In my opinion the figures should be something like this: [assumes the new boundaries are in force]
NOM 2.22 Con Maj 2.22 Lab Maj 10
I concur with your Lab Maj 10 opinion, for the simple reason that Anas Sarwar has stalled in the low 20s, and the English Midlands are still stubbornly sticking with the Tories.
However, your Con Maj 2.22 is waaaay too short. The economic shit has yet to hit the fan, and when it does the Tories are going to get all the blame.
NOM looks like a shoo in. Barring… events dear boy.
Labour largest party looks the safest bet.
I think that's right. I'm very struck by the huge personality choice in the Con-to-Lab switchers - 90% net negative about Boris is positively North Korean in unanimity, and 57% net positive about Starmer shows an enthusiasm not matched by any other part of the population with the possible exception of lifetime Labour voters. There is a chunk of people out there who totally agree with SKS's approach as the Ultimate Non-Boris.
That's probably largely immune to a popularity bounce for Truss. It's also unusual enough to make it unlikely that there will be lots more -note the 59% net negative about Starmer among the currently homeless 2019 Tories.
Starmer and Reeves will be putting forward some more concrete policy in September which may change some of that, and of course Truss may delight or disappoint beyond expectations. But as things stand, neither a Labour surge to overall majority nor a swingback to Tory majority looks likely.
Inicdentally, a Merit Award certificate from the General Secretary popped through the post for me yesterday, reflecting 50 years' membership, a nice thought. The progressive alternative to a telegram from the Queen. (Do telegrams still exist?)
Congratulations! A lifetime of public service and service to the party.
The telegram from the Queen doesn't come (certainly not for Diamond weddings) automatically; relatives, in our case eldest grandson, have to apply, with evidence of the date of marriage. And it's no longer a telegram, it's a card with a picture of the Queen and inside what appears to be a personalised message 'signed' Elizabeth R. Apparently we're entitled to another every five years now but I would assume one has to advise 'still alive'!
The postman has to get a signature for it to be returned to the Palace! Our postie was very excited; I think it was the first one he never had to deal with.
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
The odd thing from my point of view is that at work I've two 2000l bulk LPG tanks. I had them filled in January - 49p/l (which was expensive compared to the previous fill of about 35p/l). Just had them refilled again - 49p/l. I've no fancy contract, being industrial I'm outside of any price caps - my supplier is presumably charging me his spot price plus a margin and delivery.
There is a *lot* of energy in one of those tanks - I would think each one would supply my house for a winter, and they currently cost about £1k each to fill.
Why is natural gas supplied through the gas grid going up so much more than lpg has?
Maphood at last for Brum, it’s been a long time coming.
She’s just happy that there is another new Birmingham as the original Alabama one is associated with wokey race riots. Won’t be any of that nonsense in an English Birmingham.
Talking of Birmingham, this is in today’s Groaniad
Photos of Birmingham then and now
Thing is, in almost every picture, Birmingham “then” is obviously more beautiful than Birmingham “now”. Even the picture of bomb damage is more aesthetically pleasing than the picture of what replaced it
Sort of on topic, I could see Keir Starmer having precisely the same problem against Truss that Rishi has had.
He's a tactical triangulator, not a strategic thinker.
I'm not sure that's right. He has a very clear strategy:
1. I am not Corbyn. (tick) 2. My team and I are sensible and not Boris or his team. (tick) 3. I have an unstated non-aggression pact with the LibDems. (tick) 4. I have a few unthreatening but modestly interesting policies. (September) 5. I have some more striking and really quite interesting policies. (2023) 6. Win. (2024)
It's an intensely boring strategy at this point, and not at all what lefties like me want. But it's a strategy, and quite possibly a winning one.
One of the interesting questions relates to what he's going to do about the increasingly obvious damage that the Boris Brexit is doing to the county, both economically and in practical terms. As we are seeing with the Dover queues and Spanish requirements for holidaymakers, now that the pandemic is fading Brexit is directly hitting ordinary people when they want to go on holiday.
Starmer has had a fair bit of flak for basically ignoring the subject. Some of that flak comes from the #FBPE crowd who have totally unrealistic expectations about winding back the clock and undoing the referendum result, but even more sensible voices are wondering whether Starmer has any plan for at least mitigating some of the damage. If he has, he's keeping jolly quiet about it, and yet it is probably the single most important factor determining the short- to medium-term prospects for the economy.
One possibility is that he's biding his time, and waiting for public sentiment to shift decisively towards the realisation that this is a hopeless way to run the country, and that we really, really do need to do something about it. If that is what he is thinking, then that would be fair enough. But if he's just drifting because he's too scared to mention the dreaded B word, he'll end up satisfying no-one.
Would be nice if for once the Tories did something because it was the right thing and not because they saw some advantage for themselves in it.
You do realise that this is a democracy, don't you?
What on earth does that reply mean? Yes it is a democracy, but one hopes that most people go into it for the good of the population and not just for themselves. The two aren't mutually exclusive and the fact that you think it is reasonable that they may be (as they may in some cases) says more about your comment than the one you are reply to.
The original comment was one I would hope most people and politicians would agree with regardless of party in a democracy.
Yes, Rishi, the 2014 Housing projections are so out of date that the housing projections from which councils work are effectively stamped "This story is fiction, any resemblance between it an actual housing need is purely coincidental," and yes, the five year land supply rule is crude, clunky, and damaging.
But what's that got to do with the Green Belt? Councils hate applying to change the Green Belt because as well as being arcane and difficult to jump through all the hoops, you're guaranteed to get slammed by the residents in the next election. Which implies that when they do, reluctantly, do so, they really have exhausted reasonable alternatives.
One council near me has 60% of its land in Green Belt and AONBs (which also require much jumping through hoops for development). That means that 100% of the (very high) housing demand gets put in 40% of the land.
Whilst having to avoid expanding existing settlements to the point of joining them. Many villages are now separated by single fields.
This, of course, means that highly dense housing needs to be put nearly on top of existing residents. And, given that infrastructure lags housing (by central decision), means that existing residents only ever see new housing right on top of them, usually unattractive, and swamping existing road, rail, surgery, and school provision.
We then get irate that residents react by not really liking all of that. Such a shock. Who could have foretold that?
The planning system needs a major overhaul. This is not that overhaul. This is the Politicians Syllogism in action (directed at a slogan that would achieve nothing useful, made in order to appeal to his voters).
I thought Rishi was running as the one who wanted to be realistic?
It's great that the womens' footie is getting all the airtime for the reasons put forward by several posters. It is tempting to see the BBC's promotion of it as woke but as @MM said it's far more likely to be commercially-driven.
I haven't watched any games but the 3mins59secs highlights of England vs Sweden seemed fine although I wouldn't describe the backheel goal as "one of the best I've ever seen" as one (male I think) commentator put it.
As with the trans thing there will be an overshoot in this case in the promotion/description of it which is fine; we are going through a period of change (womens' sports becoming more prominent) and such overshoots are expected. No one should get too het up about it.
NO ONE SHOULD GET TOO HET UP ABOUT IT??
FOR GOD’S SAKE MAN DO YOU EVEN REALISE WHERE YOU ARE????
*scoops out eye with imperial Danish dessert spoon*
Would be nice if for once the Tories did something because it was the right thing and not because they saw some advantage for themselves in it.
You do realise that this is a democracy, don't you?
What on earth does that reply mean? Yes it is a democracy, but one hopes that most people go into it for the good of the population and not just for themselves. The two aren't mutually exclusive and the fact that you think it is reasonable that they may be (as they may in some cases) says more about your comment than the one you are reply to.
The original comment was one I would hope most people and politicians would agree with regardless of party in a democracy.
In a democracy, the single biggest motivator of politicians will inevitably be winning re-election.
If we as voters want politicians to do what's best for the country, we need to not punish them at the ballot box when they do so.
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
The odd thing from my point of view is that at work I've two 2000l bulk LPG tanks. I had them filled in January - 49p/l (which was expensive compared to the previous fill of about 35p/l). Just had them refilled again - 49p/l. I've no fancy contract, being industrial I'm outside of any price caps - my supplier is presumably charging me his spot price plus a margin and delivery.
There is a *lot* of energy in one of those tanks - I would think each one would supply my house for a winter, and they currently cost about £1k each to fill.
Why is natural gas supplied through the gas grid going up so much more than lpg has?
Casino said "nationalise the gas supply", i.e. at source.
The UK produces 32.7bn cubic metres of gas annually, which, if nationalised, could be sold at the price the government sets rather than at the market price globally.
We consumed approximately double that last year. Gas prices haven't risen dramatically because costs of producing it have risen, they've risen because there isn't enough to go around.
So let's say the UK government sells it domestically at cost, which is back to 2021 prices. Meaning only 50% of our consumption has to come from the open market at today's ridiculous prices.
The point is, we are a domestic producer of gas and we don't need to sell it all on the open market to any country at the open market price.
Whether that is a wise thing or not I leave to you - but I think that is what Casino was suggesting.
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
The odd thing from my point of view is that at work I've two 2000l bulk LPG tanks. I had them filled in January - 49p/l (which was expensive compared to the previous fill of about 35p/l). Just had them refilled again - 49p/l. I've no fancy contract, being industrial I'm outside of any price caps - my supplier is presumably charging me his spot price plus a margin and delivery.
There is a *lot* of energy in one of those tanks - I would think each one would supply my house for a winter, and they currently cost about £1k each to fill.
Why is natural gas supplied through the gas grid going up so much more than lpg has?
Casino said "nationalise the gas supply", i.e. at source.
The UK produces 32.7bn cubic metres of gas annually, which, if nationalised, could be sold at the price the government sets rather than at the market price globally.
We consumed approximately double that last year. Gas prices haven't risen dramatically because costs of producing it have risen, they've risen because there isn't enough to go around.
So let's say the UK government sells it domestically at cost, which is back to 2021 prices. Meaning only 50% of our consumption has to come from the open market at today's ridiculous prices.
The point is, we are a domestic producer of gas and we don't need to sell it all on the open market to any country at the open market price.
Whether that is a wise thing or not I leave to you - but I think that is what Casino was suggesting.
However you cut it, either by nationalisation or direct support, the governments going to have to spend a staggeringly huge amount of cash.
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
The odd thing from my point of view is that at work I've two 2000l bulk LPG tanks. I had them filled in January - 49p/l (which was expensive compared to the previous fill of about 35p/l). Just had them refilled again - 49p/l. I've no fancy contract, being industrial I'm outside of any price caps - my supplier is presumably charging me his spot price plus a margin and delivery.
There is a *lot* of energy in one of those tanks - I would think each one would supply my house for a winter, and they currently cost about £1k each to fill.
Why is natural gas supplied through the gas grid going up so much more than lpg has?
As the Conservative squabble continues in the UK, the sense in Tallinn is that we are holding our breath as the Russian war in Ukraine enters a new phase. The Western press makes much of the HIMARS, but it is the way they are being used by the Ukrainian armed forces that is so impressive. Launcher and ammunition travel separately to the launch site, which allows the launchers to move really fast and makes them even harder for the Russians to pin down. The result has been the devastation of Russian logistics and the isolation of Russian forces in Kherson.
The battlefield situation in Ukraine has clearly tilted away from Russia, but that is not even the big news. The situation in the Russian economy is becoming very unstable. More than half of Russian manufacturing is now at a standstill and the transport infrastructure is degrading rapidly too. Nearly as many Russians as Ukrainians have left their respective countries. Estonia is not very sympathetic and now routinely refuses Schengen visas to Russians and is going to ask the Schengen control board to stop all tourist visas. Meanwhile the Russian threat to European gas supplies could do more damage to the Russian economy. 86% of Russian gas is supplied to Europe, but that is less than half what Europe imports. As Estonia joins Lithuania and others with a new LNG terminal, imports here are already down to zero. Now Germany understands their situation the expectation is Tallinn is that they will cease their delaying tactics. The only way to get the war to stop is to win it. The Estonians are suggesting that the situation for Russia, both economically and militarily, is getting to a point of crisis. While that crisis may not yet be an actual defeat, the situation has certainly changed, not necessarily to Russia´s advantage.
The new government is getting to work and the political malaise has lifted here, Kaja Kallas remains highly popular, and barely a day goes by when some international figure suggests that she should be the next head of NATO. Whoever that ends up being, it will not be Boris Johnson in any event. I think the British Conservatives will be trying to avoid by-elections, but Johnson beleiving he can have a second coming will keep in in the Commons... at least until the 24 landslide sweeps him and many other Conservatives out of politics for good.
Except the levels of property ownership are lowest by far in London. What is needed there is building up through more high rise primarily.
We are also already one of the most densely populated nations in the world, we need to protect our countryside as much as we can. Building all over the greenbelt also will just lead to more home counties seats going LD
No, London is already a hot-spot that unbalances the economy. We need new towns along with refurbishment of old, declining towns. Instant levelling up.
It's a gamble to set up in the town full of random people who were struggling to afford a place, versus the city where all the ambitious people in Europe live. You can mitigate the risk by being somewhere close to the metropolis, of course, but I gather the point is to put them somewhere very far away.
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
The odd thing from my point of view is that at work I've two 2000l bulk LPG tanks. I had them filled in January - 49p/l (which was expensive compared to the previous fill of about 35p/l). Just had them refilled again - 49p/l. I've no fancy contract, being industrial I'm outside of any price caps - my supplier is presumably charging me his spot price plus a margin and delivery.
There is a *lot* of energy in one of those tanks - I would think each one would supply my house for a winter, and they currently cost about £1k each to fill.
Why is natural gas supplied through the gas grid going up so much more than lpg has?
Casino said "nationalise the gas supply", i.e. at source.
The UK produces 32.7bn cubic metres of gas annually, which, if nationalised, could be sold at the price the government sets rather than at the market price globally.
We consumed approximately double that last year. Gas prices haven't risen dramatically because costs of producing it have risen, they've risen because there isn't enough to go around.
So let's say the UK government sells it domestically at cost, which is back to 2021 prices. Meaning only 50% of our consumption has to come from the open market at today's ridiculous prices.
The point is, we are a domestic producer of gas and we don't need to sell it all on the open market to any country at the open market price.
Whether that is a wise thing or not I leave to you - but I think that is what Casino was suggesting.
However you cut it, either by nationalisation or direct support, the governments going to have to spend a staggeringly huge amount of cash.
Sort of on topic, I could see Keir Starmer having precisely the same problem against Truss that Rishi has had.
He's a tactical triangulator, not a strategic thinker.
I'm not sure that's right. He has a very clear strategy:
1. I am not Corbyn. (tick) 2. My team and I are sensible and not Boris or his team. (tick) 3. I have an unstated non-aggression pact with the LibDems. (tick) 4. I have a few unthreatening but modestly interesting policies. (September) 5. I have some more striking and really quite interesting policies. (2023) 6. Win. (2024)
It's an intensely boring strategy at this point, and not at all what lefties like me want. But it's a strategy, and quite possibly a winning one.
Give us a sneak preview of what's in number five, then?
Anyway, if people really wanted to do family formation and become Tories overnight (a silly model, but that's the proposition), they could move to houses in the red wall. That they prefer not to do so suggests the preferences run deeper than mere responses to housing costs.
Developers in west London face a potential ban on new housing projects until 2035 because the electricity grid has run out of capacity to support new homes, jeopardising house building targets in the capital.
The Greater London Authority wrote to developers this week warning them that it might take more than a decade to bulk up grid capacity and get developments under way again in three west London boroughs — Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow.
In those boroughs, “major new applicants to the distribution network . . . including housing developments, commercial premises and industrial activities will have to wait several years to receive new electricity connections,” according to the GLA’s note, which has been seen by the Financial Times.
Anyway, if people really wanted to do family formation and become Tories overnight (a silly model, but that's the proposition), they could move to houses in the red wall. That they prefer not to do so suggests the preferences run deeper than mere responses to housing costs.
Anyway, if people really wanted to do family formation and become Tories overnight (a silly model, but that's the proposition), they could move to houses in the red wall. That they prefer not to do so suggests the preferences run deeper than mere responses to housing costs.
It also requires suitable jobs in the area for both parents in the family.
As without that a move north is (and always has been) a risk too far...
Except the levels of property ownership are lowest by far in London. What is needed there is building up through more high rise primarily.
We are also already one of the most densely populated nations in the world, we need to protect our countryside as much as we can. Building all over the greenbelt also will just lead to more home counties seats going LD
No, London is already a hot-spot that unbalances the economy. We need new towns along with refurbishment of old, declining towns. Instant levelling up.
It's a gamble to set up in the town full of random people who were struggling to afford a place, versus the city where all the ambitious people in Europe live. You can mitigate the risk by being somewhere close to the metropolis, of course, but I gather the point is to put them somewhere very far away.
New towns are known technology; we've done it before. Refurbishing declining towns and selling houses off cheap will increase economic activity even if nothing else is done, such as attracting large employers. If the government is serious about levelling up, or about solving the homes crisis, this is how to do both together.
Sort of on topic, I could see Keir Starmer having precisely the same problem against Truss that Rishi has had.
He's a tactical triangulator, not a strategic thinker.
Yes the wagons are circling around the blessed Liz now on PB.
She has comprehensively beaten Sunak because she lied, lied and lied again about how tax cuts are the magic bullet to get us out of this economic predicament. Sunak was hamstrung because he got us where we are now...and then he blinked and offered a fuel tax cut. So not the man he thought he was!
I suspect the wider electorate are more sophisticated than the septogenarian Conservative Party selectorate.
Maphood at last for Brum, it’s been a long time coming.
She really does seem to live rent free in some peoples heads.
It was fair comment and a fair joke. Nadine Dorries is on the wireless plugging the Commonwealth Games (whose opening ceremony is today) in Birmingham.
If just one tenth of this story is accurate, then it's so deeply shocking on a number of levels that a very large number of social workers need to be facing criminal charges.
Cumbria County Council is being abolished next year. It seems to me that's a good time to hit total reset on their social services by hiring new ones only from outside.
Its shocking, but there will be another side to the story.
The best other side to the story is that the birth mother is lying about not receiving the paperwork. Which is eminently possible.
The difficulty in believing that is it's clear the paperwork and due diligence was not done on the prospective adoptive mother. Which leaves CSS with a credibility gap.
And the issue is whether the paperwork is done or not a child was taken from an environment where they would have been closely monitored by a number of agencies for his own safety and placed in an environment where he was murdered without anyone noticing anything was wrong.
However I write that, that's a disaster and one for which negligence laws would seem to apply.
Yes - I would not be convinced of the absolute honesty of the mother without other evidence. That said the care service absolutely needs to have documented evertything they claim to have done.
For anything not to have been documented by Children's Services is, in itself, a disciplinary offence.
Developers in west London face a potential ban on new housing projects until 2035 because the electricity grid has run out of capacity to support new homes, jeopardising house building targets in the capital.
The Greater London Authority wrote to developers this week warning them that it might take more than a decade to bulk up grid capacity and get developments under way again in three west London boroughs — Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow.
In those boroughs, “major new applicants to the distribution network . . . including housing developments, commercial premises and industrial activities will have to wait several years to receive new electricity connections,” according to the GLA’s note, which has been seen by the Financial Times.
We hinted at National Grid problems the other day when the Grid paid 50 times over the odds to get power from Belgium because it could not move it from Scotland. Is this a good time to mention the wishlisted extra load from an electric car charger in every lamppost?
If just one tenth of this story is accurate, then it's so deeply shocking on a number of levels that a very large number of social workers need to be facing criminal charges.
Cumbria County Council is being abolished next year. It seems to me that's a good time to hit total reset on their social services by hiring new ones only from outside.
Its shocking, but there will be another side to the story.
The best other side to the story is that the birth mother is lying about not receiving the paperwork. Which is eminently possible.
The difficulty in believing that is it's clear the paperwork and due diligence was not done on the prospective adoptive mother. Which leaves CSS with a credibility gap.
And the issue is whether the paperwork is done or not a child was taken from an environment where they would have been closely monitored by a number of agencies for his own safety and placed in an environment where he was murdered without anyone noticing anything was wrong.
However I write that, that's a disaster and one for which negligence laws would seem to apply.
Yes - I would not be convinced of the absolute honesty of the mother without other evidence. That said the care service absolutely needs to have documented evertything they claim to have done.
For anything not to have been documented by Children's Services is, in itself, a disciplinary offence.
Pound to a penny the council is short of social workers who are all working too many cases and too much overtime and after this lot have been, probably rightly, struck off, the council will be even shorter of social workers.
Developers in west London face a potential ban on new housing projects until 2035 because the electricity grid has run out of capacity to support new homes, jeopardising house building targets in the capital.
The Greater London Authority wrote to developers this week warning them that it might take more than a decade to bulk up grid capacity and get developments under way again in three west London boroughs — Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow.
In those boroughs, “major new applicants to the distribution network . . . including housing developments, commercial premises and industrial activities will have to wait several years to receive new electricity connections,” according to the GLA’s note, which has been seen by the Financial Times.
We hinted at National Grid problems the other day when the Grid paid 50 times over the odds to get power from Belgium because it could not move it from Scotland. Is this a good time to mention the wishlisted extra load from an electric car charger in every lamppost?
No - but one reason why I'm getting an electric car sooner rather than later is to get the charger installed while you still can...
Developers in west London face a potential ban on new housing projects until 2035 because the electricity grid has run out of capacity to support new homes, jeopardising house building targets in the capital.
The Greater London Authority wrote to developers this week warning them that it might take more than a decade to bulk up grid capacity and get developments under way again in three west London boroughs — Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow.
In those boroughs, “major new applicants to the distribution network . . . including housing developments, commercial premises and industrial activities will have to wait several years to receive new electricity connections,” according to the GLA’s note, which has been seen by the Financial Times.
We hinted at National Grid problems the other day when the Grid paid 50 times over the odds to get power from Belgium because it could not move it from Scotland. Is this a good time to mention the wishlisted extra load from an electric car charger in every lamppost?
In other parts of London, the upgrades to the grid are proceeding.
They is an issue with people, in various capacities, regarding all infrastructure projects as a “problem”. Infrastructure = development = bad.
“Tories want the fairy tale. For many, the test is no longer what you have done but whether you believe. There is no place for questioning. Approbation comes by faith alone.” @robertshrimsley on @trussliz and the Tory slide into political infantilism https://on.ft.com/3zyuNfo
If just one tenth of this story is accurate, then it's so deeply shocking on a number of levels that a very large number of social workers need to be facing criminal charges.
Cumbria County Council is being abolished next year. It seems to me that's a good time to hit total reset on their social services by hiring new ones only from outside.
Its shocking, but there will be another side to the story.
The best other side to the story is that the birth mother is lying about not receiving the paperwork. Which is eminently possible.
The difficulty in believing that is it's clear the paperwork and due diligence was not done on the prospective adoptive mother. Which leaves CSS with a credibility gap.
And the issue is whether the paperwork is done or not a child was taken from an environment where they would have been closely monitored by a number of agencies for his own safety and placed in an environment where he was murdered without anyone noticing anything was wrong.
However I write that, that's a disaster and one for which negligence laws would seem to apply.
Yes - I would not be convinced of the absolute honesty of the mother without other evidence. That said the care service absolutely needs to have documented evertything they claim to have done.
For anything not to have been documented by Children's Services is, in itself, a disciplinary offence.
Pound to a penny the council is short of social workers who are all working too many cases and too much overtime and after this lot have been, probably rightly, struck off, the council will be even shorter of social workers.
Well. That should be taken as read I'm afraid. The problem they will also have is it is Cumbria. There really isn't a pool of available people to poach without moving. A good number will be agency staff, too.
Developers in west London face a potential ban on new housing projects until 2035 because the electricity grid has run out of capacity to support new homes, jeopardising house building targets in the capital.
The Greater London Authority wrote to developers this week warning them that it might take more than a decade to bulk up grid capacity and get developments under way again in three west London boroughs — Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow.
In those boroughs, “major new applicants to the distribution network . . . including housing developments, commercial premises and industrial activities will have to wait several years to receive new electricity connections,” according to the GLA’s note, which has been seen by the Financial Times.
We hinted at National Grid problems the other day when the Grid paid 50 times over the odds to get power from Belgium because it could not move it from Scotland. Is this a good time to mention the wishlisted extra load from an electric car charger in every lamppost?
It really does seem like our country is creaking at the seams. From travel to energy to housing, everything is just too old and doesn't work properly.
Talking of Birmingham, this is in today’s Groaniad
Photos of Birmingham then and now
Thing is, in almost every picture, Birmingham “then” is obviously more beautiful than Birmingham “now”. Even the picture of bomb damage is more aesthetically pleasing than the picture of what replaced it
Well its a matter of taste, I would say New St looks a whole lot better now, for example. On the other hand since you became Pbs resident reactionary I would kind of expect you to take shelter in the past. Your bleats about COVID, Climate change, Putin et al does rather show someone who takes refuge in the past, because the present and the future are very scary to you. Personally I am an optimist: I think that there is no human problem that humans can not work out. Compared to 20 or 30 years ago I think Birmingham has improved greatly, so I wish a successful Commonwealth Games to all participating and I hope it remains the friendly games in a friendly and prosperous city.
Sort of on topic, I could see Keir Starmer having precisely the same problem against Truss that Rishi has had.
He's a tactical triangulator, not a strategic thinker.
I'm not sure that's right. He has a very clear strategy:
1. I am not Corbyn. (tick) 2. My team and I are sensible and not Boris or his team. (tick) 3. I have an unstated non-aggression pact with the LibDems. (tick) 4. I have a few unthreatening but modestly interesting policies. (September) 5. I have some more striking and really quite interesting policies. (2023) 6. Win. (2024)
It's an intensely boring strategy at this point, and not at all what lefties like me want. But it's a strategy, and quite possibly a winning one.
Give us a sneak preview of what's in number five, then?
That would be off grid. You'd leak it and ruin the surprise.
But seriously - SKS is doing and saying lots that doesn't thrill me but my sense is he is nailing the politics. It's a patient astute disciplined calculated plod to number 10.
Maphood at last for Brum, it’s been a long time coming.
She really does seem to live rent free in some peoples heads.
It was fair comment and a fair joke. Nadine Dorries is on the wireless plugging the Commonwealth Games (whose opening ceremony is today) in Birmingham.
Sports minister on the radio plugging major international sporting event. Whatever next?
Developers in west London face a potential ban on new housing projects until 2035 because the electricity grid has run out of capacity to support new homes, jeopardising house building targets in the capital.
The Greater London Authority wrote to developers this week warning them that it might take more than a decade to bulk up grid capacity and get developments under way again in three west London boroughs — Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow.
In those boroughs, “major new applicants to the distribution network . . . including housing developments, commercial premises and industrial activities will have to wait several years to receive new electricity connections,” according to the GLA’s note, which has been seen by the Financial Times.
We hinted at National Grid problems the other day when the Grid paid 50 times over the odds to get power from Belgium because it could not move it from Scotland. Is this a good time to mention the wishlisted extra load from an electric car charger in every lamppost?
It really does seem like our country is creaking at the seams. From travel to energy to housing, everything is just too old and doesn't work properly.
I can certainly relate to that. Sticking plasters can only work for so long. A great many things need major surgery.
Talking of Birmingham, this is in today’s Groaniad
Photos of Birmingham then and now
Thing is, in almost every picture, Birmingham “then” is obviously more beautiful than Birmingham “now”. Even the picture of bomb damage is more aesthetically pleasing than the picture of what replaced it
Well its a matter of taste, I would say New St looks a whole lot better now, for example. On the other hand since you became Pbs resident reactionary I would kind of expect you to take shelter in the past. Your bleats about COVID, Climate change, Putin et al does rather show someone who takes refuge in the past, because the present and the future are very scary to you. Personally I am an optimist: I think that there is no human problem that humans can not work out. Compared to 20 or 30 years ago I think Birmingham has improved greatly, so I wish a successful Commonwealth Games to all participating and I hope it remains the friendly games in a friendly and prosperous city.
Whoever changed the frontage around Baskerville House needs to be shot quite honestly.
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
Do smart meters not allow the companies to switch the gas off and on to your house. This is certainly my understanding and there would be little difficulty for them to turn off gas till the following week when you reach the weekly cap
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
Do smart meters not allow the companies to switch the gas off and on to your house. This is certainly my understanding and there would be little difficulty for them to turn off gas till the following week when you reach the weekly cap
Developers in west London face a potential ban on new housing projects until 2035 because the electricity grid has run out of capacity to support new homes, jeopardising house building targets in the capital.
The Greater London Authority wrote to developers this week warning them that it might take more than a decade to bulk up grid capacity and get developments under way again in three west London boroughs — Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow.
In those boroughs, “major new applicants to the distribution network . . . including housing developments, commercial premises and industrial activities will have to wait several years to receive new electricity connections,” according to the GLA’s note, which has been seen by the Financial Times.
We hinted at National Grid problems the other day when the Grid paid 50 times over the odds to get power from Belgium because it could not move it from Scotland. Is this a good time to mention the wishlisted extra load from an electric car charger in every lamppost?
It really does seem like our country is creaking at the seams. From travel to energy to housing, everything is just too old and doesn't work properly.
An awful lot of infrastructure dates from the 1940s and 1950s, constructed in the post-war boom, and is now in major need of renewal. Much of Western Europe and the US has the same problem.
Could be a real boost to the Democrats if they can pass the Inflation Reduction Act 2022 .
The name of course designed for the mid terms and to be used as a stick to beat the GOP who will vote against it . The big question is whether Arizona senator Sinema comes on board .
If she does then the Democrats would have a very good chance of holding the Senate . The House still looks a real uphill struggle but holding the Senate would be seen as a success given the tough economic headwinds .
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
Do smart meters not allow the companies to switch the gas off and on to your house. This is certainly my understanding and there would be little difficulty for them to turn off gas till the following week when you reach the weekly cap
Managing peak demand is a key advantage (to the utility companies) of smart meters, hence why they are being so aggressively pushed. Giving everyone smart meters, is much cheaper than expanding capacity.
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
Do smart meters not allow the companies to switch the gas off and on to your house. This is certainly my understanding and there would be little difficulty for them to turn off gas till the following week when you reach the weekly cap
Smart meters do feck all.
If they were smart, they would have differential pricing built in, to encourage consumers to load switch to low demand periods, such as doing your laundry over night. But no such incentive exists, so our washing machine is chugging away right now.
Could be a real boost to the Democrats if they can pass the Inflation Reduction Act 2022 .
The name of course designed for the mid terms and to be used as a stick to beat the GOP who will vote against it . The big question is whether Arizona senator Sinema comes on board .
If she does then the Democrats would have a very good chance of holding the Senate . The House still looks a real uphill struggle but holding the Senate would be seen as a success given the tough economic headwinds .
The Democrats will do better than forecast in the mid-terms, only if inflation is actually coming down by November.
Passing the Inflation Reduction Act isn’t the same as actually reducing inflation.
Talking of Birmingham, this is in today’s Groaniad
Photos of Birmingham then and now
Thing is, in almost every picture, Birmingham “then” is obviously more beautiful than Birmingham “now”. Even the picture of bomb damage is more aesthetically pleasing than the picture of what replaced it
Well its a matter of taste, I would say New St looks a whole lot better now, for example. On the other hand since you became Pbs resident reactionary I would kind of expect you to take shelter in the past. Your bleats about COVID, Climate change, Putin et al does rather show someone who takes refuge in the past, because the present and the future are very scary to you. Personally I am an optimist: I think that there is no human problem that humans can not work out. Compared to 20 or 30 years ago I think Birmingham has improved greatly, so I wish a successful Commonwealth Games to all participating and I hope it remains the friendly games in a friendly and prosperous city.
Could be a real boost to the Democrats if they can pass the Inflation Reduction Act 2022 .
The name of course designed for the mid terms and to be used as a stick to beat the GOP who will vote against it . The big question is whether Arizona senator Sinema comes on board .
If she does then the Democrats would have a very good chance of holding the Senate . The House still looks a real uphill struggle but holding the Senate would be seen as a success given the tough economic headwinds .
The Democrats will do better than forecast in the mid-terms, only if inflation is actually coming down by November.
Passing the Inflation Reduction Act isn’t the same as actually reducing inflation.
Developers in west London face a potential ban on new housing projects until 2035 because the electricity grid has run out of capacity to support new homes, jeopardising house building targets in the capital.
The Greater London Authority wrote to developers this week warning them that it might take more than a decade to bulk up grid capacity and get developments under way again in three west London boroughs — Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow.
In those boroughs, “major new applicants to the distribution network . . . including housing developments, commercial premises and industrial activities will have to wait several years to receive new electricity connections,” according to the GLA’s note, which has been seen by the Financial Times.
We hinted at National Grid problems the other day when the Grid paid 50 times over the odds to get power from Belgium because it could not move it from Scotland. Is this a good time to mention the wishlisted extra load from an electric car charger in every lamppost?
It really does seem like our country is creaking at the seams. From travel to energy to housing, everything is just too old and doesn't work properly.
I can certainly relate to that. Sticking plasters can only work for so long. A great many things need major surgery.
That sounds expensive. Let's save the money and issue a press release instead. Something about league tables and name-and-shame normally does the trick.
Could be a real boost to the Democrats if they can pass the Inflation Reduction Act 2022 .
The name of course designed for the mid terms and to be used as a stick to beat the GOP who will vote against it . The big question is whether Arizona senator Sinema comes on board .
If she does then the Democrats would have a very good chance of holding the Senate . The House still looks a real uphill struggle but holding the Senate would be seen as a success given the tough economic headwinds .
The Democrats will do better than forecast in the mid-terms, only if inflation is actually coming down by November.
Passing the Inflation Reduction Act isn’t the same as actually reducing inflation.
True yes but the Act is a mitigating factor if inflation doesn’t fall . The Dems will accuse the GOP of voting against something that will help in the medium term . It’s very unlikely there will be any reduction in inflation before the mid terms .
Developers in west London face a potential ban on new housing projects until 2035 because the electricity grid has run out of capacity to support new homes, jeopardising house building targets in the capital.
The Greater London Authority wrote to developers this week warning them that it might take more than a decade to bulk up grid capacity and get developments under way again in three west London boroughs — Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow.
In those boroughs, “major new applicants to the distribution network . . . including housing developments, commercial premises and industrial activities will have to wait several years to receive new electricity connections,” according to the GLA’s note, which has been seen by the Financial Times.
We hinted at National Grid problems the other day when the Grid paid 50 times over the odds to get power from Belgium because it could not move it from Scotland. Is this a good time to mention the wishlisted extra load from an electric car charger in every lamppost?
It really does seem like our country is creaking at the seams. From travel to energy to housing, everything is just too old and doesn't work properly.
I can certainly relate to that. Sticking plasters can only work for so long. A great many things need major surgery.
People here often complain that things aren't properly funded. Whether police, courts, social services, education, defence, nhs etc (insert your bugbear of choice)
I totally agree with that sentiment things aren't working because they are underfunded.
What however the same people always miss out from the conversation is that if everything the state does was properly funded we would probably double the percentage of gdp that all the state currently does costs taxpayers which would mean eye watering tax rises.
Its time we sat down and had the conversation about how much we are willing to spend and from their work out the top priorities for what the state does that we can fully fund and drop the rest.
This would be I admit a hugely fraught process as everyone fights to keep their favourite piece of state largess. Personally I would rather the state does less but what it does it does well than we try to keep going as we are and do lots but do it all half arsed
Developers in west London face a potential ban on new housing projects until 2035 because the electricity grid has run out of capacity to support new homes, jeopardising house building targets in the capital.
The Greater London Authority wrote to developers this week warning them that it might take more than a decade to bulk up grid capacity and get developments under way again in three west London boroughs — Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow.
In those boroughs, “major new applicants to the distribution network . . . including housing developments, commercial premises and industrial activities will have to wait several years to receive new electricity connections,” according to the GLA’s note, which has been seen by the Financial Times.
We hinted at National Grid problems the other day when the Grid paid 50 times over the odds to get power from Belgium because it could not move it from Scotland. Is this a good time to mention the wishlisted extra load from an electric car charger in every lamppost?
It really does seem like our country is creaking at the seams. From travel to energy to housing, everything is just too old and doesn't work properly.
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
Do smart meters not allow the companies to switch the gas off and on to your house. This is certainly my understanding and there would be little difficulty for them to turn off gas till the following week when you reach the weekly cap
Smart meters do feck all.
If they were smart, they would have differential pricing built in, to encourage consumers to load switch to low demand periods, such as doing your laundry over night. But no such incentive exists, so our washing machine is chugging away right now.
Depends what tariff you are on but there is a further problem that low demand overnight correlates nicely with low solar electricity generation overnight. That might change once most drivers are charging their cars between getting home from work and leaving in the morning.
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
Do smart meters not allow the companies to switch the gas off and on to your house. This is certainly my understanding and there would be little difficulty for them to turn off gas till the following week when you reach the weekly cap
Smart meters do feck all.
If they were smart, they would have differential pricing built in, to encourage consumers to load switch to low demand periods, such as doing your laundry over night. But no such incentive exists, so our washing machine is chugging away right now.
I think you have mistaken the point of smart meters. They aren't to save customers money they are to save the companies money on door to door meter reads, to enable companies to cut supply to your house at the press of a button and to provide hours of endless fun for hackers
We all teach pupils that it’s essential to concede obvious difficulties when mitigating. Given that the successful party is a member of chambers, saying, “we acknowledge the finding that we discriminated against her” would, surely, be basic decency……
The point of mitigation is to address a bad result, or something you’ve done wrong, in a way that puts it into context, & – without lying or making excuses – explains why you did what you did. The target audience is the people judging you – charge, Court of Appeal, or the public.…..
So, starting by refusing to acknowledge an obvious fact merely means they think you are not prepared to accept reality. When we teach barristers advocacy, it’s one of the first lessons, because the ability to recognise & deal with a fact that doesn’t help is absolutely basic.
Developers in west London face a potential ban on new housing projects until 2035 because the electricity grid has run out of capacity to support new homes, jeopardising house building targets in the capital.
The Greater London Authority wrote to developers this week warning them that it might take more than a decade to bulk up grid capacity and get developments under way again in three west London boroughs — Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow.
In those boroughs, “major new applicants to the distribution network . . . including housing developments, commercial premises and industrial activities will have to wait several years to receive new electricity connections,” according to the GLA’s note, which has been seen by the Financial Times.
We hinted at National Grid problems the other day when the Grid paid 50 times over the odds to get power from Belgium because it could not move it from Scotland. Is this a good time to mention the wishlisted extra load from an electric car charger in every lamppost?
It really does seem like our country is creaking at the seams. From travel to energy to housing, everything is just too old and doesn't work properly.
I can certainly relate to that. Sticking plasters can only work for so long. A great many things need major surgery.
People here often complain that things aren't properly funded. Whether police, courts, social services, education, defence, nhs etc (insert your bugbear of choice)
I totally agree with that sentiment things aren't working because they are underfunded.
What however the same people always miss out from the conversation is that if everything the state does was properly funded we would probably double the percentage of gdp that all the state currently does costs taxpayers which would mean eye watering tax rises.
Its time we sat down and had the conversation about how much we are willing to spend and from their work out the top priorities for what the state does that we can fully fund and drop the rest.
This would be I admit a hugely fraught process as everyone fights to keep their favourite piece of state largess. Personally I would rather the state does less but what it does it does well than we try to keep going as we are and do lots but do it all half arsed
Three major reasons why things run by the govt are broken:
As you say, politicians and electorate unwilling to prioritise Long term investment is not in the interests of politicians careers Not much incentive for ministers, execs and senior mgmt to drive change rather than opt for a quiet life and accept the systems as they are
Talking of Birmingham, this is in today’s Groaniad
Photos of Birmingham then and now
Thing is, in almost every picture, Birmingham “then” is obviously more beautiful than Birmingham “now”. Even the picture of bomb damage is more aesthetically pleasing than the picture of what replaced it
Well its a matter of taste, I would say New St looks a whole lot better now, for example. On the other hand since you became Pbs resident reactionary I would kind of expect you to take shelter in the past. Your bleats about COVID, Climate change, Putin et al does rather show someone who takes refuge in the past, because the present and the future are very scary to you. Personally I am an optimist: I think that there is no human problem that humans can not work out. Compared to 20 or 30 years ago I think Birmingham has improved greatly, so I wish a successful Commonwealth Games to all participating and I hope it remains the friendly games in a friendly and prosperous city.
Putin is winning. Time to flee west
No he isn’t, at least not outside Russian state media.
40,000 dead soldiers, industry grinding to a halt, a banking system with no money, wealthy people leaving in droves, the mighty military shown to be a paper bear. Winning here!
Talking of Birmingham, this is in today’s Groaniad
Photos of Birmingham then and now
Thing is, in almost every picture, Birmingham “then” is obviously more beautiful than Birmingham “now”. Even the picture of bomb damage is more aesthetically pleasing than the picture of what replaced it
Well its a matter of taste, I would say New St looks a whole lot better now, for example. On the other hand since you became Pbs resident reactionary I would kind of expect you to take shelter in the past. Your bleats about COVID, Climate change, Putin et al does rather show someone who takes refuge in the past, because the present and the future are very scary to you. Personally I am an optimist: I think that there is no human problem that humans can not work out. Compared to 20 or 30 years ago I think Birmingham has improved greatly, so I wish a successful Commonwealth Games to all participating and I hope it remains the friendly games in a friendly and prosperous city.
Sort of on topic, I could see Keir Starmer having precisely the same problem against Truss that Rishi has had.
He's a tactical triangulator, not a strategic thinker.
Yes the wagons are circling around the blessed Liz now on PB.
She has comprehensively beaten Sunak because she lied, lied and lied again about how tax cuts are the magic bullet to get us out of this economic predicament. Sunak was hamstrung because he got us where we are now...and then he blinked and offered a fuel tax cut. So not the man he thought he was!
I suspect the wider electorate are more sophisticated than the septogenarian Conservative Party selectorate.
Everybody hates paying taxes & everybody loves tax cuts & more money in their pocket (even if they publicly claim that they don't). The US Republicans realised this a long time ago, which is why they keep winning elections.
It would be absolutely brilliant (for Truss & the Conservatives) if Starmer makes raising taxes the centrepiece of his campaign. He will meet the same electoral results as other politicians who ran on a policy of raising taxes.
Talking of Birmingham, this is in today’s Groaniad
Photos of Birmingham then and now
Thing is, in almost every picture, Birmingham “then” is obviously more beautiful than Birmingham “now”. Even the picture of bomb damage is more aesthetically pleasing than the picture of what replaced it
Well its a matter of taste, I would say New St looks a whole lot better now, for example. On the other hand since you became Pbs resident reactionary I would kind of expect you to take shelter in the past. Your bleats about COVID, Climate change, Putin et al does rather show someone who takes refuge in the past, because the present and the future are very scary to you. Personally I am an optimist: I think that there is no human problem that humans can not work out. Compared to 20 or 30 years ago I think Birmingham has improved greatly, so I wish a successful Commonwealth Games to all participating and I hope it remains the friendly games in a friendly and prosperous city.
Whoever changed the frontage around Baskerville House needs to be shot quite honestly.
Having visited all three Birmingham Libraries over the years the Victorian and current one are easily the best of the bunch - with the 1974 concrete inverted ziggurat deservedly demolished. It started leaking not long after it opened.
His role as Perks in The Railway Children is unmissable.
And him singing Right Said Fred entertained us on many a car journey.
RIP.
Rory Bremner once did a spoof of 'Right Said Fred' with Gerry Adams singing it, and the lyrics telling the recent history of Northern Ireland politics. Very clever.
Talking of Birmingham, this is in today’s Groaniad
Photos of Birmingham then and now
Thing is, in almost every picture, Birmingham “then” is obviously more beautiful than Birmingham “now”. Even the picture of bomb damage is more aesthetically pleasing than the picture of what replaced it
The photos of now are fine, probably selected carefully but not too bad, with a lot of Victorian buildings preserved. The post-war Woolworths (or whatever it was) was hideous, and no better than the Primark that has replaced it.
His role as Perks in The Railway Children is unmissable.
And him singing Right Said Fred entertained us on many a car journey.
RIP.
Rory Bremner once did a spoof of 'Right Said Fred' with Gerry Adams singing it, and the lyrics telling the recent history of Northern Ireland politics. Very clever.
That’s why it deserves the same prominence as the men’s game. For her. For my ten year-old niece who’s the goalie for her local team. For young girls all over the country.
Ian Wright made a great point after the match. This tournament needs a legacy of getting girls into the game. Of them playing it in PE. A lasting, tangible legacy. Unlike the Olympics.
The standard of the football has been excellent. The games are physical, tough, but flow better than the men’s game ‘cos these women don’t fling themselves to the ground and roll around in theatrical agony at the merest hint of contact.
I’ve loved every minute of it. You forget you’re watching women. It’s just a good game of football.
God I hope we win on Sunday. I’m accustomed to being disappointed by the men’s team, I hope the women can bring it home.
Talking of Birmingham, this is in today’s Groaniad
Photos of Birmingham then and now
Thing is, in almost every picture, Birmingham “then” is obviously more beautiful than Birmingham “now”. Even the picture of bomb damage is more aesthetically pleasing than the picture of what replaced it
Well its a matter of taste, I would say New St looks a whole lot better now, for example. On the other hand since you became Pbs resident reactionary I would kind of expect you to take shelter in the past. Your bleats about COVID, Climate change, Putin et al does rather show someone who takes refuge in the past, because the present and the future are very scary to you. Personally I am an optimist: I think that there is no human problem that humans can not work out. Compared to 20 or 30 years ago I think Birmingham has improved greatly, so I wish a successful Commonwealth Games to all participating and I hope it remains the friendly games in a friendly and prosperous city.
Putin is winning. Time to flee west
Needs more 'mate'.
Back to Leon's original point: I'm all in with your position on Derby, but having looked at the Birmingham pics I simply don't agree. Admittedly it's difficult to take too much cheer from a black and white photo on an overcast day, but for me, from those photos - and from my own experience - Birmingham is looking better than at any stage in the past 100 years. Conceivably it was more handsome before the first world war. But even the interwar period - where other cities have a robust optimism, Birmingham looks an unprepossessing jumble. This isn't driven by economics - Birmingham did very very well in the pre- and post-war period - to the extent where government tried to constrain its growth (in theory to divert growth to struggling towns further north; in practice growth was diverted to London; cynical Brummies suspect this was the real motive all along). It's always been a bit of a jumble. My view is that the aesthetic trend in the 21st century for Birmnigham is much more positive than in the 20th.
His role as Perks in The Railway Children is unmissable.
And him singing Right Said Fred entertained us on many a car journey.
RIP.
Rory Bremner once did a spoof of 'Right Said Fred' with Gerry Adams singing it, and the lyrics telling the recent history of Northern Ireland politics. Very clever.
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
Do smart meters not allow the companies to switch the gas off and on to your house. This is certainly my understanding and there would be little difficulty for them to turn off gas till the following week when you reach the weekly cap
Smart meters do feck all.
If they were smart, they would have differential pricing built in, to encourage consumers to load switch to low demand periods, such as doing your laundry over night. But no such incentive exists, so our washing machine is chugging away right now.
Depends what tariff you are on but there is a further problem that low demand overnight correlates nicely with low solar electricity generation overnight. That might change once most drivers are charging their cars between getting home from work and leaving in the morning.
Which is why solar is a daft idea in the UK. Great where the peak power demand correlates with air conditioning use on hot sunny days, but useless on grim January evenings when our demand is at its maximum.
(OT) F1 betting tip. I fancy Sainz as value for both pole and the race win in Hungary. The Ferrari ought to be the quickest car, and the disparity between his odds and Leclerc's looks too big to me.
Talking of Birmingham, this is in today’s Groaniad
Photos of Birmingham then and now
Thing is, in almost every picture, Birmingham “then” is obviously more beautiful than Birmingham “now”. Even the picture of bomb damage is more aesthetically pleasing than the picture of what replaced it
It's almost as if whoever selected the pictures of Birmingham today was deliberately choosing the most unflattering photos of streets and buildings, taken from the worst possible angle. For instance the photo of New Street which includes a lot of scaffolding.
@OwenJones84 David Aaronovitch now claims that every “intelligent observer” during the Labour leadership campaign knew Keir Starmer would abandon his radical policy pledges.
Which is funny, because he said the exact opposite at the time.
Talking of Birmingham, this is in today’s Groaniad
Photos of Birmingham then and now
Thing is, in almost every picture, Birmingham “then” is obviously more beautiful than Birmingham “now”. Even the picture of bomb damage is more aesthetically pleasing than the picture of what replaced it
Well its a matter of taste, I would say New St looks a whole lot better now, for example. On the other hand since you became Pbs resident reactionary I would kind of expect you to take shelter in the past. Your bleats about COVID, Climate change, Putin et al does rather show someone who takes refuge in the past, because the present and the future are very scary to you. Personally I am an optimist: I think that there is no human problem that humans can not work out. Compared to 20 or 30 years ago I think Birmingham has improved greatly, so I wish a successful Commonwealth Games to all participating and I hope it remains the friendly games in a friendly and prosperous city.
Putin is winning. Time to flee west
No he isn’t, at least not outside Russian state media.
40,000 dead soldiers, industry grinding to a halt, a banking system with no money, wealthy people leaving in droves, the mighty military shown to be a paper bear. Winning here!
Not just the wealthy departing. Good luck finding someone under 40 with IT skills in Russia.
How badly Russia has lost this war will become truly apparent in 5 years time, when the markets for their hydrocarbons will be limited to those screwing them over for vast discounts, and everything else looking distinctly twentieth century...
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
Do smart meters not allow the companies to switch the gas off and on to your house. This is certainly my understanding and there would be little difficulty for them to turn off gas till the following week when you reach the weekly cap
Smart meters do feck all.
If they were smart, they would have differential pricing built in, to encourage consumers to load switch to low demand periods, such as doing your laundry over night. But no such incentive exists, so our washing machine is chugging away right now.
Depends what tariff you are on but there is a further problem that low demand overnight correlates nicely with low solar electricity generation overnight. That might change once most drivers are charging their cars between getting home from work and leaving in the morning.
Which is why solar is a daft idea in the UK. Great where the peak power demand correlates with air conditioning use on hot sunny days, but useless on grim January evenings when our demand is at its maximum.
Not daft if it's cheap enough, which is increasingly the case. And it tends to be negatively correlated with the amount of wind.
It's always going to be relatively niche in the UK (unless we build solar farms in North Africa), but that doesn't mean it's useless.
If the contest ended prematurely, there's still time to deny Johnson having more days as PM than May.
Either Rishi needs to stick to his economic sensibility guns or pull out. He's just debasing himself by saying tax cuts bad and unaffordable one moment and pivoting to try and wring a few votes out next.
His last chance to change the narrative were the debates but Truss did well on those so he's really got no chance.
"It is clear that the membership prefer Liz Truss so I have decided to withdraw".
We'd also then get 6 weeks less govermental drift which isn't doing anyone any good.
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
Do smart meters not allow the companies to switch the gas off and on to your house. This is certainly my understanding and there would be little difficulty for them to turn off gas till the following week when you reach the weekly cap
Smart meters do feck all.
If they were smart, they would have differential pricing built in, to encourage consumers to load switch to low demand periods, such as doing your laundry over night. But no such incentive exists, so our washing machine is chugging away right now.
Depends what tariff you are on but there is a further problem that low demand overnight correlates nicely with low solar electricity generation overnight. That might change once most drivers are charging their cars between getting home from work and leaving in the morning.
Which is why solar is a daft idea in the UK. Great where the peak power demand correlates with air conditioning use on hot sunny days, but useless on grim January evenings when our demand is at its maximum.
Solar is fine as part of the mix in the UK. We don't need one perfect energy source. We can make the system work with different energy sources that complement each other.
And I expect that peak summertime demand for air conditioning in the UK will grow in the years ahead.
If the contest ended prematurely, there's still time to deny Johnson having more days as PM than May.
Either Rishi needs to stick to his economic sensibility guns or pull out. He's just debasing himself by saying tax cuts bad and unaffordable one moment and pivoting to try and wring a few votes out next.
His last chance to change the narrative were the debates but Truss did well on those so he's really got no chance.
"It is clear that the membership prefer Liz Truss so I have decided to withdraw".
We'd also then get 6 weeks less govermental drift which isn't doing anyone any good.
Truss didn't do well at all. It's just that Rishi appeared to have chugged a gallon of SunnyD just before he went on. And then the sugar rush hit....
That’s why it deserves the same prominence as the men’s game. For her. For my ten year-old niece who’s the goalie for her local team. For young girls all over the country.
Ian Wright made a great point after the match. This tournament needs a legacy of getting girls into the game. Of them playing it in PE. A lasting, tangible legacy. Unlike the Olympics.
The standard of the football has been excellent. The games are physical, tough, but flow better than the men’s game ‘cos these women don’t fling themselves to the ground and roll around in theatrical agony at the merest hint of contact.
I’ve loved every minute of it. You forget you’re watching women. It’s just a good game of football.
God I hope we win on Sunday. I’m accustomed to being disappointed by the men’s team, I hope the women can bring it home.
Those saying it should be left to the market and the BBC should not be promoting it are just showing a complete lack of historical understanding.
53,000 watched a womens game back in 1921, so the FA decided to ban them from playing at grounds used by men. Without that decision womens football would have had a century of more positive development, time to develop its traditions, clubs and icons just as the mens game has. It was blatant and unnecessary sexism.
And the BBC has played a significant part in promoting the mens game throughout its history, and rightly so. It has given the UK a genuinely world leading industry that brings in decent money for the country, far more than the BBC spend. Investing in the womens game will do the same, albeit likely on a smaller scale.
"Vote Sunak, Get Modi" obviously gaining traction.
His goon Lord Ranger, mouthing off to the Indian media about a vote for Truss showing Britain is racist, is probably going down as well as expected with the members - especially after there were only two white men among the eight candidates to face the first ballot.
If the contest ended prematurely, there's still time to deny Johnson having more days as PM than May.
Either Rishi needs to stick to his economic sensibility guns or pull out. He's just debasing himself by saying tax cuts bad and unaffordable one moment and pivoting to try and wring a few votes out next.
His last chance to change the narrative were the debates but Truss did well on those so he's really got no chance.
"It is clear that the membership prefer Liz Truss so I have decided to withdraw".
We'd also then get 6 weeks less govermental drift which isn't doing anyone any good.
Truss didn't do well at all. It's just that Rishi appeared to have chugged a gallon of SunnyD just before he went on. And then the sugar rush hit....
I thought his oddly stooped posture was just a quirk of the way he was standing at the lectern, but he seems to do it whenever he's trying to sound enthusiastic, like here:
I wonder if the Government (Truss) may need to temporarily effectively nationalise the gas supply.
If she does I expect it to command broad public support.
The free market works brilliantly at efficiently allocating resources and stimulating production and distribution, competitively, in normal times but if we get to the stage where we have a highly constrained supply and it costs households over £500 a month then we'll be in a bidding war where the wealthiest will be able to carry on as normal, at a very high cost, whilst a lot of ordinary people freeze.
That can't be allowed to happen.
And how exactly will nationalisation help? It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption. Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
Do smart meters not allow the companies to switch the gas off and on to your house. This is certainly my understanding and there would be little difficulty for them to turn off gas till the following week when you reach the weekly cap
Smart meters do feck all.
If they were smart, they would have differential pricing built in, to encourage consumers to load switch to low demand periods, such as doing your laundry over night. But no such incentive exists, so our washing machine is chugging away right now.
Depends what tariff you are on but there is a further problem that low demand overnight correlates nicely with low solar electricity generation overnight. That might change once most drivers are charging their cars between getting home from work and leaving in the morning.
Which is why solar is a daft idea in the UK. Great where the peak power demand correlates with air conditioning use on hot sunny days, but useless on grim January evenings when our demand is at its maximum.
Not daft if it's cheap enough, which is increasingly the case. And it tends to be negatively correlated with the amount of wind.
It's always going to be relatively niche in the UK (unless we build solar farms in North Africa), but that doesn't mean it's useless.
We (well, Octopus Energy and Xlinks) are building a massive 10.5GW solar farm with a direct cable to the UK in Morocco.
Comments
Betfair next prime minister
1.19 Liz Truss 84%
6.6 Rishi Sunak 15%
Next Conservative leader
1.17 Liz Truss 85%
6.8 Rishi Sunak 15%
The telegram from the Queen doesn't come (certainly not for Diamond weddings) automatically; relatives, in our case eldest grandson, have to apply, with evidence of the date of marriage. And it's no longer a telegram, it's a card with a picture of the Queen and inside what appears to be a personalised message 'signed' Elizabeth R. Apparently we're entitled to another every five years now but I would assume one has to advise 'still alive'!
The postman has to get a signature for it to be returned to the Palace! Our postie was very excited; I think it was the first one he never had to deal with.
It's not possible with current technology to physical constrain the volume of gas used by domestic users, other than by giving them price signals which result in them voluntarily reducing consumption.
Short of disconnecting users who use over a certain volume, all nationalisation will achieve is making the whole thing even more of the government's problem.
The odd thing from my point of view is that at work I've two 2000l bulk LPG tanks. I had them filled in January - 49p/l (which was expensive compared to the previous fill of about 35p/l). Just had them refilled again - 49p/l. I've no fancy contract, being industrial I'm outside of any price caps - my supplier is presumably charging me his spot price plus a margin and delivery.
There is a *lot* of energy in one of those tanks - I would think each one would supply my house for a winter, and they currently cost about £1k each to fill.
Why is natural gas supplied through the gas grid going up so much more than lpg has?
Photos of Birmingham then and now
Thing is, in almost every picture, Birmingham “then” is obviously more beautiful than Birmingham “now”. Even the picture of bomb damage is more aesthetically pleasing than the picture of what replaced it
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/28/birmingham-commonwealth-games-then-and-now-in-pictures
Starmer has had a fair bit of flak for basically ignoring the subject. Some of that flak comes from the #FBPE crowd who have totally unrealistic expectations about winding back the clock and undoing the referendum result, but even more sensible voices are wondering whether Starmer has any plan for at least mitigating some of the damage. If he has, he's keeping jolly quiet about it, and yet it is probably the single most important factor determining the short- to medium-term prospects for the economy.
One possibility is that he's biding his time, and waiting for public sentiment to shift decisively towards the realisation that this is a hopeless way to run the country, and that we really, really do need to do something about it. If that is what he is thinking, then that would be fair enough. But if he's just drifting because he's too scared to mention the dreaded B word, he'll end up satisfying no-one.
The original comment was one I would hope most people and politicians would agree with regardless of party in a democracy.
Yes, Rishi, the 2014 Housing projections are so out of date that the housing projections from which councils work are effectively stamped "This story is fiction, any resemblance between it an actual housing need is purely coincidental," and yes, the five year land supply rule is crude, clunky, and damaging.
But what's that got to do with the Green Belt? Councils hate applying to change the Green Belt because as well as being arcane and difficult to jump through all the hoops, you're guaranteed to get slammed by the residents in the next election. Which implies that when they do, reluctantly, do so, they really have exhausted reasonable alternatives.
One council near me has 60% of its land in Green Belt and AONBs (which also require much jumping through hoops for development). That means that 100% of the (very high) housing demand gets put in 40% of the land.
Whilst having to avoid expanding existing settlements to the point of joining them. Many villages are now separated by single fields.
This, of course, means that highly dense housing needs to be put nearly on top of existing residents. And, given that infrastructure lags housing (by central decision), means that existing residents only ever see new housing right on top of them, usually unattractive, and swamping existing road, rail, surgery, and school provision.
We then get irate that residents react by not really liking all of that. Such a shock. Who could have foretold that?
The planning system needs a major overhaul. This is not that overhaul. This is the Politicians Syllogism in action (directed at a slogan that would achieve nothing useful, made in order to appeal to his voters).
I thought Rishi was running as the one who wanted to be realistic?
If we as voters want politicians to do what's best for the country, we need to not punish them at the ballot box when they do so.
The UK produces 32.7bn cubic metres of gas annually, which, if nationalised, could be sold at the price the government sets rather than at the market price globally.
We consumed approximately double that last year. Gas prices haven't risen dramatically because costs of producing it have risen, they've risen because there isn't enough to go around.
So let's say the UK government sells it domestically at cost, which is back to 2021 prices. Meaning only 50% of our consumption has to come from the open market at today's ridiculous prices.
The point is, we are a domestic producer of gas and we don't need to sell it all on the open market to any country at the open market price.
Whether that is a wise thing or not I leave to you - but I think that is what Casino was suggesting.
The battlefield situation in Ukraine has clearly tilted away from Russia, but that is not even the big news. The situation in the Russian economy is becoming very unstable. More than half of Russian manufacturing is now at a standstill and the transport infrastructure is degrading rapidly too. Nearly as many Russians as Ukrainians have left their respective countries. Estonia is not very sympathetic and now routinely refuses Schengen visas to Russians and is going to ask the Schengen control board to stop all tourist visas. Meanwhile the Russian threat to European gas supplies could do more damage to the Russian economy. 86% of Russian gas is supplied to Europe, but that is less than half what Europe imports. As Estonia joins Lithuania and others with a new LNG terminal, imports here are already down to zero. Now Germany understands their situation the expectation is Tallinn is that they will cease their delaying tactics. The only way to get the war to stop is to win it. The Estonians are suggesting that the situation for Russia, both economically and militarily, is getting to a point of crisis. While that crisis may not yet be an actual defeat, the situation has certainly changed, not necessarily to Russia´s advantage.
The new government is getting to work and the political malaise has lifted here, Kaja Kallas remains highly popular, and barely a day goes by when some international figure suggests that she should be the next head of NATO. Whoever that ends up being, it will not be Boris Johnson in any event. I think the British Conservatives will be trying to avoid by-elections, but Johnson beleiving he can have a second coming will keep in in the Commons... at least until the 24 landslide sweeps him and many other Conservatives out of politics for good.
Genuinely moved. Big feature of my childhood.
He is pretty much the last of that generation now.
It is very very sad. He was in so many great movies and TV shows.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/20/britain-worst-built-homes-europe-extreme-weather-upgrade
https://t.co/UgGnHcWSsx
From the FT
Developers in west London face a potential ban on new housing projects until 2035 because the electricity grid has run out of capacity to support new homes, jeopardising house building targets in the capital.
The Greater London Authority wrote to developers this week warning them that it might take more than a decade to bulk up grid capacity and get developments under way again in three west London boroughs — Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow.
In those boroughs, “major new applicants to the distribution network . . . including housing developments, commercial premises and industrial activities will have to wait several years to receive new electricity connections,” according to the GLA’s note, which has been seen by the Financial Times.
As without that a move north is (and always has been) a risk too far...
She has comprehensively beaten Sunak because she lied, lied and lied again about how tax cuts are the magic bullet to get us out of this economic predicament. Sunak was hamstrung because he got us where we are now...and then he blinked and offered a fuel tax cut. So not the man he thought he was!
I suspect the wider electorate are more sophisticated than the septogenarian Conservative Party selectorate.
They is an issue with people, in various capacities, regarding all infrastructure projects as a “problem”. Infrastructure = development = bad.
The problem they will also have is it is Cumbria. There really isn't a pool of available people to poach without moving.
A good number will be agency staff, too.
But seriously - SKS is doing and saying lots that doesn't thrill me but my sense is he is nailing the politics. It's a patient astute disciplined calculated plod to number 10.
@GuidoFawkes
Happy Liz Truss Day
https://order-order.com/2022/07/28/happy-liz-truss-day/
https://twitter.com/GuidoFawkes/status/1552588751871803400
Sticking plasters can only work for so long. A great many things need major surgery.
The name of course designed for the mid terms and to be used as a stick to beat the GOP who will vote against it . The big question is whether Arizona senator Sinema comes on board .
If she does then the Democrats would have a very good chance of holding the Senate . The House still looks a real uphill struggle but holding the Senate would be seen as a success given the tough economic headwinds .
https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/27/oracle_cerner_glitches_harm_patients/?td=rt-3a
Turns out computerising hospitals is hard. #Agile #Devops #MoveFastAndBreakThings
If they were smart, they would have differential pricing built in, to encourage consumers to load switch to low demand periods, such as doing your laundry over night. But no such incentive exists, so our washing machine is chugging away right now.
Passing the Inflation Reduction Act isn’t the same as actually reducing inflation.
I totally agree with that sentiment things aren't working because they are underfunded.
What however the same people always miss out from the conversation is that if everything the state does was properly funded we would probably double the percentage of gdp that all the state currently does costs taxpayers which would mean eye watering tax rises.
Its time we sat down and had the conversation about how much we are willing to spend and from their work out the top priorities for what the state does that we can fully fund and drop the rest.
This would be I admit a hugely fraught process as everyone fights to keep their favourite piece of state largess. Personally I would rather the state does less but what it does it does well than we try to keep going as we are and do lots but do it all half arsed
We all teach pupils that it’s essential to concede obvious difficulties when mitigating.
Given that the successful party is a member of chambers, saying, “we acknowledge the finding that we discriminated against her” would, surely, be basic decency……
The point of mitigation is to address a bad result, or something you’ve done wrong, in a way that puts it into context, & – without lying or making excuses – explains why you did what you did.
The target audience is the people judging you – charge, Court of Appeal, or the public.…..
So, starting by refusing to acknowledge an obvious fact merely means they think you are not prepared to accept reality.
When we teach barristers advocacy, it’s one of the first lessons, because the ability to recognise & deal with a fact that doesn’t help is absolutely basic.
https://twitter.com/SCynic1/status/1552571403924299776
As you say, politicians and electorate unwilling to prioritise
Long term investment is not in the interests of politicians careers
Not much incentive for ministers, execs and senior mgmt to drive change rather than opt for a quiet life and accept the systems as they are
None are easy to fix.
40,000 dead soldiers, industry grinding to a halt, a banking system with no money, wealthy people leaving in droves, the mighty military shown to be a paper bear. Winning here!
Betfair next prime minister
1.17 Liz Truss 85%
7 Rishi Sunak 14%
Next Conservative leader
1.17 Liz Truss 85%
7 Rishi Sunak 14%
It would be absolutely brilliant (for Truss & the Conservatives) if Starmer makes raising taxes the centrepiece of his campaign. He will meet the same electoral results as other politicians who ran on a policy of raising taxes.
And him singing Right Said Fred entertained us on many a car journey.
RIP.
That’s why it deserves the same prominence as the men’s game. For her. For my ten year-old niece who’s the goalie for her local team. For young girls all over the country.
Ian Wright made a great point after the match. This tournament needs a legacy of getting girls into the game. Of them playing it in PE. A lasting, tangible legacy. Unlike the Olympics.
The standard of the football has been excellent. The games are physical, tough, but flow better than the men’s game ‘cos these women don’t fling themselves to the ground and roll around in theatrical agony at the merest hint of contact.
I’ve loved every minute of it. You forget you’re watching women. It’s just a good game of football.
God I hope we win on Sunday. I’m accustomed to being disappointed by the men’s team, I hope the women can bring it home.
Conceivably it was more handsome before the first world war. But even the interwar period - where other cities have a robust optimism, Birmingham looks an unprepossessing jumble.
This isn't driven by economics - Birmingham did very very well in the pre- and post-war period - to the extent where government tried to constrain its growth (in theory to divert growth to struggling towns further north; in practice growth was diverted to London; cynical Brummies suspect this was the real motive all along). It's always been a bit of a jumble. My view is that the aesthetic trend in the 21st century for Birmnigham is much more positive than in the 20th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oopg_t5D5oU
On that note, a fan-made trailer for Derry Girls as if it were an epic period drama about the troubles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huueAkfZ9OI
I fancy Sainz as value for both pole and the race win in Hungary.
The Ferrari ought to be the quickest car, and the disparity between his odds and Leclerc's looks too big to me.
Possible rain is a wild card, though.
David Aaronovitch now claims that every “intelligent observer” during the Labour leadership campaign knew Keir Starmer would abandon his radical policy pledges.
Which is funny, because he said the exact opposite at the time.
https://twitter.com/OwenJones84/status/1552593178510893056
How badly Russia has lost this war will become truly apparent in 5 years time, when the markets for their hydrocarbons will be limited to those screwing them over for vast discounts, and everything else looking distinctly twentieth century...
And it tends to be negatively correlated with the amount of wind.
It's always going to be relatively niche in the UK (unless we build solar farms in North Africa), but that doesn't mean it's useless.
His last chance to change the narrative were the debates but Truss did well on those so he's really got no chance.
"It is clear that the membership prefer Liz Truss so I have decided to withdraw".
We'd also then get 6 weeks less govermental drift which isn't doing anyone any good.
In under 6 months.
And I expect that peak summertime demand for air conditioning in the UK will grow in the years ahead.
53,000 watched a womens game back in 1921, so the FA decided to ban them from playing at grounds used by men. Without that decision womens football would have had a century of more positive development, time to develop its traditions, clubs and icons just as the mens game has. It was blatant and unnecessary sexism.
And the BBC has played a significant part in promoting the mens game throughout its history, and rightly so. It has given the UK a genuinely world leading industry that brings in decent money for the country, far more than the BBC spend. Investing in the womens game will do the same, albeit likely on a smaller scale.
https://twitter.com/MrMichaelSpicer/status/1552387738992873474