Lack of competition leading to larger price increases.
Reliance on imports with a floating currency, means that weakness in the economy results in a weaker currency and inflation imported through the exchange rate.
Natural consequence of a large budget deficit.
In the case of food I think the supermarkets were able to keep a lid on it for a short period of time so our price rises kicked off a few (1-3) months after they did elsewhere in Europe.
I had managed to suppress the memory that @kjh wanted a fucking Panther. Now I'm livid all over again. 😡
My pleasure @Dura_Ace . I made that post just for you.
I've moved up from a Kallista to a J72 which I thought you might be a little less annoyed about.
I might look at a DeViile next and really blow your mind. I could bid for the Disney one or Oliver Reed's old car. What do you think?
I think you are going to spend a non-trivial amount of money on a miserable driving and ownership experience.
If you really must debase yourself with retro tat then why not get a Morgan? At least that will hold its value and be easier to move on once sanity dawns.
Ooh no, a Morgan is a horrible driving experience. A Caterham 7?
All cars of that type are horrible driving experiences but I've seen people go down this road many times. They don't drive the cars as much as they think they will and soon want to get rid. So you might as well just get the one with the best resale residual.
Caterhams are awful (and quite dangerous) road cars due to shit visibility, pelvis shattering ride and very short range on its eggcup sized fuel tank.
A friend had a Caterham. Terrible ride for the passenger. Written off after a disagreement with the council about where the corner was (which I guess supports your point about visibility).
You really have drunk the kool-aid these last few years.
You’d normally be supportive of wanting interest rates to go higher.
I am but I also know how badly it will fuck mortgage holders.
Liz Truss wouldn't know sound money if it bit her on the arse.
So what should the BoE do, in the face of inflation stuck higher than it should be?
There's a reason I didn't become an economist.
I'd put up interest rates until we got inflation under control, mortgage holders have had it good for the last 20 years or so with low interest rates.
Is the right answer. Economics is easy!
The BoE's remit needs reviewing. The inflation we have now isn't their doing, but the pain is that much worse due to a decade of leaving rates at near 0%. The bank's remit is to keep inflation close to 2%, but as far as I'm concerned, they should always be asking "can the economy take a small rate rise?" It doesn't matter if inflation is low, you should want to raise rates ever so slowly during the good times to reload the gun.
Instead, we've gone to 4.5% in less than a year and there's a whole generation of home owners who have never experienced anything like this.
Sunak A1 to 6. Inflation is down, immigration is down, Brexit is working, Labour doesn't support Rwanda, Sir Softie is a traitor
They are arguing about who is most anti immigration when high immigration is the implication of Brexit, which both men support. Immigration is what's keeping the economy going.
Braverman's response to this report and the work that went into it is much better evidence of her unfitness for office than asking officials about a speeding awareness course. This is the day job and she has fluffed it.
I have had a couple of trials recently when children have been describing the abuse of them by step fathers (typically, I have one with an actual father at the moment). They tend to give their evidence by what is called a joint investigative interview, which is a recorded interview with a police officer and a social worker known to them. I find the evidence really distressing and find it hard to control my anger against the perpetrator. This is not easy work.
What I would say is that there have been significant improvements both in the means of investigation and the inclination to believe children claiming of such abuse. But there is a long way to go and many of the recommendations of this report would and should help. There is often a historic element to these cases, going back a decade or so. The record keeping, interest, and diligence of those responsible a decade ago is usually terrible. Typically, it is even difficult for kids who had qualified for social work interventions to work out what house they were in or who the step father of the season was. For children who were not the recipients of such attention it can be impossible.
We so need a Home Secretary up to the task. Its been a long time and there is a lot of catching up to do.
Thanks. I note that the past is a foreign country. But it is what it is and we are where we are.
What I am unsure about in your post (and Cyclefree) is: Apart from existing systems being run competently, what changes would be helpful? And are they ones a HS can achieve, however gifted?
The summary of the objectives of the report by the NSPCC are: "improve understanding of the scale of child sexual abuse prioritise the protection of children empower children and young people create a more protective environment for children improve identification and reporting of child sexual abuse improve the criminal justice response to child sexual abuse support people who were sexually abused in childhood make amends respond to evolving challenges."
This agenda involves a huge amount of technical work and a significant change in priorities. It requires procedures for SW and the courts to be rethought. It requires a duty to report suspicions on those who deal with children. It requires coordination of the different bodies responsible so vulnerable children do not fall through the gaps. In the view of the report this requires a Children's Minister responsible for this collation and integration of material. There are certainly complicated issues regarding data protection to work through. Too often, at present, concerns are not shared.
The body responsible for this report worked on these issues for years and came up with a lot of practical solutions. The response of the Home Office seems to be to put this on the too difficult pile. Again.
@DavidL Do you think the Childrens Hearings System is better or worse than the system in the rest of the UK for protecting children?
I think it is better in that with young children offenders there is much more often a cause that needs examined and help rather than punishment. I am not sure how much training or expertise the court system has in England but these are complicated questions and a court that spends most of its time dealing with adult offenders is not likely to be best placed to deal with them. Atmosphere and mission purpose are important.
The challenges that SW face are formidable. As suggested down thread "care" is all too often yet another opportunity for abuse. I was very struck by how many of the victims of gang abuse in the north of England were apparently in "care". I have had similar cases including one in Aberdeen when a man who had sex with several under age female residents seems to have gone from one care setting to another without anyone wondering why.
I had managed to suppress the memory that @kjh wanted a fucking Panther. Now I'm livid all over again. 😡
My pleasure @Dura_Ace . I made that post just for you.
I've moved up from a Kallista to a J72 which I thought you might be a little less annoyed about.
I might look at a DeViile next and really blow your mind. I could bid for the Disney one or Oliver Reed's old car. What do you think?
I think you are going to spend a non-trivial amount of money on a miserable driving and ownership experience.
If you really must debase yourself with retro tat then why not get a Morgan? At least that will hold its value and be easier to move on once sanity dawns.
Ooh no, a Morgan is a horrible driving experience. A Caterham 7?
All cars of that type are horrible driving experiences but I've seen people go down this road many times. They don't drive the cars as much as they think they will and soon want to get rid. So you might as well just get the one with the best resale residual.
Caterhams are awful (and quite dangerous) road cars due to shit visibility, pelvis shattering ride and very short range on its eggcup sized fuel tank.
I once came across an RAF officer with his Caterham in a tree near Lossie. He didn't have a scratch on him.
No clue as to how they do this technically but clearly there must have been a non-trivial amount of work to connect up Storm Shadow to Su-24s. Must have been planned a while before it was announced!
"They" didn't do it. Poland (probably with UK and/or French help) did the Su-24 integration last year. I posted a link about it a few weeks ago but I can't find it because the Vanilla search function was built by somebody fired from Panther for incompetence.
You really have drunk the kool-aid these last few years.
You’d normally be supportive of wanting interest rates to go higher.
I am but I also know how badly it will fuck mortgage holders.
Liz Truss wouldn't know sound money if it bit her on the arse.
So what should the BoE do, in the face of inflation stuck higher than it should be?
All they can do is increase interest rates and they will continue to do so for another couple of months but timing is important. They delayed raising interest rates for far too long, then they allowed themselves to fall behind the Fed resulting in a significant amount of Sterling weakness, importing yet more inflation.
Their performance since Bailly took over has been truly lamentable. The only thing that they have got right was sorting out failing banks.
You really have drunk the kool-aid these last few years.
You’d normally be supportive of wanting interest rates to go higher.
I am but I also know how badly it will fuck mortgage holders.
Liz Truss wouldn't know sound money if it bit her on the arse.
So what should the BoE do, in the face of inflation stuck higher than it should be?
There's a reason I didn't become an economist.
I'd put up interest rates until we got inflation under control, mortgage holders have had it good for the last 20 years or so with low interest rates.
Is the right answer. Economics is easy!
The BoE's remit needs reviewing. The inflation we have now isn't their doing, but the pain is that much worse due to a decade of leaving rates at near 0%. The bank's remit is to keep inflation close to 2%, but as far as I'm concerned, they should always be asking "can the economy take a small rate rise?" It doesn't matter if inflation is low, you should want to raise rates ever so slowly during the good times to reload the gun.
Instead, we've gone to 4.5% in less than a year and there's a whole generation of home owners who have never experienced anything like this.
Yes, in an ideal world rates should have been climbing slowly up until the start of the pandemic. Even a quarter-point a year over a decade, would have made quite the difference.
The vast majority of homeowners now under 40, have never known interest rates much above zero.
Paul Waugh @paulwaugh · 16m .@BorisJohnson (who's in Las Vegas making money) asked her to delay going public. And the chair of the inquiry effectively said 'nope'
It should be noted that, based on current voting intention, Scotland is a highly marginal region. In 22 of the 59 seats called under our MRP model the leading party has a margin of less than 5%
I had managed to suppress the memory that @kjh wanted a fucking Panther. Now I'm livid all over again. 😡
My pleasure @Dura_Ace . I made that post just for you.
I've moved up from a Kallista to a J72 which I thought you might be a little less annoyed about.
I might look at a DeViile next and really blow your mind. I could bid for the Disney one or Oliver Reed's old car. What do you think?
I think you are going to spend a non-trivial amount of money on a miserable driving and ownership experience.
If you really must debase yourself with retro tat then why not get a Morgan? At least that will hold its value and be easier to move on once sanity dawns.
Ooh no, a Morgan is a horrible driving experience. A Caterham 7?
All cars of that type are horrible driving experiences but I've seen people go down this road many times. They don't drive the cars as much as they think they will and soon want to get rid. So you might as well just get the one with the best resale residual.
Caterhams are awful (and quite dangerous) road cars due to shit visibility, pelvis shattering ride and very short range on its eggcup sized fuel tank.
Ever tried an Ariel Atom V8?
Not really my sort of thing. The fastest car I've ever driven is an ex-Fisichella 2000ish F1 car. I am pretty fucking handy on four wheels but I had a hard time getting used to the staggering amount of mechanical and aero grip available.
It should be noted that, based on current voting intention, Scotland is a highly marginal region. In 22 of the 59 seats called under our MRP model the leading party has a margin of less than 5%
The head of the Wagner mercenary group has warned that the Kremlin’s catastrophic war in Ukraine could trigger a violent revolution in Russia.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said public anger over the “fat, carefree” lives of the children of the Russian elite in wartime could lead to their “villas” being stormed by ordinary people armed with “pitchforks”.
“Everything might end as in 1917, with a revolution — when first the soldiers rise up, and then their loved ones,” Prigozhin told a pro-war blogger, referring to the uprising against Tsar Nicholas II that eventually swept Vladimir Lenin into power.
During my time as CEO, I know our party has sent multiple requests for your help.
So I wanted to send you a personal note, thanking you for all the support you’ve given to our party.
Over the last twelve months, we’ve delivered more than two million leaflets, paid for several thousand social media ads, hired 40 new Campaign Managers, and won hundreds of campaigns. All of it was made possible by your generous contributions.
People often forget that political parties are utterly reliant on supporters like you. But it’s the undeniable truth.
You fund our campaigns. You fund our deliveries. You fund our advertising. You fund our research. People from all backgrounds and walks of life have come together with us because they believe in a shared vision of what Britain’s future should be.
And every single penny you donate makes that vision possible.
The Prime Minister and his team are getting on with the job of halving inflation, growing the economy, reducing debt, cutting waiting lists and stopping the boats.
And together we’re focused on Britain’s future: investing in the tech that will power our economy, recruiting the police officers who will keep us safe, hiring the doctors and nurses who will help our NHS thrive.
It’s a huge undertaking, and it wouldn’t get off the ground without people like you.
So thank you, again, for all your support. I hope we can count on it as we approach the next general election.
Yours sincerely, Stephen
--- Please do dig deep and give generously. You WILL feel better.
Didn't the Tories just receive a £5 million donation? You'd have thought they could stagger on for a short while at least without bothering you with a begging letter.
Lewis Hamilton’s £40m move to Ferrari is said to have been left up in the air following Chelsea’s last-minute attempt to hijack the deal.
With Hamilton’s Mercedes contract due to expire at the end of the year, Paddy Power News understands Chelsea chief Todd Boehly has held secret talks with the F1 driver in a bid to tempt him to move to Stamford Bridge where he will be offered the number 9 shirt and made the poster boy of the west-London club.
It should be noted that, based on current voting intention, Scotland is a highly marginal region. In 22 of the 59 seats called under our MRP model the leading party has a margin of less than 5%
Lewis Hamilton’s £40m move to Ferrari is said to have been left up in the air following Chelsea’s last-minute attempt to hijack the deal.
With Hamilton’s Mercedes contract due to expire at the end of the year, Paddy Power News understands Chelsea chief Todd Boehly has held secret talks with the F1 driver in a bid to tempt him to move to Stamford Bridge where he will be offered the number 9 shirt and made the poster boy of the west-London club.
In just the post war period we have had a gay party leader who paid a contract killer to kill his boyfriend, a rumoured party leader assassinated to put a Russian spy in Number 10, at least one low-functioning alcoholic in Cabinet, a [redacted] cabinet member pictured with cocaine and a Black lady of negotiable affection and very large booba, a [unredacted because it was Michael Gove] cabinet member who admitted whilst Minister for Justice to taking cocaine, one MP who paid a male prostitute to poo on his chest, one MP who faked his own death whilst spying for the Czechs, and god knows how many involved in child abuse. Where does one start...????
I had managed to suppress the memory that @kjh wanted a fucking Panther. Now I'm livid all over again. 😡
My pleasure @Dura_Ace . I made that post just for you.
I've moved up from a Kallista to a J72 which I thought you might be a little less annoyed about.
I might look at a DeViile next and really blow your mind. I could bid for the Disney one or Oliver Reed's old car. What do you think?
I think you are going to spend a non-trivial amount of money on a miserable driving and ownership experience.
If you really must debase yourself with retro tat then why not get a Morgan? At least that will hold its value and be easier to move on once sanity dawns.
Ooh no, a Morgan is a horrible driving experience. A Caterham 7?
All cars of that type are horrible driving experiences but I've seen people go down this road many times. They don't drive the cars as much as they think they will and soon want to get rid. So you might as well just get the one with the best resale residual.
Caterhams are awful (and quite dangerous) road cars due to shit visibility, pelvis shattering ride and very short range on its eggcup sized fuel tank.
Ever tried an Ariel Atom V8?
Not really my sort of thing. The fastest car I've ever driven is an ex-Fisichella 2000ish F1 car. I am pretty fucking handy on four wheels but I had a hard time getting used to the staggering amount of mechanical and aero grip available.
My cousin is an ex bike and car racer and had a go in a F1 Minardi and really struggled with the downforce.
What on earth is Boris Johnson (and the government) trying to hide from the Covid inquiry?
the fact he ignored the rules on an hourly basis.
the fact he was without doubt the least qualified person to be handling such things....
that his behaviour wasn't even appropriate for the clown I paint him to be....
There seems to be 24 books of notes and his whatsapp history that the panel wishes to see. I can imagine there is a lot of very embarrassing things in the Whatsapp messages that he doesn't want going anywhere near the general public and it's clear that it won't be censored enough to avoid future embarrassment.
I don’t watch PMQs, but Sunak’s core issue is that he has nothing to work with.
Pretty much everything is shit.
That's a very glass is half-empty view of the world.
Many things are shit, but many things are good - and significantly the shit things could be aimed to be better but Sunak gives no impression of wanting that.
You may not like Johnson and he certainly had his personal issues and had to go, but at least he got issues like the need for levelling up etc and came across like he had some aspiration to do better - whether it was legit or not.
Sunak just comes across as wanting to manage decline.
He's withdrawing into the core vote Tory NIMBYism and retreating from actually tackling any of the issues that need dealing with.
Any plan for improving anything has to start with an analysis of what has gone wrong with the status quo. That's not only obvious, but it also helps in terms of telling a political story to win support for your chosen reforms.
The problem Sunak has (and probably Keir too, but I haven't been paying attention) is that he has no analysis of why we aren't living in a land of milk and honey. I disagree* with the loony Brexiteers and the continuity Trussites, but they at least have a story to explain why Britain is struggling - it's "retained EU law and high taxes are holding us back".
Once you have that analysis it then points to what you will do to fix the issue, how long that will take, and what the benefits will be when the difficult work of reform has been completed. It enables you to tell voters, yes, you're struggling right now, but this is why and this is what we can do to fix it, and if that all sounds sufficiently plausible you can trust us with your vote, and give us the time to fix things.
Sunak doesn't have a plausible story.
* I think the order one problem is that the British economy is dominated by rentiers, sweating existing assets, with no need or desire to invest, but wanting to make monopoly profits from scarcity and lack of competition. If you could smash rent-seeking in the economy then you would reduce the cost of living and the cost of doing business, you would create economic space for innovative companies to prosper, and you would encourage investment in innovation over investment in rent-bearing assets.
This would lead to greater economic growth, higher tax revenues, and the means by which to repair the shattered public realm.
Well said, I wholeheartedly agree.
Its interesting how there's people on this site from both the left and right that can see this, but no politicians seem willing to tackle or even acknowledge the problem.
Rishi Sunak's spokesman seemingly completely unaware of the new "investigation" into the Teesside development the Prime Minister claimed at #pmqs has already been announced.
Lewis Hamilton’s £40m move to Ferrari is said to have been left up in the air following Chelsea’s last-minute attempt to hijack the deal.
With Hamilton’s Mercedes contract due to expire at the end of the year, Paddy Power News understands Chelsea chief Todd Boehly has held secret talks with the F1 driver in a bid to tempt him to move to Stamford Bridge where he will be offered the number 9 shirt and made the poster boy of the west-London club.
The funniest part of that is the idea that anyone would move to Ferrari given their current form, both technically and managerially.
Yes, I have often wondered what it was about a £40 million pound offer that made me switch to Ferrari. Just a whim I suppose, and a desire to help the underdog down on his luck.
The head of the Wagner mercenary group has warned that the Kremlin’s catastrophic war in Ukraine could trigger a violent revolution in Russia.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said public anger over the “fat, carefree” lives of the children of the Russian elite in wartime could lead to their “villas” being stormed by ordinary people armed with “pitchforks”.
“Everything might end as in 1917, with a revolution — when first the soldiers rise up, and then their loved ones,” Prigozhin told a pro-war blogger, referring to the uprising against Tsar Nicholas II that eventually swept Vladimir Lenin into power.
This guy is going to end up committing suicide with 8 shots from a revolver, while falling out of a window, accidentally ingesting a pound of polonium and being trampled to death by a rhino.
Very clever of the Government and their shills like Cameron to conflate tomorrow's immigration figures (which don't include boat people) with dealing with the boat people.
The head of the Wagner mercenary group has warned that the Kremlin’s catastrophic war in Ukraine could trigger a violent revolution in Russia.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said public anger over the “fat, carefree” lives of the children of the Russian elite in wartime could lead to their “villas” being stormed by ordinary people armed with “pitchforks”.
“Everything might end as in 1917, with a revolution — when first the soldiers rise up, and then their loved ones,” Prigozhin told a pro-war blogger, referring to the uprising against Tsar Nicholas II that eventually swept Vladimir Lenin into power.
This guy is going to end up committing suicide with 8 shots from a revolver, while falling out of a window, accidentally ingesting a pound of polonium and being trampled to death by a rhino.
I don’t watch PMQs, but Sunak’s core issue is that he has nothing to work with.
Pretty much everything is shit.
That's a very glass is half-empty view of the world.
Many things are shit, but many things are good - and significantly the shit things could be aimed to be better but Sunak gives no impression of wanting that.
You may not like Johnson and he certainly had his personal issues and had to go, but at least he got issues like the need for levelling up etc and came across like he had some aspiration to do better - whether it was legit or not.
Sunak just comes across as wanting to manage decline.
He's withdrawing into the core vote Tory NIMBYism and retreating from actually tackling any of the issues that need dealing with.
Any plan for improving anything has to start with an analysis of what has gone wrong with the status quo. That's not only obvious, but it also helps in terms of telling a political story to win support for your chosen reforms.
The problem Sunak has (and probably Keir too, but I haven't been paying attention) is that he has no analysis of why we aren't living in a land of milk and honey. I disagree* with the loony Brexiteers and the continuity Trussites, but they at least have a story to explain why Britain is struggling - it's "retained EU law and high taxes are holding us back".
Once you have that analysis it then points to what you will do to fix the issue, how long that will take, and what the benefits will be when the difficult work of reform has been completed. It enables you to tell voters, yes, you're struggling right now, but this is why and this is what we can do to fix it, and if that all sounds sufficiently plausible you can trust us with your vote, and give us the time to fix things.
Sunak doesn't have a plausible story.
* I think the order one problem is that the British economy is dominated by rentiers, sweating existing assets, with no need or desire to invest, but wanting to make monopoly profits from scarcity and lack of competition. If you could smash rent-seeking in the economy then you would reduce the cost of living and the cost of doing business, you would create economic space for innovative companies to prosper, and you would encourage investment in innovation over investment in rent-bearing assets.
This would lead to greater economic growth, higher tax revenues, and the means by which to repair the shattered public realm.
Well said, I wholeheartedly agree.
Its interesting how there's people on this site from both the left and right that can see this, but no politicians seem willing to tackle or even acknowledge the problem.
The problem is that this isn't just business sweating assets. It's a whole school of interests swimming together.
Lack of investment in productivity requires cheap labour which requires low skill immigration. Which some see as a good thing.
Not building anything sells as cheap, green, comfortable and keeps house price inflation roaring along. I've seen arseholes go, in consecutive sentences, from damning a government about lack of growth, to denouncing an attempt to expand an existing factory down the road.
The head of the Wagner mercenary group has warned that the Kremlin’s catastrophic war in Ukraine could trigger a violent revolution in Russia.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said public anger over the “fat, carefree” lives of the children of the Russian elite in wartime could lead to their “villas” being stormed by ordinary people armed with “pitchforks”.
“Everything might end as in 1917, with a revolution — when first the soldiers rise up, and then their loved ones,” Prigozhin told a pro-war blogger, referring to the uprising against Tsar Nicholas II that eventually swept Vladimir Lenin into power.
This guy is going to end up committing suicide with 8 shots from a revolver, while falling out of a window, accidentally ingesting a pound of polonium and being trampled to death by a rhino.
On the ceiling of his office.
Or, the next President of Russia.
Or maybe both.
There may well be an element of showing his power, by getting away with saying such stuff. Even so, gutsy moves.
The head of the Wagner mercenary group has warned that the Kremlin’s catastrophic war in Ukraine could trigger a violent revolution in Russia.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said public anger over the “fat, carefree” lives of the children of the Russian elite in wartime could lead to their “villas” being stormed by ordinary people armed with “pitchforks”.
“Everything might end as in 1917, with a revolution — when first the soldiers rise up, and then their loved ones,” Prigozhin told a pro-war blogger, referring to the uprising against Tsar Nicholas II that eventually swept Vladimir Lenin into power.
This guy is going to end up committing suicide with 8 shots from a revolver, while falling out of a window, accidentally ingesting a pound of polonium and being trampled to death by a rhino.
On the ceiling of his office.
Or, the next President of Russia.
The fact he’s still saying these things shows Putin is scared of him. He does after all command an entire militia, and is seemingly good (for now) mates with Kadyrov.
The other interesting one is the old Donetsk separatist Girkin. Constantly moaning, with seemingly no comeback, although unlike Progozhin doesn’t seem to make it personal to Putin.
I don’t watch PMQs, but Sunak’s core issue is that he has nothing to work with.
Pretty much everything is shit.
That's a very glass is half-empty view of the world.
Many things are shit, but many things are good - and significantly the shit things could be aimed to be better but Sunak gives no impression of wanting that.
You may not like Johnson and he certainly had his personal issues and had to go, but at least he got issues like the need for levelling up etc and came across like he had some aspiration to do better - whether it was legit or not.
Sunak just comes across as wanting to manage decline.
He's withdrawing into the core vote Tory NIMBYism and retreating from actually tackling any of the issues that need dealing with.
Any plan for improving anything has to start with an analysis of what has gone wrong with the status quo. That's not only obvious, but it also helps in terms of telling a political story to win support for your chosen reforms.
The problem Sunak has (and probably Keir too, but I haven't been paying attention) is that he has no analysis of why we aren't living in a land of milk and honey. I disagree* with the loony Brexiteers and the continuity Trussites, but they at least have a story to explain why Britain is struggling - it's "retained EU law and high taxes are holding us back".
Once you have that analysis it then points to what you will do to fix the issue, how long that will take, and what the benefits will be when the difficult work of reform has been completed. It enables you to tell voters, yes, you're struggling right now, but this is why and this is what we can do to fix it, and if that all sounds sufficiently plausible you can trust us with your vote, and give us the time to fix things.
Sunak doesn't have a plausible story.
* I think the order one problem is that the British economy is dominated by rentiers, sweating existing assets, with no need or desire to invest, but wanting to make monopoly profits from scarcity and lack of competition. If you could smash rent-seeking in the economy then you would reduce the cost of living and the cost of doing business, you would create economic space for innovative companies to prosper, and you would encourage investment in innovation over investment in rent-bearing assets.
This would lead to greater economic growth, higher tax revenues, and the means by which to repair the shattered public realm.
Well said, I wholeheartedly agree.
Its interesting how there's people on this site from both the left and right that can see this, but no politicians seem willing to tackle or even acknowledge the problem.
The problem is that this isn't just business sweating assets. It's a whole school of interests swimming together.
Lack of investment in productivity requires cheap labour which requires low skill immigration. Which some see as a good thing.
Not building anything sells as cheap, green, comfortable and keeps house price inflation roaring along. I've seen arseholes go, in consecutive sentences, from damning a government about lack of growth, to denouncing an attempt to expand an existing factory down the road.
Indeed. In fact its often the goto of NIMBYs they think is a winning argument "how would you feel if a factory opened near you" - perfectly happy with it thank you very much.
Too many on the right don't want anything done as they want to sweat their rent-seeking interests. And too many on the left don't want anything done as they view development as too capitalist - and many privately are happy rent-seeking too. And they all abuse green interests to further their agenda.
If Starmer is going to complain about the number of work visas issued, the honest thing to do would be to tell us which of these occupations he wants to cut numbers in: https://bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-65694352?
Lewis Hamilton’s £40m move to Ferrari is said to have been left up in the air following Chelsea’s last-minute attempt to hijack the deal.
With Hamilton’s Mercedes contract due to expire at the end of the year, Paddy Power News understands Chelsea chief Todd Boehly has held secret talks with the F1 driver in a bid to tempt him to move to Stamford Bridge where he will be offered the number 9 shirt and made the poster boy of the west-London club.
The funniest part of that is the idea that anyone would move to Ferrari given their current form, both technically and managerially.
I can imagine that Ferrari might make the offer, but can’t imagine why Lewis would accept it - unless the red cars suddenly find some pace, some reliability, and a team that doesn’t throw away wins on a regular basis.
He’s way better staying where he is and developing the car, retiring at a point of his choosing to be a Mercedes ambassador for life, as the most successful driver in history irrespective of whether or not he gets #8. There’s way more chance of that elusive title at Mercedes, than there is at Ferrari.
Boris Johnson is severing ties with the government-appointed lawyers representing him at the Covid inquiry after he was referred to police
He has lost 'confidence' in the Cabinet Office
He's going to appoint his own legal team who will be funded by the taxpayer
WTF are we paying for Bozo to have a different set of lawyers - if he wants to appoint the lawyers he should be paying for them.
“Hi Mr Johnson, Douglas Seal here, can I just shock you, I’m a big fan with loads of experience in workplace related disputes, and would be delighted to head your new legal team.”
Lewis Hamilton’s £40m move to Ferrari is said to have been left up in the air following Chelsea’s last-minute attempt to hijack the deal.
With Hamilton’s Mercedes contract due to expire at the end of the year, Paddy Power News understands Chelsea chief Todd Boehly has held secret talks with the F1 driver in a bid to tempt him to move to Stamford Bridge where he will be offered the number 9 shirt and made the poster boy of the west-London club.
The funniest part of that is the idea that anyone would move to Ferrari given their current form, both technically and managerially.
I can imagine that Ferrari might make the offer, but can’t imagine why Lewis would accept it - unless the red cars suddenly find some pace, some reliability, and a team that doesn’t throw away wins on a regular basis.
He’s way better staying where he is and developing the car, retiring at a point of his choosing to be a Mercedes ambassador for life, as the most successful driver in history irrespective of whether or not he gets #8. There’s way more chance of that elusive title at Mercedes, than there is at Ferrari.
Why are Red Bull so much quicker than everyone else right now ?
If Starmer is going to complain about the number of work visas issued, the honest thing to do would be to tell us which of these occupations he wants to cut numbers in: https://bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-65694352?
Lewis Hamilton’s £40m move to Ferrari is said to have been left up in the air following Chelsea’s last-minute attempt to hijack the deal.
With Hamilton’s Mercedes contract due to expire at the end of the year, Paddy Power News understands Chelsea chief Todd Boehly has held secret talks with the F1 driver in a bid to tempt him to move to Stamford Bridge where he will be offered the number 9 shirt and made the poster boy of the west-London club.
The funniest part of that is the idea that anyone would move to Ferrari given their current form, both technically and managerially.
I can imagine that Ferrari might make the offer, but can’t imagine why Lewis would accept it - unless the red cars suddenly find some pace, some reliability, and a team that doesn’t throw away wins on a regular basis.
He’s way better staying where he is and developing the car, retiring at a point of his choosing to be a Mercedes ambassador for life, as the most successful driver in history irrespective of whether or not he gets #8. There’s way more chance of that elusive title at Mercedes, than there is at Ferrari.
Why are Red Bull so much quicker than everyone else right now ?
If Starmer is going to complain about the number of work visas issued, the honest thing to do would be to tell us which of these occupations he wants to cut numbers in: https://bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-65694352?
What about students’ dependants? There’s been a notable upswing in the past six months.
It’s hard to look at Sunak and Suella and claim the government has control of migration. There appears to be several strategies completing at once, and I don’t believe either of them are honest and transparent.
If Starmer is going to complain about the number of work visas issued, the honest thing to do would be to tell us which of these occupations he wants to cut numbers in: https://bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-65694352?
If Starmer is going to complain about the number of work visas issued, the honest thing to do would be to tell us which of these occupations he wants to cut numbers in: https://bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-65694352?
Very true. The narrative is BS. Labour, rather than jumping on this bandwagon would be best served just to stfu. The Conservatives rolling the pitch for tomorrow's figures by conflating boats with invited economic immigration is equally cynical.
It is a narrative that was created by the Conservatives as a justification for Brexit.
If Starmer is going to complain about the number of work visas issued, the honest thing to do would be to tell us which of these occupations he wants to cut numbers in: https://bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-65694352?
If Starmer is going to complain about the number of work visas issued, the honest thing to do would be to tell us which of these occupations he wants to cut numbers in: https://bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-65694352?
What about students’ dependants? There’s been a notable upswing in the past six months.
It’s hard to look at Sunak and Suella and claim the government has control of migration. There appears to be several strategies completing at once, and I don’t believe either of them are honest and transparent.
Last week on radio they said student dependents from just India and Nigeria were 136K.
If Starmer is going to complain about the number of work visas issued, the honest thing to do would be to tell us which of these occupations he wants to cut numbers in: https://bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-65694352?
Sunak has let rip on work visas and student visa for nurses/care home workers (particularly from Nigeria and India) to break the back of the NHS waiting lists.
He's calculated this is a bigger political problem for him than high immigration. He's probably right but it might not pull across many floaters whilst also undercutting the base.
At some point he may have to go core vote or risk not getting any votes at all.
On food and diet - I am comfortably overweight. Not grossly so, but definitely have "dad bod". Since puberty I have struggled to keep my weight under control, so having a load of fat is normal. I have had spells of being able to moderate this through exercise - twice in the last 10 years I have burned off the best part of 20kgs - and then out it back on again.
I have noticed a marked change in my metabolism post-covid. This could be mid-40s malaise, but it timed in neatly with my mental health falling off the cliff summer 2020 and ending up on the happy pills.
I decided to wean myself off the skag when I moved up here 2+ years ago. My mental health has (mostly) managed without the pills, but my metabolism is completely different to what it was.
What I need to do is more exercise. And eat less. But food improves my mood when I am low, and with a heavy workload I really struggle to consistently get out into the fresh air and run / walk / cycle.
I empathise on the weight front - similar story here.
Me too. I have found that having a motivation works. I needed to get under 90kg for my Pitts Special flight and did it. Similarly I am doing the same for my next French cycle ride (although that is now in doubt and at least is really more complicated thanks to Brexit and the transporting of my bike issue, which I only found out about having organised 90% of it - sorry still can't stop ranting about this - Bastards!!).
Having said that I find losing weight easy. I am a foodie and eat and drink huge amounts so cutting it out causes me to lose weight very fast.
Rail, Ferry and rail, it will only add a few hours or so and add to the experience.
Note that easy, although that might be what I do (you can also put your bike on a van at Folkestone and use the shuttle and it is cheap).
For some odd reason TGVs don't take bikes from Calais so you have to take multiple TERs and change and you can't book bikes on a TER train so it first come first served. Previously it was train to London, Eurostar to Paris, cycle across Paris and TGV to the start point. I could do that in well under a day with little risk on missing the TGV booking (I have to book with a bike).
Now it is impossible to get to the start location in a day. The TER trains adds huge amounts of time and the risk of missing the final TGV in Paris is huge with a ferry and two TER trains and I have to pre book the bike on the TGV.
I have thought about changing the route to one I was planning for later in the year and taking the ferry from Portsmouth and going south from there. Again no go. All fast trains go to Paris anyway and TERs take an absolutely huge amount of time and need multiple changes.
I have done this stuff umpteen time before using both Eurostar and ferries from Portsmouth (when cycling in Normandy or Brittany) so I know what I am doing.
Yes I can do it, but the only safe way is to add a stop in Paris.
In the grand scheme of things this is a minor Brexit problem and for the life of me I don't see why it is, as I can put my bike unboxed on a ferry, so why not a train. But really why have we made life so difficult for ourselves. This used to work brilliantly.
Before Brexit I cycled to my local train station and was eating dinner in Bordeaux the same day. No chance now.
What is your starting point in France? Bike-Express do a 2 day run all the way to Montpellier, picking up at various points along the M1. Needs an overnight at an autoroute hotel though.
Boris Johnson is severing ties with the government-appointed lawyers representing him at the Covid inquiry after he was referred to police
He has lost 'confidence' in the Cabinet Office
He's going to appoint his own legal team who will be funded by the taxpayer
WTF are we paying for Bozo to have a different set of lawyers - if he wants to appoint the lawyers he should be paying for them.
“Hi Mr Johnson, Douglas Seal here, can I just shock you, I’m a big fan with loads of experience in workplace related disputes, and would be delighted to head your new legal team.”
I would amend your pitch slightly and add this
'I also have excellent political judgment and foresight, I was the first person who predicted the Liz Truss comeback. Excellent legal experience + excellent political antennae is a winning combination.'
Well he can, because he achieved the apotheosis of British politics, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster First Lord of the Treasury. He just cannot do politics very well.
You're in danger of getting high on your own supply, a bit like when you were pimping for Corbyn.
I'm all in favour of this. Don't think I've ever voted in a by election before (I fall within Adams patch). This is, outside Selby town itself, donkey in a blue rosette country, but it's just possible that a by election could be interesting, particularly with a right wing spoiler or two standing.
Lewis Hamilton’s £40m move to Ferrari is said to have been left up in the air following Chelsea’s last-minute attempt to hijack the deal.
With Hamilton’s Mercedes contract due to expire at the end of the year, Paddy Power News understands Chelsea chief Todd Boehly has held secret talks with the F1 driver in a bid to tempt him to move to Stamford Bridge where he will be offered the number 9 shirt and made the poster boy of the west-London club.
I'm all in favour of this. Don't think I've ever voted in a by election before (I fall within Adams patch). This is, outside Selby town itself, donkey in a blue rosette country, but it's just possible that a by election could be interesting, particularly with a right wing spoiler or two standing.
Plus Sunak loses another 3 of the nutters and trouble makers on the back benches. It's like aiming at your own foot and saying that if you don't stop I will shoot.
Boris Johnson is severing ties with the government-appointed lawyers representing him at the Covid inquiry after he was referred to police
He has lost 'confidence' in the Cabinet Office
He's going to appoint his own legal team who will be funded by the taxpayer
WTF are we paying for Bozo to have a different set of lawyers - if he wants to appoint the lawyers he should be paying for them.
I love the BBC's headline photo of Johnson for this story. Probably trying to channel Winston Churchill, but looks like a grumpy, flabby old man badly needing a haircut.
Lewis Hamilton’s £40m move to Ferrari is said to have been left up in the air following Chelsea’s last-minute attempt to hijack the deal.
With Hamilton’s Mercedes contract due to expire at the end of the year, Paddy Power News understands Chelsea chief Todd Boehly has held secret talks with the F1 driver in a bid to tempt him to move to Stamford Bridge where he will be offered the number 9 shirt and made the poster boy of the west-London club.
The funniest part of that is the idea that anyone would move to Ferrari given their current form, both technically and managerially.
I can imagine that Ferrari might make the offer, but can’t imagine why Lewis would accept it - unless the red cars suddenly find some pace, some reliability, and a team that doesn’t throw away wins on a regular basis.
He’s way better staying where he is and developing the car, retiring at a point of his choosing to be a Mercedes ambassador for life, as the most successful driver in history irrespective of whether or not he gets #8. There’s way more chance of that elusive title at Mercedes, than there is at Ferrari.
Why are Red Bull so much quicker than everyone else right now ?
A combination of the way the suspension works, and some rather magic aerodynamics under and over the car. Not easy to see, let alone replicate. Mercedes said to have a large package of upgrades this weekend though, that was supposed to have been tested last weekend.
Comments
@Steven_Swinford
·
3m
Breaking:
Boris Johnson is severing ties with the government-appointed lawyers representing him at the Covid inquiry after he was referred to police
He has lost 'confidence' in the Cabinet Office
He's going to appoint his own legal team who will be funded by the taxpayer
WTF are we paying for Bozo to have a different set of lawyers - if he wants to appoint the lawyers he should be paying for them.
Instead, we've gone to 4.5% in less than a year and there's a whole generation of home owners who have never experienced anything like this.
A farmer's questions
The challenges that SW face are formidable. As suggested down thread "care" is all too often yet another opportunity for abuse. I was very struck by how many of the victims of gang abuse in the north of England were apparently in "care". I have had similar cases including one in Aberdeen when a man who had sex with several under age female residents seems to have gone from one care setting to another without anyone wondering why.
Big defence of Boris by Leadsom. Due process must be followed.
Their performance since Bailly took over has been truly lamentable. The only thing that they have got right was sorting out failing banks.
The vast majority of homeowners now under 40, have never known interest rates much above zero.
Paul Waugh
@paulwaugh
·
16m
.@BorisJohnson
(who's in Las Vegas making money) asked her to delay going public.
And the chair of the inquiry effectively said 'nope'
https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1661286500334555136
Yevgeny Prigozhin said public anger over the “fat, carefree” lives of the children of the Russian elite in wartime could lead to their “villas” being stormed by ordinary people armed with “pitchforks”.
“Everything might end as in 1917, with a revolution — when first the soldiers rise up, and then their loved ones,” Prigozhin told a pro-war blogger, referring to the uprising against Tsar Nicholas II that eventually swept Vladimir Lenin into power.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/wagner-group-prigozhin-russia-ukraine-war-revolution-27m3crwbt
You'd have thought they could stagger on for a short while at least without bothering you with a begging letter.
Lewis Hamilton’s £40m move to Ferrari is said to have been left up in the air following Chelsea’s last-minute attempt to hijack the deal.
With Hamilton’s Mercedes contract due to expire at the end of the year, Paddy Power News understands Chelsea chief Todd Boehly has held secret talks with the F1 driver in a bid to tempt him to move to Stamford Bridge where he will be offered the number 9 shirt and made the poster boy of the west-London club.
https://news.paddypower.com/football-news/2023/05/23/chelsea-transfer-lewis-hamilton-ferrari-mercedes-satire-2023/
It wouldn't take much to see the SNP losing 6 more seats and labour winning 6 more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tylPtFMcSqQ
If a woman sleeps with 10 men she’s a slut, but if it a man does it… he’s ???
the fact he was without doubt the least qualified person to be handling such things....
that his behaviour wasn't even appropriate for the clown I paint him to be....
There seems to be 24 books of notes and his whatsapp history that the panel wishes to see. I can imagine there is a lot of very embarrassing things in the Whatsapp messages that he doesn't want going anywhere near the general public and it's clear that it won't be censored enough to avoid future embarrassment.
Its interesting how there's people on this site from both the left and right that can see this, but no politicians seem willing to tackle or even acknowledge the problem.
And the Bank of England might select a team more capable of winning the Ashes.
Adam Bienkov
@AdamBienkov
Rishi Sunak's spokesman seemingly completely unaware of the new "investigation" into the Teesside development the Prime Minister claimed at #pmqs has already been announced.
No such announcement has yet been made.
This guy is going to end up committing suicide with 8 shots from a revolver, while falling out of a window, accidentally ingesting a pound of polonium and being trampled to death by a rhino.
On the ceiling of his office.
like Cameron to conflate tomorrow's immigration figures (which don't include boat people) with dealing with the boat people.
Hats off!
Lack of investment in productivity requires cheap labour which requires low skill immigration. Which some see as a good thing.
Not building anything sells as cheap, green, comfortable and keeps house price inflation roaring along. I've seen arseholes go, in consecutive sentences, from damning a government about lack of growth, to denouncing an attempt to expand an existing factory down the road.
There may well be an element of showing his power, by getting away with saying such stuff. Even so, gutsy moves.
The other interesting one is the old Donetsk separatist Girkin. Constantly moaning, with seemingly no comeback, although unlike Progozhin doesn’t seem to make it personal to Putin.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/german-police-carry-out-nationwide-raids-against-last-generation-climate-activists/ar-AA1bCjuf?ocid=entnewsntp&cvid=82a89f318c4c48d2914b10bd437f6cb6&ei=7
Too many on the right don't want anything done as they want to sweat their rent-seeking interests. And too many on the left don't want anything done as they view development as too capitalist - and many privately are happy rent-seeking too. And they all abuse green interests to further their agenda.
https://bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-65694352?
https://twitter.com/jdportes/status/1661344617537720320?s=20
He’s way better staying where he is and developing the car, retiring at a point of his choosing to be a Mercedes ambassador for life, as the most successful driver in history irrespective of whether or not he gets #8. There’s way more chance of that elusive title at Mercedes, than there is at Ferrari.
NEW:
Boris Johnson’s allies are threatening to trigger three by-elections to damage Rishi Sunak over the new Covid police claims.
Another extraordinary escalation in the fallout from yesterday. Explicit warnings now of “action against the leadership”.
Nadine Dorries, Nigel Adams and Alok Sharma could leave their seats earlier than expected
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/05/24/boris-johnson-by-elections-covid-allegations-rishi-sunak/
There’s been a notable upswing in the past six months.
It’s hard to look at Sunak and Suella and claim the government has control of migration. There appears to be several strategies completing at once, and I don’t believe either of them are honest and transparent.
Video visionary.
https://twitter.com/MichaelWarbur17/status/1661304259785228288
It is a narrative that was created by the Conservatives as a justification for Brexit.
And
1) it's obviously going to happen
2) Rishi will still have a majority just a smaller one.
What they are good at is internal (TCS, Accenture, Infosys) politics and blame shifting.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65698529
He's calculated this is a bigger political problem for him than high immigration. He's probably right but it might not pull across many floaters whilst also undercutting the base.
At some point he may have to go core vote or risk not getting any votes at all.
'I also have excellent political judgment and foresight, I was the first person who predicted the Liz Truss comeback. Excellent legal experience + excellent political antennae is a winning combination.'
Chancellor of the Duchy of LancasterFirst Lord of the Treasury. He just cannot do politics very well.You're in danger of getting high on your own supply, a bit like when you were pimping for Corbyn.
I mean I would be utterly screwed if my messages became public.
This thread has decided to move to the House of Lords