I'm gonna make sure they nail you right to the wall for this! You're not gonna sleaze your way out of this one! Right to the wall!"
Course no one has mentioned the Greens. They are the third part of the Irish coalition. When your 2nd, 3rd and 4th Party are in government, who does your anti-government voter plump for?
Minister for private jets ‘lobbying against his own government’
The aeroplane-owning transport secretary is spending public money on lobbyists opposing the government’s own plans to build on private runways, including one he has personally used
In the final days of the parliamentary recess in September, Grant Shapps made an unorthodox journey for a cabinet minister. The transport secretary flew solo in his personal plane from a farm near his Hertfordshire home to Sywell, an aerodrome in Northamptonshire.
Shapps, 53, was there for the rally of the Light Aircraft Association: an annual jamboree for aviation enthusiasts from across Europe. Having obtained a licence in his twenties, he remains a flying fanatic and the proud owner of a £100,000 Piper Saratoga.
Shortly after arriving, he went to chat with the editor of his favourite magazine, Flyer, which represents the interests of amateur pilots, including campaigning to block development on Britain’s private airfields.
Shapps told him: “Because I was reading your last month’s edition, I had sent a message to my office at DfT and asked them to invite you in so you can challenge on some of these things ... to see what else we should be doing.” The minister joked: “We’ll even have coffee!”
Perhaps it is not a surprise he has brought his boyish enthusiasm for flying into government. It may even appear an advantage, giving him knowledge of a niche and technical area within his remit.
However, it has had far-reaching effects in Whitehall, secretly pitting him against the prime minister and frustrating efforts to build more homes and tackle climate change.
His department is quietly spending public money funding lobbying against the government’s own housing plans where development would take place on private runways — including some he has personally used.
As a result, Homes England, the housing agency overseen by Michael Gove, has already withdrawn plans for a new town with thousands of homes in one of the most housing-stressed areas in the country.
The lobbyists are also battling against plans to build a battery gigafactory on Coventry airport. Boris Johnson has praised the development and it is supposed to deliver thousands of jobs while helping Britain to achieve its net-zero ambitions. According to flight traffic data, Shapps recently flew his plane on to the airfield.
He has set up a scheme that lets private pilots claim public money for new equipment, and allegedly lobbied against a looming ban on a kind of toxic fuel used by his aeroplane.
I think I read somewhere that in America the word sleaze usually only refers to sexual misconduct whereas over here it also means dodgy financial dealings.
Have you watched Aliens (1986)?
"These people are *dead*, Burke! Don't you have any idea what you have done here? Well, I'm gonna make sure they nail you right to the wall for this! You're not gonna sleaze your way out of this one! Right to the wall!"
Minister for private jets ‘lobbying against his own government’
The aeroplane-owning transport secretary is spending public money on lobbyists opposing the government’s own plans to build on private runways, including one he has personally used
In the final days of the parliamentary recess in September, Grant Shapps made an unorthodox journey for a cabinet minister. The transport secretary flew solo in his personal plane from a farm near his Hertfordshire home to Sywell, an aerodrome in Northamptonshire.
Shapps, 53, was there for the rally of the Light Aircraft Association: an annual jamboree for aviation enthusiasts from across Europe. Having obtained a licence in his twenties, he remains a flying fanatic and the proud owner of a £100,000 Piper Saratoga.
Shortly after arriving, he went to chat with the editor of his favourite magazine, Flyer, which represents the interests of amateur pilots, including campaigning to block development on Britain’s private airfields.
Shapps told him: “Because I was reading your last month’s edition, I had sent a message to my office at DfT and asked them to invite you in so you can challenge on some of these things ... to see what else we should be doing.” The minister joked: “We’ll even have coffee!”
Perhaps it is not a surprise he has brought his boyish enthusiasm for flying into government. It may even appear an advantage, giving him knowledge of a niche and technical area within his remit.
However, it has had far-reaching effects in Whitehall, secretly pitting him against the prime minister and frustrating efforts to build more homes and tackle climate change.
His department is quietly spending public money funding lobbying against the government’s own housing plans where development would take place on private runways — including some he has personally used.
As a result, Homes England, the housing agency overseen by Michael Gove, has already withdrawn plans for a new town with thousands of homes in one of the most housing-stressed areas in the country.
The lobbyists are also battling against plans to build a battery gigafactory on Coventry airport. Boris Johnson has praised the development and it is supposed to deliver thousands of jobs while helping Britain to achieve its net-zero ambitions. According to flight traffic data, Shapps recently flew his plane on to the airfield.
He has set up a scheme that lets private pilots claim public money for new equipment, and allegedly lobbied against a looming ban on a kind of toxic fuel used by his aeroplane.
Not following internal Irish poltiics. Is there some obvious reason for the Sinn Fein surge?
What were outsiders are now the main opposition.
We may not be far from SF FM in Stormont and in Dublin.
Much as you long for the dissolution of the UK, a Sinner government in Dublin will polarise opinion in Belfast against it
The Unionists would need to quit squabbling with each other and get behind an option though, or else Sinn Fein could benefit like the SNP in Scotland.
Superficially Northern Ireland looks like the next Scotland, but in practice the political system there means that they're fundamentally different cases.
If the Scottish Parliament laboured under the same restrictions of cross-community consensus and mandatory coalition as the Northern Ireland Assembly does, then you'd still have Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister, but Douglas Ross would be her nominal deputy and practical equal - and the interminable argument over independence would, in all probability, be as low down the agenda in Edinburgh as a border poll presently is in Belfast.
It doesn't, of course, because Scotland doesn't suffer from the same legacies of partition and internecine violence, and its politics are therefore less complex and less bitterly divided at a community level. Sinn Fein can't build the same position of dominance as the SNP because a lot of the more pragmatic, soft nationalist and especially non-aligned, voters won't touch it with a ten-foot bargepole, and look to the SDLP, UUP or Alliance instead. It quite simply has a lower natural ceiling of support.
Minister for private jets ‘lobbying against his own government’
The aeroplane-owning transport secretary is spending public money on lobbyists opposing the government’s own plans to build on private runways, including one he has personally used
In the final days of the parliamentary recess in September, Grant Shapps made an unorthodox journey for a cabinet minister. The transport secretary flew solo in his personal plane from a farm near his Hertfordshire home to Sywell, an aerodrome in Northamptonshire.
Shapps, 53, was there for the rally of the Light Aircraft Association: an annual jamboree for aviation enthusiasts from across Europe. Having obtained a licence in his twenties, he remains a flying fanatic and the proud owner of a £100,000 Piper Saratoga.
Shortly after arriving, he went to chat with the editor of his favourite magazine, Flyer, which represents the interests of amateur pilots, including campaigning to block development on Britain’s private airfields.
Shapps told him: “Because I was reading your last month’s edition, I had sent a message to my office at DfT and asked them to invite you in so you can challenge on some of these things ... to see what else we should be doing.” The minister joked: “We’ll even have coffee!”
Perhaps it is not a surprise he has brought his boyish enthusiasm for flying into government. It may even appear an advantage, giving him knowledge of a niche and technical area within his remit.
However, it has had far-reaching effects in Whitehall, secretly pitting him against the prime minister and frustrating efforts to build more homes and tackle climate change.
His department is quietly spending public money funding lobbying against the government’s own housing plans where development would take place on private runways — including some he has personally used.
As a result, Homes England, the housing agency overseen by Michael Gove, has already withdrawn plans for a new town with thousands of homes in one of the most housing-stressed areas in the country.
The lobbyists are also battling against plans to build a battery gigafactory on Coventry airport. Boris Johnson has praised the development and it is supposed to deliver thousands of jobs while helping Britain to achieve its net-zero ambitions. According to flight traffic data, Shapps recently flew his plane on to the airfield.
He has set up a scheme that lets private pilots claim public money for new equipment, and allegedly lobbied against a looming ban on a kind of toxic fuel used by his aeroplane.
This looks like a test for the conventions of our system. Collective cabinet responsibility is in question here and under any other PM he'd be asked for his resignation pretty sharpish. Boris typically tends to ride roughshod over convention, but at the same time he seems to put personally loyalty to him as being of central importance. So what's going to happen here?
I have a sneaky feeling Boris will sack him over this.
Minister for private jets ‘lobbying against his own government’
The aeroplane-owning transport secretary is spending public money on lobbyists opposing the government’s own plans to build on private runways, including one he has personally used
In the final days of the parliamentary recess in September, Grant Shapps made an unorthodox journey for a cabinet minister. The transport secretary flew solo in his personal plane from a farm near his Hertfordshire home to Sywell, an aerodrome in Northamptonshire.
Shapps, 53, was there for the rally of the Light Aircraft Association: an annual jamboree for aviation enthusiasts from across Europe. Having obtained a licence in his twenties, he remains a flying fanatic and the proud owner of a £100,000 Piper Saratoga.
Shortly after arriving, he went to chat with the editor of his favourite magazine, Flyer, which represents the interests of amateur pilots, including campaigning to block development on Britain’s private airfields.
Shapps told him: “Because I was reading your last month’s edition, I had sent a message to my office at DfT and asked them to invite you in so you can challenge on some of these things ... to see what else we should be doing.” The minister joked: “We’ll even have coffee!”
Perhaps it is not a surprise he has brought his boyish enthusiasm for flying into government. It may even appear an advantage, giving him knowledge of a niche and technical area within his remit.
However, it has had far-reaching effects in Whitehall, secretly pitting him against the prime minister and frustrating efforts to build more homes and tackle climate change.
His department is quietly spending public money funding lobbying against the government’s own housing plans where development would take place on private runways — including some he has personally used.
As a result, Homes England, the housing agency overseen by Michael Gove, has already withdrawn plans for a new town with thousands of homes in one of the most housing-stressed areas in the country.
The lobbyists are also battling against plans to build a battery gigafactory on Coventry airport. Boris Johnson has praised the development and it is supposed to deliver thousands of jobs while helping Britain to achieve its net-zero ambitions. According to flight traffic data, Shapps recently flew his plane on to the airfield.
He has set up a scheme that lets private pilots claim public money for new equipment, and allegedly lobbied against a looming ban on a kind of toxic fuel used by his aeroplane.
This looks like a test for the conventions of our system. Collective cabinet responsibility is in question here and under any other PM he'd be asked for his resignation pretty sharpish. Boris typically tends to ride roughshod over convention, but at the same time he seems to put personally loyalty to him as being of central importance. So what's going to happen here?
I have a sneaky feeling Boris will sack him over this.
Greater love hath no man, than to give up his friend for his life
Not following internal Irish poltiics. Is there some obvious reason for the Sinn Fein surge?
What were outsiders are now the main opposition.
We may not be far from SF FM in Stormont and in Dublin.
Much as you long for the dissolution of the UK, a Sinner government in Dublin will polarise opinion in Belfast against it
The Unionists would need to quit squabbling with each other and get behind an option though, or else Sinn Fein could benefit like the SNP in Scotland.
Superficially Northern Ireland looks like the next Scotland, but in practice the political system there means that they're fundamentally different cases.
If the Scottish Parliament laboured under the same restrictions of cross-community consensus and mandatory coalition as the Northern Ireland Assembly does, then you'd still have Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister, but Douglas Ross would be her nominal deputy and practical equal - and the interminable argument over independence would, in all probability, be as low down the agenda in Edinburgh as a border poll presently is in Belfast.
It doesn't, of course, because Scotland doesn't suffer from the same legacies of partition and internecine violence, and its politics are therefore less complex and less bitterly divided at a community level. Sinn Fein can't build the same position of dominance as the SNP because a lot of the more pragmatic, soft nationalist and especially non-aligned, voters won't touch it with a ten-foot bargepole, and look to the SDLP, UUP or Alliance instead. It quite simply has a lower natural ceiling of support.
The main dilemma for SF is that only about one-third of people in NI would like a United Ireland tomorrow, and by and large they are equivalent to the SF voters, excluding a few places like Derry where they vote in all directions. So in practice this means any actual majority for a UI would look like today but with Irish-nationalist positions being taken by SDLP and Alliance.
Now in the south it is a different story, it looks like next to nobody cares about NI after 18 months of virus, but SF are making the running against carbon taxes and property taxes. Plus there has been basically the same government for over 10 years, and the other opposition parties are tiny / Trots / for the earnestly woke.
I really have no idea how to judge whether COP26 was a success or a failure. Agreements, particularly to actually do something, is the presumed measure, but half the people observing won't believe what is in any agreement anyway, and in fairness many international agreements end up that way, so lack of agreement, or lack of firm details, may well not mean as much as it appears.
So now COP26 is over are we actually going to get a few months peace and quiet (especially from ER and IB) ?
Probably not, and why should they?
Because blocking the roads and deliberately stopping grannies from getting to hospital when they are having a Stroke is at best negligent and at worst manslaughter?
On a serious CoP26 point, is there a single campaign or lobby group that hasn't written their communique exactly as would have been predicted beforehand - no matter what the outcome would have been?
The content is driven by whatever is necessary for their future positioning / activities.
So now COP26 is over are we actually going to get a few months peace and quiet (especially from ER and IB) ?
Probably not, and why should they?
Because deliberately being willing to cause death or injury to vulnerable people, eg by delaying patients getting to emergency treatment, or any medical treatment, is as contemptible and as repugnant as it sounds. And then lying to yourself and others by calling it "peaceful" is as bad.
China, India etc are never going to move fast enough when they think it’ll be to their disadvantage.
They have doomed us all
That's rather dramatic.
They've moved a lot further than I expected they would, or they'd given any inclination of ever doing so in the past.
Based on the calculations that the pledges so far will limit temperature rises to 2.4C then that's really a rise of 1.2C only (since 1.2 has already happened).
More likely though as technology improves, we'll see adopting of clean technologies even faster than what's been agreed today.
The China and India changes give coal a future as an energy source. That watering down of phase out to phase down completely undermines everything positive that we could have achieved by getting the world to getting rid of coal. What does phase down even mean?
Surely if the talks had collapsed then you would not have been ridding the world of coal anyway. With China and India insisting on that your choice was simply a deal that helps in other ways but is not perfect or no deal at all which means not just coal but all the other issues also fall.
As Kerry said, you should not let perfect be the enemy of good.
Go down the other route and have the nations who sign up to the no coal deal introduce tariffs on countries that don't sign up.
Do we then impose tariffs on countries that do not impose tariffs on countries that use coal?
Make it part of the agreement.
It would almost certainly breach various WTO treaty obligations. And lots of countries trade with coal users.
re: SF in RoI, note that the Irish left is badly divided, in addition to SF three other left-wing parties/groups have seats in the Dail, along with several independents from the left.
Minister for private jets ‘lobbying against his own government’
The aeroplane-owning transport secretary is spending public money on lobbyists opposing the government’s own plans to build on private runways, including one he has personally used
In the final days of the parliamentary recess in September, Grant Shapps made an unorthodox journey for a cabinet minister. The transport secretary flew solo in his personal plane from a farm near his Hertfordshire home to Sywell, an aerodrome in Northamptonshire.
Shapps, 53, was there for the rally of the Light Aircraft Association: an annual jamboree for aviation enthusiasts from across Europe. Having obtained a licence in his twenties, he remains a flying fanatic and the proud owner of a £100,000 Piper Saratoga.
Shortly after arriving, he went to chat with the editor of his favourite magazine, Flyer, which represents the interests of amateur pilots, including campaigning to block development on Britain’s private airfields.
Shapps told him: “Because I was reading your last month’s edition, I had sent a message to my office at DfT and asked them to invite you in so you can challenge on some of these things ... to see what else we should be doing.” The minister joked: “We’ll even have coffee!”
Perhaps it is not a surprise he has brought his boyish enthusiasm for flying into government. It may even appear an advantage, giving him knowledge of a niche and technical area within his remit.
However, it has had far-reaching effects in Whitehall, secretly pitting him against the prime minister and frustrating efforts to build more homes and tackle climate change.
His department is quietly spending public money funding lobbying against the government’s own housing plans where development would take place on private runways — including some he has personally used.
As a result, Homes England, the housing agency overseen by Michael Gove, has already withdrawn plans for a new town with thousands of homes in one of the most housing-stressed areas in the country.
The lobbyists are also battling against plans to build a battery gigafactory on Coventry airport. Boris Johnson has praised the development and it is supposed to deliver thousands of jobs while helping Britain to achieve its net-zero ambitions. According to flight traffic data, Shapps recently flew his plane on to the airfield.
He has set up a scheme that lets private pilots claim public money for new equipment, and allegedly lobbied against a looming ban on a kind of toxic fuel used by his aeroplane.
This looks like a test for the conventions of our system. Collective cabinet responsibility is in question here and under any other PM he'd be asked for his resignation pretty sharpish. Boris typically tends to ride roughshod over convention, but at the same time he seems to put personally loyalty to him as being of central importance. So what's going to happen here?
I have a sneaky feeling Boris will sack him over this.
So he should. Whoever is in the right in terms of the policies, plotting against your own Government's policy in secret when you are a minister has to be a sacking offence. If he feels that strongly about it he should resign and oppose it from the back benches.
Minister for private jets ‘lobbying against his own government’
The aeroplane-owning transport secretary is spending public money on lobbyists opposing the government’s own plans to build on private runways, including one he has personally used
In the final days of the parliamentary recess in September, Grant Shapps made an unorthodox journey for a cabinet minister. The transport secretary flew solo in his personal plane from a farm near his Hertfordshire home to Sywell, an aerodrome in Northamptonshire.
Shapps, 53, was there for the rally of the Light Aircraft Association: an annual jamboree for aviation enthusiasts from across Europe. Having obtained a licence in his twenties, he remains a flying fanatic and the proud owner of a £100,000 Piper Saratoga.
Shortly after arriving, he went to chat with the editor of his favourite magazine, Flyer, which represents the interests of amateur pilots, including campaigning to block development on Britain’s private airfields.
Shapps told him: “Because I was reading your last month’s edition, I had sent a message to my office at DfT and asked them to invite you in so you can challenge on some of these things ... to see what else we should be doing.” The minister joked: “We’ll even have coffee!”
Perhaps it is not a surprise he has brought his boyish enthusiasm for flying into government. It may even appear an advantage, giving him knowledge of a niche and technical area within his remit.
However, it has had far-reaching effects in Whitehall, secretly pitting him against the prime minister and frustrating efforts to build more homes and tackle climate change.
His department is quietly spending public money funding lobbying against the government’s own housing plans where development would take place on private runways — including some he has personally used.
As a result, Homes England, the housing agency overseen by Michael Gove, has already withdrawn plans for a new town with thousands of homes in one of the most housing-stressed areas in the country.
The lobbyists are also battling against plans to build a battery gigafactory on Coventry airport. Boris Johnson has praised the development and it is supposed to deliver thousands of jobs while helping Britain to achieve its net-zero ambitions. According to flight traffic data, Shapps recently flew his plane on to the airfield.
He has set up a scheme that lets private pilots claim public money for new equipment, and allegedly lobbied against a looming ban on a kind of toxic fuel used by his aeroplane.
Minister for private jets ‘lobbying against his own government’
The aeroplane-owning transport secretary is spending public money on lobbyists opposing the government’s own plans to build on private runways, including one he has personally used
In the final days of the parliamentary recess in September, Grant Shapps made an unorthodox journey for a cabinet minister. The transport secretary flew solo in his personal plane from a farm near his Hertfordshire home to Sywell, an aerodrome in Northamptonshire.
Shapps, 53, was there for the rally of the Light Aircraft Association: an annual jamboree for aviation enthusiasts from across Europe. Having obtained a licence in his twenties, he remains a flying fanatic and the proud owner of a £100,000 Piper Saratoga.
Shortly after arriving, he went to chat with the editor of his favourite magazine, Flyer, which represents the interests of amateur pilots, including campaigning to block development on Britain’s private airfields.
Shapps told him: “Because I was reading your last month’s edition, I had sent a message to my office at DfT and asked them to invite you in so you can challenge on some of these things ... to see what else we should be doing.” The minister joked: “We’ll even have coffee!”
Perhaps it is not a surprise he has brought his boyish enthusiasm for flying into government. It may even appear an advantage, giving him knowledge of a niche and technical area within his remit.
However, it has had far-reaching effects in Whitehall, secretly pitting him against the prime minister and frustrating efforts to build more homes and tackle climate change.
His department is quietly spending public money funding lobbying against the government’s own housing plans where development would take place on private runways — including some he has personally used.
As a result, Homes England, the housing agency overseen by Michael Gove, has already withdrawn plans for a new town with thousands of homes in one of the most housing-stressed areas in the country.
The lobbyists are also battling against plans to build a battery gigafactory on Coventry airport. Boris Johnson has praised the development and it is supposed to deliver thousands of jobs while helping Britain to achieve its net-zero ambitions. According to flight traffic data, Shapps recently flew his plane on to the airfield.
He has set up a scheme that lets private pilots claim public money for new equipment, and allegedly lobbied against a looming ban on a kind of toxic fuel used by his aeroplane.
This looks like a test for the conventions of our system. Collective cabinet responsibility is in question here and under any other PM he'd be asked for his resignation pretty sharpish. Boris typically tends to ride roughshod over convention, but at the same time he seems to put personally loyalty to him as being of central importance. So what's going to happen here?
I have a sneaky feeling Boris will sack him over this.
So he should. Whoever is in the right in terms of the policies, plotting against your own Government's policy in secret when you are a minister has to be a sacking offence. If he feels that strongly about it he should resign and oppose it from the back benches.
iirc Grant Shapps was a key member of Team Boris during the leadership election. How much that counts for, we might find out. Possibly after Boris has seen some polling on the matter.
Minister for private jets ‘lobbying against his own government’
The aeroplane-owning transport secretary is spending public money on lobbyists opposing the government’s own plans to build on private runways, including one he has personally used
In the final days of the parliamentary recess in September, Grant Shapps made an unorthodox journey for a cabinet minister. The transport secretary flew solo in his personal plane from a farm near his Hertfordshire home to Sywell, an aerodrome in Northamptonshire.
Shapps, 53, was there for the rally of the Light Aircraft Association: an annual jamboree for aviation enthusiasts from across Europe. Having obtained a licence in his twenties, he remains a flying fanatic and the proud owner of a £100,000 Piper Saratoga.
Shortly after arriving, he went to chat with the editor of his favourite magazine, Flyer, which represents the interests of amateur pilots, including campaigning to block development on Britain’s private airfields.
Shapps told him: “Because I was reading your last month’s edition, I had sent a message to my office at DfT and asked them to invite you in so you can challenge on some of these things ... to see what else we should be doing.” The minister joked: “We’ll even have coffee!”
Perhaps it is not a surprise he has brought his boyish enthusiasm for flying into government. It may even appear an advantage, giving him knowledge of a niche and technical area within his remit.
However, it has had far-reaching effects in Whitehall, secretly pitting him against the prime minister and frustrating efforts to build more homes and tackle climate change.
His department is quietly spending public money funding lobbying against the government’s own housing plans where development would take place on private runways — including some he has personally used.
As a result, Homes England, the housing agency overseen by Michael Gove, has already withdrawn plans for a new town with thousands of homes in one of the most housing-stressed areas in the country.
The lobbyists are also battling against plans to build a battery gigafactory on Coventry airport. Boris Johnson has praised the development and it is supposed to deliver thousands of jobs while helping Britain to achieve its net-zero ambitions. According to flight traffic data, Shapps recently flew his plane on to the airfield.
He has set up a scheme that lets private pilots claim public money for new equipment, and allegedly lobbied against a looming ban on a kind of toxic fuel used by his aeroplane.
Minister for private jets ‘lobbying against his own government’
The aeroplane-owning transport secretary is spending public money on lobbyists opposing the government’s own plans to build on private runways, including one he has personally used
In the final days of the parliamentary recess in September, Grant Shapps made an unorthodox journey for a cabinet minister. The transport secretary flew solo in his personal plane from a farm near his Hertfordshire home to Sywell, an aerodrome in Northamptonshire.
Shapps, 53, was there for the rally of the Light Aircraft Association: an annual jamboree for aviation enthusiasts from across Europe. Having obtained a licence in his twenties, he remains a flying fanatic and the proud owner of a £100,000 Piper Saratoga.
Shortly after arriving, he went to chat with the editor of his favourite magazine, Flyer, which represents the interests of amateur pilots, including campaigning to block development on Britain’s private airfields.
Shapps told him: “Because I was reading your last month’s edition, I had sent a message to my office at DfT and asked them to invite you in so you can challenge on some of these things ... to see what else we should be doing.” The minister joked: “We’ll even have coffee!”
Perhaps it is not a surprise he has brought his boyish enthusiasm for flying into government. It may even appear an advantage, giving him knowledge of a niche and technical area within his remit.
However, it has had far-reaching effects in Whitehall, secretly pitting him against the prime minister and frustrating efforts to build more homes and tackle climate change.
His department is quietly spending public money funding lobbying against the government’s own housing plans where development would take place on private runways — including some he has personally used.
As a result, Homes England, the housing agency overseen by Michael Gove, has already withdrawn plans for a new town with thousands of homes in one of the most housing-stressed areas in the country.
The lobbyists are also battling against plans to build a battery gigafactory on Coventry airport. Boris Johnson has praised the development and it is supposed to deliver thousands of jobs while helping Britain to achieve its net-zero ambitions. According to flight traffic data, Shapps recently flew his plane on to the airfield.
He has set up a scheme that lets private pilots claim public money for new equipment, and allegedly lobbied against a looming ban on a kind of toxic fuel used by his aeroplane.
This looks like a test for the conventions of our system. Collective cabinet responsibility is in question here and under any other PM he'd be asked for his resignation pretty sharpish. Boris typically tends to ride roughshod over convention, but at the same time he seems to put personally loyalty to him as being of central importance. So what's going to happen here?
I have a sneaky feeling Boris will sack him over this.
So he should. Whoever is in the right in terms of the policies, plotting against your own Government's policy in secret when you are a minister has to be a sacking offence. If he feels that strongly about it he should resign and oppose it from the back benches.
"plotting against your own Government's policy in secret when you are a minister"
Is not this a time-honored of the renowned unwritten British Constitution? At least since days of Robert Walpole.
Some have indeed been sacked. But hardly most.
Indeed, has often proven a highly effective way of climbing up the greasy (and sleazy) pole.
No need to highlight MPs. Nobody with a conscience should want to be on the second list - to which I would add GP surgery receptionists. I would put no win no fee ambulance chasing lawyers and journalists on a special, higher list.
You think people too thick or ill-educated to represent themselves in court should be denied access to justice?
I'm with you. Serve them right for being poor.
Charity Workers as paragons of ethics?
Sorry, but LOL.
Oxfam?
National Trust and their attempts to create bubbles of non-development around their properties? (Speaking as a Life Member of the NT).
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned as a driver of poor polls for the government is the current high price of petrol.
There is something of a painful irony that it went down to 99p a litre 18 months ago and nobody was driving anywhere, and now we're free to go where we like it's at record highs.
Isn’t that just supply and demand?
Oil price per barrel still around $80 vs double that at its absolute 21st century peak last time petrol cost this much. So there could still be a long way to go!
We might see a renewed craze from bosses for homeworking if oil and gas prices double from this level.
Pump prices won't double - the barrel price isn't remotely the whole price. But if crude soars into three figures we could add another 20-30p per litre on...
Yet you have people in labour saying fuel needs to be taxed more and the recent budget should have seen an increase in duty.
Since the only times energy efficiency has been taken seriously is when prices for fuel or household energy seem high, it is difficult to object to 'high' prices.
There is also the question of whether current prices qualify as 'high'.
I'm always struck by the willingness of US commentators to pronounce on the guilt or innocence of people in high profile trials, whilst the trial is still taking place.
I've seen claims that Rittenhouse did not cross state lines with the gun; he got someone to buy it for him in Wisconsin. With his first unemployment check, of all things.
Having said that, the guy should be in jail for a long time.
I'm always struck by the willingness of US commentators to pronounce on the guilt or innocence of people in high profile trials, whilst the trial is still taking place.
When they need to they sequester the jury, instead of the British system where they sequester the entire country.
Comments
I thought you worked in advertising, not comedy.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/mercedes-hamiltons-wing-failed-tests-by-just-02mm/6778716/
Mary Lou Macdonald is also a practising Catholic. SF may be more socially liberal than FF but then so is FG, it was only ever FF, especially under De Valera, that was the political wing of the Roman Catholic church
FG are part of the European People's Party, FF are part of the ALDE (like the LibDems and Alliance).
Both are more conservative economically than SF however
NY Times.
Minister for private jets ‘lobbying against his own government’
The aeroplane-owning transport secretary is spending public money on lobbyists opposing the government’s own plans to build on private runways, including one he has personally used
In the final days of the parliamentary recess in September, Grant Shapps made an unorthodox journey for a cabinet minister. The transport secretary flew solo in his personal plane from a farm near his Hertfordshire home to Sywell, an aerodrome in Northamptonshire.
Shapps, 53, was there for the rally of the Light Aircraft Association: an annual jamboree for aviation enthusiasts from across Europe. Having obtained a licence in his twenties, he remains a flying fanatic and the proud owner of a £100,000 Piper Saratoga.
Shortly after arriving, he went to chat with the editor of his favourite magazine, Flyer, which represents the interests of amateur pilots, including campaigning to block development on Britain’s private airfields.
Shapps told him: “Because I was reading your last month’s edition, I had sent a message to my office at DfT and asked them to invite you in so you can challenge on some of these things ... to see what else we should be doing.” The minister joked: “We’ll even have coffee!”
Perhaps it is not a surprise he has brought his boyish enthusiasm for flying into government. It may even appear an advantage, giving him knowledge of a niche and technical area within his remit.
However, it has had far-reaching effects in Whitehall, secretly pitting him against the prime minister and frustrating efforts to build more homes and tackle climate change.
His department is quietly spending public money funding lobbying against the government’s own housing plans where development would take place on private runways — including some he has personally used.
As a result, Homes England, the housing agency overseen by Michael Gove, has already withdrawn plans for a new town with thousands of homes in one of the most housing-stressed areas in the country.
The lobbyists are also battling against plans to build a battery gigafactory on Coventry airport. Boris Johnson has praised the development and it is supposed to deliver thousands of jobs while helping Britain to achieve its net-zero ambitions. According to flight traffic data, Shapps recently flew his plane on to the airfield.
He has set up a scheme that lets private pilots claim public money for new equipment, and allegedly lobbied against a looming ban on a kind of toxic fuel used by his aeroplane.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/minister-for-private-jets-lobbying-against-his-own-government-l6cmgtkfg
What you are proposing is that times X.
Since the Chinese regard their dominance in manufacturing as strategic, that means kicking off in a big way with China. Forget selling the Australians some submarines, this would be a direct attack on the Chinese economy, as they would see it.
Are you really up for that?
"These people are *dead*, Burke! Don't you have any idea what you have done here? Well, I'm gonna make sure they nail you right to the wall for this! You're not gonna sleaze your way out of this one! Right to the wall!"
When your 2nd, 3rd and 4th Party are in government, who does your anti-government voter plump for?
Wonder what name is on his licence?
If the Scottish Parliament laboured under the same restrictions of cross-community consensus and mandatory coalition as the Northern Ireland Assembly does, then you'd still have Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister, but Douglas Ross would be her nominal deputy and practical equal - and the interminable argument over independence would, in all probability, be as low down the agenda in Edinburgh as a border poll presently is in Belfast.
It doesn't, of course, because Scotland doesn't suffer from the same legacies of partition and internecine violence, and its politics are therefore less complex and less bitterly divided at a community level. Sinn Fein can't build the same position of dominance as the SNP because a lot of the more pragmatic, soft nationalist and especially non-aligned, voters won't touch it with a ten-foot bargepole, and look to the SDLP, UUP or Alliance instead. It quite simply has a lower natural ceiling of support.
Boris typically tends to ride roughshod over convention, but at the same time he seems to put personally loyalty to him as being of central importance. So what's going to happen here?
I have a sneaky feeling Boris will sack him over this.
Now in the south it is a different story, it looks like next to nobody cares about NI after 18 months of virus, but SF are making the running against carbon taxes and property taxes. Plus there has been basically the same government for over 10 years, and the other opposition parties are tiny / Trots / for the earnestly woke.
No criticism of Alok Sharma who tried his best. He is a good man, maybe a future PM.
Anyway I am going to 'phase down' my postings for tonight GN all.
The content is driven by whatever is necessary for their future positioning / activities.
Talk about sectarianism!
Here's the secret interview on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngzR0l6MI4U
Well at least it made thr Sprint Race sort of exciting.
Is not this a time-honored of the renowned unwritten British Constitution? At least since days of Robert Walpole.
Some have indeed been sacked. But hardly most.
Indeed, has often proven a highly effective way of climbing up the greasy (and sleazy) pole.
Sorry, but LOL.
Oxfam?
National Trust and their attempts to create bubbles of non-development around their properties? (Speaking as a Life Member of the NT).
There is also the question of whether current prices qualify as 'high'.
@benandjerrys
The #RittenhouseTrial displays yet again that our “justice” system is racist.
How would this trial be going if he was a Black 17 yr old that crossed state lines illegally carrying an AR-15 and shot 3 white protesters?
We need real justice in the legal system. This isn’t it.
1:06 am · 12 Nov 2021"
https://twitter.com/benandjerrys/status/1458964448924819460
Having said that, the guy should be in jail for a long time.
https://news.ipswoa.org/2021/10/08/fact-check-did-kyle-rittenhouse-carry-firearm-across-state-lines/
(Note: I have no idea about the ipswoa website's veracity...)
But NPR agrees:
https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/10/14/923643265/kyle-rittenhouse-accused-kenosha-killer-wont-face-gun-charges-in-illinois