Last week it was in two places that made it certain Boris time is up. Grant Shapps face. And PB.
My reading of PB is it has crossed a sort of Rubicon – the opposition parties, Libdems, Labour, more than happy for this status quo of Boris still there and hope it will go on now all the way up to the general election. It’s the Tory posters I sense leaning towards the idea of turning a page on Boris and his government and having to defend the indefensible on the doorstep and everywhere, and getting a fresh start to rally around instead. By all means correct me if I have this wrong.
The idea Boris remains popular and becomes more popular after he is out is laughable, his time as PM wont be remembered well as time passes.
His spell has been more shit than Gordon Brown. It doesn’t deserve to be longer!
It'll be interesting to see how the Tories behave post-Boris (should he be ousted). I can easily see a split, a kind of GoP/Trump scenario with the pragmatists moving on with the new leader, whilst the Borisites bewail a terrible injustice and try desperately to keep the Boris flame alive. (Five years ago I'd have thought the latter scenario crazy, but now I'm far from sure.)
I still think the latter scenario is crazy. Who are "the Borisites"?
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
Lots of very well paid public sector jobs handed out to chums and bad un's just like down south David. Sturgeon and Boris are cheeks of the same arse except for him having some charisma and being less ruthless.
All the twits on here tossing out the word Fascism like some halfwit 80s lefty student having a microgasm of outrage should take a fortnight’s holiday in Afghanistan under the Taliban
THAT is Fascism, probably the purest example the world can show, as of today
The worship of violence, the worship of the patriarchy, the total refutation of democracy or liberalism, the brutal intolerance of different opinions, the veneration of some mystical power, the adulation and conflation of creed/party/nation, the cruel and relentless misogyny, the perception of outsiders and unbelievers (and women) as inherently inferior, the deliberate sadism as a public policy…
And on, and on.
Trying to lasso @HYUFD or Boris Johnson into the same paddock as the Taliban is laughable. And pitiful. Stop
Ah come on. The Taliban is a religious theocracy. Its not remotely fascist even though its very good at repressing people.
I believe she threw the "f-word" into her speech deliberately to get it talked about and it worked going off how many times it has been viewed. Its certainly overblown. But highlights some painful realities that too many people - your good self included - are happy to accept because you are the beneficiary of the othering and of the dismantling of our democratic institutions.
Remember that most of the students who throw "fascist" and "communist" about are usually advocates of the opposing extreme. I'm not. I'm a democrat, and the idea that we just sit back whilst we allow a government to start the dismantling of the rule of law and freedom of speech and assembly is not something I accept.
A notably dumb comment which begins with a lumbering tautology and continues from there. “Religious theocracy”?
Such a killer paragraph from Mike but will the tories see sense?
'His supporters argue that Johnson’s great strength is that he is seen as an election winner. My response is that his victories over the discredited LAB figures of Livingstone and Corbyn are really no big deal.'
OGH has said that before and he's still wrong. Livingstone is only discredited because Boris beat him. Twice.
A Tory winning Labour London even once - let alone twice - really, really is a big deal. A massive deal. Boris's electoral ceiling even now is still far higher than anyone else on the Tory benches (or SKS). The only thing that has changed is that his electoral floor is much lower too.
Yes, but it is quite self fulfilling. When Johnsons electoral career ends in failure (as all political careers do) is his loss because he is discredited, or is he discredited by the loss?
It will be interesting to see how he does on his book sales and after dinner speaking. As I have said before I just don't get the fees paid to ex-PMs for after dinner speaking. I used to book speakers for conferences and you can get some great ones for a fraction of the price. I can't imagine May being any good, but she pulls in the money. Some have said it is for the contacts.
What I do believe is that Boris will be a brilliant after dinner speaker anyway and will probably earn a future on the book deals even if he is discredited when leaving office.
Surely the appeal of Theresa May as a speaker, and Blair for that matter, lies in offering an insight into the serious business of politics, government and international relations. They are serious people speaking to an audience of serious people who want a glimpse behind the curtain.
Boris is not a serious speaker; he is a clown; he tells jokes; he is an entertaining speaker. Look at how badly he was received at the CBI conference where captains of industry had not paid to be amused by tales of Peppa Pig World.
I should imagine Boris's big cheques will come from journalism — the Telegraph paid him £250,000 a year for a weekly column that probably took about two hours' work; a fee that could easily be doubled, at least — and a return to television. £5 million for his memoirs, even if part of that is spent repaying the advance for his long-delayed Shakespeare book. A couple of moosehead chairs at well-endowed American universities for another couple of million, and pretty soon we are talking about serious money for unserious commitments. If Boris can break into American television, the sky is the limit.
That is the 2nd day running where a post has been made where I have to admit I rather missed the point spectacularly. When I booked speakers I was booking them for entertainment value (hence why I think Boris will be brilliant). It never crossed my mind that people wanted serious speakers.
Did you actually read the article? The headline bears almost no actual relation to the content, which itself is total nonsense.
In fact, what they do is look at the percentage of properties which have seen an asking price drop of over 5% (no idea why this is chosen) and, of those, the average drop.
So Scotland comes out as having the fewest price drops but by far the largest drops where they happen (which I think is just because they have more of an "offers over" market so not directly comparable). London and the South are pretty much in the pack on percentage dropping price, and on the low side on size of drop.
In next CP leads market (BF) Hunt clear favourite at 6.2, Truss 8.2, Tugendat 8.4, Wallace 10.5.
I can't see Hunt getting past the membership - I would sell him.
(Heck it is far from clear that he either stands or makes it past the MPs. Big sell.)
I don't have any personal information, but I'm a constituent and know him a bit. I'm pretty sure he'll stand, and I agree he'd be good medicine for their Blue Wall problem, more so than Wallace or Truss.
Do you think he’d be able to keep the red wall too ?
The Tories best bet iro that is to focus on the bits they are best placed to retain imo - where they took a big lead, Bishop Auckland, Sedgefield, Rother Valley etc, forget Redcar, Leigh etc they are dropping anyway, and look at seats that had a big bxp vote - Hartlepool (obv try and retain from by election) Sunderland etc
By the time the next election comes Brexit will be 4+ years ago. Voters will be expecting to see results and Bishop Auckland / Sedgefield there is no success to talk about...
I disagree. I think the shift was for the thing to be done not for it to achieve an end, as we see with the not particularly drastic movement in brexit polling since. The thing was done. It marks a shift in these areas that will partially 'naturally' hold against national movements (opposite true in remainia of course) Dehenna in Bishop Auckland for example has a massive majority and first time incumbancy. In all but a meltdown i have her safe
Do you live or work in the constituency? Or are you looking from a distance without local knowledge, local news, local gossip down the pub...
I asked @wooliedyed if he lived in another constituency yesterday. If we keep this up he will get paranoid that we trying to track him down.
I'll make it easy! Im in Norwich South. No, i have no specific Bishop Auckland knowledge, eek, and if anyone has then please do counter me. Im going on the 2019 result, the fact shes a first time incumbant and the slightly less drastic loss of support in parts if brexity red wall the locals hinted at. Shes got an 18% majority. Gossip down the pub is overrated. All constituencies have very varied wards so unless youre drinking in a LOT of pubs it means very little. Local news, sure, but somebody will usually chime in if there is a specific local issue.
Spoil sport. Now where exactly in Norwich South?
I found your stuff the other day on Mole Valley very interesting.
Thank you. I would say i'm in the Labour bit but thats all of it now, its apparently safer than Jarrow. Which is bizarre given it was a Thatcher gain and a one term LD gain in 2010. Generally i think the actuality nationally is not as bad as the polling for the Tories if they act now, its loss of certainty to vote killing them. That improves with big dog removal. As the closish locals NEV suggests when actual Xs called for rather than mood music. Significant economic headwinds though from here
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
All true. As Scottish politics sits within a Unionist vs Nationalist prison which itself is within the ongoing UK Tories vs non Tories battle, the ability to oppose is difficult.
The simple reality is that for the three opposition parties to effectively work together is politically impossible. They manage it at council level where nobody is looking, but nationally Labour can't drop its pretence that its dominance is about to come back, the LibDems need to be heard so want to stand apart, and nobody will work with the Tories because morals.
I don't know how we fix it. Because despite the SNP's genuine non-scum compared to the Tories image, they are a big screw up on a whole heap of policy areas. And keep trying to drag us off down the independence rabbit hole without actually wanting to say what is on the other side.
Scotland desperately needs a new, centrist party, something like what the Tories were turning into under Ruth but with more breadth of vision and proper policy options focused on Scotland. I will be interested to see what Blair, Ruth, Rory and others are up to but the experience of Alba does not give much encouragement.
Im afraid thats nonsense, bidding wars above asking price are happening all the time
Not round here. Lot of apparently desirable property not shifting.
Have friends wanting to move from Richmond to Devon. Only three viewings on their VERY smart garden flat with a superb office in the garden. No offers.
Meanwhile, you don't even get to view properties in Devon unless you have the cash/firm buyer already set up.
Keir needs a reverse dead cat to KEEP Boris in situ.
Suggest the next head of the Serious Crimes Unit should be transgender or something.
There’s a real risk that Keir loses if Boris is ousted.
History suggests they'll go for Priti Truss or Raab. The only possibles who haven't compromised themselves by being over supportive nor overtly disloyal by dumping on him. All of them no-hopers. As is two-times loser Hunt.
The only real danger to Starmer-bright human and articulate-is Rishi but Johnson's screwed him before he got out of the blocks.
Almost anyone is a danger to Starmer. He has completely failed to make any impression as LOTO, he is very fortunate to be facing Johnson. He barely leads a fat discredited dog on its deathbed as best PM.
I think you underestimate him. He's not flamboyant nor particularly articulate. But he seems safe. He's a Volvo and after three years with a rust-bucket Trabant which can't pass it's MOT that what voters will settle for
Starmer is dullness, cubed.
Big Bad Dom nails Starmer in that excellent Unherd interview. Starmer is…. Rubbish. Just really poor on multiple levels. Bad communicator, no sense of humour, no fresh thinking, a slave to convention, a bore. But he might just become PM because Boris and the rest of it. The Tories are exhausted
It is an indictment of the state of British politics that someone as smart as Cummings is out of a job whereas so many time servers plod on and on. I accept that he is divisive and Marmitey
He reminds me oddly of Mandelson. Clearly an asset to UK PLC but annoys too many people
Anyone can point at things that are wrong, it's easy, especially if there are lots of things that are wrong. The difficult thing is (a) identifying a solution and (b) working towards the implementation of the solution. On (a), the one solution that Dom is best known for, Brexit, has transparently failed to make things better - in fact, the opposite. On (b), Dom got everyone's backs up then fell out with his boss because he didn't like his boss's wife and left before he really did anything. This is not a successful track record. In any case, I doubt he is out of a job, I would assume he is getting paid to do something by someone at the murkier end of the global financial ecosystem, the same kind of people who financed Brexit.
Such a killer paragraph from Mike but will the tories see sense?
'His supporters argue that Johnson’s great strength is that he is seen as an election winner. My response is that his victories over the discredited LAB figures of Livingstone and Corbyn are really no big deal.'
OGH has said that before and he's still wrong. Livingstone is only discredited because Boris beat him. Twice.
A Tory winning Labour London even once - let alone twice - really, really is a big deal. A massive deal. Boris's electoral ceiling even now is still far higher than anyone else on the Tory benches (or SKS). The only thing that has changed is that his electoral floor is much lower too.
Yes, but it is quite self fulfilling. When Johnsons electoral career ends in failure (as all political careers do) is his loss because he is discredited, or is he discredited by the loss?
It will be interesting to see how he does on his book sales and after dinner speaking. As I have said before I just don't get the fees paid to ex-PMs for after dinner speaking. I used to book speakers for conferences and you can get some great ones for a fraction of the price. I can't imagine May being any good, but she pulls in the money. Some have said it is for the contacts.
What I do believe is that Boris will be a brilliant after dinner speaker anyway and will probably earn a future on the book deals even if he is discredited when leaving office.
Surely the appeal of Theresa May as a speaker, and Blair for that matter, lies in offering an insight into the serious business of politics, government and international relations. They are serious people speaking to an audience of serious people who want a glimpse behind the curtain.
Boris is not a serious speaker; he is a clown; he tells jokes; he is an entertaining speaker. Look at how badly he was received at the CBI conference where captains of industry had not paid to be amused by tales of Peppa Pig World.
I should imagine Boris's big cheques will come from journalism — the Telegraph paid him £250,000 a year for a weekly column that probably took about two hours' work; a fee that could easily be doubled, at least — and a return to television. £5 million for his memoirs, even if part of that is spent repaying the advance for his long-delayed Shakespeare book. A couple of moosehead chairs at well-endowed American universities for another couple of million, and pretty soon we are talking about serious money for unserious commitments. If Boris can break into American television, the sky is the limit.
That is the 2nd day running where a post has been made where I have to admit I rather missed the point spectacularly. When I booked speakers I was booking them for entertainment value (hence why I think Boris will be brilliant). It never crossed my mind that people wanted serious speakers.
I've sat through Kevin Keegan. Twice. He tells some jokes about his own career. Then it gets serious and he talks about leadership and psychology and tries to apply it to the setting he is addressing. Both times the back end of the speech was different in how the same career highlights and "wasn't I stupid" gags relate to the crowd.
So yes, you need to have someone who has a purpose. Otherwise why not just book someone who came 3rd on Britain's Got Talent a decade ago to sing some songs at people?
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
All true. As Scottish politics sits within a Unionist vs Nationalist prison which itself is within the ongoing UK Tories vs non Tories battle, the ability to oppose is difficult.
The simple reality is that for the three opposition parties to effectively work together is politically impossible. They manage it at council level where nobody is looking, but nationally Labour can't drop its pretence that its dominance is about to come back, the LibDems need to be heard so want to stand apart, and nobody will work with the Tories because morals.
I don't know how we fix it. Because despite the SNP's genuine non-scum compared to the Tories image, they are a big screw up on a whole heap of policy areas. And keep trying to drag us off down the independence rabbit hole without actually wanting to say what is on the other side.
Scotland desperately needs a new, centrist party, something like what the Tories were turning into under Ruth but with more breadth of vision and proper policy options focused on Scotland. I will be interested to see what Blair, Ruth, Rory and others are up to but the experience of Alba does not give much encouragement.
If Douglas quits they might retry the Ruth effect with Meghan. She even wrote her thesis on the impact of Ruth on Scottish politics.
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
All true. As Scottish politics sits within a Unionist vs Nationalist prison which itself is within the ongoing UK Tories vs non Tories battle, the ability to oppose is difficult.
The simple reality is that for the three opposition parties to effectively work together is politically impossible. They manage it at council level where nobody is looking, but nationally Labour can't drop its pretence that its dominance is about to come back, the LibDems need to be heard so want to stand apart, and nobody will work with the Tories because morals.
I don't know how we fix it. Because despite the SNP's genuine non-scum compared to the Tories image, they are a big screw up on a whole heap of policy areas. And keep trying to drag us off down the independence rabbit hole without actually wanting to say what is on the other side.
Scotland desperately needs a new, centrist party, something like what the Tories were turning into under Ruth but with more breadth of vision and proper policy options focused on Scotland. I will be interested to see what Blair, Ruth, Rory and others are up to but the experience of Alba does not give much encouragement.
If only people listened to Alex Cole-Hamilton. I honestly believe we are trying to offer a new centrist vision - we're certainly not just banging a unionist drum saying "the status quo is best". The problem remains cut-through, and with respect to every non-SNP politician since Ruth Davidson they have been shown to be boring non-entities, or have spectacular implosions, or both. ACH included.
One MP has told Sky News: "The prime minister is in more danger than he thinks he's in, and more danger than the whips realise." https://trib.al/MgMkdHc
Shortages of GPs. The BBC has published a map, and I had expected it would correlate with Brexit, via left-behind and declining towns, but instead its most striking feature is the clear division between east and west. There are more doctors per 100,000 patients in the west half of the country. Not Brexit country; not the prosperous Home Counties or South-East either. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
The Comres is 27-29 fully after the money splurge which Nick claimed reduced the Lab lead to 2. Tories 31 lead ELEVEN Nick.
MoonRabbit poll predictor queen. 😝
Very true. I'm delighted.
Comres is very much last poll reported syndrome though. Redfield had plus 5. One of them is heading in the incorrect direction or is just an outlier. Or its really opiniums no movement that is right.
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
The IFS is stark:
Brutal: "On the plans set out today, the axe is set to fall on a wide range of public service areas. Budgets for local government, the police, justice, universities, rural affairs are due to fall by around 8% in real-terms over the next four years."
I wonder if they were counting on having more pliant SNP local authorities in place, rather than opposition coalitions who will complain about “SNP CUTS!!!”
Mind you, since the census is fecked they won’t be able to work out local authority allocations anyway….
One MP has told Sky News: "The prime minister is in more danger than he thinks he's in, and more danger than the whips realise." https://trib.al/MgMkdHc
Im going to be predictably unscientific here but there truly does feel to be a change in the air. It also feels like some MPs are feeling relieved at accepting that. And Im actually greatly looking forward to a post Dog world
Im afraid thats nonsense, bidding wars above asking price are happening all the time
Not round here. Lot of apparently desirable property not shifting.
Have friends wanting to move from Richmond to Devon. Only three viewings on their VERY smart garden flat with a superb office in the garden. No offers.
Meanwhile, you don't even get to view properties in Devon unless you have the cash/firm buyer already set up.
They are finding it rather dispiriting.
With WFH trends and the capital turning into a labour fiefdom, there must be plenty wanting to do that trade, I guess??
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
The IFS is stark:
Brutal: "On the plans set out today, the axe is set to fall on a wide range of public service areas. Budgets for local government, the police, justice, universities, rural affairs are due to fall by around 8% in real-terms over the next four years."
I wonder if they were counting on having more pliant SNP local authorities in place, rather than opposition coalitions who will complain about “SNP CUTS!!!”
Mind you, since the census is fecked they won’t be able to work out local authority allocations anyway….
The plan is to blame Westminster. Yes your services have turned to shite but its the fault of Westminster. If you vote for independence it all magically gets fixed.
Such a killer paragraph from Mike but will the tories see sense?
'His supporters argue that Johnson’s great strength is that he is seen as an election winner. My response is that his victories over the discredited LAB figures of Livingstone and Corbyn are really no big deal.'
OGH has said that before and he's still wrong. Livingstone is only discredited because Boris beat him. Twice.
A Tory winning Labour London even once - let alone twice - really, really is a big deal. A massive deal. Boris's electoral ceiling even now is still far higher than anyone else on the Tory benches (or SKS). The only thing that has changed is that his electoral floor is much lower too.
Yes, but it is quite self fulfilling. When Johnsons electoral career ends in failure (as all political careers do) is his loss because he is discredited, or is he discredited by the loss?
It will be interesting to see how he does on his book sales and after dinner speaking. As I have said before I just don't get the fees paid to ex-PMs for after dinner speaking. I used to book speakers for conferences and you can get some great ones for a fraction of the price. I can't imagine May being any good, but she pulls in the money. Some have said it is for the contacts.
What I do believe is that Boris will be a brilliant after dinner speaker anyway and will probably earn a future on the book deals even if he is discredited when leaving office.
Surely the appeal of Theresa May as a speaker, and Blair for that matter, lies in offering an insight into the serious business of politics, government and international relations. They are serious people speaking to an audience of serious people who want a glimpse behind the curtain.
Boris is not a serious speaker; he is a clown; he tells jokes; he is an entertaining speaker. Look at how badly he was received at the CBI conference where captains of industry had not paid to be amused by tales of Peppa Pig World.
I should imagine Boris's big cheques will come from journalism — the Telegraph paid him £250,000 a year for a weekly column that probably took about two hours' work; a fee that could easily be doubled, at least — and a return to television. £5 million for his memoirs, even if part of that is spent repaying the advance for his long-delayed Shakespeare book. A couple of moosehead chairs at well-endowed American universities for another couple of million, and pretty soon we are talking about serious money for unserious commitments. If Boris can break into American television, the sky is the limit.
That is the 2nd day running where a post has been made where I have to admit I rather missed the point spectacularly. When I booked speakers I was booking them for entertainment value (hence why I think Boris will be brilliant). It never crossed my mind that people wanted serious speakers.
I've sat through Kevin Keegan. Twice. He tells some jokes about his own career. Then it gets serious and he talks about leadership and psychology and tries to apply it to the setting he is addressing. Both times the back end of the speech was different in how the same career highlights and "wasn't I stupid" gags relate to the crowd.
So yes, you need to have someone who has a purpose. Otherwise why not just book someone who came 3rd on Britain's Got Talent a decade ago to sing some songs at people?
Yes it is ideal if the speaker tailors his speech to the audience. When I have booked them they normally ask me questions. I booked a magician once who wanted to know who could take a ribbing and to get some specifics on people so he could tailor his act.
One of the best speakers I have booked was a presenter on lateral thinking (can't remember his name). Very thought provoking. Richard Noble was brilliant, not because he is a good speaker (he isn't) but because of the story of 'Thrust'. A guy at the bar afterwards said to me it wants to make you stand up, salute and sing Rule Britannia. And he was right. Lawrie McMenamy was a great speaker. He tailored his speech, very motivational and was very funny.
The Comres is 27-29 fully after the money splurge which Nick claimed reduced the Lab lead to 2. Tories 31 lead ELEVEN Nick.
MoonRabbit poll predictor queen. 😝
Very true. I'm delighted.
Comres is very much last poll reported syndrome though. Redfield had plus 5. One of them is heading in the incorrect direction or is just an outlier. Or its really opiniums no movement that is right.
Stuff always takes longer to feed into the polls than we think. But if Rishi can shovel fifteen billion quid out of the window with barely a shrug from the public, the government really are in trouble.
We won't notice the £400 come the autumn; for most of us, it just means our direct debits won't go up so much. Maybe the government should just have posted an envelope of used fifty quid notes to every address in the country, no questions asked.
Two things. Firstly, judging by the way everyone is talking on here, the only thing now that can save Boris is something the causes a deep and immediate political freeze that lasts the few weeks and distracts the public. So, er, long live the King I guess.
Secondly, and completely undermining the first, why ARE you all so convinced? We've been on the verge of a leadership election for six months. You've all talked yourself into a froth about this before. Are you really that confident this time?
Two things. Firstly, judging by the way everyone is talking on here, the only thing now that can save Boris is something the causes a deep and immediate political freeze that lasts the few weeks and distracts the public. So, er, long live the King I guess.
Secondly, and completely undermining the first, why ARE you all so convinced? We've been on the verge of a leadership election for six months. You've all talked yourself into a froth about this before. Are you really that confident this time?
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
The IFS is stark:
Brutal: "On the plans set out today, the axe is set to fall on a wide range of public service areas. Budgets for local government, the police, justice, universities, rural affairs are due to fall by around 8% in real-terms over the next four years."
I wonder if they were counting on having more pliant SNP local authorities in place, rather than opposition coalitions who will complain about “SNP CUTS!!!”
Mind you, since the census is fecked they won’t be able to work out local authority allocations anyway….
Two things. Firstly, judging by the way everyone is talking on here, the only thing now that can save Boris is something the causes a deep and immediate political freeze that lasts the few weeks and distracts the public. So, er, long live the King I guess.
Secondly, and completely undermining the first, why ARE you all so convinced? We've been on the verge of a leadership election for six months. You've all talked yourself into a froth about this before. Are you really that confident this time?
I think it's the numbers who've gone public. I think we are up to the proportion that we had when T May was VOC ed. Maybe it won't happen. But it seems like a critical mass is here. Just before everyone heads off to their constituencies.
My new “landlord” in Tbilisi Old town recommended a place. “Really good Georgian food@. On Freedom Sqaure. Which is bit like recommending a restaurant on Oxford Circus or Leicester Square
I had grave doubts to say the least. Plus it also feels like an old Russian canteen from about 1965. Nonetheless I have turned up, thinking Why not. and my God he is right. Khinkali done so well you think Why would I ever eat anything else. and all with this intensely smoky chili sauce, Ajika
One MP has told Sky News: "The prime minister is in more danger than he thinks he's in, and more danger than the whips realise." https://trib.al/MgMkdHc
Sounds like MPs are more confident than us lot on here that Johnson would win a VOC?
Shortages of GPs. The BBC has published a map, and I had expected it would correlate with Brexit, via left-behind and declining towns, but instead its most striking feature is the clear division between east and west. There are more doctors per 100,000 patients in the west half of the country. Not Brexit country; not the prosperous Home Counties or South-East either. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Interesting, but a more relevant stat would be number of GPs per 100,000 wished-for appointments. I'm guessing Cornwall and Devon have quite an old population, so probably more appointments wanted. Having more GPs would make sense. So the map on the article isn't exactly measuring shortfall. London, generally younger, probably needs a lot fewer doctors per 100,000 people.
I've had a couple of days away in Oxford with the family, and switch PB back on to discover super-injunctions, letters piling up and a general sense of the wheels coming off the Johnson wagon.
Is there anyone still ramping the glorious neo-Churchillian future, or are we staring into a warm glass of flat Pol Roger?
The department that just brought you the unusable Scottish Census:
And it's striking that when you look at the table setting out that referendum spending, you can see it comes at the direct expense of Historic Environment Scotland, which is having its budget slashed by nearly a quarter.
Two things. Firstly, judging by the way everyone is talking on here, the only thing now that can save Boris is something the causes a deep and immediate political freeze that lasts the few weeks and distracts the public. So, er, long live the King I guess.
Secondly, and completely undermining the first, why ARE you all so convinced? We've been on the verge of a leadership election for six months. You've all talked yourself into a froth about this before. Are you really that confident this time?
Even Boris wouldn't bump off her majesty.
You know he would. But really I was talking about luck intervening.
Two things. Firstly, judging by the way everyone is talking on here, the only thing now that can save Boris is something the causes a deep and immediate political freeze that lasts the few weeks and distracts the public. So, er, long live the King I guess.
Secondly, and completely undermining the first, why ARE you all so convinced? We've been on the verge of a leadership election for six months. You've all talked yourself into a froth about this before. Are you really that confident this time?
We're all very good at passing our own judgements - or selectively finding comments from actual MPs that fit our preferred reality. And for a while its just sat there not really moving.
Now there is a very clear momentum that actual MPs are commenting on. In large numbers.
My new “landlord” in Tbilisi Old town recommended a place. “Really good Georgian food@. On Freedom Sqaure. Which is bit like recommending a restaurant on Oxford Circus or Leicester Square
I had grave doubts to say the least. Plus it also feels like an old Russian canteen from about 1965. Nonetheless I have turned up, thinking Why not. and my God he is right. Khinkali done so well you think Why would I ever eat anything else. and all with this intensely smoky chili sauce, Ajika
Sublime!
Adjika is great, and you can get it in pretty much any eastern European food shop here. My wife uses it in goulash instead of paprika.
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
The IFS is stark:
Brutal: "On the plans set out today, the axe is set to fall on a wide range of public service areas. Budgets for local government, the police, justice, universities, rural affairs are due to fall by around 8% in real-terms over the next four years."
I wonder if they were counting on having more pliant SNP local authorities in place, rather than opposition coalitions who will complain about “SNP CUTS!!!”
Mind you, since the census is fecked they won’t be able to work out local authority allocations anyway….
Two things. Firstly, judging by the way everyone is talking on here, the only thing now that can save Boris is something the causes a deep and immediate political freeze that lasts the few weeks and distracts the public. So, er, long live the King I guess.
Secondly, and completely undermining the first, why ARE you all so convinced? We've been on the verge of a leadership election for six months. You've all talked yourself into a froth about this before. Are you really that confident this time?
The department that just brought you the unusable Scottish Census:
And it's striking that when you look at the table setting out that referendum spending, you can see it comes at the direct expense of Historic Environment Scotland, which is having its budget slashed by nearly a quarter.
Two things. Firstly, judging by the way everyone is talking on here, the only thing now that can save Boris is something the causes a deep and immediate political freeze that lasts the few weeks and distracts the public. So, er, long live the King I guess.
Secondly, and completely undermining the first, why ARE you all so convinced? We've been on the verge of a leadership election for six months. You've all talked yourself into a froth about this before. Are you really that confident this time?
I think it's the numbers who've gone public. I think we are up to the proportion that we had when T May was VOC ed. Maybe it won't happen. But it seems like a critical mass is here. Just before everyone heads off to their constituencies.
Also they are from every wing, region and intake.
Also I do listen to Marquee Mark on these things. And his posts now carry this kind of cold expression, like that used by mafia hitmen when they carry out a job.
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
All true. As Scottish politics sits within a Unionist vs Nationalist prison which itself is within the ongoing UK Tories vs non Tories battle, the ability to oppose is difficult.
The simple reality is that for the three opposition parties to effectively work together is politically impossible. They manage it at council level where nobody is looking, but nationally Labour can't drop its pretence that its dominance is about to come back, the LibDems need to be heard so want to stand apart, and nobody will work with the Tories because morals.
I don't know how we fix it. Because despite the SNP's genuine non-scum compared to the Tories image, they are a big screw up on a whole heap of policy areas. And keep trying to drag us off down the independence rabbit hole without actually wanting to say what is on the other side.
Scotland desperately needs a new, centrist party, something like what the Tories were turning into under Ruth but with more breadth of vision and proper policy options focused on Scotland. I will be interested to see what Blair, Ruth, Rory and others are up to but the experience of Alba does not give much encouragement.
What you're asking for is for Scotland to have more centrist voters. A new centrist party would sink because few people would vote for it.
The status quo isn't working for too many people, and those it is working for are all riled up and discontented too.
Some genuinely radical and new thinking is required.
Shortages of GPs. The BBC has published a map, and I had expected it would correlate with Brexit, via left-behind and declining towns, but instead its most striking feature is the clear division between east and west. There are more doctors per 100,000 patients in the west half of the country. Not Brexit country; not the prosperous Home Counties or South-East either. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Northumberland right at the top of the supply there. Which is wondrous cos it's three weeks here to see a GP. Better or deid by the time you see anyone.
Two things. Firstly, judging by the way everyone is talking on here, the only thing now that can save Boris is something the causes a deep and immediate political freeze that lasts the few weeks and distracts the public. So, er, long live the King I guess.
Secondly, and completely undermining the first, why ARE you all so convinced? We've been on the verge of a leadership election for six months. You've all talked yourself into a froth about this before. Are you really that confident this time?
I am out here in Tbilisi with an expensive piece of big luggage which is close to collapsing. Simply because I travel so much. Zips are fraying. Wheels are loosening
Now a steel rod has sprung from the casing and making it almost unusable. See here
That’s nasty. The metal is also strong and rigid. It won’t just snap off. I’ve tried. What can I do? I’m not sure I can find high quality luggage in Tbilisi to replace it
If I could just get 1-2 more months of use out of this suitcase, I can replace it when I get back to london. Or should I give upon on this bag and scour the Caucasus for a replacement?
What happened to the 27 cheap Chinese knock-off multi-tools you bought the other week?
Bend the metal back and hope you can replace in London.
Or buy a cheap throw away piece of luggage in Tbilisi to see you through the next 2 months
I've had a couple of days away in Oxford with the family, and switch PB back on to discover super-injunctions, letters piling up and a general sense of the wheels coming off the Johnson wagon.
Is there anyone still ramping the glorious neo-Churchillian future, or are we staring into a warm glass of flat Pol Roger?
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
The IFS is stark:
Brutal: "On the plans set out today, the axe is set to fall on a wide range of public service areas. Budgets for local government, the police, justice, universities, rural affairs are due to fall by around 8% in real-terms over the next four years."
I wonder if they were counting on having more pliant SNP local authorities in place, rather than opposition coalitions who will complain about “SNP CUTS!!!”
Mind you, since the census is fecked they won’t be able to work out local authority allocations anyway….
The plan is to blame Westminster. Yes your services have turned to shite but its the fault of Westminster. If you vote for independence it all magically gets fixed.
Will the local now non-SNP councils blame Westminster?
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
All true. As Scottish politics sits within a Unionist vs Nationalist prison which itself is within the ongoing UK Tories vs non Tories battle, the ability to oppose is difficult.
The simple reality is that for the three opposition parties to effectively work together is politically impossible. They manage it at council level where nobody is looking, but nationally Labour can't drop its pretence that its dominance is about to come back, the LibDems need to be heard so want to stand apart, and nobody will work with the Tories because morals.
I don't know how we fix it. Because despite the SNP's genuine non-scum compared to the Tories image, they are a big screw up on a whole heap of policy areas. And keep trying to drag us off down the independence rabbit hole without actually wanting to say what is on the other side.
Scotland desperately needs a new, centrist party, something like what the Tories were turning into under Ruth but with more breadth of vision and proper policy options focused on Scotland. I will be interested to see what Blair, Ruth, Rory and others are up to but the experience of Alba does not give much encouragement.
If only people listened to Alex Cole-Hamilton. I honestly believe we are trying to offer a new centrist vision - we're certainly not just banging a unionist drum saying "the status quo is best". The problem remains cut-through, and with respect to every non-SNP politician since Ruth Davidson they have been shown to be boring non-entities, or have spectacular implosions, or both. ACH included.
ACH is OK. But Willie Rennie, when you see him speaking at Holyrood, is really excellent. Need more MSPs like him.
Scot LibDems are now only really competitive in a handful of places - west end of Edinburgh, NE Fife, the northern bit of Highland, plus the Northern Isles. That's really it. Not sure that I can really see them coming back elsewhere particularly if SLab pick up under Sarwar.
I've had a couple of days away in Oxford with the family, and switch PB back on to discover super-injunctions, letters piling up and a general sense of the wheels coming off the Johnson wagon.
Is there anyone still ramping the glorious neo-Churchillian future, or are we staring into a warm glass of flat Pol Roger?
I don’t think I’ve seen an optimistic post about the future that is being delivered by Boris/HMG/Brexit since some time last year.
Edit: I think that poster that look like a ugly fish still claims that working class wages are improving.
My new “landlord” in Tbilisi Old town recommended a place. “Really good Georgian food@. On Freedom Sqaure. Which is bit like recommending a restaurant on Oxford Circus or Leicester Square
I had grave doubts to say the least. Plus it also feels like an old Russian canteen from about 1965. Nonetheless I have turned up, thinking Why not. and my God he is right. Khinkali done so well you think Why would I ever eat anything else. and all with this intensely smoky chili sauce, Ajika
Sublime!
Don't get fooled by appearances. One of the reliably best places to eat I've found in Edinburgh is the Mosque Kitchen on Nicholson Sq. It looks like a student canteen, and the outdoor seating is picnic benches under an off-white tarp. But the food is good enough for Jehovah.
Public services in Scotland’s poorest areas could be harmed by widespread abstention from this year’s census in urban areas, experts fear.
Public policy specialists and opposition parties are alarmed after it emerged that by Monday only 86% of households nationwide had filled it in, well short of the 94% target, despite a four-week extension to the deadline until 31 May.
The Scottish government delayed the census until April despite it being held across the rest of the UK last year. Staged online by default for the first time at a cost of £150m, it is expected to miss all its key targets.
The department that just brought you the unusable Scottish Census:
And it's striking that when you look at the table setting out that referendum spending, you can see it comes at the direct expense of Historic Environment Scotland, which is having its budget slashed by nearly a quarter.
My new “landlord” in Tbilisi Old town recommended a place. “Really good Georgian food@. On Freedom Sqaure. Which is bit like recommending a restaurant on Oxford Circus or Leicester Square
I had grave doubts to say the least. Plus it also feels like an old Russian canteen from about 1965. Nonetheless I have turned up, thinking Why not. and my God he is right. Khinkali done so well you think Why would I ever eat anything else. and all with this intensely smoky chili sauce, Ajika
Sublime!
Don't get fooled by appearances. One of the reliably best places to eat I've found in Edinburgh is the Mosque Kitchen on Nicholson Sq. It looks like a student canteen, and the outdoor seating is picnic benches under an off-white tarp. But the food is good enough for Jehovah.
I concur. Although it was several years ago that I was taken. It's still OK then?
Two things. Firstly, judging by the way everyone is talking on here, the only thing now that can save Boris is something the causes a deep and immediate political freeze that lasts the few weeks and distracts the public. So, er, long live the King I guess.
You're not following your thoughts on fascism to their logical conclusion:
@IndiaWilloughby When the Queen dies, wouldn’t be surprised if Boris appoints himself Fuhrer and assumes total control. That’s how close I think Britain is to Nazi Germany.
Shortages of GPs. The BBC has published a map, and I had expected it would correlate with Brexit, via left-behind and declining towns, but instead its most striking feature is the clear division between east and west. There are more doctors per 100,000 patients in the west half of the country. Not Brexit country; not the prosperous Home Counties or South-East either. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Northumberland right at the top of the supply there. Which is wondrous cos it's three weeks here to see a GP. Better or deid by the time you see anyone.
Jeremy Hunt's new book Zero mentions that he did persuade Theresa May to open medical schools and train more doctors. Hunt says he recruited 3,000 more GPs a year but it made no difference as existing GPs retired or moved to part-time working.
My new “landlord” in Tbilisi Old town recommended a place. “Really good Georgian food@. On Freedom Sqaure. Which is bit like recommending a restaurant on Oxford Circus or Leicester Square
I had grave doubts to say the least. Plus it also feels like an old Russian canteen from about 1965. Nonetheless I have turned up, thinking Why not. and my God he is right. Khinkali done so well you think Why would I ever eat anything else. and all with this intensely smoky chili sauce, Ajika
Sublime!
Its great when you get tips from locals. I find that on my cycle trips in France in the middle of nowhere. In the 90s I worked in Nicosia and was taken to places where if you were a tourist you wouldn't touch with a barge pole. All were fantastic.
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
All true. As Scottish politics sits within a Unionist vs Nationalist prison which itself is within the ongoing UK Tories vs non Tories battle, the ability to oppose is difficult.
The simple reality is that for the three opposition parties to effectively work together is politically impossible. They manage it at council level where nobody is looking, but nationally Labour can't drop its pretence that its dominance is about to come back, the LibDems need to be heard so want to stand apart, and nobody will work with the Tories because morals.
I don't know how we fix it. Because despite the SNP's genuine non-scum compared to the Tories image, they are a big screw up on a whole heap of policy areas. And keep trying to drag us off down the independence rabbit hole without actually wanting to say what is on the other side.
Scotland desperately needs a new, centrist party, something like what the Tories were turning into under Ruth but with more breadth of vision and proper policy options focused on Scotland. I will be interested to see what Blair, Ruth, Rory and others are up to but the experience of Alba does not give much encouragement.
Experience of Blair, Ruth & Rory isn't really confidence inspiring either; a has been and a couple of hardly ever wasses aint gonnae cut it. Change UK is available for a name tho'..
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
The IFS is stark:
Brutal: "On the plans set out today, the axe is set to fall on a wide range of public service areas. Budgets for local government, the police, justice, universities, rural affairs are due to fall by around 8% in real-terms over the next four years."
I wonder if they were counting on having more pliant SNP local authorities in place, rather than opposition coalitions who will complain about “SNP CUTS!!!”
Mind you, since the census is fecked they won’t be able to work out local authority allocations anyway….
Good point on the census fiasco. Someone earlier asked if it has Barnet consequentials. It must have, though what they are who knows?
T’was I.
If the official population of Scotland has dropped by half a million, surely that means less money sent North by the UK gov?
True, but they're likely to make a guesstimate of some sort, acknowledging the deficiencies of the SNP govt's making. Within Scotland the distribution of UK taxpayer largesse will be less appropriately targeted than it could have been.
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
The IFS is stark:
Brutal: "On the plans set out today, the axe is set to fall on a wide range of public service areas. Budgets for local government, the police, justice, universities, rural affairs are due to fall by around 8% in real-terms over the next four years."
I wonder if they were counting on having more pliant SNP local authorities in place, rather than opposition coalitions who will complain about “SNP CUTS!!!”
Mind you, since the census is fecked they won’t be able to work out local authority allocations anyway….
The plan is to blame Westminster. Yes your services have turned to shite but its the fault of Westminster. If you vote for independence it all magically gets fixed.
Will the local now non-SNP councils blame Westminster?
No. They will blame Holyrood and the SNP who will blame Westminster. However your local council butters its toast the solution to the lack of a plate will remain independence.
Shortages of GPs. The BBC has published a map, and I had expected it would correlate with Brexit, via left-behind and declining towns, but instead its most striking feature is the clear division between east and west. There are more doctors per 100,000 patients in the west half of the country. Not Brexit country; not the prosperous Home Counties or South-East either. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Northumberland right at the top of the supply there. Which is wondrous cos it's three weeks here to see a GP. Better or deid by the time you see anyone.
Jeremy Hunt's new book Zero mentions that he did persuade Theresa May to open medical schools and train more doctors. Hunt says he recruited 3,000 more GPs a year but it made no difference as existing GPs retired or moved to part-time working.
Given that May was PM from 2016 to 2019 and it takes 5 years to get a medical degree, the students who started studying medicine in 2017 will only be graduating in the new few months and starting their first year as a doctor in September.
I've had a couple of days away in Oxford with the family, and switch PB back on to discover super-injunctions, letters piling up and a general sense of the wheels coming off the Johnson wagon.
Is there anyone still ramping the glorious neo-Churchillian future, or are we staring into a warm glass of flat Pol Roger?
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
All true. As Scottish politics sits within a Unionist vs Nationalist prison which itself is within the ongoing UK Tories vs non Tories battle, the ability to oppose is difficult.
The simple reality is that for the three opposition parties to effectively work together is politically impossible. They manage it at council level where nobody is looking, but nationally Labour can't drop its pretence that its dominance is about to come back, the LibDems need to be heard so want to stand apart, and nobody will work with the Tories because morals.
I don't know how we fix it. Because despite the SNP's genuine non-scum compared to the Tories image, they are a big screw up on a whole heap of policy areas. And keep trying to drag us off down the independence rabbit hole without actually wanting to say what is on the other side.
Scotland desperately needs a new, centrist party, something like what the Tories were turning into under Ruth but with more breadth of vision and proper policy options focused on Scotland. I will be interested to see what Blair, Ruth, Rory and others are up to but the experience of Alba does not give much encouragement.
If only people listened to Alex Cole-Hamilton. I honestly believe we are trying to offer a new centrist vision - we're certainly not just banging a unionist drum saying "the status quo is best". The problem remains cut-through, and with respect to every non-SNP politician since Ruth Davidson they have been shown to be boring non-entities, or have spectacular implosions, or both. ACH included.
ACH is OK. But Willie Rennie, when you see him speaking at Holyrood, is really excellent. Need more MSPs like him.
Scot LibDems are now only really competitive in a handful of places - west end of Edinburgh, NE Fife, the northern bit of Highland, plus the Northern Isles. That's really it. Not sure that I can really see them coming back elsewhere particularly if SLab pick up under Sarwar.
We've done decently in the NE. And there is a mood in the party not to put the bus away for another 5 years but to try and build some visibility and momentum.
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
The IFS is stark:
Brutal: "On the plans set out today, the axe is set to fall on a wide range of public service areas. Budgets for local government, the police, justice, universities, rural affairs are due to fall by around 8% in real-terms over the next four years."
I wonder if they were counting on having more pliant SNP local authorities in place, rather than opposition coalitions who will complain about “SNP CUTS!!!”
Mind you, since the census is fecked they won’t be able to work out local authority allocations anyway….
The plan is to blame Westminster. Yes your services have turned to shite but its the fault of Westminster. If you vote for independence it all magically gets fixed.
It all shows how disastrous identity politics can be. In Scotland the SNP are assured of c40% whatever they do thus breaking the link between performance and electoral reward. Does not bode well.
Two things. Firstly, judging by the way everyone is talking on here, the only thing now that can save Boris is something the causes a deep and immediate political freeze that lasts the few weeks and distracts the public. So, er, long live the King I guess.
You're not following your thoughts on fascism to their logical conclusion:
@IndiaWilloughby When the Queen dies, wouldn’t be surprised if Boris appoints himself Fuhrer and assumes total control. That’s how close I think Britain is to Nazi Germany.
Shortages of GPs. The BBC has published a map, and I had expected it would correlate with Brexit, via left-behind and declining towns, but instead its most striking feature is the clear division between east and west. There are more doctors per 100,000 patients in the west half of the country. Not Brexit country; not the prosperous Home Counties or South-East either. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Interesting, but a more relevant stat would be number of GPs per 100,000 wished-for appointments. I'm guessing Cornwall and Devon have quite an old population, so probably more appointments wanted. Having more GPs would make sense. So the map on the article isn't exactly measuring shortfall. London, generally younger, probably needs a lot fewer doctors per 100,000 people.
Otoh younger people have more babies than do OAPs. And from the link:-
The two-fold variation in GPs holds even when the age and health of the local population is taken into account to factor in how often patients are likely to need a GP, the analysis showed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Two things. Firstly, judging by the way everyone is talking on here, the only thing now that can save Boris is something the causes a deep and immediate political freeze that lasts the few weeks and distracts the public. So, er, long live the King I guess.
You're not following your thoughts on fascism to their logical conclusion:
@IndiaWilloughby When the Queen dies, wouldn’t be surprised if Boris appoints himself Fuhrer and assumes total control. That’s how close I think Britain is to Nazi Germany.
Sterling has a whole set of problems that interest rate rises won't solve and may exacerbate.
While the emerging market label is silly (in my opinion), the point about a politicised and obfuscatory Bank of England is very valid.
It’s interesting to note the poor performance of the pound this year. Obviously some of it is the “retreat to the dollar”, but that has also afflicted other currencies.
The pound has been hit additionally because investors aren’t buying the government’s economic strategy.
Needless to say this adds to inflation outlook, and perhaps explain why some analysts believe inflation will be more persistent in the UK than in peer economies.
The view that GBP (Great British Peso) is increasingly trading like an EM currency isn't an uncommon one in financial markets, in my experience. People don't think the country has an economic strategy post Brexit, the government is seen as high tax and spend without delivering good services, and the BOE is seen as unreliable and too tolerant of inflation. Occasionally someone tries to sell the line that GBP is cheap, but it never seems to have many takers. Recall that Argentina was one of the wealthiest countries in the world before WW1. It could happen to us if we keep making bad choices.
It's because the BoE is too scared of causing a housing crash and the wrath of the government should it do so. Bailey is no more than a Tory toady and the markets are pricing it in, a more independent governor would have pushed the MPC into much bigger rate rises already and rebuked the Treasury over its reckless borrowing for a one off fiscal stimulus that will stoke inflation. Whoever comes in next will need to move Bailey on and get some one like Raghuram Rajan in to stabilise the ship and win back market confidence. The Treasury and BoE have both completely lost it.
My new “landlord” in Tbilisi Old town recommended a place. “Really good Georgian food@. On Freedom Sqaure. Which is bit like recommending a restaurant on Oxford Circus or Leicester Square
I had grave doubts to say the least. Plus it also feels like an old Russian canteen from about 1965. Nonetheless I have turned up, thinking Why not. and my God he is right. Khinkali done so well you think Why would I ever eat anything else. and all with this intensely smoky chili sauce, Ajika
Sublime!
Don't get fooled by appearances. One of the reliably best places to eat I've found in Edinburgh is the Mosque Kitchen on Nicholson Sq. It looks like a student canteen, and the outdoor seating is picnic benches under an off-white tarp. But the food is good enough for Jehovah.
I concur. Although it was several years ago that I was taken. It's still OK then?
It's been several years for me too. I don't live there anymore, and it's a few hours' drive south for me.
Two things. Firstly, judging by the way everyone is talking on here, the only thing now that can save Boris is something the causes a deep and immediate political freeze that lasts the few weeks and distracts the public. So, er, long live the King I guess.
You're not following your thoughts on fascism to their logical conclusion:
@IndiaWilloughby When the Queen dies, wouldn’t be surprised if Boris appoints himself Fuhrer and assumes total control. That’s how close I think Britain is to Nazi Germany.
The department that just brought you the unusable Scottish Census:
And it's striking that when you look at the table setting out that referendum spending, you can see it comes at the direct expense of Historic Environment Scotland, which is having its budget slashed by nearly a quarter.
On July 17, 2020, the Scottish government announced that the next census, due to be held in 2021, would in fact be delayed until this year. According to Fiona Hyslop, then the minister responsible for the census, postponement was not a decision to be taken lightly but doing so would ensure that “the quality of the census data” would “remain robust” and moving the date would help ensure “the highest possible response rate from people across Scotland”.
Oops. Last week, Nicola Sturgeon was left with no option but to admit that Scotland’s census may be worthless. Although the deadline for submitting forms was extended by a month, as of last Saturday just 86 per cent of forms had been completed. Since the census is useless unless it is comprehensive and since the revised cut-off point for submitting returns is tomorrow, it will be a surprise if returns have reached the 90-plus per cent level deemed necessary for success.
Successfully getting the flight out may well defer some letters going in, depending on the MP, expecially if they think a successor might not stick with the policy.
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
The IFS is stark:
Brutal: "On the plans set out today, the axe is set to fall on a wide range of public service areas. Budgets for local government, the police, justice, universities, rural affairs are due to fall by around 8% in real-terms over the next four years."
I wonder if they were counting on having more pliant SNP local authorities in place, rather than opposition coalitions who will complain about “SNP CUTS!!!”
Mind you, since the census is fecked they won’t be able to work out local authority allocations anyway….
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
All true. As Scottish politics sits within a Unionist vs Nationalist prison which itself is within the ongoing UK Tories vs non Tories battle, the ability to oppose is difficult.
The simple reality is that for the three opposition parties to effectively work together is politically impossible. They manage it at council level where nobody is looking, but nationally Labour can't drop its pretence that its dominance is about to come back, the LibDems need to be heard so want to stand apart, and nobody will work with the Tories because morals.
I don't know how we fix it. Because despite the SNP's genuine non-scum compared to the Tories image, they are a big screw up on a whole heap of policy areas. And keep trying to drag us off down the independence rabbit hole without actually wanting to say what is on the other side.
Scotland desperately needs a new, centrist party, something like what the Tories were turning into under Ruth but with more breadth of vision and proper policy options focused on Scotland. I will be interested to see what Blair, Ruth, Rory and others are up to but the experience of Alba does not give much encouragement.
If only people listened to Alex Cole-Hamilton. I honestly believe we are trying to offer a new centrist vision - we're certainly not just banging a unionist drum saying "the status quo is best". The problem remains cut-through, and with respect to every non-SNP politician since Ruth Davidson they have been shown to be boring non-entities, or have spectacular implosions, or both. ACH included.
ACH is OK. But Willie Rennie, when you see him speaking at Holyrood, is really excellent. Need more MSPs like him.
Scot LibDems are now only really competitive in a handful of places - west end of Edinburgh, NE Fife, the northern bit of Highland, plus the Northern Isles. That's really it. Not sure that I can really see them coming back elsewhere particularly if SLab pick up under Sarwar.
We've done decently in the NE. And there is a mood in the party not to put the bus away for another 5 years but to try and build some visibility and momentum.
An area of traditional strength and an uptick might, just, result in a list seat. But no chance whatever of a constituency in either parliament. Same story in the Borders.
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
The IFS is stark:
Brutal: "On the plans set out today, the axe is set to fall on a wide range of public service areas. Budgets for local government, the police, justice, universities, rural affairs are due to fall by around 8% in real-terms over the next four years."
I wonder if they were counting on having more pliant SNP local authorities in place, rather than opposition coalitions who will complain about “SNP CUTS!!!”
Mind you, since the census is fecked they won’t be able to work out local authority allocations anyway….
The plan is to blame Westminster. Yes your services have turned to shite but its the fault of Westminster. If you vote for independence it all magically gets fixed.
It all shows how disastrous identity politics can be. In Scotland the SNP are assured of c40% whatever they do thus breaking the link between performance and electoral reward. Does not bode well.
Why don't other large parties try compete for SNP voters, then? In a democracy, it seems fair enough that parties should move toward the voters. But perhaps the problem is that they are hidebound by disastrous British unionist identity politics.
Shortages of GPs. The BBC has published a map, and I had expected it would correlate with Brexit, via left-behind and declining towns, but instead its most striking feature is the clear division between east and west. There are more doctors per 100,000 patients in the west half of the country. Not Brexit country; not the prosperous Home Counties or South-East either. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Interesting, but a more relevant stat would be number of GPs per 100,000 wished-for appointments. I'm guessing Cornwall and Devon have quite an old population, so probably more appointments wanted. Having more GPs would make sense. So the map on the article isn't exactly measuring shortfall. London, generally younger, probably needs a lot fewer doctors per 100,000 people.
Otoh younger people have more babies than do OAPs. And from the link:-
The two-fold variation in GPs holds even when the age and health of the local population is taken into account to factor in how often patients are likely to need a GP, the analysis showed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Fuck, I totally missed that paragraph. Fine, my post was utterly redundant (what's new?).
Shortages of GPs. The BBC has published a map, and I had expected it would correlate with Brexit, via left-behind and declining towns, but instead its most striking feature is the clear division between east and west. There are more doctors per 100,000 patients in the west half of the country. Not Brexit country; not the prosperous Home Counties or South-East either. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Northumberland right at the top of the supply there. Which is wondrous cos it's three weeks here to see a GP. Better or deid by the time you see anyone.
Jeremy Hunt's new book Zero mentions that he did persuade Theresa May to open medical schools and train more doctors. Hunt says he recruited 3,000 more GPs a year but it made no difference as existing GPs retired or moved to part-time working.
Given that May was PM from 2016 to 2019 and it takes 5 years to get a medical degree, the students who started studying medicine in 2017 will only be graduating in the new few months and starting their first year as a doctor in September.
Yes, we should praise Hunt and May for some long term thinking, or at least thinking beyond tomorrow's headlines. But the GP point is separate. Of course, we are short of all sorts of hospital doctors as well, and our usual solution of importing foreign quacks runs up against post-Brexit bureaucracy and the simple fact that post-Covid, every other country is fishing in the same pool.
The Comres is 27-29 fully after the money splurge which Nick claimed reduced the Lab lead to 2. Tories 31 lead ELEVEN Nick.
MoonRabbit poll predictor queen. 😝
Very true. I'm delighted.
Comres is very much last poll reported syndrome though. Redfield had plus 5. One of them is heading in the incorrect direction or is just an outlier. Or its really opiniums no movement that is right.
The EMA has the Labour lead at 6.4% and 14 seats short of an overall majority on the new boundaries.
EDIT: I think Electoral Calculus is under playing the LibDems.
Successfully getting the flight out may well defer some letters going in, depending on the MP, expecially if they think a successor might not stick with the policy.
The trouble is, as the Barwell thread indicates, it may encourage others. Which applies to almost everything they do. As gardenwalker notes, it's coming from all sides.
Shortages of GPs. The BBC has published a map, and I had expected it would correlate with Brexit, via left-behind and declining towns, but instead its most striking feature is the clear division between east and west. There are more doctors per 100,000 patients in the west half of the country. Not Brexit country; not the prosperous Home Counties or South-East either. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Northumberland right at the top of the supply there. Which is wondrous cos it's three weeks here to see a GP. Better or deid by the time you see anyone.
Jeremy Hunt's new book Zero mentions that he did persuade Theresa May to open medical schools and train more doctors. Hunt says he recruited 3,000 more GPs a year but it made no difference as existing GPs retired or moved to part-time working.
You can't really say it out loud, but the number of GPs who are women is pretty disastrous. They all seem to be part-time. That obviously impacts in the surgeries but also means the medical schools are so less productive as they are full of female students who will also go part-time after a few years. But, as I say, you can't say this out loud.
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
The IFS is stark:
Brutal: "On the plans set out today, the axe is set to fall on a wide range of public service areas. Budgets for local government, the police, justice, universities, rural affairs are due to fall by around 8% in real-terms over the next four years."
I wonder if they were counting on having more pliant SNP local authorities in place, rather than opposition coalitions who will complain about “SNP CUTS!!!”
Mind you, since the census is fecked they won’t be able to work out local authority allocations anyway….
The plan is to blame Westminster. Yes your services have turned to shite but its the fault of Westminster. If you vote for independence it all magically gets fixed.
It all shows how disastrous identity politics can be. In Scotland the SNP are assured of c40% whatever they do thus breaking the link between performance and electoral reward. Does not bode well.
Why don't other large parties try compete for SNP voters, then? In a democracy, it seems fair enough that parties should move toward the voters. But perhaps the problem is that they are hidebound by disastrous British unionist identity politics.
The Conservatives in Scotland effectively made themselves a one-issue, one-person party by calling themselves "The Ruth Davidson Says No to Independence/Independence Referendums" party - very much so, certainly in terms of the actual branding. That was far more of an 'identity politics' jag than the SNP do.
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
The IFS is stark:
Brutal: "On the plans set out today, the axe is set to fall on a wide range of public service areas. Budgets for local government, the police, justice, universities, rural affairs are due to fall by around 8% in real-terms over the next four years."
I wonder if they were counting on having more pliant SNP local authorities in place, rather than opposition coalitions who will complain about “SNP CUTS!!!”
Mind you, since the census is fecked they won’t be able to work out local authority allocations anyway….
The plan is to blame Westminster. Yes your services have turned to shite but its the fault of Westminster. If you vote for independence it all magically gets fixed.
It all shows how disastrous identity politics can be. In Scotland the SNP are assured of c40% whatever they do thus breaking the link between performance and electoral reward. Does not bode well.
Why don't other large parties try compete for SNP voters, then? In a democracy, it seems fair enough that parties should move toward the voters. But perhaps the problem is that they are hidebound by disastrous British unionist identity politics.
Whining about divisive identity politics stopping folk voting for them is the Unionist version of blaming Westminster.
So, the increase in tax rates in Scotland have actually brought in about £200m less than before rather than £500m more. Why is this?
The answer, sadly, is more complicated than a Laffer curve I told you so, although that certainly plays a part. The average income in Scotland has not risen as rapidly as the average income in rUK. This may, in part, be because some of the highest paid jobs, especially in financial services, are drifting southwards. But it also reflects an economy that is becoming ever more public sector dominated where words like "profit" are dirty things.
Kate Forbes, fresh from her High School prom, states that the provision of services must be reset (another word for cut) with the priorities being health, social security and helping firms recover. Not sure how much that last one is getting but social security spending is forecast to increase from 10-14% of the budget over the next 4 years. How are firms going to recover when we don't even have a satisfactory railway service? How on earth do we attract foreign investment when people don't even know what currency we will be using in 5 years time? How can we indulge ourselves with Net Zero, another budget priority, when we have oil and gas waiting to be exploited for that nasty profit thing once again in the North Sea.
Justice is going to be cut, despite an unprecedented backlog of trials from Covid. Victims of crime are going to have to wait even longer for trials where the evidence is all the fainter.
And still we have no opposition worthy of the name. It's a sad state of affairs.
The IFS is stark:
Brutal: "On the plans set out today, the axe is set to fall on a wide range of public service areas. Budgets for local government, the police, justice, universities, rural affairs are due to fall by around 8% in real-terms over the next four years."
I wonder if they were counting on having more pliant SNP local authorities in place, rather than opposition coalitions who will complain about “SNP CUTS!!!”
Mind you, since the census is fecked they won’t be able to work out local authority allocations anyway….
The plan is to blame Westminster. Yes your services have turned to shite but its the fault of Westminster. If you vote for independence it all magically gets fixed.
It all shows how disastrous identity politics can be. In Scotland the SNP are assured of c40% whatever they do thus breaking the link between performance and electoral reward. Does not bode well.
Why don't other large parties try compete for SNP voters, then? In a democracy, it seems fair enough that parties should move toward the voters. But perhaps the problem is that they are hidebound by disastrous British unionist identity politics.
The Conservatives in Scotland effectively made themselves a one-issue, one-person party by calling themselves "The Ruth Davidson Says No to Independence/Independence Referendums" party - very much so, certainly in terms of the actual branding. That was far more of an 'identity politics' jag than the SNP do.
It was inevitable reaction to SNP success. Scots Tories (and all other Unionists) would much rather Scots politics was dominated by anything other than the constitution. But they have to go where the votes are, and a very significant number of Scots are passionately anti-Indy, even if they are less noisy than the other side. That's why its all so divisive and unpleasant. But that's identity politics for you.
Two things. Firstly, judging by the way everyone is talking on here, the only thing now that can save Boris is something the causes a deep and immediate political freeze that lasts the few weeks and distracts the public. So, er, long live the King I guess.
You're not following your thoughts on fascism to their logical conclusion:
@IndiaWilloughby When the Queen dies, wouldn’t be surprised if Boris appoints himself Fuhrer and assumes total control. That’s how close I think Britain is to Nazi Germany.
Shortages of GPs. The BBC has published a map, and I had expected it would correlate with Brexit, via left-behind and declining towns, but instead its most striking feature is the clear division between east and west. There are more doctors per 100,000 patients in the west half of the country. Not Brexit country; not the prosperous Home Counties or South-East either. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Northumberland right at the top of the supply there. Which is wondrous cos it's three weeks here to see a GP. Better or deid by the time you see anyone.
Jeremy Hunt's new book Zero mentions that he did persuade Theresa May to open medical schools and train more doctors. Hunt says he recruited 3,000 more GPs a year but it made no difference as existing GPs retired or moved to part-time working.
You can't really say it out loud, but the number of GPs who are women is pretty disastrous. They all seem to be part-time. That obviously impacts in the surgeries but also means the medical schools are so less productive as they are full of female students who will also go part-time after a few years. But, as I say, you can't say this out loud.
At my local practice we have 4 doctors - 3 are part time women and the one full time man is south Asian.
Shortages of GPs. The BBC has published a map, and I had expected it would correlate with Brexit, via left-behind and declining towns, but instead its most striking feature is the clear division between east and west. There are more doctors per 100,000 patients in the west half of the country. Not Brexit country; not the prosperous Home Counties or South-East either. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Northumberland right at the top of the supply there. Which is wondrous cos it's three weeks here to see a GP. Better or deid by the time you see anyone.
Jeremy Hunt's new book Zero mentions that he did persuade Theresa May to open medical schools and train more doctors. Hunt says he recruited 3,000 more GPs a year but it made no difference as existing GPs retired or moved to part-time working.
You can't really say it out loud, but the number of GPs who are women is pretty disastrous. They all seem to be part-time. That obviously impacts in the surgeries but also means the medical schools are so less productive as they are full of female students who will also go part-time after a few years. But, as I say, you can't say this out loud.
Yes, although that should be a constant by now, and there are other factors such as age and probably the same pension limits that are causing problems for the hospital sector, but aiui there has also been a huge increase in bureaucracy that turns people off so we are seeing more salaried GPs now rather than everyone being a partner. Also, from speaking to a now-retired GP, patients have changed so it is less about actually curing infectious diseases, especially of childhood, and more about managing long-term conditions, and the new patient mix might not have the same immediate positive feedback.
The department that just brought you the unusable Scottish Census:
And it's striking that when you look at the table setting out that referendum spending, you can see it comes at the direct expense of Historic Environment Scotland, which is having its budget slashed by nearly a quarter.
On July 17, 2020, the Scottish government announced that the next census, due to be held in 2021, would in fact be delayed until this year. According to Fiona Hyslop, then the minister responsible for the census, postponement was not a decision to be taken lightly but doing so would ensure that “the quality of the census data” would “remain robust” and moving the date would help ensure “the highest possible response rate from people across Scotland”.
Oops. Last week, Nicola Sturgeon was left with no option but to admit that Scotland’s census may be worthless. Although the deadline for submitting forms was extended by a month, as of last Saturday just 86 per cent of forms had been completed. Since the census is useless unless it is comprehensive and since the revised cut-off point for submitting returns is tomorrow, it will be a surprise if returns have reached the 90-plus per cent level deemed necessary for success.
Shortages of GPs. The BBC has published a map, and I had expected it would correlate with Brexit, via left-behind and declining towns, but instead its most striking feature is the clear division between east and west. There are more doctors per 100,000 patients in the west half of the country. Not Brexit country; not the prosperous Home Counties or South-East either. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Northumberland right at the top of the supply there. Which is wondrous cos it's three weeks here to see a GP. Better or deid by the time you see anyone.
Jeremy Hunt's new book Zero mentions that he did persuade Theresa May to open medical schools and train more doctors. Hunt says he recruited 3,000 more GPs a year but it made no difference as existing GPs retired or moved to part-time working.
You can't really say it out loud, but the number of GPs who are women is pretty disastrous. They all seem to be part-time. That obviously impacts in the surgeries but also means the medical schools are so less productive as they are full of female students who will also go part-time after a few years. But, as I say, you can't say this out loud.
So, wait, you're lamenting the fact that the majority of GPs are women. Have I understood that right?
The department that just brought you the unusable Scottish Census:
And it's striking that when you look at the table setting out that referendum spending, you can see it comes at the direct expense of Historic Environment Scotland, which is having its budget slashed by nearly a quarter.
On July 17, 2020, the Scottish government announced that the next census, due to be held in 2021, would in fact be delayed until this year. According to Fiona Hyslop, then the minister responsible for the census, postponement was not a decision to be taken lightly but doing so would ensure that “the quality of the census data” would “remain robust” and moving the date would help ensure “the highest possible response rate from people across Scotland”.
Oops. Last week, Nicola Sturgeon was left with no option but to admit that Scotland’s census may be worthless. Although the deadline for submitting forms was extended by a month, as of last Saturday just 86 per cent of forms had been completed. Since the census is useless unless it is comprehensive and since the revised cut-off point for submitting returns is tomorrow, it will be a surprise if returns have reached the 90-plus per cent level deemed necessary for success.
Shortages of GPs. The BBC has published a map, and I had expected it would correlate with Brexit, via left-behind and declining towns, but instead its most striking feature is the clear division between east and west. There are more doctors per 100,000 patients in the west half of the country. Not Brexit country; not the prosperous Home Counties or South-East either. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Northumberland right at the top of the supply there. Which is wondrous cos it's three weeks here to see a GP. Better or deid by the time you see anyone.
Jeremy Hunt's new book Zero mentions that he did persuade Theresa May to open medical schools and train more doctors. Hunt says he recruited 3,000 more GPs a year but it made no difference as existing GPs retired or moved to part-time working.
You can't really say it out loud, but the number of GPs who are women is pretty disastrous. They all seem to be part-time. That obviously impacts in the surgeries but also means the medical schools are so less productive as they are full of female students who will also go part-time after a few years. But, as I say, you can't say this out loud.
So, wait, you're lamenting the fact that the majority of GPs are women. Have I understood that right?
No. I'm lamenting the fact that we don't have enough GPs because so many are part-time. And there is indisputably a link to that being because so many are women. Very few men go part-time. It's just a fact and probably needs to be taken into account when it comes to workforce planning.
The department that just brought you the unusable Scottish Census:
And it's striking that when you look at the table setting out that referendum spending, you can see it comes at the direct expense of Historic Environment Scotland, which is having its budget slashed by nearly a quarter.
On July 17, 2020, the Scottish government announced that the next census, due to be held in 2021, would in fact be delayed until this year. According to Fiona Hyslop, then the minister responsible for the census, postponement was not a decision to be taken lightly but doing so would ensure that “the quality of the census data” would “remain robust” and moving the date would help ensure “the highest possible response rate from people across Scotland”.
Oops. Last week, Nicola Sturgeon was left with no option but to admit that Scotland’s census may be worthless. Although the deadline for submitting forms was extended by a month, as of last Saturday just 86 per cent of forms had been completed. Since the census is useless unless it is comprehensive and since the revised cut-off point for submitting returns is tomorrow, it will be a surprise if returns have reached the 90-plus per cent level deemed necessary for success.
The department that just brought you the unusable Scottish Census:
And it's striking that when you look at the table setting out that referendum spending, you can see it comes at the direct expense of Historic Environment Scotland, which is having its budget slashed by nearly a quarter.
On July 17, 2020, the Scottish government announced that the next census, due to be held in 2021, would in fact be delayed until this year. According to Fiona Hyslop, then the minister responsible for the census, postponement was not a decision to be taken lightly but doing so would ensure that “the quality of the census data” would “remain robust” and moving the date would help ensure “the highest possible response rate from people across Scotland”.
Oops. Last week, Nicola Sturgeon was left with no option but to admit that Scotland’s census may be worthless. Although the deadline for submitting forms was extended by a month, as of last Saturday just 86 per cent of forms had been completed. Since the census is useless unless it is comprehensive and since the revised cut-off point for submitting returns is tomorrow, it will be a surprise if returns have reached the 90-plus per cent level deemed necessary for success.
The department that just brought you the unusable Scottish Census:
And it's striking that when you look at the table setting out that referendum spending, you can see it comes at the direct expense of Historic Environment Scotland, which is having its budget slashed by nearly a quarter.
On July 17, 2020, the Scottish government announced that the next census, due to be held in 2021, would in fact be delayed until this year. According to Fiona Hyslop, then the minister responsible for the census, postponement was not a decision to be taken lightly but doing so would ensure that “the quality of the census data” would “remain robust” and moving the date would help ensure “the highest possible response rate from people across Scotland”.
Oops. Last week, Nicola Sturgeon was left with no option but to admit that Scotland’s census may be worthless. Although the deadline for submitting forms was extended by a month, as of last Saturday just 86 per cent of forms had been completed. Since the census is useless unless it is comprehensive and since the revised cut-off point for submitting returns is tomorrow, it will be a surprise if returns have reached the 90-plus per cent level deemed necessary for success.
Shortages of GPs. The BBC has published a map, and I had expected it would correlate with Brexit, via left-behind and declining towns, but instead its most striking feature is the clear division between east and west. There are more doctors per 100,000 patients in the west half of the country. Not Brexit country; not the prosperous Home Counties or South-East either. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Northumberland right at the top of the supply there. Which is wondrous cos it's three weeks here to see a GP. Better or deid by the time you see anyone.
Jeremy Hunt's new book Zero mentions that he did persuade Theresa May to open medical schools and train more doctors. Hunt says he recruited 3,000 more GPs a year but it made no difference as existing GPs retired or moved to part-time working.
You can't really say it out loud, but the number of GPs who are women is pretty disastrous. They all seem to be part-time. That obviously impacts in the surgeries but also means the medical schools are so less productive as they are full of female students who will also go part-time after a few years. But, as I say, you can't say this out loud.
So, wait, you're lamenting the fact that the majority of GPs are women. Have I understood that right?
No. I'm lamenting the fact that we don't have enough GPs because so many are part-time. And there is indisputably a link to that being because so many are women. Very few men go part-time. It's just a fact and probably needs to be taken into account when it comes to workforce planning.
The Comres is 27-29 fully after the money splurge which Nick claimed reduced the Lab lead to 2. Tories 31 lead ELEVEN Nick.
MoonRabbit poll predictor queen. 😝
Very true. I'm delighted.
Comres is very much last poll reported syndrome though. Redfield had plus 5. One of them is heading in the incorrect direction or is just an outlier. Or its really opiniums no movement that is right.
The EMA has the Labour lead at 6.4% and 14 seats short of an overall majority on the new boundaries.
EDIT: I think Electoral Calculus is under playing the LibDems.
Has UNS ever worked to model seats for the Liberals/Alliance/Lib Dems?
Comments
Rriiiiight
In fact, what they do is look at the percentage of properties which have seen an asking price drop of over 5% (no idea why this is chosen) and, of those, the average drop.
So Scotland comes out as having the fewest price drops but by far the largest drops where they happen (which I think is just because they have more of an "offers over" market so not directly comparable). London and the South are pretty much in the pack on percentage dropping price, and on the low side on size of drop.
I would say i'm in the Labour bit but thats all of it now, its apparently safer than Jarrow. Which is bizarre given it was a Thatcher gain and a one term LD gain in 2010.
Generally i think the actuality nationally is not as bad as the polling for the Tories if they act now, its loss of certainty to vote killing them. That improves with big dog removal. As the closish locals NEV suggests when actual Xs called for rather than mood music.
Significant economic headwinds though from here
Meanwhile, you don't even get to view properties in Devon unless you have the cash/firm buyer already set up.
They are finding it rather dispiriting.
In any case, I doubt he is out of a job, I would assume he is getting paid to do something by someone at the murkier end of the global financial ecosystem, the same kind of people who financed Brexit.
So yes, you need to have someone who has a purpose. Otherwise why not just book someone who came 3rd on Britain's Got Talent a decade ago to sing some songs at people?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Brutal: "On the plans set out today, the axe is set to fall on a wide range of public service areas. Budgets for local government, the police, justice, universities, rural affairs are due to fall by around 8% in real-terms over the next four years."
https://twitter.com/alistairkgrant/status/1531664418613895168?
I wonder if they were counting on having more pliant SNP local authorities in place, rather than opposition coalitions who will complain about “SNP CUTS!!!”
Mind you, since the census is fecked they won’t be able to work out local authority allocations anyway….
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2022/05/31/nicola-sturgeons-shambolic-scottish-census-has-disaster/
And Im actually greatly looking forward to a post Dog world
One of the best speakers I have booked was a presenter on lateral thinking (can't remember his name). Very thought provoking. Richard Noble was brilliant, not because he is a good speaker (he isn't) but because of the story of 'Thrust'. A guy at the bar afterwards said to me it wants to make you stand up, salute and sing Rule Britannia. And he was right. Lawrie McMenamy was a great speaker. He tailored his speech, very motivational and was very funny.
We won't notice the £400 come the autumn; for most of us, it just means our direct debits won't go up so much. Maybe the government should just have posted an envelope of used fifty quid notes to every address in the country, no questions asked.
Secondly, and completely undermining the first, why ARE you all so convinced? We've been on the verge of a leadership election for six months. You've all talked yourself into a froth about this before. Are you really that confident this time?
Around 100 people have been told they will be on the flight - but officials are braced for fierce legal challenges
https://twitter.com/thejonnyreilly/status/1531670111668604930
Does BoZo get evicted the same day ?
Maybe it won't happen. But it seems like a critical mass is here. Just before everyone heads off to their constituencies.
My new “landlord” in Tbilisi Old town recommended a place. “Really good Georgian food@. On Freedom Sqaure. Which is bit like recommending a restaurant on Oxford Circus or Leicester Square
I had grave doubts to say the least. Plus it also feels like an old Russian canteen from about 1965. Nonetheless I have turned up, thinking Why not. and my God he is right. Khinkali done so well you think Why would I ever eat anything else. and all with this intensely smoky chili sauce, Ajika
Sublime!
I'm guessing Cornwall and Devon have quite an old population, so probably more appointments wanted. Having more GPs would make sense. So the map on the article isn't exactly measuring shortfall.
London, generally younger, probably needs a lot fewer doctors per 100,000 people.
Is there anyone still ramping the glorious neo-Churchillian future, or are we staring into a warm glass of flat Pol Roger?
And it's striking that when you look at the table setting out that referendum spending, you can see it comes at the direct expense of Historic Environment Scotland, which is having its budget slashed by nearly a quarter.
https://twitter.com/dhothersall/status/1531662245763112960
Now there is a very clear momentum that actual MPs are commenting on. In large numbers.
If the official population of Scotland has dropped by half a million, surely that means less money sent North by the UK gov?
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15637610/boris-johnson-wanted-visit-queen-start-covid-pandemic-cummings/
Note the Ukrainian flag in the window. There are Ukrainian flags EVERYWHERE
Also I do listen to Marquee Mark on these things. And his posts now carry this kind of cold expression, like that used by mafia hitmen when they carry out a job.
The status quo isn't working for too many people, and those it is working for are all riled up and discontented too.
Some genuinely radical and new thinking is required.
Which is wondrous cos it's three weeks here to see a GP.
Better or deid by the time you see anyone.
https://twitter.com/gavinbarwell/status/1531607135536271361
Or buy a cheap throw away piece of luggage in Tbilisi to see you through the next 2 months
Scot LibDems are now only really competitive in a handful of places - west end of Edinburgh, NE Fife, the northern bit of Highland, plus the Northern Isles. That's really it. Not sure that I can really see them coming back elsewhere particularly if SLab pick up under Sarwar.
Edit: I think that poster that look like a ugly fish still claims that working class wages are improving.
Public policy specialists and opposition parties are alarmed after it emerged that by Monday only 86% of households nationwide had filled it in, well short of the 94% target, despite a four-week extension to the deadline until 31 May.
The Scottish government delayed the census until April despite it being held across the rest of the UK last year. Staged online by default for the first time at a cost of £150m, it is expected to miss all its key targets.
https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/30/fears-census-abstention-hit-public-services-scotland-poorest-areas
@IndiaWilloughby
When the Queen dies, wouldn’t be surprised if Boris appoints himself Fuhrer and assumes total control. That’s how close I think Britain is to Nazi Germany.
https://twitter.com/IndiaWilloughby/status/1528554584481927173
The two-fold variation in GPs holds even when the age and health of the local population is taken into account to factor in how often patients are likely to need a GP, the analysis showed.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61598158
Oops. Last week, Nicola Sturgeon was left with no option but to admit that Scotland’s census may be worthless. Although the deadline for submitting forms was extended by a month, as of last Saturday just 86 per cent of forms had been completed. Since the census is useless unless it is comprehensive and since the revised cut-off point for submitting returns is tomorrow, it will be a surprise if returns have reached the 90-plus per cent level deemed necessary for success.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/solo-scotland-has-failed-on-census-mppq96p2q
The response rate in EW was 97%.
And it’s poorer Scots who will suffer (again).
EDIT: I think Electoral Calculus is under playing the LibDems.
Which applies to almost everything they do.
As gardenwalker notes, it's coming from all sides.
The Queen = Paul von Hindenburg?
Love to see the Nats accusing others of identity politics! “Please Miss! She started it Miss!”
On the day his Census finally crashes and burns, where’s Angus Robertson?
External Affairs Secretary @AngusRobertson and Green Skills Minister @lornaslater arrive in Brussels for a packed two-day programme.
The Ministers will meet a variety of EU and Brussels-based stakeholders and host events in @ScotGovBrussels
https://twitter.com/ScotGovBrussels/status/1531551981935988737
I’m sure Lorna took the train, rather than flew…
Prince Andrew is 'seeking to make amends' after settling sex abuse case, says Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby
https://news.sky.com/story/prince-andrew-is-seeking-to-make-amends-after-settling-sex-abuse-case-says-archbishop-of-canterbury-justin-welby-12624897
https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/workload/nhs-england-says-almost-90-of-gps-work-part-time-in-response-to-pulse-survey/