@Peston Part of the financial squeeze on Thames Water stems from both the amount of debt on its balance sheet - some £14bn, generating a relatively high debt-to-equity or gearing ratio of 80% - and the proportion of that debt whose interest payments are linked to inflation. I've looked at the accounts of its financing company, Thames Water Utilities Finance plc. This lists 13 index-linked or inflation-proof bonds with a total value of £3.35bn, as of spring last year. Many of these bonds don't fall due for 10 or 20 years. This implies that every 1% increase in inflation is costing the company a painful £34m a year. It is possible - perhaps likely - that some of this inflation exposure is hedged. But on the basis of what's happened to UK inflation over the past 18 months, the additional annual interest cost on these bonds for the company could plausibly be £200m, a non-trivial sum for a company seeking to raise £1bn in additional equity.
£200m is a sizeable additional cost when income is fixed...
Although in general the regulator will allow income to rise with inflation, which is why issuing index-linked bonds made some sense. Of course, it only makes sense if you don't overdo it.
Let them go bust and then govt can pick it up at a discount. Shareholders can bear the risk and since many of them are foreign and do not vote it is a low risk strategy that gets assets back into UK ownership without buy-outs.
Despite the operational independence granted to the BoE, the government does appoint the governor - for a fixed term of 8(!) years, renewable once - and the 4 external members of the MPC. It has, ridiculously, appointed doves instead of hawks to both. In its decision last week there were two members of the MPC who voted for no change in the interest rate. So yes, the BoE and MPC are culpable not only for not meeting the 2% target, but not even trying to. However the Chancellor of the Exchequer is also culpable for making those appointments.
I disagree completely. It is far from clear that interest rates are going to work to fix this inflation. The idea that the economy is overheating because people have too much money sloshing around feels like a very London-centric one to me.
The real basis of this inflation is energy costs, which are woven through every price rise. No business knows how they're going to pay the bills. Wholesale energy prices may rise and fall, but energy costs to consumers and businesses are rising and rising. Can you explain how interest rate hikes are going to solve the energy crisis? Nobody has been able to come close so far.
There should be an emergency energy supply bill, with the aim of bringing new sources of energy on-stream in the coming months and years - incinerators and other such facilities need to be built *now* using special powers, not caught up in planning for years, VAT on domestic fuel should be suspended, and electricity should be decoupled from gas - it is sitting at artifically expensive levels at the moment due to the linkage. We also need long term investment in renewables like Tidal but they won't be of immediate help. That is what needs to be done to sort out inflation, not this ludicrous current policy of killing the patient to cure the disease.
Despite the operational independence granted to the BoE, the government does appoint the governor - for a fixed term of 8(!) years, renewable once - and the 4 external members of the MPC. It has, ridiculously, appointed doves instead of hawks to both. In its decision last week there were two members of the MPC who voted for no change in the interest rate. So yes, the BoE and MPC are culpable not only for not meeting the 2% target, but not even trying to. However the Chancellor of the Exchequer is also culpable for making those appointments.
I disagree completely. It is far from clear that interest rates are going to work to fix this inflation. The idea that the economy is overheating because people have too much money sloshing around feels like a very London-centric one to me.
The real basis of this inflation is energy costs, which are woven through every price rise. No business knows how they're going to pay the bills. Wholesale energy prices may rise and fall, but energy costs to consumers and businesses are rising and rising. Can you explain how interest rate hikes are going to solve the energy crisis? Nobody has been able to come close so far.
There should be an emergency energy supply bill, with the aim of bringing new sources of energy on-stream in the coming months and years - incinerators and other such facilities need to be built *now* using special powers, not caught up in planning for years, VAT on domestic fuel should be suspended, and electricity should be decoupled from gas - it is sitting at artifically expensive levels at the moment due to the linkage. We also need long term investment in renewables like Tidal but they won't be of immediate help. That is what needs to be done to sort out inflation, not this ludicrous current policy of killing the patient to cure the disease.
Another unrealistic Truss style wish list no doubt including fracking and coal mines
On topic (sort-of): I think we may need a bit of a re-evaluation of the whole question of central bank independence and inflation-targeting through interest-rate changes. Although it has become received wisdom in most developed economies that that is the right way to do it, the received wisdom hasn't really been tested in anger until now, and (in the UK at least), the results are not very encouraging.
This may be partly because changes to the structure of the mortgage market mean that interest rate rises fall very heavily on that small subset of home owners whose fixed-rate deals happen to be coming to an end, but don't immediately affect other mortgage holders, or the increased proportion of people who own their house outright. The transmission mechanism of interest-rate changes is supposed to be to tweak aggregate demand, but this is a very crude way of doing it and causes a lot of pain to the smallish number of people it hits, as well as acting very slowly compared with how it did back in 1980s when nearly all mortgages were variable-rate. (I'm simplifying slightly here, because there's also an effect on companies, but you get the idea).
However, interest rate changes are not the only way of tweaking aggregate demand, you can also do it through taxation. Maybe we should go back to considering the two together, rather than leaving central banks with the responsibility to control inflation but with only one mechanism which is slow-acting and rather arbitrary in terms of who it affects.
Yes, my mortgage free colleague notes how much prices have gone up but she's still spending like billyo. Increased income tax would have an effect to reduce consumption. One idea is to slap negative VAT on basic foodstuffs so that say an increase in all tax rates of 1p would be revenue neutral. That'd reduce aggregate demand whilst helping the most needy.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
I am old enough to remember when a British Prime Minister lost control of a speech to the CBI and thought he was addressing a kindergarten full of five year olds
It does say something that in a tightly controlled selection process the 2 best candidates CCHQ could come up with for the London mayoral race were an alleged groper and someone who wanted Trump to win the 2020 US election and thought Truss' budget was brilliant
A sample Tweet from the new favourite to be the Conservative Party's candidate for London Mayor.
Despite the operational independence granted to the BoE, the government does appoint the governor - for a fixed term of 8(!) years, renewable once - and the 4 external members of the MPC. It has, ridiculously, appointed doves instead of hawks to both. In its decision last week there were two members of the MPC who voted for no change in the interest rate. So yes, the BoE and MPC are culpable not only for not meeting the 2% target, but not even trying to. However the Chancellor of the Exchequer is also culpable for making those appointments.
I disagree completely. It is far from clear that interest rates are going to work to fix this inflation. The idea that the economy is overheating because people have too much money sloshing around feels like a very London-centric one to me.
The real basis of this inflation is energy costs, which are woven through every price rise. No business knows how they're going to pay the bills. Wholesale energy prices may rise and fall, but energy costs to consumers and businesses are rising and rising. Can you explain how interest rate hikes are going to solve the energy crisis? Nobody has been able to come close so far.
There should be an emergency energy supply bill, with the aim of bringing new sources of energy on-stream in the coming months and years - incinerators and other such facilities need to be built *now* using special powers, not caught up in planning for years, VAT on domestic fuel should be suspended, and electricity should be decoupled from gas - it is sitting at artifically expensive levels at the moment due to the linkage. We also need long term investment in renewables like Tidal but they won't be of immediate help. That is what needs to be done to sort out inflation, not this ludicrous current policy of killing the patient to cure the disease.
Another unrealistic Truss style wish list no doubt including fracking and coal mines
And how do you achieve ?
'electricity should be decoupled from gas'
So unrealistic that it's actually a Sunak Government policy, touted by Grant Shapps in 2022, but like most sensible consumer-friendly policies, under this Government it hasn't happened:
It does say something that in a tightly controlled selection process the 2 best candidates CCHQ could come up with for the London mayoral race were an alleged groper and someone who wanted Trump to win the 2020 US election and thought Truss' budget was brilliant
A sample Tweet from the new favourite to be the Conservative Party's candidate for London Mayor.
It does say something that in a tightly controlled selection process the 2 best candidates CCHQ could come up with for the London mayoral race were an alleged groper and someone who wanted Trump to win the 2020 US election and thought Truss' budget was brilliant
A sample Tweet from the new favourite to be the Conservative Party's candidate for London Mayor.
@Peston Part of the financial squeeze on Thames Water stems from both the amount of debt on its balance sheet - some £14bn, generating a relatively high debt-to-equity or gearing ratio of 80% - and the proportion of that debt whose interest payments are linked to inflation. I've looked at the accounts of its financing company, Thames Water Utilities Finance plc. This lists 13 index-linked or inflation-proof bonds with a total value of £3.35bn, as of spring last year. Many of these bonds don't fall due for 10 or 20 years. This implies that every 1% increase in inflation is costing the company a painful £34m a year. It is possible - perhaps likely - that some of this inflation exposure is hedged. But on the basis of what's happened to UK inflation over the past 18 months, the additional annual interest cost on these bonds for the company could plausibly be £200m, a non-trivial sum for a company seeking to raise £1bn in additional equity.
£200m is a sizeable additional cost when income is fixed...
Although in general the regulator will allow income to rise with inflation, which is why issuing index-linked bonds made some sense. Of course, it only makes sense if you don't overdo it.
Let them go bust and then govt can pick it up at a discount. Shareholders can bear the risk and since many of them are foreign and do not vote it is a low risk strategy that gets assets back into UK ownership without buy-outs.
Well yes surely you just let the company go bust. Tough for bond and shareholders but there's always a risk with equities and commercial debt
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
I am old enough to remember when a British Prime Minister lost control of a speech to the CBI and thought he was addressing a kindergarten full of five year olds
It does say something that in a tightly controlled selection process the 2 best candidates CCHQ could come up with for the London mayoral race were an alleged groper and someone who wanted Trump to win the 2020 US election and thought Truss' budget was brilliant
A sample Tweet from the new favourite to be the Conservative Party's candidate for London Mayor.
Time to nuke Edinburgh, actually nuke Scotland to be safe.
Like Indy, I hate spiders.
Stowaway African huntsman spider found in Edinburgh suitcase
The adventurous arachnid was discovered at a property in the Scottish capital after the resident returned from a work placement in Africa. Huntsman spiders use venom to immobilise their prey and can grow up to 30cm in leg span.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
@Peston Part of the financial squeeze on Thames Water stems from both the amount of debt on its balance sheet - some £14bn, generating a relatively high debt-to-equity or gearing ratio of 80% - and the proportion of that debt whose interest payments are linked to inflation. I've looked at the accounts of its financing company, Thames Water Utilities Finance plc. This lists 13 index-linked or inflation-proof bonds with a total value of £3.35bn, as of spring last year. Many of these bonds don't fall due for 10 or 20 years. This implies that every 1% increase in inflation is costing the company a painful £34m a year. It is possible - perhaps likely - that some of this inflation exposure is hedged. But on the basis of what's happened to UK inflation over the past 18 months, the additional annual interest cost on these bonds for the company could plausibly be £200m, a non-trivial sum for a company seeking to raise £1bn in additional equity.
£200m is a sizeable additional cost when income is fixed...
Although in general the regulator will allow income to rise with inflation, which is why issuing index-linked bonds made some sense. Of course, it only makes sense if you don't overdo it.
Let them go bust and then govt can pick it up at a discount. Shareholders can bear the risk and since many of them are foreign and do not vote it is a low risk strategy that gets assets back into UK ownership without buy-outs.
Well yes surely you just let the company go bust. Tough for bond and shareholders but there's always a risk with equities and commercial debt
Government intervention needs to be restricted to the maintainance of service. If the underlying company is bust, then the shareholders are wiped out, and someone will pick up the pieces.
Time to nuke Edinburgh, actually nuke Scotland to be safe.
Like Indy, I hate spiders.
Stowaway African huntsman spider found in Edinburgh suitcase
The adventurous arachnid was discovered at a property in the Scottish capital after the resident returned from a work placement in Africa. Huntsman spiders use venom to immobilise their prey and can grow up to 30cm in leg span.
Despite the operational independence granted to the BoE, the government does appoint the governor - for a fixed term of 8(!) years, renewable once - and the 4 external members of the MPC. It has, ridiculously, appointed doves instead of hawks to both. In its decision last week there were two members of the MPC who voted for no change in the interest rate. So yes, the BoE and MPC are culpable not only for not meeting the 2% target, but not even trying to. However the Chancellor of the Exchequer is also culpable for making those appointments.
I disagree completely. It is far from clear that interest rates are going to work to fix this inflation. The idea that the economy is overheating because people have too much money sloshing around feels like a very London-centric one to me.
The real basis of this inflation is energy costs, which are woven through every price rise. No business knows how they're going to pay the bills. Wholesale energy prices may rise and fall, but energy costs to consumers and businesses are rising and rising. Can you explain how interest rate hikes are going to solve the energy crisis? Nobody has been able to come close so far.
There should be an emergency energy supply bill, with the aim of bringing new sources of energy on-stream in the coming months and years - incinerators and other such facilities need to be built *now* using special powers, not caught up in planning for years, VAT on domestic fuel should be suspended, and electricity should be decoupled from gas - it is sitting at artifically expensive levels at the moment due to the linkage. We also need long term investment in renewables like Tidal but they won't be of immediate help. That is what needs to be done to sort out inflation, not this ludicrous current policy of killing the patient to cure the disease.
Another unrealistic Truss style wish list no doubt including fracking and coal mines
And how do you achieve ?
'electricity should be decoupled from gas'
So unrealistic that it's actually a Sunak Government policy, touted by Grant Shapps in 2022, but like most sensible consumer-friendly policies, under this Government it hasn't happened:
Time to nuke Edinburgh, actually nuke Scotland to be safe.
Like Indy, I hate spiders.
Stowaway African huntsman spider found in Edinburgh suitcase
The adventurous arachnid was discovered at a property in the Scottish capital after the resident returned from a work placement in Africa. Huntsman spiders use venom to immobilise their prey and can grow up to 30cm in leg span.
Time to nuke Edinburgh, actually nuke Scotland to be safe.
Like Indy, I hate spiders.
Stowaway African huntsman spider found in Edinburgh suitcase
The adventurous arachnid was discovered at a property in the Scottish capital after the resident returned from a work placement in Africa. Huntsman spiders use venom to immobilise their prey and can grow up to 30cm in leg span.
Time to nuke Edinburgh, actually nuke Scotland to be safe.
Like Indy, I hate spiders.
Stowaway African huntsman spider found in Edinburgh suitcase
The adventurous arachnid was discovered at a property in the Scottish capital after the resident returned from a work placement in Africa. Huntsman spiders use venom to immobilise their prey and can grow up to 30cm in leg span.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Can I just shoot thwart down right here and now if it is directed at me
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Can I just shoot thwart down right here and now if it is directed at me
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
On topic (sort-of): I think we may need a bit of a re-evaluation of the whole question of central bank independence and inflation-targeting through interest-rate changes. Although it has become received wisdom in most developed economies that that is the right way to do it, the received wisdom hasn't really been tested in anger until now, and (in the UK at least), the results are not very encouraging.
This may be partly because changes to the structure of the mortgage market mean that interest rate rises fall very heavily on that small subset of home owners whose fixed-rate deals happen to be coming to an end, but don't immediately affect other mortgage holders, or the increased proportion of people who own their house outright. The transmission mechanism of interest-rate changes is supposed to be to tweak aggregate demand, but this is a very crude way of doing it and causes a lot of pain to the smallish number of people it hits, as well as acting very slowly compared with how it did back in 1980s when nearly all mortgages were variable-rate. (I'm simplifying slightly here, because there's also an effect on companies, but you get the idea).
However, interest rate changes are not the only way of tweaking aggregate demand, you can also do it through taxation. Maybe we should go back to considering the two together, rather than leaving central banks with the responsibility to control inflation but with only one mechanism which is slow-acting and rather arbitrary in terms of who it affects.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Can I just shoot thwart down right here and now if it is directed at me
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
What else are we to assume?
In your mind, but the idea Joe Biden's gaffes should not be reported is absurd and anyway it is being reported not only by Sky but other news media because in case you hadn't noticed journalists like these 'gotcha' moments
@Peston Part of the financial squeeze on Thames Water stems from both the amount of debt on its balance sheet - some £14bn, generating a relatively high debt-to-equity or gearing ratio of 80% - and the proportion of that debt whose interest payments are linked to inflation. I've looked at the accounts of its financing company, Thames Water Utilities Finance plc. This lists 13 index-linked or inflation-proof bonds with a total value of £3.35bn, as of spring last year. Many of these bonds don't fall due for 10 or 20 years. This implies that every 1% increase in inflation is costing the company a painful £34m a year. It is possible - perhaps likely - that some of this inflation exposure is hedged. But on the basis of what's happened to UK inflation over the past 18 months, the additional annual interest cost on these bonds for the company could plausibly be £200m, a non-trivial sum for a company seeking to raise £1bn in additional equity.
£200m is a sizeable additional cost when income is fixed...
Although in general the regulator will allow income to rise with inflation, which is why issuing index-linked bonds made some sense. Of course, it only makes sense if you don't overdo it.
Let them go bust and then govt can pick it up at a discount. Shareholders can bear the risk and since many of them are foreign and do not vote it is a low risk strategy that gets assets back into UK ownership without buy-outs.
Well yes surely you just let the company go bust. Tough for bond and shareholders but there's always a risk with equities and commercial debt
Government intervention needs to be restricted to the maintainance of service. If the underlying company is bust, then the shareholders are wiped out, and someone will pick up the pieces.
Yes. The Govt. It is clear these utilities should be put back in public ownership again.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
I am old enough to remember when a British Prime Minister lost control of a speech to the CBI and thought he was addressing a kindergarten full of five year olds
He is no longer in office or indeed an mp
In the style of Donald Trump and his bid for a second turn as POTUS, Johnson harbours ambitions for a Churchillian return to Downing Street.
It does say something that in a tightly controlled selection process the 2 best candidates CCHQ could come up with for the London mayoral race were an alleged groper and someone who wanted Trump to win the 2020 US election and thought Truss' budget was brilliant
A sample Tweet from the new favourite to be the Conservative Party's candidate for London Mayor.
The Tories have given up on London, and London has given up on them. It’s a truly pathetic showing.
Tonight's Standard front page:
Question to which the answer is yes.
Red Wall theory meant the Conservatives becoming the party of older people, retired homeowners, curtain twitchers and people who resent That There London.
To be clear, I'm not saying that they're all bad people, but a party that moulds itself in their image isn't going to get anywhere in our capital city.
Either something changes, or they lose their toeholds in Zone Six; I give it a decade. Every "Sold" sign in my street is 2 votes off the Conservative score and 2 onto Labour's.
No, let’s not reverse Central Bank independence. If the results are not impressive now, they sure as hell weren’t before-hand.
Two points:
1. I agree that the transmission of interest rates into the homebuying economy doesn’t work as well anymore. But that’s a fix to investigate, not a wholesale surrender of independence.
2. The government has a role too, and not just in keeping public sector wages down. The government is stoking inflation with the triple lock, and refuses to look at supply side (market) reform. Evidence is growing that at least some of this inflation is price gouging. Too many sectors in the UK run as effective oligopolies.
Good challenge. I think it should be reviewed though.
The current policy is going to totally whack people in their 30s and 40s with families and leave pensioners entirely unscathed.
The Tories can't seem to stop themselves from doing this. And they sort of have to keep doing it now they've boxed themselves into a corner with only this group left willing to vote for them.
Time to nuke Edinburgh, actually nuke Scotland to be safe.
Like Indy, I hate spiders.
Stowaway African huntsman spider found in Edinburgh suitcase
The adventurous arachnid was discovered at a property in the Scottish capital after the resident returned from a work placement in Africa. Huntsman spiders use venom to immobilise their prey and can grow up to 30cm in leg span.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Can I just shoot thwart down right here and now if it is directed at me
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
What else are we to assume?
In your mind, but the idea Joe Biden's gaffes should not be reported is absurd and anyway it is being reported not only by Sky but other news media because in case you hadn't noticed journalists like these 'gotcha' moments
Sure, but do you take all your cues from journalists? If they jumped off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, would you follow suit?
By repeating this stuff, you play into the right wing populist idea that Biden is too senile for the role.
I’m concerned by your obvious haste to report the news. Do you think Biden is senile?
News is 24/7 and quoting media reports on here is part of the fabric of this forum
As far as Jo is concerned, we are similar in age and yes, as you age, forgetfulness becomes more common but no I do not believe he is senile anymore than I am - you need to be less sensitive
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Can I just shoot thwart down right here and now if it is directed at me
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
What else are we to assume?
In your mind, but the idea Joe Biden's gaffes should not be reported is absurd and anyway it is being reported not only by Sky but other news media because in case you hadn't noticed journalists like these 'gotcha' moments
Sure, but do you take all your cues from journalists? If they jumped off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, would you follow suit?
By repeating this stuff, you play into the right wing populist idea that Biden is too senile for the role.
To be fair, plenty of Democrats have the same concerns.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Can I just shoot thwart down right here and now if it is directed at me
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
In order to assist, here is the main point verbatim... "The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate"
I then pointed out that "They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him." because when the side of the political spectrum you support puts forward a demagogue it must be difficult and embarrassing.
Thames Water: wipe out the shareholders and take into government ownership.
Issue a bond - available to UK taxpayers only - to fund the long-term shit cleaning exercise.
'Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System' are their biggest shareholder. I doubt they are a greatly mercenary bunch. However equity holders are likely to be the most at risk anyway, and that's entirely right.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Can I just shoot thwart down right here and now if it is directed at me
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
What else are we to assume?
In your mind, but the idea Joe Biden's gaffes should not be reported is absurd and anyway it is being reported not only by Sky but other news media because in case you hadn't noticed journalists like these 'gotcha' moments
Sure, but do you take all your cues from journalists? If they jumped off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, would you follow suit?
By repeating this stuff, you play into the right wing populist idea that Biden is too senile for the role.
So you seem to want to censor the news media if it upsets you and certainly you are being far too sensitive in this case
No, let’s not reverse Central Bank independence. If the results are not impressive now, they sure as hell weren’t before-hand.
Two points:
1. I agree that the transmission of interest rates into the homebuying economy doesn’t work as well anymore. But that’s a fix to investigate, not a wholesale surrender of independence.
2. The government has a role too, and not just in keeping public sector wages down. The government is stoking inflation with the triple lock, and refuses to look at supply side (market) reform. Evidence is growing that at least some of this inflation is price gouging. Too many sectors in the UK run as effective oligopolies.
Good challenge. I think it should be reviewed though.
The current policy is going to totally whack people in their 30s and 40s with families and leave pensioners entirely unscathed.
The Tories can't seem to stop themselves from doing this. And they sort of have to keep doing it now they've boxed themselves into a corner with only this group left willing to vote for them.
I am in the same boat, essentially. I have a mortgage - two, actually - back in the UK. It will affect my financial decisions here in the US, and ironically may keep me here longer as it is easier to cover with a dollar income.
I agree it’s v unfair. I just don’t agree with throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
US inflation is at 3% because his predecessors made big bets on fracking and implemented other sensible micro policies, growth is the highest in the G7 because the government is running completely unsustainable budget deficits, Russia is in steep decline because it spectacularly shot itself in both feet and the stomach, and his spending caused the debt ceiling crisis which he took the financial system to the brink to resolve. I notice you don't mention the Afghan disaster.
As I've said on here before, he outlived his usefulness the day he got rid of Trump. He should have appointed a decent VP and relinquished the job to him the next day. Instead of which, he's so obviously passed it that there's a real possibility he might lose to the Donald next year.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
I am old enough to remember when a British Prime Minister lost control of a speech to the CBI and thought he was addressing a kindergarten full of five year olds
He is no longer in office or indeed an mp
In the style of Donald Trump and his bid for a second turn as POTUS, Johnson harbours ambitions for a Churchillian return to Downing Street.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
US inflation is at 3% because his predecessors made big bets on fracking and implemented other sensible micro policies, growth is the highest in the G7 because the government is running completely unsustainable budget deficits, Russia is in steep decline because it spectacularly shot itself in both feet and the stomach, and his spending caused the debt ceiling crisis which he took the financial system to the brink to resolve. I notice you don't mention the Afghan disaster.
As I've said on here before, he outlived his usefulness the day he got rid of Trump. He should have appointed a decent VP and relinquished the job to him the next day. Instead of which, he's so obviously passed it that there's a real possibility he might lose to the Donald next year.
I didn’t mention the Afghan disaster. Agree on that. I also didn’t mention the modest reindustrialisation we are seeing as the result of the Inflation Reduction Act etc.
If interest rates were still 0.5%, a rational person or company would load up on debt to spend now, given the expectations that prices will increase far quicker than the cost of your borrowing.
No action would have further stoked inflation and the wage price spiral we're already seeing.
Government policy this parliament, particularly the energy subsidy to everyone regardless of need and the tripe lock, have made inflation worse and the BoE's job harder.
Now they're screwed because pre-election tax breaks are inflationary as well, so they have no room for manoeuvre.
It does say something that in a tightly controlled selection process the 2 best candidates CCHQ could come up with for the London mayoral race were an alleged groper and someone who wanted Trump to win the 2020 US election and thought Truss' budget was brilliant
A sample Tweet from the new favourite to be the Conservative Party's candidate for London Mayor.
The Tories have given up on London, and London has given up on them. It’s a truly pathetic showing.
Tonight's Standard front page:
Question to which the answer is yes.
Red Wall theory meant the Conservatives becoming the party of older people, retired homeowners, curtain twitchers and people who resent That There London.
To be clear, I'm not saying that they're all bad people, but a party that moulds itself in their image isn't going to get anywhere in our capital city.
Either something changes, or they lose their toeholds in Zone Six; I give it a decade. Every "Sold" sign in my street is 2 votes off the Conservative score and 2 onto Labour's.
And yet Shaun Bailey still managed 45% on the runoff. If the Tories have given up on London (and the quality of their candidates is sub-Brian Rose, suggesting they have), they are stupid to have done so.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Can I just shoot thwart down right here and now if it is directed at me
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
What else are we to assume?
In your mind, but the idea Joe Biden's gaffes should not be reported is absurd and anyway it is being reported not only by Sky but other news media because in case you hadn't noticed journalists like these 'gotcha' moments
Sure, but do you take all your cues from journalists? If they jumped off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, would you follow suit?
By repeating this stuff, you play into the right wing populist idea that Biden is too senile for the role.
Do you expect some sort of polite omerta to be applied to Joe Biden's dribblings? If everyone ignores it, will it help him win another term and see it out?
It does say something that in a tightly controlled selection process the 2 best candidates CCHQ could come up with for the London mayoral race were an alleged groper and someone who wanted Trump to win the 2020 US election and thought Truss' budget was brilliant
A sample Tweet from the new favourite to be the Conservative Party's candidate for London Mayor.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Can I just shoot thwart down right here and now if it is directed at me
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
What else are we to assume?
In your mind, but the idea Joe Biden's gaffes should not be reported is absurd and anyway it is being reported not only by Sky but other news media because in case you hadn't noticed journalists like these 'gotcha' moments
Sure, but do you take all your cues from journalists? If they jumped off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, would you follow suit?
By repeating this stuff, you play into the right wing populist idea that Biden is too senile for the role.
To be fair, plenty of Democrats have the same concerns.
It’s Democrats with the biggest concerns. There’s a different faux pas every week at the moment, and they need to find someone who can survive an election campaign against a Republican.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Can I just shoot thwart down right here and now if it is directed at me
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
In order to assist, here is the main point verbatim... "The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate"
I then pointed out that "They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him." because when the side of the political spectrum you support puts forward a demagogue it must be difficult and embarrassing.
Not for me it isn't - Biden v Trump is 100% Biden support from me, indeed I do not support the US republicans anyway
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Can I just shoot thwart down right here and now if it is directed at me
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
What else are we to assume?
In your mind, but the idea Joe Biden's gaffes should not be reported is absurd and anyway it is being reported not only by Sky but other news media because in case you hadn't noticed journalists like these 'gotcha' moments
Sure, but do you take all your cues from journalists? If they jumped off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, would you follow suit?
By repeating this stuff, you play into the right wing populist idea that Biden is too senile for the role.
To be fair, plenty of Democrats have the same concerns.
It’s Democrats with the biggest concerns. There’s a different faux pas every week at the moment, and they need to find someone who can survive an election campaign against a Republican.
Although at the moment it looks like there's not going to be a Republican candidate and it will be a rematch against the orange haired loon.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Can I just shoot thwart down right here and now if it is directed at me
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
What else are we to assume?
In your mind, but the idea Joe Biden's gaffes should not be reported is absurd and anyway it is being reported not only by Sky but other news media because in case you hadn't noticed journalists like these 'gotcha' moments
Sure, but do you take all your cues from journalists? If they jumped off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, would you follow suit?
By repeating this stuff, you play into the right wing populist idea that Biden is too senile for the role.
Do you expect some sort of polite omerta to be applied to Joe Biden's dribblings? If everyone ignores it, will it help him win another term and see it out?
No I don’t expect omertà. I just think it’s trivia. Wake me up if he starts talking to lampposts or something.
No, let’s not reverse Central Bank independence. If the results are not impressive now, they sure as hell weren’t before-hand.
Two points:
1. I agree that the transmission of interest rates into the homebuying economy doesn’t work as well anymore. But that’s a fix to investigate, not a wholesale surrender of independence.
2. The government has a role too, and not just in keeping public sector wages down. The government is stoking inflation with the triple lock, and refuses to look at supply side (market) reform. Evidence is growing that at least some of this inflation is price gouging. Too many sectors in the UK run as effective oligopolies.
Central bank independence in the way it was implemented in the UK is one of the worst examples of post-democratic hubris. You can't depoliticise something as fundamental as monetary policy without it undermining democratic government.
Have we discussed the final new parliamentary boundaries for Westminster which have been released today?
So far I have noticed some changes from the revised boundaries published at the end of last year in Wales around Swansea - there are some in North Wales. as well.
Time to nuke Edinburgh, actually nuke Scotland to be safe.
Like Indy, I hate spiders.
Stowaway African huntsman spider found in Edinburgh suitcase
The adventurous arachnid was discovered at a property in the Scottish capital after the resident returned from a work placement in Africa. Huntsman spiders use venom to immobilise their prey and can grow up to 30cm in leg span.
How the hell do you get a massive spider in your suitcase by accident? A huntsman isn’t your regular house spider, it’s the size of a dinner plate!
This was a small one, only some 10cm across.
As someone who once zipped up a suitcase containing a cat, I would think its actually easy to contain a spider with realising it
One of Schrödinger’s lesser publicised experiments.
Hehe well when we opened the suitcase he was more pissed that we had disturbed his catnap under all the clothes...luckily we were only moving home and not going abroad
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Can I just shoot thwart down right here and now if it is directed at me
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
What else are we to assume?
In your mind, but the idea Joe Biden's gaffes should not be reported is absurd and anyway it is being reported not only by Sky but other news media because in case you hadn't noticed journalists like these 'gotcha' moments
Sure, but do you take all your cues from journalists? If they jumped off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, would you follow suit?
By repeating this stuff, you play into the right wing populist idea that Biden is too senile for the role.
Do you expect some sort of polite omerta to be applied to Joe Biden's dribblings? If everyone ignores it, will it help him win another term and see it out?
No I don’t expect omertà. I just think it’s trivia. Wake me up if he starts talking to lampposts or something.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
I am old enough to remember when a British Prime Minister lost control of a speech to the CBI and thought he was addressing a kindergarten full of five year olds
He is no longer in office or indeed an mp
In the style of Donald Trump and his bid for a second turn as POTUS, Johnson harbours ambitions for a Churchillian return to Downing Street.
Does he need WW3 to act as an enabler?
Probably. But he also needs to spend at least ten years warning an ungrateful country about the impending dangers. So we are probably safe enough, at least from Boris.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
Joe is so confused, US inflation is at 3%, growth is the highest in the G7, Russia is in steep decline, the debt ceiling crisis dissipated, etc etc.
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you. I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
The PB Tories must always support the more right-wing candidate. They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him.
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Can I just shoot thwart down right here and now if it is directed at me
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
What else are we to assume?
In your mind, but the idea Joe Biden's gaffes should not be reported is absurd and anyway it is being reported not only by Sky but other news media because in case you hadn't noticed journalists like these 'gotcha' moments
Sure, but do you take all your cues from journalists? If they jumped off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, would you follow suit?
By repeating this stuff, you play into the right wing populist idea that Biden is too senile for the role.
Do you expect some sort of polite omerta to be applied to Joe Biden's dribblings? If everyone ignores it, will it help him win another term and see it out?
No I don’t expect omertà. I just think it’s trivia. Wake me up if he starts talking to lampposts or something.
If that was my dad I'd have had a word with my siblings and googled a couple of nursing homes by now. I desperately want him to retire gracefully in favour of a younger and fitter Trump-beater.
Time to nuke Edinburgh, actually nuke Scotland to be safe.
Like Indy, I hate spiders.
Stowaway African huntsman spider found in Edinburgh suitcase
The adventurous arachnid was discovered at a property in the Scottish capital after the resident returned from a work placement in Africa. Huntsman spiders use venom to immobilise their prey and can grow up to 30cm in leg span.
It does say something that in a tightly controlled selection process the 2 best candidates CCHQ could come up with for the London mayoral race were an alleged groper and someone who wanted Trump to win the 2020 US election and thought Truss' budget was brilliant
A sample Tweet from the new favourite to be the Conservative Party's candidate for London Mayor.
The Tories have given up on London, and London has given up on them. It’s a truly pathetic showing.
Tonight's Standard front page:
Question to which the answer is yes.
Red Wall theory meant the Conservatives becoming the party of older people, retired homeowners, curtain twitchers and people who resent That There London.
To be clear, I'm not saying that they're all bad people, but a party that moulds itself in their image isn't going to get anywhere in our capital city.
Either something changes, or they lose their toeholds in Zone Six; I give it a decade. Every "Sold" sign in my street is 2 votes off the Conservative score and 2 onto Labour's.
And yet Shaun Bailey still managed 45% on the runoff. If the Tories have given up on London (and the quality of their candidates is sub-Brian Rose, suggesting they have), they are stupid to have done so.
The decline is dramatic. It seems to be a combination of Brexit and demographics.
The now labour controlled Westminster Council are voting to become a 'Council of sanctuary' to refugees.
No, let’s not reverse Central Bank independence. If the results are not impressive now, they sure as hell weren’t before-hand.
Two points:
1. I agree that the transmission of interest rates into the homebuying economy doesn’t work as well anymore. But that’s a fix to investigate, not a wholesale surrender of independence.
2. The government has a role too, and not just in keeping public sector wages down. The government is stoking inflation with the triple lock, and refuses to look at supply side (market) reform. Evidence is growing that at least some of this inflation is price gouging. Too many sectors in the UK run as effective oligopolies.
Central bank independence in the way it was implemented in the UK is one of the worst examples of post-democratic hubris. You can't depoliticise something as fundamental as monetary policy without it undermining democratic government.
It’s pretty much the global standard (central bank independence).
It’s open for debate but the previous regime was shit.
@Peston Part of the financial squeeze on Thames Water stems from both the amount of debt on its balance sheet - some £14bn, generating a relatively high debt-to-equity or gearing ratio of 80% - and the proportion of that debt whose interest payments are linked to inflation. I've looked at the accounts of its financing company, Thames Water Utilities Finance plc. This lists 13 index-linked or inflation-proof bonds with a total value of £3.35bn, as of spring last year. Many of these bonds don't fall due for 10 or 20 years. This implies that every 1% increase in inflation is costing the company a painful £34m a year. It is possible - perhaps likely - that some of this inflation exposure is hedged. But on the basis of what's happened to UK inflation over the past 18 months, the additional annual interest cost on these bonds for the company could plausibly be £200m, a non-trivial sum for a company seeking to raise £1bn in additional equity.
£200m is a sizeable additional cost when income is fixed...
Although in general the regulator will allow income to rise with inflation, which is why issuing index-linked bonds made some sense. Of course, it only makes sense if you don't overdo it.
Let them go bust and then govt can pick it up at a discount. Shareholders can bear the risk and since many of them are foreign and do not vote it is a low risk strategy that gets assets back into UK ownership without buy-outs.
Warning to foreign shareholders. Your investment can be fucked, instead of providing guaranteed dividends at the expense of your “customers “.
On topic (sort-of): I think we may need a bit of a re-evaluation of the whole question of central bank independence and inflation-targeting through interest-rate changes. Although it has become received wisdom in most developed economies that that is the right way to do it, the received wisdom hasn't really been tested in anger until now, and (in the UK at least), the results are not very encouraging.
This may be partly because changes to the structure of the mortgage market mean that interest rate rises fall very heavily on that small subset of home owners whose fixed-rate deals happen to be coming to an end, but don't immediately affect other mortgage holders, or the increased proportion of people who own their house outright. The transmission mechanism of interest-rate changes is supposed to be to tweak aggregate demand, but this is a very crude way of doing it and causes a lot of pain to the smallish number of people it hits, as well as acting very slowly compared with how it did back in 1980s when nearly all mortgages were variable-rate. (I'm simplifying slightly here, because there's also an effect on companies, but you get the idea).
However, interest rate changes are not the only way of tweaking aggregate demand, you can also do it through taxation. Maybe we should go back to considering the two together, rather than leaving central banks with the responsibility to control inflation but with only one mechanism which is slow-acting and rather arbitrary in terms of who it affects.
If your mortgage is fixed, someone is still paying the price of higher interest rates: depositors and/or bank shareholders. And the impact on businesses seems to work pretty well in forcing frothier sectors like tech to pull heavily back on speculative investments that were only justifiable at zero per cent.
Not sure a temporary tax hike of a few per cent would do the same, even if Sunak would conceivably do it.
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
I am old enough to remember when a British Prime Minister lost control of a speech to the CBI and thought he was addressing a kindergarten full of five year olds
He is no longer in office or indeed an mp
In the style of Donald Trump and his bid for a second turn as POTUS, Johnson harbours ambitions for a Churchillian return to Downing Street.
Does he need WW3 to act as an enabler?
Probably. But he also needs to spend at least ten years warning an ungrateful country about the impending dangers. So we are probably safe enough, at least from Boris.
Well then, I should have enough time to put the kettle on for a cup of tea
It does say something that in a tightly controlled selection process the 2 best candidates CCHQ could come up with for the London mayoral race were an alleged groper and someone who wanted Trump to win the 2020 US election and thought Truss' budget was brilliant
A sample Tweet from the new favourite to be the Conservative Party's candidate for London Mayor.
The Tories have given up on London, and London has given up on them. It’s a truly pathetic showing.
Tonight's Standard front page:
Question to which the answer is yes.
Red Wall theory meant the Conservatives becoming the party of older people, retired homeowners, curtain twitchers and people who resent That There London.
To be clear, I'm not saying that they're all bad people, but a party that moulds itself in their image isn't going to get anywhere in our capital city.
Either something changes, or they lose their toeholds in Zone Six; I give it a decade. Every "Sold" sign in my street is 2 votes off the Conservative score and 2 onto Labour's.
And yet Shaun Bailey still managed 45% on the runoff. If the Tories have given up on London (and the quality of their candidates is sub-Brian Rose, suggesting they have), they are stupid to have done so.
That was in May 2021, peak Vaccine Hero Boris, though. It needed a strong candidate (Boris) against a distinctly shopworn one (old Ken) and a favourable national picture for the wins in 2008 and 2012 to happen. And London and the Conservatives have moved apart since then.
The Conservatives ought to be at least competitive in London, for the health of democracy if nothing else. But that requires compromises that they're currently prepared to make.
It does say something that in a tightly controlled selection process the 2 best candidates CCHQ could come up with for the London mayoral race were an alleged groper and someone who wanted Trump to win the 2020 US election and thought Truss' budget was brilliant
A sample Tweet from the new favourite to be the Conservative Party's candidate for London Mayor.
The Tories have given up on London, and London has given up on them. It’s a truly pathetic showing.
Tonight's Standard front page:
Question to which the answer is yes.
Red Wall theory meant the Conservatives becoming the party of older people, retired homeowners, curtain twitchers and people who resent That There London.
To be clear, I'm not saying that they're all bad people, but a party that moulds itself in their image isn't going to get anywhere in our capital city.
Either something changes, or they lose their toeholds in Zone Six; I give it a decade. Every "Sold" sign in my street is 2 votes off the Conservative score and 2 onto Labour's.
And yet Shaun Bailey still managed 45% on the runoff. If the Tories have given up on London (and the quality of their candidates is sub-Brian Rose, suggesting they have), they are stupid to have done so.
Yes, there have been six Mayoral elections, and Labour has won three and lost three, yet CCHQ has convinced itself that Sadiq Khan is invincible. They'd similarly given up on Wales and Scotland until they won a few (although by that time they'd also started down the gerrymandering route).
No, let’s not reverse Central Bank independence. If the results are not impressive now, they sure as hell weren’t before-hand.
Two points:
1. I agree that the transmission of interest rates into the homebuying economy doesn’t work as well anymore. But that’s a fix to investigate, not a wholesale surrender of independence.
2. The government has a role too, and not just in keeping public sector wages down. The government is stoking inflation with the triple lock, and refuses to look at supply side (market) reform. Evidence is growing that at least some of this inflation is price gouging. Too many sectors in the UK run as effective oligopolies.
Central bank independence in the way it was implemented in the UK is one of the worst examples of post-democratic hubris. You can't depoliticise something as fundamental as monetary policy without it undermining democratic government.
It’s pretty much the global standard (central bank independence).
It’s open for debate but the previous regime was shit.
The current regime is also shit.
It'd help if the Bank took a balanced overview of inflation, but by obsessing over just CPI and not considering what they mistakenly class as "assets" the economy has become truly unbalanced and any correction is going to be very painful - and is very necessary too.
Balanced overviews of the economy is what the Chancellor is supposed to have.
No, let’s not reverse Central Bank independence. If the results are not impressive now, they sure as hell weren’t before-hand.
Two points:
1. I agree that the transmission of interest rates into the homebuying economy doesn’t work as well anymore. But that’s a fix to investigate, not a wholesale surrender of independence.
2. The government has a role too, and not just in keeping public sector wages down. The government is stoking inflation with the triple lock, and refuses to look at supply side (market) reform. Evidence is growing that at least some of this inflation is price gouging. Too many sectors in the UK run as effective oligopolies.
Central bank independence in the way it was implemented in the UK is one of the worst examples of post-democratic hubris. You can't depoliticise something as fundamental as monetary policy without it undermining democratic government.
It’s pretty much the global standard (central bank independence).
It’s open for debate but the previous regime was shit.
If it were genuine independence that wouldn't be so bad, but giving them a narrow technocratic remit is the worst of both worlds.
@Peston Part of the financial squeeze on Thames Water stems from both the amount of debt on its balance sheet - some £14bn, generating a relatively high debt-to-equity or gearing ratio of 80% - and the proportion of that debt whose interest payments are linked to inflation. I've looked at the accounts of its financing company, Thames Water Utilities Finance plc. This lists 13 index-linked or inflation-proof bonds with a total value of £3.35bn, as of spring last year. Many of these bonds don't fall due for 10 or 20 years. This implies that every 1% increase in inflation is costing the company a painful £34m a year. It is possible - perhaps likely - that some of this inflation exposure is hedged. But on the basis of what's happened to UK inflation over the past 18 months, the additional annual interest cost on these bonds for the company could plausibly be £200m, a non-trivial sum for a company seeking to raise £1bn in additional equity.
£200m is a sizeable additional cost when income is fixed...
Although in general the regulator will allow income to rise with inflation, which is why issuing index-linked bonds made some sense. Of course, it only makes sense if you don't overdo it.
Let them go bust and then govt can pick it up at a discount. Shareholders can bear the risk and since many of them are foreign and do not vote it is a low risk strategy that gets assets back into UK ownership without buy-outs.
Warning to foreign shareholders. Your investment can be fucked, instead of providing guaranteed dividends at the expense of your “customers “.
It does say something that in a tightly controlled selection process the 2 best candidates CCHQ could come up with for the London mayoral race were an alleged groper and someone who wanted Trump to win the 2020 US election and thought Truss' budget was brilliant
A sample Tweet from the new favourite to be the Conservative Party's candidate for London Mayor.
The Tories have given up on London, and London has given up on them. It’s a truly pathetic showing.
Tonight's Standard front page:
Question to which the answer is yes.
Red Wall theory meant the Conservatives becoming the party of older people, retired homeowners, curtain twitchers and people who resent That There London.
To be clear, I'm not saying that they're all bad people, but a party that moulds itself in their image isn't going to get anywhere in our capital city.
Either something changes, or they lose their toeholds in Zone Six; I give it a decade. Every "Sold" sign in my street is 2 votes off the Conservative score and 2 onto Labour's.
And yet Shaun Bailey still managed 45% on the runoff. If the Tories have given up on London (and the quality of their candidates is sub-Brian Rose, suggesting they have), they are stupid to have done so.
Yes, there have been six Mayoral elections, and Labour has won three and lost three, yet CCHQ has convinced itself that Sadiq Khan is invincible. They'd similarly given up on Wales and Scotland until they won a few (although by that time they'd also started down the gerrymandering route).
In the Tories ideal world, there would be a Scotland, Wales and London constituency, a few other constituencies around England, and a multi member Castle Point constituency electing 600 MPs.
@Peston Part of the financial squeeze on Thames Water stems from both the amount of debt on its balance sheet - some £14bn, generating a relatively high debt-to-equity or gearing ratio of 80% - and the proportion of that debt whose interest payments are linked to inflation. I've looked at the accounts of its financing company, Thames Water Utilities Finance plc. This lists 13 index-linked or inflation-proof bonds with a total value of £3.35bn, as of spring last year. Many of these bonds don't fall due for 10 or 20 years. This implies that every 1% increase in inflation is costing the company a painful £34m a year. It is possible - perhaps likely - that some of this inflation exposure is hedged. But on the basis of what's happened to UK inflation over the past 18 months, the additional annual interest cost on these bonds for the company could plausibly be £200m, a non-trivial sum for a company seeking to raise £1bn in additional equity.
£200m is a sizeable additional cost when income is fixed...
Although in general the regulator will allow income to rise with inflation, which is why issuing index-linked bonds made some sense. Of course, it only makes sense if you don't overdo it.
Let them go bust and then govt can pick it up at a discount. Shareholders can bear the risk and since many of them are foreign and do not vote it is a low risk strategy that gets assets back into UK ownership without buy-outs.
Warning to foreign shareholders. Your investment can be fucked, instead of providing guaranteed dividends at the expense of your “customers “.
No, let’s not reverse Central Bank independence. If the results are not impressive now, they sure as hell weren’t before-hand.
Two points:
1. I agree that the transmission of interest rates into the homebuying economy doesn’t work as well anymore. But that’s a fix to investigate, not a wholesale surrender of independence.
2. The government has a role too, and not just in keeping public sector wages down. The government is stoking inflation with the triple lock, and refuses to look at supply side (market) reform. Evidence is growing that at least some of this inflation is price gouging. Too many sectors in the UK run as effective oligopolies.
Central bank independence in the way it was implemented in the UK is one of the worst examples of post-democratic hubris. You can't depoliticise something as fundamental as monetary policy without it undermining democratic government.
Tax is even more fundamental but HMRC is operationally independent. They each get a mission, do it without interference, and report to government on how they are doing it.
@Peston Part of the financial squeeze on Thames Water stems from both the amount of debt on its balance sheet - some £14bn, generating a relatively high debt-to-equity or gearing ratio of 80% - and the proportion of that debt whose interest payments are linked to inflation. I've looked at the accounts of its financing company, Thames Water Utilities Finance plc. This lists 13 index-linked or inflation-proof bonds with a total value of £3.35bn, as of spring last year. Many of these bonds don't fall due for 10 or 20 years. This implies that every 1% increase in inflation is costing the company a painful £34m a year. It is possible - perhaps likely - that some of this inflation exposure is hedged. But on the basis of what's happened to UK inflation over the past 18 months, the additional annual interest cost on these bonds for the company could plausibly be £200m, a non-trivial sum for a company seeking to raise £1bn in additional equity.
£200m is a sizeable additional cost when income is fixed...
Although in general the regulator will allow income to rise with inflation, which is why issuing index-linked bonds made some sense. Of course, it only makes sense if you don't overdo it.
Let them go bust and then govt can pick it up at a discount. Shareholders can bear the risk and since many of them are foreign and do not vote it is a low risk strategy that gets assets back into UK ownership without buy-outs.
Warning to foreign shareholders. Your investment can be fucked, instead of providing guaranteed dividends at the expense of your “customers “.
No, let’s not reverse Central Bank independence. If the results are not impressive now, they sure as hell weren’t before-hand.
Two points:
1. I agree that the transmission of interest rates into the homebuying economy doesn’t work as well anymore. But that’s a fix to investigate, not a wholesale surrender of independence.
2. The government has a role too, and not just in keeping public sector wages down. The government is stoking inflation with the triple lock, and refuses to look at supply side (market) reform. Evidence is growing that at least some of this inflation is price gouging. Too many sectors in the UK run as effective oligopolies.
Central bank independence in the way it was implemented in the UK is one of the worst examples of post-democratic hubris. You can't depoliticise something as fundamental as monetary policy without it undermining democratic government.
Tax is even more fundamental but HMRC is operationally independent. They each get a mission, do it without interference, and report to government on how they are doing it.
False equivalence.
HMRC don't determine tax rates, the Chancellor does.
Danny Beales 🇺🇦🇬🇧 @DannyBeales I’m delighted that an incoming Labour government will deliver a new, state-of-the-art hospital for Hillingdon in the first term.
Let’s end this Conservative dither and delay.
Vote for change. Vote Labour on Thursday 20 July.
. . . . . .
@LuckyBigMuzzer Because the freaking Tories gave it the go ahead can’t claim this one matey
No, let’s not reverse Central Bank independence. If the results are not impressive now, they sure as hell weren’t before-hand.
Two points:
1. I agree that the transmission of interest rates into the homebuying economy doesn’t work as well anymore. But that’s a fix to investigate, not a wholesale surrender of independence.
2. The government has a role too, and not just in keeping public sector wages down. The government is stoking inflation with the triple lock, and refuses to look at supply side (market) reform. Evidence is growing that at least some of this inflation is price gouging. Too many sectors in the UK run as effective oligopolies.
Central bank independence in the way it was implemented in the UK is one of the worst examples of post-democratic hubris. You can't depoliticise something as fundamental as monetary policy without it undermining democratic government.
Tax is even more fundamental but HMRC is operationally independent. They each get a mission, do it without interference, and report to government on how they are doing it.
That might be a valid comparison if HMRC set its own tax rates.
It does say something that in a tightly controlled selection process the 2 best candidates CCHQ could come up with for the London mayoral race were an alleged groper and someone who wanted Trump to win the 2020 US election and thought Truss' budget was brilliant
A sample Tweet from the new favourite to be the Conservative Party's candidate for London Mayor.
The Tories have given up on London, and London has given up on them. It’s a truly pathetic showing.
Tonight's Standard front page:
Question to which the answer is yes.
Red Wall theory meant the Conservatives becoming the party of older people, retired homeowners, curtain twitchers and people who resent That There London.
To be clear, I'm not saying that they're all bad people, but a party that moulds itself in their image isn't going to get anywhere in our capital city.
Either something changes, or they lose their toeholds in Zone Six; I give it a decade. Every "Sold" sign in my street is 2 votes off the Conservative score and 2 onto Labour's.
And yet Shaun Bailey still managed 45% on the runoff. If the Tories have given up on London (and the quality of their candidates is sub-Brian Rose, suggesting they have), they are stupid to have done so.
That was in May 2021, peak Vaccine Hero Boris, though. It needed a strong candidate (Boris) against a distinctly shopworn one (old Ken) and a favourable national picture for the wins in 2008 and 2012 to happen. And London and the Conservatives have moved apart since then.
The Conservatives ought to be at least competitive in London, for the health of democracy if nothing else. But that requires compromises that they're currently prepared to make.
I don’t think the fundamentals have shifted that much, demographically/attitudinally speaking. It’s only a couple of years ago. The Tories have left London, rather than vice versa. A decent, centrist candidate (Rory Stewart or similar) ought to have a chance against a heavily shopworn Khan next time round.
No, let’s not reverse Central Bank independence. If the results are not impressive now, they sure as hell weren’t before-hand.
Two points:
1. I agree that the transmission of interest rates into the homebuying economy doesn’t work as well anymore. But that’s a fix to investigate, not a wholesale surrender of independence.
2. The government has a role too, and not just in keeping public sector wages down. The government is stoking inflation with the triple lock, and refuses to look at supply side (market) reform. Evidence is growing that at least some of this inflation is price gouging. Too many sectors in the UK run as effective oligopolies.
Central bank independence in the way it was implemented in the UK is one of the worst examples of post-democratic hubris. You can't depoliticise something as fundamental as monetary policy without it undermining democratic government.
Tax is even more fundamental but HMRC is operationally independent. They each get a mission, do it without interference, and report to government on how they are doing it.
That might be a valid comparison if HMRC set its own tax rates.
The policy is the tax rate and the inflation target, each set by politicians. The operational details are up to the agency, and for the BoE it could be interest rates or other things. But the interest rate is not the aim of monetary policy; prices are; rates are fundamentally an operational tool.
No, let’s not reverse Central Bank independence. If the results are not impressive now, they sure as hell weren’t before-hand.
Two points:
1. I agree that the transmission of interest rates into the homebuying economy doesn’t work as well anymore. But that’s a fix to investigate, not a wholesale surrender of independence.
2. The government has a role too, and not just in keeping public sector wages down. The government is stoking inflation with the triple lock, and refuses to look at supply side (market) reform. Evidence is growing that at least some of this inflation is price gouging. Too many sectors in the UK run as effective oligopolies.
Central bank independence in the way it was implemented in the UK is one of the worst examples of post-democratic hubris. You can't depoliticise something as fundamental as monetary policy without it undermining democratic government.
Tax is even more fundamental but HMRC is operationally independent. They each get a mission, do it without interference, and report to government on how they are doing it.
That might be a valid comparison if HMRC set its own tax rates.
The policy is the tax rate and the inflation target, each set by politicians. The operational details are up to the agency, and for the BoE it could be interest rates or other things. But the interest rate is not the aim of monetary policy; prices are; rates are fundamentally an operational tool.
Not equivalent. The Chancellor chooses the rate in one but not the other.
Equivalence would be if the Chancellor told HMRC how much money he wanted them to raise in taxes (inflation target) and then HMRC independently changed tax rates without a Budget and without recourse to Parliament.
It does say something that in a tightly controlled selection process the 2 best candidates CCHQ could come up with for the London mayoral race were an alleged groper and someone who wanted Trump to win the 2020 US election and thought Truss' budget was brilliant
A sample Tweet from the new favourite to be the Conservative Party's candidate for London Mayor.
The Tories have given up on London, and London has given up on them. It’s a truly pathetic showing.
Tonight's Standard front page:
Question to which the answer is yes.
Red Wall theory meant the Conservatives becoming the party of older people, retired homeowners, curtain twitchers and people who resent That There London.
To be clear, I'm not saying that they're all bad people, but a party that moulds itself in their image isn't going to get anywhere in our capital city.
Either something changes, or they lose their toeholds in Zone Six; I give it a decade. Every "Sold" sign in my street is 2 votes off the Conservative score and 2 onto Labour's.
And yet Shaun Bailey still managed 45% on the runoff. If the Tories have given up on London (and the quality of their candidates is sub-Brian Rose, suggesting they have), they are stupid to have done so.
That was in May 2021, peak Vaccine Hero Boris, though. It needed a strong candidate (Boris) against a distinctly shopworn one (old Ken) and a favourable national picture for the wins in 2008 and 2012 to happen. And London and the Conservatives have moved apart since then.
The Conservatives ought to be at least competitive in London, for the health of democracy if nothing else. But that requires compromises that they're currently prepared to make.
I don’t think the fundamentals have shifted that much, demographically/attitudinally speaking. It’s only a couple of years ago. The Tories have left London, rather than vice versa. A decent, centrist candidate (Rory Stewart or similar) ought to have a chance against a heavily shopworn Khan next time round.
London is, however, very very far from most of the electorate. The Tories would win back a lot of places before they won back London.
Though it is worth considering why the Tories struggle so much in the Big Smoke. And the clear reason is housing affordability. People who don't own property just see their place in the economy in a fundamentally different way. Thatcher got this but nobody else on the right has done since.
The greater the gap between population growth and housing growth, the worse off the Tories will be. London is a vision of the future if the Tories don't get a grip on immigration and housebuilding.
No, let’s not reverse Central Bank independence. If the results are not impressive now, they sure as hell weren’t before-hand.
Two points:
1. I agree that the transmission of interest rates into the homebuying economy doesn’t work as well anymore. But that’s a fix to investigate, not a wholesale surrender of independence.
2. The government has a role too, and not just in keeping public sector wages down. The government is stoking inflation with the triple lock, and refuses to look at supply side (market) reform. Evidence is growing that at least some of this inflation is price gouging. Too many sectors in the UK run as effective oligopolies.
Central bank independence in the way it was implemented in the UK is one of the worst examples of post-democratic hubris. You can't depoliticise something as fundamental as monetary policy without it undermining democratic government.
It’s pretty much the global standard (central bank independence).
It’s open for debate but the previous regime was shit.
Problem is, it was given independence when the country was awash with money due to the end of the Cold War and the start of globalisation. These days globalisation is in retreat, Russia's an enemy again and inflation is going up because wars make resources pricey. The old rules don't apply any more. We need to stop pulling levers and looking surprised when they don't work.
No, let’s not reverse Central Bank independence. If the results are not impressive now, they sure as hell weren’t before-hand.
Two points:
1. I agree that the transmission of interest rates into the homebuying economy doesn’t work as well anymore. But that’s a fix to investigate, not a wholesale surrender of independence.
2. The government has a role too, and not just in keeping public sector wages down. The government is stoking inflation with the triple lock, and refuses to look at supply side (market) reform. Evidence is growing that at least some of this inflation is price gouging. Too many sectors in the UK run as effective oligopolies.
Central bank independence in the way it was implemented in the UK is one of the worst examples of post-democratic hubris. You can't depoliticise something as fundamental as monetary policy without it undermining democratic government.
It’s pretty much the global standard (central bank independence).
It’s open for debate but the previous regime was shit.
The current regime is also shit.
It'd help if the Bank took a balanced overview of inflation, but by obsessing over just CPI and not considering what they mistakenly class as "assets" the economy has become truly unbalanced and any correction is going to be very painful - and is very necessary too.
Balanced overviews of the economy is what the Chancellor is supposed to have.
They should be NGDP targeting.
Also, they should use COVID style bank account payments to increase inflation and interest rate rises to decrease inflation. Would get households to save more and also help income redistribution.
Comments
Putin is losing the war in Iraq’, says Biden in latest gaffe
The real basis of this inflation is energy costs, which are woven through every price rise. No business knows how they're going to pay the bills. Wholesale energy prices may rise and fall, but energy costs to consumers and businesses are rising and rising. Can you explain how interest rate hikes are going to solve the energy crisis? Nobody has been able to come close so far.
There should be an emergency energy supply bill, with the aim of bringing new sources of energy on-stream in the coming months and years - incinerators and other such facilities need to be built *now* using special powers, not caught up in planning for years, VAT on domestic fuel should be suspended, and electricity should be decoupled from gas - it is sitting at artifically expensive levels at the moment due to the linkage. We also need long term investment in renewables like Tidal but they won't be of immediate help. That is what needs to be done to sort out inflation, not this ludicrous current policy of killing the patient to cure the disease.
And how do you achieve ?
'electricity should be decoupled from gas'
The Joe is senile meme is frankly beneath you.
I urge you once more to stop reading Guido.
OK…
A sample Tweet from the new favourite to be the Conservative Party's candidate for London Mayor.
https://twitter.com/ChairmanMoet/status/1674115740754903042
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-ivanka-naked-sexism-miles-taylor-book-nyt-anonymous-1809187
https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/1010304/government-to-lay-out-plans-to-decouple-gas-and-electricity-prices-1010304.html
It is like Casino's posts urging us all to vote Tory because the alternative is too awful to contemplate (for them, at least. I am not remotely bothered)
Biden says Putin 'losing war in Iraq' in latest mishap
Vladimir Putin carried out a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 - 19 years after the US and its allies invaded Iraq in 2003.
Niamh Lynch
Sky News reporter @niamhielynch
Wednesday 28 June 2023 18:52, UK
Do you think Biden is senile?
Issue a bond - available to UK taxpayers only - to fund the long-term shit cleaning exercise.
I abhor Trump and everything he stands for and have consistently said so
Joe Biden is prone to gaffes and the idea that if someone mentions another of his gaffes it is a de facto comment in support of Trump is frankly ridiculous
Question to which the answer is yes.
Red Wall theory meant the Conservatives becoming the party of older people, retired homeowners, curtain twitchers and people who resent That There London.
To be clear, I'm not saying that they're all bad people, but a party that moulds itself in their image isn't going to get anywhere in our capital city.
Either something changes, or they lose their toeholds in Zone Six; I give it a decade. Every "Sold" sign in my street is 2 votes off the Conservative score and 2 onto Labour's.
The current policy is going to totally whack people in their 30s and 40s with families and leave pensioners entirely unscathed.
The Tories can't seem to stop themselves from doing this. And they sort of have to keep doing it now they've boxed themselves into a corner with only this group left willing to vote for them.
If they jumped off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, would you follow suit?
By repeating this stuff, you play into the right wing populist idea that Biden is too senile for the role.
As far as Jo is concerned, we are similar in age and yes, as you age, forgetfulness becomes more common but no I do not believe he is senile anymore than I am - you need to be less sensitive
I then pointed out that "They are merely lucky that, at the moment, the GOP option is not Trump or else they would have to publicly admit that they support him." because when the side of the political spectrum you support puts forward a demagogue it must be difficult and embarrassing.
I have a mortgage - two, actually - back in the UK.
It will affect my financial decisions here in the US, and ironically may keep me here longer as it is easier to cover with a dollar income.
I agree it’s v unfair.
I just don’t agree with throwing the baby out with the bath water.
As I've said on here before, he outlived his usefulness the day he got rid of Trump. He should have appointed a decent VP and relinquished the job to him the next day. Instead of which, he's so obviously passed it that there's a real possibility he might lose to the Donald next year.
Aussie 0 retired hurt
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English batsman 6 no
England win by 6 runs
I also didn’t mention the modest reindustrialisation we are seeing as the result of the Inflation Reduction Act etc.
Administratively, he seems very successful.
No action would have further stoked inflation and the wage price spiral we're already seeing.
Government policy this parliament, particularly the energy subsidy to everyone regardless of need and the tripe lock, have made inflation worse and the BoE's job harder.
Now they're screwed because pre-election tax breaks are inflationary as well, so they have no room for manoeuvre.
England win by 10 wickets.
(There was actually a schoolboy match where all of one side were out for 0, and the reply started and finished with a no-ball.)
I just think it’s trivia.
Wake me up if he starts talking to lampposts or something.
The now labour controlled Westminster Council are voting to become a 'Council of sanctuary' to refugees.
It’s open for debate but the previous regime was shit.
Not sure a temporary tax hike of a few per cent would do the same, even if Sunak would conceivably do it.
The Conservatives ought to be at least competitive in London, for the health of democracy if nothing else. But that requires compromises that they're currently prepared to make.
It'd help if the Bank took a balanced overview of inflation, but by obsessing over just CPI and not considering what they mistakenly class as "assets" the economy has become truly unbalanced and any correction is going to be very painful - and is very necessary too.
Balanced overviews of the economy is what the Chancellor is supposed to have.
People need to know that.
I suspect this is the last series for Anderson, and possibly also Stokes.
HMRC don't determine tax rates, the Chancellor does.
Danny Beales 🇺🇦🇬🇧
@DannyBeales
I’m delighted that an incoming Labour government will deliver a new, state-of-the-art hospital for Hillingdon in the first term.
Let’s end this Conservative dither and delay.
Vote for change. Vote Labour on Thursday 20 July.
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.
.
.
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@LuckyBigMuzzer
Because the freaking Tories gave it the go ahead can’t claim this one matey
Equivalence would be if the Chancellor told HMRC how much money he wanted them to raise in taxes (inflation target) and then HMRC independently changed tax rates without a Budget and without recourse to Parliament.
https://twitter.com/JackTindale/status/1674044012699820032
Though it is worth considering why the Tories struggle so much in the Big Smoke. And the clear reason is housing affordability. People who don't own property just see their place in the economy in a fundamentally different way. Thatcher got this but nobody else on the right has done since.
The greater the gap between population growth and housing growth, the worse off the Tories will be. London is a vision of the future if the Tories don't get a grip on immigration and housebuilding.
Also, they should use COVID style bank account payments to increase inflation and interest rate rises to decrease inflation. Would get households to save more and also help income redistribution.