What's behind that Labour-Lib Dem movement, I wonder.
Sampling error, a.k.a. statistical noise.
Yep. A few recent polls showed LDs losing out while Labour stayed still. So there's definitely no concerted Labour-Lib Dem swing.
This pollster is one of the more generous to the Greens. 8% is way higher than most others, and it's been around the 7-8% mark on Ipsos for a while I think. Which all makes for a LLG score of 61%, at the top end of recent polls. Several others are at a more believable 57-58%.
Though even that I think over-estimates the opposition parties. Recent council byelections, even if we discount the Bolton one, do not support a 10% Labour lead over Conservatives nor a 61% left of centre bloc.
MORI report of course on 10/10 certainty to vote, which tends to give better figures for opposition mid term, once the tables are out we will see the 'all expressing a party preference' figure which in July was slightly better for the govt than the headline figure. The Tories big weakness rn is waverers and disillusionment. I'd expect MORI to be 'bad end of polling' for them until election run in
"New homes to be built with bars in windows to prevent tall people from falling out Developers attack Housing Department over health and safety drive
Housebuilders are being forced to put steel bars across the first floor windows of new homes because civil servants believe that increasingly tall Britons are more likely to topple out and plunge to their deaths...." (£)
C'mon, Liz. Step in and say "stop being so silly".
You don't HAVE to be unpopular. Do some stuff where people say "quite right too."
Yes, the Conservative Government needs to step in and stop the mad health and safety rules being issued by... (checks notes) the Conservative Government.
What are the chances that this regulation never crossed a minister's desk first? Someone will have thought this up as a measure to potentially save a life, which is of course more important than letting people take decisions for themselves and occasionally earn a Darwin award.
It sounds like a regulation invented by someone who doesn’t know much about the modern building industry.
To start with, modern windows are generally designed and installed to be quite hard to fall out of. Plus double glazed windows used these days are damn near impossible to fall through.
If the boss of Cuadrilla is saying fracking won't work then there's not much worry about it I'd have thought. A few exploratory wells that don't yield anything. Some humming and harring followed eventually by a restoration phase https://drillordrop.com/2019/07/10/site-restoration-underway-at-tinker-lane/
With the frackers out of pocket.
Well this is basically my thought.
If fracking isn't viable as some claim, then it won't be done. So it can be legal, but not done, what's the issue with that?
If fracking is viable, then it shouldn't be banned.
We don't need to ban that which isn't viable, just have it legal but undone by choice rather than diktat.
Fracking should be treated like mining and other resource generation - subject to sensible standards, and if we can't economically do it in this country then so be it. But if we can, it should not be forbidden.
That seems like a sensible thing to say, but it's very dependent on what being "subject to sensible standards" means. That's why there's a debate, that's what one needs to address. In particular:
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to climate change?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to the earthquake risk?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to major building projects in rural areas?
Thank you for saying its sensible and yes your questions are sensible too. My answers to your questions would be:
Climate change: Similar rules and regulations should apply to imports etc - if gas can be imported for use, it should be able to be extracted domestically, which reduces our carbon emissions it doesn't increase them.
Earthquake risk: It should have similar standards to alternative developments like seismic activity allowed to take place with regards to mining etc too.
Building projects: It should have similar standards to other forms of development.
Standards shouldn't be lower than they would be for alternatives, but they shouldn't be draconianly higher either.
Thanks for a detailed answer that generally avoids actually saying anything.
Climate change: so, what should those standards be? We're meant to be Net Zero in 28 years. It is difficult to see fracking being consistent with that. How should Government implement reaching Net Zero? Is it sensible to say, on one hand, that we've made this commitment, while saying, on the other hand, that we want developers to open fracking wells, that typically run for 20-40 years? Will fracking licenses say, "No fracking past 2050"? The Government has not provided clarity on how it will achieve Net Zero, but that matters for developers of wells.
Earthquake risk: the BGS says the earthquake risk is unpredictable, in a manner that is different from the risks from mining. Do you take a precautionary approach, as with the present rules, or do you wait for a big earthquake and only worry about it after the fact?
Climate Change: Net Zero should be reached by reducing demand, not supply. Demand being met by Qatari imports instead of domestically produced gas makes no improvement whatsoever to the climate, demand not existing does make a difference. Net zero doesn't mean zero production even post-2050.
Earthquake risk: If it were up to me, I would predominantly deal with it after the fact, but require firms involved to demonstrate appropriate liability insurance that covers that, if they're proven to cause one. If they're unable to find insurance, then they won't be able to trade, same as any other firm. If they have the relevant insurance to appropriate standards then the liability risk is covered.
People die in earthquakes, you can't just say yebbut insurance.
What do you think of wonder woman and Kokey Kwasi cutting stamp duty? Main housebuilders up 3-6% today, house prices probably the same. At last the UK s chronically low property values are being addressed.
If the boss of Cuadrilla is saying fracking won't work then there's not much worry about it I'd have thought. A few exploratory wells that don't yield anything. Some humming and harring followed eventually by a restoration phase https://drillordrop.com/2019/07/10/site-restoration-underway-at-tinker-lane/
With the frackers out of pocket.
Well this is basically my thought.
If fracking isn't viable as some claim, then it won't be done. So it can be legal, but not done, what's the issue with that?
If fracking is viable, then it shouldn't be banned.
We don't need to ban that which isn't viable, just have it legal but undone by choice rather than diktat.
Fracking should be treated like mining and other resource generation - subject to sensible standards, and if we can't economically do it in this country then so be it. But if we can, it should not be forbidden.
That seems like a sensible thing to say, but it's very dependent on what being "subject to sensible standards" means. That's why there's a debate, that's what one needs to address. In particular:
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to climate change?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to the earthquake risk?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to major building projects in rural areas?
Thank you for saying its sensible and yes your questions are sensible too. My answers to your questions would be:
Climate change: Similar rules and regulations should apply to imports etc - if gas can be imported for use, it should be able to be extracted domestically, which reduces our carbon emissions it doesn't increase them.
Earthquake risk: It should have similar standards to alternative developments like seismic activity allowed to take place with regards to mining etc too.
Building projects: It should have similar standards to other forms of development.
Standards shouldn't be lower than they would be for alternatives, but they shouldn't be draconianly higher either.
Thanks for a detailed answer that generally avoids actually saying anything.
Climate change: so, what should those standards be? We're meant to be Net Zero in 28 years. It is difficult to see fracking being consistent with that. How should Government implement reaching Net Zero? Is it sensible to say, on one hand, that we've made this commitment, while saying, on the other hand, that we want developers to open fracking wells, that typically run for 20-40 years? Will fracking licenses say, "No fracking past 2050"? The Government has not provided clarity on how it will achieve Net Zero, but that matters for developers of wells.
Earthquake risk: the BGS says the earthquake risk is unpredictable, in a manner that is different from the risks from mining. Do you take a precautionary approach, as with the present rules, or do you wait for a big earthquake and only worry about it after the fact?
There will be demand for gas, although diminishing, between now and 28 years time, and beyond I suspect. Surely it’s better that can be produced within the country rather than relying on unreliable and expensive imports? I don’t see how that is inconsistent with net zero because the alternative simply involves importing it.
It might be better that it is produced within the country *if* it can be done in a safe, reliable and cheap manner. Producing gas ourselves in a manner that is very costly and damages our local environment is not better than importing it.
If we're going to do anything sensible about climate change, the world already has more known gas reserves than is needed. Gas prices right now are very high, but (if we're going to do anything sensible about climate change) they will plummet. So, the question is, are we going to do anything sensible about climate change, or are we just pretending we will? (The aforementioned "we" needing to be answered both domestically and internationally.)
Amongst all the posh sods speaking at the funeral, Liz Truss accent stood out - and I liked it. She’s Yorkshire alright. It’s good that common uneducated people with an accent can get right up the greasy pole in politics, it gives me hope.
What the fuck is this? Jizzy Lizzy has a PPE from Oxford and is a Chartered Accountant. How is that 'uneducated'?
Irony? LizT makes great play of having been educated at Dotheboys Hall.
One comment I read after one of her more rubbish speeches - if her Comprehensive managed to get her into Oxford it must have been a lot better than she is making out.
Or her father pulled strings, of course.
But from what I know, which may be completely wrong, it's probably the former.
That in itself raises questions about her integrity, but equally Harold Wilson played the same card most days and he was quite successful.
I went to a secondary school that dropped from seven classes in year 7 to six classes by year 10, because so many kids had been permanently excluded for violence. There would be fights in the corridor to determine who would get to sit next to me in class tests, and poke me with a compass so that I showed my answers.
I still made it to Cambridge, mostly because my Dad had gone to Cambridge, and his Dad was a graduate, and so there was an expectation at home that I would do well at school and go to university. When you told my Dad that you scored 98% on a test he'd want to know how you managed to drop 2%.
I know nothing about the school Liz Truss went to, but it's not implausible to me that she ended up at Oxford on her merits, and despite her school, and without any inappropriate influence.
It would be interesting to know whether the school you went to has improved as a consequence of the inspection regime now in place… what is the name of the school, so I can look it up?
If it's like the dump schools round here - it will be on it's 3rd name, it's 6/10th head and it's 5th Trust, having destroyed 3 of them
Fascinating - and reassuring in a weird way - to see we’re back to the same cyclical debate about Scottish independence after the queens sad death. Even more fascinating is the constant back and forth from those pro Indy just backing the other one up.
PoliticalBetting is back indeed. Just need HFUYD to mention his tanks next
What strikes me is the mismatch between Ireland and GB, the lesson I would draw from NI seceding is Quite right, why have two different nations on one piddling little island?
The island of Timor says hi!
Grr.
Ireland is not some piddling little island, it is the 20th largest island in the world.
Anyway, there is an interesting quiz question about how many islands have de jure or de facto international borders on: I can offer:
Ireland Timor Borneo (which I think is the only island to have two borders on) Hispaniola Tierra del Fuego Cyprus
Anyone add any others?
But islands are inherently little, this is like saying Peter dinklage is quite tall for a dwarf.
Fascinating - and reassuring in a weird way - to see we’re back to the same cyclical debate about Scottish independence after the queens sad death. Even more fascinating is the constant back and forth from those pro Indy just backing the other one up.
PoliticalBetting is back indeed. Just need HFUYD to mention his tanks next
What strikes me is the mismatch between Ireland and GB, the lesson I would draw from NI seceding is Quite right, why have two different nations on one piddling little island?
The island of Timor says hi!
Grr.
Ireland is not some piddling little island, it is the 20th largest island in the world.
Anyway, there is an interesting quiz question about how many islands have de jure or de facto international borders on: I can offer:
Ireland Timor Borneo (which I think is the only island to have two borders on) Hispaniola Tierra del Fuego Cyprus
Anyone add any others?
Market
An island in the north Atlantic close to Canada that is shared between Netherlands and another country (France?) – I forget its name
"New homes to be built with bars in windows to prevent tall people from falling out Developers attack Housing Department over health and safety drive
Housebuilders are being forced to put steel bars across the first floor windows of new homes because civil servants believe that increasingly tall Britons are more likely to topple out and plunge to their deaths...." (£)
C'mon, Liz. Step in and say "stop being so silly".
You don't HAVE to be unpopular. Do some stuff where people say "quite right too."
Yes, the Conservative Government needs to step in and stop the mad health and safety rules being issued by... (checks notes) the Conservative Government.
What are the chances that this regulation never crossed a minister's desk first? Someone will have thought this up as a measure to potentially save a life, which is of course more important than letting people take decisions for themselves and occasionally earn a Darwin award.
It sounds like a regulation invented by someone who doesn’t know much about the modern building industry.
To start with, modern windows are generally designed and installed to be quite hard to fall out of. Plus double glazed windows used these days are damn near impossible to fall through.
Fascinating - and reassuring in a weird way - to see we’re back to the same cyclical debate about Scottish independence after the queens sad death. Even more fascinating is the constant back and forth from those pro Indy just backing the other one up.
PoliticalBetting is back indeed. Just need HFUYD to mention his tanks next
What strikes me is the mismatch between Ireland and GB, the lesson I would draw from NI seceding is Quite right, why have two different nations on one piddling little island?
The island of Timor says hi!
Grr.
Ireland is not some piddling little island, it is the 20th largest island in the world.
Anyway, there is an interesting quiz question about how many islands have de jure or de facto international borders on: I can offer:
Ireland Timor Borneo (which I think is the only island to have two borders on) Hispaniola Tierra del Fuego Cyprus
Anyone add any others?
But islands are inherently little, this is like saying Peter dinklage is quite tall for a dwarf.
Fascinating - and reassuring in a weird way - to see we’re back to the same cyclical debate about Scottish independence after the queens sad death. Even more fascinating is the constant back and forth from those pro Indy just backing the other one up.
PoliticalBetting is back indeed. Just need HFUYD to mention his tanks next
What strikes me is the mismatch between Ireland and GB, the lesson I would draw from NI seceding is Quite right, why have two different nations on one piddling little island?
The island of Timor says hi!
Grr.
Ireland is not some piddling little island, it is the 20th largest island in the world.
Anyway, there is an interesting quiz question about how many islands have de jure or de facto international borders on: I can offer:
Ireland Timor Borneo (which I think is the only island to have two borders on) Hispaniola Tierra del Fuego Cyprus
Anyone add any others?
Cyprus has more than two, btw - depends how you count them, but Greek, Turkish (main and enclave), and two UK bits make for something like 8 ...
If the boss of Cuadrilla is saying fracking won't work then there's not much worry about it I'd have thought. A few exploratory wells that don't yield anything. Some humming and harring followed eventually by a restoration phase https://drillordrop.com/2019/07/10/site-restoration-underway-at-tinker-lane/
With the frackers out of pocket.
Well this is basically my thought.
If fracking isn't viable as some claim, then it won't be done. So it can be legal, but not done, what's the issue with that?
If fracking is viable, then it shouldn't be banned.
We don't need to ban that which isn't viable, just have it legal but undone by choice rather than diktat.
Fracking should be treated like mining and other resource generation - subject to sensible standards, and if we can't economically do it in this country then so be it. But if we can, it should not be forbidden.
That seems like a sensible thing to say, but it's very dependent on what being "subject to sensible standards" means. That's why there's a debate, that's what one needs to address. In particular:
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to climate change?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to the earthquake risk?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to major building projects in rural areas?
Thank you for saying its sensible and yes your questions are sensible too. My answers to your questions would be:
Climate change: Similar rules and regulations should apply to imports etc - if gas can be imported for use, it should be able to be extracted domestically, which reduces our carbon emissions it doesn't increase them.
Earthquake risk: It should have similar standards to alternative developments like seismic activity allowed to take place with regards to mining etc too.
Building projects: It should have similar standards to other forms of development.
Standards shouldn't be lower than they would be for alternatives, but they shouldn't be draconianly higher either.
Thanks for a detailed answer that generally avoids actually saying anything.
Climate change: so, what should those standards be? We're meant to be Net Zero in 28 years. It is difficult to see fracking being consistent with that. How should Government implement reaching Net Zero? Is it sensible to say, on one hand, that we've made this commitment, while saying, on the other hand, that we want developers to open fracking wells, that typically run for 20-40 years? Will fracking licenses say, "No fracking past 2050"? The Government has not provided clarity on how it will achieve Net Zero, but that matters for developers of wells.
Earthquake risk: the BGS says the earthquake risk is unpredictable, in a manner that is different from the risks from mining. Do you take a precautionary approach, as with the present rules, or do you wait for a big earthquake and only worry about it after the fact?
There will be demand for gas, although diminishing, between now and 28 years time, and beyond I suspect. Surely it’s better that can be produced within the country rather than relying on unreliable and expensive imports? I don’t see how that is inconsistent with net zero because the alternative simply involves importing it.
I'm sure there are some arguments in favour of fracking in the UK that are consistent with net zero goals. The balanced approach would be to announce a lifting on the moratorium on this at the same time as lifting the bizarre moratorium on onshore wind, the cheapest and most rapidly deployable of all the energy sources. But no, they are doing one and not the other. Why? Ideology, that's all.
That's an illustration of what makes these recent moves to drive "growth" look lacking in good faith. She's ready to make unpopular decisions, but only those decisions that will be unpopular with woke lefties. Won't go near anthing that might help along growth but would piss off her ERG backers.
If the boss of Cuadrilla is saying fracking won't work then there's not much worry about it I'd have thought. A few exploratory wells that don't yield anything. Some humming and harring followed eventually by a restoration phase https://drillordrop.com/2019/07/10/site-restoration-underway-at-tinker-lane/
With the frackers out of pocket.
Well this is basically my thought.
If fracking isn't viable as some claim, then it won't be done. So it can be legal, but not done, what's the issue with that?
If fracking is viable, then it shouldn't be banned.
We don't need to ban that which isn't viable, just have it legal but undone by choice rather than diktat.
Fracking should be treated like mining and other resource generation - subject to sensible standards, and if we can't economically do it in this country then so be it. But if we can, it should not be forbidden.
That seems like a sensible thing to say, but it's very dependent on what being "subject to sensible standards" means. That's why there's a debate, that's what one needs to address. In particular:
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to climate change?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to the earthquake risk?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to major building projects in rural areas?
Thank you for saying its sensible and yes your questions are sensible too. My answers to your questions would be:
Climate change: Similar rules and regulations should apply to imports etc - if gas can be imported for use, it should be able to be extracted domestically, which reduces our carbon emissions it doesn't increase them.
Earthquake risk: It should have similar standards to alternative developments like seismic activity allowed to take place with regards to mining etc too.
Building projects: It should have similar standards to other forms of development.
Standards shouldn't be lower than they would be for alternatives, but they shouldn't be draconianly higher either.
Thanks for a detailed answer that generally avoids actually saying anything.
Climate change: so, what should those standards be? We're meant to be Net Zero in 28 years. It is difficult to see fracking being consistent with that. How should Government implement reaching Net Zero? Is it sensible to say, on one hand, that we've made this commitment, while saying, on the other hand, that we want developers to open fracking wells, that typically run for 20-40 years? Will fracking licenses say, "No fracking past 2050"? The Government has not provided clarity on how it will achieve Net Zero, but that matters for developers of wells.
Earthquake risk: the BGS says the earthquake risk is unpredictable, in a manner that is different from the risks from mining. Do you take a precautionary approach, as with the present rules, or do you wait for a big earthquake and only worry about it after the fact?
Climate Change: Net Zero should be reached by reducing demand, not supply. Demand being met by Qatari imports instead of domestically produced gas makes no improvement whatsoever to the climate, demand not existing does make a difference. Net zero doesn't mean zero production even post-2050.
Earthquake risk: If it were up to me, I would predominantly deal with it after the fact, but require firms involved to demonstrate appropriate liability insurance that covers that, if they're proven to cause one. If they're unable to find insurance, then they won't be able to trade, same as any other firm. If they have the relevant insurance to appropriate standards then the liability risk is covered.
I would have thought that, as a Conservative, you had some idea of how supply and demand are related.
Dealing with problems after the fact means people suffer the ill consequences and then find themselves stuck with lengthy, legalistic processes to get compensation.
If the boss of Cuadrilla is saying fracking won't work then there's not much worry about it I'd have thought. A few exploratory wells that don't yield anything. Some humming and harring followed eventually by a restoration phase https://drillordrop.com/2019/07/10/site-restoration-underway-at-tinker-lane/
With the frackers out of pocket.
Well this is basically my thought.
If fracking isn't viable as some claim, then it won't be done. So it can be legal, but not done, what's the issue with that?
If fracking is viable, then it shouldn't be banned.
We don't need to ban that which isn't viable, just have it legal but undone by choice rather than diktat.
Fracking should be treated like mining and other resource generation - subject to sensible standards, and if we can't economically do it in this country then so be it. But if we can, it should not be forbidden.
That seems like a sensible thing to say, but it's very dependent on what being "subject to sensible standards" means. That's why there's a debate, that's what one needs to address. In particular:
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to climate change?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to the earthquake risk?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to major building projects in rural areas?
Thank you for saying its sensible and yes your questions are sensible too. My answers to your questions would be:
Climate change: Similar rules and regulations should apply to imports etc - if gas can be imported for use, it should be able to be extracted domestically, which reduces our carbon emissions it doesn't increase them.
Earthquake risk: It should have similar standards to alternative developments like seismic activity allowed to take place with regards to mining etc too.
Building projects: It should have similar standards to other forms of development.
Standards shouldn't be lower than they would be for alternatives, but they shouldn't be draconianly higher either.
Thanks for a detailed answer that generally avoids actually saying anything.
Climate change: so, what should those standards be? We're meant to be Net Zero in 28 years. It is difficult to see fracking being consistent with that. How should Government implement reaching Net Zero? Is it sensible to say, on one hand, that we've made this commitment, while saying, on the other hand, that we want developers to open fracking wells, that typically run for 20-40 years? Will fracking licenses say, "No fracking past 2050"? The Government has not provided clarity on how it will achieve Net Zero, but that matters for developers of wells.
Earthquake risk: the BGS says the earthquake risk is unpredictable, in a manner that is different from the risks from mining. Do you take a precautionary approach, as with the present rules, or do you wait for a big earthquake and only worry about it after the fact?
Climate Change: Net Zero should be reached by reducing demand, not supply. Demand being met by Qatari imports instead of domestically produced gas makes no improvement whatsoever to the climate, demand not existing does make a difference. Net zero doesn't mean zero production even post-2050.
Earthquake risk: If it were up to me, I would predominantly deal with it after the fact, but require firms involved to demonstrate appropriate liability insurance that covers that, if they're proven to cause one. If they're unable to find insurance, then they won't be able to trade, same as any other firm. If they have the relevant insurance to appropriate standards then the liability risk is covered.
People die in earthquakes, you can't just say yebbut insurance.
What do you think of wonder woman and Kokey Kwasi cutting stamp duty? Main housebuilders up 3-6% today, house prices probably the same. At last the UK s chronically low property values are being addressed.
People die in car crashes, we don't ban cars but we do mandate insurance.
0.5 Richter scale "earthquakes" are not likely to cause deaths either. Certainly not compared to plenty of other legal things like cars etc
As for cutting stamp duty, good, its a tax on mobility that I've always said should be abolished.
Fascinating - and reassuring in a weird way - to see we’re back to the same cyclical debate about Scottish independence after the queens sad death. Even more fascinating is the constant back and forth from those pro Indy just backing the other one up.
PoliticalBetting is back indeed. Just need HFUYD to mention his tanks next
What strikes me is the mismatch between Ireland and GB, the lesson I would draw from NI seceding is Quite right, why have two different nations on one piddling little island?
The island of Timor says hi!
Grr.
Ireland is not some piddling little island, it is the 20th largest island in the world.
Anyway, there is an interesting quiz question about how many islands have de jure or de facto international borders on: I can offer:
Ireland Timor Borneo (which I think is the only island to have two borders on) Hispaniola Tierra del Fuego Cyprus
Fascinating - and reassuring in a weird way - to see we’re back to the same cyclical debate about Scottish independence after the queens sad death. Even more fascinating is the constant back and forth from those pro Indy just backing the other one up.
PoliticalBetting is back indeed. Just need HFUYD to mention his tanks next
What strikes me is the mismatch between Ireland and GB, the lesson I would draw from NI seceding is Quite right, why have two different nations on one piddling little island?
The island of Timor says hi!
Grr.
Ireland is not some piddling little island, it is the 20th largest island in the world.
Anyway, there is an interesting quiz question about how many islands have de jure or de facto international borders on: I can offer:
Ireland Timor Borneo (which I think is the only island to have two borders on) Hispaniola Tierra del Fuego Cyprus
Anyone add any others?
But islands are inherently little, this is like saying Peter dinklage is quite tall for a dwarf.
If the boss of Cuadrilla is saying fracking won't work then there's not much worry about it I'd have thought. A few exploratory wells that don't yield anything. Some humming and harring followed eventually by a restoration phase https://drillordrop.com/2019/07/10/site-restoration-underway-at-tinker-lane/
With the frackers out of pocket.
Well this is basically my thought.
If fracking isn't viable as some claim, then it won't be done. So it can be legal, but not done, what's the issue with that?
If fracking is viable, then it shouldn't be banned.
We don't need to ban that which isn't viable, just have it legal but undone by choice rather than diktat.
Fracking should be treated like mining and other resource generation - subject to sensible standards, and if we can't economically do it in this country then so be it. But if we can, it should not be forbidden.
That seems like a sensible thing to say, but it's very dependent on what being "subject to sensible standards" means. That's why there's a debate, that's what one needs to address. In particular:
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to climate change?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to the earthquake risk?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to major building projects in rural areas?
Thank you for saying its sensible and yes your questions are sensible too. My answers to your questions would be:
Climate change: Similar rules and regulations should apply to imports etc - if gas can be imported for use, it should be able to be extracted domestically, which reduces our carbon emissions it doesn't increase them.
Earthquake risk: It should have similar standards to alternative developments like seismic activity allowed to take place with regards to mining etc too.
Building projects: It should have similar standards to other forms of development.
Standards shouldn't be lower than they would be for alternatives, but they shouldn't be draconianly higher either.
Thanks for a detailed answer that generally avoids actually saying anything.
Climate change: so, what should those standards be? We're meant to be Net Zero in 28 years. It is difficult to see fracking being consistent with that. How should Government implement reaching Net Zero? Is it sensible to say, on one hand, that we've made this commitment, while saying, on the other hand, that we want developers to open fracking wells, that typically run for 20-40 years? Will fracking licenses say, "No fracking past 2050"? The Government has not provided clarity on how it will achieve Net Zero, but that matters for developers of wells.
Earthquake risk: the BGS says the earthquake risk is unpredictable, in a manner that is different from the risks from mining. Do you take a precautionary approach, as with the present rules, or do you wait for a big earthquake and only worry about it after the fact?
Climate Change: Net Zero should be reached by reducing demand, not supply. Demand being met by Qatari imports instead of domestically produced gas makes no improvement whatsoever to the climate, demand not existing does make a difference. Net zero doesn't mean zero production even post-2050.
Earthquake risk: If it were up to me, I would predominantly deal with it after the fact, but require firms involved to demonstrate appropriate liability insurance that covers that, if they're proven to cause one. If they're unable to find insurance, then they won't be able to trade, same as any other firm. If they have the relevant insurance to appropriate standards then the liability risk is covered.
I would have thought that, as a Conservative, you had some idea of how supply and demand are related.
Dealing with problems after the fact means people suffer the ill consequences and then find themselves stuck with lengthy, legalistic processes to get compensation.
Aye and supply is global. Unless you're going to ban imports, banning domestic production does absolutely nothing for the environment, it just hands our energy security to foreign states that tend to be more polluting not less.
Compensation can be lengthy, but that's what insurance is there for. Same as cars etc too. Not a reason to ban developments.
If the boss of Cuadrilla is saying fracking won't work then there's not much worry about it I'd have thought. A few exploratory wells that don't yield anything. Some humming and harring followed eventually by a restoration phase https://drillordrop.com/2019/07/10/site-restoration-underway-at-tinker-lane/
With the frackers out of pocket.
Well this is basically my thought.
If fracking isn't viable as some claim, then it won't be done. So it can be legal, but not done, what's the issue with that?
If fracking is viable, then it shouldn't be banned.
We don't need to ban that which isn't viable, just have it legal but undone by choice rather than diktat.
Fracking should be treated like mining and other resource generation - subject to sensible standards, and if we can't economically do it in this country then so be it. But if we can, it should not be forbidden.
That seems like a sensible thing to say, but it's very dependent on what being "subject to sensible standards" means. That's why there's a debate, that's what one needs to address. In particular:
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to climate change?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to the earthquake risk?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to major building projects in rural areas?
Thank you for saying its sensible and yes your questions are sensible too. My answers to your questions would be:
Climate change: Similar rules and regulations should apply to imports etc - if gas can be imported for use, it should be able to be extracted domestically, which reduces our carbon emissions it doesn't increase them.
Earthquake risk: It should have similar standards to alternative developments like seismic activity allowed to take place with regards to mining etc too.
Building projects: It should have similar standards to other forms of development.
Standards shouldn't be lower than they would be for alternatives, but they shouldn't be draconianly higher either.
Thanks for a detailed answer that generally avoids actually saying anything.
Climate change: so, what should those standards be? We're meant to be Net Zero in 28 years. It is difficult to see fracking being consistent with that. How should Government implement reaching Net Zero? Is it sensible to say, on one hand, that we've made this commitment, while saying, on the other hand, that we want developers to open fracking wells, that typically run for 20-40 years? Will fracking licenses say, "No fracking past 2050"? The Government has not provided clarity on how it will achieve Net Zero, but that matters for developers of wells.
Earthquake risk: the BGS says the earthquake risk is unpredictable, in a manner that is different from the risks from mining. Do you take a precautionary approach, as with the present rules, or do you wait for a big earthquake and only worry about it after the fact?
Climate Change: Net Zero should be reached by reducing demand, not supply. Demand being met by Qatari imports instead of domestically produced gas makes no improvement whatsoever to the climate, demand not existing does make a difference. Net zero doesn't mean zero production even post-2050.
Earthquake risk: If it were up to me, I would predominantly deal with it after the fact, but require firms involved to demonstrate appropriate liability insurance that covers that, if they're proven to cause one. If they're unable to find insurance, then they won't be able to trade, same as any other firm. If they have the relevant insurance to appropriate standards then the liability risk is covered.
I would have thought that, as a Conservative, you had some idea of how supply and demand are related.
Dealing with problems after the fact means people suffer the ill consequences and then find themselves stuck with lengthy, legalistic processes to get compensation.
Not when limits on supply are circumvented by simply importing to make up the difference. Stopping UK oil and gas production will do nothing to reduce carbon emissions if all we do is import that oil and gas instead. In fact it will increase it because of the increased transport costs and the lack of CO2 mitigation policies in the production facilities of the countries we are importing from.
Fascinating - and reassuring in a weird way - to see we’re back to the same cyclical debate about Scottish independence after the queens sad death. Even more fascinating is the constant back and forth from those pro Indy just backing the other one up.
PoliticalBetting is back indeed. Just need HFUYD to mention his tanks next
What strikes me is the mismatch between Ireland and GB, the lesson I would draw from NI seceding is Quite right, why have two different nations on one piddling little island?
The island of Timor says hi!
Grr.
Ireland is not some piddling little island, it is the 20th largest island in the world.
Anyway, there is an interesting quiz question about how many islands have de jure or de facto international borders on: I can offer:
Ireland Timor Borneo (which I think is the only island to have two borders on) Hispaniola Tierra del Fuego Cyprus
I reckon they secretly quite fancy a bit of inflation. Good way to rebalance some of the country's imbalances, particularly our ruinous levels of mortgage debt and our generational wealth gap.
As discussed previously, Scotland has a little known pene-exclave in England, the Ba Green, which can only be accessed by either walking through England or swimming the Tweed. Was lost by England to Scotland in a football match.
Meghan update. A week is a long time in the holding hands is bad > not holding hands is bad dialectic.
Can you imagine how soul destroying it must be to have to write this shit?
I think you have to be desperate to work for the Mail surely, there is no other reason you would?
It's kind of interesting how the old Fleet Street honour-among-thieves has dissipated recently.
20/30 years ago, you would almost never see national journalists doing down a journalist on another paper. Obviously there was commercial inter-paper rivalry (the Guardian ran some really vicious attack ads on the Independent), but journalists largely kept off each other. After all, you never know who's going to be interviewing you for your next career move.
That has all changed, largely I think due to Twitter. Having a good following now makes you more saleable as a journalist, and that often involves reacting to other journalists on a personal level rather than an institutional level. The MoS Angela Rayner story was a case in point - Glen Owen was absolutely pilloried by other journalists in a way he wouldn't have been in the 90s.
So yeah. These days, more than ever, there are a lot of people who wouldn't countenance working for the Mail.
41: Five members judged that a further 0.5 percentage point increase in Bank Rate to 2.25% was warranted at this meeting. For these members, a tight labour market with wage growth and domestic inflation well above target-consistent rates justified a further, forceful response from monetary policy. The impact of the Energy Price Guarantee meant that the pressure of demand relative to supply was likely to be stronger than previously expected. In the near term, the Guarantee would lower and bring forward the expected peak in CPI inflation. This should restrain expectations of above-target inflation further ahead, but was not necessarily sufficient to do so alone, given inflation would still be very high for several months. The November forecast round would provide the Committee with an opportunity to make a full assessment of the impact on demand and inflation of the Government’s fiscal announcements.
42: Three members preferred a 0.75 percentage point increase in Bank Rate to 2.5% at this meeting. For these members, recent data outturns had already registered more persistent inflationary pressures, and medium-term measures of inflation expectations had remained high. The Energy Price Guarantee, while welcome in its reduction of the near-term peak in inflation, would provide additional support to households, which would add to demand pressure. Faster policy tightening now would help to bring inflation back to the target sustainably in the medium term, and reduce the risks of a more extended and costly tightening cycle later.
43: One member preferred a 0.25 percentage point increase in Bank Rate to 2% at this meeting. For this member, recent data outturns had suggested that activity was already weakening, and the risks of second-round effects from near-term inflation were falling. On the latter, higher-than-expected services price inflation could reflect energy price or base effects in some sectors that would not persist, and wage growth across services sectors had been negatively correlated with producer price inflation in recent quarters. Set against that, there could be further pressures of demand on supply in the medium term, including from expected fiscal policy. On balance, for this member, an increase of 0.25 percentage points was appropriate at this time, although the member had also considered the case for an increase of 0.5 percentage points.
As discussed previously, Scotland has a little known pene-exclave in England, the Ba Green, which can only be accessed by either walking through England or swimming the Tweed. Was lost by England to Scotland in a football match.
Meghan update. A week is a long time in the holding hands is bad > not holding hands is bad dialectic.
Can you imagine how soul destroying it must be to have to write this shit?
I think you have to be desperate to work for the Mail surely, there is no other reason you would?
The Mail pays better than any other newspaper. And it gets more visitors than any other equivalent news website in the English language bar the NYT
The Meghan story is designed to be clicked and shared. As has been done on here multiple times. Each time you do it, the Mail gets more money for its online ads. Kerching
Muppets
You have a point.
From a slightly different angle: if a big chunk of the internet is people being stupid, another big chunk is people calling them out for being stupid, which even before it becomes obsessive is often itself stupid. Not whatever point they're making - that may be oh so sensible on paper; but the behaviour of posting it, taken in context. Sure, most people are stupid (and the internet and the smartphone make a binary planet called Stupid), but complaining about it all the effing time suggests insecurity, or in the worst case a largely wasted life. It's much healthier to look for when people say intelligent and interesting and useful stuff, which even idiots do sometimes. "Credit where it's due" beats "Stupidity-Finder General" into a cocked hat.
The internet works because it's primarily about advertising.
I was shocked by your stat about the Heil. Clearly Nye Bevan's hope for "the complete political extinction of the Tory Party" is a long way off.
"Yes Minister" didn't get to the root of the Heil when Jim Hacker said it was read by "the wives of the people who run the country".
More accurate would be to say it's the Tory party in the sewer.
Who voted for a 25bps rise? Can they show their working please...
48: Five members (Andrew Bailey, Ben Broadbent, Jon Cunliffe, Huw Pill, and Silvana Tenreyro) voted in favour of the first proposition. Three members (Jonathan Haskel, Catherine L Mann and Dave Ramsden) voted against the first proposition, preferring to increase Bank Rate by 0.75 percentage points, to 2.5%. One member (Swati Dhingra) voted against the first proposition, preferring to increase Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 2%.
I interviewed a Russian for a role today. Wasn't sure whether to go ahead but I did anyway.
Clearly keen to leave the country, but doesn't think he will be called up any time soon - there is a clear hierarchy in who goes when, and him living in Moscow no doubt helps.
Typically for his demographic, appears to have no intention of doing anything active to resist what is going on. He had ample opportunity to criticise the war and didn't (he's interviewing for a job in London for heaven's sake), but simply commented that it's all a bit depressing and he's just focusing on trying to live a happy life with his family. Didn't want to talk about "politics" because he couldn't face it.
I suspect he is pretty representative of the liberal Moscow elite right now. Depressed, but compliant. I think Putin is safe.
41: Five members judged that a further 0.5 percentage point increase in Bank Rate to 2.25% was warranted at this meeting. For these members, a tight labour market with wage growth and domestic inflation well above target-consistent rates justified a further, forceful response from monetary policy. The impact of the Energy Price Guarantee meant that the pressure of demand relative to supply was likely to be stronger than previously expected. In the near term, the Guarantee would lower and bring forward the expected peak in CPI inflation. This should restrain expectations of above-target inflation further ahead, but was not necessarily sufficient to do so alone, given inflation would still be very high for several months. The November forecast round would provide the Committee with an opportunity to make a full assessment of the impact on demand and inflation of the Government’s fiscal announcements.
42: Three members preferred a 0.75 percentage point increase in Bank Rate to 2.5% at this meeting. For these members, recent data outturns had already registered more persistent inflationary pressures, and medium-term measures of inflation expectations had remained high. The Energy Price Guarantee, while welcome in its reduction of the near-term peak in inflation, would provide additional support to households, which would add to demand pressure. Faster policy tightening now would help to bring inflation back to the target sustainably in the medium term, and reduce the risks of a more extended and costly tightening cycle later.
43: One member preferred a 0.25 percentage point increase in Bank Rate to 2% at this meeting. For this member, recent data outturns had suggested that activity was already weakening, and the risks of second-round effects from near-term inflation were falling. On the latter, higher-than-expected services price inflation could reflect energy price or base effects in some sectors that would not persist, and wage growth across services sectors had been negatively correlated with producer price inflation in recent quarters. Set against that, there could be further pressures of demand on supply in the medium term, including from expected fiscal policy. On balance, for this member, an increase of 0.25 percentage points was appropriate at this time, although the member had also considered the case for an increase of 0.5 percentage points.
If the boss of Cuadrilla is saying fracking won't work then there's not much worry about it I'd have thought. A few exploratory wells that don't yield anything. Some humming and harring followed eventually by a restoration phase https://drillordrop.com/2019/07/10/site-restoration-underway-at-tinker-lane/
With the frackers out of pocket.
Well this is basically my thought.
If fracking isn't viable as some claim, then it won't be done. So it can be legal, but not done, what's the issue with that?
If fracking is viable, then it shouldn't be banned.
We don't need to ban that which isn't viable, just have it legal but undone by choice rather than diktat.
Fracking should be treated like mining and other resource generation - subject to sensible standards, and if we can't economically do it in this country then so be it. But if we can, it should not be forbidden.
That seems like a sensible thing to say, but it's very dependent on what being "subject to sensible standards" means. That's why there's a debate, that's what one needs to address. In particular:
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to climate change?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to the earthquake risk?
What are the "sensible standards" with respect to major building projects in rural areas?
Thank you for saying its sensible and yes your questions are sensible too. My answers to your questions would be:
Climate change: Similar rules and regulations should apply to imports etc - if gas can be imported for use, it should be able to be extracted domestically, which reduces our carbon emissions it doesn't increase them.
Earthquake risk: It should have similar standards to alternative developments like seismic activity allowed to take place with regards to mining etc too.
Building projects: It should have similar standards to other forms of development.
Standards shouldn't be lower than they would be for alternatives, but they shouldn't be draconianly higher either.
Thanks for a detailed answer that generally avoids actually saying anything.
Climate change: so, what should those standards be? We're meant to be Net Zero in 28 years. It is difficult to see fracking being consistent with that. How should Government implement reaching Net Zero? Is it sensible to say, on one hand, that we've made this commitment, while saying, on the other hand, that we want developers to open fracking wells, that typically run for 20-40 years? Will fracking licenses say, "No fracking past 2050"? The Government has not provided clarity on how it will achieve Net Zero, but that matters for developers of wells.
Earthquake risk: the BGS says the earthquake risk is unpredictable, in a manner that is different from the risks from mining. Do you take a precautionary approach, as with the present rules, or do you wait for a big earthquake and only worry about it after the fact?
Climate Change: Net Zero should be reached by reducing demand, not supply. Demand being met by Qatari imports instead of domestically produced gas makes no improvement whatsoever to the climate, demand not existing does make a difference. Net zero doesn't mean zero production even post-2050.
Earthquake risk: If it were up to me, I would predominantly deal with it after the fact, but require firms involved to demonstrate appropriate liability insurance that covers that, if they're proven to cause one. If they're unable to find insurance, then they won't be able to trade, same as any other firm. If they have the relevant insurance to appropriate standards then the liability risk is covered.
People die in earthquakes, you can't just say yebbut insurance.
What do you think of wonder woman and Kokey Kwasi cutting stamp duty? Main housebuilders up 3-6% today, house prices probably the same. At last the UK s chronically low property values are being addressed.
People die in car crashes, we don't ban cars but we do mandate insurance.
0.5 Richter scale "earthquakes" are not likely to cause deaths either. Certainly not compared to plenty of other legal things like cars etc
As for cutting stamp duty, good, its a tax on mobility that I've always said should be abolished.
Driving a car and fracking. Such similar things.
Good to chalk up another topic area that Bart knows virtually nothing about but will chalk up thousands of posts opining upon.
As discussed previously, Scotland has a little known pene-exclave in England, the Ba Green, which can only be accessed by either walking through England or swimming the Tweed. Was lost by England to Scotland in a football match.
In case anyone was sceptical about the ball of orange idiocy actually having said this, the link has a clip.
Of course Biden, by not halting the Justice Department efforts to recover the documents, has quite clearly reclassified them in his mind, and as current President, his magical brain emanations take precedence.
Amongst all the posh sods speaking at the funeral, Liz Truss accent stood out - and I liked it. She’s Yorkshire alright. It’s good that common uneducated people with an accent can get right up the greasy pole in politics, it gives me hope.
What the fuck is this? Jizzy Lizzy has a PPE from Oxford and is a Chartered Accountant. How is that 'uneducated'?
Irony? LizT makes great play of having been educated at Dotheboys Hall.
One comment I read after one of her more rubbish speeches - if her Comprehensive managed to get her into Oxford it must have been a lot better than she is making out.
Or her father pulled strings, of course.
But from what I know, which may be completely wrong, it's probably the former.
That in itself raises questions about her integrity, but equally Harold Wilson played the same card most days and he was quite successful.
I went to a secondary school that dropped from seven classes in year 7 to six classes by year 10, because so many kids had been permanently excluded for violence. There would be fights in the corridor to determine who would get to sit next to me in class tests, and poke me with a compass so that I showed my answers.
I still made it to Cambridge, mostly because my Dad had gone to Cambridge, and his Dad was a graduate, and so there was an expectation at home that I would do well at school and go to university. When you told my Dad that you scored 98% on a test he'd want to know how you managed to drop 2%.
I know nothing about the school Liz Truss went to, but it's not implausible to me that she ended up at Oxford on her merits, and despite her school, and without any inappropriate influence.
It would be interesting to know whether the school you went to has improved as a consequence of the inspection regime now in place… what is the name of the school, so I can look it up?
If it's like the dump schools round here - it will be on it's 3rd name, it's 6/10th head and it's 5th Trust, having destroyed 3 of them
Which is the sort of thing that makes Truss's dissing of her school so charmless and dishonest.
And unnecessary. She could have said "I didn't go to Eton or Winchester, but my great state comprehensive and my supportive parents helped me. Not every state school does that, and that's what I want to change."
I just find it bizarre that the Truss Cabinet think fracking is the answer to everything. It's very unpopular, e.g. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/trackers/should-britain-start-extracting-shale-gas It's even more unpopular with the people in affected areas. It's not a sensible long-term solution to energy needs, unless you're a full-on climate change denialist. There's not enough that can come quickly enough to be a sensible short-term solution to the current energy crisis. It reeks of being a Hail Mary pass, as the Americans say.
I reckon they secretly quite fancy a bit of inflation. Good way to rebalance some of the country's imbalances, particularly our ruinous levels of mortgage debt and our generational wealth gap.
Isn't the general principle that it's as hard to have a little bit of inflation as it is to only eat a little bit of an enormous chocolate cake?
Amongst all the posh sods speaking at the funeral, Liz Truss accent stood out - and I liked it. She’s Yorkshire alright. It’s good that common uneducated people with an accent can get right up the greasy pole in politics, it gives me hope.
What the fuck is this? Jizzy Lizzy has a PPE from Oxford and is a Chartered Accountant. How is that 'uneducated'?
Irony? LizT makes great play of having been educated at Dotheboys Hall.
One comment I read after one of her more rubbish speeches - if her Comprehensive managed to get her into Oxford it must have been a lot better than she is making out.
Or her father pulled strings, of course.
But from what I know, which may be completely wrong, it's probably the former.
That in itself raises questions about her integrity, but equally Harold Wilson played the same card most days and he was quite successful.
I went to a secondary school that dropped from seven classes in year 7 to six classes by year 10, because so many kids had been permanently excluded for violence. There would be fights in the corridor to determine who would get to sit next to me in class tests, and poke me with a compass so that I showed my answers.
I still made it to Cambridge, mostly because my Dad had gone to Cambridge, and his Dad was a graduate, and so there was an expectation at home that I would do well at school and go to university. When you told my Dad that you scored 98% on a test he'd want to know how you managed to drop 2%.
I know nothing about the school Liz Truss went to, but it's not implausible to me that she ended up at Oxford on her merits, and despite her school, and without any inappropriate influence.
It would be interesting to know whether the school you went to has improved as a consequence of the inspection regime now in place… what is the name of the school, so I can look it up?
If it's like the dump schools round here - it will be on it's 3rd name, it's 6/10th head and it's 5th Trust, having destroyed 3 of them
Which is the sort of thing that makes Truss's dissing of her school so charmless and dishonest.
And unnecessary. She could have said "I didn't go to Eton or Winchester, but my great state comprehensive and my supportive parents helped me. Not every state school does that, and that's what I want to change."
This stuff isn't difficult to get right.
Yep. In the past, Truss’s ingratitude to her parents and teachers would have gone down like a cup of cold sick with the Tory base.
I'll repeat my anecdote from a presentation at a fracking conference some year ago:
"The cheapest shale gas in the UK will be LNG imported from the US"
That comes in at the standard wholesale price of gas. So if the existing wells (like the two in Lancashire) are to resume pumping under some form of special domestic-only deal, it will be cheaper.
I just find it bizarre that the Truss Cabinet think fracking is the answer to everything. It's very unpopular, e.g. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/trackers/should-britain-start-extracting-shale-gas It's even more unpopular with the people in affected areas. It's not a sensible long-term solution to energy needs, unless you're a full-on climate change denialist. There's not enough that can come quickly enough to be a sensible short-term solution to the current energy crisis. It reeks of being a Hail Mary pass, as the Americans say.
Diddums.
Have your mobilisation papers been served yet, comrade?
I just find it bizarre that the Truss Cabinet think fracking is the answer to everything. It's very unpopular, e.g. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/trackers/should-britain-start-extracting-shale-gas It's even more unpopular with the people in affected areas. It's not a sensible long-term solution to energy needs, unless you're a full-on climate change denialist. There's not enough that can come quickly enough to be a sensible short-term solution to the current energy crisis. It reeks of being a Hail Mary pass, as the Americans say.
Diddums.
You're almost up to the Mogg levels of argumentation. Well done.
I just find it bizarre that the Truss Cabinet think fracking is the answer to everything. It's very unpopular, e.g. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/trackers/should-britain-start-extracting-shale-gas It's even more unpopular with the people in affected areas. It's not a sensible long-term solution to energy needs, unless you're a full-on climate change denialist. There's not enough that can come quickly enough to be a sensible short-term solution to the current energy crisis. It reeks of being a Hail Mary pass, as the Americans say.
Diddums.
Here's the other fracking fan boy.
So fracking is not economically viable, damages the environment and causes earthquakes, will do nothing for the price of gas, will hinder our Carbon Zero pledges, damages people's health and is politically toxic.
But let them have a dabble anyway? They might get lucky..
Anyway, what with all the death talk around, my children asked me the other day what arrangements I had made for my own funeral. I gave them a bit of a hard stare and pointed out that I was really not old at all and that other than wanting a proper Catholic funeral (no dreary mumbling in a crematorium) and a bloody good party after it, my main wish was to have lovely flowers from my garden on my coffin.
Then Husband piped up to point out that money could be saved by using our Berlingo van to transport me. This van is utterly filthy, battered and smelly as it is used for outdoor adventures, moving belongings etc and the dog loves sleeping in it. It is a disgrace to the world of vehicles. I said very firmly that if there was any more talk of transporting me to my Maker in a shitey van, it wouldn't be my funeral we'd be arranging.
Still I have decided to become a bit fitter and lose some weight. My big problem is that I adore pasta, bread and cheese. Which I suppose are now a no-no. Porridge for breakfast for me today.
It is very dreary.
Put some honey in it - I do!
One question, if I may: what if it's winter? No flowers in the garden? (Have learnt, from practical experience as an executor, the risks of making stipulations in wills which might not be practicable whern the time comes...).
Cold storage and wait for the snowdrops ?
A friend (amateur botanist) wanted local species and it was unfortunately late autumn.
It turned out to be quite an interesting exercise for everyone trying to think of the right habitats to find something decorative or still flowering. I think we did quite a decent job in the end.
January would have been more difficult but not totally impossible.
Amongst all the posh sods speaking at the funeral, Liz Truss accent stood out - and I liked it. She’s Yorkshire alright. It’s good that common uneducated people with an accent can get right up the greasy pole in politics, it gives me hope.
What the fuck is this? Jizzy Lizzy has a PPE from Oxford and is a Chartered Accountant. How is that 'uneducated'?
Irony? LizT makes great play of having been educated at Dotheboys Hall.
One comment I read after one of her more rubbish speeches - if her Comprehensive managed to get her into Oxford it must have been a lot better than she is making out.
Or her father pulled strings, of course.
But from what I know, which may be completely wrong, it's probably the former.
That in itself raises questions about her integrity, but equally Harold Wilson played the same card most days and he was quite successful.
I went to a secondary school that dropped from seven classes in year 7 to six classes by year 10, because so many kids had been permanently excluded for violence. There would be fights in the corridor to determine who would get to sit next to me in class tests, and poke me with a compass so that I showed my answers.
I still made it to Cambridge, mostly because my Dad had gone to Cambridge, and his Dad was a graduate, and so there was an expectation at home that I would do well at school and go to university. When you told my Dad that you scored 98% on a test he'd want to know how you managed to drop 2%.
I know nothing about the school Liz Truss went to, but it's not implausible to me that she ended up at Oxford on her merits, and despite her school, and without any inappropriate influence.
It would be interesting to know whether the school you went to has improved as a consequence of the inspection regime now in place… what is the name of the school, so I can look it up?
If it's like the dump schools round here - it will be on it's 3rd name, it's 6/10th head and it's 5th Trust, having destroyed 3 of them
Which is the sort of thing that makes Truss's dissing of her school so charmless and dishonest.
And unnecessary. She could have said "I didn't go to Eton or Winchester, but my great state comprehensive and my supportive parents helped me. Not every state school does that, and that's what I want to change."
This stuff isn't difficult to get right.
Last night on linkedIn someone was commenting about the state of local schools almost being crowd management - what was surprising is that last night was the open night for one of the best schools in the area.
Then I discovered where he previously work (support staff at the best secondary school in Durham) and things started to make sense - the thing is that a lot of schools look bad but compared to other schools they are infinitely better.
I reckon they secretly quite fancy a bit of inflation. Good way to rebalance some of the country's imbalances, particularly our ruinous levels of mortgage debt and our generational wealth gap.
I agree with you.
This is what I was saying last night. The dirty little secret nobody will admit is that a bit of inflation is a good thing right now and helps address our debt levels.
But nobody will admit that, because saying that some inflation is OK, healthy even, is so politically toxic . . .
Anyway, what with all the death talk around, my children asked me the other day what arrangements I had made for my own funeral. I gave them a bit of a hard stare and pointed out that I was really not old at all and that other than wanting a proper Catholic funeral (no dreary mumbling in a crematorium) and a bloody good party after it, my main wish was to have lovely flowers from my garden on my coffin.
Then Husband piped up to point out that money could be saved by using our Berlingo van to transport me. This van is utterly filthy, battered and smelly as it is used for outdoor adventures, moving belongings etc and the dog loves sleeping in it. It is a disgrace to the world of vehicles. I said very firmly that if there was any more talk of transporting me to my Maker in a shitey van, it wouldn't be my funeral we'd be arranging.
Still I have decided to become a bit fitter and lose some weight. My big problem is that I adore pasta, bread and cheese. Which I suppose are now a no-no. Porridge for breakfast for me today.
It is very dreary.
Put some honey in it - I do!
One question, if I may: what if it's winter? No flowers in the garden? (Have learnt, from practical experience as an executor, the risks of making stipulations in wills which might not be practicable whern the time comes...).
I loathe honey. My mother put it in warm milk for my sore throats as a child. Put me right off.
I don't mind a good porridge. It is doing without pasta which is making me weep.
Winter flowers:
- sarcococca confusa or Christmas box. An unassuming green shrub with small white flowers with the most intense and gorgeous scent. - Also winter-flowering viburnum and hamamelis. - Small iris reticulata and snowdrops - And there is a Christmas flowering camellia. - Plus early flowering cherry trees - Holly
And of course citrus.
There is quite a lot growing in the garden during winter and evergreens out of which you could make a passable display.
"New homes to be built with bars in windows to prevent tall people from falling out Developers attack Housing Department over health and safety drive
Housebuilders are being forced to put steel bars across the first floor windows of new homes because civil servants believe that increasingly tall Britons are more likely to topple out and plunge to their deaths...." (£)
C'mon, Liz. Step in and say "stop being so silly".
You don't HAVE to be unpopular. Do some stuff where people say "quite right too."
Yes, the Conservative Government needs to step in and stop the mad health and safety rules being issued by... (checks notes) the Conservative Government.
They never do anything about all the silly things that are going on.
I just find it bizarre that the Truss Cabinet think fracking is the answer to everything. It's very unpopular, e.g. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/trackers/should-britain-start-extracting-shale-gas It's even more unpopular with the people in affected areas. It's not a sensible long-term solution to energy needs, unless you're a full-on climate change denialist. There's not enough that can come quickly enough to be a sensible short-term solution to the current energy crisis. It reeks of being a Hail Mary pass, as the Americans say.
Diddums.
You're almost up to the Mogg levels of argumentation. Well done.
Whining because you're not getting your way (which is what we're seeing in response to fracking) invites mockery, not counter-argument.
I'll repeat my anecdote from a presentation at a fracking conference some year ago:
"The cheapest shale gas in the UK will be LNG imported from the US"
That comes in at the standard wholesale price of gas. So if the existing wells (like the two in Lancashire) are to resume pumping under some form of special domestic-only deal, it will be cheaper.
No, UK shale gas is lots more expensive than US, that's the whole point.
Meghan update. A week is a long time in the holding hands is bad > not holding hands is bad dialectic.
Can you imagine how soul destroying it must be to have to write this shit?
I think you have to be desperate to work for the Mail surely, there is no other reason you would?
It's kind of interesting how the old Fleet Street honour-among-thieves has dissipated recently.
20/30 years ago, you would almost never see national journalists doing down a journalist on another paper. Obviously there was commercial inter-paper rivalry (the Guardian ran some really vicious attack ads on the Independent), but journalists largely kept off each other. After all, you never know who's going to be interviewing you for your next career move.
That has all changed, largely I think due to Twitter. Having a good following now makes you more saleable as a journalist, and that often involves reacting to other journalists on a personal level rather than an institutional level. The MoS Angela Rayner story was a case in point - Glen Owen was absolutely pilloried by other journalists in a way he wouldn't have been in the 90s.
So yeah. These days, more than ever, there are a lot of people who wouldn't countenance working for the Mail.
Otoh, newspapers (at least the online versions) are now quite scrupulous in crediting the rival paper they've pinched the story from.
I'll repeat my anecdote from a presentation at a fracking conference some year ago:
"The cheapest shale gas in the UK will be LNG imported from the US"
That comes in at the standard wholesale price of gas. So if the existing wells (like the two in Lancashire) are to resume pumping under some form of special domestic-only deal, it will be cheaper.
What makes you imagine gas produced here will sell at less than the market rate ?
The comment you replied to quite clearly refers to the cost of production plus transport.
I reckon they secretly quite fancy a bit of inflation. Good way to rebalance some of the country's imbalances, particularly our ruinous levels of mortgage debt and our generational wealth gap.
I agree with you.
This is what I was saying last night. The dirty little secret nobody will admit is that a bit of inflation is a good thing right now and helps address our debt levels.
But nobody will admit that, because saying that some inflation is OK, healthy even, is so politically toxic . . .
Oh inflation if controlled will solve a lot of problems.
The issue is that we've never, in the past, been able to control inflation so the end game is going to be very unpleasant for a lot of people..
Anyway, what with all the death talk around, my children asked me the other day what arrangements I had made for my own funeral. I gave them a bit of a hard stare and pointed out that I was really not old at all and that other than wanting a proper Catholic funeral (no dreary mumbling in a crematorium) and a bloody good party after it, my main wish was to have lovely flowers from my garden on my coffin.
Then Husband piped up to point out that money could be saved by using our Berlingo van to transport me. This van is utterly filthy, battered and smelly as it is used for outdoor adventures, moving belongings etc and the dog loves sleeping in it. It is a disgrace to the world of vehicles. I said very firmly that if there was any more talk of transporting me to my Maker in a shitey van, it wouldn't be my funeral we'd be arranging.
Still I have decided to become a bit fitter and lose some weight. My big problem is that I adore pasta, bread and cheese. Which I suppose are now a no-no. Porridge for breakfast for me today.
It is very dreary.
Put some honey in it - I do!
One question, if I may: what if it's winter? No flowers in the garden? (Have learnt, from practical experience as an executor, the risks of making stipulations in wills which might not be practicable whern the time comes...).
I loathe honey. My mother put it in warm milk for my sore throats as a child. Put me right off.
I don't mind a good porridge. It is doing without pasta which is making me weep.
Winter flowers:
- sarcococca confusa or Christmas box. An unassuming green shrub with small white flowers with the most intense and gorgeous scent. - Also winter-flowering viburnum and hamamelis. - Small iris reticulata and snowdrops - And there is a Christmas flowering camellia. - Plus early flowering cherry trees - Holly
And of course citrus.
There is quite a lot growing in the garden during winter and evergreens out of which you could make a passable display.
Excellent - but not, one hopes, needed for a very long time.
I reckon they secretly quite fancy a bit of inflation. Good way to rebalance some of the country's imbalances, particularly our ruinous levels of mortgage debt and our generational wealth gap.
I agree with you.
This is what I was saying last night. The dirty little secret nobody will admit is that a bit of inflation is a good thing right now and helps address our debt levels.
But nobody will admit that, because saying that some inflation is OK, healthy even, is so politically toxic . . .
Idiot cunning, Barty. It is so secret that the BoE is expressly mandated to target a positive rate of inflation. And it addresses our existing debt levels, I think the plan is to borrow a squillion quid of new inflated money?
"New homes to be built with bars in windows to prevent tall people from falling out Developers attack Housing Department over health and safety drive
Housebuilders are being forced to put steel bars across the first floor windows of new homes because civil servants believe that increasingly tall Britons are more likely to topple out and plunge to their deaths...." (£)
C'mon, Liz. Step in and say "stop being so silly".
You don't HAVE to be unpopular. Do some stuff where people say "quite right too."
Yes, the Conservative Government needs to step in and stop the mad health and safety rules being issued by... (checks notes) the Conservative Government.
What are the chances that this regulation never crossed a minister's desk first? Someone will have thought this up as a measure to potentially save a life, which is of course more important than letting people take decisions for themselves and occasionally earn a Darwin award.
It sounds like a regulation invented by someone who doesn’t know much about the modern building industry.
To start with, modern windows are generally designed and installed to be quite hard to fall out of. Plus double glazed windows used these days are damn near impossible to fall through.
Hold on. There is another corollary to this story about tall people falling out of windows.
People are getting taller. Is this because we are eating more? The flip-side being the population is also getting fatter. One lot of over-eaters become round and jolly, while the others block the light and pinch all the best jobs for themselves.
I just find it bizarre that the Truss Cabinet think fracking is the answer to everything. It's very unpopular, e.g. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/trackers/should-britain-start-extracting-shale-gas It's even more unpopular with the people in affected areas. It's not a sensible long-term solution to energy needs, unless you're a full-on climate change denialist. There's not enough that can come quickly enough to be a sensible short-term solution to the current energy crisis. It reeks of being a Hail Mary pass, as the Americans say.
Diddums.
You're almost up to the Mogg levels of argumentation. Well done.
Whining because you're not getting your way (which is what we're seeing in response to fracking) invites mockery, not counter-argument.
The left's problem with fracking, tax cuts and deregulation isn't that they won't work.
I reckon they secretly quite fancy a bit of inflation. Good way to rebalance some of the country's imbalances, particularly our ruinous levels of mortgage debt and our generational wealth gap.
I agree with you.
This is what I was saying last night. The dirty little secret nobody will admit is that a bit of inflation is a good thing right now and helps address our debt levels.
But nobody will admit that, because saying that some inflation is OK, healthy even, is so politically toxic . . .
If it is mostly imported inflation like about half of ours is then it makes things worse not better.
I'll repeat my anecdote from a presentation at a fracking conference some year ago:
"The cheapest shale gas in the UK will be LNG imported from the US"
That comes in at the standard wholesale price of gas. So if the existing wells (like the two in Lancashire) are to resume pumping under some form of special domestic-only deal, it will be cheaper.
What makes you imagine gas produced here will sell at less than the market rate ?
The comment you replied to quite clearly refers to the cost of production plus transport.
Actually the engineer on 5 live this morning who is involved in the East Midlands did say that UK fracked gas would not be on the open market but sold locally to residents
JRM is Truss's biggest mistake as there is absolutely nobody who could have been worse in that job
JRM is only Truss's biggest mistake at the moment. Granted it's a high bar to jump but I'm sure Truss and co will succeed in doing even stupider things in the near future.
Anyway, what with all the death talk around, my children asked me the other day what arrangements I had made for my own funeral. I gave them a bit of a hard stare and pointed out that I was really not old at all and that other than wanting a proper Catholic funeral (no dreary mumbling in a crematorium) and a bloody good party after it, my main wish was to have lovely flowers from my garden on my coffin.
Then Husband piped up to point out that money could be saved by using our Berlingo van to transport me. This van is utterly filthy, battered and smelly as it is used for outdoor adventures, moving belongings etc and the dog loves sleeping in it. It is a disgrace to the world of vehicles. I said very firmly that if there was any more talk of transporting me to my Maker in a shitey van, it wouldn't be my funeral we'd be arranging.
Still I have decided to become a bit fitter and lose some weight. My big problem is that I adore pasta, bread and cheese. Which I suppose are now a no-no. Porridge for breakfast for me today.
It is very dreary.
Put some honey in it - I do!
One question, if I may: what if it's winter? No flowers in the garden? (Have learnt, from practical experience as an executor, the risks of making stipulations in wills which might not be practicable whern the time comes...).
I loathe honey. My mother put it in warm milk for my sore throats as a child. Put me right off.
I don't mind a good porridge. It is doing without pasta which is making me weep...
You don't have to do without - just make it once a week only. You'll then enjoy it all the more, surely ?
I just find it bizarre that the Truss Cabinet think fracking is the answer to everything. It's very unpopular, e.g. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/trackers/should-britain-start-extracting-shale-gas It's even more unpopular with the people in affected areas. It's not a sensible long-term solution to energy needs, unless you're a full-on climate change denialist. There's not enough that can come quickly enough to be a sensible short-term solution to the current energy crisis. It reeks of being a Hail Mary pass, as the Americans say.
Diddums.
You're almost up to the Mogg levels of argumentation. Well done.
Whining because you're not getting your way (which is what we're seeing in response to fracking) invites mockery, not counter-argument.
Having seen what you consider arguments, I can understand that stance.
I reckon they secretly quite fancy a bit of inflation. Good way to rebalance some of the country's imbalances, particularly our ruinous levels of mortgage debt and our generational wealth gap.
I agree with you.
This is what I was saying last night. The dirty little secret nobody will admit is that a bit of inflation is a good thing right now and helps address our debt levels.
But nobody will admit that, because saying that some inflation is OK, healthy even, is so politically toxic . . .
Oh inflation if controlled will solve a lot of problems.
The issue is that we've never, in the past, been able to control inflation so the end game is going to be very unpleasant for a lot of people..
More importantly, it won't solve problems in a cost-free way, because everything costs someone.
For example house price inflation looks great, but utterly stiffs those who don't get on the bandwagon in time- as we're seeing.
So who wins and losses over the lifecycle of an inflationary bubble? Not just one bit of it, but the whole cycle. I dunno, to be honest. But I'd like to know so I can work out how I feel about it.
I'll repeat my anecdote from a presentation at a fracking conference some year ago:
"The cheapest shale gas in the UK will be LNG imported from the US"
That comes in at the standard wholesale price of gas. So if the existing wells (like the two in Lancashire) are to resume pumping under some form of special domestic-only deal, it will be cheaper.
What makes you imagine gas produced here will sell at less than the market rate ?
The comment you replied to quite clearly refers to the cost of production plus transport.
Actually the engineer on 5 live this morning who is involved in the East Midlands did say that UK fracked gas would not be on the open market but sold locally to residents
So is the East Midlands going to turn into the MiddleEast lands?
I reckon they secretly quite fancy a bit of inflation. Good way to rebalance some of the country's imbalances, particularly our ruinous levels of mortgage debt and our generational wealth gap.
I agree with you.
This is what I was saying last night. The dirty little secret nobody will admit is that a bit of inflation is a good thing right now and helps address our debt levels.
But nobody will admit that, because saying that some inflation is OK, healthy even, is so politically toxic . . .
It'd have been OK if the Gov't hadn't sold a whole heap of inflation linked debt.
I'll repeat my anecdote from a presentation at a fracking conference some year ago:
"The cheapest shale gas in the UK will be LNG imported from the US"
That comes in at the standard wholesale price of gas. So if the existing wells (like the two in Lancashire) are to resume pumping under some form of special domestic-only deal, it will be cheaper.
What makes you imagine gas produced here will sell at less than the market rate ?
The comment you replied to quite clearly refers to the cost of production plus transport.
Actually the engineer on 5 live this morning who is involved in the East Midlands did say that UK fracked gas would not be on the open market but sold locally to residents
Love to know how that would work - it's got to enter the network for local homes to be able to use it?
I'll repeat my anecdote from a presentation at a fracking conference some year ago:
"The cheapest shale gas in the UK will be LNG imported from the US"
That comes in at the standard wholesale price of gas. So if the existing wells (like the two in Lancashire) are to resume pumping under some form of special domestic-only deal, it will be cheaper.
What makes you imagine gas produced here will sell at less than the market rate ?
The comment you replied to quite clearly refers to the cost of production plus transport.
Actually the engineer on 5 live this morning who is involved in the East Midlands did say that UK fracked gas would not be on the open market but sold locally to residents
I'll repeat my anecdote from a presentation at a fracking conference some year ago:
"The cheapest shale gas in the UK will be LNG imported from the US"
That comes in at the standard wholesale price of gas. So if the existing wells (like the two in Lancashire) are to resume pumping under some form of special domestic-only deal, it will be cheaper.
What makes you imagine gas produced here will sell at less than the market rate ?
The comment you replied to quite clearly refers to the cost of production plus transport.
Actually the engineer on 5 live this morning who is involved in the East Midlands did say that UK fracked gas would not be on the open market but sold locally to residents
Even if the gas is sold on the open market the government will take its cut, as it always does with hydrocarbons, and could use the revenues to subsidise domestic prices, instead of having to rely on borrowing.
A Democrat win is plausible but 3/1 or 25% looks about right to me. Six weeks to go, direction of travel favours Team Biden.
In the Senate, where we need to beware of rules around nominally independent senators caucusing with Democrats, it is possible value lies with the Republicans at odds against, if you give them anything above a 50/50 chance. There used to be long prices against the Democrats (no doubt thanks to a pb tip, I'm on at 15/2) but I'm wondering if the pendulum has not swung too far the other way.
The trouble is, this might be a turn-out election rather than based on the normal fundamentals so polls on Biden's underwater approval ratings or the economy might mislead. Will anti-Trump legal moves fire up GOP voters more than overturning Roe vs Wade motivates pro-choice and presumably Democrat voters?
In an unexpected return to the thread topic, I've greened up on the Senate (admittedly to small sums only). This saves me having to obsess about American politics for the next six weeks.
Comments
To start with, modern windows are generally designed and installed to be quite hard to fall out of. Plus double glazed windows used these days are damn near impossible to fall through.
What do you think of wonder woman and Kokey Kwasi cutting stamp duty? Main housebuilders up 3-6% today, house prices probably the same. At last the UK s chronically low property values are being addressed.
If we're going to do anything sensible about climate change, the world already has more known gas reserves than is needed. Gas prices right now are very high, but (if we're going to do anything sensible about climate change) they will plummet. So, the question is, are we going to do anything sensible about climate change, or are we just pretending we will? (The aforementioned "we" needing to be answered both domestically and internationally.)
5/4:decision
An island in the north Atlantic close to Canada that is shared between Netherlands and another country (France?) – I forget its name
*googles*
That's an illustration of what makes these recent moves to drive "growth" look lacking in good faith. She's ready to make unpopular decisions, but only those decisions that will be unpopular with woke lefties. Won't go near anthing that might help along growth but would piss off her ERG backers.
Dealing with problems after the fact means people suffer the ill consequences and then find themselves stuck with lengthy, legalistic processes to get compensation.
0.5 Richter scale "earthquakes" are not likely to cause deaths either. Certainly not compared to plenty of other legal things like cars etc
As for cutting stamp duty, good, its a tax on mobility that I've always said should be abolished.
BoE bottled it again.
They have one job, ffs.
Compensation can be lengthy, but that's what insurance is there for. Same as cars etc too. Not a reason to ban developments.
Savers getting well and truly walloped.
1人: 25bps
5人: 50bps
3人: 75bps
That place shared by Germany and Denmark
Also hands both nations a second land border beyond US and Germany – future pub quiz question.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Island
Of the internal members, 4 in favour of 0.5%, 1 in favour of 0.75%
20/30 years ago, you would almost never see national journalists doing down a journalist on another paper. Obviously there was commercial inter-paper rivalry (the Guardian ran some really vicious attack ads on the Independent), but journalists largely kept off each other. After all, you never know who's going to be interviewing you for your next career move.
That has all changed, largely I think due to Twitter. Having a good following now makes you more saleable as a journalist, and that often involves reacting to other journalists on a personal level rather than an institutional level. The MoS Angela Rayner story was a case in point - Glen Owen was absolutely pilloried by other journalists in a way he wouldn't have been in the 90s.
So yeah. These days, more than ever, there are a lot of people who wouldn't countenance working for the Mail.
Viva la Inflation!
41: Five members judged that a further 0.5 percentage point increase in Bank Rate to 2.25% was warranted at this meeting. For these members, a tight labour market with wage growth and domestic inflation well above target-consistent rates justified a further, forceful response from monetary policy. The impact of the Energy Price Guarantee meant that the pressure of demand relative to supply was likely to be stronger than previously expected. In the near term, the Guarantee would lower and bring forward the expected peak in CPI inflation. This should restrain expectations of above-target inflation further ahead, but was not necessarily sufficient to do so alone, given inflation would still be very high for several months. The November forecast round would provide the Committee with an opportunity to make a full assessment of the impact on demand and inflation of the Government’s fiscal announcements.
42: Three members preferred a 0.75 percentage point increase in Bank Rate to 2.5% at this meeting. For these members, recent data outturns had already registered more persistent inflationary pressures, and medium-term measures of inflation expectations had remained high. The Energy Price Guarantee, while welcome in its reduction of the near-term peak in inflation, would provide additional support to households, which would add to demand pressure. Faster policy tightening now would help to bring inflation back to the target sustainably in the medium term, and reduce the risks of a more extended and costly tightening cycle later.
43: One member preferred a 0.25 percentage point increase in Bank Rate to 2% at this meeting. For this member, recent data outturns had suggested that activity was already weakening, and the risks of second-round effects from near-term inflation were falling. On the latter, higher-than-expected services price inflation could reflect energy price or base effects in some sectors that would not persist, and wage growth across services sectors had been negatively correlated with producer price inflation in recent quarters. Set against that, there could be further pressures of demand on supply in the medium term, including from expected fiscal policy. On balance, for this member, an increase of 0.25 percentage points was appropriate at this time, although the member had also considered the case for an increase of 0.5 percentage points.
From a slightly different angle: if a big chunk of the internet is people being stupid, another big chunk is people calling them out for being stupid, which even before it becomes obsessive is often itself stupid. Not whatever point they're making - that may be oh so sensible on paper; but the behaviour of posting it, taken in context. Sure, most people are stupid (and the internet and the smartphone make a binary planet called Stupid), but complaining about it all the effing time suggests insecurity, or in the worst case a largely wasted life. It's much healthier to look for when people say intelligent and interesting and useful stuff, which even idiots do sometimes. "Credit where it's due" beats "Stupidity-Finder General" into a cocked hat.
The internet works because it's primarily about advertising.
I was shocked by your stat about the Heil. Clearly Nye Bevan's hope for "the complete political extinction of the Tory Party" is a long way off.
"Yes Minister" didn't get to the root of the Heil when Jim Hacker said it was read by "the wives of the people who run the country".
More accurate would be to say it's the Tory party in the sewer.
Stats for English-language news brands:
Clearly keen to leave the country, but doesn't think he will be called up any time soon - there is a clear hierarchy in who goes when, and him living in Moscow no doubt helps.
Typically for his demographic, appears to have no intention of doing anything active to resist what is going on. He had ample opportunity to criticise the war and didn't (he's interviewing for a job in London for heaven's sake), but simply commented that it's all a bit depressing and he's just focusing on trying to live a happy life with his family.
Didn't want to talk about "politics" because he couldn't face it.
I suspect he is pretty representative of the liberal Moscow elite right now. Depressed, but compliant. I think Putin is safe.
Took out a car loan on Tuesday at I think 2.6% APR - I wasn't really looking at borrowing but it was completely mad not to.
Good to chalk up another topic area that Bart knows virtually nothing about but will chalk up thousands of posts opining upon.
That's beyond wrong, it's insane.
https://twitter.com/CREWcrew/status/1572770980480651266
In case anyone was sceptical about the ball of orange idiocy actually having said this, the link has a clip.
Of course Biden, by not halting the Justice Department efforts to recover the documents, has quite clearly reclassified them in his mind, and as current President, his magical brain emanations take precedence.
And unnecessary. She could have said "I didn't go to Eton or Winchester, but my great state comprehensive and my supportive parents helped me. Not every state school does that, and that's what I want to change."
This stuff isn't difficult to get right.
Ed Miliband rips into Jacob Rees-Mogg over the lifting of the fracking ban.
"We will hang this broken manifesto promise around the Tory Party's neck.... between now & the next general election"
https://twitter.com/Haggis_UK/status/1572892055134937091
The decent people have mostly left the party.
Well done.
So fracking is not economically viable, damages the environment and causes earthquakes, will do nothing for the price of gas, will hinder our Carbon Zero pledges, damages people's health and is politically toxic.
But let them have a dabble anyway? They might get lucky..
It turned out to be quite an interesting exercise for everyone trying to think of the right habitats to find something decorative or still flowering. I think we did quite a decent job in the end.
January would have been more difficult but not totally impossible.
Then I discovered where he previously work (support staff at the best secondary school in Durham) and things started to make sense - the thing is that a lot of schools look bad but compared to other schools they are infinitely better.
This is what I was saying last night. The dirty little secret nobody will admit is that a bit of inflation is a good thing right now and helps address our debt levels.
But nobody will admit that, because saying that some inflation is OK, healthy even, is so politically toxic . . .
I don't mind a good porridge. It is doing without pasta which is making me weep.
Winter flowers:
- sarcococca confusa or Christmas box. An unassuming green shrub with small white flowers with the most intense and gorgeous scent.
- Also winter-flowering viburnum and hamamelis.
- Small iris reticulata and snowdrops
- And there is a Christmas flowering camellia.
- Plus early flowering cherry trees
- Holly
And of course citrus.
There is quite a lot growing in the garden during winter and evergreens out of which you could make a passable display.
The comment you replied to quite clearly refers to the cost of production plus transport.
The issue is that we've never, in the past, been able to control inflation so the end game is going to be very unpleasant for a lot of people..
People are getting taller. Is this because we are eating more? The flip-side being the population is also getting fatter. One lot of over-eaters become round and jolly, while the others block the light and pinch all the best jobs for themselves.
It is that they might.
You'll then enjoy it all the more, surely ?
For example house price inflation looks great, but utterly stiffs those who don't get on the bandwagon in time- as we're seeing.
So who wins and losses over the lifecycle of an inflationary bubble? Not just one bit of it, but the whole cycle. I dunno, to be honest. But I'd like to know so I can work out how I feel about it.
https://ifs.org.uk/articles/governments-debt-interest-bill-june-hugely-increased-high-inflation-and-seasonal-effects
'Linkers' make up almost a quarter of total UK central government debt of £2tn.