Telecoms group Vodafone is in talks to combine its UK operations with its domestic rival Three UK, the mobile operator owned by Hong Kong infrastructure conglomerate CK Hutchison, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The deal, if it materialised, would herald the latest attempt to consolidate the British mobile market as Vodafone faces pressure from Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, to simplify its business, pursue deals in national markets and improve returns.
A combination of Vodafone UK and Three UK would bring together the third and fourth largest mobile network operators in Britain, though any deal to reduce the number of leading brands from four to three would trigger scrutiny from competition authorities.
Industry executives are hopeful that regulators’ increased awareness of the need to invest in network infrastructure has made them more amenable to mergers than they were in 2016, when the European Commission blocked a proposed merger between O2 and Three.....
...The exact structure being discussed between Vodafone and CK Hutchison could not be learnt, though Read has said on many occasions that he is focused on pursuing combinations more than outright purchases, given his ambitions to reduce the group’s debt.
Telecoms group Vodafone is in talks to combine its UK operations with its domestic rival Three UK, the mobile operator owned by Hong Kong infrastructure conglomerate CK Hutchison, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The deal, if it materialised, would herald the latest attempt to consolidate the British mobile market as Vodafone faces pressure from Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, to simplify its business, pursue deals in national markets and improve returns.
A combination of Vodafone UK and Three UK would bring together the third and fourth largest mobile network operators in Britain, though any deal to reduce the number of leading brands from four to three would trigger scrutiny from competition authorities.
Industry executives are hopeful that regulators’ increased awareness of the need to invest in network infrastructure has made them more amenable to mergers than they were in 2016, when the European Commission blocked a proposed merger between O2 and Three.....
...The exact structure being discussed between Vodafone and CK Hutchison could not be learnt, though Read has said on many occasions that he is focused on pursuing combinations more than outright purchases, given his ambitions to reduce the group’s debt.
They already get bloody good returns for investors… the bastards stuck a RPI+3.9% annual increase clause into my latest contract snuck into the small print.
Try demanding that as a payrise from your employer, they’ll tell you where to go.
Morning all! Several jaw-dropping stories I have read on twitter: 1) Dartford Tories photographed laughing and grinning as they open a foodbank. Then photograohed tucking into sandwiches and cherry bakewells as the celebratory buffet 2) Matt "I love parmos me!" Vickers car-crash session with Iain Dale on LBC. Defends the Ashfield MP and his "people are foodbanks are thick, I got a chef to feed people on 30p a day", then agrees with another panelist that after the energy rises thats no longer possible. Then says the people of NI voted against the protocol and Iain Dale has to repeatedly remind him that he's factually wrong. Then he says people voted Sinn Fein in protest of the protocol despite Sinn Fein supporting it.
I know we get told that we shouldn't call Tories thick as mince. But...
But why why why aren't Labour 20% ahead? It's hitting me hard.
I think Sir Keir, nice chap though he is, needs to go. We need someone from a working class background who represents a northern constituency.
If we don't win back 'some' of the red wall seats we're doomed to more of this ghastly culture war: stoking the flames of hatred in order to win power.
As was posted upthread, there are a load of people jumping on Lee Wotzit's Ashfield facebook page agreeing with his attack on the poor. Apparently you CAN cook for 30p a day say people who don't need to. Same thing with Matt Vickers. Looks pissed on half the FB videos he does, half of which are promoting the Parmo, then he complains that people can't cook or budget. And people love him for being a lad!
So you get what you vote for. And some people have been weaponised to think things they know not to be true whilst supporting thick as mince MPs. I'm not saying "just vote Labour in Ashfield / Stockton South and all your problems disappear - thats not how it works. But to solve problems you have to recognise they exist...
Alex Cole-Hamilton, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats:
- "We have flipped a lot of communities who have traditionally voted Tory, they have now realised they get a better service with the Liberal Democrats."
Just as in southern England, the Lib Dem uptick in Scotland terrifies the Tories. But for a different reason: any significant SCon to SLD tactical unwind will see all SCon seats fall… not to the Lib Dems, but to the SNP.
If I was Douglas Ross I’d be doing everything in my power to attract these floating voters. Shame his bosses in London are doing everything they can to repel and disgust them.
I'm very pleased with the progress we have made in Banff and Buchan Coast. Taking seats in Fraserburgh and Peterhead shows there is opposition to the idiot Duguid. But yes, come the general election the challenge is replace the mince with something more palatable, and if that means SNP then fine.
Also gives the LDs a chance of having influence in a parliament where no one party has a majority. So it's entirely rational.
Telecoms group Vodafone is in talks to combine its UK operations with its domestic rival Three UK, the mobile operator owned by Hong Kong infrastructure conglomerate CK Hutchison, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The deal, if it materialised, would herald the latest attempt to consolidate the British mobile market as Vodafone faces pressure from Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, to simplify its business, pursue deals in national markets and improve returns.
A combination of Vodafone UK and Three UK would bring together the third and fourth largest mobile network operators in Britain, though any deal to reduce the number of leading brands from four to three would trigger scrutiny from competition authorities.
Industry executives are hopeful that regulators’ increased awareness of the need to invest in network infrastructure has made them more amenable to mergers than they were in 2016, when the European Commission blocked a proposed merger between O2 and Three.....
...The exact structure being discussed between Vodafone and CK Hutchison could not be learnt, though Read has said on many occasions that he is focused on pursuing combinations more than outright purchases, given his ambitions to reduce the group’s debt.
So, as a businessman who only yesterday was looking at phone contracts, I observed two offers: THREE: Unlimited everything: £10.83 a month VODA: Unlimited everythinng: £25 a month I can guess what the new pricing structure will be if Vodafone swallow up Three.
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and Prestatyn
Morning all! Several jaw-dropping stories I have read on twitter: 1) Dartford Tories photographed laughing and grinning as they open a foodbank. Then photograohed tucking into sandwiches and cherry bakewells as the celebratory buffet 2) Matt "I love parmos me!" Vickers car-crash session with Iain Dale on LBC. Defends the Ashfield MP and his "people are foodbanks are thick, I got a chef to feed people on 30p a day", then agrees with another panelist that after the energy rises thats no longer possible. Then says the people of NI voted against the protocol and Iain Dale has to repeatedly remind him that he's factually wrong. Then he says people voted Sinn Fein in protest of the protocol despite Sinn Fein supporting it.
I know we get told that we shouldn't call Tories thick as mince. But...
But why why why aren't Labour 20% ahead? It's hitting me hard.
I think Sir Keir, nice chap though he is, needs to go. We need someone from a working class background who represents a northern constituency.
If we don't win back 'some' of the red wall seats we're doomed to more of this ghastly culture war: stoking the flames of hatred in order to win power.
Labour isn’t 20 points ahead because it spent the best part of a decade trashing its brand. You don’t turn that around in two years. The key thing for the preservation of the UK’s democracy and the primacy of the rule of law is that the Tories are well behind. They just scraped a national vote share of 30% and there is no UKIP or Reform vote to squeeze. If they don’t turn their current position around by winning back voters lost to the left of them they will be out of power in two years’ time (assuming they have not managed to fully rig the system in the meantime). On 13th December 2019 that did not look like an even remotely realistic prospect.
Nespresso is great. Hassle free and great coffee, why anyone buys a takeaway coffee from Starbucks except when travelling puzzles me, but they do.
As mentioned yesterday, the pods are expensive and, critically, they use plastic.
And whilst I'm on that subject I'm with Deborah Meaden. The answer to the plastic problem is not recyclable plastic it's to STOP USING PLASTIC!
Bean to cup every day for me but I often start the day with a cafetiere so as not to wake other members of the household. My De Longhi Eletta bean to cup machine sounds like a tunnel drill. But it's great: it does everything for me. I stick the water in and it grinds the beans, makes the coffee and dumps the grounds into a container ready for composting.
Oh and Lavazza. I've tried everything else but I always come back to Lavazza.
On sustainability and coffee there was a great piece on 5Live "live science" on 1 May. It doesn't seem to be on the BBC Sounds app though.
It was looking at the threat of climate change to coffee producers, and for many small farmers it is existential, and also different species that are more drought tolerant than aribica or robusta.
Telecoms group Vodafone is in talks to combine its UK operations with its domestic rival Three UK, the mobile operator owned by Hong Kong infrastructure conglomerate CK Hutchison, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The deal, if it materialised, would herald the latest attempt to consolidate the British mobile market as Vodafone faces pressure from Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, to simplify its business, pursue deals in national markets and improve returns.
A combination of Vodafone UK and Three UK would bring together the third and fourth largest mobile network operators in Britain, though any deal to reduce the number of leading brands from four to three would trigger scrutiny from competition authorities.
Industry executives are hopeful that regulators’ increased awareness of the need to invest in network infrastructure has made them more amenable to mergers than they were in 2016, when the European Commission blocked a proposed merger between O2 and Three.....
...The exact structure being discussed between Vodafone and CK Hutchison could not be learnt, though Read has said on many occasions that he is focused on pursuing combinations more than outright purchases, given his ambitions to reduce the group’s debt.
So, as a businessman who only yesterday was looking at phone contracts, I observed two offers: THREE: Unlimited everything: £10.83 a month VODA: Unlimited everythinng: £25 a month I can guess what the new pricing structure will be if Vodafone swallow up Three.
To be honest that pricing structure is why Three are so shit.
Allowing so many people on unlimited plans causes congestion.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats:
- "We have flipped a lot of communities who have traditionally voted Tory, they have now realised they get a better service with the Liberal Democrats."
Just as in southern England, the Lib Dem uptick in Scotland terrifies the Tories. But for a different reason: any significant SCon to SLD tactical unwind will see all SCon seats fall… not to the Lib Dems, but to the SNP.
If I was Douglas Ross I’d be doing everything in my power to attract these floating voters. Shame his bosses in London are doing everything they can to repel and disgust them.
I'm very pleased with the progress we have made in Banff and Buchan Coast. Taking seats in Fraserburgh and Peterhead shows there is opposition to the idiot Duguid. But yes, come the general election the challenge is replace the mince with something more palatable, and if that means SNP then fine.
Also gives the LDs a chance of having influence in a parliament where no one party has a majority. So it's entirely rational.
Matt Parmo Vickers said that people voted for non-unionist parties to support unionist parties opposed to the NIP. Its the same fact-free "logic" that says the nationalists only win in Scotland because the unionists are divided. Despite the electoral system openly biased AGAINST the SNP who in the NE won the list vote but all the list seats went to unionists.
Why I respect Alex Cole-Hamilton is that he is going to Holyrood and holding the government to account for what it is doing in government. The Tories and Labour seem obsessed with factional stuff about independence, the LibDems are arguing about policy and delivery. Which was also our platform for the locals - councillors who deliver, not councillors who are opposed to x.
Let me take a random guess, that the German version of ‘ceasefire’ involved handing Russia a pile of Ukranian territory?
To be fair to our good friends in Germany, Linke are a pretty mad, minor party of the Left. Like the Corbynite faction of Labour. They are also the heirs of East German communism
Telecoms group Vodafone is in talks to combine its UK operations with its domestic rival Three UK, the mobile operator owned by Hong Kong infrastructure conglomerate CK Hutchison, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The deal, if it materialised, would herald the latest attempt to consolidate the British mobile market as Vodafone faces pressure from Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, to simplify its business, pursue deals in national markets and improve returns.
A combination of Vodafone UK and Three UK would bring together the third and fourth largest mobile network operators in Britain, though any deal to reduce the number of leading brands from four to three would trigger scrutiny from competition authorities.
Industry executives are hopeful that regulators’ increased awareness of the need to invest in network infrastructure has made them more amenable to mergers than they were in 2016, when the European Commission blocked a proposed merger between O2 and Three.....
...The exact structure being discussed between Vodafone and CK Hutchison could not be learnt, though Read has said on many occasions that he is focused on pursuing combinations more than outright purchases, given his ambitions to reduce the group’s debt.
So, as a businessman who only yesterday was looking at phone contracts, I observed two offers: THREE: Unlimited everything: £10.83 a month VODA: Unlimited everythinng: £25 a month I can guess what the new pricing structure will be if Vodafone swallow up Three.
To be honest that pricing structure is why Three are so shit.
Allowing so many people on unlimited plans causes congestion.
Keep the roads spectrum expensive so that its kept clear for rich people to use?
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Telecoms group Vodafone is in talks to combine its UK operations with its domestic rival Three UK, the mobile operator owned by Hong Kong infrastructure conglomerate CK Hutchison, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The deal, if it materialised, would herald the latest attempt to consolidate the British mobile market as Vodafone faces pressure from Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, to simplify its business, pursue deals in national markets and improve returns.
A combination of Vodafone UK and Three UK would bring together the third and fourth largest mobile network operators in Britain, though any deal to reduce the number of leading brands from four to three would trigger scrutiny from competition authorities.
Industry executives are hopeful that regulators’ increased awareness of the need to invest in network infrastructure has made them more amenable to mergers than they were in 2016, when the European Commission blocked a proposed merger between O2 and Three.....
...The exact structure being discussed between Vodafone and CK Hutchison could not be learnt, though Read has said on many occasions that he is focused on pursuing combinations more than outright purchases, given his ambitions to reduce the group’s debt.
So, as a businessman who only yesterday was looking at phone contracts, I observed two offers: THREE: Unlimited everything: £10.83 a month VODA: Unlimited everythinng: £25 a month I can guess what the new pricing structure will be if Vodafone swallow up Three.
To be honest that pricing structure is why Three are so shit.
Allowing so many people on unlimited plans causes congestion.
My only issues with Three are the gaps in the network. In the good old days you still had 2G to fall back on, but now that is switched off there are the odd gaps up here. I'm planning to opt for 4G internet for the office project because it is faster and more reliable and way cheaper than any of the traditional broadband services available.
Morning all! Several jaw-dropping stories I have read on twitter: 1) Dartford Tories photographed laughing and grinning as they open a foodbank. Then photograohed tucking into sandwiches and cherry bakewells as the celebratory buffet 2) Matt "I love parmos me!" Vickers car-crash session with Iain Dale on LBC. Defends the Ashfield MP and his "people are foodbanks are thick, I got a chef to feed people on 30p a day", then agrees with another panelist that after the energy rises thats no longer possible. Then says the people of NI voted against the protocol and Iain Dale has to repeatedly remind him that he's factually wrong. Then he says people voted Sinn Fein in protest of the protocol despite Sinn Fein supporting it.
I know we get told that we shouldn't call Tories thick as mince. But...
But why why why aren't Labour 20% ahead? It's hitting me hard.
I think Sir Keir, nice chap though he is, needs to go. We need someone from a working class background who represents a northern constituency.
If we don't win back 'some' of the red wall seats we're doomed to more of this ghastly culture war: stoking the flames of hatred in order to win power.
Labour isn’t 20 points ahead because it spent the best part of a decade trashing its brand. You don’t turn that around in two years. The key thing for the preservation of the UK’s democracy and the primacy of the rule of law is that the Tories are well behind. They just scraped a national vote share of 30% and there is no UKIP or Reform vote to squeeze. If they don’t turn their current position around by winning back voters lost to the left of them they will be out of power in two years’ time (assuming they have not managed to fully rig the system in the meantime). On 13th December 2019 that did not look like an even remotely realistic prospect.
They’re slowly getting there. I think we need to see a bit more confidence, more bravado, more humour from them . They’re all rather earnest and miserable. Another reason I like Streeting, there’s more of a twinkle in his eye.
They are also ridiculously coy about Brexit. Times have moved on and there is really no downside to ramming home repeatedly that the Tories have “cocked up Brexit”. It’s a message a leaver and a remainer can both identify with.
Telecoms group Vodafone is in talks to combine its UK operations with its domestic rival Three UK, the mobile operator owned by Hong Kong infrastructure conglomerate CK Hutchison, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The deal, if it materialised, would herald the latest attempt to consolidate the British mobile market as Vodafone faces pressure from Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, to simplify its business, pursue deals in national markets and improve returns.
A combination of Vodafone UK and Three UK would bring together the third and fourth largest mobile network operators in Britain, though any deal to reduce the number of leading brands from four to three would trigger scrutiny from competition authorities.
Industry executives are hopeful that regulators’ increased awareness of the need to invest in network infrastructure has made them more amenable to mergers than they were in 2016, when the European Commission blocked a proposed merger between O2 and Three.....
...The exact structure being discussed between Vodafone and CK Hutchison could not be learnt, though Read has said on many occasions that he is focused on pursuing combinations more than outright purchases, given his ambitions to reduce the group’s debt.
I don't see how that goes through. It's the number 3 player merging with number 4. All of this started when Ofcom allowed Orange and T-Mobile to merge which probably shouldn't have been.
If I lose my roaming data with Vodafone I'll have to move to O2 despite the shit signal.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats:
- "We have flipped a lot of communities who have traditionally voted Tory, they have now realised they get a better service with the Liberal Democrats."
Just as in southern England, the Lib Dem uptick in Scotland terrifies the Tories. But for a different reason: any significant SCon to SLD tactical unwind will see all SCon seats fall… not to the Lib Dems, but to the SNP.
If I was Douglas Ross I’d be doing everything in my power to attract these floating voters. Shame his bosses in London are doing everything they can to repel and disgust them.
I'm very pleased with the progress we have made in Banff and Buchan Coast. Taking seats in Fraserburgh and Peterhead shows there is opposition to the idiot Duguid. But yes, come the general election the challenge is replace the mince with something more palatable, and if that means SNP then fine.
Also gives the LDs a chance of having influence in a parliament where no one party has a majority. So it's entirely rational.
Matt Parmo Vickers said that people voted for non-unionist parties to support unionist parties opposed to the NIP. Its the same fact-free "logic" that says the nationalists only win in Scotland because the unionists are divided. Despite the electoral system openly biased AGAINST the SNP who in the NE won the list vote but all the list seats went to unionists.
Why I respect Alex Cole-Hamilton is that he is going to Holyrood and holding the government to account for what it is doing in government. The Tories and Labour seem obsessed with factional stuff about independence, the LibDems are arguing about policy and delivery. Which was also our platform for the locals - councillors who deliver, not councillors who are opposed to x.
Indeed. The unionists were always supposed to be divided. The system in Scotland was devised precisely to deal with one SNP and several Britnat parties - giving an advantage to the Slab-SLD coalition which was supposed to rule in perpetuity. Of course with the SGs now also a pro-indy party ...
But I must go and talk to my mince in the fridge. It'd be a more rational and life-enhancing conversation than with the kind of fact free nonsense that seems all too common this morning.
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
If Holyhead is lucky the freeport may just about cover the trading losses in the decline of the Holyhead - Ireland ferry traffic post-Brexit. But likely won't as they don't generate any actual new business and with the abandoning of inbound customs checks what is the need for them anyway?
I was interested in the comment that root vegetables are expensive to cook. I use them a lot, and they pretty much do always involve roasting in some form or lengthy pot boiling. It's a very good point that it's an expensive ingredient.
As Richard Tyndall so succinctly put it, the MP was being a tosser. It's the way of it with many of his fellow tory MPs now.
And why I lament the state of this country. It has been ruined by them. In their hell-bent evangelical fervour they killed Britain.
To be fair, your pal Tony had a big role in the killing of Britain.
Actually I don't disagree with that entirely. In a different kind of way and, unintentionally, he did start the rot.
To be fair to him, there was a lot of social resetting needed in 1997. The Nasty Party had become a thing of ridicule and there was a national collective sigh of relief when the "bastards" were booted out.
But in the midst of Cool Britannia, Anthony 'call me Tony,' Blair lost sight of the parts of the UK which were not part of his Metropolitan European elitism. They fell into decay.
We blame the right wing tory party for Brexit but in my opinion the seeds were sown by Tony Blair's New Labour.
p.s. I've never liked Tony Blair so he's certainly not my 'pal' and I marched against the Iraq war.
“The Bastards” were John Major’s internal Eurosceptic opponents, not his government. But maybe you’re too young to remember the details.
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Maybe ask why 11 Scottish ports are seeking freeport status if they are so irrelevant
As was posted upthread, there are a load of people jumping on Lee Wotzit's Ashfield facebook page agreeing with his attack on the poor. Apparently you CAN cook for 30p a day say people who don't need to.
The implicit belief that people in shitty situations are stuck there because of some fault of theirs, not mere bad luck and circumstance, is very widely held, because to believe the opposite would be pretty scary. Better to think "oh, if *I* were to lose my job and have to scrimp and save I'd be able to manage with careful budgeting, so anybody who's not managing is doing it wrong" than "the ice I walk on seems very thin and the water below is fathoms deep"...
Telecoms group Vodafone is in talks to combine its UK operations with its domestic rival Three UK, the mobile operator owned by Hong Kong infrastructure conglomerate CK Hutchison, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The deal, if it materialised, would herald the latest attempt to consolidate the British mobile market as Vodafone faces pressure from Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, to simplify its business, pursue deals in national markets and improve returns.
A combination of Vodafone UK and Three UK would bring together the third and fourth largest mobile network operators in Britain, though any deal to reduce the number of leading brands from four to three would trigger scrutiny from competition authorities.
Industry executives are hopeful that regulators’ increased awareness of the need to invest in network infrastructure has made them more amenable to mergers than they were in 2016, when the European Commission blocked a proposed merger between O2 and Three.....
...The exact structure being discussed between Vodafone and CK Hutchison could not be learnt, though Read has said on many occasions that he is focused on pursuing combinations more than outright purchases, given his ambitions to reduce the group’s debt.
So, as a businessman who only yesterday was looking at phone contracts, I observed two offers: THREE: Unlimited everything: £10.83 a month VODA: Unlimited everythinng: £25 a month I can guess what the new pricing structure will be if Vodafone swallow up Three.
You get what you pay for. I pay £31 per month and it has unlimited everything with 5G, Spotify and roaming in ~80 countries (including the US which is important for me). I'm also able to stream 4k video on 5G without any issues, sometimes it feels faster than my home broadband connection.
BREAKING: Finland’s President & PM have said their country should join the NATO military alliance, paving the way for a formal application. It would end decades of neutrality and comes in defiance of warnings from Russia. “Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay” ⬇️ https://twitter.com/haynesdeborah/status/1524647725433823234/photo/1
Morning all! Several jaw-dropping stories I have read on twitter: 1) Dartford Tories photographed laughing and grinning as they open a foodbank. Then photograohed tucking into sandwiches and cherry bakewells as the celebratory buffet 2) Matt "I love parmos me!" Vickers car-crash session with Iain Dale on LBC. Defends the Ashfield MP and his "people are foodbanks are thick, I got a chef to feed people on 30p a day", then agrees with another panelist that after the energy rises thats no longer possible. Then says the people of NI voted against the protocol and Iain Dale has to repeatedly remind him that he's factually wrong. Then he says people voted Sinn Fein in protest of the protocol despite Sinn Fein supporting it.
I know we get told that we shouldn't call Tories thick as mince. But...
But why why why aren't Labour 20% ahead? It's hitting me hard.
I think Sir Keir, nice chap though he is, needs to go. We need someone from a working class background who represents a northern constituency.
If we don't win back 'some' of the red wall seats we're doomed to more of this ghastly culture war: stoking the flames of hatred in order to win power.
Labour isn’t 20 points ahead because it spent the best part of a decade trashing its brand. You don’t turn that around in two years. The key thing for the preservation of the UK’s democracy and the primacy of the rule of law is that the Tories are well behind. They just scraped a national vote share of 30% and there is no UKIP or Reform vote to squeeze. If they don’t turn their current position around by winning back voters lost to the left of them they will be out of power in two years’ time (assuming they have not managed to fully rig the system in the meantime). On 13th December 2019 that did not look like an even remotely realistic prospect.
Yes, the Tory 30% vote share should worry them, though the independents vote is probably squeezable.
Are the estimates allowing for differential turnout? Older homeowners are the ones who turnout in the locals, rather than the 65% odd who do for a GE. This could give a falsly optimistic view for the Tories if not adjusted in the modelled vote.
I think the Tories will be toast if Labour get a good GE turnout, but Starmer is just so wooden that I think they might not. He needs to copy Attlee and put the team out front rather than run a presidential style campaign.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats:
- "We have flipped a lot of communities who have traditionally voted Tory, they have now realised they get a better service with the Liberal Democrats."
Just as in southern England, the Lib Dem uptick in Scotland terrifies the Tories. But for a different reason: any significant SCon to SLD tactical unwind will see all SCon seats fall… not to the Lib Dems, but to the SNP.
If I was Douglas Ross I’d be doing everything in my power to attract these floating voters. Shame his bosses in London are doing everything they can to repel and disgust them.
I'm very pleased with the progress we have made in Banff and Buchan Coast. Taking seats in Fraserburgh and Peterhead shows there is opposition to the idiot Duguid. But yes, come the general election the challenge is replace the mince with something more palatable, and if that means SNP then fine.
Also gives the LDs a chance of having influence in a parliament where no one party has a majority. So it's entirely rational.
Matt Parmo Vickers said that people voted for non-unionist parties to support unionist parties opposed to the NIP. Its the same fact-free "logic" that says the nationalists only win in Scotland because the unionists are divided. Despite the electoral system openly biased AGAINST the SNP who in the NE won the list vote but all the list seats went to unionists.
Why I respect Alex Cole-Hamilton is that he is going to Holyrood and holding the government to account for what it is doing in government. The Tories and Labour seem obsessed with factional stuff about independence, the LibDems are arguing about policy and delivery. Which was also our platform for the locals - councillors who deliver, not councillors who are opposed to x.
Indeed. The unionists were always supposed to be divided. The system in Scotland was devised precisely to deal with one SNP and several Britnat parties - giving an advantage to the Slab-SLD coalition which was supposed to rule in perpetuity. Of course with the SGs now also a pro-indy party ...
But I must go and talk to my mince in the fridge. It'd be a more rational and life-enhancing conversation than with the kind of fact free nonsense that seems all too common this morning.
I'm glad to see the two of you both agree with the principle that PR is an openly biased voting system and the list votes shouldn't be getting counted otherwise and that FPTP is a proper voting system.
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
If Holyhead is lucky the freeport may just about cover the trading losses in the decline of the Holyhead - Ireland ferry traffic post-Brexit. But likely won't as they don't generate any actual new business and with the abandoning of inbound customs checks what is the need for them anyway?
The other thing that puzzles me is why import to Holyhead when there are going to be freeports elsewhere closer to the centre of gravity? I'm not keeping up, but (for instance) Avonmouth, Teesside (pr Tyneside: Mr J has confused me now), and Felixstowe seem closer to the key distribution centres. Notd so far to trundle the boats and less time and fuel on the aforesaid boats.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats:
- "We have flipped a lot of communities who have traditionally voted Tory, they have now realised they get a better service with the Liberal Democrats."
Just as in southern England, the Lib Dem uptick in Scotland terrifies the Tories. But for a different reason: any significant SCon to SLD tactical unwind will see all SCon seats fall… not to the Lib Dems, but to the SNP.
If I was Douglas Ross I’d be doing everything in my power to attract these floating voters. Shame his bosses in London are doing everything they can to repel and disgust them.
I'm very pleased with the progress we have made in Banff and Buchan Coast. Taking seats in Fraserburgh and Peterhead shows there is opposition to the idiot Duguid. But yes, come the general election the challenge is replace the mince with something more palatable, and if that means SNP then fine.
Also gives the LDs a chance of having influence in a parliament where no one party has a majority. So it's entirely rational.
Matt Parmo Vickers said that people voted for non-unionist parties to support unionist parties opposed to the NIP. Its the same fact-free "logic" that says the nationalists only win in Scotland because the unionists are divided. Despite the electoral system openly biased AGAINST the SNP who in the NE won the list vote but all the list seats went to unionists.
Why I respect Alex Cole-Hamilton is that he is going to Holyrood and holding the government to account for what it is doing in government. The Tories and Labour seem obsessed with factional stuff about independence, the LibDems are arguing about policy and delivery. Which was also our platform for the locals - councillors who deliver, not councillors who are opposed to x.
Indeed. The unionists were always supposed to be divided. The system in Scotland was devised precisely to deal with one SNP and several Britnat parties - giving an advantage to the Slab-SLD coalition which was supposed to rule in perpetuity. Of course with the SGs now also a pro-indy party ...
But I must go and talk to my mince in the fridge. It'd be a more rational and life-enhancing conversation than with the kind of fact free nonsense that seems all too common this morning.
I'm glad to see the two of you both agree with the principle that PR is an openly biased voting system and the list votes shouldn't be getting counted otherwise and that FPTP is a proper voting system.
No; just that the system needs to be adjusted to a more oroportionate d'Hondt, without the highly negative gearing. SNP and LDs are agin FPTP anyway.
BREAKING: Finland’s President & PM have said their country should join the NATO military alliance, paving the way for a formal application. It would end decades of neutrality and comes in defiance of warnings from Russia. “Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay” ⬇️ https://twitter.com/haynesdeborah/status/1524647725433823234/photo/1
I guess tonight's Russian state tv will be showing graphics of Helsinki being nuked then.
BREAKING: Finland’s President & PM have said their country should join the NATO military alliance, paving the way for a formal application. It would end decades of neutrality and comes in defiance of warnings from Russia. “Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay” ⬇️ https://twitter.com/haynesdeborah/status/1524647725433823234/photo/1
Never mind Germany will continue to send billions to arm Russia's war crimes
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Maybe ask why 11 Scottish ports are seeking freeport status if they are so irrelevant
Free money for revamps.
Freee money for Tory cronies and more donations for the Tory party.
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Maybe ask why 11 Scottish ports are seeking freeport status if they are so irrelevant
If everywhere is a freeport, where is the competitive advantage?
As was posted upthread, there are a load of people jumping on Lee Wotzit's Ashfield facebook page agreeing with his attack on the poor. Apparently you CAN cook for 30p a day say people who don't need to.
The implicit belief that people in shitty situations are stuck there because of some fault of theirs, not mere bad luck and circumstance, is very widely held, because to believe the opposite would be pretty scary. Better to think "oh, if *I* were to lose my job and have to scrimp and save I'd be able to manage with careful budgeting, so anybody who's not managing is doing it wrong" than "the ice I walk on seems very thin and the water below is fathoms deep"...
That ties in entirely with the fact there's a very common reaction in foodbank users - disbelief and embarrassment at even having to use them, as one of us was noting the other day. It's one of the roles of the volunteers to reassure them about this.
Morning all! Several jaw-dropping stories I have read on twitter: 1) Dartford Tories photographed laughing and grinning as they open a foodbank. Then photograohed tucking into sandwiches and cherry bakewells as the celebratory buffet 2) Matt "I love parmos me!" Vickers car-crash session with Iain Dale on LBC. Defends the Ashfield MP and his "people are foodbanks are thick, I got a chef to feed people on 30p a day", then agrees with another panelist that after the energy rises thats no longer possible. Then says the people of NI voted against the protocol and Iain Dale has to repeatedly remind him that he's factually wrong. Then he says people voted Sinn Fein in protest of the protocol despite Sinn Fein supporting it.
I know we get told that we shouldn't call Tories thick as mince. But...
But why why why aren't Labour 20% ahead? It's hitting me hard.
I think Sir Keir, nice chap though he is, needs to go. We need someone from a working class background who represents a northern constituency.
If we don't win back 'some' of the red wall seats we're doomed to more of this ghastly culture war: stoking the flames of hatred in order to win power.
Labour isn’t 20 points ahead because it spent the best part of a decade trashing its brand. You don’t turn that around in two years. The key thing for the preservation of the UK’s democracy and the primacy of the rule of law is that the Tories are well behind. They just scraped a national vote share of 30% and there is no UKIP or Reform vote to squeeze. If they don’t turn their current position around by winning back voters lost to the left of them they will be out of power in two years’ time (assuming they have not managed to fully rig the system in the meantime). On 13th December 2019 that did not look like an even remotely realistic prospect.
The Rallings and Thrasher figures were Lab 35%, Con 33%.
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Maybe ask why 11 Scottish ports are seeking freeport status if they are so irrelevant
If everywhere is a freeport, where is the competitive advantage?
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Maybe ask why 11 Scottish ports are seeking freeport status if they are so irrelevant
If everywhere is a freeport, where is the competitive advantage?
Ad no import controls already, too. So we're well on the way to that state.
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Maybe ask why 11 Scottish ports are seeking freeport status if they are so irrelevant
If everywhere is a freeport, where is the competitive advantage?
They are competing against each other for the 2 freeports on offer
In other and far more important news, the economy has begun to slow down. I haven't seen the full report but my guess is that the shot weather in March pushed services to below zero but even that means we're now looking at 0.1-0.2% monthly growth rather than the necessary 0.3-0.4% we need for another few months to recover some of the lost growth from the last year and a bit.
Worse is that economies across Europe are in even more terrible shape and some never really recovered from COVID in the first place so they're shrinking without having reached the pre-COVID high.
I'm also not sure what the government or other countries can do about it. We have no ammunition left in the monetary gun. IMO the countries that handle this best will be those that figure out wealth creation at the bottom (younger people) and prevent wealth concentration at the top (older people). So far that doesn't seem to be on the agenda anywhere. Countries are still stealing from their young to fund programmes for old people all over Europe and in the US.
Morning all! Several jaw-dropping stories I have read on twitter: 1) Dartford Tories photographed laughing and grinning as they open a foodbank. Then photograohed tucking into sandwiches and cherry bakewells as the celebratory buffet 2) Matt "I love parmos me!" Vickers car-crash session with Iain Dale on LBC. Defends the Ashfield MP and his "people are foodbanks are thick, I got a chef to feed people on 30p a day", then agrees with another panelist that after the energy rises thats no longer possible. Then says the people of NI voted against the protocol and Iain Dale has to repeatedly remind him that he's factually wrong. Then he says people voted Sinn Fein in protest of the protocol despite Sinn Fein supporting it.
I know we get told that we shouldn't call Tories thick as mince. But...
But why why why aren't Labour 20% ahead? It's hitting me hard.
I think Sir Keir, nice chap though he is, needs to go. We need someone from a working class background who represents a northern constituency.
If we don't win back 'some' of the red wall seats we're doomed to more of this ghastly culture war: stoking the flames of hatred in order to win power.
I think it's time for a female Labour leader. Angela Rayner or Lisa Nandy.
Up and down like a yoyo this last week, mostly down.
-0.1% growth might be the governments cunning plan to take the heat out of inflation by reducing demand.
That's generally how it works. Unemployment isn't a big issue at the moment, so there is scope for being a bit more aggressive on inflation.
But...
The big difference from the past is that we now have very high house prices. And not wanting them to crash has been driving government and BoE policy since 2008.
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Maybe ask why 11 Scottish ports are seeking freeport status if they are so irrelevant
Free money for revamps.
Freee money for Tory cronies and more donations for the Tory party.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats:
- "We have flipped a lot of communities who have traditionally voted Tory, they have now realised they get a better service with the Liberal Democrats."
Just as in southern England, the Lib Dem uptick in Scotland terrifies the Tories. But for a different reason: any significant SCon to SLD tactical unwind will see all SCon seats fall… not to the Lib Dems, but to the SNP.
If I was Douglas Ross I’d be doing everything in my power to attract these floating voters. Shame his bosses in London are doing everything they can to repel and disgust them.
I'm very pleased with the progress we have made in Banff and Buchan Coast. Taking seats in Fraserburgh and Peterhead shows there is opposition to the idiot Duguid. But yes, come the general election the challenge is replace the mince with something more palatable, and if that means SNP then fine.
Er, point of order, nothing wrong with mince. It's positively sentient when cooked with shallots, as opposed to the ScoTories at present.
Morning all! Several jaw-dropping stories I have read on twitter: 1) Dartford Tories photographed laughing and grinning as they open a foodbank. Then photograohed tucking into sandwiches and cherry bakewells as the celebratory buffet 2) Matt "I love parmos me!" Vickers car-crash session with Iain Dale on LBC. Defends the Ashfield MP and his "people are foodbanks are thick, I got a chef to feed people on 30p a day", then agrees with another panelist that after the energy rises thats no longer possible. Then says the people of NI voted against the protocol and Iain Dale has to repeatedly remind him that he's factually wrong. Then he says people voted Sinn Fein in protest of the protocol despite Sinn Fein supporting it.
I know we get told that we shouldn't call Tories thick as mince. But...
But why why why aren't Labour 20% ahead? It's hitting me hard.
I think Sir Keir, nice chap though he is, needs to go. We need someone from a working class background who represents a northern constituency.
If we don't win back 'some' of the red wall seats we're doomed to more of this ghastly culture war: stoking the flames of hatred in order to win power.
I think it's time for a female Labour leader. Angela Rayner or Lisa Nandy.
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Maybe ask why 11 Scottish ports are seeking freeport status if they are so irrelevant
If everywhere is a freeport, where is the competitive advantage?
They are competing against each other for the 2 freeports on offer
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Maybe ask why 11 Scottish ports are seeking freeport status if they are so irrelevant
If everywhere is a freeport, where is the competitive advantage?
They are competing against each other for the 2 freeports on offer
Why only 2?
Seems that his been agreed with the Scottish government
Alex Cole-Hamilton, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats:
- "We have flipped a lot of communities who have traditionally voted Tory, they have now realised they get a better service with the Liberal Democrats."
Just as in southern England, the Lib Dem uptick in Scotland terrifies the Tories. But for a different reason: any significant SCon to SLD tactical unwind will see all SCon seats fall… not to the Lib Dems, but to the SNP.
If I was Douglas Ross I’d be doing everything in my power to attract these floating voters. Shame his bosses in London are doing everything they can to repel and disgust them.
I'm very pleased with the progress we have made in Banff and Buchan Coast. Taking seats in Fraserburgh and Peterhead shows there is opposition to the idiot Duguid. But yes, come the general election the challenge is replace the mince with something more palatable, and if that means SNP then fine.
Er, point of order, nothing wrong with mince. It's positively sentient when cooked with shallots, as opposed to the ScoTories at present.
Shallots you say? Gotta try that.
Fiddly. 10x as much chopping as onions for a less than 1000% gain.
Morning all! Several jaw-dropping stories I have read on twitter: 1) Dartford Tories photographed laughing and grinning as they open a foodbank. Then photograohed tucking into sandwiches and cherry bakewells as the celebratory buffet 2) Matt "I love parmos me!" Vickers car-crash session with Iain Dale on LBC. Defends the Ashfield MP and his "people are foodbanks are thick, I got a chef to feed people on 30p a day", then agrees with another panelist that after the energy rises thats no longer possible. Then says the people of NI voted against the protocol and Iain Dale has to repeatedly remind him that he's factually wrong. Then he says people voted Sinn Fein in protest of the protocol despite Sinn Fein supporting it.
I know we get told that we shouldn't call Tories thick as mince. But...
But why why why aren't Labour 20% ahead? It's hitting me hard.
I think Sir Keir, nice chap though he is, needs to go. We need someone from a working class background who represents a northern constituency.
If we don't win back 'some' of the red wall seats we're doomed to more of this ghastly culture war: stoking the flames of hatred in order to win power.
Labour isn’t 20 points ahead because it spent the best part of a decade trashing its brand. You don’t turn that around in two years. The key thing for the preservation of the UK’s democracy and the primacy of the rule of law is that the Tories are well behind. They just scraped a national vote share of 30% and there is no UKIP or Reform vote to squeeze. If they don’t turn their current position around by winning back voters lost to the left of them they will be out of power in two years’ time (assuming they have not managed to fully rig the system in the meantime). On 13th December 2019 that did not look like an even remotely realistic prospect.
Yes, the Tory 30% vote share should worry them, though the independents vote is probably squeezable.
Are the estimates allowing for differential turnout? Older homeowners are the ones who turnout in the locals, rather than the 65% odd who do for a GE. This could give a falsly optimistic view for the Tories if not adjusted in the modelled vote.
I think the Tories will be toast if Labour get a good GE turnout, but Starmer is just so wooden that I think they might not. He needs to copy Attlee and put the team out front rather than run a presidential style campaign.
Good tactically as well, in that "First among equals" presents a nice contrast to "Big Dog and his lickspittles" on the other side. I suspect it's also how SKS would prefer to do things.
Labour's problem is that Starmer took over to be the burner leader; repair the damage of 2019, lose by less in 2023 and retire, before someone else became PM in 2028.
Partly because of his competence, partly because of the incompetence of his opponents and enemies, there's a real chance of him being PM. That creates problems, but they're nice problems to have.
BREAKING: Finland’s President & PM have said their country should join the NATO military alliance, paving the way for a formal application. It would end decades of neutrality and comes in defiance of warnings from Russia. “Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay” ⬇️ https://twitter.com/haynesdeborah/status/1524647725433823234/photo/1
After decades of neutrality so stringent the country became a byword for it, Finland – which has a 1340km border with Russia – is applying to join NATO.
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Maybe ask why 11 Scottish ports are seeking freeport status if they are so irrelevant
If everywhere is a freeport, where is the competitive advantage?
They are competing against each other for the 2 freeports on offer
Why only 2?
Because this Government want to limit the impact freeports have on tax generation - the biggest incentive for being inside a freeport is lower Employer NI costs and if you aren't very careful you don't get new businesses you get relocations.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats:
- "We have flipped a lot of communities who have traditionally voted Tory, they have now realised they get a better service with the Liberal Democrats."
Just as in southern England, the Lib Dem uptick in Scotland terrifies the Tories. But for a different reason: any significant SCon to SLD tactical unwind will see all SCon seats fall… not to the Lib Dems, but to the SNP.
If I was Douglas Ross I’d be doing everything in my power to attract these floating voters. Shame his bosses in London are doing everything they can to repel and disgust them.
I'm very pleased with the progress we have made in Banff and Buchan Coast. Taking seats in Fraserburgh and Peterhead shows there is opposition to the idiot Duguid. But yes, come the general election the challenge is replace the mince with something more palatable, and if that means SNP then fine.
Er, point of order, nothing wrong with mince. It's positively sentient when cooked with shallots, as opposed to the ScoTories at present.
Shallots you say? Gotta try that.
Fiddly. 10x as much chopping as onions for a less than 1000% gain.
I’m ashamed to say that we always have shallots in the fridge, but if it’s me cooking I just grab an onion. I must make the effort. Ta.
Weird Swedish fact: you can’t get those lovely big mild French onions in Sweden. So if one of us is abroad we pop a couple of packs in our suitcase on way home.
Up and down like a yoyo this last week, mostly down.
-0.1% growth might be the governments cunning plan to take the heat out of inflation by reducing demand.
That's generally how it works. Unemployment isn't a big issue at the moment, so there is scope for being a bit more aggressive on inflation.
But...
The big difference from the past is that we now have very high house prices. And not wanting them to crash has been driving government and BoE policy since 2008.
It's honestly past time to burn speculators and private landlords. Bailey is simply too weak to stick rates up to 2.5% by the end of summer and, if necessary, 4% by the end of the year. It causes a housing crash which his political masters won't thank him for in the run up to an election.
Telecoms group Vodafone is in talks to combine its UK operations with its domestic rival Three UK, the mobile operator owned by Hong Kong infrastructure conglomerate CK Hutchison, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The deal, if it materialised, would herald the latest attempt to consolidate the British mobile market as Vodafone faces pressure from Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, to simplify its business, pursue deals in national markets and improve returns.
A combination of Vodafone UK and Three UK would bring together the third and fourth largest mobile network operators in Britain, though any deal to reduce the number of leading brands from four to three would trigger scrutiny from competition authorities.
Industry executives are hopeful that regulators’ increased awareness of the need to invest in network infrastructure has made them more amenable to mergers than they were in 2016, when the European Commission blocked a proposed merger between O2 and Three.....
...The exact structure being discussed between Vodafone and CK Hutchison could not be learnt, though Read has said on many occasions that he is focused on pursuing combinations more than outright purchases, given his ambitions to reduce the group’s debt.
I don't see how that goes through. It's the number 3 player merging with number 4. All of this started when Ofcom allowed Orange and T-Mobile to merge which probably shouldn't have been.
If I lose my roaming data with Vodafone I'll have to move to O2 despite the shit signal.
I'm intrigued by that last sentence. Do you mean if you lose free roaming data? Or the ability to data roam? In the UK or abroad?
In other and far more important news, the economy has begun to slow down. I haven't seen the full report but my guess is that the shot weather in March pushed services to below zero but even that means we're now looking at 0.1-0.2% monthly growth rather than the necessary 0.3-0.4% we need for another few months to recover some of the lost growth from the last year and a bit.
Worse is that economies across Europe are in even more terrible shape and some never really recovered from COVID in the first place so they're shrinking without having reached the pre-COVID high.
I'm also not sure what the government or other countries can do about it. We have no ammunition left in the monetary gun. IMO the countries that handle this best will be those that figure out wealth creation at the bottom (younger people) and prevent wealth concentration at the top (older people). So far that doesn't seem to be on the agenda anywhere. Countries are still stealing from their young to fund programmes for old people all over Europe and in the US.
And that is not going to change in the UK because it's the older people who vote for this "Government"...
“Labour MP Stella Creasy reveals rape threat while at Cambridge University”
With respect to Ms Creasy, and all the other women (people) who have suffered sexual violence….
I just don’t think this kind of story/revelation is politically smart. It smacks of naval gazing.
You’re trying to convince the country to elect you as a party of government. To stand up for other people. To govern.
This is a distraction. I think they think it humanises them. I think it diminishes them.
No offence intended. Yes I do think sexual violence is a serious problem that needs to be tackled properly etc etc.
Just don’t make it so much about YOU ffs. I don’t think Labour are ready for government. They need a grid and a media strategy and 100% focus on the VOTERS.
That's a very odd comment. Backbench MPs talk about all kinds of stuff, all the time. Why single out this unless it makes you uncomfortable ?
I don't disagree with your last two sentences, but they seem to me something of a non sequitur.
In other and far more important news, the economy has begun to slow down. I haven't seen the full report but my guess is that the shot weather in March pushed services to below zero but even that means we're now looking at 0.1-0.2% monthly growth rather than the necessary 0.3-0.4% we need for another few months to recover some of the lost growth from the last year and a bit.
Worse is that economies across Europe are in even more terrible shape and some never really recovered from COVID in the first place so they're shrinking without having reached the pre-COVID high.
I'm also not sure what the government or other countries can do about it. We have no ammunition left in the monetary gun. IMO the countries that handle this best will be those that figure out wealth creation at the bottom (younger people) and prevent wealth concentration at the top (older people). So far that doesn't seem to be on the agenda anywhere. Countries are still stealing from their young to fund programmes for old people all over Europe and in the US.
And that is not going to change in the UK because it's the older people who vote for this "Government"...
@MaxPB needs to start supporting Labour to get what he seeks: wealth creation for the young versus old.
Telecoms group Vodafone is in talks to combine its UK operations with its domestic rival Three UK, the mobile operator owned by Hong Kong infrastructure conglomerate CK Hutchison, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The deal, if it materialised, would herald the latest attempt to consolidate the British mobile market as Vodafone faces pressure from Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, to simplify its business, pursue deals in national markets and improve returns.
A combination of Vodafone UK and Three UK would bring together the third and fourth largest mobile network operators in Britain, though any deal to reduce the number of leading brands from four to three would trigger scrutiny from competition authorities.
Industry executives are hopeful that regulators’ increased awareness of the need to invest in network infrastructure has made them more amenable to mergers than they were in 2016, when the European Commission blocked a proposed merger between O2 and Three.....
...The exact structure being discussed between Vodafone and CK Hutchison could not be learnt, though Read has said on many occasions that he is focused on pursuing combinations more than outright purchases, given his ambitions to reduce the group’s debt.
I don't see how that goes through. It's the number 3 player merging with number 4. All of this started when Ofcom allowed Orange and T-Mobile to merge which probably shouldn't have been.
If I lose my roaming data with Vodafone I'll have to move to O2 despite the shit signal.
I'm intrigued by that last sentence. Do you mean if you lose free roaming data? Or the ability to data roam? In the UK or abroad?
Genuine questions.
My contract with Vodafone includes free roaming in 83 countries, it's by far the best roaming data package offered in the country (and I tend to use it). If the merged entity gets rid of this option I'll move to the lesser contract on O2 for the roaming.
In other and far more important news, the economy has begun to slow down. I haven't seen the full report but my guess is that the shot weather in March pushed services to below zero but even that means we're now looking at 0.1-0.2% monthly growth rather than the necessary 0.3-0.4% we need for another few months to recover some of the lost growth from the last year and a bit.
Worse is that economies across Europe are in even more terrible shape and some never really recovered from COVID in the first place so they're shrinking without having reached the pre-COVID high.
I'm also not sure what the government or other countries can do about it. We have no ammunition left in the monetary gun. IMO the countries that handle this best will be those that figure out wealth creation at the bottom (younger people) and prevent wealth concentration at the top (older people). So far that doesn't seem to be on the agenda anywhere. Countries are still stealing from their young to fund programmes for old people all over Europe and in the US.
And that is not going to change in the UK because it's the older people who vote for this "Government"...
True, yet I see Labour offering nothing different on the economy. They are in lockstep with the government.
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Maybe ask why 11 Scottish ports are seeking freeport status if they are so irrelevant
If everywhere is a freeport, where is the competitive advantage?
They are competing against each other for the 2 freeports on offer
Why only 2?
Because this Government want to limit the impact freeports have on tax generation - the biggest incentive for being inside a freeport is lower Employer NI costs and if you aren't very careful you don't get new businesses you get relocations.
Also, it's how the government does things- look at the levelling up money, the bus grants, it's always localities bidding for a share of a far too finite pot of money.
The theory is you get better bids that way.
The arbitrary power it gives Westminster is just a delightful bonus.
In other and far more important news, the economy has begun to slow down. I haven't seen the full report but my guess is that the shot weather in March pushed services to below zero but even that means we're now looking at 0.1-0.2% monthly growth rather than the necessary 0.3-0.4% we need for another few months to recover some of the lost growth from the last year and a bit.
Worse is that economies across Europe are in even more terrible shape and some never really recovered from COVID in the first place so they're shrinking without having reached the pre-COVID high.
I'm also not sure what the government or other countries can do about it. We have no ammunition left in the monetary gun. IMO the countries that handle this best will be those that figure out wealth creation at the bottom (younger people) and prevent wealth concentration at the top (older people). So far that doesn't seem to be on the agenda anywhere. Countries are still stealing from their young to fund programmes for old people all over Europe and in the US.
And that is not going to change in the UK because it's the older people who vote for this "Government"...
@MaxPB needs to start supporting Labour to get what he seeks: wealth creation for the young versus old.
It's not going to change anywhere because the neither of the 2 possible fixes (NI payments post 67 or a wealth tax) are politically palatable..
In other and far more important news, the economy has begun to slow down. I haven't seen the full report but my guess is that the shot weather in March pushed services to below zero but even that means we're now looking at 0.1-0.2% monthly growth rather than the necessary 0.3-0.4% we need for another few months to recover some of the lost growth from the last year and a bit.
Worse is that economies across Europe are in even more terrible shape and some never really recovered from COVID in the first place so they're shrinking without having reached the pre-COVID high.
I'm also not sure what the government or other countries can do about it. We have no ammunition left in the monetary gun. IMO the countries that handle this best will be those that figure out wealth creation at the bottom (younger people) and prevent wealth concentration at the top (older people). So far that doesn't seem to be on the agenda anywhere. Countries are still stealing from their young to fund programmes for old people all over Europe and in the US.
And that is not going to change in the UK because it's the older people who vote for this "Government"...
@MaxPB needs to start supporting Labour to get what he seeks: wealth creation for the young versus old.
Then tell me, what exactly are Labour proposing to do differently? Cut NI? Cut spending on the NHS and give young people a tax cut? Dump the triple lock for good and funnel that into enterprise schemes?
No. Labour are proposing nothing like that. They are in 100% agreement with the government agenda.
Morning all! Several jaw-dropping stories I have read on twitter: 1) Dartford Tories photographed laughing and grinning as they open a foodbank. Then photograohed tucking into sandwiches and cherry bakewells as the celebratory buffet 2) Matt "I love parmos me!" Vickers car-crash session with Iain Dale on LBC. Defends the Ashfield MP and his "people are foodbanks are thick, I got a chef to feed people on 30p a day", then agrees with another panelist that after the energy rises thats no longer possible. Then says the people of NI voted against the protocol and Iain Dale has to repeatedly remind him that he's factually wrong. Then he says people voted Sinn Fein in protest of the protocol despite Sinn Fein supporting it.
I know we get told that we shouldn't call Tories thick as mince. But...
But why why why aren't Labour 20% ahead? It's hitting me hard.
I think Sir Keir, nice chap though he is, needs to go. We need someone from a working class background who represents a northern constituency.
If we don't win back 'some' of the red wall seats we're doomed to more of this ghastly culture war: stoking the flames of hatred in order to win power.
Labour isn’t 20 points ahead because it spent the best part of a decade trashing its brand. You don’t turn that around in two years. The key thing for the preservation of the UK’s democracy and the primacy of the rule of law is that the Tories are well behind. They just scraped a national vote share of 30% and there is no UKIP or Reform vote to squeeze. If they don’t turn their current position around by winning back voters lost to the left of them they will be out of power in two years’ time (assuming they have not managed to fully rig the system in the meantime). On 13th December 2019 that did not look like an even remotely realistic prospect.
The Rallings and Thrasher figures were Lab 35%, Con 33%.
Isn't that extrapolation based on a national model taking account of areas that were not voting, rather than considering demographic turnout?
Having heard the news reports on Wagatha Christie, I think Rebekah Vardy is silly to have taken this to court. She might win, but it's not doing her reputation any good.
And I doubt her husband is grateful for giving opposition supporters ammo.
Telecoms group Vodafone is in talks to combine its UK operations with its domestic rival Three UK, the mobile operator owned by Hong Kong infrastructure conglomerate CK Hutchison, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The deal, if it materialised, would herald the latest attempt to consolidate the British mobile market as Vodafone faces pressure from Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, to simplify its business, pursue deals in national markets and improve returns.
A combination of Vodafone UK and Three UK would bring together the third and fourth largest mobile network operators in Britain, though any deal to reduce the number of leading brands from four to three would trigger scrutiny from competition authorities.
Industry executives are hopeful that regulators’ increased awareness of the need to invest in network infrastructure has made them more amenable to mergers than they were in 2016, when the European Commission blocked a proposed merger between O2 and Three.....
...The exact structure being discussed between Vodafone and CK Hutchison could not be learnt, though Read has said on many occasions that he is focused on pursuing combinations more than outright purchases, given his ambitions to reduce the group’s debt.
I don't see how that goes through. It's the number 3 player merging with number 4. All of this started when Ofcom allowed Orange and T-Mobile to merge which probably shouldn't have been.
If I lose my roaming data with Vodafone I'll have to move to O2 despite the shit signal.
I'm intrigued by that last sentence. Do you mean if you lose free roaming data? Or the ability to data roam? In the UK or abroad?
Genuine questions.
My contract with Vodafone includes free roaming in 83 countries, it's by far the best roaming data package offered in the country (and I tend to use it). If the merged entity gets rid of this option I'll move to the lesser contract on O2 for the roaming.
Ah ok thanks for clarifying.
In contrast, we switched from Vodafone to EE because the latter provide a signal that reaches inside the Faraday cage that is our house. I guess we will have to pay for an add-on roaming package for our planned trips to Europe this year - guess what I'm blaming that on? ;-)
Telecoms group Vodafone is in talks to combine its UK operations with its domestic rival Three UK, the mobile operator owned by Hong Kong infrastructure conglomerate CK Hutchison, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The deal, if it materialised, would herald the latest attempt to consolidate the British mobile market as Vodafone faces pressure from Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, to simplify its business, pursue deals in national markets and improve returns.
A combination of Vodafone UK and Three UK would bring together the third and fourth largest mobile network operators in Britain, though any deal to reduce the number of leading brands from four to three would trigger scrutiny from competition authorities.
Industry executives are hopeful that regulators’ increased awareness of the need to invest in network infrastructure has made them more amenable to mergers than they were in 2016, when the European Commission blocked a proposed merger between O2 and Three.....
...The exact structure being discussed between Vodafone and CK Hutchison could not be learnt, though Read has said on many occasions that he is focused on pursuing combinations more than outright purchases, given his ambitions to reduce the group’s debt.
I don't see how that goes through. It's the number 3 player merging with number 4. All of this started when Ofcom allowed Orange and T-Mobile to merge which probably shouldn't have been.
If I lose my roaming data with Vodafone I'll have to move to O2 despite the shit signal.
I'm intrigued by that last sentence. Do you mean if you lose free roaming data? Or the ability to data roam? In the UK or abroad?
Genuine questions.
My contract with Vodafone includes free roaming in 83 countries, it's by far the best roaming data package offered in the country (and I tend to use it). If the merged entity gets rid of this option I'll move to the lesser contract on O2 for the roaming.
Ah ok thanks for clarifying.
In contrast, we switched from Vodafone to EE because the latter provide a signal that reaches inside the Faraday cage that is our house. I guess we will have to pay for an add-on roaming package for our planned trips to Europe this year - guess what I'm blaming that on? ;-)
You should blame BT. Both Vodafone and O2 still have roaming data packages available, BT/EE are just looking to rinse money from their customers. I'd move to O2 and get a femtocell.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats:
- "We have flipped a lot of communities who have traditionally voted Tory, they have now realised they get a better service with the Liberal Democrats."
Just as in southern England, the Lib Dem uptick in Scotland terrifies the Tories. But for a different reason: any significant SCon to SLD tactical unwind will see all SCon seats fall… not to the Lib Dems, but to the SNP.
If I was Douglas Ross I’d be doing everything in my power to attract these floating voters. Shame his bosses in London are doing everything they can to repel and disgust them.
I'm very pleased with the progress we have made in Banff and Buchan Coast. Taking seats in Fraserburgh and Peterhead shows there is opposition to the idiot Duguid. But yes, come the general election the challenge is replace the mince with something more palatable, and if that means SNP then fine.
Er, point of order, nothing wrong with mince. It's positively sentient when cooked with shallots, as opposed to the ScoTories at present.
Shallots you say? Gotta try that.
Fiddly. 10x as much chopping as onions for a less than 1000% gain.
I’m ashamed to say that we always have shallots in the fridge, but if it’s me cooking I just grab an onion. I must make the effort. Ta.
Weird Swedish fact: you can’t get those lovely big mild French onions in Sweden. So if one of us is abroad we pop a couple of packs in our suitcase on way home.
That won't get the sniffer dogs at all suspicious! Still, it makes a change for them from ground coffee....
Up and down like a yoyo this last week, mostly down.
-0.1% growth might be the governments cunning plan to take the heat out of inflation by reducing demand.
That's generally how it works. Unemployment isn't a big issue at the moment, so there is scope for being a bit more aggressive on inflation.
But...
The big difference from the past is that we now have very high house prices. And not wanting them to crash has been driving government and BoE policy since 2008.
It's honestly past time to burn speculators and private landlords. Bailey is simply too weak to stick rates up to 2.5% by the end of summer and, if necessary, 4% by the end of the year. It causes a housing crash which his political masters won't thank him for in the run up to an election.
All you need to do is find a way of doing that without also screwing over recentish first time buyers.
I'm not saying that moving wealth out of housing isn't incredibly desirable, but some of the biggest losers in a house price crash are people who really haven't done anything wrong.
Interesting, but this isn’t decided by a public vote. The police are investigating both and have access to information the public don’t, so I’m not certain the public polling tells us much about how the police’s decision will go.
Once the police decide and issue FPNs or not, the public view will presumably change. If Starmer gets an FPN that 48% will shoot up, but if he doesn’t, it will collapse. Likewise, the 28% who think BJ followed the rules may be eroded if he gets more FPNs.
Just a comment on the island of Ireland situation, again in then news. A bright chap on R5 too early this morning gave a decent analysis of the trade/ border problem.
There are 3 places to have a border: Within the island of Ireland, between Britain and Ireland (the protocol as now is) or between the island of Ireland and the EU. Each of course breaches a red line for someone.
The fourth solution - is it too late? - is for the UK to join EFTA and be allowed to derogate from FoM.
It seems to me that this solution breaches far fewer red lines than the others, and involves a compromise on all sides - we accept membership of the SM for trade, the EU accepts a derogation.
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Maybe ask why 11 Scottish ports are seeking freeport status if they are so irrelevant
If everywhere is a freeport, where is the competitive advantage?
They are competing against each other for the 2 freeports on offer
So the other 9 Scottish towns get disadvantaged?
If Freeports are so great, why not have the whole country as one?
BREAKING: Finland’s President & PM have said their country should join the NATO military alliance, paving the way for a formal application. It would end decades of neutrality and comes in defiance of warnings from Russia. “Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay” ⬇️ https://twitter.com/haynesdeborah/status/1524647725433823234/photo/1
After decades of neutrality so stringent the country became a byword for it, Finland – which has a 1340km border with Russia – is applying to join NATO.
It was so predictable a reaction one could assume Putin wants NATO expanded and fired up, because it was the only way to create the imaginary opponent he needed to go full cold war fascist.
In other and far more important news, the economy has begun to slow down. I haven't seen the full report but my guess is that the shot weather in March pushed services to below zero but even that means we're now looking at 0.1-0.2% monthly growth rather than the necessary 0.3-0.4% we need for another few months to recover some of the lost growth from the last year and a bit.
Worse is that economies across Europe are in even more terrible shape and some never really recovered from COVID in the first place so they're shrinking without having reached the pre-COVID high.
I'm also not sure what the government or other countries can do about it. We have no ammunition left in the monetary gun. IMO the countries that handle this best will be those that figure out wealth creation at the bottom (younger people) and prevent wealth concentration at the top (older people). So far that doesn't seem to be on the agenda anywhere. Countries are still stealing from their young to fund programmes for old people all over Europe and in the US.
And that is not going to change in the UK because it's the older people who vote for this "Government"...
@MaxPB needs to start supporting Labour to get what he seeks: wealth creation for the young versus old.
But Labour don't advocate for that. Any time any suggestion of reducing benefits to the old is suggested, Labour comes out screaming against it.
The problem is Labour unlike Max haven't identified the problem, they just want benefits for all which isn't viable.
Some of the South American ladies on my boat are wearing masks. Outdoors. On a deck. On a half empty ferry.
Covering up their latest plastic surgery?
One of the Argentinian guys has got a full on KN95 mask
I repeat, we are outdoors. On a largely empty deck. On a ferry
Now he’s taken it off to have a cigarette. That makes total sense, actuarially. His friends are wearing their masks - but pulled down under their chins.
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Maybe ask why 11 Scottish ports are seeking freeport status if they are so irrelevant
If everywhere is a freeport, where is the competitive advantage?
They are competing against each other for the 2 freeports on offer
So the other 9 Scottish towns get disadvantaged?
If Freeports are so great, why not have the whole country as one?
Up and down like a yoyo this last week, mostly down.
-0.1% growth might be the governments cunning plan to take the heat out of inflation by reducing demand.
That's generally how it works. Unemployment isn't a big issue at the moment, so there is scope for being a bit more aggressive on inflation.
But...
The big difference from the past is that we now have very high house prices. And not wanting them to crash has been driving government and BoE policy since 2008.
It's honestly past time to burn speculators and private landlords. Bailey is simply too weak to stick rates up to 2.5% by the end of summer and, if necessary, 4% by the end of the year. It causes a housing crash which his political masters won't thank him for in the run up to an election.
All you need to do is find a way of doing that without also screwing over recentish first time buyers.
I'm not saying that moving wealth out of housing isn't incredibly desirable, but some of the biggest losers in a house price crash are people who really haven't done anything wrong.
Yep, this is the problem. If you leave interest rates at around 0.5% for over a decade, thus screwing over young people, don't be surprised when, having finally got a mortgage, they are rather upset at the prospect of increasing interest rates.
The real crime, was not slowly raising rates from around 2012 onwards. The BoE should have said, normal is around 4 to 5%, but we're going to increase rates slowly (maybe 0.5% every six to nine months). But they didn't because that might have put Ed Miliband in Downing Street.
Up and down like a yoyo this last week, mostly down.
-0.1% growth might be the governments cunning plan to take the heat out of inflation by reducing demand.
That's generally how it works. Unemployment isn't a big issue at the moment, so there is scope for being a bit more aggressive on inflation.
But...
The big difference from the past is that we now have very high house prices. And not wanting them to crash has been driving government and BoE policy since 2008.
It's honestly past time to burn speculators and private landlords. Bailey is simply too weak to stick rates up to 2.5% by the end of summer and, if necessary, 4% by the end of the year. It causes a housing crash which his political masters won't thank him for in the run up to an election.
All you need to do is find a way of doing that without also screwing over recentish first time buyers.
I'm not saying that moving wealth out of housing isn't incredibly desirable, but some of the biggest losers in a house price crash are people who really haven't done anything wrong.
Recent buyers will be protected to a certain extent by fixed rate mortgages, most people buy with a 2, 3 or 5 year rate fix. When we bought our house you could get a 3y lowish interest fixed rate with a 10% deposit. We ended up with a 10y fixed rate in the end.
Ultimately those people will be living in their homes so any price decreases aren't going to be a game changer for them and chances are at the end of the fixed rate period they'll still just about qualify to get another 2-5y fixed rate with higher interest rates or interest rates will have fallen by then allowing for some period of time on the variable rate.
It's the property speculators and landlords that are being protected by Bailey and his lack of action.
Having heard the news reports on Wagatha Christie, I think Rebekah Vardy is silly to have taken this to court. She might win, but it's not doing her reputation any good.
And I doubt her husband is grateful for giving opposition supporters ammo.
Doubt it. "Except for the Drinkwater tip-off" is up there with What have the Romans ever done for us?
Unless her husband is seriously financially controlling why would she do this?
The Bank of England plans to keep interest rates at a record low until unemployment falls to 7% - something unlikely for another three years - in a major new departure for British monetary policy.
Barely a month after Canadian Mark Carney took over from the long-serving Mervyn King as BoE governor, the central bank said on Wednesday that it would keep interest rates at 0.5 percent unless inflation threatened to get out of control or there was a danger to financial stability
Unemployment went below 7% just five months later and it kept on falling. Today it stands at 3.8%.
Some of the South American ladies on my boat are wearing masks. Outdoors. On a deck. On a half empty ferry.
Covering up their latest plastic surgery?
One of the Argentinian guys has got a full on KN95 mask
I repeat, we are outdoors. On a largely empty deck. On a ferry
Now he’s taken it off to have a cigarette. That makes total sense, actuarially. His friends are wearing their masks - but pulled down under their chins.
In other and far more important news, the economy has begun to slow down. I haven't seen the full report but my guess is that the shot weather in March pushed services to below zero but even that means we're now looking at 0.1-0.2% monthly growth rather than the necessary 0.3-0.4% we need for another few months to recover some of the lost growth from the last year and a bit.
Worse is that economies across Europe are in even more terrible shape and some never really recovered from COVID in the first place so they're shrinking without having reached the pre-COVID high.
I'm also not sure what the government or other countries can do about it. We have no ammunition left in the monetary gun. IMO the countries that handle this best will be those that figure out wealth creation at the bottom (younger people) and prevent wealth concentration at the top (older people). So far that doesn't seem to be on the agenda anywhere. Countries are still stealing from their young to fund programmes for old people all over Europe and in the US.
And that is not going to change in the UK because it's the older people who vote for this "Government"...
@MaxPB needs to start supporting Labour to get what he seeks: wealth creation for the young versus old.
But Labour don't advocate for that. Any time any suggestion of reducing benefits to the old is suggested, Labour comes out screaming against it.
The problem is Labour unlike Max haven't identified the problem, they just want benefits for all which isn't viable.
Indeed. People are projecting their own hopes onto Labour policy yet the reality is that Labour policy is no different and they'll be disappointed.
Isn't the Attorney General supposed to provide Government with impartial rather than partisan advice.
In a ruling that would make even Charlie Falconer blush Cruella assures us that breaching the terms of an international treaty namely the NI Protocol is "lawful".
“Labour MP Stella Creasy reveals rape threat while at Cambridge University”
With respect to Ms Creasy, and all the other women (people) who have suffered sexual violence….
I just don’t think this kind of story/revelation is politically smart. It smacks of naval gazing.
You’re trying to convince the country to elect you as a party of government. To stand up for other people. To govern.
This is a distraction. I think they think it humanises them. I think it diminishes them.
No offence intended. Yes I do think sexual violence is a serious problem that needs to be tackled properly etc etc.
Just don’t make it so much about YOU ffs. I don’t think Labour are ready for government. They need a grid and a media strategy and 100% focus on the VOTERS.
That's a very odd comment. Backbench MPs talk about all kinds of stuff, all the time. Why single out this unless it makes you uncomfortable ?
I don't disagree with your last two sentences, but they seem to me something of a non sequitur.
I always feel uncomfortable when serious allegations are made to the press, without sufficient detail for a serious investigation.
To give another example (from another party), Jamie Wallace MP claims he was raped.
Perhaps he was, in which case he should be giving full details to the police (not partial details to the press).
Sexual harassment or rape is very wrong.
It is also a very serious allegation to make, and any very serious allegation warrants a very serious investigation to find out the truth.
I can't see how we improve matters if (as Stella Creasey has done), you stay silent for 20 years, and then release the claims (without names) to the press.
Even now, she could report the individuals responsible for the rape threat/sexual harassment to the police.
And, Ms Creasy could name the individuals responsible for the (alleged) botched College response, which apparently led to her being censured by the College.
Given how slowly things change at Cambridge, those individuals may still be running Magdalene College.
Or, more likely, promoted to run EDI for the whole of Cambridge University.
As it is, I tend to agree with @ping. It feels self-centered.
Telecoms group Vodafone is in talks to combine its UK operations with its domestic rival Three UK, the mobile operator owned by Hong Kong infrastructure conglomerate CK Hutchison, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The deal, if it materialised, would herald the latest attempt to consolidate the British mobile market as Vodafone faces pressure from Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, to simplify its business, pursue deals in national markets and improve returns.
A combination of Vodafone UK and Three UK would bring together the third and fourth largest mobile network operators in Britain, though any deal to reduce the number of leading brands from four to three would trigger scrutiny from competition authorities.
Industry executives are hopeful that regulators’ increased awareness of the need to invest in network infrastructure has made them more amenable to mergers than they were in 2016, when the European Commission blocked a proposed merger between O2 and Three.....
...The exact structure being discussed between Vodafone and CK Hutchison could not be learnt, though Read has said on many occasions that he is focused on pursuing combinations more than outright purchases, given his ambitions to reduce the group’s debt.
So, as a businessman who only yesterday was looking at phone contracts, I observed two offers: THREE: Unlimited everything: £10.83 a month VODA: Unlimited everythinng: £25 a month I can guess what the new pricing structure will be if Vodafone swallow up Three.
You get what you pay for. I pay £31 per month and it has unlimited everything with 5G, Spotify and roaming in ~80 countries (including the US which is important for me). I'm also able to stream 4k video on 5G without any issues, sometimes it feels faster than my home broadband connection.
Yeah I get all that. On a pre-price rise £9.99 a month (+VAT).
“Labour MP Stella Creasy reveals rape threat while at Cambridge University”
With respect to Ms Creasy, and all the other women (people) who have suffered sexual violence….
I just don’t think this kind of story/revelation is politically smart. It smacks of naval gazing.
You’re trying to convince the country to elect you as a party of government. To stand up for other people. To govern.
This is a distraction. I think they think it humanises them. I think it diminishes them.
No offence intended. Yes I do think sexual violence is a serious problem that needs to be tackled properly etc etc.
Just don’t make it so much about YOU ffs. I don’t think Labour are ready for government. They need a grid and a media strategy and 100% focus on the VOTERS.
That's a very odd comment. Backbench MPs talk about all kinds of stuff, all the time. Why single out this unless it makes you uncomfortable ?
I don't disagree with your last two sentences, but they seem to me something of a non sequitur.
I always feel uncomfortable when serious allegations are made to the press, without sufficient detail for a serious investigation.
To give another example (from another party), Jamie Wallace MP claims he was raped.
Perhaps he was, in which case he should be giving full details to the police (not partial details to the press).
Sexual harassment or rape is very wrong.
It is also a very serious allegation to make, and any very serious allegation warrants a very serious investigation to find out the truth.
I can't see how we improve matters if (as Stella Creasey has done), you stay silent for 20 years, and then release the claims (without names) to the press.
Even now, she could report the individuals responsible for the rape threat/sexual harassment to the police.
And, Ms Creasy could name the individuals responsible for the (alleged) botched College response, which apparently led to her being censured by the College.
Given how slowly things change at Cambridge, those individuals may still be running Magdalene College.
Or, more likely, promoted to run EDI for the whole of Cambridge University.
As it is, I tend to agree with @ping. It feels self-centered.
It's not like Jamie/Janie wouldn't have had plenty of opportunities to chat about the assault with South Wales Police in the last six months.
I've never really understood the purpose of freeports in countries like the UK. I mean, if you're in a country with high tariffs, cheap labour and expensive regulation, then a freeport offers lots of advantages.
But if you're in a country with low tariffs, expensive labour and average regulation, then what's the benefit.
Looks good to people such as BigG.
Holyhead and Ynys Mon need the benefit of a freeport which has been agreed with both HMG and the Welsh government
Funny it's in a Tory constituency. And you might want to consider HMG's record on achieving such things. Especially as they are so incompetent they're ending up scrapping import controls because they can't think how to do it. Which reduces the point of a freeport even more.
And there is this thing called the 'sea'. With something called the 'tide' pushing it to and fro. Right on the doorstep. And they want to repeat the Hinckley fiasco there? Pull the other one.
Ynys Mon has had a long history of nuclear and the freeport is in conjunction with the Welsh Labour government
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and 9
WG's not going to say no with you and others just waiting to denounce them if they do. It's UKG money anyway. Still doesn't answer the main point of why bother with a freeport?
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
Maybe ask why 11 Scottish ports are seeking freeport status if they are so irrelevant
If everywhere is a freeport, where is the competitive advantage?
They are competing against each other for the 2 freeports on offer
Why only 2?
Seems that his been agreed with the Scottish government
The Scottish government were dead set against the idea, as they usually are with ideas emanating from the UK government - until all their port authorities complained and wanted to be in on the scheme.
Having heard the news reports on Wagatha Christie, I think Rebekah Vardy is silly to have taken this to court. She might win, but it's not doing her reputation any good.
And I doubt her husband is grateful for giving opposition supporters ammo.
Scored twice last night, and an assist on the third.
Comments
The deal, if it materialised, would herald the latest attempt to consolidate the British mobile market as Vodafone faces pressure from Europe’s largest activist investor, Cevian Capital, to simplify its business, pursue deals in national markets and improve returns.
A combination of Vodafone UK and Three UK would bring together the third and fourth largest mobile network operators in Britain, though any deal to reduce the number of leading brands from four to three would trigger scrutiny from competition authorities.
Industry executives are hopeful that regulators’ increased awareness of the need to invest in network infrastructure has made them more amenable to mergers than they were in 2016, when the European Commission blocked a proposed merger between O2 and Three.....
...The exact structure being discussed between Vodafone and CK Hutchison could not be learnt, though Read has said on many occasions that he is focused on pursuing combinations more than outright purchases, given his ambitions to reduce the group’s debt.
https://www.ft.com/content/c4f9aac3-94f0-4d4b-ae9b-5b9e97fbc2d1
Try demanding that as a payrise from your employer, they’ll tell you where to go.
And according to today's poll 48% are not confident Starmer followed covid rules
So you get what you vote for. And some people have been weaponised to think things they know not to be true whilst supporting thick as mince MPs. I'm not saying "just vote Labour in Ashfield / Stockton South and all your problems disappear - thats not how it works. But to solve problems you have to recognise they exist...
THREE: Unlimited everything: £10.83 a month
VODA: Unlimited everythinng: £25 a month
I can guess what the new pricing structure will be if Vodafone swallow up Three.
As far as tidal is concerned there are plans for a tidal barrier between Llandudno and Prestatyn
https://www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk/news/19994734.ynys-mon-mp-backs-nuclear-power-anglesey/
https://www.geplus.co.uk/news/north-wales-7bn-tidal-lagoon-gets-thumbs-up-from-council-03-03-2022/
It was looking at the threat of climate change to coffee producers, and for many small farmers it is existential, and also different species that are more drought tolerant than aribica or robusta.
Allowing so many people on unlimited plans causes congestion.
Why I respect Alex Cole-Hamilton is that he is going to Holyrood and holding the government to account for what it is doing in government. The Tories and Labour seem obsessed with factional stuff about independence, the LibDems are arguing about policy and delivery. Which was also our platform for the locals - councillors who deliver, not councillors who are opposed to x.
It'll be a surprise if the power station is up and running within the next but one parliamentary term.
And that tidal scheme is only one proposal amongst many - not a definite plan. Green bullshit from HMG, who should have been on this many years ago (from all parties).
They are also ridiculously coy about Brexit. Times have moved on and there is really no downside to ramming home repeatedly that the Tories have “cocked up Brexit”. It’s a message a leaver and a remainer can both identify with.
If I lose my roaming data with Vodafone I'll have to move to O2 despite the shit signal.
But I must go and talk to my mince in the fridge. It'd be a more rational and life-enhancing conversation than with the kind of fact free nonsense that seems all too common this morning.
BREAKING: Finland’s President & PM have said their country should join the NATO military alliance, paving the way for a formal application. It would end decades of neutrality and comes in defiance of warnings from Russia. “Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay” ⬇️ https://twitter.com/haynesdeborah/status/1524647725433823234/photo/1
Are the estimates allowing for differential turnout? Older homeowners are the ones who turnout in the locals, rather than the 65% odd who do for a GE. This could give a falsly optimistic view for the Tories if not adjusted in the modelled vote.
I think the Tories will be toast if Labour get a good GE turnout, but Starmer is just so wooden that I think they might not. He needs to copy Attlee and put the team out front rather than run a presidential style campaign.
Freee money for Tory cronies and more donations for the Tory party.
Out of our pockets, remember.
-0.1% growth might be the governments cunning plan to take the heat out of inflation by reducing demand.
Lorra snow in Ethiopia, it's why the Nile used to flood in spring before they dammed it
Worse is that economies across Europe are in even more terrible shape and some never really recovered from COVID in the first place so they're shrinking without having reached the pre-COVID high.
I'm also not sure what the government or other countries can do about it. We have no ammunition left in the monetary gun. IMO the countries that handle this best will be those that figure out wealth creation at the bottom (younger people) and prevent wealth concentration at the top (older people). So far that doesn't seem to be on the agenda anywhere. Countries are still stealing from their young to fund programmes for old people all over Europe and in the US.
But...
The big difference from the past is that we now have very high house prices. And not wanting them to crash has been driving government and BoE policy since 2008.
https://twitter.com/kateferguson4/status/1524650439177695238
Guess this guy doesn't read PB...
Labour's problem is that Starmer took over to be the burner leader; repair the damage of 2019, lose by less in 2023 and retire, before someone else became PM in 2028.
Partly because of his competence, partly because of the incompetence of his opponents and enemies, there's a real chance of him being PM. That creates problems, but they're nice problems to have.
Yet more blowback from Moscow’s war in Ukraine
https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1524649411506323461
Weird Swedish fact: you can’t get those lovely big mild French onions in Sweden. So if one of us is abroad we pop a couple of packs in our suitcase on way home.
Genuine questions.
Backbench MPs talk about all kinds of stuff, all the time. Why single out this unless it makes you uncomfortable ?
I don't disagree with your last two sentences, but they seem to me something of a non sequitur.
The theory is you get better bids that way.
The arbitrary power it gives Westminster is just a delightful bonus.
And there is always something implausibly romantic about crossing the Med, on a boat, to an island…
Homeric
No. Labour are proposing nothing like that. They are in 100% agreement with the government agenda.
And I doubt her husband is grateful for giving opposition supporters ammo.
In contrast, we switched from Vodafone to EE because the latter provide a signal that reaches inside the Faraday cage that is our house. I guess we will have to pay for an add-on roaming package for our planned trips to Europe this year - guess what I'm blaming that on? ;-)
I'm not saying that moving wealth out of housing isn't incredibly desirable, but some of the biggest losers in a house price crash are people who really haven't done anything wrong.
Once the police decide and issue FPNs or not, the public view will presumably change. If Starmer gets an FPN that 48% will shoot up, but if he doesn’t, it will collapse. Likewise, the 28% who think BJ followed the rules may be eroded if he gets more FPNs.
There are 3 places to have a border: Within the island of Ireland, between Britain and Ireland (the protocol as now is) or between the island of Ireland and the EU. Each of course breaches a red line for someone.
The fourth solution - is it too late? - is for the UK to join EFTA and be allowed to derogate from FoM.
It seems to me that this solution breaches far fewer red lines than the others, and involves a compromise on all sides - we accept membership of the SM for trade, the EU accepts a derogation.
A Labour policy aspiration for the future?
If Freeports are so great, why not have the whole country as one?
The problem is Labour unlike Max haven't identified the problem, they just want benefits for all which isn't viable.
I repeat, we are outdoors. On a largely empty deck. On a ferry
Now he’s taken it off to have a cigarette. That makes total sense, actuarially. His friends are wearing their masks - but pulled down under their chins.
Covid has driven quite a few people entirely mad
The real crime, was not slowly raising rates from around 2012 onwards. The BoE should have said, normal is around 4 to 5%, but we're going to increase rates slowly (maybe 0.5% every six to nine months). But they didn't because that might have put Ed Miliband in Downing Street.
Ultimately those people will be living in their homes so any price decreases aren't going to be a game changer for them and chances are at the end of the fixed rate period they'll still just about qualify to get another 2-5y fixed rate with higher interest rates or interest rates will have fallen by then allowing for some period of time on the variable rate.
It's the property speculators and landlords that are being protected by Bailey and his lack of action.
Unless her husband is seriously financially controlling why would she do this?
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/aug/07/bank-of-england-forward-guidance-eurozone#block-52021439e4b0afb9dd11aa37
The Bank of England plans to keep interest rates at a record low until unemployment falls to 7% - something unlikely for another three years - in a major new departure for British monetary policy.
Barely a month after Canadian Mark Carney took over from the long-serving Mervyn King as BoE governor, the central bank said on Wednesday that it would keep interest rates at 0.5 percent unless inflation threatened to get out of control or there was a danger to financial stability
Unemployment went below 7% just five months later and it kept on falling. Today it stands at 3.8%.
They’ve have people being required to stay at home with “flu like symptoms” that are apparently not coronavirus
In a ruling that would make even Charlie Falconer blush Cruella assures us that breaching the terms of an international treaty namely the NI Protocol is "lawful".
Now I am no lawyer, but...
To give another example (from another party), Jamie Wallace MP claims he was raped.
Perhaps he was, in which case he should be giving full details to the police (not partial details to the press).
Sexual harassment or rape is very wrong.
It is also a very serious allegation to make, and any very serious allegation warrants a very serious investigation to find out the truth.
I can't see how we improve matters if (as Stella Creasey has done), you stay silent for 20 years, and then release the claims (without names) to the press.
Even now, she could report the individuals responsible for the rape threat/sexual harassment to the police.
And, Ms Creasy could name the individuals responsible for the (alleged) botched College response, which apparently led to her being censured by the College.
Given how slowly things change at Cambridge, those individuals may still be running Magdalene College.
Or, more likely, promoted to run EDI for the whole of Cambridge University.
As it is, I tend to agree with @ping. It feels self-centered.
Your hero Byron liked a bit of the other as well as bottles of sauce. When in Greece..
Finland's going to join NATO, it seems.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61420185
It isn't noticeably putting him off.