I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
PB's response to new trolls is a glorious thing to see.
Makes you proud to be British.
We might disagree about lockdown but we all agree vaccines are great.
My favourite troll was the one who said the vaccines were killing ethnic minorities and I replied with I hope they kill muslims and I think I broke their programming.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
I can well believe that PB is genuinely if modestly influential, and worth steering. It just has a set opinion on the vax so barging in with that initial talking point was futile
Would people please stop this? Irony meters are expensive and mean working extra in the tuition lark to buy new ones.
However, having given up the job where a bunch of barely literate drunks cocked everything up to save their worthless employment, I did have a most enjoyable walk along the Glyndwr way from Knighton to Felindre, rather than sitting in a stuffy classroom being told what to expect the next time the incompetent safeguarding risks, ooops, OFSTED inspectors visit.
So it's swings and roundabouts.
If you are a freeman, are you going to any of the Cadw open doors in September?
Yesterday, I went to St Brothen's -- almost impossible to find in rural Gwynedd -- to look for the grave that sparked the Llanfrothen Burial case, and of course made the name of Lloyd George.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
Because down the line, when posters agree in whole or part with a troll, or it causes an argument amongst posters, somewhere in Russia a propaganda chap starts sending screenshots or appears in the Russian equivalent of Daily Mail.
It’s not hard for said Russian Mail to claim PB is a major UK political website where British politicians post either known or incognito etc etc and guess what, a lot of these really influential posters (yeah ok) and politicians don’t agree with British propaganda about Russia and think British Vaccines are dangerous et etc.
So whilst it can be amusing to a point having the trolls I would personally rather the mods just kick them into touch immediately.
They aren’t here for nothing because it’s clear they aren’t changing minds but they still come because it benefits their bosses along the line.
Would people please stop this? Irony meters are expensive and mean working extra in the tuition lark to buy new ones.
However, having given up the job where a bunch of barely literate drunks cocked everything up to save their worthless employment, I did have a most enjoyable walk along the Glyndwr way from Knighton to Felindre, rather than sitting in a stuffy classroom being told what to expect the next time the incompetent safeguarding risks, ooops, OFSTED inspectors visit.
So it's swings and roundabouts.
If you are a freeman, are you going to any of the Cadw open doors in September?
Yesterday, I went to St Brothen's -- almost impossible to find in rural Gwynedd -- to look for the grave that sparked the Llanfrothen Burial case, and of course made the name of Lloyd George.
I’m hoping to do some more travelling and visiting, certainly. Depends a bit on how much tutoring I get and when it is, though!
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
Do you think he still lurks occasionally, or is he too busy Netflix and chilling in his designer shed, trotters up, counting his trust fund and wondering where it all went wrong?
Dave - if you're reading - this is ALL YOUR FAULT!
John Rentoul definitely reads and has shared headers, but IDK, I feel kind of sad if trend setters actually read comments on the internet, poor bastards.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
The funniest thing was on GE 2017 night.
About a dozen people contacted me saying listening to George Osborne on the ITV coverage was just like reading my comments/posts/tweets.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
And snowflake of course. Who we often jousted with, without realising at the time
Because she was crap.
It was amazing how many regular(ish) posters on here turned out to be well-known mainstream politicians who had virtually no insight to offer - just tedious attack lines.
In her case, it extended to me laying her for the Labour leadership as I felt she'd shown herself to be an empty vessel.
A trip up to Scotland for Liz Truss tomorrow and she will return "in triumph" to give us all a glimpse into many think will be a return to 1979.
As I've said before, the Thatcherites had the not inconsiderable assistance of North Sea Oil, Privatisation receipts and a group of desperate idiots in Buenos Aires.
I'd certainly argue Truss faces as daunting an in-tray as any incoming PM since Thatcher but one can also argue a lot of the problems are going to be hard for her to control directly. She can do nothing, for example, directly about the conflict in the Ukraine and she can do little about the fact of rising energy prices - both oil and gas rose in price today and it seems we may have to adjust to $90 a barrel oil as the "new normal".
I remain a simpleton at heart compared to what I'm informed are the towering intellects on this forum - if the plan is to freeze energy bills for the consumers, fine, I get that but the fact remains the gas and electricity is being supplied at higher prices so someone is going to have to pay the balance - the Government presumably?
I also remain bemused at how, given an annual debt interest of £100 billion and the other myriad calls on the public purse such as defence, health, pensions and the Police (all of which, we are told by Conservatives, are vital), there is any scope for more than a gesture in terms of reducing taxes and even then is that shortfall in revenue to be met by public expenditure reductions and if so, what, where and when?
The more thoughtful local authorities, who are curious beasts by nature, are already war gaming 10-15% net reductions in Government financial support and the impact on Service provision. Some are already trying to sell off their mostly unused office space (I see central Government is trying to sell off £1.5 billion of office estate so JRM's plan to get the civil servants back to their desks, like all his other stupid ideas, is all image and no substance).
It would be churlish not to wish Truss and the new Government well - I disagree with her at a fundamental philosophical level and I hope she and her Ministers adopt a less ideological and more pragmatic aspect in terms of practical governing (the successful PMs know when to be ideologues and when to be sensible in Government).
Good post and of course the NI reverse was largely mitigated when Sunak excluded those earning £34,000 or less
Th CBI said today that they pay 19% corporation tax already, but that in April an uplift to 25% was unwelcome i this climate
Sunak never excluded those earning £34k or less. He excluded those earning about £12k or less.
He excluded them from this years NI rise
No he did not. That's just not true. There is no £34k threshold where tax rates change.
The marginal tax rate someone on say £19k per annum is absolutely higher now than it was in March.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
Do you think he still lurks occasionally, or is he too busy Netflix and chilling in his designer shed, trotters up, counting his trust fund and wondering where it all went wrong?
Dave - if you're reading - this is ALL YOUR FAULT!
If I was Dave I'd be really bored.
I'm not sure being a non-executive Chair of a few things really cuts the mustard for him.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
And snowflake of course. Who we often jousted with, without realising at the time
Because she was crap.
It was amazing how many regular(ish) posters on here turned out to be well-known mainstream politicians who had virtually no insight to offer - just tedious attack lines.
In her case, it extended to me laying her for the Labour leadership as I felt she'd shown herself to be an empty vessel.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
John Rentoul definitely reads and has shared headers, but IDK, I feel kind of sad if trend setters actually read comments on the internet, poor bastards.
JR reads below the line. I know this because he told me so.
Would people please stop this? Irony meters are expensive and mean working extra in the tuition lark to buy new ones.
However, having given up the job where a bunch of barely literate drunks cocked everything up to save their worthless employment, I did have a most enjoyable walk along the Glyndwr way from Knighton to Felindre, rather than sitting in a stuffy classroom being told what to expect the next time the incompetent safeguarding risks, ooops, OFSTED inspectors visit.
So it's swings and roundabouts.
If you are a freeman, are you going to any of the Cadw open doors in September?
Yesterday, I went to St Brothen's -- almost impossible to find in rural Gwynedd -- to look for the grave that sparked the Llanfrothen Burial case, and of course made the name of Lloyd George.
Never heard of it! Most interesting when I looked it up. But I've read of similar angst in Cornwall over e.g. C of E rectors charging burial fees even when they did not officiate. Not much choice of hallowed ground in a rural parish.
John Rentoul definitely reads and has shared headers, but IDK, I feel kind of sad if trend setters actually read comments on the internet, poor bastards.
Because you get random brilliant comments like this from our esteemed Welsh brethren.
“If you are a freeman, are you going to any of the Cadw open doors in September?
Yesterday, I went to St Brothen's -- almost impossible to find in rural Gwynedd -- to look for the grave that sparked the Llanfrothen Burial case, and of course made the name of Lloyd George”
That’s genius. It civilly but blithely assumes a level of intricate cultural and political knowledge you simply don’t get anywhere else
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
I've had quite a few of my pieces homaged within days, particularly the data heavy stuff.
TLG86's pieces on population/birth rates were lifted recently as well.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
A variation on this theme - for about a week I thought I was dating DavidL's daughter. Was a different Dundee-based lawyer, thank goodness.
Would people please stop this? Irony meters are expensive and mean working extra in the tuition lark to buy new ones.
However, having given up the job where a bunch of barely literate drunks cocked everything up to save their worthless employment, I did have a most enjoyable walk along the Glyndwr way from Knighton to Felindre, rather than sitting in a stuffy classroom being told what to expect the next time the incompetent safeguarding risks, ooops, OFSTED inspectors visit.
So it's swings and roundabouts.
If you are a freeman, are you going to any of the Cadw open doors in September?
Yesterday, I went to St Brothen's -- almost impossible to find in rural Gwynedd -- to look for the grave that sparked the Llanfrothen Burial case, and of course made the name of Lloyd George.
Don't wanna be rude, but the fact that the Llanfrothen Burial case is a thing just says everything about Wales for me.
John Rentoul definitely reads and has shared headers, but IDK, I feel kind of sad if trend setters actually read comments on the internet, poor bastards.
JR reads below the line. I know this because he told me so.
He liked 2 of my tweets. He is therefore a goodfella
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
Do you think he still lurks occasionally, or is he too busy Netflix and chilling in his designer shed, trotters up, counting his trust fund and wondering where it all went wrong?
Dave - if you're reading - this is ALL YOUR FAULT!
If I was Dave I'd be really bored.
I'm not sure being a non-executive Chair of a few things really cuts the mustard for him.
I'll bet he is. I was at a lunch with him not long after he stood down and he was all bonhomie, putting on a brave face, maybe a bit demob happy. But you could tell (or at least, I thought I could tell) that there was some melencholy there. Something a bit sad about all the ex-senior bods I've come across, I suppose. Still, probably better to be able to say you used to be somebody than that you never were anybody in the first place!
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
I've had quite a few of my pieces homaged within days, particularly the data heavy stuff.
TLG86's pieces on population/birth rates were lifted recently as well.
What right's do you have? I regularly post walk reports/guides on a walking forum and had my language and photos lifted by a newspaper. They removed the article after a rather stern email from the site's owner.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
I've had quite a few of my pieces homaged within days, particularly the data heavy stuff.
TLG86's pieces on population/birth rates were lifted recently as well.
I see Mail is already calling her 'Liz' rather than Liz Truss or Mrs Truss. Very Boris like vibes.
Nice try, but trying too hard too late.
Boris spent years crafting the brand. Doing the same for Truss will be like the Didldidi lookalikes. Camilla the caterpillar cake, that sort of thing.
Yet it is clear both the Mail and Express will be her praetorian guard - the Mail's front page excoriating a comedian on the BBC (naturally) who was slightly rude about her. This waspish thin-skinned vulnerability from the GOP/MAGA playbook - the slightest insult and an avalanche of toys are thrown out the pram.
I also imagine we will see an even more strident patriotism in the "popular" Press - the slightest criticism of Britain will be hunted down, exposed and ridiculed no matter how justified.
It seems to this observer Freedom of Speech must mean the right to criticise one's Government and country - "my country, right or wrong" is fine but those who don't see things in those terms must, in a democratic society, be allowed to put their view forward.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
A variation on this theme - for about a week I thought I was dating DavidL's daughter. Was a different Dundee-based lawyer, thank goodness.
(we're no longer together)
" I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses."
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
I posted a comment last November about how a provider of Covid tests was harvesting DNA from Covid test samples. I got this information by reading through the terms and conditions of the test, and the 'privacy notice' I was asked to agree. A couple of days later it was on the front cover of the Sunday Times.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
The funniest thing was on GE 2017 night.
About a dozen people contacted me saying listening to George Osborne on the ITV coverage was just like reading my comments/posts/tweets.
It was frighteningly uncanny.
The power of telepathy? Except for the profanity and double entendres. I mean Gids, not you, of course.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
I've had quite a few of my pieces homaged within days, particularly the data heavy stuff.
TLG86's pieces on population/birth rates were lifted recently as well.
Some of my stuff has been borrowed too.
Once the Norfolk MPs (including the new PM) start pushing hard on the restoration of the Wuffingas Kingdom i'll know i've got some real clout
He/she is a valuable poster from the Trumpite right (albeit British). This is a voice almost unheard on PB, but it represents 74m English speakers in America, and we need to listen
It will be a sad day on PB when we chase people off just for having contrary and unpopular opinions. That’s surely the joy of the site. All get a hearing, as long as they obey the rules and don’t mention that Mike SMITHSON is going a bit thin on top
A trip up to Scotland for Liz Truss tomorrow and she will return "in triumph" to give us all a glimpse into many think will be a return to 1979.
As I've said before, the Thatcherites had the not inconsiderable assistance of North Sea Oil, Privatisation receipts and a group of desperate idiots in Buenos Aires.
I'd certainly argue Truss faces as daunting an in-tray as any incoming PM since Thatcher but one can also argue a lot of the problems are going to be hard for her to control directly. She can do nothing, for example, directly about the conflict in the Ukraine and she can do little about the fact of rising energy prices - both oil and gas rose in price today and it seems we may have to adjust to $90 a barrel oil as the "new normal".
I remain a simpleton at heart compared to what I'm informed are the towering intellects on this forum - if the plan is to freeze energy bills for the consumers, fine, I get that but the fact remains the gas and electricity is being supplied at higher prices so someone is going to have to pay the balance - the Government presumably?
I also remain bemused at how, given an annual debt interest of £100 billion and the other myriad calls on the public purse such as defence, health, pensions and the Police (all of which, we are told by Conservatives, are vital), there is any scope for more than a gesture in terms of reducing taxes and even then is that shortfall in revenue to be met by public expenditure reductions and if so, what, where and when?
The more thoughtful local authorities, who are curious beasts by nature, are already war gaming 10-15% net reductions in Government financial support and the impact on Service provision. Some are already trying to sell off their mostly unused office space (I see central Government is trying to sell off £1.5 billion of office estate so JRM's plan to get the civil servants back to their desks, like all his other stupid ideas, is all image and no substance).
It would be churlish not to wish Truss and the new Government well - I disagree with her at a fundamental philosophical level and I hope she and her Ministers adopt a less ideological and more pragmatic aspect in terms of practical governing (the successful PMs know when to be ideologues and when to be sensible in Government).
Good post and of course the NI reverse was largely mitigated when Sunak excluded those earning £34,000 or less
Th CBI said today that they pay 19% corporation tax already, but that in April an uplift to 25% was unwelcome i this climate
Sunak never excluded those earning £34k or less. He excluded those earning about £12k or less.
He excluded them from this years NI rise
No he did not. That's just not true. There is no £34k threshold where tax rates change.
The marginal tax rate someone on say £19k per annum is absolutely higher now than it was in March.
Why then do HYUFD and BigG keep chanting 34K like some mantra, if I recall rightly? There must be some directive from CCHQ somewhere. Would be interested to know the logic, if only to see who turns out to be right. Is there some confusion [edit] over the distinction between NI and "tax"?
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
I've had quite a few of my pieces homaged within days, particularly the data heavy stuff.
TLG86's pieces on population/birth rates were lifted recently as well.
Some of my stuff has been borrowed too.
Liz Truss as PM was nicked from here, kudos to bunnco for that one.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
I've had quite a few of my pieces homaged within days, particularly the data heavy stuff.
TLG86's pieces on population/birth rates were lifted recently as well.
Some of my stuff has been borrowed too.
Once the Norfolk MPs (including the new PM) start pushing hard on the restoration of the Wuffingas Kingdom i'll know i've got some real clout
I’m pretty sure one well known Spectator writer just steals my stuff wholesale and turns it into articles on the magazine. Frankly, I don’t know what to do about it. Gone beyond a joke now
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
A variation on this theme - for about a week I thought I was dating DavidL's daughter. Was a different Dundee-based lawyer, thank goodness.
(we're no longer together)
" I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses."
Wow. That is some stat.
Thanks to PB I have something like 70 MPs of all parties following me
Such Penny Mordaunt, Jake Berry (likely next Tory Chairman) other past and present cabinet ministers and minister. Shadow cabinet ministers as well.
I have quite the following amongst SNP MPs for my honest take on Scottish polling.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
Yes. Didn’t do much research
One of the few things we DON’T argue about is the vax. Even @Dura_Ace - our only anti vaxxer? - lies low on this issue and is thereby tolerated
The troll should have waded in with a contentious point about fish stock in microwaved risottos
I don't think Dura_Ace is an antivaxxer in the pure sense.
Only Misty and Contrarian are/were only bona fide antivaxxers.
AIUI DA as a convinced vegan refuses to take the vaccine because it was tested on animals.
Which is fair enough even if I think he's wrong.
Contrarian, both in that name and as Misty, is just a complete bellend. A conspiracy theorist nut with a small brain and a massive ego.
Did we ever find out if he actually does work for the DfE or SLC?
I’m going to defend MISTY
He/she is a valuable poster from the Trumpite right (albeit British). This is a voice almost unheard on PB, but it represents 74m English speakers in America, and we need to listen
It will be a sad day on PB when we chase people off just for having contrary and unpopular opinions. That’s surely the joy of the site. All get a hearing, as long as they obey the rules and don’t mention that Mike SMITHSON is going a bit thin on top
Nah, he's just an imbecile. Half the time he doesn't seem to know what he's posted.
A day or so ago he was blasting Biden for calling Trump a fascist and asking if Lincoln would have said that.
When I pointed out Lincoln had said much worse than that about the confederates, he went off on an incredible drunken rant about how that wasn't important because they were just words.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
And snowflake of course. Who we often jousted with, without realising at the time
Because she was crap.
It was amazing how many regular(ish) posters on here turned out to be well-known mainstream politicians who had virtually no insight to offer - just tedious attack lines.
In her case, it extended to me laying her for the Labour leadership as I felt she'd shown herself to be an empty vessel.
I don't know if I missed some big coming out party but I'm not aware of many identities being confirmed. I know there's been speculation about snowflake and test but that's about it.
Do I take it that Liz's big plan is to freeze prices for a few months, paid for by consumers and that nothing was said about businesses?
Interesting that her vote share was lower than people seemed to expect.
Rumour seems to be freeze them for 2 years (handily until the next election, I’m sure purely coincidental) and basically stick it on the credit card. Which is essentially the modern Tory way of governing.
It is exactly what I was expecting and indeed I did mention this during the campaign (smug alert). Truss was never going to try and ride it out with some tax cuts and become the most unpopular PM in history a mere month after taking the job. This was always on the cards. The only thing she will focus on in the next 24 months is how she gets the Tories to a majority in 2024.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
PB's response to new trolls is a glorious thing to see.
Makes you proud to be British.
Please sir, can we keep the next troll as a pet?
I promise to feed it and take it for regular walks.
Wasn't a troll in the usual sense. Referenced a post from a few weeks ago, so a lurker and or a regular posting under a different name. Wonder if they were banned for the vax stuff or because they were previously evicted.
Problem is not Truss, Sunak etc, it is the Tory brand. Like all governments round about 12 years they have reached their sell by date. So many occasions, 1908 -16, Liberal led, 1931 - 1945( National and Coalition, 1951 - 1964 (Conservative), 1979 - 1997 (Conservative, really it should have happened in 1992, 1997 - 2010, (Labour), now the general perception is Conservative 2010 - present. There is an inevitability about it, it is that time again, "We need a change", and there is no Corbyn to even delay the process. It cannot be stopped, whatever the Daily Express may try and say.
Yes. My reading too. Labour will really have to screw up to lose in 2024
The Tories are done for now, barring a black swan
We've had enough of those, thank-you!
Btw Greetings from Lago di Como. Beautiful, balmy, belissimo!
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
A variation on this theme - for about a week I thought I was dating DavidL's daughter. Was a different Dundee-based lawyer, thank goodness.
(we're no longer together)
" I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses."
Wow. That is some stat.
Thanks to PB I have something like 70 MPs of all parties following me
Such Penny Mordaunt, Jake Berry (likely next Tory Chairman) other past and present cabinet ministers and minister. Shadow cabinet ministers as well.
I have quite the following amongst SNP MPs for my honest take on Scottish polling.
Even Alex Salmond follows me.
You want to be careful given what happens to people he follows...
A trip up to Scotland for Liz Truss tomorrow and she will return "in triumph" to give us all a glimpse into many think will be a return to 1979.
As I've said before, the Thatcherites had the not inconsiderable assistance of North Sea Oil, Privatisation receipts and a group of desperate idiots in Buenos Aires.
I'd certainly argue Truss faces as daunting an in-tray as any incoming PM since Thatcher but one can also argue a lot of the problems are going to be hard for her to control directly. She can do nothing, for example, directly about the conflict in the Ukraine and she can do little about the fact of rising energy prices - both oil and gas rose in price today and it seems we may have to adjust to $90 a barrel oil as the "new normal".
I remain a simpleton at heart compared to what I'm informed are the towering intellects on this forum - if the plan is to freeze energy bills for the consumers, fine, I get that but the fact remains the gas and electricity is being supplied at higher prices so someone is going to have to pay the balance - the Government presumably?
I also remain bemused at how, given an annual debt interest of £100 billion and the other myriad calls on the public purse such as defence, health, pensions and the Police (all of which, we are told by Conservatives, are vital), there is any scope for more than a gesture in terms of reducing taxes and even then is that shortfall in revenue to be met by public expenditure reductions and if so, what, where and when?
The more thoughtful local authorities, who are curious beasts by nature, are already war gaming 10-15% net reductions in Government financial support and the impact on Service provision. Some are already trying to sell off their mostly unused office space (I see central Government is trying to sell off £1.5 billion of office estate so JRM's plan to get the civil servants back to their desks, like all his other stupid ideas, is all image and no substance).
It would be churlish not to wish Truss and the new Government well - I disagree with her at a fundamental philosophical level and I hope she and her Ministers adopt a less ideological and more pragmatic aspect in terms of practical governing (the successful PMs know when to be ideologues and when to be sensible in Government).
Good post and of course the NI reverse was largely mitigated when Sunak excluded those earning £34,000 or less
Th CBI said today that they pay 19% corporation tax already, but that in April an uplift to 25% was unwelcome i this climate
Sunak never excluded those earning £34k or less. He excluded those earning about £12k or less.
He excluded them from this years NI rise
No he did not. That's just not true. There is no £34k threshold where tax rates change.
The marginal tax rate someone on say £19k per annum is absolutely higher now than it was in March.
Why then do HYUFD and BigG keep chanting 34K like some mantra, if I recall rightly? There must be some directive from CCHW somewhere. Would be interested to know the logic, if only to see who turns out to be right. Is there some confusion between NI and "tax"?
Because the starting rate tax threshold went up to compensate, and £34k is the crossover rate at which you pay more than you gained from the tax threshold changes.
Except taxing less the first £12k doesn't help address the fact that the marginal tax rate for someone over £12 can be obscenely high and has gone up further now. It also doesn't address the fact that those earning under £34k, many of them will be earning more and thus paying more in the future.
Plus we have the fact that tax thresholds are frozen at the minute so being rapidly eroded by inflation rather than a triple lock. So the "giveaway" of raising the threshold to £12k will be rapidly eroded by inflation, but the tax rise will remain.
Finally I believe £34k is the figure if you only look at employees NI. Employer NI is a tax on that employees wages too and is a payroll tax that suppresses wages so excluding it is just plain dodgy accounting.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
I've had quite a few of my pieces homaged within days, particularly the data heavy stuff.
TLG86's pieces on population/birth rates were lifted recently as well.
Some of my stuff has been borrowed too.
Once the Norfolk MPs (including the new PM) start pushing hard on the restoration of the Wuffingas Kingdom i'll know i've got some real clout
I’m pretty sure one well known Spectator writer just steals my stuff wholesale and turns it into articles on the magazine. Frankly, I don’t know what to do about it. Gone beyond a joke now
I'm going to bombard the secret squirrel Westminster lurker freaks with Woolie wisdom. Proper Norfolk bloke nouse. Use it or lose it you privileged poncey boots twits.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
A variation on this theme - for about a week I thought I was dating DavidL's daughter. Was a different Dundee-based lawyer, thank goodness.
(we're no longer together)
" I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses."
Wow. That is some stat.
Thanks to PB I have something like 70 MPs of all parties following me
Such Penny Mordaunt, Jake Berry (likely next Tory Chairman) other past and present cabinet ministers and minister. Shadow cabinet ministers as well.
I have quite the following amongst SNP MPs for my honest take on Scottish polling.
Even Alex Salmond follows me.
Indeed, the Alex Salmond give away is Salmond is pictured next to you in your PB avatar
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
A variation on this theme - for about a week I thought I was dating DavidL's daughter. Was a different Dundee-based lawyer, thank goodness.
(we're no longer together)
" I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses."
Wow. That is some stat.
Thanks to PB I have something like 70 MPs of all parties following me
Such Penny Mordaunt, Jake Berry (likely next Tory Chairman) other past and present cabinet ministers and minister. Shadow cabinet ministers as well.
I have quite the following amongst SNP MPs for my honest take on Scottish polling.
Even Alex Salmond follows me.
They just like your poncey shoes. They have no taste.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
Yes. Didn’t do much research
One of the few things we DON’T argue about is the vax. Even @Dura_Ace - our only anti vaxxer? - lies low on this issue and is thereby tolerated
The troll should have waded in with a contentious point about fish stock in microwaved risottos
I don't think Dura_Ace is an antivaxxer in the pure sense.
Only Misty and Contrarian are/were only bona fide antivaxxers.
AIUI DA as a convinced vegan refuses to take the vaccine because it was tested on animals.
Which is fair enough even if I think he's wrong.
Contrarian, both in that name and as Misty, is just a complete bellend. A conspiracy theorist nut with a small brain and a massive ego.
Did we ever find out if he actually does work for the DfE or SLC?
I’m going to defend MISTY
He/she is a valuable poster from the Trumpite right (albeit British). This is a voice almost unheard on PB, but it represents 74m English speakers in America, and we need to listen
It will be a sad day on PB when we chase people off just for having contrary and unpopular opinions. That’s surely the joy of the site. All get a hearing, as long as they obey the rules and don’t mention that Mike SMITHSON is going a bit thin on top
Nah, he's just an imbecile. Half the time he doesn't seem to know what he's posted.
A day or so ago he was blasting Biden for calling Trump a fascist and asking if Lincoln would have said that.
When I pointed out Lincoln had said much worse than that about the confederates, he went off on an incredible drunken rant about how that wasn't important because they were just words.
Fair enough. You’re entitled to your opinion, natch
Just don’t ban people for being imbeciles - or Trumpites. Let all voices join the choir. Free speech is getting ever rarer as all sides polarise. pb Is a splendid exception. I may have to stop before I get emotional
This is what portfolio manager ed down says about the vaccines
The all-cause mortality endpoint, this is something we need to talk about. Normally, if you’re a single product biotech company and you do a clinical trial that fails the all-cause mortality endpoint, the drug does not get approved [by the FDA].
At the end of the day, if the risk is higher than the benefit, this thing doesn’t get approved. The all-cause mortality endpoint for the Pfizer vaccine, when they touted its effectiveness, they conveniently hid that data point from everybody. It came out in the FOIA request in the fall and, again, the trial was only 28 days.
This is also just unprecedented. So, in 28 days, there was something like 23 deaths in the vaccine group and 17 in the placebo group, which gives all-cause mortality excess of 23%. It should not have been approved on that alone. That’s fraud in my humble opinion.”
Seriously, did you just join a discussion forum about politics and betting to discuss vaccine conspiracy theories?
Must be from Inverness (though not typical of the place):
It's a very weird state of affairs. We have pretty hardcore presbys, and then a bunch of neo-druid hippy types up here. I was aghast when my supervisor told me that crystal healing was really popular in Inverness. That said, local rumour was the flat earth shop was some kind of tax dodge (though I wouldn't know what) rather than serious.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
Yes. Didn’t do much research
One of the few things we DON’T argue about is the vax. Even @Dura_Ace - our only anti vaxxer? - lies low on this issue and is thereby tolerated
The troll should have waded in with a contentious point about fish stock in microwaved risottos
I don't think Dura_Ace is an antivaxxer in the pure sense.
Only Misty and Contrarian are/were only bona fide antivaxxers.
AIUI DA as a convinced vegan refuses to take the vaccine because it was tested on animals.
Which is fair enough even if I think he's wrong.
Contrarian, both in that name and as Misty, is just a complete bellend. A conspiracy theorist nut with a small brain and a massive ego.
Did we ever find out if he actually does work for the DfE or SLC?
I’m going to defend MISTY
He/she is a valuable poster from the Trumpite right (albeit British). This is a voice almost unheard on PB, but it represents 74m English speakers in America, and we need to listen
It will be a sad day on PB when we chase people off just for having contrary and unpopular opinions. That’s surely the joy of the site. All get a hearing, as long as they obey the rules and don’t mention that Mike SMITHSON is going a bit thin on top
Nah, he's just an imbecile. Half the time he doesn't seem to know what he's posted.
A day or so ago he was blasting Biden for calling Trump a fascist and asking if Lincoln would have said that.
When I pointed out Lincoln had said much worse than that about the confederates, he went off on an incredible drunken rant about how that wasn't important because they were just words.
Fair enough. You’re entitled to your opinion, natch
Just don’t ban people for being imbeciles - or Trumpites. Let all voices join the choir. Free speech is getting ever rarer as all sides polarise. pb Is a splendid exception. I may have to stop before I get emotional
I don't think I've ever suggested anyone be banned, although I could be wrong. Not even our favourite ex-army officer, who got very hot under the collar and abusive to the extent of actually libelling me after I criticised him for being a bully, as is his wont.
I haven't, for the matter of that, asked for Misty to be banned. I'm just pointing out he's a nasty piece of work and totally unreliable.
Can we please spare a thought at this difficult time for OGH. What were his odds on Sunak?
Did anyone else initially think Sunak had won because they were following this thread and saw Hyufd's numbers?
250/1
I spoke to OGH earlier on this evening, he made a profit on this market.
When someone you've backed at 250/1 comes in to favourite its possible to build a healthy all-green trading position.
I lumped my entire Smarkets and Betfair 'bank' on Truss just before the first debate so ended up with a healthy profit from that, even if it wasn't as big as it could have been, no complaints.
This is what portfolio manager ed down says about the vaccines
The all-cause mortality endpoint, this is something we need to talk about. Normally, if you’re a single product biotech company and you do a clinical trial that fails the all-cause mortality endpoint, the drug does not get approved [by the FDA].
At the end of the day, if the risk is higher than the benefit, this thing doesn’t get approved. The all-cause mortality endpoint for the Pfizer vaccine, when they touted its effectiveness, they conveniently hid that data point from everybody. It came out in the FOIA request in the fall and, again, the trial was only 28 days.
This is also just unprecedented. So, in 28 days, there was something like 23 deaths in the vaccine group and 17 in the placebo group, which gives all-cause mortality excess of 23%. It should not have been approved on that alone. That’s fraud in my humble opinion.”
Seriously, did you just join a discussion forum about politics and betting to discuss vaccine conspiracy theories?
Must be from Inverness (though not typical of the place):
It's a very weird state of affairs. We have pretty hardcore presbys, and then a bunch of neo-druid hippy types up here. I was aghast when my supervisor told me that crystal healing was really popular in Inverness. That said, local rumour was the flat earth shop was some kind of tax dodge (though I wouldn't know what) rather than serious.
I can well believe it - especially seeing the rag tree at Munlochy (wouldn't be so quite bad if only they'd use biodegradable textiles).
Problem is not Truss, Sunak etc, it is the Tory brand. Like all governments round about 12 years they have reached their sell by date. So many occasions, 1908 -16, Liberal led, 1931 - 1945( National and Coalition, 1951 - 1964 (Conservative), 1979 - 1997 (Conservative, really it should have happened in 1992, 1997 - 2010, (Labour), now the general perception is Conservative 2010 - present. There is an inevitability about it, it is that time again, "We need a change", and there is no Corbyn to even delay the process. It cannot be stopped, whatever the Daily Express may try and say.
Yes. My reading too. Labour will really have to screw up to lose in 2024
The Tories are done for now, barring a black swan
We've had enough of those, thank-you!
Btw Greetings from Lago di Como. Beautiful, balmy, belissimo!
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
Good grief. I wish I was aware of this stuff. Are you suggesting we are getting plagiarised? I was convinced for quite some time that a very well known former spin doctor was posting on here prolifically but reluctantly concluded that it wasn't him.
I've had quite a few of my pieces homaged within days, particularly the data heavy stuff.
TLG86's pieces on population/birth rates were lifted recently as well.
Some of my stuff has been borrowed too.
Once the Norfolk MPs (including the new PM) start pushing hard on the restoration of the Wuffingas Kingdom i'll know i've got some real clout
I’m pretty sure one well known Spectator writer just steals my stuff wholesale and turns it into articles on the magazine. Frankly, I don’t know what to do about it. Gone beyond a joke now
Bet his next article is about journalists nicking people's stuff off the comments section of websites
The Guardian's comment section is on top of all the major current social issues today, I see.
"My online chess addiction was ruining my life. Something had to change".
Elsewhere is a slightly confused article first celebrating the lack of white men in key positions in the new government, but then apparently switching to saying these are the wrong sort of non-white men, as they're not helping other people from minorities. This is one of the perils of an identity-only approach.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
Yes. Didn’t do much research
One of the few things we DON’T argue about is the vax. Even @Dura_Ace - our only anti vaxxer? - lies low on this issue and is thereby tolerated
The troll should have waded in with a contentious point about fish stock in microwaved risottos
I don't think Dura_Ace is an antivaxxer in the pure sense.
Only Misty and Contrarian are/were only bona fide antivaxxers.
AIUI DA as a convinced vegan refuses to take the vaccine because it was tested on animals.
Which is fair enough even if I think he's wrong.
Contrarian, both in that name and as Misty, is just a complete bellend. A conspiracy theorist nut with a small brain and a massive ego.
Did we ever find out if he actually does work for the DfE or SLC?
I’m going to defend MISTY
He/she is a valuable poster from the Trumpite right (albeit British). This is a voice almost unheard on PB, but it represents 74m English speakers in America, and we need to listen
It will be a sad day on PB when we chase people off just for having contrary and unpopular opinions. That’s surely the joy of the site. All get a hearing, as long as they obey the rules and don’t mention that Mike SMITHSON is going a bit thin on top
Nah, he's just an imbecile. Half the time he doesn't seem to know what he's posted.
A day or so ago he was blasting Biden for calling Trump a fascist and asking if Lincoln would have said that.
When I pointed out Lincoln had said much worse than that about the confederates, he went off on an incredible drunken rant about how that wasn't important because they were just words.
Fair enough. You’re entitled to your opinion, natch
Just don’t ban people for being imbeciles - or Trumpites. Let all voices join the choir. Free speech is getting ever rarer as all sides polarise. pb Is a splendid exception. I may have to stop before I get emotional
I don't think I've ever suggested anyone be banned, although I could be wrong. Not even our favourite ex-army officer, who got very hot under the collar and abusive to the extent of actually libelling me after I criticised him for being a bully, as is his wont.
I haven't, for the matter of that, asked for Misty to be banned. I'm just pointing out he's a nasty piece of work and totally unreliable.
Indeed. You haven’t called for anyone to be banned IIRC
Tho that starts to make me suspicious. Perhaps you should be banned for being weirdly reasonable at all times
A trip up to Scotland for Liz Truss tomorrow and she will return "in triumph" to give us all a glimpse into many think will be a return to 1979.
As I've said before, the Thatcherites had the not inconsiderable assistance of North Sea Oil, Privatisation receipts and a group of desperate idiots in Buenos Aires.
I'd certainly argue Truss faces as daunting an in-tray as any incoming PM since Thatcher but one can also argue a lot of the problems are going to be hard for her to control directly. She can do nothing, for example, directly about the conflict in the Ukraine and she can do little about the fact of rising energy prices - both oil and gas rose in price today and it seems we may have to adjust to $90 a barrel oil as the "new normal".
I remain a simpleton at heart compared to what I'm informed are the towering intellects on this forum - if the plan is to freeze energy bills for the consumers, fine, I get that but the fact remains the gas and electricity is being supplied at higher prices so someone is going to have to pay the balance - the Government presumably?
I also remain bemused at how, given an annual debt interest of £100 billion and the other myriad calls on the public purse such as defence, health, pensions and the Police (all of which, we are told by Conservatives, are vital), there is any scope for more than a gesture in terms of reducing taxes and even then is that shortfall in revenue to be met by public expenditure reductions and if so, what, where and when?
The more thoughtful local authorities, who are curious beasts by nature, are already war gaming 10-15% net reductions in Government financial support and the impact on Service provision. Some are already trying to sell off their mostly unused office space (I see central Government is trying to sell off £1.5 billion of office estate so JRM's plan to get the civil servants back to their desks, like all his other stupid ideas, is all image and no substance).
It would be churlish not to wish Truss and the new Government well - I disagree with her at a fundamental philosophical level and I hope she and her Ministers adopt a less ideological and more pragmatic aspect in terms of practical governing (the successful PMs know when to be ideologues and when to be sensible in Government).
Good post and of course the NI reverse was largely mitigated when Sunak excluded those earning £34,000 or less
Th CBI said today that they pay 19% corporation tax already, but that in April an uplift to 25% was unwelcome i this climate
Sunak never excluded those earning £34k or less. He excluded those earning about £12k or less.
He excluded them from this years NI rise
No he did not. That's just not true. There is no £34k threshold where tax rates change.
The marginal tax rate someone on say £19k per annum is absolutely higher now than it was in March.
Why then do HYUFD and BigG keep chanting 34K like some mantra, if I recall rightly? There must be some directive from CCHW somewhere. Would be interested to know the logic, if only to see who turns out to be right. Is there some confusion between NI and "tax"?
Because the starting rate tax threshold went up to compensate, and £34k is the crossover rate at which you pay more than you gained from the tax threshold changes.
Except taxing less the first £12k doesn't help address the fact that the marginal tax rate for someone over £12 can be obscenely high and has gone up further now. It also doesn't address the fact that those earning under £34k, many of them will be earning more and thus paying more in the future.
Plus we have the fact that tax thresholds are frozen at the minute so being rapidly eroded by inflation rather than a triple lock. So the "giveaway" of raising the threshold to £12k will be rapidly eroded by inflation, but the tax rise will remain.
Finally I believe £34k is the figure if you only look at employees NI. Employer NI is a tax on that employees wages too and is a payroll tax that suppresses wages so excluding it is just plain dodgy accounting.
Thanks. And of course the crossover would presumably be c. 30K in 2023/24 money, too.
The Guardian comment section is on top of all the major current social issues today, I see.
"My online chess addiction was ruining my life. Something had to change".
Elsewhere is a confused article first celebrating the lack of white men in key positions in the new government, but then apparebtly switching to saying these are the wrong sort of non-white men.
They so wanted to use the words Uncle and Tom didn't they?
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
But, with all respect, why here?
We're an agenda setting blog, I think 30% of our traffic emanates from Westminster IP addresses.
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
What amuses me is how comments (and that's below the line, from regular posters) can suspiciously work their way into MSM op-eds within 24-48 hours of their first appearance on here, and only on here.
The funniest thing was on GE 2017 night.
About a dozen people contacted me saying listening to George Osborne on the ITV coverage was just like reading my comments/posts/tweets.
It was frighteningly uncanny.
The power of telepathy? Except for the profanity and double entendres. I mean Gids, not you, of course.
Please, it is single entendres.
If only Penny Mordaunt had become PM today, we would finally have a PM who shared my sense of humour.
Problem is not Truss, Sunak etc, it is the Tory brand. Like all governments round about 12 years they have reached their sell by date. So many occasions, 1908 -16, Liberal led, 1931 - 1945( National and Coalition, 1951 - 1964 (Conservative), 1979 - 1997 (Conservative, really it should have happened in 1992, 1997 - 2010, (Labour), now the general perception is Conservative 2010 - present. There is an inevitability about it, it is that time again, "We need a change", and there is no Corbyn to even delay the process. It cannot be stopped, whatever the Daily Express may try and say.
Yes. My reading too. Labour will really have to screw up to lose in 2024
The Tories are done for now, barring a black swan
We've had enough of those, thank-you!
Btw Greetings from Lago di Como. Beautiful, balmy, belissimo!
Hotel La Darsena
Ahhhhh that’s lovely. The Italian lakes
My dear old mum swears by them as a cure for any emotional ailment. Any grief, sadness or heartbreak. She has a point
A trip up to Scotland for Liz Truss tomorrow and she will return "in triumph" to give us all a glimpse into many think will be a return to 1979.
As I've said before, the Thatcherites had the not inconsiderable assistance of North Sea Oil, Privatisation receipts and a group of desperate idiots in Buenos Aires.
I'd certainly argue Truss faces as daunting an in-tray as any incoming PM since Thatcher but one can also argue a lot of the problems are going to be hard for her to control directly. She can do nothing, for example, directly about the conflict in the Ukraine and she can do little about the fact of rising energy prices - both oil and gas rose in price today and it seems we may have to adjust to $90 a barrel oil as the "new normal".
I remain a simpleton at heart compared to what I'm informed are the towering intellects on this forum - if the plan is to freeze energy bills for the consumers, fine, I get that but the fact remains the gas and electricity is being supplied at higher prices so someone is going to have to pay the balance - the Government presumably?
I also remain bemused at how, given an annual debt interest of £100 billion and the other myriad calls on the public purse such as defence, health, pensions and the Police (all of which, we are told by Conservatives, are vital), there is any scope for more than a gesture in terms of reducing taxes and even then is that shortfall in revenue to be met by public expenditure reductions and if so, what, where and when?
The more thoughtful local authorities, who are curious beasts by nature, are already war gaming 10-15% net reductions in Government financial support and the impact on Service provision. Some are already trying to sell off their mostly unused office space (I see central Government is trying to sell off £1.5 billion of office estate so JRM's plan to get the civil servants back to their desks, like all his other stupid ideas, is all image and no substance).
It would be churlish not to wish Truss and the new Government well - I disagree with her at a fundamental philosophical level and I hope she and her Ministers adopt a less ideological and more pragmatic aspect in terms of practical governing (the successful PMs know when to be ideologues and when to be sensible in Government).
Good post and of course the NI reverse was largely mitigated when Sunak excluded those earning £34,000 or less
Th CBI said today that they pay 19% corporation tax already, but that in April an uplift to 25% was unwelcome i this climate
Sunak never excluded those earning £34k or less. He excluded those earning about £12k or less.
He excluded them from this years NI rise
No he did not. That's just not true. There is no £34k threshold where tax rates change.
The marginal tax rate someone on say £19k per annum is absolutely higher now than it was in March.
Why then do HYUFD and BigG keep chanting 34K like some mantra, if I recall rightly? There must be some directive from CCHW somewhere. Would be interested to know the logic, if only to see who turns out to be right. Is there some confusion between NI and "tax"?
Because the starting rate tax threshold went up to compensate, and £34k is the crossover rate at which you pay more than you gained from the tax threshold changes.
Except taxing less the first £12k doesn't help address the fact that the marginal tax rate for someone over £12 can be obscenely high and has gone up further now. It also doesn't address the fact that those earning under £34k, many of them will be earning more and thus paying more in the future.
Plus we have the fact that tax thresholds are frozen at the minute so being rapidly eroded by inflation rather than a triple lock. So the "giveaway" of raising the threshold to £12k will be rapidly eroded by inflation, but the tax rise will remain.
Finally I believe £34k is the figure if you only look at employees NI. Employer NI is a tax on that employees wages too and is a payroll tax that suppresses wages so excluding it is just plain dodgy accounting.
Thanks. And of course the crossover would presumably be c. 30K in 2023/24 money, too.
Yes precisely, c. 30k next year in real terms and that's ignoring the fact that Employers NI is a tax on your wage too, and it only gets worse from there.
I truly despise this tax rise and went off Sunak and Boris solely because of that. For me this is a totemic test for Truss, she simply must for me honour the commitment to reverse it. If she doesn't, if it was a lie, then I will go off her faster than you can say betrayal.
I read a report that predicted a rise in Russian sponsored troll activity around the time the Ruskies would cut off gas to the West.
It is to sow discord.
The irony is on here it just unites us more, I think 99% of this board are pro vaccines, so we united and laugh at them.
Yes. Didn’t do much research
One of the few things we DON’T argue about is the vax. Even @Dura_Ace - our only anti vaxxer? - lies low on this issue and is thereby tolerated
The troll should have waded in with a contentious point about fish stock in microwaved risottos
I don't think Dura_Ace is an antivaxxer in the pure sense.
Only Misty and Contrarian are/were only bona fide antivaxxers.
AIUI DA as a convinced vegan refuses to take the vaccine because it was tested on animals.
Which is fair enough even if I think he's wrong.
Contrarian, both in that name and as Misty, is just a complete bellend. A conspiracy theorist nut with a small brain and a massive ego.
Did we ever find out if he actually does work for the DfE or SLC?
I’m going to defend MISTY
He/she is a valuable poster from the Trumpite right (albeit British). This is a voice almost unheard on PB, but it represents 74m English speakers in America, and we need to listen
It will be a sad day on PB when we chase people off just for having contrary and unpopular opinions. That’s surely the joy of the site. All get a hearing, as long as they obey the rules and don’t mention that Mike SMITHSON is going a bit thin on top
Nah, he's just an imbecile. Half the time he doesn't seem to know what he's posted.
A day or so ago he was blasting Biden for calling Trump a fascist and asking if Lincoln would have said that.
When I pointed out Lincoln had said much worse than that about the confederates, he went off on an incredible drunken rant about how that wasn't important because they were just words.
Fair enough. You’re entitled to your opinion, natch
Just don’t ban people for being imbeciles - or Trumpites. Let all voices join the choir. Free speech is getting ever rarer as all sides polarise. pb Is a splendid exception. I may have to stop before I get emotional
I don't think I've ever suggested anyone be banned, although I could be wrong. Not even our favourite ex-army officer, who got very hot under the collar and abusive to the extent of actually libelling me after I criticised him for being a bully, as is his wont.
I haven't, for the matter of that, asked for Misty to be banned. I'm just pointing out he's a nasty piece of work and totally unreliable.
Indeed. You haven’t called for anyone to be banned IIRC
Tho that starts to make me suspicious. Perhaps you should be banned for being weirdly reasonable at all times
The Guardian comment section is on top of all the major current social issues today, I see.
"My online chess addiction was ruining my life. Something had to change".
Elsewhere is a confused article first celebrating the lack of white men in key positions in the new government, but then apparebtly switching to saying these are the wrong sort of non-white men.
They so wanted to use the words Uncle and Tom didn't they?
If the enemy are combatting racial inequality maybe its time to beget the Bigot? Mused the Guardian editorial team
Problem is not Truss, Sunak etc, it is the Tory brand. Like all governments round about 12 years they have reached their sell by date. So many occasions, 1908 -16, Liberal led, 1931 - 1945( National and Coalition, 1951 - 1964 (Conservative), 1979 - 1997 (Conservative, really it should have happened in 1992, 1997 - 2010, (Labour), now the general perception is Conservative 2010 - present. There is an inevitability about it, it is that time again, "We need a change", and there is no Corbyn to even delay the process. It cannot be stopped, whatever the Daily Express may try and say.
Yes. My reading too. Labour will really have to screw up to lose in 2024
The Tories are done for now, barring a black swan
We've had enough of those, thank-you!
Btw Greetings from Lago di Como. Beautiful, balmy, belissimo!
Hotel La Darsena
Ahhhhh that’s lovely. The Italian lakes
My dear old mum swears by them as a cure for any emotional ailment. Any grief, sadness or heartbreak. She has a point
It's very lovely, very safe and middle-class, tbf.
Excellent food, beautiful lakeside towns, 25°C, warm sunshine... what could be finer hopping from shore to shore on the Navigazione Laghi?
Btw, spent several nights in Beaune on the way down. Another gem.
Anyone who thinks France has gone down the pan needs to visit Beaune, and be rudely corrected.
You must admire the Conservative talent for the impossible. They sacked the worst a PM of all time, the man who after two centuries dethroned Goderich, and got somebody who seems likely to be even worse.
Although a talent for doing the impossible might come in useful at the moment.
Comments
My favourite troll was the one who said the vaccines were killing ethnic minorities and I replied with I hope they kill muslims and I think I broke their programming.
One of the few things we DON’T argue about is the vax. Even @Dura_Ace - our only anti vaxxer? - lies low on this issue and is thereby tolerated
The troll should have waded in with a contentious point about fish stock in microwaved risottos
Dave (pbuh) was a lurker whilst he was LOTO and PM.
https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/whats-on/open-doors
Yesterday, I went to St Brothen's -- almost impossible to find in rural Gwynedd -- to look for the grave that sparked the Llanfrothen Burial case, and of course made the name of Lloyd George.
Managed to link the vaccines to the great replacement theory and Jewish bankers that control the world.
I am very uncertain about her, but not sure writing her off prematurely is sensible even if it is understandable
However, time to get a cup of tea and look at photos of our new arrival
Good night folks and good to have vigorous debate but without lots of falling out and bad language
It’s not hard for said Russian Mail to claim PB is a major UK political website where British politicians post either known or incognito etc etc and guess what, a lot of these really influential posters (yeah ok) and politicians don’t agree with British propaganda about Russia and think British Vaccines are dangerous et etc.
So whilst it can be amusing to a point having the trolls I would personally rather the mods just kick them into touch immediately.
They aren’t here for nothing because it’s clear they aren’t changing minds but they still come because it benefits their bosses along the line.
Only Misty and Contrarian are/were only bona fide antivaxxers.
Dave - if you're reading - this is ALL YOUR FAULT!
Which is fair enough even if I think he's wrong.
Contrarian, both in that name and as Misty, is just a complete bellend. A conspiracy theorist nut with a small brain and a massive ego.
Did we ever find out if he actually does work for the DfE or SLC?
About a dozen people contacted me saying listening to George Osborne on the ITV coverage was just like reading my comments/posts/tweets.
It was frighteningly uncanny.
It was amazing how many regular(ish) posters on here turned out to be well-known mainstream politicians who had virtually no insight to offer - just tedious attack lines.
In her case, it extended to me laying her for the Labour leadership as I felt she'd shown herself to be an empty vessel.
And if she does it twice or more, 'Liza Lot.'
The marginal tax rate someone on say £19k per annum is absolutely higher now than it was in March.
I'm not sure being a non-executive Chair of a few things really cuts the mustard for him.
Or Truss, on the other side.
Boris spent years crafting the brand. Doing the same for Truss will be like the
Didldidi lookalikes. Camilla the caterpillar cake, that sort of thing.
“If you are a freeman, are you going to any of the Cadw open doors in September?
https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/whats-on/open-doors
Yesterday, I went to St Brothen's -- almost impossible to find in rural Gwynedd -- to look for the grave that sparked the Llanfrothen Burial case, and of course made the name of Lloyd George”
That’s genius. It civilly but blithely assumes a level of intricate cultural and political knowledge you simply don’t get anywhere else
And believe me, when banned, I’ve tried
TLG86's pieces on population/birth rates were lifted recently as well.
(we're no longer together)
Congratulations to @Big_G_NorthWales on his latest grand-daughter. Blessings to her and her family.
Views over Windermere from earlier today.
Do I take it that Liz's big plan is to freeze prices for a few months, paid for by consumers and that nothing was said about businesses?
Interesting that her vote share was lower than people seemed to expect.
I also imagine we will see an even more strident patriotism in the "popular" Press - the slightest criticism of Britain will be hunted down, exposed and ridiculed no matter how justified.
It seems to this observer Freedom of Speech must mean the right to criticise one's Government and country - "my country, right or wrong" is fine but those who don't see things in those terms must, in a democratic society, be allowed to put their view forward.
Not flash, just Gordon.
Call me Dave.
It's not that new - only Big Tezza (as close friends call her) broadly avoided the awful faux chumminess.
Wow. That is some stat.
He/she is a valuable poster from the Trumpite right (albeit British). This is a voice almost unheard on PB, but it represents 74m English speakers in America, and we need to listen
It will be a sad day on PB when we chase people off just for having contrary and unpopular opinions. That’s surely the joy of the site. All get a hearing, as long as they obey the rules and don’t mention that Mike SMITHSON is going a bit thin on top
I promise to feed it and take it for regular walks.
Such Penny Mordaunt, Jake Berry (likely next Tory Chairman) other past and present cabinet ministers and minister. Shadow cabinet ministers as well.
I have quite the following amongst SNP MPs for my honest take on Scottish polling.
Even Alex Salmond follows me.
A day or so ago he was blasting Biden for calling Trump a fascist and asking if Lincoln would have said that.
When I pointed out Lincoln had said much worse than that about the confederates, he went off on an incredible drunken rant about how that wasn't important because they were just words.
It is exactly what I was expecting and indeed I did mention this during the campaign (smug alert). Truss was never going to try and ride it out with some tax cuts and become the most unpopular PM in history a mere month after taking the job. This was always on the cards. The only thing she will focus on in the next 24 months is how she gets the Tories to a majority in 2024.
Btw Greetings from Lago di Como. Beautiful, balmy, belissimo!
As I was writing a piece saying David Cameron should replace Michael Gove as Education Secretary guess who started following me on Twitter?
Except taxing less the first £12k doesn't help address the fact that the marginal tax rate for someone over £12 can be obscenely high and has gone up further now. It also doesn't address the fact that those earning under £34k, many of them will be earning more and thus paying more in the future.
Plus we have the fact that tax thresholds are frozen at the minute so being rapidly eroded by inflation rather than a triple lock. So the "giveaway" of raising the threshold to £12k will be rapidly eroded by inflation, but the tax rise will remain.
Finally I believe £34k is the figure if you only look at employees NI. Employer NI is a tax on that employees wages too and is a payroll tax that suppresses wages so excluding it is just plain dodgy accounting.
Proper Norfolk bloke nouse. Use it or lose it you privileged poncey boots twits.
Just don’t ban people for being imbeciles - or Trumpites. Let all voices join the choir. Free speech is getting ever rarer as all sides polarise. pb Is a splendid exception. I may have to stop before I get emotional
Did anyone else initially think Sunak had won because they were following this thread and saw Hyufd's numbers?
I haven't, for the matter of that, asked for Misty to be banned. I'm just pointing out he's a nasty piece of work and totally unreliable.
I spoke to OGH earlier on this evening, he made a profit on this market.
I lumped my entire Smarkets and Betfair 'bank' on Truss just before the first debate so ended up with a healthy profit from that, even if it wasn't as big as it could have been, no complaints.
Hope many people made a profit today. 😎
Hotel La Darsena
"My online chess addiction was ruining my life. Something had to change".
Elsewhere is a slightly confused article first celebrating the lack of white men in key positions in the new government, but then apparently switching to saying these are the wrong sort of non-white men, as they're not helping other people from minorities. This is one of the perils of an identity-only approach.
Tho that starts to make me suspicious. Perhaps you should be banned for being weirdly reasonable at all times
If only Penny Mordaunt had become PM today, we would finally have a PM who shared my sense of humour.
My dear old mum swears by them as a cure for any emotional ailment. Any grief, sadness or heartbreak. She has a point
I truly despise this tax rise and went off Sunak and Boris solely because of that. For me this is a totemic test for Truss, she simply must for me honour the commitment to reverse it. If she doesn't, if it was a lie, then I will go off her faster than you can say betrayal.
There were a huge number of lightning strikes over the UK last night (36k or something). Looks like a repeat tonight.
I even have many good words for the DfE.
Words like scum, fools, drunks...
Excellent food, beautiful lakeside towns, 25°C, warm sunshine... what could be finer hopping from shore to shore on the Navigazione Laghi?
Btw, spent several nights in Beaune on the way down. Another gem.
Anyone who thinks France has gone down the pan needs to visit Beaune, and be rudely corrected.
You must admire the Conservative talent for the impossible. They sacked the worst a PM of all time, the man who after two centuries dethroned Goderich, and got somebody who seems likely to be even worse.
Although a talent for doing the impossible might come in useful at the moment.