Chances of another majority of 80 = small Chances of a working majority = slightly better
So I'd want pretty long odds.
In other news the Ukrainians seem remarkably bullish about Kherson. It appears they are expecting a renewed Russian assault against Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih (Zelensky's home city) which they appear to be welcoming as the more Russian troops they can trap west of the Dnipro the better. I hope they're right.
Liz Truss has ensured that she'll have to spend much of the next general election campaign having to insist she will not be cutting the pay of teachers, nurses, doctors, policemen etc outside London and the SE, and so reducing their numbers even further. Piss poor politics
Liz Truss spox: “Our hard-working frontline staff are the bed rock of society and there will be no proposal taken forward on regional pay boards for civil servants or public sector workers.”
Lol
Silly woman. But I think she survives. You’re allowed one big mistake. But another and she’s toast on the kitchen floor
She is not even PM yet though and she's made a massive error and u-turned within a matter of hours.
Rewind to that very first debate when Truss bombed, polled worst of the 8 (?) candidates and all the Tories on PB were saying she's be a disaster.
Since then it has gradually dawned on them that she was actually going to win. So we have had the unedifying site of most of them rowing back and trying to convince themselves that she won't be that bad, or might even, according to some brave souls, be a huge success.
Sorry guys your original instincts were the correct ones.
It’s possible that there is a problem in some areas with crowding out.
Real wages (public and private) outside the the SE and Scotland probably need to fall to East European levels if they are to reflect actual productivity add.
Good luck selling it on the doorstep.
And so the transition from "what a stupid idea" to "a sensible idea, but not politically acceptable" begins.
I am not saying it’s a sensible idea at all. Read mine and eek’s and ratter’s posts.
Read them and understand them.
That's why I said the transition begins. I've read and understood them, I just disagree with them.
But I've said what I have to say and nothing new to add, so not much point in adding more.
This is a good idea, but not politic to be introduced. What a shame. Its the sort of thing that would be better off being introduced by a new government at the start of a Parliament so it has time to bed in and work, it will never win an election. A shame Osborne flunked this issue.
PS I agree completely with Ratters that local would be better than regional and I said the same myself, which is why I called this a small step in the right direction.
You can't do it in the public sector for political reasons.
You can't do it in the private sector because both the minimum wage and the public sector wages preclude it.
Equally the issue isn't the wages - it's the lack of investment in productivity improvements because we as a whole are happy to take profits while Corporation Tax is low rather than invest money to increase productivity long term.
The more I think about it the more it seems most companies have scarily short term views and don't see themselves having long enough futures to warrant investing money in their futures.
How much of that is because the UK has put so many of its eggs in the financial sector basket for so long?
On a more pleasant note than the posts earlier I have been signed off by the physio today and expect the same from my hospital visit on Thursday. One leg is now normal, the other has about 6 months more exercise to be back to normal. I have a lot of catching up to do. The garden is a mess, all 2/3 acre of it. So much work.
I have racing driving lessons booked. I have a flight in a Pitts Special booked. I nearly bought a classic car, but got beaten by someone paying sight unseen and sending a trailer so ship it. Should have been more proactive. Gutted. Lots of stuff to do.
Enjoy your return to health
As a side note, have you ever considered NOT having a 2/3 acre garden? Seems like quite a responsibility at a time in life when it’s fun to be carefree…
🔴Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have both committed to hosting a reception for the victorious Lionesses at No 10 if they are chosen to be the next prime minister
Great, what about introducing more football pitches after you cut them
What specific thing are you referring to here? Surely local councils are to blame if football pitches are sold off? Are you saying that it Conservative councils?
It’s possible that there is a problem in some areas with crowding out.
Real wages (public and private) outside the the SE and Scotland probably need to fall to East European levels if they are to reflect actual productivity add.
Good luck selling it on the doorstep.
And so the transition from "what a stupid idea" to "a sensible idea, but not politically acceptable" begins.
I am not saying it’s a sensible idea at all. Read mine and eek’s and ratter’s posts.
Read them and understand them.
That's why I said the transition begins. I've read and understood them, I just disagree with them.
But I've said what I have to say and nothing new to add, so not much point in adding more.
This is a good idea, but not politic to be introduced. What a shame. Its the sort of thing that would be better off being introduced by a new government at the start of a Parliament so it has time to bed in and work, it will never win an election. A shame Osborne flunked this issue.
If you want to level up you need to pay higher salaries to doctors, nurses, teachers, policemen, paramedics, ambulance drivers etc in areas where there is a shortage of them. That basically means pretty much everywhere.
In a fully levelled-up utopia, everyone would be a well-paid public sector worker delivering services to each other.
And in the real world, if you promise levelling up you have to deliver it.
On a more pleasant note than the posts earlier I have been signed off by the physio today and expect the same from my hospital visit on Thursday. One leg is now normal, the other had about 6 months more exercise to be back to normal. I have a lot of catching up to do. The garden is a mess, all 2/3 acre of it. So much work.
I have racing driving lessons booked. I have a flight in a Pitts Special booked. I nearly bought a classic car, but got beaten by someone paying sight unseen and sending a trailer so ship it. Should have been more proactive. Gutted.
That's good news. The legs I mean, not the classic car. Whatever ailed you, glad you're recovering!
🔴Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have both committed to hosting a reception for the victorious Lionesses at No 10 if they are chosen to be the next prime minister
Great, what about introducing more football pitches after you cut them
What specific thing are you referring to here? Surely local councils are to blame if football pitches are sold off? Are you saying that it Conservative councils?
It’s possible that there is a problem in some areas with crowding out.
Real wages (public and private) outside the the SE and Scotland probably need to fall to East European levels if they are to reflect actual productivity add.
Good luck selling it on the doorstep.
And so the transition from "what a stupid idea" to "a sensible idea, but not politically acceptable" begins.
I am not saying it’s a sensible idea at all. Read mine and eek’s and ratter’s posts.
Read them and understand them.
That's why I said the transition begins. I've read and understood them, I just disagree with them.
But I've said what I have to say and nothing new to add, so not much point in adding more.
This is a good idea, but not politic to be introduced. What a shame. Its the sort of thing that would be better off being introduced by a new government at the start of a Parliament so it has time to bed in and work, it will never win an election. A shame Osborne flunked this issue.
PS I agree completely with Ratters that local would be better than regional and I said the same myself, which is why I called this a small step in the right direction.
You can't do it in the public sector for political reasons.
You can't do it in the private sector because both the minimum wage and the public sector wages preclude it.
Equally the issue isn't the wages - it's the lack of investment in productivity improvements because we as a whole are happy to take profits while Corporation Tax is low rather than invest money to increase productivity long term.
The more I think about it the more it seems most companies have scarily short term views and don't see themselves having long enough futures to warrant investing money in their futures.
How much of that is because the UK has put so many of its eggs in the financial sector basket for so long?
We're also extremely bad at producing scientific talent and we're getting worse at importing it from abroad. We have some seriously good high-tech manufacturing industries (the power electronics lab that the government has been wiffling about allowing a Nexperia takeover of is an example) but often lack the staff to operate them effectively. And this isn't line staff you can theoretically automate out of the process, we're talking engineers and scientists who do the R&D work. That's why big defense contractors are willing to pay £500 a day or more to experienced electronics experts as contractors. The labour shortage has been acute in technical professions for a while, particularly because financial institutions always had the monetary firepower to recruit good physicists, mathematicians and engineers over the manufacturing sector.
It's like the aid paradox. If people really could solve world poverty/governing the UK by the provision of $2 mosquito nets/cutting Whitehall waste don't you think it would have been done by now.
Especially as every politician since goodness knows when talks of "cutting (Whitehall) waste".
On a more pleasant note than the posts earlier I have been signed off by the physio today and expect the same from my hospital visit on Thursday. One leg is now normal, the other had about 6 months more exercise to be back to normal. I have a lot of catching up to do. The garden is a mess, all 2/3 acre of it. So much work.
I have racing driving lessons booked. I have a flight in a Pitts Special booked. I nearly bought a classic car, but got beaten by someone paying sight unseen and sending a trailer so ship it. Should have been more proactive. Gutted.
That's good news. The legs I mean, not the classic car. Whatever ailed you, glad you're recovering!
On a more pleasant note than the posts earlier I have been signed off by the physio today and expect the same from my hospital visit on Thursday. One leg is now normal, the other has about 6 months more exercise to be back to normal. I have a lot of catching up to do. The garden is a mess, all 2/3 acre of it. So much work.
I have racing driving lessons booked. I have a flight in a Pitts Special booked. I nearly bought a classic car, but got beaten by someone paying sight unseen and sending a trailer so ship it. Should have been more proactive. Gutted. Lots of stuff to do.
Good to hear.
What was the classic you missed?
Panther Kallista. Don't tell @Dura_Ace , although at least I had moved on from the Lima. It was a beautiful car. It was in your neck of the woods(ish). I was travelling down to Taunton to buy it. As it was bought sight unseen as a present apparently, I'm hoping the new owner can't get in it and I have a second bite of the cherry.
Liz Truss spox: “Our hard-working frontline staff are the bed rock of society and there will be no proposal taken forward on regional pay boards for civil servants or public sector workers.”
Lol
Silly woman. But I think she survives. You’re allowed one big mistake. But another and she’s toast on the kitchen floor
She is not even PM yet though and she's made a massive error and u-turned within a matter of hours.
Rewind to that very first debate when Truss bombed, polled worst of the 8 (?) candidates and all the Tories on PB were saying she's be a disaster.
Since then it has gradually dawned on them that she was actually going to win. So we have had the unedifying site of most of them rowing back and trying to convince themselves that she won't be that bad, or might even, according to some brave souls, be a huge success.
Sorry guys your original instincts were the correct ones.
Not mutually exclusive. She will be a disaster and she will win. As some (bonjour) on here have been saying for some time.
Or rather, I have been saying since the beginning of the contest it would be Anyone But Rishi which for a time I thought would be Penny but has now turned out to be Truss.
And she will be a disaster.
Not that I am a Tory, mind, but accept that "PB Tory" is a blanket term used by those on the left on here to describe those as on the right as, er, Tony Blair was.
Mr. Leon, gardening is often a very good thing for people's wellbeing.
Indeed. Probably most people feel the same way and I’m unusual
I like having as little responsibility as possible. A small flat in a nice location that I can lock and leave. Minimal hassle
As you documented during the winter lockdown in 2021 you struggle when you are tired to one location - you have epic wanderlust. Others would much rather be at home. It may be why I found the same experience an absolute breeze.
On a more pleasant note than the posts earlier I have been signed off by the physio today and expect the same from my hospital visit on Thursday. One leg is now normal, the other has about 6 months more exercise to be back to normal. I have a lot of catching up to do. The garden is a mess, all 2/3 acre of it. So much work.
I have racing driving lessons booked. I have a flight in a Pitts Special booked. I nearly bought a classic car, but got beaten by someone paying sight unseen and sending a trailer so ship it. Should have been more proactive. Gutted. Lots of stuff to do.
Good to hear.
What was the classic you missed?
Panther Kallista. Don't tell @Dura_Ace , although at least I had moved on from the Lima. It was a beautiful car. It was in your neck of the woods(ish). I was travelling down to Taunton to buy it. As it was bought sight unseen as a present apparently, I'm hoping the new owner can't get in it and I have a second bite of the cherry.
Why O Why though? Even a Morgan is nicer than that or a Caterham Seven or a Lotus Elite or god help me an MGB Roadster or TR4A or 5.
WHY???????????
Good to hear about your legs. Swimming and therabands are, as you know, your friends.
Mr. Leon, gardening is often a very good thing for people's wellbeing.
Indeed. Probably most people feel the same way and I’m unusual
I like having as little responsibility as possible. A small flat in a nice location that I can lock and leave. Minimal hassle
As you documented during the winter lockdown in 2021 you struggle when you are tired to one location - you have epic wanderlust. Others would much rather be at home. It may be why I found the same experience an absolute breeze.
Yes indeed. I don’t think I will be very good at old age and increasing immobility
On a more pleasant note than the posts earlier I have been signed off by the physio today and expect the same from my hospital visit on Thursday. One leg is now normal, the other has about 6 months more exercise to be back to normal. I have a lot of catching up to do. The garden is a mess, all 2/3 acre of it. So much work.
I have racing driving lessons booked. I have a flight in a Pitts Special booked. I nearly bought a classic car, but got beaten by someone paying sight unseen and sending a trailer so ship it. Should have been more proactive. Gutted. Lots of stuff to do.
Enjoy your return to health
As a side note, have you ever considered NOT having a 2/3 acre garden? Seems like quite a responsibility at a time in life when it’s fun to be carefree…
Thank you @Leon . I love my garden. I love growing and cooking fruit. I also enjoy the exercise of hedge cutting and chopping wood. However you are right. It has brought it home to me after breaking my legs that it may be too much now. We also have a very large house for only 2 of us now, so could be time to downsize soon. Also thinking about buying a house in France, but I have been thinking about that for decades. I think about doing stuff a lot. I need to do more and think less.
It’s possible that there is a problem in some areas with crowding out.
Real wages (public and private) outside the the SE and Scotland probably need to fall to East European levels if they are to reflect actual productivity add.
Good luck selling it on the doorstep.
And so the transition from "what a stupid idea" to "a sensible idea, but not politically acceptable" begins.
I am not saying it’s a sensible idea at all. Read mine and eek’s and ratter’s posts.
Read them and understand them.
That's why I said the transition begins. I've read and understood them, I just disagree with them.
But I've said what I have to say and nothing new to add, so not much point in adding more.
This is a good idea, but not politic to be introduced. What a shame. Its the sort of thing that would be better off being introduced by a new government at the start of a Parliament so it has time to bed in and work, it will never win an election. A shame Osborne flunked this issue.
PS I agree completely with Ratters that local would be better than regional and I said the same myself, which is why I called this a small step in the right direction.
You can't do it in the public sector for political reasons.
You can't do it in the private sector because both the minimum wage and the public sector wages preclude it.
Equally the issue isn't the wages - it's the lack of investment in productivity improvements because we as a whole are happy to take profits while Corporation Tax is low rather than invest money to increase productivity long term.
The more I think about it the more it seems most companies have scarily short term views and don't see themselves having long enough futures to warrant investing money in their futures.
How much of that is because the UK has put so many of its eggs in the financial sector basket for so long?
We're also extremely bad at producing scientific talent ... [snip!]
Actually, we are quite at producing but we are extremely bad at putting such talent to good use or keeping it here.
Two talents the UK has by the tonne are a belief that mediocrity is to be admired and a meanness to spend whatever it takes to do something right. Being told to "make do" on a half budget by someone with no understanding of what they are talking about is no way to produce excellence
It's like the aid paradox. If people really could solve world poverty/governing the UK by the provision of $2 mosquito nets/cutting Whitehall waste don't you think it would have been done by now.
Especially as every politician since goodness knows when talks of "cutting (Whitehall) waste".
In fairness to both, you can have meaninful impacts without solving all the world's problems. Mosquito nets and other prophylactic measures against malaria have cut the number of deaths by 40% in 20 years. Likewise there are doubtless bits of government that don't run as well as they should. Duplicaton of function and poor procurement practices for instance.
The problem is that the problems are often caused by politicians who see big chunks of the public sector as wasteful because they don't really understand what they do (or wilfully do so). If you merge DFID into FCO or DECC into DBI then you have two parallel structures you need to prune down. Only their systems don't integrate properly because departments tend to have different requirements even if they seem similar so it takes years to pare down the duplication of function and merge together the systems. The research councils had (and still have) no end of problems with different systems, payscales and functions that need to be unified.
Procurement is the same. Previously public sector procurement was local and there were concerns that the procurers weren't getting good value for money because they were giving the same businesses (often people they knew) contracts over and over. The outcomes were usually ok in my little corner apparently (before my time) but it was thought to be inflating the procurement bill. So George Osborne decided that for capital facilities procurement you would have a single provider for ten years negotiated by central government, which has lots of buying power, and that would allow you to get a good value on that expenditure. Not a bad idea in theory, but the outcome was that friends of the government would be given the contract rather than friends of the local procurer. Prices in that contract have been as high as they were under the old regime but with slower, worse outcomes because the provider knows we can't sack them and go elsewhere.
Which is sensible, on a number of levels, and probably cheaper, quicker and much more productive than the IRP would be if it had ever been a serious proposal. However, it's not going to work without abandoning the IRP in its entirety and committing to HS2 in full to Leeds and Warrington. Which may be a slightly harder sell to the Treasury.
It’s possible that there is a problem in some areas with crowding out.
Real wages (public and private) outside the the SE and Scotland probably need to fall to East European levels if they are to reflect actual productivity add.
Good luck selling it on the doorstep.
And so the transition from "what a stupid idea" to "a sensible idea, but not politically acceptable" begins.
I am not saying it’s a sensible idea at all. Read mine and eek’s and ratter’s posts.
Read them and understand them.
That's why I said the transition begins. I've read and understood them, I just disagree with them.
But I've said what I have to say and nothing new to add, so not much point in adding more.
This is a good idea, but not politic to be introduced. What a shame. Its the sort of thing that would be better off being introduced by a new government at the start of a Parliament so it has time to bed in and work, it will never win an election. A shame Osborne flunked this issue.
PS I agree completely with Ratters that local would be better than regional and I said the same myself, which is why I called this a small step in the right direction.
You can't do it in the public sector for political reasons.
You can't do it in the private sector because both the minimum wage and the public sector wages preclude it.
Equally the issue isn't the wages - it's the lack of investment in productivity improvements because we as a whole are happy to take profits while Corporation Tax is low rather than invest money to increase productivity long term.
The more I think about it the more it seems most companies have scarily short term views and don't see themselves having long enough futures to warrant investing money in their futures.
How much of that is because the UK has put so many of its eggs in the financial sector basket for so long?
We're also extremely bad at producing scientific talent ... [snip!]
Actually, we are quite at producing but we are extremely bad at putting such talent to good use or keeping it here.
Two talents the UK has by the tonne are a belief that mediocrity is to be admired and a meanness to spend whatever it takes to do something right. Being told to "make do" on a half budget by someone with no understanding of what they are talking about is no way to produce excellence
Not a sarky comment: but do you have evidence of that? I'm mostly looking at it from the front line perspective where engineering roles sit open for months at a time and recruiters barrage anyone with "engineer" in their title with offers on LinkedIn, so from my perspective it looks like we aren't producing enough people with the right skills. I am aware that anecdote isn't data though.
So Liz has committed to Northern Powerhouse Rail; Defence Spending at 3%, and now “bringing back” the triple-lock for pensioners.
Northern Powerhouse Rail, or the Integrated Rail Plan that superseded it?
I think it's a variation of the 2 because the plan now appears to be via Bradford but not necessarily the highest speed.
Without knowing what is happening to HS2E however it's impossible to know what needs to be done - with HS2E the service is increased connectivity across the north if HS2E doesn't go to Leeds it also needs to support HS2 trains going to London via Manchester as well
On a more pleasant note than the posts earlier I have been signed off by the physio today and expect the same from my hospital visit on Thursday. One leg is now normal, the other has about 6 months more exercise to be back to normal. I have a lot of catching up to do. The garden is a mess, all 2/3 acre of it. So much work.
I have racing driving lessons booked. I have a flight in a Pitts Special booked. I nearly bought a classic car, but got beaten by someone paying sight unseen and sending a trailer so ship it. Should have been more proactive. Gutted. Lots of stuff to do.
Good to hear.
What was the classic you missed?
Panther Kallista. Don't tell @Dura_Ace , although at least I had moved on from the Lima. It was a beautiful car. It was in your neck of the woods(ish). I was travelling down to Taunton to buy it. As it was bought sight unseen as a present apparently, I'm hoping the new owner can't get in it and I have a second bite of the cherry.
Why O Why though? Even a Morgan is nicer than that or a Caterham Seven or a Lotus Elite or god help me an MGB Roadster or TR4A or 5.
WHY???????????
Good to hear about your legs. Swimming and therabands are, as you know, your friends.
The Caterham was fun, if impractical. About forty years ago.
On a more pleasant note than the posts earlier I have been signed off by the physio today and expect the same from my hospital visit on Thursday. One leg is now normal, the other has about 6 months more exercise to be back to normal. I have a lot of catching up to do. The garden is a mess, all 2/3 acre of it. So much work.
I have racing driving lessons booked. I have a flight in a Pitts Special booked. I nearly bought a classic car, but got beaten by someone paying sight unseen and sending a trailer so ship it. Should have been more proactive. Gutted. Lots of stuff to do.
Good to hear.
What was the classic you missed?
Panther Kallista. Don't tell @Dura_Ace , although at least I had moved on from the Lima. It was a beautiful car. It was in your neck of the woods(ish). I was travelling down to Taunton to buy it. As it was bought sight unseen as a present apparently, I'm hoping the new owner can't get in it and I have a second bite of the cherry.
Why O Why though? Even a Morgan is nicer than that or a Caterham Seven or a Lotus Elite or god help me an MGB Roadster or TR4A or 5.
WHY???????????
Good to hear about your legs. Swimming and therabands are, as you know, your friends.
😁 I know. Everyone says the same so I suspect you have a point. It's a cheap Morgan look alike. I just like them. At least it makes people happy as they laugh at you.
I used to watch them being built when I was younger.
So Liz has committed to Northern Powerhouse Rail; Defence Spending at 3%, and now “bringing back” the triple-lock for pensioners.
Northern Powerhouse Rail, or the Integrated Rail Plan that superseded it?
I think it's a variation of the 2 because the plan now appears to be via Bradford but not necessarily the highest speed.
Without knowing what is happening to HS2E however it's impossible to know what needs to be done - with HS2E the service is increased connectivity across the north if HS2E doesn't go to Leeds it also needs to support HS2 trains going to London via Manchester as well
Unless they're mad enough to think the current Midland Main Line can actually take the extra traffic.
On a more pleasant note than the posts earlier I have been signed off by the physio today and expect the same from my hospital visit on Thursday. One leg is now normal, the other has about 6 months more exercise to be back to normal. I have a lot of catching up to do. The garden is a mess, all 2/3 acre of it. So much work.
I have racing driving lessons booked. I have a flight in a Pitts Special booked. I nearly bought a classic car, but got beaten by someone paying sight unseen and sending a trailer so ship it. Should have been more proactive. Gutted. Lots of stuff to do.
Good to hear.
What was the classic you missed?
Panther Kallista. Don't tell @Dura_Ace , although at least I had moved on from the Lima. It was a beautiful car. It was in your neck of the woods(ish). I was travelling down to Taunton to buy it. As it was bought sight unseen as a present apparently, I'm hoping the new owner can't get in it and I have a second bite of the cherry.
Why O Why though? Even a Morgan is nicer than that or a Caterham Seven or a Lotus Elite or god help me an MGB Roadster or TR4A or 5.
WHY???????????
Good to hear about your legs. Swimming and therabands are, as you know, your friends.
The Caterham was fun, if impractical. About forty years ago.
That's the great thing about those qualities. It's still fun and impractical after 40 years. Same as the MK-1 MX5. Incidentally if we're onto car chat, I got my MX-5 undersealed at the weekend. There wasn't much rust underneath so it was a good time to do it, given they like to rot in their middle age. As a bonus there were five fives in at the workshop over the week, and at least one of each generation which was quite cool.
On the subject of town planning wages, the below is a salary guide published by an agency earlier this year; it covers both the public and private sector.
Mr. Leon, gardening is often a very good thing for people's wellbeing.
Indeed. Probably most people feel the same way and I’m unusual
I like having as little responsibility as possible. A small flat in a nice location that I can lock and leave. Minimal hassle
As you documented during the winter lockdown in 2021 you struggle when you are tired to one location - you have epic wanderlust. Others would much rather be at home. It may be why I found the same experience an absolute breeze.
Yes indeed. I don’t think I will be very good at old age and increasing immobility
I’ll somehow have to escape with my mind. Hmpft
Yes @turbotubbs makes a good point. My lockdown was easy. I really felt for flat owners in cities.
It's like the aid paradox. If people really could solve world poverty/governing the UK by the provision of $2 mosquito nets/cutting Whitehall waste don't you think it would have been done by now.
Especially as every politician since goodness knows when talks of "cutting (Whitehall) waste".
In fairness to both, you can have meaninful impacts without solving all the world's problems. Mosquito nets and other prophylactic measures against malaria have cut the number of deaths by 40% in 20 years. Likewise there are doubtless bits of government that don't run as well as they should. Duplicaton of function and poor procurement practices for instance.
The problem is that the problems are often caused by politicians who see big chunks of the public sector as wasteful because they don't really understand what they do (or wilfully do so). If you merge DFID into FCO or DECC into DBI then you have two parallel structures you need to prune down. Only their systems don't integrate properly because departments tend to have different requirements even if they seem similar so it takes years to pare down the duplication of function and merge together the systems. The research councils had (and still have) no end of problems with different systems, payscales and functions that need to be unified.
Procurement is the same. Previously public sector procurement was local and there were concerns that the procurers weren't getting good value for money because they were giving the same businesses (often people they knew) contracts over and over. The outcomes were usually ok in my little corner apparently (before my time) but it was thought to be inflating the procurement bill. So George Osborne decided that for capital facilities procurement you would have a single provider for ten years negotiated by central government, which has lots of buying power, and that would allow you to get a good value on that expenditure. Not a bad idea in theory, but the outcome was that friends of the government would be given the contract rather than friends of the local procurer. Prices in that contract have been as high as they were under the old regime but with slower, worse outcomes because the provider knows we can't sack them and go elsewhere.
Oh remember the days of putting Philip Green in charge of procurement. Of course the idea was sound. Departmetnt A buys photocopier paper from X; Department B buys photocopier paper from Y. Why not rationalise, etc, which hits the buffers as you describe.
And as for ITNs, there were a few false starts (now over 20 years old let's not forget to deliver $2 nets), and some unintended consequences with early efforts as "the West" learned of the local economic dynamics but then I am an Easterly-ite rather than a Sachs-ite so I would say that.
BBC Headline: 'Truss backtracks on public sector pay.' Telegraph: ' Truss u-turns on public sector pay plan.' Times: 'Truss u-turns on public sector pay cuts.' Mail: 'Liz Truss U-TURNS on plans to reduce pay for Northern teachers, nurses and police officers just HOURS after announcing them after furious backlash from Tory MPs - as she says front line staff are 'bed rock of society'. Sun: 'Lady is for turning.'
Do you get the feeling this has not been altogether her day?
But there's always one:
The Daily Express: 'Look mummy!' Charlotte leaves mum Kate open-mouthed in adorable new Commonwealth pictures.' (tbf, that's the banner on the Mail and Sun websites too.)
On a more pleasant note than the posts earlier I have been signed off by the physio today and expect the same from my hospital visit on Thursday. One leg is now normal, the other has about 6 months more exercise to be back to normal. I have a lot of catching up to do. The garden is a mess, all 2/3 acre of it. So much work.
I have racing driving lessons booked. I have a flight in a Pitts Special booked. I nearly bought a classic car, but got beaten by someone paying sight unseen and sending a trailer so ship it. Should have been more proactive. Gutted. Lots of stuff to do.
Good to hear.
What was the classic you missed?
Panther Kallista. Don't tell @Dura_Ace , although at least I had moved on from the Lima. It was a beautiful car. It was in your neck of the woods(ish). I was travelling down to Taunton to buy it. As it was bought sight unseen as a present apparently, I'm hoping the new owner can't get in it and I have a second bite of the cherry.
Why O Why though? Even a Morgan is nicer than that or a Caterham Seven or a Lotus Elite or god help me an MGB Roadster or TR4A or 5.
WHY???????????
Good to hear about your legs. Swimming and therabands are, as you know, your friends.
😁 I know. Everyone says the same so I suspect you have a point. It's a cheap Morgan look alike. I just like them. At least it makes people happy as they laugh at you.
I used to watch them being built when I was younger.
Well each to their own and if they have a personal resonance with you then who am I to demur.
Having spent 18 months shadowing Liz Truss, the idea of her not realising what she’s signed up to is not exactly novel: the freeports fiasco, the shipbuilding blunder, the list goes on. After all, this is the minister who writes TL;DR with dead eye emojis on policy submissions…. https://twitter.com/EmilyThornberry/status/1554439348115984385
So Liz has committed to Northern Powerhouse Rail; Defence Spending at 3%, and now “bringing back” the triple-lock for pensioners.
Northern Powerhouse Rail, or the Integrated Rail Plan that superseded it?
I think it's a variation of the 2 because the plan now appears to be via Bradford but not necessarily the highest speed.
Without knowing what is happening to HS2E however it's impossible to know what needs to be done - with HS2E the service is increased connectivity across the north if HS2E doesn't go to Leeds it also needs to support HS2 trains going to London via Manchester as well
Unless they're mad enough to think the current Midland Main Line can actually take the extra traffic.
Wouldn't put it past them, but it can't.
Oh they think it can - which is where all the stupidity comes from... They see the Victoria line increasing capacity to 30 trains an hour and assuming it can be done everywhere without asking - why hasn't it already occurred.
Someone should maybe tell the spokesperson for @trussliz that this contest is only happening because the last guy just kept on lying, and his spokesperson had to apologise for deliberately lying for months.
Another of the growing band of leftists for Rishi speaks.
I wouldn't go that far. They both seem pretty right-wing to me, but Rishi seems more lucid. I'm not sure who would be the easier opponent for Labour, so politically I don't really care. However, I like politicians to sound coherent even if I don't agree with them, and it may be that that's a widespread view.
in the meantime, best wishes to Big G and family. Several friends have got the current bug and report similar unpleasant effects, though they are gradually emerging, tired but no longer ill. It definitely seems worse on average than Delta was, though not usually fatal.
It’s possible that there is a problem in some areas with crowding out.
Real wages (public and private) outside the the SE and Scotland probably need to fall to East European levels if they are to reflect actual productivity add.
Good luck selling it on the doorstep.
And so the transition from "what a stupid idea" to "a sensible idea, but not politically acceptable" begins.
I am not saying it’s a sensible idea at all. Read mine and eek’s and ratter’s posts.
Read them and understand them.
That's why I said the transition begins. I've read and understood them, I just disagree with them.
But I've said what I have to say and nothing new to add, so not much point in adding more.
This is a good idea, but not politic to be introduced. What a shame. Its the sort of thing that would be better off being introduced by a new government at the start of a Parliament so it has time to bed in and work, it will never win an election. A shame Osborne flunked this issue.
PS I agree completely with Ratters that local would be better than regional and I said the same myself, which is why I called this a small step in the right direction.
You can't do it in the public sector for political reasons.
You can't do it in the private sector because both the minimum wage and the public sector wages preclude it.
Equally the issue isn't the wages - it's the lack of investment in productivity improvements because we as a whole are happy to take profits while Corporation Tax is low rather than invest money to increase productivity long term.
The more I think about it the more it seems most companies have scarily short term views and don't see themselves having long enough futures to warrant investing money in their futures.
How much of that is because the UK has put so many of its eggs in the financial sector basket for so long?
We're also extremely bad at producing scientific talent ... [snip!]
Actually, we are quite at producing but we are extremely bad at putting such talent to good use or keeping it here.
Two talents the UK has by the tonne are a belief that mediocrity is to be admired and a meanness to spend whatever it takes to do something right. Being told to "make do" on a half budget by someone with no understanding of what they are talking about is no way to produce excellence
Not a sarky comment: but do you have evidence of that? I'm mostly looking at it from the front line perspective where engineering roles sit open for months at a time and recruiters barrage anyone with "engineer" in their title with offers on LinkedIn, so from my perspective it looks like we aren't producing enough people with the right skills. I am aware that anecdote isn't data though.
The brain drain to the US hurts Britain for sure, and has done since the 1950s, but I can't remember the last time I heard someone in public life say so.
Other than that, all the vileness that came down through Francis Galton to his fraudulent fan Cyril Burt and nowadays gets "justified" with reference to pseudoscience published by the likes of Charles Murray and Robert Plomin has a lot to answer for. The main reason why for example Britain imports so many substandard medics from abroad in the state sector is because there is the view that to train more from poorer backgrounds in this country would be tantamount to trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, polish a turd, send Eliza Doolittle into the royal enclosure, etc. etc. - and crime against caste society is the ultimate crime...
BBC Headline: 'Truss backtracks on public sector pay.' Telegraph: ' Truss u-turns on public sector pay plan.' Times: 'Truss u-turns on public sector pay cuts.' Mail: 'Liz Truss U-TURNS on plans to reduce pay for Northern teachers, nurses and police officers just HOURS after announcing them after furious backlash from Tory MPs - as she says front line staff are 'bed rock of society'. Sun: 'Lady is for turning.'
Do you get the feeling this has not been altogether her day?
I think she has the potential to make Boris Johnson seem judicious and well organised by comparison. A snap election before she has the opportunity to reduce government to a complete shambles seems a good idea.
BBC Headline: 'Truss backtracks on public sector pay.' Telegraph: ' Truss u-turns on public sector pay plan.' Times: 'Truss u-turns on public sector pay cuts.' Mail: 'Liz Truss U-TURNS on plans to reduce pay for Northern teachers, nurses and police officers just HOURS after announcing them after furious backlash from Tory MPs - as she says front line staff are 'bed rock of society'. Sun: 'Lady is for turning.'
Do you get the feeling this has not been altogether her day?
But there's always one:
The Daily Express: 'Look mummy!' Charlotte leaves mum Kate open-mouthed in adorable new Commonwealth pictures.' (tbf, that's the banner on the Mail and Sun websites too.)
Do not forget the Daily Sport (is it still going?) - it would probably have a classic headline like "Trump buys golf course on moon"
So Liz has committed to Northern Powerhouse Rail; Defence Spending at 3%, and now “bringing back” the triple-lock for pensioners.
Northern Powerhouse Rail, or the Integrated Rail Plan that superseded it?
I think it's a variation of the 2 because the plan now appears to be via Bradford but not necessarily the highest speed.
Without knowing what is happening to HS2E however it's impossible to know what needs to be done - with HS2E the service is increased connectivity across the north if HS2E doesn't go to Leeds it also needs to support HS2 trains going to London via Manchester as well
Unless they're mad enough to think the current Midland Main Line can actually take the extra traffic.
Wouldn't put it past them, but it can't.
Oh they think it can - which is where all the stupidity comes from... They see the Victoria line increasing capacity to 30 trains an hour and assuming it can be done everywhere without asking - why hasn't it already occurred.
Really? I assumed they were just making shit up to try and cover up their intention to refuse to improve transport in the north, prior to axing the whole north-eastern leg and HS3 in three years (after the next election).
I mean, they hadn't even bothered to study a map, I thought engineering and pathing systems would be beyond them.
On a more pleasant note than the posts earlier I have been signed off by the physio today and expect the same from my hospital visit on Thursday. One leg is now normal, the other has about 6 months more exercise to be back to normal. I have a lot of catching up to do. The garden is a mess, all 2/3 acre of it. So much work.
I have racing driving lessons booked. I have a flight in a Pitts Special booked. I nearly bought a classic car, but got beaten by someone paying sight unseen and sending a trailer so ship it. Should have been more proactive. Gutted. Lots of stuff to do.
Good to hear.
What was the classic you missed?
Panther Kallista. Don't tell @Dura_Ace , although at least I had moved on from the Lima. It was a beautiful car. It was in your neck of the woods(ish). I was travelling down to Taunton to buy it. As it was bought sight unseen as a present apparently, I'm hoping the new owner can't get in it and I have a second bite of the cherry.
Why O Why though? Even a Morgan is nicer than that or a Caterham Seven or a Lotus Elite or god help me an MGB Roadster or TR4A or 5.
WHY???????????
Good to hear about your legs. Swimming and therabands are, as you know, your friends.
😁 I know. Everyone says the same so I suspect you have a point. It's a cheap Morgan look alike. I just like them. At least it makes people happy as they laugh at you.
I used to watch them being built when I was younger.
Well each to their own and if they have a personal resonance with you then who am I to demur.
One of my friends falls about laughing, taking the piss out of me relentlessly. Unfortunately he also knows about cars.
Someone should maybe tell the spokesperson for @trussliz that this contest is only happening because the last guy just kept on lying, and his spokesperson had to apologise for deliberately lying for months.
Another of the growing band of leftists for Rishi speaks.
I wouldn't go that far. They both seem pretty right-wing to me, but Rishi seems more lucid. I'm not sure who would be the easier opponent for Labour, so politically I don't really care. However, I like politicians to sound coherent even if I don't agree with them, and it may be that that's a widespread view.
in the meantime, best wishes to Big G and family. Several friends have got the current bug and report similar unpleasant effects, though they are gradually emerging, tired but no longer ill. It definitely seems worse on average than Delta was, though not usually fatal.
I disagree with your last line. There is a narrative going round that BA5 is nastier than previous variants. This idea originated from one small study in hamsters and has not been backed up elsewhere. Notably in terms of re-infections (previous Omicron is good at preventing infection) and hospitalisation its no worse that BA1 or 2.
In short: Russia is likely screwed in the medium to long term but the rising gas prices in Europe (gas crisis?) could cause Europe to blink this winter.
I think European governments might be tempted to do a deal with Russia. Average annual household fuel bills in the thousands of euros/pounds is brutal. But I don't think Russia will offer what those governments want. Russia's value to Western Europe was in a reliable and relatively cheap source of fuel. Now Russia is using fuel supply as a weapon against the West, that value goes. Customers will need to get used to doing without Russian gas. It's telling that China is enthusiastically signing up for long term US Gas commitments to secure its supply.
Just checked the market and quite the turnaround! Sunak in from 11 to 4.5. It'll be hilarious if Truss ends up losing. The likes of Wallace, Tugendhat, Zahawi and Morduant will look right plonkers.
Foreign minister Liz Truss, the frontrunner to replace British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, was forced to backtrack cutting the pay of public sector workers outside of the wealthy south of England, a day after announcing it after backlash https://reut.rs/3oK3SqO
So Liz has committed to Northern Powerhouse Rail; Defence Spending at 3%, and now “bringing back” the triple-lock for pensioners.
Northern Powerhouse Rail, or the Integrated Rail Plan that superseded it?
I think it's a variation of the 2 because the plan now appears to be via Bradford but not necessarily the highest speed.
Without knowing what is happening to HS2E however it's impossible to know what needs to be done - with HS2E the service is increased connectivity across the north if HS2E doesn't go to Leeds it also needs to support HS2 trains going to London via Manchester as well
Unless they're mad enough to think the current Midland Main Line can actually take the extra traffic.
Wouldn't put it past them, but it can't.
Oh they think it can - which is where all the stupidity comes from... They see the Victoria line increasing capacity to 30 trains an hour and assuming it can be done everywhere without asking - why hasn't it already occurred.
Really? I assumed they were just making shit up to try and cover up their intention to refuse to improve transport in the north, prior to axing the whole north-eastern leg and HS3 in three years (after the next election).
I mean, they hadn't even bothered to study a map, I thought engineering and pathing systems would be beyond them.
My point is they haven't got as far as a map nor pathing systems. My logic went if 1 line can run 30 trains an hour - they assume all lines can...
Mr. Leon, gardening is often a very good thing for people's wellbeing.
Indeed. Probably most people feel the same way and I’m unusual
I like having as little responsibility as possible. A small flat in a nice location that I can lock and leave. Minimal hassle
My idea of minimal hassle is to have property that is in a good location with plenty of space and enough money to ensure other people do the things I don't like doing when I want to travel etc. If you become a slave to your garden or house/houses then it is a time to reconsider whether you are actually getting enjoyment out of it and possibly sell up.
In short: Russia is likely screwed in the medium to long term but the rising gas prices in Europe (gas crisis?) could cause Europe to blink this winter.
I think European governments might be tempted to do a deal with Russia. Average annual household fuel bills in the thousands of euros/pounds is brutal. But I don't think Russia will offer what those governments want. Russia's value to Western Europe was in a reliable and relatively cheap source of fuel. Now Russia is using fuel supply as a weapon against the West, that value goes. Customers will need to get used to doing without Russian gas. It's telling that China is enthusiastically signing up for long term US Gas commitments to secure its supply.
Russia needs to understand the business principle that it is not good to try and blackmail your customers for too long. The West needs to reappraise its over-reliance on despotic regimes for all essential commodities with appropriate contingency plans put in place.
BBC Headline: 'Truss backtracks on public sector pay.' Telegraph: ' Truss u-turns on public sector pay plan.' Times: 'Truss u-turns on public sector pay cuts.' Mail: 'Liz Truss U-TURNS on plans to reduce pay for Northern teachers, nurses and police officers just HOURS after announcing them after furious backlash from Tory MPs - as she says front line staff are 'bed rock of society'. Sun: 'Lady is for turning.'
Do you get the feeling this has not been altogether her day?
I think she has the potential to make Boris Johnson seem judicious and well organised by comparison. A snap election before she has the opportunity to reduce government to a complete shambles seems a good idea.
BBC Headline: 'Truss backtracks on public sector pay.' Telegraph: ' Truss u-turns on public sector pay plan.' Times: 'Truss u-turns on public sector pay cuts.' Mail: 'Liz Truss U-TURNS on plans to reduce pay for Northern teachers, nurses and police officers just HOURS after announcing them after furious backlash from Tory MPs - as she says front line staff are 'bed rock of society'. Sun: 'Lady is for turning.'
Do you get the feeling this has not been altogether her day?
I think she has the potential to make Boris Johnson seem judicious and well organised by comparison. A snap election before she has the opportunity to reduce government to a complete shambles seems a good idea.
Not if she bloody wins it!
I don't think anyone in the Known Universe has "the potential to make Boris Johnson seem judicious and well organised by comparison".
Just checked the market and quite the turnaround! Sunak in from 11 to 4.5. It'll be hilarious if Truss ends up losing. The likes of Wallace, Tugendhat, Zahawi and Morduant will look right plonkers.
No, they will simply pledge their undying support to Sunak instead.
In short: Russia is likely screwed in the medium to long term but the rising gas prices in Europe (gas crisis?) could cause Europe to blink this winter.
I think European governments might be tempted to do a deal with Russia. Average annual household fuel bills in the thousands of euros/pounds is brutal. But I don't think Russia will offer what those governments want. Russia's value to Western Europe was in a reliable and relatively cheap source of fuel. Now Russia is using fuel supply as a weapon against the West, that value goes. Customers will need to get used to doing without Russian gas. It's telling that China is enthusiastically signing up for long term US Gas commitments to secure its supply.
The US and satellites are using trade as a weapon against Russia, and Russia is using it against them. Iron and steel in one direction, gas in the other. Nothing new in economic warfare.
I'd like to know what the effects would be of a drastic fall in the amount of microchips coming from Taiwan. Do microchips get stockpiled?
Just checked the market and quite the turnaround! Sunak in from 11 to 4.5. It'll be hilarious if Truss ends up losing. The likes of Wallace, Tugendhat, Zahawi and Morduant will look right plonkers.
Do we know how long the usual member sits on their vote before casting it? I thought, sans evidence, it would be something they would do quite quickly - so if most votes have already been cast, would this snafu even matter?
BBC Headline: 'Truss backtracks on public sector pay.' Telegraph: ' Truss u-turns on public sector pay plan.' Times: 'Truss u-turns on public sector pay cuts.' Mail: 'Liz Truss U-TURNS on plans to reduce pay for Northern teachers, nurses and police officers just HOURS after announcing them after furious backlash from Tory MPs - as she says front line staff are 'bed rock of society'. Sun: 'Lady is for turning.'
Do you get the feeling this has not been altogether her day?
I think she has the potential to make Boris Johnson seem judicious and well organised by comparison. A snap election before she has the opportunity to reduce government to a complete shambles seems a good idea.
Not if she bloody wins it!
I don't think anyone in the Known Universe has "the potential to make Boris Johnson seem judicious and well organised by comparison".
Don't say that- the Universe is listening and is more than capable of mocking us some more.
In short: Russia is likely screwed in the medium to long term but the rising gas prices in Europe (gas crisis?) could cause Europe to blink this winter.
I think European governments might be tempted to do a deal with Russia. Average annual household fuel bills in the thousands of euros/pounds is brutal. But I don't think Russia will offer what those governments want. Russia's value to Western Europe was in a reliable and relatively cheap source of fuel. Now Russia is using fuel supply as a weapon against the West, that value goes. Customers will need to get used to doing without Russian gas. It's telling that China is enthusiastically signing up for long term US Gas commitments to secure its supply.
Russia needs to understand the business principle that it is not good to try and blackmail your customers for too long. The West needs to reappraise its over-reliance on despotic regimes for all essential commodities with appropriate contingency plans put in place.
The problem with Russia, is that the period that they see as the greatest success - the Cold War - involved dominating their neighbours in the most high handed manner possible. Colonialism, essentially. Complete with putting down the native uprisings - 56 and 68.
Just checked the market and quite the turnaround! Sunak in from 11 to 4.5. It'll be hilarious if Truss ends up losing. The likes of Wallace, Tugendhat, Zahawi and Morduant will look right plonkers.
Do we know how long the usual member sits on their vote before casting it? I thought, sans evidence, it would be something they would do quite quickly - so if most votes have already been cast, would this snafu even matter?
I believe ballot papers are due to arrive this week - so it really does matter...
Just checked the market and quite the turnaround! Sunak in from 11 to 4.5. It'll be hilarious if Truss ends up losing. The likes of Wallace, Tugendhat, Zahawi and Morduant will look right plonkers.
Do we know how long the usual member sits on their vote before casting it? I thought, sans evidence, it would be something they would do quite quickly - so if most votes have already been cast, would this snafu even matter?
Just checked the market and quite the turnaround! Sunak in from 11 to 4.5. It'll be hilarious if Truss ends up losing. The likes of Wallace, Tugendhat, Zahawi and Morduant will look right plonkers.
Do we know how long the usual member sits on their vote before casting it? I thought, sans evidence, it would be something they would do quite quickly - so if most votes have already been cast, would this snafu even matter?
My ballot hasn't arrived yet (don't know about HYUFD, Casino, Marquee, Mortimer, TSE et al) but I won't wait very long before voting for Sunak!
Both Sunak and Truss are making elementary mistakes, probably through insecurity so are trying too hard at campaigning in a naïve manner. Truss has forgotten several golden rules:
1. Leave wriggle room and ambiguity. 2. Minimise concrete policies during any form of election campaign. 3. Project general messages that imply commitments but don't get too detailed. 4. If you are ahead roll back even further - less chance of an error.
The political arts have declined across all parties. I don't think many Tory or Labour frontbenchers could defend their core philosophy or policies in a proper debate against a knowledgeable opponent. They don't seem aware of the key arguments for and, more importantly against their positions.
BBC Headline: 'Truss backtracks on public sector pay.' Telegraph: ' Truss u-turns on public sector pay plan.' Times: 'Truss u-turns on public sector pay cuts.' Mail: 'Liz Truss U-TURNS on plans to reduce pay for Northern teachers, nurses and police officers just HOURS after announcing them after furious backlash from Tory MPs - as she says front line staff are 'bed rock of society'. Sun: 'Lady is for turning.'
Do you get the feeling this has not been altogether her day?
I think she has the potential to make Boris Johnson seem judicious and well organised by comparison. A snap election before she has the opportunity to reduce government to a complete shambles seems a good idea.
Not if she bloody wins it!
I don't think anyone in the Known Universe has "the potential to make Boris Johnson seem judicious and well organised by comparison".
Don't say that- the Universe is listening and is more than capable of mocking us some more.
I think the Universe almost played it's best possible hand with Boris Johnson. It did have a go with Jeremy Corbyn on two occasions but realised that human beings are only partially stupid. Although it could be said that the cunning plan of offering the two of them together as a kind of "shit or bust" alternative was a genius invention, worthy of the Norse god Loki.
If there has to be a Tory prime minister I'd rather it were one who isn't batsh*t - even if a batsh*t one would be better for Labour in a GE some time in the distant future.
Unless he's sending a secret message, someone should tell Dominic Cummings that he's got the accent in the wrong place on "decadénce".
That said, if Liz Truss becomes PM we can play the game of "hunt the news editor who knows the rules about apostrophes".
"Liz Truss' proposal for raising school standard's" :-)
Just checked the market and quite the turnaround! Sunak in from 11 to 4.5. It'll be hilarious if Truss ends up losing. The likes of Wallace, Tugendhat, Zahawi and Morduant will look right plonkers.
Do we know how long the usual member sits on their vote before casting it? I thought, sans evidence, it would be something they would do quite quickly - so if most votes have already been cast, would this snafu even matter?
My ballot hasn't arrived yet (don't know about HYUFD, Casino, Marquee, Mortimer, TSE et al) but I won't wait very long before voting for Sunak!
We are in Oxford until Saturday so will post it off then
It’s possible that there is a problem in some areas with crowding out.
Real wages (public and private) outside the the SE and Scotland probably need to fall to East European levels if they are to reflect actual productivity add.
Good luck selling it on the doorstep.
And so the transition from "what a stupid idea" to "a sensible idea, but not politically acceptable" begins.
I am not saying it’s a sensible idea at all. Read mine and eek’s and ratter’s posts.
Read them and understand them.
That's why I said the transition begins. I've read and understood them, I just disagree with them.
But I've said what I have to say and nothing new to add, so not much point in adding more.
This is a good idea, but not politic to be introduced. What a shame. Its the sort of thing that would be better off being introduced by a new government at the start of a Parliament so it has time to bed in and work, it will never win an election. A shame Osborne flunked this issue.
PS I agree completely with Ratters that local would be better than regional and I said the same myself, which is why I called this a small step in the right direction.
You can't do it in the public sector for political reasons.
You can't do it in the private sector because both the minimum wage and the public sector wages preclude it.
Equally the issue isn't the wages - it's the lack of investment in productivity improvements because we as a whole are happy to take profits while Corporation Tax is low rather than invest money to increase productivity long term.
The more I think about it the more it seems most companies have scarily short term views and don't see themselves having long enough futures to warrant investing money in their futures.
How much of that is because the UK has put so many of its eggs in the financial sector basket for so long?
We're also extremely bad at producing scientific talent ... [snip!]
Actually, we are quite at producing but we are extremely bad at putting such talent to good use or keeping it here.
Two talents the UK has by the tonne are a belief that mediocrity is to be admired and a meanness to spend whatever it takes to do something right. Being told to "make do" on a half budget by someone with no understanding of what they are talking about is no way to produce excellence
Not a sarky comment: but do you have evidence of that? I'm mostly looking at it from the front line perspective where engineering roles sit open for months at a time and recruiters barrage anyone with "engineer" in their title with offers on LinkedIn, so from my perspective it looks like we aren't producing enough people with the right skills. I am aware that anecdote isn't data though.
Evidence? Not really, just over 30 years experience of science and engineering were it was a common theme of everyone I ever spoke to plus what I came up against myself both as an employee and an IT consultant. There is even more anecdata going back into the past - John Harrison and marine chronometer, Charles Parsons and the Turbinia, Frank Whittle and the jet engine, the Black Arrow programme, etc, etc. HS2 / HS3 is just another example of trying to trim the project to fit the budget, but it is not unique by any means.
Just checked the market and quite the turnaround! Sunak in from 11 to 4.5. It'll be hilarious if Truss ends up losing. The likes of Wallace, Tugendhat, Zahawi and Morduant will look right plonkers.
Do we know how long the usual member sits on their vote before casting it? I thought, sans evidence, it would be something they would do quite quickly - so if most votes have already been cast, would this snafu even matter?
My ballot hasn't arrived yet (don't know about HYUFD, Casino, Marquee, Mortimer, TSE et al) but I won't wait very long before voting for Sunak!
In short: Russia is likely screwed in the medium to long term but the rising gas prices in Europe (gas crisis?) could cause Europe to blink this winter.
I think European governments might be tempted to do a deal with Russia. Average annual household fuel bills in the thousands of euros/pounds is brutal. But I don't think Russia will offer what those governments want. Russia's value to Western Europe was in a reliable and relatively cheap source of fuel. Now Russia is using fuel supply as a weapon against the West, that value goes. Customers will need to get used to doing without Russian gas. It's telling that China is enthusiastically signing up for long term US Gas commitments to secure its supply.
The US and satellites are using trade as a weapon against Russia, and Russia is using it against them. Iron and steel in one direction, gas in the other. Nothing new in economic warfare.
I'd like to know what the effects would be of a drastic fall in the amount of microchips coming from Taiwan. Do microchips get stockpiled?
The microchip industry is massively complex. But AIUI, and to put it very simply, they are not stockpiled by the major users - at least for more than a few months of supply. And if you're not ordering hundreds of thousands or millions of chips a year, supply can be also rather lumpy, as the fab fits your smaller order in around the larger ones.
Getting alternate vendors can be very, very tricky. Mrs J started a new project recently, and the deign they're working on is heavily tied to a specific process at a specific fab plant. If they wanted to move it to a different fab, they'd need to muck about with the layout and metal layer as a minimum. And this chip does not even need the bleeding edge of fabs. So it's time-consuming.
Losing TSMC as a chip fab would be very disruptive to a number of industries. As one example, I think Apple use TSMC for their A15 chip, and losing TSMC would be a major ballache for them. A minor disruption such as the fire at Renesas in Japan last year can have severe knock-on consequences for the rest of the industry.
The Truss u turn isnt likely to alter the result any more than no tax cuts, ok massive tax cuts Rishi's will, its just another data point in the 'they are getting fag end 12 year ragged' narrative.
So Liz has committed to Northern Powerhouse Rail; Defence Spending at 3%, and now “bringing back” the triple-lock for pensioners.
Northern Powerhouse Rail, or the Integrated Rail Plan that superseded it?
I think it's a variation of the 2 because the plan now appears to be via Bradford but not necessarily the highest speed.
Without knowing what is happening to HS2E however it's impossible to know what needs to be done - with HS2E the service is increased connectivity across the north if HS2E doesn't go to Leeds it also needs to support HS2 trains going to London via Manchester as well
Unless they're mad enough to think the current Midland Main Line can actually take the extra traffic.
Wouldn't put it past them, but it can't.
Oh they think it can - which is where all the stupidity comes from... They see the Victoria line increasing capacity to 30 trains an hour and assuming it can be done everywhere without asking - why hasn't it already occurred.
Really? I assumed they were just making shit up to try and cover up their intention to refuse to improve transport in the north, prior to axing the whole north-eastern leg and HS3 in three years (after the next election).
I mean, they hadn't even bothered to study a map, I thought engineering and pathing systems would be beyond them.
My point is they haven't got as far as a map nor pathing systems. My logic went if 1 line can run 30 trains an hour - they assume all lines can...
Pretty much any line can run getting on for 30 trains an hour AS LONG AS THEY ARE ALL OF THE SAME SPEED. 30 slow trains an hour calling at all stations a la the Victoria Line - brilliant. 30 (well, in practice, probably 22-ish) high speed trains an hour - brilliant. 30 freight trains an hour - great. A mix of slow and freight - can be done.
It's mixing fast and slow trains which kills capacity, along with complex junctions. You need to leave a massive gap after you slow train before you set the fast train off or the slow train gets in the fast train's way.
That's the logic of high speed rail - put the high speed trains on their own track with hardly any junctions and you can do much, much more with the remaining track.
Just checked the market and quite the turnaround! Sunak in from 11 to 4.5. It'll be hilarious if Truss ends up losing. The likes of Wallace, Tugendhat, Zahawi and Morduant will look right plonkers.
Do we know how long the usual member sits on their vote before casting it? I thought, sans evidence, it would be something they would do quite quickly - so if most votes have already been cast, would this snafu even matter?
I believe ballot papers are due to arrive this week - so it really does matter...
Oh, okay, then this is a very inopportune time to pull a May and announce deeply unpopular policies during your election campaign...
In short: Russia is likely screwed in the medium to long term but the rising gas prices in Europe (gas crisis?) could cause Europe to blink this winter.
I think European governments might be tempted to do a deal with Russia. Average annual household fuel bills in the thousands of euros/pounds is brutal. But I don't think Russia will offer what those governments want. Russia's value to Western Europe was in a reliable and relatively cheap source of fuel. Now Russia is using fuel supply as a weapon against the West, that value goes. Customers will need to get used to doing without Russian gas. It's telling that China is enthusiastically signing up for long term US Gas commitments to secure its supply.
Russia needs to understand the business principle that it is not good to try and blackmail your customers for too long. The West needs to reappraise its over-reliance on despotic regimes for all essential commodities with appropriate contingency plans put in place.
The problem with Russia, is that the period that they see as the greatest success - the Cold War - involved dominating their neighbours in the most high handed manner possible. Colonialism, essentially. Complete with putting down the native uprisings - 56 and 68.
This is what Putin really wants, deep down.
Personally I think the West has little choice but to cut as many trading arrangements as possible with Russia. If Russia cannot be relied on then they need to pay a price for that behaviour. China will watch, knowing that its prosperity depends on its ability to continue to trade with the West.
Mr. Leon, gardening is often a very good thing for people's wellbeing.
Indeed. Probably most people feel the same way and I’m unusual
I like having as little responsibility as possible. A small flat in a nice location that I can lock and leave. Minimal hassle
As you documented during the winter lockdown in 2021 you struggle when you are tired to one location - you have epic wanderlust. Others would much rather be at home. It may be why I found the same experience an absolute breeze.
Yes indeed. I don’t think I will be very good at old age and increasing immobility
I’ll somehow have to escape with my mind. Hmpft
Very considerably reduced mobility and very considerably reduced manual dexterity are very difficult crosses to bear. Fortunately my mind is still coping extremely well with the challenges put to it!
£8b of savings looks to me like £350m on the side of a bus. The ingenuous focus their ire on the numbers, implicitly conceding the point about cutting diversity officers etc.
It'll be GPs, nurses, care workers, dustmen, street cleaners, policemen, firemen, ambulance workers, paramedics, teachers, teaching assistants etc which will need to go if those sort of savings are to be made. It is absurd.
There are shortages of all such people at the moment. We need to pay more to attract and retain them.
Those who these sorts of cuts will hurt most are Tory voters - the old. Good luck trying to use the money saved in a tax cut to pay for an ambulance to take you to an overcrowded hospital tens of miles away.
If you need to pay more to attract people in one locale or region then that would justify paying more to attract them in that locale or region. That's precisely why there should be localised pay rates.
Crowding out private sector investment in the regions by ensuring everyone talented does basic public sector work instead of investing in the private sector isn't a successful model that is working.
If there's one thing the Conservative Government doesn't do, it's pay more in the public sector when there's a need to do so to attract people. When has a Tory PM's first reaction to shortages in public sector staffing ever been to increase pay?
If you're going to treat public sector pay the same way as private sector pay, fine, but do so properly. A system that treats pay as a political football rather than as something set by the market has to offer something else instead to compensate.
@ydoethur has been talking about a teacher shortage, especially new teachers, and the government has just increased new teacher pay by more than other national pay rates are changing in response to that.
The problem is though if you're going with national pay rates it will always be far more politicised and sclerotic than it should be. A small business can be affected by local supply and demand and set the pay rate at an individual level but national pay scales are always going to be dominated more by political whims than supply and demand. Only once supply and demand starts affecting politics will it be responsive.
The more localised it gets, the more responsive it can be.
Um, academies are not subject to national pay rates - if they wish to pay more they can (in a way other schools can't)
Yes and no.
A lot of academies stick to the national rates, because it's a recruitment selling point. A lot of people put quite a bit of value on not having to negotiate their pay rise individually, even if it means they are paid less.
More significantly, the funding the school gets doesn't change, so the total budget is still limited. One of the things coming down the track is the gap between the teacher pay rise that was announced recently and the cash schools are getting.
Watch for who the next PM makes EdSec. It will be a rival they want to destroy...
All the more reason for localised, even individualised, pay rates.
If a school has eg a shortage of Maths teachers, but an abundance of applicants to be English teachers, then the logical thing to do would be to increase the pay offered to those qualified to teach maths while freezing the pay of those qualified to teach English.
Central bargaining is the worst possible system for filling vacancies as it leads to a lowest common denominator system where either some roles will be uncompetitive, or some roles will be paid too much and money wasted. Most likely, both at the same time.
You make a reasonable case for the value of local bargaining to fill vacancies, but you realise that the upshot of this will be a notable increase in the public sector wage bill? I'm all for that: I want adequately funded and staffed public services. I just wanted to check you were OK with the consequences too.
I very much doubt that. Unless there's huge swathes of roles going unfilled at the minute, in which case the bill should go up in order to fill them.
There are shortages in NHS staff; these are frequently reported. There are shortages in teaching staff; these are frequently reported. There are shortages in social work staff; these are frequently reported. There are shortages in care staff; these are frequently reported.
There are always 'shortages', that's part of the churn of the labour market. If there weren't, then young people entering the labour market wouldn't be able to be hired, since there'd be no roles available for them to fill.
'Shortages' and 'shortages' can be completely different things. 'Shortages' are not necessarily a reason to increase pay rates.
There are serious and substantial shortages in all the areas I identified, which have been frequently reported. The Government, like all Conservative Governments since time immemorial, refuses to believe that increasing wages will solve these problems in the public sector. Magically, wages are only an incentive in the private sector.
My random discovery today - 1 North West council is so short of planners they are looking for a £90,000 a year consultant to do the job...
I've published ads on here before.
£58 per hour for a bog standard planning officers, and that is outside of IR35. The advertised day rates for interim managers are currently £500-£650 per day. Thats what, £140k+ per year? All over the country.
These are jobs that they try and recruit permanent staff at £30 - £50k per year, the type of area where Liz Truss thought regional pay boards should be cutting pay, for new entrants.
Why is it planning officers in particular? What's special that makes it so difficult to recruit?
Private sector pay has increased over the years - public sector pay isn't much different from 2010 or really 2005...
2 friends of Mrs Eek have just joined at her place for an easy life prior to retirement. Both have gone from £70k+ private sector jobs to £35,000 max but only went there because the Mrs sold it to them...
Yes. But why planning officers in particular? As opposed to any other public sector position. Or is this just an example. Incidentally. I am awaiting my portable DBS for teaching come September. Am pitching for £200 per day in the northeast. Am not being told an outright no, shall we say.
Look at the private sector pay - £70k or so....
Public sector pays £40k max and that's to lead a team. That is probably a junior staff member in the private sector - hence everyone heads towards the private sector asap to earn more money.
And the work is probably way more interesting as well with little stress over 8 week deadlines...
At the top end the private sector pays more, however overall the public sector pays 7.6% more and even 0.9% more considering workers skills and characteristics
On a more pleasant note than the posts earlier I have been signed off by the physio today and expect the same from my hospital visit on Thursday. One leg is now normal, the other has about 6 months more exercise to be back to normal. I have a lot of catching up to do. The garden is a mess, all 2/3 acre of it. So much work.
I have racing driving lessons booked. I have a flight in a Pitts Special booked. I nearly bought a classic car, but got beaten by someone paying sight unseen and sending a trailer so ship it. Should have been more proactive. Gutted. Lots of stuff to do.
Good to hear.
What was the classic you missed?
Panther Kallista. Don't tell @Dura_Ace , although at least I had moved on from the Lima. It was a beautiful car. It was in your neck of the woods(ish). I was travelling down to Taunton to buy it. As it was bought sight unseen as a present apparently, I'm hoping the new owner can't get in it and I have a second bite of the cherry.
I once came home from school to find a big gap in the garage where the 1936 Wolseley champagne-and-black convertible used to be. I believe it was one of only 8 made, so before the 14/56 Tourer.
Now, a) it wasn't a runner b) was a home to mice and c) I couldn't drive then, but I still felt robbed! Even worse, my stepfather had given it away.... Grrrrr.
It's like the aid paradox. If people really could solve world poverty/governing the UK by the provision of $2 mosquito nets/cutting Whitehall waste don't you think it would have been done by now.
Especially as every politician since goodness knows when talks of "cutting (Whitehall) waste".
It's a prisoner's dilemma sort of situation. We'd be collectively better off of politicians didn't pretend they could solve difficult tax and spending problems by cutting waste, but the evidence is that voters tend to prefer to hope that this time a politician promising an easy answer will be able to do what they promise, and so a politician breaking ranks will benefit.
It’s possible that there is a problem in some areas with crowding out.
Real wages (public and private) outside the the SE and Scotland probably need to fall to East European levels if they are to reflect actual productivity add.
Good luck selling it on the doorstep.
And so the transition from "what a stupid idea" to "a sensible idea, but not politically acceptable" begins.
I am not saying it’s a sensible idea at all. Read mine and eek’s and ratter’s posts.
Read them and understand them.
That's why I said the transition begins. I've read and understood them, I just disagree with them.
But I've said what I have to say and nothing new to add, so not much point in adding more.
This is a good idea, but not politic to be introduced. What a shame. Its the sort of thing that would be better off being introduced by a new government at the start of a Parliament so it has time to bed in and work, it will never win an election. A shame Osborne flunked this issue.
PS I agree completely with Ratters that local would be better than regional and I said the same myself, which is why I called this a small step in the right direction.
You can't do it in the public sector for political reasons.
You can't do it in the private sector because both the minimum wage and the public sector wages preclude it.
Equally the issue isn't the wages - it's the lack of investment in productivity improvements because we as a whole are happy to take profits while Corporation Tax is low rather than invest money to increase productivity long term.
The more I think about it the more it seems most companies have scarily short term views and don't see themselves having long enough futures to warrant investing money in their futures.
How much of that is because the UK has put so many of its eggs in the financial sector basket for so long?
We're also extremely bad at producing scientific talent ... [snip!]
Actually, we are quite at producing but we are extremely bad at putting such talent to good use or keeping it here.
Two talents the UK has by the tonne are a belief that mediocrity is to be admired and a meanness to spend whatever it takes to do something right. Being told to "make do" on a half budget by someone with no understanding of what they are talking about is no way to produce excellence
Not a sarky comment: but do you have evidence of that? I'm mostly looking at it from the front line perspective where engineering roles sit open for months at a time and recruiters barrage anyone with "engineer" in their title with offers on LinkedIn, so from my perspective it looks like we aren't producing enough people with the right skills. I am aware that anecdote isn't data though.
Evidence? Not really, just over 30 years experience of science and engineering were it was a common theme of everyone I ever spoke to plus what I came up against myself both as an employee and an IT consultant. There is even more anecdata going back into the past - John Harrison and marine chronometer, Charles Parsons and the Turbinia, Frank Whittle and the jet engine, the Black Arrow programme, etc, etc. HS2 / HS3 is just another example of trying to trim the project to fit the budget, but it is not unique by any means.
I haven't been able to follow all the thread, but short-termism is a significant issue. Banks and management seem to *hate* to look more than five years in advance - they want their money to come back before then. It is a British disease.
It is a reason why angel investors can be so useful in the tech sector, as they can have a much wider and long-term vision than traditional investment sources. I daresay RCS could say if my impression is correct.
An anecdote: in the early days of Acorn in the late 1970s or early 1980s, they needed a million pounds to get something into production. They went to their usual bank, who were very hesitant. So they want across the road to a different bank, introduced themselves, and the manager said something like: "Ah, you're fine Cambridge fellows. Here's your money...."
£8b of savings looks to me like £350m on the side of a bus. The ingenuous focus their ire on the numbers, implicitly conceding the point about cutting diversity officers etc.
It'll be GPs, nurses, care workers, dustmen, street cleaners, policemen, firemen, ambulance workers, paramedics, teachers, teaching assistants etc which will need to go if those sort of savings are to be made. It is absurd.
There are shortages of all such people at the moment. We need to pay more to attract and retain them.
Those who these sorts of cuts will hurt most are Tory voters - the old. Good luck trying to use the money saved in a tax cut to pay for an ambulance to take you to an overcrowded hospital tens of miles away.
If you need to pay more to attract people in one locale or region then that would justify paying more to attract them in that locale or region. That's precisely why there should be localised pay rates.
Crowding out private sector investment in the regions by ensuring everyone talented does basic public sector work instead of investing in the private sector isn't a successful model that is working.
If there's one thing the Conservative Government doesn't do, it's pay more in the public sector when there's a need to do so to attract people. When has a Tory PM's first reaction to shortages in public sector staffing ever been to increase pay?
If you're going to treat public sector pay the same way as private sector pay, fine, but do so properly. A system that treats pay as a political football rather than as something set by the market has to offer something else instead to compensate.
@ydoethur has been talking about a teacher shortage, especially new teachers, and the government has just increased new teacher pay by more than other national pay rates are changing in response to that.
The problem is though if you're going with national pay rates it will always be far more politicised and sclerotic than it should be. A small business can be affected by local supply and demand and set the pay rate at an individual level but national pay scales are always going to be dominated more by political whims than supply and demand. Only once supply and demand starts affecting politics will it be responsive.
The more localised it gets, the more responsive it can be.
Um, academies are not subject to national pay rates - if they wish to pay more they can (in a way other schools can't)
Yes and no.
A lot of academies stick to the national rates, because it's a recruitment selling point. A lot of people put quite a bit of value on not having to negotiate their pay rise individually, even if it means they are paid less.
More significantly, the funding the school gets doesn't change, so the total budget is still limited. One of the things coming down the track is the gap between the teacher pay rise that was announced recently and the cash schools are getting.
Watch for who the next PM makes EdSec. It will be a rival they want to destroy...
All the more reason for localised, even individualised, pay rates.
If a school has eg a shortage of Maths teachers, but an abundance of applicants to be English teachers, then the logical thing to do would be to increase the pay offered to those qualified to teach maths while freezing the pay of those qualified to teach English.
Central bargaining is the worst possible system for filling vacancies as it leads to a lowest common denominator system where either some roles will be uncompetitive, or some roles will be paid too much and money wasted. Most likely, both at the same time.
You make a reasonable case for the value of local bargaining to fill vacancies, but you realise that the upshot of this will be a notable increase in the public sector wage bill? I'm all for that: I want adequately funded and staffed public services. I just wanted to check you were OK with the consequences too.
I very much doubt that. Unless there's huge swathes of roles going unfilled at the minute, in which case the bill should go up in order to fill them.
There are shortages in NHS staff; these are frequently reported. There are shortages in teaching staff; these are frequently reported. There are shortages in social work staff; these are frequently reported. There are shortages in care staff; these are frequently reported.
There are always 'shortages', that's part of the churn of the labour market. If there weren't, then young people entering the labour market wouldn't be able to be hired, since there'd be no roles available for them to fill.
'Shortages' and 'shortages' can be completely different things. 'Shortages' are not necessarily a reason to increase pay rates.
There are serious and substantial shortages in all the areas I identified, which have been frequently reported. The Government, like all Conservative Governments since time immemorial, refuses to believe that increasing wages will solve these problems in the public sector. Magically, wages are only an incentive in the private sector.
My random discovery today - 1 North West council is so short of planners they are looking for a £90,000 a year consultant to do the job...
I've published ads on here before.
£58 per hour for a bog standard planning officers, and that is outside of IR35. The advertised day rates for interim managers are currently £500-£650 per day. Thats what, £140k+ per year? All over the country.
These are jobs that they try and recruit permanent staff at £30 - £50k per year, the type of area where Liz Truss thought regional pay boards should be cutting pay, for new entrants.
Why is it planning officers in particular? What's special that makes it so difficult to recruit?
Private sector pay has increased over the years - public sector pay isn't much different from 2010 or really 2005...
2 friends of Mrs Eek have just joined at her place for an easy life prior to retirement. Both have gone from £70k+ private sector jobs to £35,000 max but only went there because the Mrs sold it to them...
Yes. But why planning officers in particular? As opposed to any other public sector position. Or is this just an example. Incidentally. I am awaiting my portable DBS for teaching come September. Am pitching for £200 per day in the northeast. Am not being told an outright no, shall we say.
Look at the private sector pay - £70k or so....
Public sector pays £40k max and that's to lead a team. That is probably a junior staff member in the private sector - hence everyone heads towards the private sector asap to earn more money.
And the work is probably way more interesting as well with little stress over 8 week deadlines...
At the top end the private sector pays more, however overall the public sector pays 7.6% more and even 0.9% more considering workers skills and characteristics
The public sector also pays out huge pensions to many. In my view all compensation should be expressed gross to include the value of all benefits including pension. Many people in senior positions in the public sector, particularly doctors, are able to retire on pensions that are far in excess of what many people dream of as full time salary.
The Truss u turn isnt likely to alter the result any more than no tax cuts, ok massive tax cuts Rishi's will, its just another data point in the 'they are getting fag end 12 year ragged' narrative.
Not so sure. Truss had been working hard to overcome the terrible first debate performance. Now you have to factor in that was the real Liz Truss.
And Rishi Sunak does still appear more like the PM in waiting, as long as you massively reduce his sugar intake to stop him bouncing off the ceiling.
In short: Russia is likely screwed in the medium to long term but the rising gas prices in Europe (gas crisis?) could cause Europe to blink this winter.
I think European governments might be tempted to do a deal with Russia. Average annual household fuel bills in the thousands of euros/pounds is brutal. But I don't think Russia will offer what those governments want. Russia's value to Western Europe was in a reliable and relatively cheap source of fuel. Now Russia is using fuel supply as a weapon against the West, that value goes. Customers will need to get used to doing without Russian gas. It's telling that China is enthusiastically signing up for long term US Gas commitments to secure its supply.
Russia needs to understand the business principle that it is not good to try and blackmail your customers for too long. The West needs to reappraise its over-reliance on despotic regimes for all essential commodities with appropriate contingency plans put in place.
The problem with Russia, is that the period that they see as the greatest success - the Cold War - involved dominating their neighbours in the most high handed manner possible. Colonialism, essentially. Complete with putting down the native uprisings - 56 and 68.
This is what Putin really wants, deep down.
And it's really odd that people like Corbyn cannot recognise that. It is exactly the sort of colonialism they pretend to hate.
Just checked the market and quite the turnaround! Sunak in from 11 to 4.5. It'll be hilarious if Truss ends up losing. The likes of Wallace, Tugendhat, Zahawi and Morduant will look right plonkers.
Do we know how long the usual member sits on their vote before casting it? I thought, sans evidence, it would be something they would do quite quickly - so if most votes have already been cast, would this snafu even matter?
Mr. Leon, gardening is often a very good thing for people's wellbeing.
Indeed. Probably most people feel the same way and I’m unusual
I like having as little responsibility as possible. A small flat in a nice location that I can lock and leave. Minimal hassle
As you documented during the winter lockdown in 2021 you struggle when you are tired to one location - you have epic wanderlust. Others would much rather be at home. It may be why I found the same experience an absolute breeze.
Yes indeed. I don’t think I will be very good at old age and increasing immobility
I’ll somehow have to escape with my mind. Hmpft
Very considerably reduced mobility and very considerably reduced manual dexterity are very difficult crosses to bear. Fortunately my mind is still coping extremely well with the challenges put to it!
As evidenced by your PB contributions not only is it doing that but you are outpeforming many if not most of the youngsters on here in that department.
Just checked the market and quite the turnaround! Sunak in from 11 to 4.5. It'll be hilarious if Truss ends up losing. The likes of Wallace, Tugendhat, Zahawi and Morduant will look right plonkers.
Slightly disappointing. I had a bet on Liz Truss a couple of years back, and was slightly surprised yesterday to find it was not the £5 at 3/1 or so I had vaguely remembered but £25 11/1. I was about to cash out at £225, and didn't get round to it. Oh well - let it ride now.
Mr. Leon, gardening is often a very good thing for people's wellbeing.
Indeed. Probably most people feel the same way and I’m unusual
I like having as little responsibility as possible. A small flat in a nice location that I can lock and leave. Minimal hassle
As you documented during the winter lockdown in 2021 you struggle when you are tired to one location - you have epic wanderlust. Others would much rather be at home. It may be why I found the same experience an absolute breeze.
Yes indeed. I don’t think I will be very good at old age and increasing immobility
I’ll somehow have to escape with my mind. Hmpft
Very considerably reduced mobility and very considerably reduced manual dexterity are very difficult crosses to bear. Fortunately my mind is still coping extremely well with the challenges put to it!
I've seen it in my own father (now 87) - and he's a homebody who rarely adventured, even when he had the chance. Fuck knows how bad I will be, biting the carpet when I am used to skipping around the world
£8b of savings looks to me like £350m on the side of a bus. The ingenuous focus their ire on the numbers, implicitly conceding the point about cutting diversity officers etc.
It'll be GPs, nurses, care workers, dustmen, street cleaners, policemen, firemen, ambulance workers, paramedics, teachers, teaching assistants etc which will need to go if those sort of savings are to be made. It is absurd.
There are shortages of all such people at the moment. We need to pay more to attract and retain them.
Those who these sorts of cuts will hurt most are Tory voters - the old. Good luck trying to use the money saved in a tax cut to pay for an ambulance to take you to an overcrowded hospital tens of miles away.
If you need to pay more to attract people in one locale or region then that would justify paying more to attract them in that locale or region. That's precisely why there should be localised pay rates.
Crowding out private sector investment in the regions by ensuring everyone talented does basic public sector work instead of investing in the private sector isn't a successful model that is working.
If there's one thing the Conservative Government doesn't do, it's pay more in the public sector when there's a need to do so to attract people. When has a Tory PM's first reaction to shortages in public sector staffing ever been to increase pay?
If you're going to treat public sector pay the same way as private sector pay, fine, but do so properly. A system that treats pay as a political football rather than as something set by the market has to offer something else instead to compensate.
@ydoethur has been talking about a teacher shortage, especially new teachers, and the government has just increased new teacher pay by more than other national pay rates are changing in response to that.
The problem is though if you're going with national pay rates it will always be far more politicised and sclerotic than it should be. A small business can be affected by local supply and demand and set the pay rate at an individual level but national pay scales are always going to be dominated more by political whims than supply and demand. Only once supply and demand starts affecting politics will it be responsive.
The more localised it gets, the more responsive it can be.
Um, academies are not subject to national pay rates - if they wish to pay more they can (in a way other schools can't)
Yes and no.
A lot of academies stick to the national rates, because it's a recruitment selling point. A lot of people put quite a bit of value on not having to negotiate their pay rise individually, even if it means they are paid less.
More significantly, the funding the school gets doesn't change, so the total budget is still limited. One of the things coming down the track is the gap between the teacher pay rise that was announced recently and the cash schools are getting.
Watch for who the next PM makes EdSec. It will be a rival they want to destroy...
All the more reason for localised, even individualised, pay rates.
If a school has eg a shortage of Maths teachers, but an abundance of applicants to be English teachers, then the logical thing to do would be to increase the pay offered to those qualified to teach maths while freezing the pay of those qualified to teach English.
Central bargaining is the worst possible system for filling vacancies as it leads to a lowest common denominator system where either some roles will be uncompetitive, or some roles will be paid too much and money wasted. Most likely, both at the same time.
You make a reasonable case for the value of local bargaining to fill vacancies, but you realise that the upshot of this will be a notable increase in the public sector wage bill? I'm all for that: I want adequately funded and staffed public services. I just wanted to check you were OK with the consequences too.
I very much doubt that. Unless there's huge swathes of roles going unfilled at the minute, in which case the bill should go up in order to fill them.
There are shortages in NHS staff; these are frequently reported. There are shortages in teaching staff; these are frequently reported. There are shortages in social work staff; these are frequently reported. There are shortages in care staff; these are frequently reported.
There are always 'shortages', that's part of the churn of the labour market. If there weren't, then young people entering the labour market wouldn't be able to be hired, since there'd be no roles available for them to fill.
'Shortages' and 'shortages' can be completely different things. 'Shortages' are not necessarily a reason to increase pay rates.
There are serious and substantial shortages in all the areas I identified, which have been frequently reported. The Government, like all Conservative Governments since time immemorial, refuses to believe that increasing wages will solve these problems in the public sector. Magically, wages are only an incentive in the private sector.
My random discovery today - 1 North West council is so short of planners they are looking for a £90,000 a year consultant to do the job...
I've published ads on here before.
£58 per hour for a bog standard planning officers, and that is outside of IR35. The advertised day rates for interim managers are currently £500-£650 per day. Thats what, £140k+ per year? All over the country.
These are jobs that they try and recruit permanent staff at £30 - £50k per year, the type of area where Liz Truss thought regional pay boards should be cutting pay, for new entrants.
Why is it planning officers in particular? What's special that makes it so difficult to recruit?
Private sector pay has increased over the years - public sector pay isn't much different from 2010 or really 2005...
2 friends of Mrs Eek have just joined at her place for an easy life prior to retirement. Both have gone from £70k+ private sector jobs to £35,000 max but only went there because the Mrs sold it to them...
Yes. But why planning officers in particular? As opposed to any other public sector position. Or is this just an example. Incidentally. I am awaiting my portable DBS for teaching come September. Am pitching for £200 per day in the northeast. Am not being told an outright no, shall we say.
Look at the private sector pay - £70k or so....
Public sector pays £40k max and that's to lead a team. That is probably a junior staff member in the private sector - hence everyone heads towards the private sector asap to earn more money.
And the work is probably way more interesting as well with little stress over 8 week deadlines...
At the top end the private sector pays more, however overall the public sector pays 7.6% more and even 0.9% more considering workers skills and characteristics
The public sector also pays out huge pensions to many. In my view all compensation should be expressed gross to include the value of all benefits including pension. Many people in senior positions in the public sector, particularly doctors, are able to retire on pensions that are far in excess of what many people dream of as full time salary.
Are or were able to? For example, pensions are now based on average earnings not final salary..
Comments
Chances of another majority of 80 = small
Chances of a working majority = slightly better
So I'd want pretty long odds.
In other news the Ukrainians seem remarkably bullish about Kherson. It appears they are expecting a renewed Russian assault against Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih (Zelensky's home city) which they appear to be welcoming as the more Russian troops they can trap west of the Dnipro the better. I hope they're right.
Rewind to that very first debate when Truss bombed, polled worst of the 8 (?) candidates and all the Tories on PB were saying she's be a disaster.
Since then it has gradually dawned on them that she was actually going to win. So we have had the unedifying site of most of them rowing back and trying to convince themselves that she won't be that bad, or might even, according to some brave souls, be a huge success.
Sorry guys your original instincts were the correct ones.
As a side note, have you ever considered NOT having a 2/3 acre garden? Seems like quite a responsibility at a time in life when it’s fun to be carefree…
If rumours around Washington are to be believed, Biden is unlikely to run for a second term. But is Kamala Harris really popular enough to follow him? And if not, who else has the political clout to potentially see off Trump?
https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/joe-biden-elections-democrats-kamala-harris-next-president-b1015996.html
She has to find the savings from the other regional pay board savings scheme first of all. Then she promises that.
Just making it up, isn’t she
Pelosi should be landing in Taipei in about 2 hours from now
https://twitter.com/DAlperovitch/status/1554437959151239169
I guess it's what you enjoy.
https://theferret.scot/scottish-council-football-pitches-sell-off/
I like having as little responsibility as possible. A small flat in a nice location that I can lock and leave. Minimal hassle
Especially as every politician since goodness knows when talks of "cutting (Whitehall) waste".
Or rather, I have been saying since the beginning of the contest it would be Anyone But Rishi which for a time I thought would be Penny but has now turned out to be Truss.
And she will be a disaster.
Not that I am a Tory, mind, but accept that "PB Tory" is a blanket term used by those on the left on here to describe those as on the right as, er, Tony Blair was.
Get your act together, I have money on this!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62390016?at_custom1=[post+type]&at_custom3=@BBCPolitics&at_custom4=twitter&at_medium=custom7&at_custom2=twitter&at_campaign=64
WHY???????????
Good to hear about your legs. Swimming and therabands are, as you know, your friends.
Labour facing ‘breakdown in discipline’ as Nandy visits picket line
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/aug/01/bt-and-openreach-strike-lisa-nandy-visits-picket-line-in-wigan
Keir Starmer is right – for Labour to win power, it can’t wade in on every strike going
John McTernan
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/02/keir-starmer-labour-strike-industrial-disputes
Yes indeed. I don’t think I will be very good at old age and increasing immobility
I’ll somehow have to escape with my mind. Hmpft
Two talents the UK has by the tonne are a belief that mediocrity is to be admired and a meanness to spend whatever it takes to do something right. Being told to "make do" on a half budget by someone with no understanding of what they are talking about is no way to produce excellence
The problem is that the problems are often caused by politicians who see big chunks of the public sector as wasteful because they don't really understand what they do (or wilfully do so). If you merge DFID into FCO or DECC into DBI then you have two parallel structures you need to prune down. Only their systems don't integrate properly because departments tend to have different requirements even if they seem similar so it takes years to pare down the duplication of function and merge together the systems. The research councils had (and still have) no end of problems with different systems, payscales and functions that need to be unified.
Procurement is the same. Previously public sector procurement was local and there were concerns that the procurers weren't getting good value for money because they were giving the same businesses (often people they knew) contracts over and over. The outcomes were usually ok in my little corner apparently (before my time) but it was thought to be inflating the procurement bill. So George Osborne decided that for capital facilities procurement you would have a single provider for ten years negotiated by central government, which has lots of buying power, and that would allow you to get a good value on that expenditure. Not a bad idea in theory, but the outcome was that friends of the government would be given the contract rather than friends of the local procurer. Prices in that contract have been as high as they were under the old regime but with slower, worse outcomes because the provider knows we can't sack them and go elsewhere.
I agree with the policy, by the way, I just know that it can’t be paid for by wage cuts for nurses.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/28/liz-truss-promises-to-build-northern-powerhouse-rail-scaled-back-last-year
Which is sensible, on a number of levels, and probably cheaper, quicker and much more productive than the IRP would be if it had ever been a serious proposal. However, it's not going to work without abandoning the IRP in its entirety and committing to HS2 in full to Leeds and Warrington. Which may be a slightly harder sell to the Treasury.
Without knowing what is happening to HS2E however it's impossible to know what needs to be done - with HS2E the service is increased connectivity across the north if HS2E doesn't go to Leeds it also needs to support HS2 trains going to London via Manchester as well
About forty years ago.
I used to watch them being built when I was younger.
Wouldn't put it past them, but it can't.
https://www.carringtonwest.com/salary-surveys/2022-town-planning-salary-survey-and-guide?source=linkedin.com
And as for ITNs, there were a few false starts (now over 20 years old let's not forget to deliver $2 nets), and some unintended consequences with early efforts as "the West" learned of the local economic dynamics but then I am an Easterly-ite rather than a Sachs-ite so I would say that.
Telegraph: ' Truss u-turns on public sector pay plan.'
Times: 'Truss u-turns on public sector pay cuts.'
Mail: 'Liz Truss U-TURNS on plans to reduce pay for Northern teachers, nurses and police officers just HOURS after announcing them after furious backlash from Tory MPs - as she says front line staff are 'bed rock of society'.
Sun: 'Lady is for turning.'
Do you get the feeling this has not been altogether her day?
But there's always one:
The Daily Express: 'Look mummy!' Charlotte leaves mum Kate open-mouthed in adorable new Commonwealth pictures.' (tbf, that's the banner on the Mail and Sun websites too.)
https://twitter.com/EmilyThornberry/status/1554439348115984385
in the meantime, best wishes to Big G and family. Several friends have got the current bug and report similar unpleasant effects, though they are gradually emerging, tired but no longer ill. It definitely seems worse on average than Delta was, though not usually fatal.
Other than that, all the vileness that came down through Francis Galton to his fraudulent fan Cyril Burt and nowadays gets "justified" with reference to pseudoscience published by the likes of Charles Murray and Robert Plomin has a lot to answer for. The main reason why for example Britain imports so many substandard medics from abroad in the state sector is because there is the view that to train more from poorer backgrounds in this country would be tantamount to trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, polish a turd, send Eliza Doolittle into the royal enclosure, etc. etc. - and crime against caste society is the ultimate crime...
I mean, they hadn't even bothered to study a map, I thought engineering and pathing systems would be beyond them.
I'd like to know what the effects would be of a drastic fall in the amount of microchips coming from Taiwan. Do microchips get stockpiled?
Let it roll on like the Mississippi and propel a beautiful new startup party 2023/4, purged of Tory rot
https://dominiccummings.substack.com/p/snippets-7-a-chance-to-replace-the
This is what Putin really wants, deep down.
1. Leave wriggle room and ambiguity.
2. Minimise concrete policies during any form of election campaign.
3. Project general messages that imply commitments but don't get too detailed.
4. If you are ahead roll back even further - less chance of an error.
The political arts have declined across all parties. I don't think many Tory or Labour frontbenchers could defend their core philosophy or policies in a proper debate against a knowledgeable opponent. They don't seem aware of the key arguments for and, more importantly against their positions.
Unless he's sending a secret message, someone should tell Dominic Cummings that he's got the accent in the wrong place on "decadénce".
That said, if Liz Truss becomes PM we can play the game of "hunt the news editor who knows the rules about apostrophes".
"Liz Truss' proposal for raising school standard's" :-)
Getting alternate vendors can be very, very tricky. Mrs J started a new project recently, and the deign they're working on is heavily tied to a specific process at a specific fab plant. If they wanted to move it to a different fab, they'd need to muck about with the layout and metal layer as a minimum. And this chip does not even need the bleeding edge of fabs. So it's time-consuming.
Losing TSMC as a chip fab would be very disruptive to a number of industries. As one example, I think Apple use TSMC for their A15 chip, and losing TSMC would be a major ballache for them. A minor disruption such as the fire at Renesas in Japan last year can have severe knock-on consequences for the rest of the industry.
30 slow trains an hour calling at all stations a la the Victoria Line - brilliant.
30 (well, in practice, probably 22-ish) high speed trains an hour - brilliant.
30 freight trains an hour - great.
A mix of slow and freight - can be done.
It's mixing fast and slow trains which kills capacity, along with complex junctions. You need to leave a massive gap after you slow train before you set the fast train off or the slow train gets in the fast train's way.
That's the logic of high speed rail - put the high speed trains on their own track with hardly any junctions and you can do much, much more with the remaining track.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/55089900
Now, a) it wasn't a runner b) was a home to mice and c) I couldn't drive then, but I still felt robbed! Even worse, my stepfather had given it away.... Grrrrr.
It is a reason why angel investors can be so useful in the tech sector, as they can have a much wider and long-term vision than traditional investment sources. I daresay RCS could say if my impression is correct.
An anecdote: in the early days of Acorn in the late 1970s or early 1980s, they needed a million pounds to get something into production. They went to their usual bank, who were very hesitant. So they want across the road to a different bank, introduced themselves, and the manager said something like: "Ah, you're fine Cambridge fellows. Here's your money...."
And Rishi Sunak does still appear more like the PM in waiting, as long as you massively reduce his sugar intake to stop him bouncing off the ceiling.
I might simply stock up on heroin